March 07, 2025 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, Politics & Elections
(Submitted photo)
White Oak resident Adam Kitta has announced his candidacy for the 35th Legislative District and is running on the Libertarian Party ticket.
Kitta, a lifelong resident of the Mon Valley, said the driving force of his candidacy has been his “passion to make a difference and determination to bring people together.”
A special election is being held March 25 to fill the vacancy left by the Jan. 19 death of State Rep. Matt Gergely of McKeesport.
The 35th District includes McKeesport, Clairton, Duquesne, Homestead, Liberty Borough, Lincoln Borough, Munhall, Port Vue, South Versailles Twp., Versailles, West Homestead, Whitaker, White Oak and portions of West Mifflin.
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March 07, 2025 |
By Adam Reinherz | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Peter J. Vancheri updates MASD school directors. Photo by Adam Reinherz for Tube City Almanac)
An independent audit of McKeesport Area School District revealed healthy finances, according to accountant Peter J. Vancheri. The partner at Hosack, Specht, Muetzel & Wood delivered a positive outlook on the school’s budget during Thursday’s open agenda meeting and said a more substantive report will follow.
MASD possesses a “healthy fund balance” of approximately $24.5 million, of which $17.9 million is assigned and $6.5 million is unassigned,” Vancheri said on March 6.
What this means, he told school directors, is “you have money set aside for future shortfalls.”
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March 06, 2025 |
By Tom Leturgey | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(File photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel photo via Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International)
Saying the city welcomes food trucks, but wants to set some guidance on their operation, McKeesport Council this week approved an ordinance setting options for daily, weekly, monthly and yearly permits.
The ordinance also prohibits food trucks from setting up operations adjacent to existing restaurants.
Permits will range from $10 per day to $1,200 for a year. “These fees are in line with nearby communities,” Mayor Michael Cherepko said.
The fees are designed to regulate trucks that stop in one place and serve food prepared ready-to-eat, and are distinct from the existing “peddler’s licenses.”
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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.”
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.”
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