May 27, 2020 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A McKeesport man is being held without bail in the Allegheny County Jail in connection with a stabbing at a Downtown apartment building.
Jeffrey S. Leisten, 52, is charged by county police with homicide, burglary and robbery in the death of Gordon Danielson Jr., 57, at McKeesport Downtown Housing, 523 Sinclair St.
A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for June 10 before Allegheny County Judge Kim Berkeley Clark.
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May 27, 2020 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A city woman died after falling or jumping from a ninth-story window at the Midtown Towers apartments, Allegheny County police said.
Aaliyah Johnson, 32, was pronounced dead at the scene in the 500 block of Sinclair Street at around 8:21 a.m. Tuesday, said county police Lt. Venerando Costa.
A passerby discovered Johnson’s body on the sidewalk and called McKeesport police.
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May 26, 2020 |
By Kevin Kino | Posted in: Politics & Elections
Political newcomer Paul Eagle is running a write-in campaign for the 38th Legislative District seat currently held by state Rep. Bill Kortz.
Eagle was born and raised in Dravosburg, where he also currently resides. He took criminal justice courses at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and is a graduate of Community College of Allegheny County.
He currently serves as a Port Vue police officer and as police/resource officer in the West Mifflin Area School District, as well as constable for Dravosburg Borough.
Eagle is interested in running for office because he feels not enough gets done due to party divisions.
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May 25, 2020 |
By Kevin Kino | Posted in: Politics & Elections
With state Rep. Bill Kortz announcing his retirement after 14 years, residents of the 38th Legislative District will be selecting his replacement.
Nick Pisciottano is currently seeking the Democratic nomination in the district, which includes Baldwin, Dravosburg, Glassport, Liberty, Pleasant Hills, Port Vue, South Park Twp., West Mifflin and Whitehall.
Pisciottano is a fourth-generation West Mifflin resident with deep roots in the community.
“I have grandparents, and great-grandparents that have been involved in local politics, local volunteer clubs, school teachers, things like that, for generations,” he says.
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May 24, 2020 |
By Emily Pidgeon | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The author’s garden in McKeesport. (Emily Pidgeon photo)
Since news of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States broke earlier this year, most people are spending their time close to home — and many of them appear to have turned to gardening.
Local greenhouses and nurseries as well as big box stores say they’re low on stock or, in some cases, completely sold out of starter plants, seeds, annual and perennial flowers, and herbs and gardening supplies, including soil and mulch.
It seems like “victory gardens” have come back in a big way during the COVID-19 pandemic, but what exactly are they?
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May 22, 2020 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News, McKeesport and Region News
A U.S. Department of Justice grant will provide more than $119,000 to McKeesport to help support police operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The grant from the federal Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding program was announced this week by U.S. Attorney Scott W. Brady in Pittsburgh.
The public safety funds can be used for the most pressing needs of state and local law-enforcement agencies, including new hiring and overtime pay, training, personal protective equipment and supplies and medical needs of prisoners.
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May 22, 2020 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, North Versailles Twp. News
Portions of Route 30 in North Versailles Twp. and East McKeesport will be reduced to a single lane of traffic in each direction Tuesday (May 26) as crews continue a $13.6 million improvement project.
The milling and paving work was to have been completed Thursday (May 21), but was rained out, said Steve Cowan, district spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.
The highway is being upgraded between Lenox Avenue in Forest Hills and Route 48 in North Versailles. The project includes milling and resurfacing, drainage improvements, installation of wheelchair accessible ramps at crosswalks, new guide rails, traffic signal upgrades and improved pavement markings.
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May 21, 2020 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: Crime and Police News, White Oak News
White Oak police Officer Gregory Smith has been commended for his help investigating a bank robbery in December.
At Monday’s council meeting, Mayor Ina Jean Marton read a letter from FBI Supervisory Special Agent Timothy Wolford commending Smith for providing “exceptional assistance” in assisting the FBI during the investigation of the Dec. 14, 2019 robbery of the PNC Bank in White Oak.
The investigation led to the indictment March 3 by a federal grand jury of Chezeq Morgan, 26, of Monroeville, on robbery charges.
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May 21, 2020 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: White Oak News
Plans to open Heritage Hill Pool this summer are in limbo.
At Monday’s council meeting, White Oak officials said it’s possible the pool could open under limited conditions if the borough can adhere to public health guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Borough Manager John Palyo said White Oak is still under an emergency declaration order at the local, state and federal levels. “The declaration has not been relaxed, released or removed,” he said.
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May 18, 2020 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A city man who appeared to have been stabbed multiple times was found dead Sunday evening inside his apartment at the former YMCA of McKeesport, Downtown.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office has identified the victim as Gordon Danielson Jr., 57.
Police were called to McKeesport Downtown Housing, 523 Sinclair St., just after 6 p.m. Sunday and discovered Danielson dead inside his apartment.
The Allegheny County police homicide unit is investigating. No further details were released.
