December 01, 2020 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Politics & Elections
A federal judge in Pittsburgh has denied a request for a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order that would block state officials from accepting some of Allegheny County’s election results.
At issue are 2,349 disputed absentee and mail-in ballots that will likely decide the 45th Senatorial District race between State Sen. Jim Brewster and his challenger, Nicole Ziccarelli.
The ballots in question were signed, but not dated, by voters.
In her request last week, Ziccarelli, Republican of Lower Burrell, asked U.S. District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan to prohibit state officials from accepting Allegheny County’s certified results, which include those ballots.
Brewster, a McKeesport Democrat, holds a 73-vote lead out of more than 132,000 votes cast.
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December 01, 2020 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements
McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center has canceled its planned church tour and cookie walk due to the increased number of COVID-19 cases.
A spokesperson said the event, planned for Dec. 12, was scrapped after the Allegheny County Health Department advised residents to stay at home and avoid unnecessary social activities and travel.
The heritage center also will not be participating in this week’s Festival of Trees.
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December 01, 2020 |
By Kristen Keleschenyi | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
East Allegheny School District was set to begin a new hybrid learning model on Dec. 7, but a surge in Covid-19 cases in Allegheny County and a new order from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, put that plan on hold.
At a special meeting held Nov. 23, the board voted to go completely remote until possibly Jan. 19.
The district was operating within a scaffolded learning model that allowed students with individualized education plans to attend classes in-person.
Allegheny is one of the counties in the state now considered an area of substantial transmission. The recent order from the Pennsylvania Department of Health recommends schools in those counties either go completely remote or commit to even stricter in-person mask guidelines.
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December 01, 2020 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Duquesne News
Mele & Mele & Sons crews pave an unidentified road following a pipeline construction project. The company is relocating to Duquesne and adding 20 new jobs. (Submitted photo courtesy Mele & Mele & Sons Inc.)
A Rankin-based construction company that has worked on projects at Allegheny County Airport and other prominent Pittsburgh-area locations is relocating to Duquesne’s industrial park.
Mele & Mele & Sons, Inc., has purchased a 14-acre parcel in the City Center of Duquesne for construction of a 16,000-square-foot office building and a 22,000-square-foot maintenance facility.
The firm will add 20 new jobs after relocating, a spokeswoman said.
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November 30, 2020 |
By Kristen Keleschenyi | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Tube City Almanac file photo)
McKeesport’s Festival of Trees is coming together at the Jacob Woll Pavilion in Renziehausen Park—though smaller than in previous years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The annual event, a staple of the holiday season for the past 35 years, is scheduled to open to the public from 2 to 8 p.m. daily Dec. 3 through 7.
“We will do our best to continue this tradition—boosting our community’s morale and holiday spirit while respecting COVID-related guidelines and recommendations,” McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko says.
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November 26, 2020 |
By Kristen Keleschenyi | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
Ma's Pantry volunteers Louise Beswick, Catie Sickler and Edward Sites, president, helped distribute the boxes of non-perishable food items part of the East Allegheny Gobble Giveaway. (Kristen Keleschenyi photo for Tube City Almanac)
East Allegheny School District collaborated with numerous community organizations to provide food, flu shots, clothing and school supplies to hundreds of local families at a Gobble Giving event held at the junior-senior high school on Monday.
Organizations on hand included the Allegheny County Health Department, Communities in Schools, Ma’s Pantry, Duquesne University School of Pharmacy, Turtle Creek Community Services, Auberle, and Nutrition Inc. Seventy percent of students that attend East Allegheny schools qualify for free or reduced lunches.
“There is a high level of food insecurity in the Mon Valley,” says Melanie Readal, public health administrator for the Allegheny County Health Department, “that's why a lot of times when we do events where we do work with our community partners and municipalities that we encourage food distribution just to make sure that we're decreasing the stigma around food insecurity.”
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November 26, 2020 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko is hopeful that an “amicable solution” can be reached that prevents the city’s 75-year-old LaRosa Boys & Girls Club from closing.
Meanwhile, state corporation records hint that a new organization is being formed to help sustain the club.
On his Facebook page, Cherepko said that on Tuesday, along with State Sen. Jim Brewster and State Rep. Austin Davis, he had a video conference call with leaders of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania to discuss the future of the LaRosa Boys & Girls Club on Ravine Street.
“I am very pleased with the meeting and wholeheartedly believe we will be able to reach an amicable solution that will allow us to serve our community in one way or another at the club’s current location,” Cherepko said.
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November 25, 2020 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Letters to the Editor
Donna Strangis Dowd writes about the announcement that the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania intends to close the LaRosa of McKeesport Clubhouse:
I was greatly dismayed upon reading about the recent closure of the LaRosa Boys & Girls Club by Lisa Abel-Palmieri, chief executive officer.
There have been several attempts over the past two years to work with her to ensure the continued success of the club that Mr. Sam LaRosa created — literally from the ground up — 75 years ago. All of the efforts of the board and directors have fallen on deaf ears.
The club was not running at a deficit — it had a waiting list of children to take advantage of the programs and activities that were being offered by the club. So I have to ask, what is the true meaning behind the closure of a club that has a rich, storied 75-year past in the McKeesport community?
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November 24, 2020 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Politics & Elections
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld Allegheny County’s decision to count absentee and mail-in ballots that were signed, but not dated.
The 4-3 decision Monday affects ballots in both Allegheny and Philadelphia counties — and is crucial in the 45th Senatorial District race between state Sen. Jim Brewster, McKeesport Democrat, and challenger Nicole Ziccarelli, Lower Burrell Republican.
Brewster and Ziccarelli were tied last week as Westmoreland County officials continued to review disputed ballots. On Monday, after additional ballots were reviewed, accepted and counted in Westmoreland, Ziccarelli moved into a 4-vote lead out of 131,968 votes cast, according to reports posted on the county’s website.
If Allegheny County now counts and certifies its remaining 2,349 ballots, Brewster would move into a 96-vote lead, according to public figures available on the election board’s website.
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November 23, 2020 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church is taking orders now for a fish fry Dec. 4.
Spokeswoman Dorothy Ikach said all orders must be placed in advance. The deadline is Wednesday (Nov. 25). No sales will be made on the day of the event.
The fish fry comes on the heels of the church’s recent “Small Taste of Serbia” takeout event, Ikach said.
The menu includes hand-breaded haddock on a hard roll. A la carte items include halushki (sauteed cabbage and noodles), Spanish rice, French fries, sauerkraut and bean soup, apple strudel, and palachinke (cheese filled crepes).
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