Peabody Students Book Signing

The Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh invites you to attend a book signing on June 1st, hosted by students at Peabody High School, who just authored their first book about the city's East End neighborhoods.  

Entitled, "Pittsburgh's East End:  Then, Now and Later," the 100-page book is the first by a city school.  Filled with historical photographs and images of current day conditions, interviews with local leaders, and other information, the book also includes student impressions of East End neighborhoods, such as East Liberty, Larimer, and Homewood, and their vision for its future.  Student profiles are also included in the book, which describe their aspirations for themselves and their neighborhood.  

The book signing will be held at the East Liberty Carnegie Library on Wed., June 1st, at 1:00 p.m.

Learn about Jobs at Target

Learn about the TARGET interview process and view sample interview questions at East Liberty Presbyterian Church, 116 S. Highland Avenue, in East Liberty. Target staff will be on hand Thursday, May 5 at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Thursday, May 12 at 10 a.m. and 12 noon to explain the interview process, review sample interview questions, and go over important hiring requirements. At the sessions, the City's PA CareerLink office and community organizations will be on-site to connect applicants with job readiness programs designed to prepare applicants for Target's interview process.

Get a Job at Target

Informational sessions are being held in coming weeks for people interested in working at the new Target in East Liberty. Read about it in the Tribune-Review today.

East Liberty Valley History Program

Come and enjoy an evening about the history of the East Liberty Valley, Thursday, April 7, from 5 to 8 p.m. at 200 North Highland Ave. (corner of Broad St.).

Sponsored by the East End/East Liberty Historical Society and the East Liberty Quarter Chamber of Commerce, this event will start with a wine and cheese social hour, followed at 6 p.m. by a talk by Dr. Charles McCollester on “Three East Enders to Love -- George Westinghouse, Billy Conn, and Gene Kelly.”

Dr. McCollester will be sharing this and other perspectives from his new book, The Point of Pittsburgh, now being sold in all major bookstores. He is a retired professor of Labor History at Indiana University. Copies of Dr. McCollester’s book will be available for sale.

Also featured will be a showing of the latest DVD of the photography of Charles “Teenie” Harris. Teenie Harris (1908–1998) photographed the events and daily life of African Americans for the Pittsburgh Courier, one of the nation’s most influential Black newspapers.

Come and enjoy sharing the history of this great neighborhood, the East Liberty Valley. Bring a friend. For more information, contact Al Mann, President, East End/East Liberty Historical Society, alfred.mann@verizon.net.

Celebrate Historic Preservation Month

Celebrate National Historic Preservation Month with the Young Preservationists Association on Friday, May 21, at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty, starting at 6 p.m.

YPA will release its new list of the "Top Ten Best Preservation Opportunities in the Pittsburgh Area." The list, published annually, highlights historic preservation projects with a good chance of survival and reuse. It's a great way for communities all over southwestern Pennsylvania to celebrate historic preservation victories in the making.

YPA will also be releasing a new, groundbreaking report, "The Economic Impact of Historic Preservation in Southwestern Pennsylvania." The report quantifies how many dollars, jobs, new businesses, and housing units have been created in the last few years through historic preservation.

Finally, YPA will be releasing a new report, "The Top Ten Buildings We Wish We Had Back," which looks back on what we have lost. They serve as lessons for what to preserve in the future.

A fun, networking reception will follow. It's southwestern Pennsylvania's premiere historic preservation month celebration. Don't miss out! Register now at www.youngpreservationists.org.

Work with Little Children

Eastminster Presbyterian Church, 250 North Highland Avenue in East Liberty (across from Home Depot), has a position open for Nursery Coordinator. The Nursery Coordinator will implement procedures and manage the volunteer staff of the Sunday nursery program for infants-preschool children, as directed by the Minister of Discipleship. Position is part-time and available immediately.

