South Oakland Update:
September 2009

(Sent to political representatives, media, community organizations, concerned individuals.)

Congratulations are in order for Pittsburgh’s PBS station, WQED, for its production of “The Panther Hollow Story.” This 15-minute story on one of the first Italian-American neighborhoods in Pittsburgh was nominated for a Natas Mid-Atlantic Region Emmy in the category of Historic/Cultural feature or segment. The awards will take place later this month and all of Pittsburgh can be proud of the consistent high-quality programs WQED creates. The Panther Hollow story can be viewed at www.PantherHollow.us.

I received a call from the appointment office of the White House last week in response to an invitation that had been extended to the President to visit Panther Hollow. I was told that, due to time constraints of the G-20 Summit, the President would not be able to visit. When I inquired about our request for the President’s support concerning our grassroots movement efforts, the woman replied that her office only handled appointments.

Our grassroots movement wants to extend its deepest gratitude to a University of Pittsburgh faculty member who sent us an email following the August Update saying:

“I want to thank you for sharing these updates and your ongoing concerns about the problem of trash and littering in the Oakland Community. Although our Community Relations Committee does not meet in August, I will share these communications with the CRC in September as one of our first agenda items for 2009/10.”

It certainly takes courage for a faculty member to break ranks from other faculty members, and we certainly wish him well and hope he can be an inspiration to others as our movement continues to take more action.

As some of you know, this month marks the 30th month that our grassroots movement has been attempting to get Pitt and UPMC’s support for a clean and healthy environment in our community. What we are asking -- a 10-year commitment at $120,000 per year-- amounts to about $4 per year from a student’s tuition fee.

We have taken this issue step-by-step, from a meeting in a Pitt’s administrator’s office in March 2007 to letters to President Barack Obama. We are appalled at the lack of respect for the wishes of the elderly residents of our community and the lack of respect for the political and media people who are aware of this issue. Our movement may very well need the President’s support to break the arrogance of Pitt and UPMC administrators.

We have asked two of the congressional leaders of Hawaii, the birthplace of the President, Senator Daniel Inouye and Congressman Neil Abercrombie, to give support to our efforts to end this injustice against our community. Our next course of action will be to bring this issue once again to the attention of the national media.

We will keep you informed.

Carlino Giampolo
(808) 926-1752   
www.oaklanddignity.com