June 09, 2025 |
By Leslie Savisky | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
ASWP's Brian Shema (left) and Dan Mendenhall work to construct a nesting tower at Renzie Park. (Leslie Savisky photo for Tube City Almanac)
Exciting things are happening for bird lovers at Renziehausen Park as the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania builds a nesting tower for mating chimney swifts.
Native to the eastern United States, the birds can be recognized by their long, slender wings and very short legs. They feed on insects and, as their name implies, often roost in vertical structures, such as chimneys. The birds have been considered in decline since 2010 because they have been losing their habitats.
“They are not endangered,” said Brian Shema, operations director for ASWP. “The population is decreasing annually, though, which is why we want to keep these birds common.”
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June 06, 2025 |
By Adam Reinherz | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport Area School Director Jason Pavlecic updates attendees about the district's relationship with Dick's Sporting Goods Foundation during a meeting Wednesday. (Adam Reinherz photo for Tube City Almanac)
Amid the accusations and blame surrounding the end of a partnership between McKeesport Area School District and Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation, several parties are asking for new discourse.
“Apparently you guys need to hear from a student like me,” Founders’ Hall seventh grader Zada Carr told MASD school directors during a standing-room-only — and often heated — board meeting on Wednesday.
“Food, water, clothing, showers, those are all basic needs for a regular human being that you guys are cutting off,” she said. “If you guys really care about the kids, please try to bring back Dick’s.”
The middle schooler, who was one of two students to speak during the 90-minute contentious meeting, implored adults to remember those affected by a May 27 announcement signaling the end of a nearly four-year relationship between DSGF and MASD.
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June 06, 2025 |
By Tom Leturgey | Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne City Council will have its regular workshop meeting on June 26 and its regular meeting on July 1; however, they will enjoy a summer recess in July and early August.
The July 22 workshop meeting and the August 5 meetings are cancelled. The city’s Home Rule Government Study Commission meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. June 16 at City Hall.
In other business, the Duquesne Boys and Girls Club is hosting a three-on-three basketball tournament from 12 noon to 3 p.m. June 19 at Polish Hill Park.
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June 05, 2025 |
By Adam Reinherz | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Wednesday’s school board meeting attracted more than 70 people. (Adam Reinherz photo for Tube City Almanac)
East End Academy, an alternative school located inside McKeesport Area High School, will close June 30.
The decision, which was made during Wednesday’s special board meeting, was approved by school directors.
Several meeting attendees asked where eligible students would receive district services. School director Jason Pavlecic acknowledged local worries.
“This is not the emotional support side of things,” Pavleic told nearly 70 attendees of Wednesday’s meeting. “This is the alternative education program that deals with the expulsions … We will still maintain the emotional support stuff within the district.”
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June 05, 2025 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A 12th Ward man who was reported missing Wednesday evening was found dead a short time later behind his home, Allegheny County police said.
Jeffrey McKenzie, 60, was pronounced dead at the scene off of Route 48, the Allegheny County medical examiner’s office said.
Police said McKenzie was reported missing at about 7:15 p.m. Wednesday. McKeesport and Versailles Borough police responded and conducted a search.
McKenzie was found in a creek near the 400 block of Long Run Road, Allegheny County police said. Allegheny County homicide detectives are investigating.
Jim Madalinsky, county police spokesman, said the cause and manner of McKenzie’s death are pending completion of the medical examiner’s report.
“There were no obvious signs of trauma and right now it is not considered suspicious,” he said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the county police tip line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
June 05, 2025 |
By Tom Leturgey | Posted in: Duquesne News
This rowhouse at 606 Crawford Ave. is on Duquesne’s demolition list. Its owner says he was never notified of plans to tear it down. (Tom Leturgey photo for Tube City Almanac)
A Duquesne resident had concerns about his properties being on the city’s demolition list. Charles Morgan owns four properties — 600, 602, 606 and 608 — on Crawford Avenue and three have been scheduled to be torn down.
Only 608 isn’t on the list that the city council has been working on for years.
Morgan talked to Duquesne City Council on Tuesday night. He said he’s a truck driver who is gone for long stretches of time. “I haven’t got any notification,” he told city council. “I didn’t get certified mail.”
City Solicitor Myron Sainovich and Mayor R. Scott Adams said the city has had public meetings about all of the properties that are scheduled for demolition, and all have been marked with official paperwork.
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June 02, 2025 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Crime and Police News
Allegheny County police are investigating a shooting that wounded a man early Monday morning.
Police said although the victim was found near the intersection of Coursin Street and Fifth Avenue, Downtown, a preliminary investigation indicates the incident may have happened at another location.
In a release, the county police Homicide Unit said McKeesport police were notified of a possible shooting at 5:19 a.m. and responded to find the victim, whose name was not released, suffering from gunshot wounds. He was transported to the hospital and is in stable condition, police said.
Anyone with information concerning the incident is asked to call the county police tip line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
May 30, 2025 |
By Danielle M. Smith - Public News Service | Posted in: State & Region
The “big beautiful bill” passed by Congressional Republicans may not seem so beautiful to more than 800,000 Pennsylvania residents who rely on local community health centers for health care — including in the Mon-Yough area.
A report from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates more than 800,000 Pennsylvanians who rely on local Community Health Centers could face new barriers to care if proposed Medicaid cuts in the bill — which was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives — are signed into law.
Locally, there are Community Health Centers on Lysle Boulevard in the city, as well as Miller Avenue in Clairton, Braddock Avenue in Braddock and West Street in Homestead.
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May 30, 2025 |
By Danielle M. Smith - Public News Service | Posted in: State & Region
Staff at Philadelphia’s New Kensington Community Development Corp. greet visitors during a gun-violence prevention event in 2024. The organization is one of many across Pennsylvania whose work is threatened by a loss of federal funding. (Photo courtesy New Kensington Community Development Corp.)
A mass shooting on Memorial Day in Philadelphia marred the solemn holiday and also was an aberration — gun-related homicides across Pennsylvania are down 38 percent this year.
But violence prevention advocates are warning that federal funding cuts threaten key programs designed to curb gun-related crimes.
In Philadelphia, the Cure Violence program run by New Kensington Community Development Corporation is one of 350 groups learning their Justice Department grants would end early.
Amy Perez, vice president of programs for the group, said the cuts affect their entire outreach effort, from a youth basketball league to housing services and nutrition programs.
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May 29, 2025 |
By Adam Reinherz | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
A Dick’s Sporting Goods store. The chain moved its corporate headquarters to the Pittsburgh area in 1994 and has been heavily involved in philanthropy over its history. (Archive photo by Mike Mozart from Funny YouTube, USA; licensed under Creastive Commons CC BY 2.0)
Nearly four years before last week’s dissolution of their partnership, Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation and McKeesport Area School District touted a future full of promise.
Speaking to school directors, parents and community members on May 26, 2021, then-Superintendent Mark Holtzman Jr. optimistically described the pair’s first project: a six-week long summer camp in McKeesport.
Holtzman, the son of McKeesport Area School Board President Mark Holtzman Sr., left the district in 2022. He is now the superintendent at Hempfield Area School District in Westmoreland County.
Geared for local students from kindergarten through eighth grade, the summer camp program provided “transportation, food and a wide range of activities and field trips such as visiting the zoo, museums and a pool,” according to the foundation. The intent was to give children a “safe and fun place to spend their summer.”
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