March 06, 2025 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A Downtown bar that was the site of a fatal shooting on Feb. 26 will close permanently, and its liquor license will be sold.
Tube City Cafe, in the 900 block of Fifth Avenue, will close through a mutual agreement between its owner, the city, and Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. The deal was announced Thursday by Zappala.
The bar is one of the oldest in the city, having opened just two years after the repeal of the 18th Amendment.
“I’m appreciative that we were able to reach an agreement that puts the safety of people and first responders in McKeesport first,” Zappala said in a prepared release. “Thankfully, the Nuisance Bar Task Force and our law enforcement partners remain diligent in protecting our community from these dangers.”
Read More
March 04, 2025 |
By Tom Leturgey | Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne has hired a code enforcement officer and will make an announcement shortly, city officials said at Tuesday’s council meeting.
According to officials, the new hire will work to coordinate with different municipal departments, including police.
Mayor R. Scott Adams reported that Duquesne Police has acquired a drone that they will be able to use for city business. City Solicitor Myron Sainovich noted that he needs to draft a letter stating that the city will not use the flying device for commercial gain, but for police and official business only.
Police Chief Tom Shaw reported that the department responded to 188 calls in February. Council accepted the resignation of police officer Nate Calabro, who left the department last month.
Read More
March 04, 2025 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Crime and Police News, Duquesne News
An unidentified pedestrian was hospitalized Tuesday morning after being struck by a car in Duquesne on Route 837.
The Allegheny County Police Department's Homicide Unit and Collision Reconstruction Unit said a pedestrian was walking in the 1000 block of Duquesne Boulevard, about one block north of Commonwealth Avenue, when they were struck by an Audi sedan.
The accident occured just before 9 a.m., police said. A preliminary investigation indicated that the victim was walking in the roadway at the time, according to a police statement.
The victim was transported to an area hospital and is in critical condition. The driver of the vehicle remained on scene, police said. Allegheny County police detectives are initiating the investigation.
Anyone who may have witnessed the accident is asked to call the county police tip line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers may remain anonymous.
March 03, 2025 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Pittsburgh native and actor Joseph Cannon volunteered at the St. Sava fish fry in 2022. (Submitted photo courtesy St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church)
Lent begins on Wednesday for Western Christianity, and Lenten fish fries are just around the corner.
St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, 901 Hartman St., will hold its fish fry every Friday beginning March 7 and continuing weekly through April 4, a spokeswoman said. Hours are 12 noon to 6 p.m.
The church will accept both pre-orders Sundays through Wednesdays, or walk-in orders on Fridays. To place a pre-order, call (412) 287-6249. All orders must be paid in advance with a credit card, the spokeswoman said.
The St. Sava fish fry was voted best in the Pittsburgh area in 2024 by the NextPittsburgh website.
Read More
March 03, 2025 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, McKeesport and Region News
MAHS students Monae Chance, clarinet, and Emma Cantu, bass clarinet, prepare for Music in Our Schools Month. (Submitted photo courtesy McKeesport Area School District)
McKeesport Area School District will celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Music in Our Schools” month with a free concert at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the high school auditorium, 1960 Eden Park Blvd.
A district spokeswoman said the concert will feature several instrumental and vocal groups from the middle and high school, as well as combined band and orchestras from both age levels.
“Music in Our Schools Month” was created in 1985 by the non-profit National Association for Music Education, formerly the Music Educators National Conference. The group, representing 58,000 music teachers from all 50 states, was founded in 1907.
Read More
March 02, 2025 |
By Stacy Alderman | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Hope Ministries has begun operations in the Seventh Avenue space that housed The Intersection for decades. (Submitted photo)
For nearly a half-century, The Intersection in McKeesport provided meals and emergency assistance to residents who needed it most. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy and run by volunteers, the charity quietly closed its doors in recent months.
Another organization, Hope Ministries, has already stepped up to make sure people don’t have to go without.
According to board member Jerry Kuhn, Hope Ministries was started in 2022 under a different name. The group wwas just getting its footing when it were displaced due to a gas explosion in August of that same year that heavily damaged the former YWCA on Ninth Avenue.
The vacancy of the building on Seventh Avenue — the one-time home of the Free Hungarian Reformed Church — gave Hope Ministries the opportunity they’d been waiting for—their own kitchen with room to grow.
Read More
February 28, 2025 |
By Vickie Babyak | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
JoAnne Rodgers, the first Black nurse hired by the McKeesport Area School District in 1971 (above) and Arlene Harvey, the first African American to retire from the Carnegie Free Library of McKeesport.
The local women were celebrated during a Black History Month event at McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center. (Both photos: Vickie Babyak for Tube City Almanac)
Two local women who “dared to be first” were celebrated Saturday during a Black History Month Celebration at McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center.
Arlene Harvey and JoAnne Rodgers were guests of honor and received awards during the celebration, organized by McKeesport HBCU Vision, an organization for local alumni of historically Black colleges and universities.
Harvey was the first African American to retire from the Carnegie Free Library of McKeesport, while in 1971 Rodgers was the first Black nurse to be hired by the McKeesport Area School District.
“I’m honored, it’s been a long time coming, and it was a surprise,” Rodgers said. “I’m thankful that a lot of people came to the ceremony.”
Read More
February 27, 2025 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News, State & Region
(Penn State University photo)
Local leaders are expressing concern and support for Penn State University’s campus in McKeesport following an announcement that 12 of the regional or “Commonwealth” branches could be shuttered.
On Tuesday, University President Neeli Bendapudi said that declining enrollment, increasing costs and demographic trends — including the declining population in the western part of Pennsylvania — are forcing the state-related institution to consider the future of its smaller campuses.
In addition to its main campus in Centre County, Penn State has 19 regional or Commonwealth campuses around the state. Campuses in Western Pennsylvania include McKeesport (Greater Allegheny), as well as New Kensington, Beaver County and Fayette County.
“We cannot continue with business as usual,” Bendapudi said. “The challenges we face — declining enrollments, demographic shifts and financial pressures — are not unique to Penn State, but they require us to make difficult choices. Across higher education, institutions are grappling with similar headwinds, and we have reached a moment where doing nothing is no longer an option.”
Read More
February 27, 2025 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
McKeesport Area Family Support Group of the National Alliance on Mental Illness will host a discussion by Dr. Amira Wolfson at its next monthly meeting, a spokeswoman said.
Wolfson will discuss PACE schools and providing individualized education with mental health, behavioral and autism support services. There will be a question-and-answer period afterward if time allows.
NAMI McKeesport meets at 6 p.m. March 5 at Penn State Greater Allegheny, 4000 University Drive, Frable Building, Room 122. Regular meetings are held the first Wednesday of each month and are open to the public.
February 26, 2025 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Crime and Police News
A city man is dead following a shooting Wednesday afternoon in a Downtown tavern and Allegheny County police are searching for a suspect.
The Allegheny County medical examiner’s office said Darnell Ross, 37, died at UPMC McKeesport hospital just after 12:19 p.m. Wednesday.
Police said that Ross was shot by an unknown assailant following an argument at Tube City Cafe in the 900 block of Fifth Avenue.
According to county homicide detectives, Ross was inside the bar just before 12 noon when another man entered and began a verbal altercation with him.
The suspect then produced a weapon and shot Ross multiple times before fleeing the scene, county police said.
No name or description of the suspect was released Wednesday by police.
Anyone with information concerning this incident is asked to call the county police tip line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous.
