Filed Under: News || By Jason Togyer
Category: Events || By Jason Togyer
Oldies Dance Saturday: Chuck Corby and Quiet Storm headline an oldies dance Saturday at the Palisades ballroom to raise money for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.
The dance is being hosted by Arlene's Team, comprised of friends and family of Arlene Duboy Crnkovich of White Oak, who died June 8 at the age of 53.
"Arlene's Team" will also be participating in the Relay for Life Aug. 7 and 8 at McKeesport Area High School.
Frankie Day of North Versailles-based WKFB (770) radio and local DJ Rich Antoncic will serve as masters of ceremonies.
Doors open at 6 p.m. and dancing begins at 7. Door prizes will be available, food will be free and draft beer will be sold for $1. Admission is $15.
Call (412) 370-2971 or visit the Palisades' website. The ballroom is located on Fifth Avenue at Water Street, near the McKees Point Marina.
. . .
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah: In the 1970s, Renziehausen Park played host to rock super groups such as Aerosmith and America. On Sunday night, get ready to scream your heart out as the venerable old Renzie bandshell hosts the biggest rock group of 'em all --- those mop-topped Liverpudlians, The Beatles!
OK, not really. But Pittsburgh-based tribute band "Beatlemania Magic" will invade Renzie as the summer concert series continues.
You can still feel free to scream your heart out, but how about doing it at home, OK?
The bandshell is located at the corner of Eden Park Boulevard and Tulip Drive. The show starts at 7 p.m. Bring a blanket or a lawn chair. Renzie summer concerts are free and sponsored by the City of McKeesport and the McKeesport Lions Club. Members of the Lions Club also will be collecting used pairs of eyeglasses, and refreshments will be available.
. . .
Blue Rock Reunion: Former fans of the Blue Rock Club in Port Vue will gather for a reunion Sunday afternoon at the Twin Oaks Lounge. Festivities begin at 2 p.m.
The Twin Oaks is located in Rainbow Village Shopping Center, corner of Lincoln Way and Route 48. Call (412) 678-3321 or visit the website.
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Category: News || By Staff Report
Police Chief Bryan Washowich recently released the department's statistics for May and June.
Last month, police made 199 arrests and issued 251 traffic citations. The totals are on par with last year's at the same point, the chief said.
Police ticketed 57 abandoned vehicles and towed 10 of them, Washowich said.
In May, city police made 166 arrests, including 34 juveniles. Officers issued 78 tickets to abandoned vehicles, towing 21 of them, Washowich said.
No serious incidents were reported during Independence Day festivities at Renziehausen Park on July 4, he said.
. . .
In related news, Washowich told city council earlier this month that police are committing to community outreach, including the weed-and-seed program.
Police officials on June 28 and 29 attended training sessions on community outreach, weed-and-seed, grant writing and related issues, Washowich said. Topics included respect for cultural diversity and facilitating meetings, he said.
McKeesport police are committed to working with as many at-risk kids as possible before they enter the criminal justice system, Washowich said.
"The police department is trying to reach out in every way to the community," he said.
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Category: Obscure Ephemera || By Jason Togyer
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Category: Shameless Horn-Tooting || By A Money Grubbing Weasel
Last year, Tube City Online and Lightning Community Broadcasting provided continuous live coverage of the 50th International Village.
We intend to do it again this year. But last year, we paid all of the expenses out of our own pocket, and we can't afford to do that again.
Our main expenses so far this year are renting a high-speed wireless connection and purchasing new equipment (including two second-hand computers). We've spent $551 already, and we're not done yet.
. . .
If you can donate a few dollars, we will very gladly and graciously accept your money. Use the ChipIn button to donate securely using PayPal or a credit card.
Thank you to Nancy N., Jamie S., Barry G. and Rita P. for supporting us already, and thank you for reading Tube City Online.
P.S.: Last year's International Village coverage is available for download.
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Category: News || By Jason Togyer
Don't get too used to those new bus routes that began debuting in April.
Unless some miracle closes a $47.1 million hole in Port Authority's budget, most Mon-Yough local bus service --- including all of the newly created lines serving McKeesport's suburbs --- is likely to be eliminated in January.
Port Authority will begin accepting public comments on the proposed cuts tomorrow. A hearing is set for 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 19 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh.
Under the proposal approved last week by Port Authority's board of directors, Clairton, Glassport, White Oak and several other communities would lose all bus service, and even popular commuter routes that connect McKeesport with downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland would see buses less frequently.
