July 22, 2008

City Seeks Lower Trash Bid

City officials are seeking new bids from garbage haulers in an effort to cut costs and save money.

A legal advertisement was placed in the Daily News this week seeking proposals, which could be voted on at the Sept. 3 city council meeting.

It's not a sign that the city is dissatisfied with Scottdale-based Greenridge Waste Services, its current collector, but it is a sign that an economy move is in full swing.

The Greenridge contract will automatically renew on Sept. 30 unless the city chooses to opt out.

McKeesport is staring at a half-million budget shortfall caused by several unexpected problems, including rapidly rising expenses for health care and fuel, and lost revenue from a proposed cell phone tower in the Seventh Ward that's yet to be built because of objections from nearby residents.

Mayor Jim Brewster says the city currently pays Greenridge about $1.2 million per year for trash collection. The price is guaranteed through 2009.

Last month, Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl pitched his city's services --- including fire protection and trash collection --- to other municipalities in Allegheny County.

McKeesport City Administrator Dennis Pittman said the city would be interested in receiving a proposal for trash pickup from Pittsburgh, which already collects residential garbage in Wilkinsburg Borough.

The three-year agreement between Wilkinsburg and Pittsburgh is saving the smaller community an estimated $1 million annually.

But Pittman says the city also expects to receive bids from more conventional, private-sector haulers, such as Waste Management.

And he and other city officials cautioned residents against assuming that a new hauler will be selected.

Small trash collection companies might not have the capability to collect from all of the city's nearly 10,000 households without adding equipment and personnel, they said, and there's some doubt that they could ramp up their capacity between September --- when a potential new contract would be awarded --- and Jan. 1 of next year.

On a related note, a study published Sunday in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review questions whether the deal between Pittsburgh and Wilkinsburg is really providing any benefit.

Authored by Jake Haulk and Eric Montarti of the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy, the study suggests that city of Pittsburgh taxpayers are subsidizing the cost of trash collection in the neighboring borough.

While that city is charging Wilkinsburg $120 per household for residential waste pickup, Haulk and Montarti estimate the real cost to Pittsburgh is about $202 per household.

They argue that because of inefficiency and pension obligations, Pittsburgh's municipal trash collection services are more expensive than those a private hauler would provide.

Headquartered in Mt. Lebanon, the Allegheny Institute is a conservative/libertarian think tank funded in large part by grants from charities controlled by publisher and philanthropist Richard Mellon Scaife, owner of the Tribune-Review, Daily News, and scores of other weekly and daily newspapers around the Pittsburgh area.

Posted at 11:00 pm by Jason Togyer
Filed Under: News | one comment | Link To This Entry

July 21, 2008

Senseless, Speechless

I've tried a couple of times to write something about the slaying of Kia Johnson, and I just don't have the words.

In case you're out of town or don't follow the news, Johnson is the 18-year-old city resident who was murdered, apparently by someone who wanted to take the unborn baby from her uterus.

The baby survived; Johnson's remains were found on the floor of a Wilkinsburg apartment rented by the main suspect in her killing, Andrea Curry-Demus.

Her body was badly decomposed, and the medical examiner's office says they may not be able to determine an exact cause of death because of that.

Johnson's corpse was discovered after reporters covering the arrest of Curry-Demus visited the apartment, noticed the smell, and called the cops.

No, the neighbors didn't report it. Surely they heard Kia Johnson crying out in agony; if not, they had to have to realized from the odor that something was terribly wrong.

But they let her body lie there, face down, on the floor, rotting.

That's depraved enough --- and we haven't even gotten to the case that police are building against Curry-Demus, who's been charged with homicide and kidnapping in connection with Johnson's murder.

County police allege that Curry-Demus met Johnson, found out she was pregnant, lured her to her apartment, and cut the baby from her womb. Whether Johnson was dead before the child was removed is a thought too horrible to contemplate.

Curry-Demus' public defender calls it "a sad state of affairs." I realize he's her attorney, but that doesn't begin to describe this case.

