While Pittsburgh political leaders are encouraging Amazon.com to locate its new headquarters in the Steel City, a state senator representing the Steel Valley wants to make sure his constituents aren't left out.
State Sen. Jim Brewster said that he has suggested former industrial sites in Braddock, Clairton, Duquesne, East Pittsburgh and McKeesport as possible locations for an Amazon campus, as well as another former industrial site in New Kensington, Westmoreland County.
“We have to be collaborative and work cohesively so that Amazon gets a full understanding of the array of sites that are available in our region,” Brewster, a Democrat from McKeesport, said. “There are plenty of locations in Southwestern Pennsylvania that are excellent sites and I am certain that the region’s application will be inclusive and strong.”
Amazon.com, the world's largest Internet retailer, is based in Seattle. But in September the company announced that it was looking to create a second headquarters campus somewhere in North America, and that it was prepared to spend up to $5 billion to do so.
The company expects the second headquarters to include "as many as 50,000 high-paying jobs" and claims it will create "tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment" in the surrounding region.
Amazon, which reported nearly $136 billion in revenue last year and employs more than 268,000 people worldwide, contends that it contributed $38 billion to the economy of the Seattle region between 2010 and 2016.
First United Methodist Church will hold a fall concert at 4 p.m. Oct. 22, a spokesperson said.
Scheduled performers include Angel Redwood of Zion Baptist Church and Gena Wells of Judah Ministries International Worship Center, as well as other local musicians.
The concert is free but "love offerings" will be accepted. Refreshments will be served following the concert.
For more information, call (412) 664-9349. The church is located at 1406 Cornell St., near Twin Rivers Elementary School and the Carnegie Library of McKeesport. The event is co-chaired by Della Meekins and Sandra Christian.
UPMC McKeesport will offer free flu vaccinations, cholesterol screenings, giveaways and more at "Fall Into Wellness" this Saturday (Oct. 7).
The health fair will be held from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. on the ground floor of the hospital's Kelly Building, 1500 Fifth Ave. Parking in the hospital garage for the event will be free. Call (412) 664-2306.
A spokeswoman said that free screenings to be offered also will include blood pressure and blood sugar tests and lung function tests. Free giveaways will include "cold and flu survival kits," refreshments and other items. Health professionals will be available to answer questions.
The flu vaccinations will not be given to children under age 18, and a nine-hour fast is recommended for anyone who wants to get a cholesterol screening. No appointments are necessary and the event is open to the public.
A plan for a so-called "bus rapid transit" loop between downtown Pittsburgh and Oakland has the potential to change the way commuters in the Mon Valley get to work or school.
The Port Authority of Allegheny County will hold the first of three public hearings on the bus rapid transit proposal tonight at 6:30 p.m. at The Avenue apartments, 325 Braddock Ave. in Braddock.
The second will be held at 7 p.m. Oct. 11 at the Palisades Ballroom, 100 Fifth Ave., Downtown, and the third at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 18 at Duquesne City Hall, 12 S. Second St.
Port Authority spokesman Adam Brandolph said in a prepared statement that riders of the 61A, 61B and 61C buses are particularly urged to attend the hearings and provide input.
In case you missed it: This week on "Two Rivers, 30 Minutes," we talked to Jacqueline Edmondson, the new chancellor of Penn State University Greater Allegheny, about the students, the programs and role of the McKeesport campus in the region and across the state.
(CSX workers assess the damage following a derailment Wednesday in Downtown McKeesport. Almanac photo.)
The Federal Railway Administration has joined CSX Railroad in trying to determine the cause of a coal train derailment Wednesday afternoon in Downtown McKeesport.
Warren Flatau, a public affairs officer with the FRA in Washington, D.C., said investigators from the agency's Region 2 are looking into the accident, which derailed more than two dozen loaded coal cars, including three that flipped over on the ground behind the McKeesport public safety building.
It may be some time before the final cause of the wreck is determined, Flatau said, but a preliminary report based on the railroad's findings will likely be available for the public in about two months.
Train service was restored Wednesday night on one track through the derailment site, with the first train passing through at approximately 11 p.m., said Rob Doolittle, a CSX spokesman.
Trains will continue to operate while the recovery effort is underway, he said.
Rock Run Road in Elizabeth Twp. will close near Butler's Golf Course next week so that a bridge can be replaced.
A spokesman for the Allegheny County Department of Public Works said the closure begins at 9 a.m. Oct. 4 near the interesction of Williamsburg Drive and Rock Run Road and will continue through the end of November.
The closure is necessary so that crews from Pugliano Construction of Plum can replace a small bridge over a stream called Wildcat Run, the county said.
All traffic to access Butler’s Golf Course will have to enter from Industry Road, the county said.
(Above: Kris Letang prepares to run dek hockey drills with kids at the LaRosa Boys & Girls Club in McKeesport. Submitted photo)
Apparently, when you strip him of his helmet, pads, guards and playoff beard, Kris Letang doesn't look much like Kris Letang.
"A lot of the kids didn't believe it was him," says Jim Barry, director of special projects at the LaRosa Boys & Girls Club on Ravine Street, where the Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman visited on Tuesday, along with Pittsburgh attorney Edgar Snyder. "They kept saying, 'Is that really Kris Letang?'"
It was. Letang, Snyder and several of Snyder's associates spent several hours running dek hockey drills and playing games with about 14 kids, age 10 through 12, in the LaRosa club's outdoor sports pavilion. Later, the guests bought pizza and pop for everyone at the club Tuesday night.
"It was a really good day for us here at the club," says Barry, who also holds an administrative position with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Western Pennsylvania. Letang "is just like a big kid," he says. "They had fun."
(Above: A CSX police officer guards the scene of a train derailment in Downtown McKeesport on Wednesday. Photo special to Tube City Almanac)
(Updated with comments from CSX Transportation.) (Updated with comments from Amtrak.)
No injuries were reported Wednesday afternoon when a CSX coal train derailed behind McKeesport's public safety building on Lysle Boulevard.
Ten loaded 100-ton coal cars were toppled in the derailment, with three overturned in the parking lot of Dura-Bond Industries' electric resistance weld mill.
Witnesses said that the derailing cars narrowly missed the guard shack at Dura-Bond --- the former U.S. Steel McKeesport Tubular Operations plant --- forcing a security guard inside to flee to safety. A utility pole near the guard shack was knocked over.
"It sounded like an earthquake in the building," said McKeesport firefighter John Munsie, who watched the derailment just before 12:30 p.m. from the entrance to the fire station.