All told, more than 40 routes across Allegheny County would be eliminated. Two of the transit agency's bus garages also would be closed and more than 500 employees would be laid off.
. . .
Other transit agencies across Pennsylvania are facing similar cuts. Gov. Ed Rendell is proposing a series of fee and tax hikes to fund both mass transit and improvements to state-owned bridges and roads.
But political pundits say state legislators have little interest in enacting tax hikes before November's election --- and probably not after it, either.
If the changes go into effect on Jan. 9 as proposed, the transit agency would axe all service to Clairton and Glassport (Route 55), Christy Park and Versailles (Route 60), White Oak (Route 61), and Port Vue and Liberty boroughs (Route 62).
. . .
Bus service would be trimmed weekdays on the new 59 Mon Valley route. The line connects Century III Mall and the Wal-Mart in North Versailles, providing local stops in West Mifflin, Dravosburg, Duquesne and the Steel Valley and Woodland Hills areas.
Routes that connect the city with Pittsburgh also would see reduced service. All Sunday service would be eliminated on Route 56, which runs via Lincoln Place and Second Avenue.
Buses would be less frequent on the P7 McKeesport Flyer --- a new express service to downtown Pittsburgh which uses the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway --- and the 61C, a popular choice for students who attend college in Oakland.
. . .
Under a plan proposed by Rendell and approved in 2007 by the General Assembly, the state would have turned Interstate 80 into a toll road and used the money to fund the Port Authority and other transit agencies.
I-80 is already a toll road in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Pennsylvania officials estimated that tolling I-80 in the Commonwealth would have generated $946 million annually. About $472 million of that money would have been devoted to public transportation and highway and bridge repairs.
But federal officials have repeatedly rejected the state's request to turn Interstate 80 into a toll road, saying that all revenues generated by tolling an existing interstate must be used for maintenance on that highway, not for other purposes.
. . .
The plan also was criticized by Republican members of Pennsylvania's congressional delegation --- mainly from those representing rural northern counties served by I-80, but with little or no public transportation.
Critics of Port Authority --- including the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy, which has close ties to the Daily News and other newspapers that are part of the Tribune-Review chain --- say Port Authority created its own funding problems.
They say the agency spends too much money on salaries, pensions and benefits --- particularly for unionized employees --- and on wasteful projects such as the little-used Wabash Tunnel connector and the North Shore subway line, now under construction.
Others, including state Auditor General Jack Wagner, have said that the Port Authority has "poorly planned or implemented" its capital improvement programs. In audits released by his office in 2007, Wagner said the agency had "wasted millions of dollars" by paying what he called "lavish" pensions to former executives.
But the Port Authority claims it has acted to correct many of the problems identified by Wagner and others. The agency says that since Wagner released his audit findings in 2007, it has trimmed $52 million from its annual budget by cutting jobs, freezing executive salaries, trimming benefits and requiring increased health insurance and pension contributions from unionized workers.
. . .
With the plan to toll Interstate 80 off the table, Rendell has asked the General Assembly to increase the state's gasoline tax by three cents per gallon, along with raising the fees for renewing driver's licenses and vehicle registrations.
However, several newspapers, including the Philadelphia Inquirer, have reported that state legislators are unlikely to consider any tax or fee increases until after November's election --- and may wait until a new governor is sworn into office in January before taking any action.
. . .
In addition to the service cuts --- which would affect every section of Allegheny County, not just the Mon Valley --- Port Authority has also proposed increasing most fares by 25 cents. The cost of a ride on so-called "premium" routes, including the P7 McKeesport Flyer, would jump from $2.75 to $4.00.
Besides the Aug. 9 public hearing, the transit agency is accepting public comments on the cuts beginning Wednesday and continuing through Aug. 31. Comments should be made via Port Authority's website or by writing to Port Authority Fare & Service Proposals, Heinz 57 Center, 345 Sixth Avenue, Floor 3, Pittsburgh PA 15222-2527.
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Category: News || By Jason Togyer
Ground will be broken next month for three new houses on the site of the old Union Avenue reservoir.
The new single-family, split-level homes will complete a redevelopment project that started in 2008, says Jim Haughey, deputy director of McKeesport Housing Corp.
Progress was stalled temporarily by the lingering recession and the nationwide collapse in the housing market, he says. "We were finally fortunate enough to find a bank that was able to finance this," Haughey says.
The project is being funded in part by the Federal Home Loan Bank and financed by Warren, Pa., based Northwest Savings Bank.