Another attorney, who defended Curry-Demus 18 years ago when she stole another infant, told reporters that she wasn't in her right mind at the time.

Should I laugh or cry? No, she's clearly not in her right mind, and yet if Curry-Demus' lawyers are going to try for an insanity defense, they've got a "catch-22" situation --- you would clearly have to be crazy to do what she's accused of doing, but it was done with such cold-blooded ruthlessness that it's hard to argue that she's insane. If she did it, she seemed to be in control of herself at all times.

Personally, I'm not a big advocate for the death penalty --- I don't think it has any deterrent factor, and I think too many innocent people have been found recently on death row --- but if any case cried out for the suspect to be put to death, this one qualifies.

As for what the case says about modern society, well, society has always had depraved people, back to the day when Cain slew Abel.

The only consolation is that Kia Johnson is hopefully in a place without cruel, indifferent, horrible monsters, like the one who treated her with such brutality and disrespect.

And my fervent prayer for the child she never got to see is that he'll get a good upbringing from her family or from foster parents who love him.

They say that living well is the best revenge. I hope that Kia Johnson's little boy lives very well, and I hope her killer spends a long time in a very dark, cold place.

. . .

Memorial contributions for Kia Johnson should be sent to PNC Bank, 560 Lysle Blvd., McKeesport 15132.

Posted at 11:21 pm by Jason Togyer
Filed Under: Rants a.k.a. Commentary | two comments | Link To This Entry

July 20, 2008

At Diamond Jubilee, City's 'Jewel' Still Gleams

While McKeesport's noisy neighbors to the north were celebrating the 75th anniversary of sandwiches with fries and cole slaw on top, Our Fair City was hosting something a bit more genteel.

On Saturday, members of the Garden Club of McKeesport celebrated their organization's Diamond Jubilee with their biennial flower show.

Hosted at the McKeesport Heritage Center's grand banquet hall in Renziehausen Park, all of the club's 45 members were expected to enter the competition, which was a sanctioned event judged by other members of the National Garden Clubs, Inc.

Entries range from simple specimens of flowering plants and shrubs to table arrangements and home-decorating displays.

The Garden Club of McKeesport is not McKeesport's only organization for horticulturalists --- others include the Home Gardeners' Guild and the YWCA Garden Club --- but it's probably the best known.

Founded Aug. 17, 1933, by a group of the city's most prominent and elite women, the Garden Club is a more egalitarian organization these days, says Jane Miller, its current president.

"We have some pretty dedicated members," says Miller, of North Huntingdon Township. Though many of the club's members are from McKeesport and its suburbs, others come from as far away as Greentree and Moon Township.

The club's primary activity includes cultivation of the city's arboretum in Renziehausen Park, which is maintained in cooperation with the Pittsburgh Rose Society.

Located next to the Heritage Center, the facility covers more than three acres, including 1,800 roses, beds of perennials, a goldfish pond and water feature, a herb garden and butterfly garden, and a gazebo that's popular for weddings and other events.

"We're already booked for some months next year," Miller says.

Dubbed the "Jewel of McKeesport" by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the city's arboretum is one of only 123 in the United States certified by the American Rose Society and is the second-largest in Pennsylvania, after only Hershey Gardens in Hershey, Pa.

The arboretum is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. until dark. Admission is free.

Educational events, many held in cooperation with other enthusiasts in western Pennsylvania, are also hosted at the Garden Club's building.

During the first five years of the club's existence, Miller says, members met at the Penn-McKee Hotel or in each others' homes.

But in 1938, the city invited the club to create the arboretum at Renzie Park. The club got a permanent headquarters building in 1983. A two-story ranch-style building above the gardens hosts space for members to work and a gift shop.

Members gather every Wednesday, rain or shine, to tend the flower beds or work on pressed flower arrangements, wreaths, and other crafts for the club's gift shop.

Regular monthly meetings are held on the third Monday of the month at 11 a.m., and the club also hosts four teas during the summer months.

"We work right up until December," Miller says. "There's a lot of work to getting the garden ready for the winter."

