November 02, 2020 |
By Bill Phillips | Posted in: Politics & Elections
(Prachatai illustration, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
OK, Tube City Online readers — as Jeff Probst from “Survivor” would say, “it is time to vote.”
All Allegheny County polling places are expected to be open on Tuesday. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. By law, anyone in line at 8 p.m. will be allowed to vote.
To find your polling place, visit this website and enter your address.
Poll workers will be provided masks, gloves, face shields and hand sanitizer. Additionally, there will be clear plastic shields at the sign-in tables. There will also be cleaning materials at the polling place, tape to mark off six-foot distances for voters waiting in line, and extra staff to help enforce the provisions.
Voters will be asked to wear a face covering in compliance with the state order. Those who arrive without a face covering will be offered one.
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November 02, 2020 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Editorial Cartoons, History
The Mon Valley — at least the Turtle Creek Valley portion of it — has a very real claim to being the “birthplace of commercial broadcasting.”
One hundred years ago tonight, on the roof of the Westinghouse Electric factory in East Pittsburgh (above), KDKA began operations as the world’s first commercially licensed radio station, broadcasting to the general public.
(That facility — visible from the George Westinghouse Bridge, which carries Route 30 from North Versailles Twp. to East Pittsburgh — is now RIDC’s Keystone Commons.)
KDKA (also, apparently, known for a short time as “8ZZ”) signed on Nov. 2, 1920, as part of an experimental nationwide hookup of radio stations that broadcast the returns of the presidential election between Republican Warren G. Harding and Democrat James Cox.
Radio stations had been licensed before 1920. But those stations were operated for limited audiences. Some, for instance, were operated by the military, or by companies sending and receiving messages between ships and shore. Others were operated by hobbyists — “amateurs,” or “hams.”
KDKA was the first station that was intended to be used by the general public to receive entertainment and news. But it had its roots in one of those “hams” — an engineer from Wilkinsburg, Pa., named Frank Conrad, who worked in the Westinghouse factory in East Pittsburgh ... read on ...
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October 30, 2020 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements, Duquesne News, Liberty Borough News, McKeesport and Region News, North Versailles Twp. News, White Oak News
With Halloween on Saturday, you’ve hopefully already made a plan for a costume. But have you considered the safest way to trick-or-treat this year?
Most local communities — McKeesport, North Versailles Twp., White Oak, Port Vue, and Liberty Borough — will observe Halloween with trick-or-treating during the hours of 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday.
Duquesne will observe trick-or-treating from 5 to 7 p.m. and will have a costume contest, with “grab-and-go” treats, from 4 to 5 p.m. at Memorial Park on Grant Avenue. To comply with COVID-19 safety recommendations, participants should enter via South Second Street and exit via South Third Street. The event is made possible by city officials, Duquesne PRIDE and the Duquesne PartnerSHIP.
Dravosburg will observe trick-or-treating from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, with a Halloween costume parade at the borough’s ballfields at 4:30 p.m. Social distancing rules will be in place and attendees are asked to wear face masks.
Prizes will be given to the prettiest costume, ugliest/scariest costume and most original costume. Children ages 0 to 13 are allowed to participate.
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October 29, 2020 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, West Newton News
The West Newton Library will be selling pies to raise money. Order forms are available at Gary Johnson’s Gingerbread Bakery, 111 South Second St., or inside the library, 124 North Water St., or may be obtained by sending email to westnewton@wlnonline.org.
Pie orders must be received by Nov. 21 and may be picked up between 12 noon and 6 p.m. Nov. 24, at the bakery.
Available pies include pumpkin, apple, sugar-free apple, Dutch apple, cherry, Dutch cherry, peach, blueberry and coconut cream. Each pie is $12. Pumpkin roll also is available for $10.
Payment with forms can be dropped off at the bakery or mailed to West Newton Library, P.O. Box 221, West Newton, PA 15089.