Essential Qualifications:
Christian man or woman, 21 or older, love for and patience with young children, strong interpersonal communication skills with adults and children, ability to recruit, train and supervise adult and youth volunteers, strong organizational skills, enthusiastic, welcoming and reassuring, ability to interact effectively with a diverse range of people, ability to follow procedures consistently, punctuality, current Act 33 and 34 clearances, experience caring for groups of infants-preschool children.

To apply, email office@eastminsterchurch.net to request an application, or stop by the church office to pick up a form, Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

East Liberty Business District Nominated to National Register

East Liberty Development, Inc. (ELDI) has nominated the East Liberty Commercial District to the National Register of Historic Places. If listed, this designation will provide opportunities for renovation tax credits and other development advantages without impacting private property owners’ rights to manage their buildings as they see fit.

ELDI is hosting a public meeting to inform the community about the National Register listing in East Liberty. ELDI staff and preservation experts will be on hand to answer any questions you may have. The public meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 26^th at 7:00 pm in the East Liberty Presbyterian Church Social Hall, 116 S. Highland Avenue.

Early MLK Day Plans

Save the Date: MLK Day Celebration 2010 at The Union Project

We envision an event that activity engages diverse audiences, to strengthen our collective connection to the Vision of a Beloved Community that was advanced by the life, nonviolent philosophy, and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

FREE TO THE PUBLIC
Mon, Jan 18, 1-8:30 p.m., The Union Project, 801 North Negley (at Stanton), Highland Park/East Liberty

Afternoon Activities, 1 to 5 p.m.
Youth Mosaic Design Workshop and community art creation by The MGR foundation, *Afternoon Peace Meal - Free Community Lunch Neighborhood Champion Award Presentation Youth Talent Showcase and uplifting cultural performances, PGH TASK Rite of Passage Ceremony

Evening Activities, 5 to 8:30 p.m.
*Evening Peace Meal - Free Community Dinner, Uplifting cultural performances by the Anointed Steps of Faith and others, Keynote address by Dr. Ronald Peters Professor of Urban Ministry, Director of the Metro-Urban Institute Pittsburgh Theological Seminary

Tutors Wanted

The Allegheny County Literacy Council, Inc./Christian Literacy Associates is seeking tutors in the East Liberty area. If interested, please call 412-364-3777 to speak with Dr. Bill Kofmehl.

Home Safety Workshops for Kids

Home Depot Safety Day will take place at Home Depot in East Liberty on October 3rd, when the Fire and Police Department will conduct workshops for children about safety. The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is open to the public.

Huge East End Job Fair

(click to enlarge)

Don't miss this great job fair! The number of employers is now more than 50!

$2 Classics

The Kelly Strayhorn Theater has introduced a new film series called $2 Classics.

The admission price of $2 includes a mixer before the film, with concessions, music by DJ Omar-Abdul, and film admission. With DJ, host, and audience permitted, even encouraged, to talk back to the screen, this is a film project sure to liven up your summer!

Be sure to mark your calendar for July 21, to see a very young Laurence Fishburne make his film debut in Cornbread, Earl and Me (see left). The film is about an ambitious basketball player on his way to being the first in his community to attend college, when police mistake “Cornbread” as a criminal. The results impact his family and the whole community. Mixer starts at 6:30 p.m., with the screening at 8:00 p.m.

Last in the series of $2 Classics Film Series is Coffy on August 11, which stars Pam Grier in her first leading role, as a nurse fed up with the narcotics that have penetrated the inner city. A classic blaxploitation film - this is one you can’t miss! Mixer at 6:30 p.m., screening at 8:00 p.m.

$2 Classics Film Series presented by the Kelly Strayhorn Theater aims to shape a new cannon of classic American cinema and provide entertainment for a diverse audience at a low cost. For only $2, come mingle, dance, and see great films of the 1970s.

Contact: Janera Solomon, Executive Director, 412-363-3000 ext. 101; or visit www.kelly-strayhorn.org.

