Filed Under: News || By Submitted Info and Staff Report
Category: News || By Submitted Info and Staff Report
A White Oak-based preschool that has served the McKeesport area since 1962 will close its doors Aug. 15.
Long Run Children's Learning Center has been suffering from financial problems since 2010, when it lost a contract with Allegheny Intermediate Unit to provide early intervention services to about 100 special needs children. The board of directors voted at its July meeting to close the facility, a spokeswoman said Thursday.
"This is perhaps the most difficult decision I've ever had to be part of," said Cindy Popovich, who chairs Long Run's board of directors. She called Long Run "an integral part of the lives and education of hundreds of McKeesport-area families over the years."
"Unfortunately, we have had to face the economics of maintaining a highly specialized school with increasingly dwindling revenue sources," Popovich said.
Category: Announcements || By
We recently did a thorough update of the International Village website, which is hosted free of charge to city taxpayers by Tube City Online and Skymagik Internet Services.
Point your fingers at www.internationalvillage.info, and remember that we also will be providing a live, video webstream from the main stage this Aug. 12, 13 and 14, as well as radio coverage (inside Renziehausen Park) on 89.9 MHz FM.
In addition, WEDO (810) will carry highlights from International Village each night from 7 to 8 p.m., produced by Tube City Online.
We have two confirmed sponsors --- Penn State Greater Allegheny Campus and McKeesport Housing Corp. --- but we are still short of the money we need to break even. If your group or business would like to help sponsor our broadcast at the $100 or $250 level, we would appreciate it. Email tubecitytiger@gmail.com or call (412) 614-9659. And thank you.
ADVERTISEMENT: Tube City Online has reached a critical point in our history, where we need to raise money from the public to continue providing information both online, and on the radio.
If you can help by making a donation, we would very much appreciate it. And thanks for supporting independent media in the Mon Yough area.
Category: Announcements || By Submitted Report
To get free publicity for your non-profit, community events, email tubecitytiger@gmail.com or write to Tube City Online, P.O. Box 94, McKeesport 15134. Include a daytime phone number or an email address so that we can contact you for more information.
You can get rid of those hard to recycle appliances, computers, old tires and other junk at a collection event at the Allegheny County Airport.
That's on Saturday, August 16, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It's sponsored by the Allegheny County Health Department and the Pennsylvania Resources Council. Recycling experts will haul away your old DVD players, cell phones, ink cartridges and used cooking oils, free of charge.
They will also collect old tires, batteries, small refrigerators and TV sets for a small fee. TV sets and items containing refrigerant are among the types of trash no longer accepted as household waste.
For more information, call (412) 488-7490 or visit prc.org.
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ADVERTISEMENT: Tube City Online needs to raise money. If you'd like to help sponsor our upcoming video webcast of International Village, prices start at $100 for a 30-second hourly commercial, or $250 for a 60-second hourly commercial. We are also accepting donations as well as advertising on this website. Thank you!
Category: Announcements || By Submitted Report
Planning is underway for the first-ever "Patriot's Day Arts and Crafts Show" in Renziehausen Park from noon to 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7.
The event will be held, rain or shine, in the parking lot next to the McKeesport Regional History and Heritage Center, 1832 Arboretum Drive, in Renzie. The show is being timed to coincide with a planned "Patriot's Day" parade at 6 p.m. and a concert in Renzie at 7 p.m. on the same day.
Vendors can sell art, crafts and antiques. A 10-by-10-foot space can be reserved for only $20 until Aug. 8, or $25 after Aug. 8. Vendors should bring their own table or tent, if desired.
The event is being sponsored by the Heritage Center, the McKeesport Art Group and the WIP Arts Project. An application can be downloaded from the heritage center's website.
For more information, call the Heritage Center at (412) 678-1832 or email Jan Catalogna at jacat99@aol.com.
Category: News || By
Downtown McKeesport's long-battered business district, where boarded-up storefronts outnumber active businesses, is primed for a comeback within three years, predicts Larry Wolfe, owner of L&L Christian Bookstore on Walnut Street.
Wolfe just hopes that he can hold on that long. He was our guest at 9:30 a.m. Friday on "Two Rivers, 30 Minutes," heard over WEDO (810) and also available on Stitcher and iTunes.
"I think things are going to turn around here," he says. "I think some of the people who own property around here are holding onto it because they know that ... they've got the marina with over 200 boats in there. I'm sure they're going to expand that. If you have 200 boats you have 400 to 800 people there every weekend."
An entrepreneur who owns several businesses in his native Cleveland, Wolfe opened the bookstore two months ago in the former Golden Rule home decorating store near the intersection of Fifth and Walnut. The brightly lit store is packed with new merchandise ranging from books and gospel CDs through children's toys, coloring books, choir robes and liturgical material.
Wolfe has a similar successful store in East Cleveland that he claims is the most successful independent Christian bookstore in Ohio.
Yet in McKeesport, business has been slow --- some days, he makes only one or two sales. He watches hundreds of cars pass his front door, but few stop. "You've got one or two businesses trying to do something here," Wolfe says. "But you need other things here."
The Downtown district needs small specialty stores --- gift shops, card shops, beauty salons --- that people don't go to the mall for.
Unfortunately, Wolfe argues that uncooperative landlords and property owners who refuse to rent or sell their buildings are a big problem in Downtown McKeesport. "They've got a lot of people who own these buildings and they're not trying to rent them," he says. "They've let these buildings go so long they'll need $300,000 just to fix them up."
