White Oak Council Considers Zoning Changes for Marijuana Clinics, Gas Drilling

September 20, 2017 |

By Cami DiBattista | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News, White Oak News

White Oak council is considering changes to the borough’s zoning rules to govern how it would handle medical marijuana clinics as well as future oil and gas drilling operations.

At a public hearing Monday at the municipal building, Mike Hammond, filling in for borough Solicitor Krisha DiMascio, gave a brief overview of the purpose of each proposed change.

The borough currently has no zoning regulations governing either medical marijuana or oil and gas drilling.

The proposed medical marijuana zoning ordinance, similar to other ordinances passed across state, outlines where a dispensary could be located and provides penalties for violations.

Under the proposed White Oak ordinance, “the dispensaries (could be) zoned only in commercial and light industrial zones, meaning they (could) not be located near any schools,” Council President Ron Massung said.

 
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Mon-Yough Catholic Parishes Face Sweeping Realignment

September 19, 2017 |

By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

  • Editor's Note: We would appreciate hearing from Mon-Yough area Catholics about their opinions on these proposed church groupings. Opinions can be kept anonymous, upon request. Email tubecitytiger@gmail.com.

Roman Catholic churches in East McKeesport, Elizabeth, Glassport, Liberty, McKeesport and White Oak could be put into a single "parish grouping" as the Diocese of Pittsburgh works to address a shortage of priests.

The realignment of the seven parishes --- many of which were created after church mergers in the 1980s, '90s and 2000s --- are being recommended to Bishop David Zubik by a commission as part of an ongoing initiative called "On Mission for The Church Alive!"

The diocese said no immediate church mergers are planned, and said no church buildings are closing at this time.

The groupings were announced this weekend in the diocesan newspaper, the Pittsburgh Catholic.

 
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Benny Benack III to Headline Penn State Jazz Benefit

September 19, 2017 |

By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements

(Perry Bindelglass photo courtesy Benny Benack III.)

Hot on the heels of his first solo album, trumpeter Benny Benack III will headline the 14th annual "All That's Jazz" benefit concert at Penn State Greater Allegheny.
 
A fundraiser for the campus' scholarship fund, the event will be held at 6 p.m. Oct. 14 at the Student Community Center, a spokeswoman said.

Grandson of jazz trumpeter Benny Benack, a Clairton native who popularized traditional and Dixieland-style jazz in the Pittsburgh area in the 1960s, '70s and '80s, Benack III released his debut solo album, "One of a Kind," on Friday.

Over the past 13 years, more than $1 million has been raised for scholarships at Penn State by "All That's Jazz."

 
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Jerome Street Bridge Repairs Underway

September 19, 2017 |

By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements

Repairs to McKeesport's Jerome Street Bridge will cause lane restrictions for an indefinite amount of time, the state Department of Transportation has announced.

Traffic is currently being diverted from the right lane on the westbound side of the bridge, heading from Downtown to 10th Ward.

But PennDOT District 11 spokesman Steve Cowan said crews will be doing repairs on the bridge structure in the opposite, eastbound direction. PennDOT employees will conduct the work.

The bridge, which carries more than 11,000 vehicles daily, is scheduled for a $13 million rehabilitation project in 2019.

 

Duquesne Council Eyes Improvements to Roads, Business District

September 15, 2017 |

By Cami DiBattista | Posted in: Duquesne News, McKeesport and Region News

Duquesne officials are looking to improve road conditions in the city --- and encourage shopping in its business district.

With the state Department of Transportation planning to repave portions of Route 837, city council on Wednesday voted to approve a maintenance reimbursement agreement to help maintain their portion of the project.

“As part of the agreement, we’re responsible for the curbs and handicapped accessibility ramps,” said Frank Piccolino, city manager.

The work, which will focus on the stretch of road from the Thompson Run Bridge in Duquesne to the Rankin Bridge in Whitaker, will cost the city around $18,000 and will result in repairs to the existing curbs and the installation of new ramps.

