November 14, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Port Authority of Allegheny County's board is expected to vote this week to demolish the dilapidated bus station on Lysle Boulevard.
It's the first step toward building a new transportation center in McKeesport, and possibly expanding the park-and-ride lot.
The directors of the region's largest transit authority will decide on Friday whether to award a $1.2 million contract to Terra Works Inc. to demolish the McKeesport Transportation Center, build a new restroom facility for bus operators, and repair and replace sidewalks and paving.
The price also includes work to be done at a park-and-ride facility in Ross Twp., north of Pittsburgh.
Port Authority's near-term plans do include construction of a new bus station in McKeesport, but the timetable is unclear, spokesman Adam Brandolph said. "We're definitely getting onto that path, but it's still early," he said.
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November 14, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Announcements
Here's an ad from 1952 for the original WMCK.
Just a few weeks ago, our new WMCK.FM, an Internet station serving the McKeesport area, marked its one-year anniversary. Doug Goffus, a member of the Tube City Community Media board of directors, signed on the station with his show, "Goffus Golden Oldies," a mix of rock and roll, pop, jazz, and country from the late 1940s through the 1970s.
He's still going strong and a new episode airs every Tuesday morning at 6 a.m., and repeats on Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons.
We recently marked our first anniversary as an Internet station serving the McKeesport area. Many people have asked if we have plans to create an over-the-air AM or FM radio station. We would love to! But there are no open frequencies.
In the meantime, McKeesport's 1360 --- formerly known as WMCK, WIXZ, WMNY and now WGBN --- has been off the air for almost a year. If it stays off the air until Dec. 8, 2016, the FCC will delete its license permanently.
McKeesport's 1360 is owned by East Liberty's Pentecostal Temple. We have written to the owners of 1360 three times asking if we can help --- but they have not written us back.
So we have no idea what their plans might be for the station. It would be a shame if the station stays "dark," as they say in the radio business, permanently.
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November 04, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Riverside Care Center in McKeesport at times was so understaffed, a "confidential witness" told investigators from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, that incontinent residents who needed to be changed were left to lie in their own waste for up to four hours.
When the witness --- a certified nursing assistant, or CNA, who worked at the facility from 2009 to 2012 --- complained to management, she told investigators, she was disciplined.
Those are among the allegations in a 115-page lawsuit filed Thursday in state Commonwealth Court against Pittsburgh-based Grane Healthcare Co. and 11 of its 12 affiliated nursing homes, which include Riverside in McKeesport and Woodhaven Care Center in Monroeville.
Attorney General Bruce Beemer on Friday said the nursing homes failed to provide basic needs --- including hot food --- to elderly and ill residents, made misleading claims in marketing materials, and billed customers for services that were never provided.
"These alleged misrepresentations not only deceived the residents of these facilities, but Grane’s business practices also degraded residents and increased the risk of negative health consequences," Beemer said. "We believe there is ample evidence that these facilities fell far short when it came to providing essential services."
The lawsuit alleges that Grane violated the state's Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law and asks the court to assess penalties against Grane and the nursing homes, and for Grane and the homes to refund money paid to the nursing homes by the state for services which Beemer claims were never provided.
Grane's Pittsburgh office did not respond Friday afternoon to an email from Tube City Almanac seeking comment.
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November 03, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Allegheny County officials have restricted water use at Kane Regional Center in McKeesport after a resident tested positive for Legionella bacteria.
Letters have been sent to families of all residents and a new water purification system has been installed at the 360-bed facility, which cares for the elderly and for patients suffering serious debilitating illnesses.
County spokeswoman Amie Downs said Thursday that a resident of Kane McKeesport was taken to an area hospital on Oct. 24 and tested positive for Legionella, a water-borne bacteria that can cause a serious respiratory disease called Legionnaires' Disease.
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November 03, 2016 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Crime and Police News
The father of a 17-month-old boy who died in Hi View Gardens on Tuesday night has now been charged in connection with the death.
