March 13, 2020 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
State Senate Majority Jay Costa of Forest Hills spoke at a public forum Thursday night organized by Allegheny Intermediate Unit. (Richard Finch Jr. photo for Tube City Almanac)
Allegheny Intermediate Unit scheduled a legislative forum on public education Thursday night in Homestead.
But the forum, attended by local school board members and district superintendents, quickly turned into a discussion of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Pennsylvania, and what legislators in Harrisburg are doing to protect residents.
The event at the AIU central office was moderated by Jon Delano, KDKA-TV (2) money and politics editor.
State Sen. Jim Brewster, D-McKeesport, Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills and state Rep. Dan Miller participated in the panel. Joseph Shaulis, AIU general counsel, said all Allegheny County lawmakers were invited to attend.
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March 12, 2020 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Liberty Borough News, McKeesport and Region News
(Photo special to Tube City Almanac)
The former St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Port Vue will close permanently this month.
In a decree dated Feb. 21, Bishop David Zubik said the decision was made at the request of parishioners who were concerned that the condition of the building and the cost of necessary repairs represented “a grave threat” and presented “critical financial difficulties.”
St. Joseph merged with the former St. Eugene Church in Liberty Borough in 1993 to become St. Mark Parish. St. Mark is now part of a regional grouping of churches that also includes St. Michael in Elizabeth Twp. and Queen of the Rosary in Glassport.
The final Mass at the St. Joseph site will be celebrated at 6:30 p.m. March 19, the parish and diocese announced, and the building will be turned over for non-sacred “but not sordid” uses, Zubik said.
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March 06, 2020 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Crime and Police News, McKeesport and Region News
A technician works in ShotSpotter’s incident review center. McKeesport officials are investigating whether or not the technology can be brought to the city with the help of a federal grant. (Submitted photo)
City officials are seeking a federal grant to bring gunshot detection technology to McKeesport in an effort to respond more quickly to incidents.
At Wednesday’s meeting, city council authorized Mayor Michael Cherepko’s administration to apply for a grant through the U.S. Justice Department’s Community Policing Development program to acquire “ShotSpotter” technology.
ShotSpotter, based in Newark, Calif., uses an network of electronic sensors to detect gunfire, pinpoint its exact location, and then alert police. The company says that its system depends on artificial intelligence to analyze the sounds of loud noises and that it ignores things like thunder, fireworks and trucks backfiring.
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March 05, 2020 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Steve Schonberger of McKeesport talks to state Sen. Jim Brewster before a meeting to discuss public transit on Wednesday night at the Palisades ballroom, Downtown. Officials from Port Authority of Allegheny County are collecting public comments as they prepare a long-range transportation plan. (Photo courtesy state Sen. Jim Brewster, via Facebook)
Riders who attended a meeting Wednesday evening about long-range planning for public transit questioned how the meetings were being advertised — and why electronic fare cards still remain hard to get in McKeesport and elsewhere.
At a “listening session” convened by Port Authority of Allegheny County at the Palisades ballroom, one rider said he was tired of excuses about the ConnectCard system, which is supposed to replace cash fares on buses and light-rail vehicles.
“We were promised a ConnectCard location” at the McKeesport Transportation Center, said Steve Schonberger, a city resident. “It never happened. Other elected officials are getting them — but still none in Senator (Jim) Brewster’s office. The Shop ’n Save (on Fifth Avenue) stopped selling ConnectCards, so if you live in this part of McKeesport, you’re out of luck.
“I’m tired of excuses and I’m tired of hearing that you’re ‘planning’ to do it,” he said. “I’m tired of it.”
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March 04, 2020 |
By Nick Zurawsky | Posted in: Duquesne News, McKeesport and Region News
Duquesne Mayor Nickole Nesby speaks during a town hall Feb. 26 sponsored by Take Action Mon Valley. (Nick Zurawsky photo for Tube City Almanac)
Community leaders discussed issues ranging from water quality and access to public transportation, to police accountability and merging public services during a forum hosted by Take Action Mon Valley.
The event was held Feb. 26 at the gymnasium of the Salvation Army in McKeesport. About 20 people attended.