The club then goes on hiatus before resuming activities in April.

"I find my peace in the garden, I really do," says Mary Jane Hickman of White Oak, a member of the club for the past eight years.

She calls working in the garden a great "stress reliever. If I have something that's really bothering me, that's where I go," she says. "I come in early on Wednesday morning, with the birds singing, and go to work."

Like many other social and hobby clubs these days, the Garden Club has a hard time getting new people to join. Many of the current members are retired, and some are in their late 80s. But the Garden Club welcomes prospective members, Hickman says; they should plan to attend a few work sessions to get to know the other volunteers.

Younger enthusiasts are very welcome, she says. The Garden Club has a lot to offer younger gardeners --- men and women alike, Hickman says. Besides fellowship and encouragement, the club hosts educational programs throughout the year in conjunction with experts from around the region and state.

"We're always learning new things," she says.

. . .

The Garden Club of McKeesport will host an open house on Sunday, Sept. 15. Watch the club's website for details.

The club is located at the corner of Tulip and Arboretum drives in Renziehausen Park, one block from Eden Park Boulevard, near city Fire Station No. 2 and Penn State Greater Allegheny Campus.

To inquire about renting the arboretum for an event, call Grace Krepps at (412) 751-8656. For other details about the club, call (412) 672-1050.

Posted at 11:00 pm by Jason Togyer
Filed Under: Events, News | two comments | Link To This Entry

July 17, 2008

Potluck Today

Miscellaneous leftover news items that we have to use up before they go bad:

. . .

Five new city police officers are expected to hit the streets next year, with the assistance of a state grant.

Frank P. Durante, Floyd M. Gault, Bryan P. Morris, Julian Thomas and Justin Toth, all of the city, are entering the Allegheny County Police Academy and expect to graduate in January, officials said.

City council this month approved a deal with the state to fund training expenses for the five, and obtain reimbursement from the state.

In a separate move, council also OK'd an application to the U.S. Justice Department for $14,154 to help pay for four new police cars.

The new cruisers will replace cars which have been damaged in accidents, or which have racked up so many miles as to be unrepairable.

Three of the cars are going into the patrol fleet; the fourth, a four-wheel-drive vehicle, will be used by police Chief Joe Pero, whose current car will be added to the police motor pool, officials said.

The federal grant will pay for the first year's lease payments on the four new vehicles.

. . .

The former Penn-McKee Hotel and Eagles lodge are among 30 blighted properties that city council has approved for demolition.

Council voted 5-0 to accept the recommendations of Building Inspector Chris House and Fire Chief Kevin Lust that the properties are dangerous and pose a health and safety danger.

The condemned buildings include four houses in the 2900 block of Grover Avenue, three in the 1100 block of Craig Street, and others throughout the city, including several in 10th Ward.

As reported by the Almanac last month, the Eagles lodge on Market Street was the former home of a prominent local doctor, Henry W. Hitzrot, and was built in 1892 at a cost that would top $1 million in 2008 dollars.

The building was sold to the local lodge, or "aerie," of the Fraternal Order of Eagles in 1911. That lodge disbanded more than 15 years ago for lack of members.

A non-profit corporation called Museum Hair Institute now owns the Hitzrot house. State records indicate the principal officer of MHI is Henry W. Russell, and according to a report in the Pittsburgh Business Times, MHI recently obtained a $300,000 mortgage on the building.

The Penn-McKee, built in the 1920s, was the site of the first debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon and once boasted a nightclub and a ballroom in demand for weddings, formal gatherings, meetings and other events.

After years of decline, the hotel became a boardinghouse for transients and the indigent and closed in 1985.

Although county tax records list a corporation called "See Bee Inc." as the hotel's owner, a White Oak evangelist told the Almanac last month that he is trying to save the building.

No demolition date for any of the structures has been set.

Posted at 11:21 pm by Jason Togyer
Filed Under: News | two comments | Link To This Entry

July 16, 2008

Call Me Unavailable (Temporarily)

I don't usually write about my personal life at the Almanac, but I've been absent for a few days, and I thought I should explain. I've been a little bit busy.