Andre Price Jr., 23, of McKeesport was arrested by Allegheny County Police detectives on Thursday and charged with two felony counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Police previously charged his estranged girlfriend, Christian Clark, 21, with smothering to death their child, Andre Price III, and attempting to smother their 2-year-old daughter.
Andre Price Jr. is currently being held in Allegheny County Jail pending formal arraignment, said Allegheny County police Lt. Andrew Schurman. A preliminary hearing on the charges is scheduled for 1 p.m. Nov. 14 before Magisterial District Judge Eugene Riazzi Jr. in McKeesport.
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November 03, 2016 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Neighbors from the Craig Street area --- some afraid of being identified for fear of retaliation --- came to McKeesport City Council Wednesday night to beg for relief from what one called "domestic terrorism."
They say that gun play centered around one house in the 1400 block has become a common occurrence, both at night and in broad daylight, including this past Sunday afternoon.
"We're being held hostage in our own houses," said one neighbor, "B." (Editor's note: Tube City Almanac is voluntarily withholding the names of the people who spoke to protect them and their families.) "It's like domestic terrorism --- it's bad. There are bullet holes everywhere. If you guys can't do something about this, I've got to move."
The shootings were the topic of a news story Tuesday on Pittsburgh's WPXI-TV (11).
Both neighbors and McKeesport police say the shootings are targeting one particular house on the block, where a tenant's boyfriend is suspected of criminal activity. Police Chief Bryan Washowich said he was not at liberty to identify the house, or the suspected activity.
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November 03, 2016 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A McKeesport man has been indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with illegally selling heroin and a powerful painkiller that led to an overdose death.
Henry "Bundles" Little-Proctor, 26, is charged with conspiracy to distribute heroin and fentanyl and possession with intent to deliver, U.S. Attorney David Hickton announced today in Pittsburgh.
The five-count indictment charges Little with distributing heroin and fentanyl, a painkiller 80 times more powerful than morphine, from October 2015 to July 2016, a spokeswoman for Hickton said.
In addition, the indictment further alleges that on July 13, Little-Proctor sold fentanyl that resulted in an overdose death, and further accuses Little-Proctor of illegal possession of .233 and .22 caliber ammunition.
Little-Proctor is not allowed to possess weapons or ammunition because of previous felony convictions for heroin distribution, Hickton's office said.
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November 02, 2016 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A 21-year-old McKeesport woman is being held in Allegheny County Jail after being arrested in connection with the death of her 17-month-old child.
Allegheny County Police said Christian Clark is charged with homicide and attempted homicide.
County police Lt. Andrew Schurman said McKeesport police and first responders were dispatched at 11:13 p.m. Tuesday to the Hi View Gardens apartment complex for a 9-1-1 call reporting that the young boy was "unresponsive."
The boy, whose name was not released, was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
Police said they determined that Clark was responsible for the child's death. Additional information is expected this afternoon at a news conference at Allegheny County police headquarters in Pittsburgh's Point Breeze section. (Allegheny County police photo)
November 01, 2016 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Crime and Police News
Editor’s note: This story was edited after publication to remove a charge that was withdrawn without prosecution.
- 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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November 01, 2016 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A Penn Hills man faces formal arraignment Dec. 14 in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court in connection with a police pursuit that began in McKeesport and ended, on foot, several miles away under the George Westinghouse Bridge in East Pittsburgh.
On Monday, Paul Snoe II, 21, waived his right to a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Eugene Riazzi Jr. in McKeesport. He is currently free on recognizance bond, court records indicate.
According to a criminal complaint filed by city police Lt. Robert Eastman, Snoe was the driver of a Ford Flex that had been reported stolen from Dormont. Eastman spotted the vehicle just after 9 a.m. Oct. 14 near the intersection of Grandview and Versailles avenues and notified other police units to stop the car.
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