Rootz at Sundown: A Reggae Festival

A Reggae Festival to Support Healthy Food & Healthy Lives

Sunday June 21, 2009
6 -10 p.m.
Healcrest Urban Farm
Corner of N. Pacific Ave. and Hillcrest Street in Garfield Heights

Rootz at Sundown is the first roots reggae festival in Pittsburgh. Musicians creating original pieces of music in the tradition of roots reggae (that is, reggae that developed from the roots of African and Caribbean cultures that tells the voice of struggle, Rastafarian spirituality, and positiv, healthy living) will showcase their sounds to the community members in attendance. The main performers will be a Pittsburgh-based band called Man on the Street. In between performances, several Pittsburgh-based reggae DJs will spin roots reggae to keep the crowd moving and enjoying the positive vibrations. The event will also feature healthy vegetarian and vegan foods, which will be available at to all in attendance and offer their donation to the cause.

The event will raise money to support of Healcrest Urban Farm, whose mission is to eliminate disparities in the Pittsburgh food system by serving direct needs identified by the Garfield/East Liberty community in the areas of food access and affordability, youth employment, neighborhood clean-up, community green space and environmental education. For more info: healcresturbanfarm@gmail.com.

Motivational Youth Event in East Liberty

The Greater Pittsburgh Afterschool Peer Network (GPAPN) in conjunction with the Allegheny Department of Human Services is having a motivational youth leadership event entitled "Its a Great Day, You Can Do It," designed for middle and high school students, on Tuesday, May 19, 2009, from 5:00 - 6:30 p.m. at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater, 5941 Penn Avenue, in East Liberty. Some members of GPAPN have already secured seats for their youths and chaperones. However, there are approximately 115 seats still available that will be reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. If you are interested in bringing middle school or high school youths from your afterschool program, please respond to Twilia Simmons-Walker via twila.simmons-walker@alcosan.org by Friday, May 8th.

Reminder! Penn Avenue Infrastructure Update This Week

Don't miss the community meeting for the Penn Avenue Corridor Phasing Plan - this Thursday evening!

Date: April 16, 2009
Place: Saint Lawrence O’Toole Activity Building (corner of North Atlantic & Broad)
Time: 6:00 p.m. – Sign In/Refreshments; 6:30 p.m. – Presentation and Q&A; 7:30 p.m. – Group Breakout Stations / Discussions

The purpose of the meeting is threefold: 1) review the previous Public Meeting comments and community concerns; 2) discuss what has been completed since the last Public Meeting; and 3) detail the next steps and phases of the project including potential timelines.

The project team will be present at the public meeting to discuss and provide a better understanding of the project needs and prioritized transportation improvements.

The meeting location is accessible to persons having disabilities. Anyone who needs additional information, has special needs, or requires special aids should contact:

Patrick Hassett, Assistant Director, City of Pittsburgh, Department of Public Works, Bureau of Transportation and Engineering at pat.hassett@city.pittsburgh.pa.us or 412-255-2883.

Groundbreaking for 5801 Penn

The Community Builders Inc. (TCB), one of the nation's leading nonprofit housing developers, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA) have announced that the groundbreaking celebration for 5801 Penn Avenue will take place Tuesday, April 7, 2009 at 11:00 a.m.

City of Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and local community leaders will mark the occasion with remarks, followed by a Hard Hat Dig.

5801 Penn Avenue (www.5801pennave.com) is a mixed-use redevelopment project on the north portion of the site of the former East Mall high-rise at the intersection of Penn Avenue and Penn Circle West. The project consists of 54 one- and two-bedroom apartments over 11,000 square feet of street-front retail space. The apartments include a mix of income- and rent-restricted units to serve low and moderate-income persons - including former residents of the high-rise - as well as market-rate units.

The second phase of the project will involve the redevelopment of 5800 Penn Avenue (the East Mall site to the South of Penn Avenue). Current plans contemplate an additional 75 apartments or condominiums and approximately 24,000 square feet of retail space.