October 29, 2020 |
By Jason A. Mignanelli | Posted in: Politics & Elections
When state Rep. Bill Kortz announced his retirement in January, Linda Book had to quickly make her decision whether to run for the 38th Legislative District seat.
“Sam DeMarco (chairman of the Republican Committee of Allegheny County) called me and asked me to run,” said Book, a member of Whitehall Borough council.
She also serves on the board of directors and the board of trustees of the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs and was out of town when DeMarco called, so she wasn’t able to get the petition signatures necessary in time to run in the Republican primary.
Instead, she earned the Republican nomination as a write-in candidate.
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October 29, 2020 |
By Jason A. Mignanelli | Posted in: Politics & Elections
Nick Pisciottano, Democratic nominee in the 38th Legislative District, has family roots in Pittsburgh that date back to before the Civil War.
“I really care about the people in my area,” said Pisciottano. “I want them to know that I’m invested here. I’m here to stay. I want these people to be able to succeed. I want to see them get good jobs and support their families and send their kids to good schools.”
Pisciottano credits family members for his desire to work in public service.
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October 29, 2020 |
By Jason A. Mignanelli | Posted in: Politics & Elections
State Rep. Austin Davis has served the 35th District for the last two years and says he has much more that he’d like to get accomplished.
“I think we’ve done a lot in a short amount of time,” Davis said. “Most recently, I was involved in securing the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency tax credit that will finance an $18 million revitalization project in Clairton.”
“I initially decided to run for office two years ago because I grew up in the Mon Valley,” Davis said. “I went to McKeesport High School. I wanted to use my experience to help my community. I want to make the Mon Valley the best place that it can be. I want to find ways for disadvantaged children to have more opportunities.”
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October 29, 2020 |
By Jason A. Mignanelli | Posted in: Politics & Elections
In the state House District 35 race, incumbent Austin Davis is facing off against write-in candidate and independent Don Nevills of Clairton.
Don Nevills is a 14-year Navy veteran and small business owner.
“I’m sick and tired of all the corruption and lies,” Nevills said. “I used to complain about it but now I wanted to step up and actually try to make a difference.”
Nevills is running as a write-in candidate because he joined the race after the primary. Nevills also considered a bid at a U.S. House of Representatives seat, but would have needed to get 5,000 signatures on petitions to be placed on the ballot as an independent.
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October 25, 2020 |
By Vickie Babyak | Posted in: Crime and Police News, McKeesport and Region News
Devin Brown, 7, of McKeesport is introduced to K9 Officer Ryco by his handler, police Sgt. Fran Angert, as his mom, Heather Nelson, looks on. (Vickie Babyak photo for Tube City Almanac)
A second-grader at Propel McKeesport surprised city police on Saturday morning with 47 custom-ordered face masks.
Devin Brown, 7, of McKeesport, has admired police officers since an incident at a Greensburg diner, said his mother, Heather Nelson.
A Pennsylvania state trooper stopped in to eat lunch and gave Devin a “junior trooper” sticker badge. “Ever since then, he’s wanted to be a policeman when he grows up,” Nelson said. Devin has plastic handcuffs and plays with his pretend police toys all the time, she said.
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October 24, 2020 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News, White Oak News
The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County has approved an upgrade project designed to make the McKeesport water treatment plant, shown here, more reliable. A small mechanical equipment building, shown at lower left, will be replaced by a new facility with room for expansion. (Submitted photo)
The water authority that serves McKeesport, Port Vue, Versailles and White Oak has approved a $7.8 million project to replace the intake structure at the city’s water treatment plant.
That could prevent a repeat of an incident in August that caused an overnight water outage for some local residents served by the facility, and a more serious problem last year that resulted in a boil-water advisory.
At a meeting this month, the board of directors of the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County authorized the upgrades, which will improve water supply reliability for customers supplied by the plant, said Matthew Junker, authority spokesman.
The McKeesport plant draws water from the Youghiogheny River and treats it for its own customers, as well as for residents of Duquesne, which buys water in bulk from MAWC.
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