December 17, 2019 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Carnegie Library of McKeesport’s “Reading Social” book club will meet at 12 noon Wednesday to discuss the book “Cold Comfort Farm” by Stella Gibbons.
A spokeswoman said the group will meet at Luciano’s Restaurant, 1212 Long Run Road, White Oak. Registration is not necessary and the meeting is open to the public.
December 16, 2019 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News, White Oak News
(Photo courtesy FBI Pittsburgh field office)
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and White Oak police are looking for a suspect in connection with the robbery Saturday of the PNC Bank on Lincoln Way.
FBI spokeswoman Catherine Policicchio said a man entered the branch at 2:45 p.m., just before it was scheduled to close for the day, and demanded money. The suspect did not show a weapon and left the bank on foot, Policicchio said.
No one was injured, she said.
The FBI has not disclosed how much money, if any, was taken in the theft and did not say if any customers were in the bank at the time. A PNC Bank spokeswoman declined comment.
December 16, 2019 |
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.
Dennis Davin, state secretary of community and economic development (fourth from left, first row) joins city and county officials, state Sen. Jim Brewster (seventh from left, first row), McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko (fifth from left, second row) and U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle (eighth from left, first row) announcing details of a six-year, $3 million development program. (Photo special to Tube City Almanac)
State officials approved a $3 million package of tax credits that will enable McKeesport to demolish blighted buildings in the Downtown business district and prepare the former Penn-McKee Hotel for possible reuse.
Through Pennsylvania's Neighborhood Assistance Program, or NAP, the six-year plan will be funded through investments by Duquesne Light, First Commonwealth Bank, the gas-drilling company Noble Energy and UPMC Health System.
"We really appreciate this major investment by these corporations that reflects their belief that McKeesport is a great place to do business, and its future is bright," said Dennis Davin, state secretary of community and economic development.
The city is targeting most of a block of Fifth Avenue between Lysle Boulevard, Sinclair Street and Sheridan Alley for demolition, and hoping to environmentally remediate the Penn-McKee to prepare it for redevelopment.
December 16, 2019 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
A recruiter from the U.S. Census Bureau will be at Carnegie Library of McKeesport from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today (Dec. 16) to talk about temporary jobs with the agency.
The bureau is recruiting workers to help collect results for the 2020 census.
The jobs offer paid training and flexible hours, a spokesperson said.
The library is located at 1507 Library Ave., McKeesport. For more information, call (412) 672-0625.
December 16, 2019 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, West Newton News
The West Newton Center for Active Adults has posted several upcoming events, including two concerts and a craft event.
For more information on any program, call (724) 872-4976. The center is located at 103 E. Main St.
A spokesperson said the center will host "Lunch and a Show" on Dec. 20 featuring classic country music by "Keepin' It Country." A donation of $2 is requested for lunch, and tickets to the performance cost $5 in advance. The lunch will include chicken creole, green beans, rice pilaf and peaches.
December 15, 2019 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport Area School District’s decision to compete in WPIAL’s Class 4A for football in 2020-21 and 2021-22 was done for student safety reasons, school officials said.
PIAA reclassifies districts every two years. At the school board’s open agenda meeting, School Director James Brown said the reclassification of McKeesport Area’s football team from 5A to 4A was approved in November.
Boys’ basketball will continue to compete in 5A.
Brown said the some of the schools classified as 5A for football have “double our numbers, double our student body population.”
December 13, 2019 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, Entertainment, White Oak News
The Mon Yough Chorale will proudly present its annual Christmas concert, “A Countdown To Christmas,” at 3 p.m. Sunday (Dec. 15), a spokeswoman said.
The concert will be performed at Sampson's Mills Presbyterian Church, 1665 Lincoln Way, White Oak. Tickets are $8 and available at the door. A cookie reception will follow.
(Photo courtesy Mon Yough Chorale)
December 12, 2019 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Students participating in the Career Works program at the Tube City Center for Business and Innovation pose with Lisa Abel-Palmieri, Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania president and chief executive officer (fourth from right) and Emily Donato, career development coordinator (sixth from right). (Tube City Almanac photo)
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania is scouting locations for a new, larger facility in McKeesport that would serve a much broader footprint in Allegheny County.
Lisa Abel-Palmieri, president and chief executive officer, told Tube City Almanac the Pittsburgh-based non-profit wants to serve a growing demand for services for young people in the Mon Valley and eastern boroughs of Pittsburgh.
"We're excited to continue to grow our footprint in the Mon Valley," she said.
The new facility would include a "maker space" for STEM education, community center, gymnasium space and classrooms, Abel-Palmieri said. Although the facility is still in the planning stage, the organization hopes to possibly break ground in "two to three years" and will need to raise funds to it possible, she said.
December 11, 2019 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: Duquesne News, McKeesport and Region News
Linda Iverson, Wilkinsburg school superintendent, says some of her students are dealing with multiple generations of poverty and trauma. (Richard Finch Jr. photo)
School superintendents who attended a press conference in McKeesport on Thursday said most urban school districts in the Mon-Yough area --- and across the country --- face similar challenges created by poverty.
In the Wilkinsburg School District, about 99 percent of approximately 1,000 students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, said Linda J. Iverson, superintendent.
Some of them are coming from generations of poverty and "fragmented" home environments, she said.
“It's not just that they're coming in from trauma-informed instances," she said. "They may not have had food or sleep the night before, or they may not have clothes.”
December 11, 2019 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Mark Holtzman Jr., McKeesport Area School District superintendent, voices his frustrations with Pennsylvania's charter school law at a press conference on Thursday. (Richard Finch Jr. photo)
Charter schools are causing “financial instability” to urban school systems, said McKeesport Area School District Superintendent Mark Holtzman Jr. and officials from other area districts, who participated in a state-wide rally Thursday to ask Pennsylvania legislators for charter school reform.
The news conference held in McKeesport was part of an effort among nearly 20 other districts and timed to coincide with the 64th anniversary of the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycotts sparked by Rosa Parks.
State Sen. Jim Brewster joined Holtzman and school district superintendents Sue Moyer of Duquesne City, Nancy Hines of Penn Hills and Linda J. Iverson of Wilkinsburg to discuss the impact of charter school funding in Mon Valley school districts.
