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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October 23, 2020 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Commentary-Editorial
Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, Gov. Tom Wolf and Pardons Board Secretary Brandon Flood (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania file photo from November 2019)
Opinions expressed in editorials and commentaries are those of their authors, and are not those of Tube City Community Media Inc., its board of directors, volunteers, contributors or donors. Responsible replies are welcome.
By Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, State Rep. Jake Wheatley and Brandon Flood
Earlier this year, House Bill 2050 was introduced — a measure to allow for the legal sale of adult-use cannabis (marijuana) through a permitting structure for growers, processors and dispensaries.
There are several great components contained in this bill, including provisions to help our youth, support affordable housing, and provide resources to help minority and women-owned businesses. In addition, it would provide a much-needed influx of revenue to our state at a time when we face significant economic challenges.
Unfortunately, one component of the bill that got lost in the media attention following its introduction is the Cannabis Clean Slate initiative, which would provide for the expungement of cannabis-related offenses for non-violent drug offenders.
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October 22, 2020 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, Politics & Elections
“#298” by Kelley Minars, via Flickr. Licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Take Action Mon Valley is one of several groups that is offering free transportation to polling places on Election Day.
A spokeswoman said the non-profit group will provide Allegheny County voters in McKeesport, Duquesne, Clairton, Braddock, Rankin, West Mifflin and nearby communities with free rides via Lyft, Uber or in a volunteer’s vehicle.
That includes transportation Sunday (Oct. 25) to the county’s satellite polling place at CCAC South Campus in West Mifflin, where absentee and vote-by-mail ballots may be deposited in person, or to the polls on Nov. 3.
To request a ride in from TAMV, call or text (412) 440-8268.
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October 21, 2020 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport officials remain unhappy with service from County Hauling and may go “in a different direction” when the current contract expires.
At this month’s council meeting, Mayor Michael Cherepko said service from the company has improved from a few months ago, when he and other city officials were accompanying trash trucks on their routes and picking up missed garbage.
“They definitely have gotten better,” he said. “Am I happy? No. And I wouldn’t be surprised if we go in a different direction.”
In response to questions from Tube City Almanac, a spokesman for the Rostraver Twp. based company said they “apologize for any inconvenience to residents” and urged them to “reach out to us directly so we can resolve isolated issues.”
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October 21, 2020 |
By Kristen Keleschenyi | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
There will be a prescription drug take-back day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 24) at the North Versailles Twp. police station, 1401 Greensburg Ave., officials said.
In addition, a township-wide clean-up will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 noon Oct. 24. Anyone who would like to participate is asked to meet at the township building.
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