Filed Under: Announcements || By Submitted Report
Category: Announcements || By Submitted Report
As a public service, Tube City Community Media Inc. again will make available this space as a free, public outlet for local political candidates.
(Editor's Note: As of today, we have received exactly one announcement. I am underwhelmed.)
If you know any political candidates, please let them know of this opportunity. Deadline is May 7; profiles will be published at Tube City Online on May 13.
Profiles received after the deadline will be published at the editor's option, time permitting.
Category: Announcements || By Submitted Report
Category: Announcements || By Submitted Report
McKeesport Area Ministerium will hold a Prayer Service at 7 p.m. Thursday at Rainbow Temple, Shaw Avenue, to mark the National Day of Prayer, spokeswoman Kris Rhoades said. Everyone is welcome.
Category: Announcements || By Submitted Report
Category: Announcements || By Submitted Report
Category: Commentary/Editorial || By Jason Togyer
I almost didn't write Wednesday's editorial, because I thought I all of the points I made were really obvious ones.
(I wrote it Wednesday, under the influence of a couple of belts of scotch, but I slept on it overnight and finally let it post on Thursday.)
Only in McKeesport would it be controversial to say that the city needs a concerted effort to take over abandoned buildings and encourage the development of small, start-up, low-cost businesses. It's being done all over the country. To quote Jack Bogut, that could come straight out of the Duh Institute for the Obvious.
And yet ... very few people seem to be saying it. Councilwoman V. Fawn Walker-Montgomery is trying resurrect the Downtown Business District Authority and put together a business association, which is (in my humble opinion) one of the things that needs to happen.
But frankly, I'm not sure how much support she's getting other than lip service. I was invited to attend the March meeting. There were three people, including me; Corey Sanders, who owns Kool Kutz; and Councilwoman Walker-Montgomery.
In the comments on the editorial, Julie asks: "This is all well and good. This article could have been written 10, 20 years ago." (She's exactly right.)
Julie adds: "The fundamental question to ask is who is willing to put forth the effort? Who are the drivers of change? Where are the interest groups working to clean up the town? Who is seeking grants to support new projects? Where are the young people who can volunteer in community activities? While I think it is never too late to act, someone must step forward and lead or change and, ultimately, prosperity will always be a pipe dream."
Category: News || By Submitted Report
County police are urging smartphone users to install a new app that allows them to report suspicious activity.
The "See Something, Send Something" app was developed by My Mobile Witness and is available at no cost to iPhone and Android phone users.
"With the recent explosions in Boston, we are reminded once again that we must remain vigilant and aware of what is going on around us in our communities," said Alvin Henderson Jr., county chief of emergency services. "Residents are really our eyes and ears."
Residents should continue to call 9-1-1 or their local emergency number if they see crime or dangerous activity, officials said.
But the My Mobile Witness app allows smartphone users to take a photo or send a note about other activity that poses less immediate danger, but still seems suspicious, such as packages left unattended.
The app was introduced by the Pennsylvania State Police and connects directly with the Pennsylvania Criminal Intelligence Center, County Police Superintendent Charles Moffatt said.
Category: News || By Submitted Report
County and city police are asking for the public's help in finding a suspect wanted in connection with a fatal shooting March 29.
Police are looking for Deamonte Shakoor, 20, who is described as 5-feet-7, weighing 160 pounds, with brown eyes.
Shakoor is wanted in connection with the shooting of McKeesport Area High School sophomore Kellcy Thomas in the 1400 block of Evans Avenue on Good Friday.
Police said Shakoor is considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information is asked to call Allegheny County police homicide at (412) 473-3000, McKeesport police at (412) 675-5015, or dial 9-1-1.
Category: Commentary/Editorial || By Jason Togyer
Category: News || By Submitted Report
A South Allegheny High School senior has won first place in the annual art contest sponsored by U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle.
A painting in acrylics entitled, "My Artistic Discovery: Mona and Me," by Stephanie Taylor will hang in the U.S. Capitol for one year, a spokesman for Doyle's office said.
Taylor's work was selected from 58 entries received from 12 schools in Doyle's district. Last year, she took fifth place in the competition for her oil painting, "Shades of Green," and two years ago, Taylor was awarded second prize. She won the competition in 2010.