Construction on the project is expected to begin sometime next year.

 
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Log Jammer, Kennywood Staple Since 1975, to Be Retired

September 14, 2017 |

By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements

Kennywood Park's first million-dollar ride is getting a last hurrah this weekend, and going out with a splash. (Sorry.)

The venerable West Mifflin amusement park announced Thursday that the Log Jammer is being closed and will be replaced by a different attraction.

"It is a bittersweet decision, but one that in time will create some exciting opportunities for our guests," said Jerome Gibas, Kennywood general manager, in a prepared statement. "While no final decisions have been made regarding what will replace the Log Jammer, Kennywood is committed to enhancing our guests' experiences while preserving our signature balance of modern thrills and traditional family favorites."

Kennywood's summer season ends this Sunday. The park re-opens with Halloween themed attractions for Phantom Fright Nights beginning Sept. 29 and continuing Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through Oct. 29. Holiday light displays begin Nov. 24.

 
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#TBT: McKeesport to Pittsburgh Train Schedule, 1964

September 14, 2017 |

By Jason Togyer | Posted in: History

Throwback this Thursday to 1964, when Mon Valley residents could board a train in Downtown McKeesport --- "all cars air-conditioned" -- to New York, Washington, Baltimore, Akron, Detroit, Chicago ... or Willard, Ohio.

You always wanted to go to Willard, Ohio, didn't you?

The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, whose tracks entered McKeesport between Market Street and Walnut Street in the Seventh Ward, then cut across Walnut Street, Fifth Avenue and Lysle Boulevard, then had six long-distance trains (three westbound, three eastbound) each day that stopped in McKeesport, at a train station roughly on the present site of the Dollar Bank drive-thru location on Lysle Boulevard.

That doesn't count the 16 commuter trains (eight east, eight west) that connected Versailles to Pittsburgh, stopping along the way in Christy Park, McKeesport, Braddock and Rankin. One train each way even went from Connellsville to Pittsburgh, through West Newton, Sutersville and Coulter.

 
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BBQ Dinner Slated at Christy Park Church

September 13, 2017 |

By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements

Christy Park United Methodist Church, 29th Avenue at Beale Street, will have a barbecue dinner from 2 to 6 p.m. Oct. 7 with food prepared by "BBQ Stu" Wilson, a spokeswoman said.

Meals will include a full rack of ribs for $22, a half-rack of ribs for $12 and a half chicken for $9.

Meals include baked beans, lexington slaw and a biscuit. Call  (412) 678-3110.

 

County Exec Leads Six-Day Bike Trip Through Region

September 13, 2017 |

By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News

Lucy McNee, a bicyclist from Scotland who is traveling across the United States, jokes with state Sen. Jim Brewster on Wednesday morning outside McKeesport's trailside hostel. (Tube City Almanac photo)


Bicyclist Lucy McNee slept Tuesday night in McKeesport's trailside hostel and expected to hit the trail Wednesday at about "half past seven."

The audiologist from Sterling, Scotland, didn't know she and her bike, Bertie, would have to wait for an official welcoming committee.

Just after 9 a.m., Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, former U.S. Attorney David Hickton, Westmoreland County Commissioner Ted Kopas, and a delegation of other local leaders, philanthropists and their families, arrived on the first leg of a six-day bicycle tour from downtown Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C.

For McNee, who is keeping a blog of her experiences, it was only the latest unexpected pleasure of a coast-to-coast American bicycling trip that is taking her from the Pacific Ocean at Coos Bay, Oregon, to West Quoddy Head Lighthouse in Maine.

 
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Police Log: Sept. 12, 2017

September 12, 2017 |

By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News

  • Arrest records published here were provided by the McKeesport Police Department.
  • Not all arrest records are published.
  • A report of an arrest does not mean the person identified has been convicted of a crime.
  • All people arrested are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
 
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