Operation Better Block is on a mission to conduct 1,000 surveys through the month of November to find out what Homewood residents want to see in their community. To date, with a staff of less than 20, the group has talked to more than 700 people, with just one week left to go.

So far, abandoned homes have climbed to the top of the list of issues. Second in priority has been the problem of crime and violence in the neighborhood.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH —Khalif Ali interviews Sarah Curry who grew up in Homewood and recently returned to the area.

“Quite frankly we expected that crime and violence would be on the survey. We didn’t expect crime and violence to come in second to doing something with the abandoned houses,” said OBB assistant director Evans Moore. “That was a little bit of a shock.”

In one of his last acts as a Pittsburgh Public School director, Randall Taylor warned an audience of East End parents, teachers and interested residents to be wary of another round of school closings.

“In 1997, I came in during a storm of reconfiguration, and I’m leaving the same way,” he said. “And we still can’t seem to get it right.”

STAY VIGILANT— Outgoing school director Randall Taylor tells parents not to think the latest recommendation to close schools is just “a tool” or a talking point.

Taylor’s remarks came during a Nov. 23 town hall meeting he convened with fellow School Director Mark Brentley Sr. and a panel that included veteran education activist Wanda Henderson,  Annette Werner, Parents United for Responsible Education Reform and NAACP education chair Marilyn Barnett to address a consultant’s recommendation earlier this month to close 15 schools including two high schools.

Since the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center announced the closing of Braddock Hospital last month, several meetings and rallies have been held with local government and community organizers banding together to oppose the closing.

On Nov. 23 a private meeting was held to form a group charged with the task of preventing the closure. It will likely be made up of people such as Allegheny County Council members, congressmen, local pastors and representatives from Heritage Health Systems.

DRESS UP—From left; Lisa White, Israel Wright, Destiny Naletta, Egypt Wight, and John Wight dress up as nurses, doctors, patients and Gen. Edward Braddock to protest the hospital closing.

“Their sole purpose will be to come up with new ideas regarding UPMC Braddock closing to see if there is a way to prevent the closing,” said Braddock Borough manager Ella Jones. “We’re definitely trying to make it not final.”