October 01, 2019 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport officials are pressuring owners of vacant commercial properties like this one across from city hall to "either pay the fines and fix the building up, or sell it," Mayor Michael Cherepko says. (Tube City Almanac photo)
In 1960, McKeesport was the second-largest retail center in Allegheny County, with more than 700 stores doing $100 million in sales --- adjusted for inflation, about $857 million today.
Fifty years later, there were only 81 retail businesses in the city, doing about $300 million in business.
Vacant storefronts fill entire blocks of Fifth Avenue, once the city's main commercial street. But over the past year, something new has been showing up on otherwise empty store windows --- condemnation notices.
"As we continue to market our city and try to attract new businesses in addition to new residents, one of the biggest obstacles we face is blight in our commercial district," McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko says. "Over the last year or so, we’ve really gotten aggressive in addressing issues in the Downtown area."
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September 30, 2019 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
North Versailles Twp. commissioners will consider an ordinance requiring a sewer dye test to be performed prior to the sale and transfer of any property.
At September's meeting, the commissioners authorized Township Manager Patricia Logo to advertise the ordinance. Commissioners are expected to vote on the proposal at their October meeting.
In other business, commissioners approved a subdivision and consolidation request for the former Nigro's Restaurant at Fifth Avenue and Washington Road.
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September 30, 2019 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: Duquesne News
A Duquesne city councilman acknowledged that recent meetings have been “lengthy and contentious,” but said elected officials are working towards a common goal.
“People need to understand the mills are gone from the city and so is the tax base they supported,” Councilman Tim Caldwell said after the Sept. 24 meeting. “It’s a different era. Once we get our finances in order we’ll be on top of our game. Despite what people are saying, Duquesne is coming up.”
Duquesne has been under Act 47 financially distressed status since 1991, but is working on a plan to exit that process by 2022. Caldwell said council also is focused on bringing in partners to redevelop blighted properties.
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September 30, 2019 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne City Council has directed the mayor or police chief to respond to complaints submitted to the new citizens' police review board within 30 days.
At the Sept. 24 meeting, council approved a motion presented by councilwoman Terra Henderson-Murphy designed to streamline the process.
The move came after residents filled council chambers, many of them speaking out about their frustrations with how the review board process has been handled up until now. Prior to the meeting, there was no established timeframe for complaints to be investigated.
“Residents don’t feel they're being heard,” Councilman Tim Caldwell said after the meeting. “They are concerned they are not getting answers right away.”
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September 30, 2019 |
By Chris Baumann | Posted in: Duquesne News, McKeesport and Region News
In August, members of the LaRosa Boys & Girls Club and Duquesne-West Mifflin Boys & Girls Club participated in a STEM summer camp led by McKeesport's Blueroof Technologies. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania are opening an after-school career preparation academy in October at the former McKeesport Daily News Building, Downtown. (Photo courtesy Boys and Girls Club of Western Pennsylvania, via Facebook.)
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania is opening a Workforce Development Academy called Career Works in the beginning of October in Downtown McKeesport.
Located in the Tube City Center for Business and Innovation --- the former Daily News Building at 409 Walnut St.--- the program will primarily focus on developing career opportunities for highschool students grades 9-12.
Students from any area school district are welcome to participate and applications are being accepted online. The program will meet from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. weekdays beginning Oct. 1 through June 1.
Career Works will offer academic development, soft skill development, career coaching, internship programs and many other valuable career-related resources, said Lisa Abel-Palmieri, president and chief executive officer of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania.
“Our organization has been offering career development for over a decade, but we want to serve a broader teen demographic,” she said. “We want to retain students past the K-8 level. In the past they have tended to lose interest in the organization due to a lack of programming for their age range.”
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September 27, 2019 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements
People who are concerned about the use of e-cigarettes and “vapes” by their children and grandchildren are invited to a free forum Saturday (Sept. 28) at the Healthy Village Learning Institute.
Founder Keith Murphy said the free information session will begin at 4 p.m. and is expected to last about 90 minutes.
The forum is free and open to the public, said Murphy, who hopes to hold additional sessions in the future on the health risks of vaping.
“There was a call from parents and grandparents saying, my kid is doing this stuff,” Murphy says. “Locally, if we know that our kids are vaping inside middle school, inside high school, that, for us, says we have a building problem right now.”
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September 27, 2019 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Tube City Almanac photo)
One of the last vestiges of the railroad tracks that once cut through the heart of Downtown is finally getting a makeover.
McKeesport City Council this month awarded a $24,500 contract to Kucich Construction Inc. to renovate the former Baltimore & Ohio Railroad crossing tower at the corner of Walnut Street and Sixth Avenue.
McKeesport-based Kucich was the lowest responsible bidder, city officials said.
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September 27, 2019 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s visit this month to Twin Rivers Elementary gave McKeesport Area School District a chance to share its views on charter schools, Superintendent Mark Holtzman said.
During Wednesday’s school board meeting, Holtzman discussed the Sept. 4 joint news conference with Wolf.
“We were able to talk about some of the things that need to change when it comes to charter schools,” Holtzman said.
At the press conference, Wolf discussed charter school reform including what he called a “fee-for-service model,” that will charge charter schools to resolve payment disputes with local districts, enabling the Pennsylvania Department of Education to recoup costs they are currently incurring from charter schools.
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September 27, 2019 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
A portion of the transcript provided by family members. (Photo via Facebook.)
The superintendent of McKeesport Area School District will meet with an Allegheny County judge who reportedly called the school system substandard.
According to family members, the fact that the child’s mother lived in McKeesport was the deciding factor in awarding custody to the child’s father.
At Wednesday’s board meeting, Superintendent Mark Holtzman Jr. confirmed Judge Kathryn Hens-Greco will tour the school district with him on Oct. 25.
Hens-Greco’s remarks were reportedly made Aug. 7 during a child custody hearing. What appears to be an official court transcript was posted on Facebook by the child’s mother and has been widely circulated.
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September 26, 2019 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
(Photo courtesy state Rep. Ed Gainey)
State Rep. Ed Gainey will deliver the keynote address Oct. 5 when the McKeesport Unit of the NAACP holds its 59th annual Human Rights Dinner.
An NAACP spokeswoman said Gainey's topic will be, "Where Do We Go From Here?"
The dinner will be held at the Palisades Ballroom, 100 Fifth Ave. at Water Street, Downtown. A reception begins at 5 p.m. and the dinner and program start at 6 p.m.
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