Not affiliated with the McKeesport Housing Authority (which administers the city's public housing), MHC is a non-profit corporation that arranges low-cost financing and other assistance for renovations of old homes and construction of new homes.
Eight lots were carved out of the old reservoir site near Centennial Elementary School, but only seven are being used. General contractor on the project is Wayne Homes of Uniontown, Ohio.
When the three new houses are complete, Haughey says, MHC will have been involved in construction of a total of 10 homes in the neighborhood.
All of the houses have been sold, he says, and MHC is now "actively pursuing" new projects in the city.
In addition to MHC and the bank, other partners in the Union Avenue project include the McKeesport Neighborhood Initiative, the county's Department of Economic Development, the city's Redevelopment Authority, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
. . .
Meanwhile, the old Vienna Baking Company plant in the Highland Grove neighborhood is quickly disappearing.
Once the home of "Tastemaster" bread, cakes and other products, the 19,000-square-foot plant on Bowman Avenue employed 150 people in the early 1970s and supplied both supermarkets and restaurants, including some of the early McDonald's.
But in 1975, one of Vienna's owners, Alvin Klein, was convicted of insurance fraud in connection with a fire that was started at another bakery --- owned by a Vienna subsidiary --- in Louisville, Ky. One year later, Vienna was purchased by Schwebel's of Youngstown, Ohio. The McKeesport plant closed shortly thereafter.
The building was later used as an Allegheny County public works storage facility. According to Allegheny County tax records, the building was purchased in 1998 for $150,000 by Florida attorney Gust Sarris.
Four years later, court documents indicate, Sarris defaulted on a $350,000 mortgage with Citizens Bank, which then repossessed the building. It has remained vacant ever since.
Valued now at only $51,000, the building is being demolished by the bank at its own expense, city officials say.
The demolition leaves three blocks available for redevelopment --- possibly even for new homes, Mayor Jim Brewster says --- but the land will remain greenspace for now.
The former Highland Grove school nearby is also scheduled for demolition, Brewster says. Thousands of dollars in delinquent taxes are owed on the building, according to Allegheny County court records.
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Category: Shameless Horn-Tooting || By Who Cares?
Because this "Internet" thing isn't going away as fast as we'd hoped, Tube City Online is now available on Facebook.
Point your clickety thing over there and become a fan to receive regular updates, delivered directly to your computer machine via the Interweb tubes.
Don't forget we're also on Twitter. With these innovations in social media, Tube City Online has vaulted to among the top ranks of all non-profit news websites located in the Greater McKeesport area.
And to think, just a few short years ago we were having trouble getting "Frogger" to run on a Commodore 64!
The address is www.facebook.com/TubeCityOnline. There might also be a couple of forward slashes and an H-T-T-P and a couple of dots in there. Now, if you'll excuse us, we need a nap.
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Category: News || By Jason Togyer
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Category: News || By Jason Togyer
A road construction project that will close a busy stretch of Lincoln Way in White Oak for two months has been postponed --- but only until next week.
Inclement weather has forced crews to delay the start of work on a bridge near Oak Park Mall until July 26, says Jim Struzzi, district spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.
The work between Route 48 and the entrance to the Busy Beaver store includes replacement of an existing two-lane bridge that carries more than 14,000 cars daily.
General contractor is Clearwater Construction of Mercer County, Struzzi says.
Lincoln Way will be closed through September, he says. The posted detour requires motorists to use Route 30 instead of Lincoln Way.
. . .
Boston Bridge, 885 Work Slated: Meanwhile, several other repair projects will affect motorists this week --- if the weather cooperates.
On Wednesday and Thursday, crews from Mackin Engineering and Sofis Rigging Co. will be inspecting the Boston Bridge, which crosses the Youghiogheny River between Versailles and Elizabeth Township.
The work will restrict traffic to one lane in alternating directions between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., Struzzi says.
Also restricted is traffic on Route 885 --- Clairton Road --- in West Mifflin. PennDOT workers are repairing drainage pipes along 885 between Community College of Allegheny County's South Campus and the entrance to Century III Mall, Struzzi says. Part of New England Road is also affected by the drainage repairs.
. . .
Hunter Safety Course Offered: The Clairton Sportsmen's Club will host a two-day course in hunting and trapping on Aug. 6 and 7, a spokesman said.
Under state law, the course is mandatory for prospective hunters --- regardless of age --- who are about to purchase their first hunting or trapping license. Participants must attend on both days to receive credit for completing the course, and must be at least 11 years old by Aug. 6.
The course is taught by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Registration is required and participants may sign-up using the link at the club's website.