"We received nearly 60 outstanding entries for this year's competition, and the judges labored long and hard to rate these artworks," said Doyle, a Democrat from Forest Hills. "The creativity and effort that these students put into their work is clear, and their talent is obvious in the compositions they submitted. They all should be proud of their submissions."
The winners were announced and recognized at an awards ceremony held Monday night at the University of Pittsburgh's William Pitt Union.
Category: News || By Jason Togyer
Category: Announcements || By Submitted Report
Penn State's McKeesport campus will hold its Spring 2013 commencement ceremony at 11 a.m. May 4 in the Wunderley Gymnasium.
Greater Allegheny Chancellor Curtiss E. Porter will preside as diplomas are conferred to students receiving baccalaureate and associate degrees.
The keynote speaker is Michelle Fabrizi, president and CEO of MARC USA, one of the nation's largest independent advertising agencies.
Fabrizi joined MARC USA in 1982 and in 2003 was named president and CEO of the nationwide advertising division. Prior to this, as president and CEO of MARC USA's Pittsburgh headquarters, she oversaw a 200 percent increase in billings in her first two years.
Fabrizi is respected as a leading professional in her field, and Adweek magazine has cited her as one of the outstanding women in advertising.
She serves on the board of directors and executive committee of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, where she led the development of the new regional brand and the marketing efforts for Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary. She also serves on the executive committee and board of the United Way of Allegheny County and was the first woman to chair the annual fundraising campaign.
Fabrizi chairs the boards of directors of both the Pittsburgh Opera and the Andy Warhol Museum. She also is a trustee of the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh.
Category: News || By Jason Togyer
Allegheny CleanWays is seeking volunteers to help clean debris and junk from the Youghiogheny River in the city and upstream.
Category: News || By Submitted Report
The Allegheny County Elections Division today reminded residents who wish to vote in the upcoming May 21 primary election that they must be registered by April 22.
Registered voters who have moved or changed their name or party affiliation must also notify the Elections Division by April 22. Individuals must be registered in a political party in order to vote in that party's primary.
In order to qualify to vote, one must be a United States citizen at least one month prior to the primary, a resident of Pennsylvania and his or her election district at least 30 days before the primary, and 18 years of age on or before the day of the primary.
Individuals needing to register may apply in person between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the Office of the Registration Commission in Room 609 of the County Office Building located at 542 Forbes Ave., downtown Pittsburgh.
The Elections Division will remain open until 5:00 p.m. on April 22 to accept hand-delivered voter registration forms.
Category: News || By Submitted Report
Allegheny County Police will collect unwanted, unused and expired prescription drugs and other medications from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 27, at the county police station located at 1801 Buffalo Drive, South Park Twp.
The effort is part of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's sixth National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. All medications collected will be disposed of safely and properly. No liquid medications or needles will be accepted.
During the last Drug Take-Back Day on September 29, 2012, more than 244 tons of unwanted and expired medications were collected at 5,263 sites across the nation. Since its inception in 2010, the effort has safely and properly disposed of nearly 1,018 tons of prescription drugs.
Allegheny County Police have participated in each National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day.
Other Mon-Yough area police stations participating, according to the DEA, include Elizabeth Twp., Lincoln, Munhall, North Huntingdon Twp., North Versailles Twp. and Pleasant Hills.
Clairton will have two locations --- at Livingston's Pharmacy, 550 Miller Ave. and Rite-Aid at 623 St. Clair Ave. East Pittsburgh police also will be participating with a drop-off point located at Lanigan Funeral Home, 700 Linden Ave.
Category: News || By Submitted Report
View McKeesport Grand Prix Route in a larger map
The Appalachian Bicycle Racing Association comes to the city April 27 for an all-day event in Renziehausen Park.
ABRA and the McKeesport Trail Commission announced that the McKeesport Grand Prix will be conducted on a course through the park beginning at 10 a.m. and concluding at 3 p.m. Separate races will be held for men, women, teen-agers and kids.
The race is part of ABRA's Criterium Series and is being sponsored by West Liberty Cycles.
