Letter to the Editor: Demolitions Must Be Done With Lead Safety in Mind

July 24, 2018 |

By Submitted Report | Posted in: Letters to the Editor

Abandoned house awaiting demolition in Maryland. (Amy McGovern photo via Flickr. Licensed under Creative Commons --- Attribution 2.0 Generic.)

Reader Ray Firth writes:

Regarding your July 13 story, "172 Houses Head to Demolition; At Least 50 More to Be Added."

The demolition of blighted properties in McKeesport --- part of the "McKeesport Rising" project --- is important for McKeesport and the families who live near them. The homes being demolished are in terrible shape and old.

These homes also probably have lead paint on the windows, doors and walls.

The 200-plus demolitions will cause a lot of dust when the crews push the houses to the ground, and load the debris into dump trucks. That dust will have lead in it from the old lead paint.

In similar projects in other cities, that dust spread to nearby neighborhoods. They found that more children in those nearby neighborhoods had lead in their blood than before the demolitions.

Letter to the Editor: 'You're Either In or Out, Sir'

July 22, 2018 |

By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Commentary-Editorial, Letters to the Editor

(Above: A.M. Rosenthal began his career at The New York Times in 1943 and retired from the paper as a columnist in 1999. He discussed his career in a 1993 interview with C-SPAN.)

Reader Tim Martin writes:

Regarding our July 10 story about city council's decision to hire the Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh to evaluate the reuse of the Penn-McKee Hotel ---

I really don't understand why Mr. Togyer is covering the Penn-McKee story, and the editor's notes on top and at the end of July 10's story don't take the curse off the circumstance. You're either in or out, sir.

Tim is absolutely right. Reporters should not be involved with the stories they're covering. Period.

The late A.M. Rosenthal (above), city editor, managing editor and executive editor of The New York Times, supposedly had a colorful rule for his reporters:

"If you want to cover the circus, you can't (make love to) the elephants."

Letter to the Editor: Community Invited to Monument Dedication May 13

February 10, 2017 |

By Submitted Report | Posted in: Letters to the Editor

Regarding yesterday's story about a monument to the "McKeesport 23," Joe Hoffman writes:

We have reached our goal of $6,430.  The monument is now paid in full.  We had 63 contributors.  We are not requesting any additional funds.  

We would like to extent an invitation to the community and the "McKeesport Nation" to attend the dedication at 12 noon Saturday, May 13, at McKeesport Senior High School auditorium. Ten families of the "23" will speak about their brothers. The auditorium has room for 1,200. 

For more information, contact Joe Hoffman at wojudo@hotmail.com.

Reader's Viewpoint: Why Don't Customers Count?

February 24, 2016 |

By Submitted Report | Posted in: Letters to the Editor

To the editor:

The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County is planning a 25 percent rate hike, with more to follow.

An online petition fell on deaf ears. I thought there was a law which prevents utility hikes beyond a certain percentage? And this is the second one to do the same work the last hike was approved for.

Where is the water authority's responsibility to budget for ongoing repairs to their own systems?  Why don't its customers' objections count?  Who can afford this increase, especially in McKeesport? 

Is there anything citizens can do to try to prevent this astronomical increase?

—Philip Haughey and Susan Linders, McKeesport