From an early age Hank Commodore developed a love for the Lord and a passion to give back to those who were less fortunate than he. Before it was to needy children, but now through his organization Help the Needy, Not the Greedy Get On Board for the Right Thing, Commodore is helping disadvantaged families by providing furniture.

HANK COMMODORE (Photo by J.L. Martello)

“I give the Lord all the praise. I do this out of my own pocket,” Commodore said. “I have been doing this for years and it has been a blessing.”

Help the Needy, Not the Greedy was first started in 2007 and according to Commodore, founder and chairman, it has given away more than $3 million in furniture to those who are less fortunate. For more than 20 years, he began purchasing furniture from a local store and giving it out. Now he receives furniture donations from stores.

With Republicans gaining 60 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, President Obama now faces the prospect that his agenda initiatives on passing Card Check, Illegal Immigration reform and Cap and Trade may be dead in the water.

There is even the possibility that his signature Healthcare legislation could be rolled back, or defunded.  John Boehner, R-Ohio, who will take over as Speaker of the House in January, said his priority is repealing Obamacare.

PRESIDENT OBAMA

However, the first priority of the lame-duck session will be extending the Bush-era tax rates. Outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi prevented a vote on the issue last month.  The lower marginal rates, and increases in the child tax exemption and the Earned Income Tax Credit expire at the end of the year.  President Obama said he is willing to negotiate.

Every nine seconds, a student in America becomes a dropout. For Pittsburgh high school students the dropout rate averages at approximately 35 percent, reaching as high as 50 percent for African-American males.

SABRINA SAUNDERS

In the opening minutes of the 2010 Graduate Pittsburgh Summit on Nov. 4, the audience of educators, youth advocates, students, parents, and leaders in government, business, and the community heard the stories of four local dropouts who are now on the path to graduating.

The past few elections for the Pittsburgh Branch of the NAACP have been relatively quiet. The key reason for this is that members of the executive committee frequently run unopposed, but another major contributing factor is that members are only made aware of election candidates at a nominating meeting and do not receive a list of candidates by mail.

REV. REGINA RAGIN

However, adding a spark of excitement to this year’s election Nov. 9, NAACP President M. Gayle Moss is being opposed by Rev. Regina Ragin, an NAACP committee member. Ironically, if elected president, Ragin said one of the most important changes she would make is improving the organization’s communication.

“We need to open up better communications with the powers that be. Right now they kind of see us negatively,” Ragin said. “We need to talk to the agencies that are funding services that are servicing our communities to make sure they do what they say they’re going to do in our community.”