Eden Park Boulevard and some facilities in the park, including McKeesport Regional History and Heritage Center, will be closed to through traffic during the race, but the public is welcome to watch and cheer on participants, spokespersons said.
Parking will be available at McKeesport Area High School. Online registration continues through April 25. The race is sanctioned by USA Cycling.
Category: News || By Submitted Report
Duquesne-based Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank is asking Facebook users to help it receive a $45,000 grant from Walmart.
A food bank spokeswoman says the giant discount retail chain is donating $3 million to Feeding America food banks and their partner agencies through a program called Fighting Hunger Together.
Grantees are determined by votes via a Facebook application, and participants must vote once per day through April 30. The 40 food banks with the highest votes each win a $45,000 grant.
The money would help provide more than 200,000 meals this summer for needy kids, according to the food bank. For more information, visit the food bank's website.
In other news, the food bank also announced that McKeesport's Corpus Christi Roman Catholic Church raised more than $7,000 for the food bank during its lenten fish fry, and that ROTC cadets from West Mifflin Area High School in March collected more than $1,000 and 144 pounds of food for the facility.
Category: News || By Submitted Report
Category: News || By Submitted Report
Work begins Monday to improve Walnut Street in the city and State Street in Clairton, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation announced.
Lane closures and restrictions will occur as needed in the work areas daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and overnight from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday through Fridays through June, said Jim Struzzi, district PennDOT spokesman.
Crews will be repaving Walnut Street --- Route 148 --- between the 15th Avenue Bridge and Lysle Boulevard, and Clairton's State Street (Route 837) from the Glassport/Clairton Bridge to New England Road.
The projects are included in a $1.6 million contract with Tresco Paving Corporation of Plum for improvements on several roadways in Allegheny County, Struzzi said.
Category: Commentary/Editorial || By Jason Togyer
Since my little announcement on Tuesday, some people have said very nice things. Thank you. I wasn't fishing for compliments, but it's nice when you throw them into the boat.
Yes, there will still be news here. But generally, I'm going back to writing with a bias about those things that interest me, which is how this all started out back in 1996 or thereabouts.
In other words: Caveat lector, which is Latin for, "Don't say I didn't warn you."
Here's another reason for my decision to change directions a little bit. I can't really say I'm covering "news" because I can't really cover "news."
First, I don't have the capability to cover most (or even much) "news." Covering just police and fire news, for instance, is a full-time job, so I've generally ignored it, unless someone sends something to me.
That gets to back to the idea of why "citizen journalism" is basically a joke, in my opinion; gathering news takes time, and people need to be compensated for their time, unless they're independently wealthy, which I'm not.
Second, I'm not covering "all of the news." I'm compromised because I know certain information that's privileged, and I don't write about it.
Look, I sit on the boards of three non-profit organizations (not including Tube City Media), including two that do business with the city. I thought I could work both sides of the street; I can't, in clear conscience, and I need to stop pretending that I can.
This is another problem with "citizen journalism." "Citizen journalists" are going to write about those things that are fun or interesting, and those things generally do not include (for instance) the details of pension plans.
Or, they're going to write about subjects where they have axes to grind and causes to promote. Most of what passes for "news" at The Huffington Post could be put into those categories, which is why I generally regard much of The Huffington Post as about as reliable as the gossip I pick up at the barbershop.
I realize I'm a nut, and maybe this just sounds pretentious, but I would like Tube City Almanac to be a little bit more transparent than the HuffPo.
Category: Commentary/Editorial || By Jason Togyer
Category: Announcements || By Submitted Report
Penn State Greater Allegheny will hold its 30th annual Honors Convocation at 7 p.m. Wednesday (April 10) in the Wunderley Gymnasium on campus. Chancellor Curtiss E. Porter will preside. Nearly 100 Penn State Greater Allegheny students will receive awards for academic achievement and leadership.
Each year, scholarships are awarded in a number of categories, such as academic achievement, honors and scholars, National Honor Society in Psychology, Psi Chi, and the Chancellor's Literary Awards, which are selected by the chancellor to represent the best from among the literary and visual arts produced at the campus by either full- or part-time students.
