May 17, 2017 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: History
May 15, 2007: Voters in Pennsylvania overwhelmingly rejected a proposal from Gov. Ed Rendell to allow school districts to lower their property taxes in exchange for enacting higher wage taxes. The referendum called for by Act 1, the "Taxpayer Relief Act," was rejected in 98 percent of Pennsylvania school districts.
As the Pennsylvania Taxpayers Cyber Coalition noted at the time, "Part of the issue with funding (Pennsylvania) schools is that rural or older districts do not have the assessed value to support education. If they do not have the assessed value, they will not have the aggregate income level either ... the shift is especially valueless in distressed districts and the overall tax increase in rich districts is smaller than in distressed ones."
In an editorial, Tube City Almanac said Rendell had received a "spanking" from Pennsylvania and suggested that Act 1 was only shifting the tax burden, not reforming an unfair system for funding schools.
For his part, Rendell said voters were "were confused" and didn't have enough information.
"Let's put to rest the legend that Fast Eddie (Rendell) is a political genius," we editorialized. "For whatever reason, he keeps misreading the mood of the citizens and other elected officials, making his political acumen looks less 'David L. Lawrence in his prime' and more 'second-term Milton Shapp.'"
May 16, 2017 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Westmoreland County has begun work on its newest industrial park, to be located near West Newton.
At a meeting last week of the Mon Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce in Rostraver Twp., Westmoreland County Commission Chair Gina Cerilli said the new facility in Sewickley Twp., to be known as Commerce Crossing, will hopefully begin accepting its first tenants in 2018.
The park will be located adjacent to Interstate 70, she said, adding "our goal is 150 acres of pad-ready sites."
According to county officials, the site will include direct railroad access. Cerilli said Westmoreland is hoping the site will be attractive for businesses that are related to Shell Chemical Co.'s new ethane cracking plant, now under construction near Monaca, Beaver County.
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May 16, 2017 |
By David Stephens | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News, White Oak News
White Oak borough council could decide by August whether to pursue a project to make Lincoln Way better for pedestrians.
At Monday's meeting, council discussed the possibility of pursuing a multimodal transportation grant from the state Department of Community and Economic Development to upgrade lighting, pedestrian crosswalks and signage along Lincoln Way and other side-walked areas.
The grant can also be used to add benches and trash cans to the sidewalks, borough officials said. But placing the benches would offer their own set of challenges, and some council members said it might not be worth pursuing them as part of the grant, particularly since the borough no longer has a bus route.
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May 15, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Above: McKeesport Area High School principal Tom Bauman; band director Drew DeCarlo; orchestra director Sarah Persin; and Mark Despotakis, director of market development for Progressive Music. The National Association of Music Merchants last week recognized McKeesport Area School District as one of the best communities in the country for music education; Despotakis helped to present the award. (Photo courtesy Progressive Music)
McKeesport-based Progressive Music Company has been named one of the Top 100 musical instrument dealers in the world by the National Association of Music Merchants, a spokesman said.
NAMM, the worldwide association of stores that sell music and related products, will formally present the award to Progressive Music on July 14 at the Summer NAMM Show in Nashville, Tenn.
It's the fifth time that Progressive Music, which recently celebrated its 70th anniversary, has been named to the Top 100 list. The company is located on Fifth Avenue, Downtown.
The company is "honored" to make the list during its anniversary year, said Mark Despotakis, director of market development for Progressive.
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May 15, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Members of the knitting club at the Carnegie Library of McKeesport "bombed" the facility on Saturday morning with a massive, colorful project. (No one was injured, though reports indicate a few stitches were dropped.)
The group, called the "Mad Hatters," decorated one of the trees on the library grounds with its knitting.
The Mad Hatters are one of hundreds of groups from around the world that will be participating in "World Wide Knit in Public Day" on June 10. World Wide Knit in Public Day began in 2005 and the McKeesport group participated for the first time in 2016.
The event at Carnegie Library will begin at 10 a.m. and is open to knitters of any skill level. For more information, visit the website or call Mary Rose Bendel at the library at (412) 672-0625.
(Photos courtesy Carnegie Library of McKeesport.)
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May 15, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Residents of North Huntingdon Twp., North Versailles Twp., Irwin, North Irwin, Forward Twp., West Newton and Sewickley Twp., among other municipalities, are being ordered to conserve water until further notice.
But McKeesport, Port Vue, Versailles and White Oak are not among the communities affected by a mandatory water conservation order issued by the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County, a spokesman said.
Residents in the affected communities are prohibited from activities such as watering lawns and shrubs, washing cars or sidewalks, filling swimming pools, and operating artificial waterfalls or decorative fountains.
The outage is also affecting some customers of Pennsylvania-American Water Co. in Forward Twp. who draw their water from the MAWC system, according to a PAWC spokesman.
“The repairs are making good progress, but thus far are tentative in nature, so we are unable to forecast when a return to normal service will occur,” said Michael F. Kukura, resident manager of the MAWC, in a prepared statement.
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May 11, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
A monument honoring 23 McKeesport residents killed while serving in the military during the Vietnam War will be unveiled at 12 noon Saturday.
The ceremony in the auditorium of McKeesport Senior High School, 1960 Eden Park Blvd., is open to the public and also will be streamed live on the district's website at www.mckasd.net, said spokeswoman Kristen James.
Volunteers, including former White Oak police Chief Joe Hoffman, raised more than $6,400 to complete the monument to the "McKeesport 23." Families of several of the fallen service members are expected to attend and tell their stories, James said.
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May 11, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
A portion of Bunola River Road in Forward Twp. has been closed due to a landslide, said a district spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.
The state-owned road is closed between Elkhorn Road and River Hill Road and traffic is being detoured as geotechnical engineers evaluate the roadway.
The posted detour includes River Hill Road and Raccoon Run Road. The roadway will remain closed until further notice as a precaution, the PennDOT spokesman said. Approximately 856 vehicles use the roadway on a daily basis.
May 11, 2017 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Port Vue will hold its rabies clinic from 12 noon to 3 p.m. Saturday (May 13) at the borough garage, 1194 Romine Ave. (rear), a spokesperson said.
The cost $7 per animal for a rabies shot, or $20 for a rabies and distemper shot.
May 11, 2017 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements
(Above: Members of the McKeesport Lions Club and letter carriers help collect food donations during the 2016 Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive. Photo courtesy Lions Clubs International.)
For the past few days, McKeesport-area postal workers have been delivering paper bags for this weekend's food drive.
Retired letter carrier Chuck Jarrell hopes Mon-Yough residents respond this Saturday (May 13) like they did last year, when people served by the McKeesport post office donated enough canned, dry and non-perishable foods --- 24,421 pounds worth --- to fill three trucks.
"We had fantastic support last year," says Jarrell, who retired five years ago after more than 35 years of service with the United States Postal Service. "People in McKeesport are very generous."
"But the need is more than ever," he says. "There are so many people who need this help through no fault of their own --- whether they've been laid off, or they're working a job that's minimum wage."
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