The Clairton Sportsmen's Club is located at 412 Coal Valley Road in Jefferson Hills.
. . .
West Mifflin Vets Host BBQ: Local veterans hosted a barbecue for U.S. Navy reservists and their families on July 10 at the Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center in North Versailles Township.
The event --- which served some 200 people --- was organized through a California-based non-profit group called "BBQ for our Troops," says Mike Mauer, spokesman and quartermaster for Veterans of Foreign Wars "Intrepid" Post 914, based in West Mifflin.
"This is the type of thing our post likes to do," Mauer says. "We're able to interact directly with families in the active military and let them know that the West Mifflin Veterans of Foreign Wars is there to help."
The servicemen and women were from Surgical Company Alpha of the Marine Corps' Fourth Medical Battalion.
Several members of the unit have already been on multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, Mauer says. The local company is based in North Versailles, though its headquarters is in San Diego.
The post also donated $100 to the Ohio-Michigan chapter of BBQ for our Troops, he says. Founded in 2002, the organization specializes in serving "authentic, slow-cooked barbecue" to members of the armed forces.
Because some of the meals take up to 15 hours to prepare, Mauer says members of Post 914 --- including Chaplain Ken Curcio, Ernest Basser, Bernie Zurawski and Dave Luikart, and Curcio's wife, Lisa --- arrived at the reserve center and began cooking the night before.
"For us to roll up our sleeves and help dish out a hot meal is the least we can do for those who are helping preserve our nation's freedoms," Mauer says.
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Category: Commentary/Editorial, Events || By Jason Togyer
Although there are many days lately when I wish I had a hobby other than managing Tube City Online, one of the great pleasures of running this website remains meeting great people like Adam Lynch.
The city native --- who got his "start in journalism" by folding papers in the mailroom of The Daily News --- is known throughout the Tri-State area for his long tenure on Pittsburgh's major TV newscasts, and is one of the few people I can think of who's worked for all three major network affiliates in the market.
After a brief stop at KDKA, Lynch moved to the former WIIC-TV (now WPXI) from 1963 to 1978. Beginning in 1980, he could be seen on WTAE-TV, where he retired in 1993.
. . .
But his very first broadcasting job was at WEDO, when it was located on Fifth Avenue, not far from the G.C. Murphy Co. home office. A few years ago, I sought him out to interview him about WEDO's early days, and we met at a local restaurant for lunch.
"You know," Lynch said, "I was skeptical when you first contacted me, but now I realize that you and I might be the only two people in the world who give a damn about what WEDO Radio was like in 1948."
. . .
Lynch remains active, currently contributing articles on military history, conservation, aviation and a variety of other topics to local and national magazines. In 2008, a feature story he wrote for Pittsburgh Quarterly won a Golden Quill Award for sportswriting.
He also happens to be a gentleman and a heck of a nice guy.
. . .
Lynch is the next participant in McKeesport Heritage Center's Summer Speaker Series. His talk at 2 p.m. Saturday will cover his career in broadcasting and his memories of growing up in McKeesport.
(As teen-agers, Lynch told me, he and future Daily News photographer William "Jasper" Ross used to borrow a car and play "roving reporters" around town, with one manning the "camera" and the other narrating the "action" he saw.)
The event is free and open to the public. The Heritage Center is located at 1832 Arboretum Drive in Renziehausen Park, and is wheelchair accessible. Call (412) 678-1832 for information or visit the website.
Unfortunately, I can't be there. (Ironically, I have to be on the radio on Saturday afternoon, just not at WEDO.) But you make sure to attend. It should be a lot of fun.
. . .
Lynch loaned me a small pamphlet published during his years at WEDO which includes photos of a number of people who worked at the radio station, including another longtime Pittsburgh broadcaster, Al McDowell, a talk-show host, newscaster and father of WDVE-FM's Sean.
Click the "More" link --- below --- to see some of the pages.
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Category: News || By Jason Togyer
No signs are necessary to tell people to slow down on Grandview Avenue.
When a car's wheels go thudding from the paved surface onto the grooved and rutted concrete or bricks underneath, its driver slows way down.
Grandview is one of several streets around the city where crews have removed the old pavement --- a process called "milling" --- but haven't yet laid new asphalt. And it's driving (pardon the pun) many people nuts.
"Unfortunately, every year we have to do all of the milling and grind all of the pavement off all at one time, because that's why we get the price we get from the (contractor)," Mayor James Brewster says.