Other named scholarships and campus awards cover a broad range of criteria for each respective honor, such as the John W. Beatty Memorial Scholarship, Kalich Family Student Leadership Award, and the Rhodes Student Leadership Award, which recognizes academic achievement and community service by an undergraduate student at Greater Allegheny.
In addition, the Penn State Greater Allegheny Alumni Society will award scholarships from its endowed fund.
Category: Announcements || By Submitted Report
Twenty-three new food establishments opened in Allegheny County in March, a spokeswoman for the Allegheny County Health Department said.
There were 10 restaurants, three confectionaries, three coffee houses, three convenience stores, a wholesaler, one social club, a cafeteria, and a mobile vendor.
"The Health Department's monthly report highlights the new restaurants that use trans-fat free cooking oils," Acting County Health Director Ron Voorhees said. "Four out of the 10 eateries opening last month cook with these healthier oils."
New food vendors licensed in the Mon-Yough area include Old Patton Township Social Club, 1513 Maple Avenue, Turtle Creek; Nish Spooney's Convenience Store, 2009 Noble St., Swissvale; and Coffee Tree Roasters, 10 Old Clairton Road, Pleasant Hills.
Category: Announcements, Politics || By Webmaster
(Political Candidates: Deadline for submissions to Tube City Almanac is May 7. Entries will be published May 13. Details below.)
. . .
As a public service, Tube City Community Media Inc. again will make available this space as a free, public outlet for local political candidates --- with strict rules attached.
If you know any political candidates, please let them know of this opportunity. Deadline is May 7; profiles will be published at Tube City Online on May 13.
Profiles received after the deadline will be published at the editor's option, time permitting.
. . .
Category: News || By Jacqueline Dell
Category: News || By Jason Togyer
City officials are considering a retirement incentive program for senior employees in hopes of trimming overhead and opening the way to promotions.
Council on Wednesday tabled a vote on the creation of a "deferred retirement option program," or "DROP," for city firefighters, pending further discussion. Mayor Michael Cherepko said his administration also will bring council a similar program for other employees, including police.
The "DROP" currently being reviewed by council would allow firefighters with at least 22 years' service who are at least 54 years old to receive a lump-sum payment equivalent to up to three years' pension benefits, provided they fulfill certain other conditions.
. . .
Actuaries hired by the city have assured officials that the DROP would either save money or --- at worst --- be cost-neutral, Cherepko said.
But Council President Darryl Segina said he and his colleagues need additional information --- including the actuaries' estimates on the cost of implementing DROPs --- before council can vote. "This is a very important bill, and once something like this goes into a contract, you will never be able to take it out," he said.
Category: Announcements || By Submitted Report
Traffic on the Mansfield Bridge will occasionally be halted this week as crews pour concrete.
Allegheny County spokeswoman Amie Downs said Wednesday night that work is underway to move traffic from the old ramp to a newly constructed ramp on the McKeesport-Glassport side.
Last Friday, traffic was restricted to one alternating lane as crews began the concrete work. The restrictions were not previously announced and the resultant traffic jams stretched up Richland Avenue in Dravosburg and into McKeesport's 10th Ward.
After this Friday, there will be no more lane restrictions, Downs said.
The county is in the second year of a three-year, $31 million rehabilitation of the 62-year-old bridge. General contractor on the project is Joseph B. Fay Co. of Tarentum.
Category: News || By Jason Togyer
Three reporters challenged a vote taken by city council Wednesday night as a violation of the state's Open Meetings Law.
Following a closed executive session which City Council President Darryl Segina described as being held to discuss "personnel matters," council voted on what reporters for the Almanac, the Daily News and the Post-Gazette all heard described as "that stuff we talked about in the back room."
The motion carried 5-2, with Segina and Councilor V. Fawn Walker-Montgomery dissenting.
Mayor Michael Cherepko apologized after the meeting, saying that the motion was misunderstood. "It was handled badly," he said. "We're not trying to hide anything."
Pennsylvania's Open Meetings Law, commonly called the "Sunshine Act," allows discussions involving personnel decisions, labor negotiations, real estate transactions and pending litigation to be conducted outside of the public eye.
But the law also requires votes on "the setting of official policy" and "the substance of all official actions" to be reported.
