South Oakland Update:
November 2009

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

Our grassroots movement wants to extend its deepest gratitude to Representative Dom Costa, Senator Jay Costa, Senator Wayne Fontana, Councilman Bruce Kraus and Councilman William Peduto for their letters of support for The SOUL Program. They have no fear of putting their principles and ideals into action and we are most thankful. Their actions are an inspiration to all people who place human dignity ahead of expansion and the earning of billions of dollars.

These letters of support and also our online petitions which number ninety-six in support of The SOUL Program will be given to Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg and UPMC CEO Jeffrey Romoff. We have been upfront and honest with them, by mentioning any new major actions we will take before taking those actions. Should our request for financial support of The SOUL Program continue to be denied, then our grassroots movement will initiate new actions to seek their resignations.

The "National Disgrace" City Council testimony of October 20 (which is also on our website) was given to them over two weeks ago. Neither of them, nor their administrators, has disputed any of the 12-points mentioned in that testimony.

Also, the University of Pittsburgh wants to have a 200-bed expansion of student housing on Oakland Avenue. It was a front page article in the October 31 edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. This desire of Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg is unconscionable.

Attached is a letter to Mr. Stephen R. Tritch, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the University of Pittsburgh. A question has been asked of him about this issue and our community deserves an answer. Should he choose not to respond, then our community will call upon many of you for support to receive that answer.

The action of Pitt wanting to expand its student housing and of UPMC wanting to sell its property to Pitt for this expansion is yet another example of the arrogance and the "deliberate indifference" of Mark Nordenberg and Jeffrey Romoff to the pain and suffering in our community.

Life should never be a game of monopoly whereby institutions such as Pitt and UPMC carve a community for their own benefit.

We are asking those of you who have not yet shown support for The SOUL Program to break your silence. We are also asking each of you, on your own, to take an action to end the expansion of the University of Pittsburgh into our community.

A passage from the book The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran says it well:

"And as a single leaf turns not yellow
but with the silent knowledge of the whole tree,
So the wrong-doer cannot do wrong
without the hidden will of you all."

Carlino Giampolo  
November 7, 2009
(808) 926-1752   
www.oaklanddignity.com