October 29, 2019 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Author, teacher and philosopher Cornel West meets with Penn Staters prior to Friday evening's discussion at Wunderley Gymnasium in McKeesport. (Photo courtesy Penn State Greater Allegheny via Facebook)
Cornel West is not optimistic about the triumph of equality and justice. But he's hopeful.
There's a difference, he said.
During a discussion Friday night at Wunderley Gymnasium of Penn State Greater Allegheny Campus in McKeesport, West, a philosopher, author and activist, was asked if he found reasons to be hopeful and optimistic about the future lives of Black Americans.
“There is a difference between hope and optimism,” he said. “I'm not optimistic at all, I've never been an optimist.”
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October 27, 2019 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Mary Jane Keller’s final meeting as a McKeesport Area School Board member was a bittersweet occasion for district officials and her fellow school directors.
At Wednesday's school board meeting, Superintendent Mark Holtzman Jr. presented Keller with a bouquet of flowers as well as a plaque recognizing her for a combined 45 years of service to the district, first as a teacher, and later as a school director.
Keller has been on the school board for eight years and served as vice-president for the past four.
An emotional Keller said, “It is my hope that I have been a positive voice for children.”
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October 23, 2019 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Tube City Almanac photo)
The owner of the old McKeesport Connecting Railroad roundhouse in the city’s industrial park will use a state grant to remove environmental hazards and prepare the building for potential new tenants.
Regional Industrial Development Corp. has received $671,200 to perform remediation at the roundhouse; the old U.S. Steel National Works guardhouse on Locust Street; and the open hearth building at the old U.S. Steel Duquesne Works.
The grant, announced Wednesday by state Rep. Austin Davis, is from the state Industrial Sites Reuse Program, which helps fund the cleanup of environmental contamination at industrial sites that are going to be used for housing, businesses or recreation areas.
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October 16, 2019 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, McKeesport and Region News, White Oak News
A boil-water advisory that has been in effect for McKeesport-area residents since Saturday night has been lifted.
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County announced Wednesday morning that water samples over two consecutive days from the city, Port Vue, Versailles and White Oak were all clear.
Storage tank levels are at normal conditions so it is no longer necessary to conserve water, said Matt Junker, authority spokesman.
The advisory was put into place after an intake pump at the McKeesport Water Treatment Plant failed Saturday evening, flooding the facility and forcing it to be closed temporarily. That caused water pressure to fall throughout the system, leading the authority to impose water conservation orders for some communities and a boil-water advisory for all four communities served by the plant.
About 16,000 customers were affected.
October 15, 2019 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News, White Oak News
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County's McKeesport Water Treatment Plant (photo courtesy MAWC)
A boil-water advisory for about 16,000 customers in McKeesport, Port Vue, Versailles and White Oak could be lifted on Wednesday.
Matt Junker, spokesman for the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County, said the first round of testing on water from the McKeesport Water Treatment Plant was clear of any hazards.
"We are hopeful that the advisory can be lifted Wednesday after a second round of good results," Junker said Tuesday.
The authority also provided additional details of the incident on Saturday evening that forced the plant to be shut down, causing a loss of water pressure in parts of the McKeesport area and leading to the boil-water advisory.
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October 14, 2019 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News, White Oak News
Local schools and public facilities in areas affected by a boil-water advisory reported Monday they were finding ways to cope.
But the advisory left some businesses in the area --- mainly restaurants --- unable to open.
The failure of an intake pump that pulls water from the Youghiogheny River forced the shutdown on Saturday night of Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County's McKeesport Water Treatment Plant.
The pump was rebuilt and put back into service on Sunday afternoon, but not before many customers in the city, Port Vue, Versailles and White Oak reported no water, or very low water pressure.
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October 13, 2019 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News, White Oak News
(This story will be updated with new information periodically)
Volunteer firefighters from White Oak No. 1 and Rainbow handed out cases of bottled water at the borough’s municipal complex on Sunday afternoon. (Photo courtesy White Oak Office of Emergency Management, via Facebook)
The McKeesport water treatment plant is back in production, but is pumping slowly to purge air from the distribution system.
Authority spokesman Matthew Junker said the plant went back into operation at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. The plant shut down Saturday night when a pump failed.
However, a boil-water advisory will remain in effect until further notice for the city, Port Vue, Versailles and White Oak. Some customers at higher elevations in Port Vue and McKeesport were reporting a complete lack of water on Sunday.
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October 13, 2019 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News, White Oak News
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County has now added White Oak to a precautionary boil water advisory that McKeesport and Versailles were placed on last night.
Port Vue was added earlier today. Issues with a repair to the raw water pump caused White Oak to be added as well, said Matt Junker, spokesman for the water authority.
Water tankers are available in White Oak at the municipal building, 2280 Lincoln Way, and PNC Bank, 1612 Lincoln Way, Junker said.
Water tankers also are available at 238 Atlantic Ave. in lower 10th Ward; Walnut and 12th streets, Third Ward; Walnut and Juniper streets, Versailles; and at UPMC McKeesport Hospital.
Additional water tankers are stationed in Port Vue at American Legion Post 447, 304 Gumbert St.; and the shopping center at 1515 Washington Blvd.
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October 12, 2019 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
An equipment failure at the McKeesport Water Treatment Plant has some customers under a mandatory conservation order, and others being advised to boil their water as a precaution.
The orders were issued by Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County on Saturday night. More than 16,000 customers are affected.
Customers in McKeesport and Versailles Borough are being advised to boil their water for at least one minute before drinking or cooking with it, while customers in Port Vue and White Oak have been ordered to conserve water.
Water tankers have been placed at 238 Atlantic Ave. in lower 10th Ward; UPMC McKeesport hospital; the intersection of Walnut and 12th streets in Third Ward; and Walnut and Juniper streets in Versailles, said Matthew Junker, spokesman for the water authority.
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October 11, 2019 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News, North Versailles Twp. News
This house on Duquesne Avenue in McKeesport is listed in a “lease with option to buy” deal for $1,500 down and $378 per month by a South Carolina company, Vision Property Management. Pennsylvania’s attorney general alleges the company’s sales tactics violate state law. (Photo via Zillow.)
A South Carolina company that has heavily marketed its “rent-to-own” homes in McKeesport, Glassport, Braddock and other parts of the Mon Valley is being sued by the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, claims that Vision Property Management of Columbia, S.C, and more than 50 affiliated companies used deceptive business practices to market homes that had serious problems that were concealed or never disclosed, including missing plumbing, insect infestations, defective wiring and leaky roofs.
State Attorney General Josh Shapiro brought the lawsuit on behalf of 650 families.
As of Friday, according to the company’s website, Vision Property had 14 houses available in Allegheny County, including one on Duquesne Avenue in McKeesport and others on Maryland Avenue in Glassport and Zimmer Lane in Greenock, Elizabeth Twp.
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