The city doesn't have its own milling machine, but it does have a newly purchased road paver, and it is out and working, the mayor says. Crews will get to all of the streets left unfinished within a few weeks, he says.
. . .
Grandview Avenue, however, is proving to be particularly problematic, Brewster says. Construction began back in June and stalled.
The street has long been plagued by a "washboard" effect that caused the blacktop pavement to buckle. (Some people call it Grandview's "rumble strips.")
West Penn Railways operated streetcars in the Grandview area until 1937. Although the rails were removed, wooden railroad ties underneath were left in place, the mayor says. (A photo on page 147 of the 1999 book McKeesport Trolleys shows some of those wooden ties being laid by a West Penn crew on nearby Versailles Avenue under the rails and bricks.)
The railroad ties have now rotted, Brewster says. "That's caused the bricks to sink, and we've got to dig the whole road up," he says.
. . .
Meanwhile, Brewster says the city can "safely say" that it will have enough money left over from the reconstruction of West Fifth Avenue to pave the ramps leading to the W.D. Mansfield Memorial Bridge.
A $1 million state grant was supposed to cover only the area between Ramp Two and Rebecca Street, but the decision not to remove the streetcar tracks will free up some of the money.
State Department of Transportation officials must still sign off on that use of the money, City Administrator Dennis Pittman says. A PennDOT spokesman told the Almanac last month there would probably not be any legal problems with using the money to extend the paving.
. . .
Although it may not seem fast enough for people who work in the area, work is also proceeding rapidly on Fifth Avenue between Water and Coursin streets, Brewster says.
Under the state's Home Town Streets program, crews from Power Contracting Co. of Carnegie are widening the street, rebuilding curbs and making other improvements.
City officials are pushing the contractor to finish most of the project before the "Salute to Santa Claus" parade in November, Brewster says, but Power's contract gives them until the spring to complete the work.
. . .
Another public works project on the city's summer "to-do" list is creation of a sidewalk between Market and Walnut streets in the Third Ward.
The sidewalk will be created along the path of the former 12th Avenue, which is closed and is going to be permanently vacated, Brewster says.
The area is slated for redevelopment when a new regional county court facility is constructed in the city.
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Category: News || By Jason Togyer
Mon Valley residents who want to put a stop to violence --- especially among African-American teen-agers --- need to stop "talking the talk and start walking the walk."
That's the opinion of Keith Murphy, a McKeesport native and director of Bethany House Academy, a counseling, educational and anti-violence resource for young residents of Pittsburgh's St. Clair Village and Northview Heights public housing complexes.
"McKeesport is turning into someplace I don't know," Murphy told city council last week. "This is not the McKeesport I grew up in. We need to help."
. . .
The city was rocked in June by a triple homicide at a birthday party in the Crawford Village public housing complex. One day later, a jitney driver was shot in the head in a Crawford Village parking lot.
Police quickly arrested suspects in both cases, but the shootings left residents frightened and were a serious blow to the city's already negative image.
Rival groups of street gangs also are active in certain neighborhoods, especially in the Seventh Ward, and violence has been reported between teen-agers from neighboring communities who are defending their "turf."
. . .
All sides seem to agree that McKeesport Area School District needs to play a bigger role in defusing tensions between kids from different neighborhoods.
"A lot of these beefs are starting in schools," Mayor Jim Brewster said, "and I think we should challenge the school board to accept this."
But city officials remain split on the value of calling in outside experts.
. . .
At last week's council meeting, Brewster and new Councilwoman V. Fawn Walker had a heated argument over the value of calling in one anti-violence advocate from Pittsburgh. Walker and Brewster clashed over the same issue at May's council meeting.
"It's hard for me to move past the issue when people are dying and especially when young African-American men are dying," Walker said. "It's deep in my heart and something I've been praying on."
City leaders "need to get past this (objection) to not inviting outsiders in," she said.
. . .
Yet Brewster and some other city officials have argued that a few Pittsburgh groups are more interested in fund-raising and self-promotion than helping reach troubled kids.
One such counselor staged a "lavish luncheon" at the Palisades, Councilman Darryl Segina said, where he offered a lot of criticism but few solutions or ideas.
"I don't need him coming into town, bashing the municipal officials, and then passing out slick brochures with the words 'killings in McKeesport' on them, dripping with blood," Segina said.
. . .
Some groups have a publicity-driven approach that works in a big-city media market like Pittsburgh, but isn't as effective in a smaller city such as McKeesport, Murphy said.
However, he said, those groups also have access to financial resources that can be used locally. "We need to get as much attention on this problem as possible," Murphy said.
