July 25, 2018 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: Announcements, North Versailles Twp. News
The North Versailles Twp. Idlewild Picnic will be held on Aug. 17, a spokesperson said. Tickets are $30 per person, with children ages 2 and under free.
A bus will be available to transport residents to the picnic. The bus departs the Walmart park and ride lot at 10 a.m. Tickets must be purchased no later than Aug. 10 at the township's Parks and Recreation office, 1401 Greensburg Pike, or residents can call (412) 823-6602 ext. 104 for information.
July 24, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Letters to the Editor
Abandoned house awaiting demolition in Maryland. (Amy McGovern photo via Flickr. Licensed under Creative Commons --- Attribution 2.0 Generic.)
Reader Ray Firth writes:
Regarding your July 13 story, "172 Houses Head to Demolition; At Least 50 More to Be Added."
The demolition of blighted properties in McKeesport --- part of the "McKeesport Rising" project --- is important for McKeesport and the families who live near them. The homes being demolished are in terrible shape and old.
These homes also probably have lead paint on the windows, doors and walls.
The 200-plus demolitions will cause a lot of dust when the crews push the houses to the ground, and load the debris into dump trucks. That dust will have lead in it from the old lead paint.
In similar projects in other cities, that dust spread to nearby neighborhoods. They found that more children in those nearby neighborhoods had lead in their blood than before the demolitions.
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July 22, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Commentary-Editorial, Letters to the Editor
(Above: A.M. Rosenthal began his career at The New York Times in 1943 and retired from the paper as a columnist in 1999. He discussed his career in a 1993 interview with C-SPAN.)
Reader Tim Martin writes:
Regarding our July 10 story about city council's decision to hire the Young Preservationists Association of Pittsburgh to evaluate the reuse of the Penn-McKee Hotel ---
I really don't understand why Mr. Togyer is covering the Penn-McKee story, and the editor's notes on top and at the end of July 10's story don't take the curse off the circumstance. You're either in or out, sir.
Tim is absolutely right. Reporters should not be involved with the stories they're covering. Period.
The late A.M. Rosenthal (above), city editor, managing editor and executive editor of The New York Times, supposedly had a colorful rule for his reporters:
"If you want to cover the circus, you can't (make love to) the elephants."
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July 22, 2018 |
By Cami DiBattista | Posted in: White Oak News
White Oak Borough will seek $2.3 million from the state Department of Community and Economic Development for improvements to Lincoln Way.
At July's meeting, council authorized borough officials to apply for the grant from the Commonwealth Financing Authority's Multimodal Transportation Fund.
Officials said the borough is pursuing the money to improve the streetscape along Lincoln Way. The improvements would include new lighting and crosswalks as well as solar-powered trash compactors, Borough Engineer Shane Michael said.
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July 22, 2018 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
Recent heavy rainstorms are causing concern for residents in the Larimer Street section of North Versailles Twp.
During the public comment portion of Thursday's meeting, resident Mary Henning told township commissioners that water "is shooting out of the sewer system" and that she wasn't satisfied with the results of an earlier discussion she had with the township engineer.
“That’s why I showed up today," she said.
Henning's brother, Donald Rush, said he's helping his sister clear land nearby for possible development. “I’ve been studying this for a year, standing out in the rain just to gather information,” Rush said. “Only when it rains extremely hard and for a long period of time does the basin across the street not handle the water.”
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July 18, 2018 |
By Cami DiBattista | Posted in: Announcements, White Oak News
An electronic and household hazardous waste recycling collection drop off program will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday (July 21) at the White Oak Municipal Building, 2280 Lincoln Way.
Residents must register online or by calling 1-866-815-0016. It is a pay as you go program; information is available on the White Oak website and at the borough office.
Bridge City Church is hosting a car cruise from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday at their 3001 Jacks Run Road location. The event is a benefit for the White Oak Police Department.
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July 18, 2018 |
By Cami DiBattista | Posted in: White Oak News
Funding has been approved by the state Department of Transportation’s Green Light-Go program to White Oak in the amount of $601,808, council announced this week.
The program, which is designed to reimburse local municipalities for signal upgrades and intersection safety improvements, should allow for an upgrade to all six traffic lights in the borough, officials said.
In other business, Mayor Ina Jean Marton announced that the White Oak Police Department received a compliance monitoring visit from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency on July 3. The visit was to review how juveniles are being handled within the department.
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July 16, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements
With a month to go until International Village, we're getting ready for our annual video broadcast of events, live from Renziehausen Park.
(Or, as one of our fans charmingly called it last year, "the geeks from the A.V. squad with the equipment they stole from the high school." Jealousy is such an ugly emotion, don't you think?)
Donations:
We would like to raise $750. Donations may be tax-deductible as allowed by law. All donors will be acknowledged on our website, in a sign on our booth at International Village, and during the broadcasts.
You can make a donation by mailing a check or money order to Tube City Community Media Inc., P.O. Box 94, McKeesport, PA 15134-0094, or just click this button:
Advertising:
If your business or organization would like to advertise during our International Village webcast, we need your information no later than Aug. 7! (Advertising does not qualify as a charitable contribution.)
Contact me at tubecitytiger@gmail.com or call me (412) 614-9659.
For $135, we will make a minimum of one 30-second announcement every hour during the broadcast for your group, business or organization, plus we will run an ad on Tube City Online for at least 30 days. We'll also promote your group, business or organization on Twitter and Facebook.
For $250, we will make a minimum of one 60-second announcement every hour to promote your group, business or organization, plus we will run an ad on Tube City Online for at least 60 days. We'll also promote your group, business or organization on Twitter and Facebook.
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July 15, 2018 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Mary of Nazareth Catholic School student Aleena Halaszynski was honored by McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko for upholding the value of "Love." Aleena, who just finished first grade, raised $1,300 for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
McKeesport Mayor Michael Cherepko and city council on Tuesday honored four people for upholding the "McKeesport Message" of "Respect, Dignity, Hope and Love."
Proclamations were presented to three of the four awardees during council's July meeting. Each of the awardees was nominated by the public and selected the McKeesport Message Committee, a subgroup of the Mayor's Select Committee on Crime and Violence.
Honored for this quarter were Walt Yager for upholding the value of "Respect," Tricia Hoover for upholding the value of "Dignity," Hasaan Allen for upholding the value of "Hope," and Aleena Halaszynski for upholding the value of "Love."
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July 13, 2018 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Related Story: School taxes may be paid at discount through Sept. 14
Many property owners in the McKeesport Area School District will be unhappy when their tax bills begin arriving next week.
School property taxes for the 2018-19 school year are increasing 2.11 mills this year, to 19.48 mills. The increase represents an addition $2.11 in taxes on each $1,000 of value of a property.
The increase, and the district's $67 million budget, were approved by an 8-1 vote at the district's June 27 meeting, with school director David Donato dissenting.
According to the real estate tracking website Zillow, the median home value in McKeesport is $55,300, while the median home value in White Oak is about twice as high, at $104,500. The taxes on a home valued at $55,300 will increase $116.68, while the taxes on a home valued at $104,500 will increase $220.50.
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