Category: News || By Submitted Report
City police are searching for a man reported missing from Dravosburg.
Robert K. Deliman was last seen at 2:30 p.m. Monday, police said. Deliman has a history of depression, police said, and he left his cell phone at home, taking with him clothing, a rope and batteries.
Deliman is described as a white male, approximately 5-feet-7, weighing 200 pounds, with brown hair, blue eyes, and a tattoo on his left arm showing a football and the number "26." Online databases list his age as 47.
He was driving a dark blue 2001 Dodge Dakota pickup truck with license number YZB-5393. There is damage to the tailgate and right rear fender, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call 9-1-1 or city police at (412) 675-5015.
Category: News || By Jason Togyer
Duquesne Light is planning to relocate its McKeesport service center from the city's 10th Ward to the RIDC Industrial Center of McKeesport.
The power company's site plan received preliminary approval March 27 from the city planning commission. City council is expected to vote on the proposal at tonight's meeting.
The new facility --- which will include a warehouse and repair garage for Duquesne Light vehicles --- will preserve about 50 jobs, officials said.
"It's exciting any time you have a company making a longterm commitment to stay in the city," Mayor Mike Cherepko said. The facility would not be practical, he said, if not for the flyover ramp at the foot of Coursin Street that carries traffic over the CSX Railroad tracks.
"Without question," Cherepko said. "They flat-out told us that without the flyover ramp, this wouldn't have happened."
Category: Commentary/Editorial || By Webmaster
Unless a man is loyal and honest, I don't want him associated with me. Car co. founder Walter P. Chrysler b. 4/2/1875 #McKeesportMessage
— Tube City Tiger (@tubecityonline) April 2, 2013
Category: News || By Submitted Report
Crews from the state Department of Transportation will patch surface roads in Pittsburgh's East End tomorrow and Thursday in preparation for this weekend's closure of the outbound lanes of the Squirrel Hill Tunnel.
Repair work is being done during daylight hours on Forward, Forbes and South Braddock avenues. Those streets are scheduled to be used as part of the detour when the $49.5 million project to rehabilitate the tunnel gets underway at 11 p.m. Friday, said Jim Struzzi, district spokesman for PennDOT.
This weekend's closure of the outbound tunnel will continue through 6 a.m. Monday. Crews will begin work to remove the outbound tunnel ceiling and continue rehabilitation and preservation work on the outbound bridge that crosses Commercial Street. When overall work is completed, vertical clearance in the eastbound tunnel will increase from 13 feet, 6 inches to 14 feet, 9 inches.
Signs will be posted to guide motorists, Struzzi said. The posted detour will require eastbound traffic to form a single lane exiting at Exit 74, the Squirrel Hill-Homestead interchange. Significant delays should be expected and alternate routes considered.
The inbound tunnel will remain open while the outbound tunnel is closed, although short-term inbound traffic stoppages may occur for equipment access and material removal.
To minimize impacts on businesses in Squirrel Hill, which will remain open and accessible, different detours are being used during day and night hours, Struzzi said. Police will be posted to keep traffic moving on the posted detour.
Category: News || By Jennifer Sopko
A new sixth-grade academy at Founders' Hall Middle School will open its doors in August 2014.
McKeesport Area school directors reviewed plans for the new two-and-a-half story sixth-grade academy at Founders' Hall Middle School at a public hearing in February.
The new sixth-grade annex will allow the district to consolidate all students into five buildings and create new magnet school programs in math and language. School directors approved the redistricting plan in February.
Ryan Pierce, president and CEO of contracting firm JC Pierce LLC, said the annex will sit parallel to Eden Park Boulevard adjacent to the existing parking lot, connecting with the main building via the first floor.
Spanning two floors plus part of the basement, the sixth-grade academy will hold about 250 students and feature 14 general classrooms, one life skills classroom, one science classroom, two small group instruction rooms, one large group instruction rooms, one faculty room and one wrestling room with adjacent locker rooms.
Pierce said the addition will be designed to "integrate (the) new architecture into the old so its fits comfortably" with the existing Founders' Hall building.
Category: Cartoons, Commentary/Editorial || By Jason Togyer
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