The city has several anti-violence programs, many of them done in conjunction through churches, Brewster said, and coordinated with the police department through its "Weed and Seed" program.
. . .
But without participation from schools --- where many of the most at-risk kids spend eight hours per day --- Brewster admitted that the city's programs amount to "pockets of effort."
"I don't want to bash the schools, but our facilities are limited," he said. "We need to reach these kids when we have them as a captive audience."
Both Murphy and Brewster said they had each encountered difficulty in getting the school district to cooperate with anti-violence programs. "We need to be demanding it," Murphy said.
. . .
Above all, Murphy said, parents, grandparents and neighbors need to get involved. "I think a lot of families are afraid of their children," he said, adding that many Mon Valley residents are talking an anti-violence message, but "they don't walk it."
A "community day of piece" is set for this Saturday at Crawford Village, while the annual "Rally in the Valley" will be held at Renziehausen Park in August.
Rallies and mass meetings are useful, Murphy told council, but outpourings of grief and emotion have to translate into action.
"In Chicago, 28 people were killed in a single weekend," he said. "They called a prayer vigil and 3,000 people came out, but then they went home and didn't do anything. Can you imagine if each one of those 3,000 people had reached out to one kid?"
. . .
Many residents are "gung ho" now, but Walker fears that as the recent shootings fade into memory, they'll get complacent --- at least until the next rash of violence.
"Everyone needs to remain consistently on it," she said. "I just wish it was something we were more proactive on and less reactive on."
. . .
A Community Day of Peace will be held at Moran Field on Market Street, Downtown, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday. Activities will include a video game tournament, a three-on-three basketball tournament, entertainment and other activities for kids and their parents and grandparents.
On August 7, Mon-Yough communities will hold a daylong series of events highlighting violence and drug abuse prevention. The first is a "Walk, Run and Ride Against Drugs, Violence and Abuse Among Our Youth." The 5K event begins at Renzie at 9 a.m. and ends at the Palisades.
The annual "Rally in the Valley," sponsored by the Mon-Valley Concerned Citizens Committee, begins that afternoon at 1 p.m. in Renzie. Events include entertainment, motivational speakers and interdenominational worship services.
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Category: News || By Jason Togyer
An aggressive city-wide effort at curfew enforcement begins tonight, when six police officers will be out questioning and arresting juveniles who are on the streets after 10 p.m.
"We're going after a lot of things that are disrupting our neighborhoods," police Chief Bryan Washowich says.
For the last four weeks, police have been issuing curfew warnings, but tonight, they're making arrests, he says.
"We're trying to be civil and understanding," Washowich says. "It's tough (for kids), because it is hot out, and there are a lot of people who are hanging out on their front or back porches."
. . .
But police have received complaints from many neighborhoods about teens making noise and disturbing other residents.
Many of those reports have come in on the police department's new "silent complaint forms," which can be picked up at city hall or the Weed and Seed Office at 617 Sinclair St. (The forms may also be downloaded from Tube City Online.)
Based on those forms, Washowich says, "we have a list of different areas we are going to be targeting."
. . .
The curfew enforcement isn't designed to penalize children, but to send a message to their parents to bring their kids under control, Mayor James Brewster says.
"I've talked to a lot of kids since I've been mayor, maybe 2,000 of them, and a lot of them are good kids," he says. "Our goal is not to arrest these kids, but we've got to get the attention of their parents."
"We need to start enforcing all of the tools that we have available to us," Brewster says.
. . .
Several of those tools have a high-tech flavor. City police will soon begin using the free Nixle service to send crime alerts and emergency warnings via email and cell phone, Washowich says.
Residents who want to be automatically notified of an emergency should go to Nixle's website to register. The service is free, but messages sent to cell phones will carry the phone company's usual texting costs, if any.
Police agencies from Santa Cruz, Calif., to Amarillo, Texas, and New Haven, Conn., are already using Nixle, according to the company's website. In Fayetteville, N.C., police credit Nixle with helping them to nab three fugitives already, the Fayetteville, N.C., Observer reported last month.
. . .
Unlike Twitter or other social-networking services, only municipalities and public safety agencies may use Nixle, which should keep it free of advertising, "spam" and other junk messages.
But what Washowich called "positive" messages --- updates about city news or events --- can also be distributed using the service. The police chief says he will personally approve all public-safety messages, while other alerts will be approved by Brewster.
City police also this week launched a Facebook page.
"The police department is trying to reach out in every way to the community," Washowich says.
. . .