The biggest misconception is that Downtown McKeesport is unsafe, Wolfe says. "It's safe down here. Nobody bothers anybody during the daytime. You can walk the streets and nobody bothers you. Now, you come down here at 11 o'clock or midnight? I'll tell you to stay home. But that's anywhere you go."
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ADVERTISEMENT: Tube City Online needs to raise money. If you'd like to help sponsor our upcoming video webcast of International Village, prices start at $100 for a 30-second hourly commercial, or $250 for a 60-second hourly commercial. We are also accepting donations as well as advertising on this website. Thank you!
Category: Shameless Horn-Tooting || By
We are still looking for donors and sponsors for our upcoming video webcast of International Village.
For $100, we will make a minimum of one 30-second announcement for your group, business or organization every hour, plus we will run a banner ad on Tube City Online for at least 30 days.
For $250, we will make a minimum of one 60-second announcement for your group, business or organization every hour, plus we will run a banner ad on Tube City Online for at least 60 days.
If you simply want to make a gift and do not want an announcement, your donation may be tax-deductible next year. Thank you!
Category: Announcements || By
The eighth-annual McKeesport Past & Present Reunion begins at 6 p.m. tonight with a dinner, dance and comedy show at The Palisades ballroom, 100 Water St. at the McKee's Point Marina. Admission is $25 for adults and $50 for a family of four.
Saturday, beginning at 12 noon, the reunion will feature an all-day cookout and family fun events at Moran Field, corner of Market Street and 11th Avenue. There is no admission charge. There will be games and horseback riding for kids, a reptile expert from the Mon Valley Herpetological Society and other activities.
At 11 a.m. Sunday morning, the reunion wraps up with an interfaith church service at Trinity Church of God In Christ, 2216 Jenny Lind St. at Evans Street.
For more information, call (412) 897-4909.
This morning on WEDO (810), we interviewed two of the organizers of the reunion, chair Cornell Johnson and publicity coordinator Christina Preston. You can download the episode from Stitcher Radio or iTunes.
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ADVERTISEMENT: Tube City Online needs to raise money. If you'd like to help sponsor our upcoming video webcast of International Village, prices start at $100 for a 30-second hourly commercial, or $250 for a 60-second hourly commercial. We are also accepting donations as well as advertising on this website. Thank you!
Category: Announcements || By Submitted Report
The McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center will host its second 2014 Summer Speaker Program at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 19.
Andrea Niapas will share stories from her research on her new book "Fatal Friendship: The Death of Helen Richey and the Strange Disappearance of Amelia Earhart."
McKeesport native Helen Richey was the world's first female commercial airline pilot. According to Niapas, Richey was convinced Amelia's mysterious disappearance had sinister undertones and wanted secret activities surrounding the fatal flight brought to light. Friends warned Helen that she was asking too many questions.
On Jan. 7, 1947, Helen died in her New York City apartment. Her death was ruled a suicide, but Niapas calls it "impossible" to reject the possibility of a different cause. This book is a historical mystery based on years of investigative research.
The program is free and open to the public. The McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center is located at 1832 Arboretum Drive in Renziehausen Park. For more information, call (412) 678-1832 or visit the website.
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ADVERTISEMENT: Tube City Online needs to raise money. If you'd like to help sponsor our upcoming video webcast of International Village, prices start at $100 for a 30-second hourly commercial, or $250 for a 60-second hourly commercial. We are also accepting donations as well as advertising on this website. Thank you!
Category: Local Businesses || By
The founder of Meadville's Voodoo Brewery is excited about an upcoming move into Homestead.
Matt Allyn says the microbrewery, located north of Pittsburgh, will have a pub up and running in the borough's former municipal building and fire station within six months. The brewery was asked to visit Homestead by the borough council and its redevelopment agencies.
"The more and more we started to interact with (Homestead officials) we really, really liked their ideas for the town," he says. "They seem to be very aggressive about getting some revitalization going."
Although Voodoo doesn't have immediate plans to brew any of its beers in Homestead, Voodoo is looking to operate a restaurant and "tap room" and could eventually produce some other products such as pop, Allyn says.
"It's a great building and it's got a lot of history," Allyn says. "It's one of those buildings that kind of talks to you."
We interviewed Allyn on July 4 for our podcast, which is also heard at 9:30 a.m. Fridays on WEDO (810).
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ADVERTISEMENT: Tube City Online needs to raise money. If you'd like to help sponsor our upcoming video webcast of International Village, prices start at $100 for a 30-second hourly commercial, or $250 for a 60-second hourly commercial. We are also accepting donations as well as advertising on this website. Thank you!
Category: Announcements || By
Too-long-didn't-read (TL;DR) version: We need to raise some serious money. If you'd like to help sponsor our upcoming video webcast of International Village, prices start at $100 for a 30-second hourly commercial, or $250 for a 60-second hourly commercial. Thank you!
Category: Announcements || By Submitted Report
Happy Independence Day!
McKeesport's summer concerts in the park series hosts "Treasure" at 7 tonight at the Lions Club Bandshell in Renziehausen Park, followed by fireworks at dark. Bring a lawn chair or a blanket and join the fun!
Category: General Nonsense || By
Overheard in the North Versailles Twp. Kmart:
Little boy: "Daddy says he needs $200."
Mom: "Oh? What does he need that for?"
Little boy: "To go to the gun show with his friends."
Mom: "Oh, really? He didn't tell mommy that."
Little boy: "I don't know why he needs another stupid gun."
Mom: "Well, mommy is going to ask him about that."
Oh, to have been a fly on the wall when they got home.
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