East End/East Liberty Historical Society Reception

The East End/East Liberty Historical Society and the East Liberty Chamber of Commerce are sponsoring a wine & cheese reception on Wednesday, February 18, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at 200 North Highland Avenue. Come and hear about the Society's plans for a major event commemorating the Historic East Liberty Valley. Guests can also see the Society's collection of rare, historical, and out-of-print books and postcards, past and present photos of East Liberty and the East Liberty Valley, a model of a blast furnace, a handmade canoe, and much more!

For more information, call 412-661-9660.

Former Garfield Resident Signs Books at Borders

Former Garfield resident Lynn Manley will be signing copies of her book Through the Fire But Not Burnt on Saturday, February 7, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Borders Eastside, 5986 Penn Circle South.

Manley's book, a collection of essays, tells the story of her life. A survivor of abuse, kidnapping, and betrayal, Manley hopes that her book will inspire others.

A story about Manley appeared in an issue of The Bulletin several years ago and is reprinted here:

Abuse, rape, kidnapping and betrayal scarred Lynn Manley’s childhood and the early part of her adult life. But like the Phoenix rising from the ashes, Manley somehow regained control of her life and emerged from the fire without being burnt.

Now, Manley hopes that her story can be an inspiration to other women who have suffered abuse.

Through the Fire But Not Burnt, the first published book by this Garfield native, addresses abuse in all of its forms - physical, mental and emotional - through essays that include Manley’s personal stories and the stories of women she has known, along with fictional essays that address forms of abuse that neither Manley, nor the women she knows, have had the misfortune of experiencing first hand.

Manley ends each essay with a short prayer asking for strength for the abused, and for change on the part of the abuser. Manley also offers readers the unique opportunity to record their own thoughts and prayers at the end of each essay, to encourage them to come to terms with their feelings.

Manley says that she hopes that the book can help other women learn that no matter what abuse they may have suffered, their lives do have value, and they can get through.

“I am a living testament that you can get through the fire without being burnt,” Manley says.

Manley tried it all, she says - but drugs, alcohol and even counseling only proved to be temporary solutions. It was only through her relationship with God, and the support of her family - her husband, Michael, a pastor, her 17-year old daughter, Tiara, and the family beagle, Pooh - that Manley was able to come to terms with her past and realize the value of her life.

Manley says that she also wants women who have been abused by men to know that there are good men out there who know how to love them, and that their unfortunate pasts do not make them “damaged goods.” Her proof of that is her husband, Michael, who supportively encouraged Manley to write the book.

Manley said she worried about the effect that publicly revealing such facts about herself and her past might have on her family, but soon found that both her husband and daughter were very supportive of the project. In the first few days since the book was published, Manley has already sold 75 copies through word of mouth and she hopes to get the book into women’s shelters t o be used as a resource for those who have been abused.

The book is currently available at World Overcomers bookstore in New Kensington, and Manley hopes to soon have the book available at at least one major bookseller and several Christian bookstores. In the meantime, those interested in obtaining a copy of the book may do so by writing to M&L Manley, P.O. Box 124, Natrona Heights, PA 15065-0124, or e-mail staceytoots@comcast.net.

--Mandy Kendall

Post-Election Gathering for Prayer

The Pittsburgh community is invited to gather for an ecumenical time of meditation and prayer as we reflect on the results of the November 4th election. This event will be held in the chapel at East Liberty Presbyterian Church, 116 S. Highland Ave., Pittsburgh on Wednesday, November 5 at 9:00 am. All are welcome to join in a time of reflection and intercession as we pray for our elected representatives, our nation, and all citizens of the world. For more information, call 412-441-3800.

"East of Liberty" Free Screening

There will be a free outdoor screening of Chris Ivey's documentary, East of Liberty, at Flagstaff Hill in Schenley Park, Oakland, on Friday, Sept. 12, at 8:45 p.m. If you haven't seen this amazing film yet, this is your chance! The film deals with the recent "redevelopment" of East Liberty - the demolition of high-rise low-income housing and the introduction of new businesses - from a variety of viewpoints. For more information about the film, visit www.eastofliberty.com.