Update: It's not just city residents who can sign up for Nixle, because the McKeesport police department isn't the only local agency using the service.
T.C. Tiger just signed up, and he found police from White Oak, Port Vue, North Huntingdon and Pleasant Hills are among the participants. If you live in any Mon-Yough community, give Nixle a try. You can register your cell phone, email or both.
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Category: News || By Jason Togyer
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Category: Commentary/Editorial || By Jason Togyer
We are not going to be writing about the heat at Tube City Almanac.
We are not going to tell you that you should stay indoors, seek air-conditioned buildings if possible, avoid exertion, and drink lots of water.
If you are too stupid to understand that, you probably can't read, either.
I hate to sound like a social Darwinist or, for gawd's sake, a libertarian, but maybe events such as heat waves are nature's way of putting some much-needed chlorine into the gene pool.
. . .
Do you really need to be told that it's hot outside? Most reporters (or, more likely, their editors) seem to think so.
For instance, from the Tribune-Review this morning, I learned that taking a bath or shower is a good way to cool off. Also, Duquesne Light recommends not using heat-generating appliances, such as ovens. Killjoys!
Down in Monessen, the Valley Independent has this valuable tip: If someone is suffering from heat exhaustion, get them out of the sun and put cool, damp towels on their head. Really? I thought you were supposed to give them hot coffee, followed by a heating pad. No wonder I failed the entrance exam at the Pittsburgh Diesel Institute School of Medicine.
The Post-Gazette broke the news that ice cream and Popsicles are selling well, while in Uniontown, the Herald-Standard adds that swimming pools are also busy.
Whodathunkit?
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I'm not one of those people who thinks that the Internet is killing newspapers. No, I think newspapers are committing suicide. Not one single person is going to plunk down 50 cents tomorrow (or more, in the case of the Post-Gazette) to read about the heat wave.
And it's not just newspapers. Last night on the 11 p.m. news, KDKA-TV reported that it's a good idea to apply sunscreen before spending time outdoors. WDUQ-FM explained that people should avoid "hot foods and heavy meals."
Apparently, if they didn't report on this heat wave, people would be walking around saying, "Gee, I'm sweating and getting a sunburn. I sure wish someone would explain this mysterious phenomenon. In the meantime, pass me another bowl of beef stew!"
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The best commentary on these heat wave stories comes from former newspaper columnist Nancy Nall Derringer, a friend of the Tube City Almanac, who notes:
The heat-wave story makes you stupider just thinking about it, let alone reporting it.
On the metro desk of the Nance Times, we tell people that heat waves are an excellent time to exercise strenuously outdoors, right around 4 p.m.
Don't drink water; in fact, high heat is an excellent time to lose that pesky water weight. Have a beer if you're thirsty. Have five! Then have a long nap on the front lawn, preferably in direct sunlight.
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Category: Cartoons || By Jason Togyer
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Category: Events || By Staff Report
Independence Day promises wonderful weather and a complete lineup of free entertainment at Renziehausen Park, capped with fireworks at sunset.
At 2 p.m. Sunday at the Renzie bandshell, it's Greensburg's Tim Scott Band, followed by the Cajun and zydeco stylings of the Ray Ryan Riverside Band at 5 p.m. and the doo-wop revival sound of The New Holidays at 8 p.m.
All shows are sponsored by the McKeesport Lions Club and the city's recreation department. Admission and parking are free, but bring a blanket or lawn chair. Refreshments will be on sale. The Lions Club is also collecting used eyeglasses for the needy and selling handmade straw brooms at all shows.
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Planotones Play Palisades: Direct from New York City, it's Kenny Vance and the Planotones at the Palisades Ballroom for a 9 p.m. concert on Saturday. Seating is limited and general admission tickets are $30.
Call (412) 370-2971 or visit the Palisades website. The Palisades is located on Fifth Avenue at Water Street, Downtown, next to the McKees Point Marina and the Jerome Avenue Bridge.
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Category: News || By Jason Togyer
The McKeesport Trail Commission has distributed the newest issue of its newsletter, In the Loop, and it's chock-full of useful information. You can download it from our website. (Thanks to commission President Linda Brewster and Secretary Joyce MacGregor for giving us permission to offer the download.)
Among other tidbits comes word that the McKees Cafe, located on the first floor of the Palisades, is open again for the spring and summer. Hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
One feature not to be missed is the wall of cyclists' signatures, including names from around the country and world who have traveled through the Mon-Yough area on the Great Allegheny Passage. And I can personally attest to the fact that while the service is occasionally leisurely (they're running a pretty tight operation, staff-wise) the food is good, the prices are reasonable and the meals (particularly the breakfasts) are cooked fresh and are very filling.
