Filed Under: Announcements || By Submitted Report
Category: Announcements || By Submitted Report
Allegheny County will hold free swimming lessons for children ages 5 and older at its pools in Boyce, North, Settlers Cabin and South parks from 10:00 to 10:45 a.m. on the first four Tuesdays and Thursdays in July.
Classes for individuals with last names A-K will be held on July 1, 8, 15 and 22. Classes for last names L-Z will take place on July 3, 10, 17 and 24.
Pre-registration is not required. All lessons are taught by Allegheny County lifeguards.
For questions or additional information, contact the park where your child will attend lessons: Boyce Park at (724) 327-0338; North Park at (724) 935-1766; Settlers Cabin Park at (412) 787-2750; or South Park at (412) 835-4809. Information is also available online atwww.alleghenycounty.us/parks/swim.aspx .
Category: History || By T.L. (Tim) Tassone
Category: News || By Submitted Report
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Allegheny County officials and local police last week launched a major effort to put an end to child sex trafficking in Western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia.
Called "Operation Cross Country VIII," the effort resulted in 30 arrests, including those of three accused "pimps" and two adults accused of attempting to have sex with minors, said Scott S. Smith, special agent in charge of the FBI's Pittsburgh Field Office.
Names of the people arrested as part of the sweep were not released.
"Operation Cross Country has shown us with clarity that sex trafficking and child prostitution continues to plague our communities," Smith said. "Those who exploit children should know they will be sought out and brought to justice."
Monroeville and Pittsburgh police participated in the sweep, along with agents from the state Attorney General's Office and West Virginia State Police, among other agencies.
"These arrests send a strong message that it is unacceptable for women and children to be used to facilitate a criminal enterprise," Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. said.
Category: History || By T.L. (Tim) Tassone
Category: History || By T.L. (Tim) Tassone
Category: Another Viewpoint || By Submitted Report
Opinions expressed in editorials and commentaries are those of individual authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Tube City Community Media Inc. or its directors. Responsible replies are welcomed.
Reader David H. writes regarding President Kennedy's visit to McKeesport:
Thank you for putting the article and links online. In light of all that has happened in the past 52 years, it's good to know how things once were.
Then, our labor and industrial production might were valued by Washington politicos. This week, President Obama came to Pittsburgh and totally ignored the issue of steel tube dumping by foreign manufacturers.
Even if one chooses to do nothing, it is still a choice.
And when the issue is enforcing laws designed to protect American taxpaying companies and workers from predatory pricing strategies and foreign government subsidized products our so-called "leaders" have proven to be clueless, gutless wonders.
The article proves that the more things change, the more they stay the same. The history proves that when all is said and done, more will be said than done.
Western Pennsylvania has been on the short end of the government stick since the Whiskey Rebellion.
Category: Commentary/Editorial || By
Opinions expressed in editorials and commentaries are those of individual authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Tube City Community Media Inc. or its directors. Responsible replies are welcomed.
. . .
A lot has happened since we wrote an editorial June 9 about the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County's plans to demolish the remaining portion of the old water treatment plant near the 15th Avenue Bridge.
Our editorial, and the Daily News story on which it was based, sparked a movement on Facebook and Twitter (hashtag "#savemckeesporthistory") by White Oak artist Jenni Dangel to get the municipal authority to halt its demolition plans to see if the building could be reused.
A public meeting about the roundhouse (and historic preservation) will be held at 7 p.m. June 25 at McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center.
In the meantime, the MAWC, which provides water service to McKeesport, Port Vue and surrounding areas, has put on a clinic on "how not to respond to public concerns."
There has been a feeling over the years in McKeesport that the MAWC, which purchased the city's water system in the 1980s, treats the Mon-Yough area as an unwanted stepchild.
There also have been accusations over the years from the Post-Gazette --- see, for instance, Rich Lord's 2010 series of articles, "The Network" --- that the MAWC is run for the benefit of a clique of Greensburg and Mon Valley "insiders" with little outside input, and --- from the Tribune-Review, among others --- that it's tone-deaf to its customers.
I'm afraid that the MAWC's behavior over the past week has done little to dispel those suspicions.
Category: Announcements || By Submitted Report
The Allegheny County Health Department is conducting a community health assessment and seeking input from the public to help identify the most important factors affecting the health of county residents.
"The health assessment is part of our effort to pursue national accreditation and a critical first step toward making Allegheny County the healthiest county in America," Health Director Dr. Karen Hacker said.
The public can provide its input on the selection of health indicators to be used in the health assessment by visiting the Health Department's web site, www.achd.net/survey.html, from now until June 30.
Participants will be asked to select the 10 most important health indicators and rank them from one to ten. There are 43 health indicators to choose from and a section for specifying health concerns not listed.
Category: Announcements || By Submitted Report
This morning on WEDO (810), we talked to Ernie Spisak of Chalfant, who has written a book called "Pittsburgh's Forgotten Civil War Regiment," the 62nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, comprised of men from Pittsburgh, the Mon Valley, Clarion County and the Altoona area.