Elected officials at the meeting included Allegheny County council members Bethany Hallam and Olivia Bennett as well as Duquesne Mayor Nickole Nesby.
Nesby was the first to speak and said her priorities in Duquesne are combatting “not only street violence and gang violence, but structural violence.”
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March 03, 2020 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Courtesy World Health Organization)
Local officials are encouraging residents to stay informed and use common-sense precautions as “coronavirus disease 2019” spreads in the United States.
There have been no confirmed cases of the virus — officially known as COVID-19 — in Pennsylvania, but with more than 100 cases reported in 15 states, experts say its entry into our area is “inevitable.”
On Friday, Steel Valley School District Superintendent Edward Wehrer reported that two staff members had traveled outside of the U.S. to areas where COVID-19 has been confirmed.
“Because the district makes the safety and overall health of all staff and students a top priority, these employees have been instructed to not report to work until the incubation period for the virus has passed and they have been cleared by a medical professional,” Wehrer said in a prepared statement.
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February 28, 2020 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Conflict of Interest Note: The author has a conflict of interest. He is a member of the McKees Point Development Group. See previous coverage of this issue and the note at the end of this story.
The developers and financial backers behind a six-year, $2.7 million project to remove blight in the city’s Downtown business district said this week they’re excited about the possibilities.
Members of McKees Point Development Group held a public hearing Wednesday at the Public Safety Building to outline the city’s goals for the first year of the Neighborhood Assistance Program, or NAP.
The program is being funded through tax credits and investments by Duquesne Light, First Commonwealth Bank, Noble Energy and UPMC Health System.
“McKeesport has a tremendous opportunity to move forward,” said Dennis Troy, president of DTI Development, which is talking to the city about partnering on several redevelopment projects.
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February 27, 2020 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
In an effort to step up the city’s collection of unpaid taxes, permit fees and other debts, McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko has hired a chief revenue officer.
Matt Gergely, who served for the past three years as business manager for McKeesport Area School District, will be introduced to city council at the March 4 meeting, Cherepko said Wednesday.
Council has already discussed Gergely’s hiring in an executive session before the Feb. 5 meeting, the mayor said.
Gergely is taking the place of two employees of the finance department who recently retired and will help oversee a “total restructuring” of the department, Cherepko said.
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February 26, 2020 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements, McKeesport and Region News
(Architect’s rendering courtesy Penn State University)
The Penn State University board of trustees has approved a proposed $14.7 million project to modernize the science building at the Greater Allegheny Campus in McKeesport.
The improvements to the 21,700-square-foot Ostermayer Laboratory were recommended last week by the trustees’ committee on finance, business and capital planning and ratified by the full board on Friday.
Ostermayer Laboratory was built in 1972-73. Renovations are expected to begin this spring and to be completed in early 2021.
Turner Construction Co. of Pittsburgh was chosen as the design build team.
The company has worked on projects at other Penn State campuses and Point Park University and the University of Pittsburgh; as well as the five-story K. Leroy Irvis Science Center at Community College of Allegheny County’s North Campus and the new Thomas Jefferson High School in Jefferson Hills.
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February 26, 2020 |
By Emily Pidgeon | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News, North Versailles Twp. News
(Editor's note: This story was corrected after publication.)
Volunteers at Corpus Christi Church in McKeesport prepare pierogi dough for assembly for annual fish fry. (Emily Pidgeon photos for Tube City Almanac)
Deep fryers pop and hiss, phones ring, volunteers shout out orders and collect totals. The air smells of fresh seafood and butter, cabbage and onions. Lines of people form, all waiting to place or pick up their order on the first evening of the Lenten season.
It’s just another Friday for church members and firemen alike at local area fish fries in the Mon Valley.
For the West Wilmerding Volunteer Fire Dept. in North Versailles Twp. and Mary Mother of God Parish in McKeesport, frying fish and serving the community go hand in hand with Lent. Both institutions cite religion and tradition as the reason for the fish fries each year.
“God and Money,” said Bud Pusey, West Wilmerding assistant fire chief. “That’s how we live here in the Steel Valley. That’s all we know. We get up and go to work each day to make a living and try to do the right thing. We work and we eat, and that’s how it’s always been.”
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