The newsletter reports that the commission is currently working on plantings for the junction of the Great Allegheny Passage and city "Loop" trail near the 15th Avenue Bridge. With assistance from the city's public works department, weeds have been removed, trees and bushes pruned and new, hardier plants have been planted.
Landscaping areas near Water Street and Lysle Boulevard are also being worked on, according to the newsletter. The new plants, soil and mulch are being provided in part by grants from the McKeesport College Club and the Confederation of McKeesport District Women's Clubs.
Also from the newsletter comes word that the trail commission is raffling off a Marin "Drakes Beach Cruiser" bicycle to benefit future trail improvements.
Tickets are $3 and will be on sale at International Village Aug. 17 to 19, and can also be purchased from trail commission members. The drawing will be held Aug. 19.
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Category: News || By Jason Togyer
Rich Kugler drives past the former Renzie Mini Mart on Eden Park Boulevard practically every day. And each time he does, he gets the same feeling of frustration.
"It's driving me crazy," says Kugler, who owns Lampert's Market in Grandview along with his wife, Jan.
For nearly two years, Kugler has been trying to open a deli version of Lampert's --- regionally famous for its kolbassi and other ethnic foods --- in the mini-mart property, which he bought at a sheriff's sale.
But without getting an environmental clearance from authorities, he can't get a bank loan. And without additional testing --- for which no one has the money --- he can't get that clearance.
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So even though the "Lampert's Deli Express" signs have gone up, the store isn't open. Kugler is instead stuck paying for a building he can't use. He estimates he's got $100,000 tied up already.
"I'm upset, but I'm not discouraged," Kugler says. "It's my problem, but it's not my fault."
The site was used as a gasoline station for at least a half-century. Over the years, gasoline, oil and other contaminants leaked into the groundwater from underground storage tanks.
With assistance from the West-to-West Coalition, which helps clean up "brownfield" sites, all of the tanks and pipes have been removed from the ground under the station, says Bethany Bauer, the city's community development coordinator.
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However, federal law requires the owners of old gas stations to make sure no environmental hazards remain behind whenever the storage tanks are removed.
During the spring and summer of 2009, samples were taken from wells drilled in the area around the mini-mart. According to documents provided to Tube City Almanac by the state Department of Environmental Protection, those tests found higher-than-normal levels of chemicals used in gasoline, including methyl tert-butyl ether, benzene and napthalene, all of which were used to boost octane.
Long-term human exposure to those chemicals --- whether from vapors or absorption into the skin --- has been linked to organ failure, birth defects and certain types of cancer.
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But Katy Gresh, a regional spokeswoman for DEP, says the pollution doesn't present any risk to the surrounding homes in Hall Park or to people using Renziehausen Park.
"Some of the numbers in some of the categories are higher than we'd like to see," Gresh says, "but there's no health hazard."
None of the nearby homes is using a well, so no one is in danger of drinking polluted water, and no vapors are leaking into nearby buildings, she says.
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And Gresh says the contamination is not responsible for the dead fish that were found last year in nearby Lake Emilie -- the only contaminant found in the water was bacteria from animal droppings, probably from the geese that populate the pond.
The contamination also presents no threat to people who would work, shop or eat at the store when it's open, Gresh says. "It isn't stopping Mr. Kugler from opening his business," she says.
But state law outlines very specific procedures for certifying that underground storage tanks have been properly removed and cleaned up.
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To issue that certification, DEP needs to have additional samples taken, further away from the mini mart, to determine the extent of the contamination.
No more grant money was available for testing in fiscal year 2009-10, Bauer says. As a result, Kugler's lender won't release the start-up money he needs to open the store, possibly for fears of a future lawsuit.
Gas station owners can pay into an insurance fund that protects them from such lawsuits, but the station's previous operator allowed the policy to lapse, Bauer says.
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Because the property was sold at sheriff's sale, Kugler says, the previous owner is not liable for cleanup. Court and tax records indicate the station was owned by Pecora Enterprises of North Huntingdon Township from 1993 until 2008.
The city is hoping that additional grant money for more testing will be available in the new fiscal year that started today, Bauer says. It's also asked U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle to see if any federal funds are available.
In the meantime, Kugler is waiting patiently, though he's clearly eager to get back to work on the new store.
"We don't know how long it's going to take," he says. "All we need is a little bit of help. All we can do is hope."
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