After nearly seven years, I've left the University of Pittsburgh and taken another job.

And although I don't like to mix my professional life with what I do at the Almanac, I will give you a little clue where I'm working now:

Audio Clue No. 1, 900K, MP3

Not sure yet? Here's another clue:

Audio Clue No. 2, 1.4MB, MP3

(By the way: That's the best ... fight song ... ever.)

Normal service will resume shortly; thanks for your patience.

And before you wonder, the parting from Pitt was very pleasant, but difficult. I worked with a really wonderful, witty, warm and talented group of people there, and I will miss them greatly.

But I got an offer I couldn't refuse, and besides, I didn't go too far away, as you've probably already tumbled.

Meanwhile, does anyone out there need any blue and gold neckties? I've got about a dozen that I'll trade. I need some Scottish plaids.

(P.S.: The usual caveats remain in place. Opinions expressed on www.tubecityonline.com and at the Almanac are not necessarily those of any employer or organization of which I'm affiliated. I'm not even sure if they're mine.)

Posted at 12:00 am by Jason Togyer
Filed Under: Pointless Digressions | eight comments | Link To This Entry

July 13, 2008

Ear, Nose, Throat and Cleats

Posted at 11:19 pm by Jason Togyer
Filed Under: Cartoons | two comments | Link To This Entry

July 12, 2008

Hold That Line

I like John McCain. I don't agree with many of his political positions --- OK, we're both in favor of the American flag, Mom, apple pie and Chevrolet --- but I generally respect and admire the man. I've read Faith of My Fathers and I've followed his career for years.

That's why, for the past decade or so, I've found McCain's public life kind of sad. In a desperate attempt to convince the president's hardcore partisans that he's suddenly become a Bible-thumping, big-government neo-conservative, McCain is saying a lot of things that he clearly doesn't believe, and he's cozying up to a lot of people he never had much use for before.

Yes, I know all politicians do this. Barack Obama isn't playing nice with Hillary Clinton because he's suddenly forgotten all of the nastiness of the Democratic primaries, and he didn't vote for the president's FISA legislation because he suddenly believed the administration should be allowed to tap phones without a warrant.

But on the other hand, much of McCain's appeal has been built on his willingness not to behave like a politician --- to say what's on his mind, even when it didn't endear him to the left or the right.

Alas, now he seems willing to say anything to get elected. To quote Jon Stewart, the Straight Talk Express has been rerouted through B.S. Town.

My old cow-orker Jonathan Potts has the skinny on the latest from the Arizona "maverick":

John McCain told Jon Delano that the Pittsburgh Steelers helped him endure torture at the hands of his North Vietnamese captors:

"When I was first interrogated and really had to give some information because of the physical pressures that were on me, I named the starting lineup -- defensive line -- of the Pittsburgh Steelers as my squadron-mates!"

There's just one problem with that story:

...the Steelers aren't the team whose defensive line McCain named for his Vietnamese tormentors. The Green Bay Packers are. At least according to every previous time McCain has told this story. And the McCain campaign just told ABC News that the senator made a mistake -- it was, indeed, the Packers.

Notes Jonathan, "Yes, a mistake he just happened to make while he was in Pittsburgh, a town with a singular devotion to its football team and the second largest city in a critical swing state."

It's pretty bad on its surface. Below the surface, it's one of the dumber things McCain could have said.

As any true Steelers fan knows, they were one of the worst teams in football before Chuck Noll became the head coach in 1969.

McCain was captured by the North Vietnamese in 1967, after his plane was shot down over Hanoi. The previous season, the Steelers had gone 5-and-8.

While McCain was enduring unspeakable torture in a POW camp in 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1971, the Steelers were going 18 and 50. (They won two games in 1968 and one in 1969.)

The team didn't post a winning record until 1972, when they won the AFC Central Division by defeating the hated Oakland Raiders. (You may have heard about that game.)

McCain wasn't repatriated until 1973.

