(AP)—The city of Pittsburgh has suspended three White police officers while officials investigate accusations that they beat up a Black teenage arts student who was walking to his grandmother’s house after dark, the mayor said Monday.

LUKE RAVENSTAHL

The city agency that handles police misconduct allegations has agreed to complete its investigation of the Jan. 12 confrontation by month’s end, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said. It must do so before any decision is made on whether to fire the officers.

District 9 City Councilman Rev. Ricky Burgess sprinted into another year of his term without missing a beat. Before the first month was through he introduced legislation to activate Pittsburgh’s Living Wage Ordinance and laid the groundwork for several other initiatives.

AT WORK—Reverend Ricky Burgess reviews legislation for an upcoming city council meeting.

“Workers who mop the floors of our buildings, who guard our buildings, who empty the trash or pick up the garbage, they are saying ‘enough’ to poverty wages, the lack of respect, the bad working conditions,” Burgess said. “No matter what people do—whether they take care of the elderly, or they are teachers, or they make the beds in our hotels—people who do work should be rewarded, and rewarded with a living wage.”

This month the count is lower than that of January 2009.

With a new year comes a new start and new hope. While even one senseless death is one too many, this month’s count of six is lower than the seven this time last year. This is a step in the right direction. Now we, as a community, need to come together and continue this step. Hopefully, this will prove to be a record year for the least deaths by homicide.

Starting in February, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Center for Inclusion in Health Care will be hosting a series of career fairs for sixth-graders in the Pittsburgh Public School District. The fairs will expose students to a variety of careers in the health care field, beyond the usual professions.

Winifred Torbert and Dawnita Wilson

“It gives the students the opportunity to explore the many different areas they can go into health care,” said Winifred Torbert, program director, education partnerships. “You don’t have to be a doctor or a nurse and students aren’t aware of that. So it’s an exploration activity.”