You can order Spisak's book here: Pittsburgh's Forgotten Civil War Regiment: A History of the 62nd Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry
Category: Announcements || By Submitted Report
Due to inclement weather, McKeesport's Good Neighbor Day is being moved to next Thursday, June 19, a spokeswoman said.
Category: Commentary/Editorial || By
Opinions expressed in editorials and commentaries are those of individual authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Tube City Community Media Inc. or its directors. Responsible replies are welcomed.
. . .
I know I'm going to catch some flak for the previous editorial: "Why should we want to preserve this old stuff? Just to look at it? Who cares! Move on, already."
Well, you don't preserve historic landmarks because they're "nice to look at." In fact, some of them aren't nice to look at. Instead, you preserve them because you want people to learn from them.
Americans just marked Memorial Day. Is Memorial Day simply to note the fact that people died in wars? No. It's to learn about why they sacrificed their lives for fundamental principles such as freedom of speech and freedom of religion.
What does a building like the water treatment plant teach us? According to Matt Bauman's excellent report, in 1908, McKeesport had a serious problem. Its water was so unhealthy that people were dying. But McKeesport-area residents got together and solved the problem.
Category: Commentary/Editorial || By
Opinions expressed in editorials and commentaries are those of individual authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Tube City Community Media Inc. or its directors. Responsible replies are welcomed.
Category: News || By
Category: Commentary/Editorial || By
Opinions expressed in commentaries are those of individual authors, not those of Tube City Community Media Inc.
So yeah, this Jonah Hill controversy/shenanigans. One word: CONTEXT. The movie-going public lines up to throw money at Mr. Hill precisely for his delivery of immature, vulgar, profane and rude comments. In fact, I'm pretty sure the same "slur" was used in a popular film, probably more than once. There's a reason it's called 'making fun of somebody'; because whoever isn't the target (and in the best circumstances, the target themselves) of the comment, generally find it amusing.
A second common use of 'slurs' is as a sort of jargon amongst groups of people, usually to imply an intimacy or bond between folks that share certain characteristics. It can be argued that the more 'offensive' the jargon is, the more it proves acceptance of the individual using/receiving it. Ironically, the use of the same word suddenly gains (retains?) a supreme level of insult when it's directed towards a 'non-member', or directed towards the group by a 'non-member'.
Or, as is more often the case, WHEN THE 'TARGET' HAS SOMETHING TO GAIN FROM TAKING OFFENSE. I'd be willing to wager that the person hounding Mr. Hill was overjoyed to get such a contentious sound bite --- think of the publicity (money)! Would any of us even know about the clip if all it contained was footage of questionable fashion choices? Of course not. If the Hound got the same comment from a non-celebrity I doubt they would have even noticed. Perhaps they would have muttered a profanity, scolded, shook their head, or maybe even smiled, but more than likely that would have been the end of it.
Category: Announcements || By Submitted Report
North Braddock police are seeking the public's help in locating a missing person.
Donald Champion, 77, was last seen Monday morning on Lobinger Avenue in that borough.
Police said Champion is suffering from dementia and may have boarded a bus and gotten lost. He is African-American, 5-foot-6 and weights 130 pounds. He may be in Braddock, Wilkinsburg or McKeesport.
Anyone who may have information is asked to call 9-1-1 or North Braddock police at (412) 351-4900.
Category: News || By Submitted Report
U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle reacted angrily today to the announcement that U.S. Steel will stop production at its McKeesport Tubular Operations facility.
"This is devastating news for our community, especially the workers who are being laid off," said Doyle, Forest Hills Democrat, whose district includes the Mon-Yough area.
Doyle said his office, along with U.S. Steel and the United Steelworkers union, has been urging U.S. trade agencies to fight back against illegal dumping of foreign-made pipe and tube "for a year now." But, he said,the Obama administration's response has been "completely inadequate."
"My heart goes out to those workers and their families, and I promise them that I will do everything in my power to get the McKeesport facility back up and running," he said. "This is just the latest example of foreign trade practices hurting American manufacturers and destroying American jobs."
Category: Commentary/Editorial || By Submitted Reports
Readers react to news that U.S. Steel will layoff workers at McKeesport Tubular Operations and idle the plant "indefinitely." More reaction is available on our Facebook and Twitter feeds.
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I am an employee of the mill since 2008. My father worked here for a long time and I was proud to continue on his path.
I am a single mom who counted on having a future here with U.S. Steel and was proving a great future for my son. With this news today it breaks my heart not only that I can't follow my fathers path he led me to, but this leaves me in a bind with being the only support for my son.
Unfair trade is the reason. Sad day for the U.S. Steel families!
(Name withheld)
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I am sending this email on behalf of the employees that work for U.S. Steel Tubular Products.
How on Earth did this happen? I thought Reaganomics was over. We live in America, one of the richest countries in the world with some of the brightest people in the world and we are depending on foreign trade!
For what? To save a penny. If we make American products with American materials, we wouldn't need foreign trade now would we? How much fight did our government have? Why did they give up on the working class people of America? Why are we funding foreign companies to give us what we already know how to make?
Category: News || By