My point is that there's no way anyone outside of a die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan (and there weren't very many in the 1960s) would have committed the 1967 Steelers roster to memory.

And there's no way that McCain (who grew up in northern Virginia) was a die-hard Steelers fan.

On the other hand, the legendary Green Bay Packers of the 1960s would have been familiar to anyone who followed pro football back then.

Why didn't he just tell the story straight --- about the Packers? Why did he feel the need to fudge the truth?

I'm not trying to read anything more into this story than necessary. I don't think it shows some pattern of dishonesty, or some deep character flaw. McCain doesn't have to prove his character to anyone.

But I do think it's sad.

And although I don't think I would vote for him for president, I'd like to see the Straight Talk Express upright and on the rails again.

I sure hope it happens before McCain starts to brag about listening to Bob Prince call the 1960 World Series on the radio, or seeing them raise that B-25 bomber from the Mon.

Posted at 3:28 pm by Jason Togyer
Filed Under: Politics, Rants a.k.a. Commentary, Wild World of Sports | one comment | Link To This Entry

July 11, 2008

Rally Organizers Seek End to Violence

Sponsors of an upcoming rally for Mon-Yough area youth are trying to encourage and inspire them to stay away from drugs, alcohol and crime.

The daylong event is set for August 9 at Stephen Barry Field in Renziehausen Park, says Alease Paige, one of the organizers and a member of the McKeesport Healthy Communities PartnerSHIP.

Although plans are still tentative, she says the program will probably include music, food, free health screenings and a motivational speech by the Rev. Karen Garland, recently appointed pastor of Zion Apostolic Assembly Church.

It's the second such rally sponsored by the Concerned Citizens of the Mon Valley, Paige says. An organizational meeting is set for July 19.

"The Mon Valley has changed, and our youth really have changed," says Paige, retired from Sky Bank and its predecessor, Three Rivers Bank. "You can't turn on the news without hearing who was shot, stabbed or robbed."

Drug crimes and gun violence don't respect neighborhood borders, she says. "Crime has no face --- no color," Paige says. "And it's not just McKeesport --- it's everywhere."

Besides city Mayor Jim Brewster, she says, the mayors of Port Vue and Clairton are also involved in the planning, along with representatives of the McKeesport branch of the NAACP and the Steel Valley OIC.

"We're trying to reach out to as many people as possible," Paige says, "and we're trying to get as many people as we can to come out."

Perhaps the most promising sign is that local teen-agers are doing much of the organizing themselves, she says. "We plan what they want to do," Paige says. "They tell us who they want to speak to them."

For more information, call Paige at (412) 673-2206.

. . .

Fire Guts Apartments: The American Red Cross is helping about 40 victims of a fire this morning at the Hi-View Gardens apartment complex on Coursin Street, according to broadcast and published reports.

Several suburban companies joined city firefighters in battling the multiple-alarm blaze. Seven people had to be rescued by fire personnel and some residents were taken to UPMC McKeesport hospital for treatment.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation by the Allegheny County Fire Marshal's Office.

Michael Palcsey and Jennifer Vertullo have more in the Daily News. The Watchdesk website has additional photos.

. . .

To Do This Weekend: You can help say goodbye to the "Daddio of the Raddio," Munhall native Porky Chedwick, at a dance Sunday night in Sharpsburg.

Chedwick, who pioneered the programming of so-called "race" music on Homestead's WHOD (860) in the late 1940s, is credited with introducing generations of white teen-agers to rhythm, rock and blues songs recorded by black artists.

At age 90, Chedwick is relocating to Florida after a radio career that has spanned 60 years and an untold number of stations, including WHOD's successor WAMO, Jeannette's WKFB (770) and McKeesport's WEDO (810).

The dance starts at 7 p.m. at Jimmy G's Restaurant, 1822 Main St., Sharpsburg. A donation of $10 will be requested. Call (412) 781-4884.

Posted at 5:17 pm by Jason Togyer
Filed Under: Events, News | one comment | Link To This Entry