A fire May 12 rendered this Duquesne building uninhabitable. The demand for affordable housing in the Mon Valley outstrips the supply, say housing advocates and state Rep. Austin Davis. (Tube City Almanac photo)
On the night of May 12, Lakeya Wilson entrusted her four children, all under age 5, to her family members to babysit at her Duquesne home. Forty-five minutes later, Wilson received a call that her apartment building was on fire.
Thankfully, her family escaped unharmed, but the apartment where they had lived for two and a half years is now uninhabitable.
Wilson has a federal housing choice voucher — the program commonly called “Section 8” — and like many people in the Mon Valley is in search of a better apartment.
Wilson and her children are currently staying with family. She says she’s contacted more than 10 landlords to see if they have any vacancies for a Section 8 holder. So far, she says, all she’s heard is “no.”
A horror film that pays tribute to classic slasher movies of the 1980s — and which was produced by a largely Mon Valley cast and crew — will get its big screen debut this month.
“Massacre Academy” will premiere July 31 at the Lamp Theatre in Irwin. A feature-length slasher-comedy, the film was created by Mark Cantu, a San Antonio, Texas, native turned McKeesport resident.
Much of “Massacre Academy” was shot in and around McKeesport, with city officials happy to provide access to numerous locations, including the former site of the McKeesport Daily News.
“From industrial and modern to vintage, urban architecture, McKeesport truly does have everything you’re looking for as a filmmaker and I am proud to call it my home,” Cantu said.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf joined members of the state legislature and LGBTQ advocates on June 15 to unveil the PA Fairness Act. (Photo courtesy state Rep. Dan Frankel’s office)
As a Pittsburgh-area LGBTQ rights advocate, Ciora Thomas has heard too many stories about how members of that community are discriminated against — from medical maltreatment to housing and employment discrimination.
As a Black trans woman, she’s had those experiences herself.
But Thomas — founder of Sisters PGH, a Black and trans-led nonprofit based in Swissvale which provides resources for the transgender and gender non-conforming community — is hopeful that a piece of legislation introduced this month in the state House will help those stories and experiences be a thing of the past.
Kate Hester, a 19th century McKeesport saloon-keeper, is credited with coining the word “speakeasy” to describe an illegal bar. Hester’s story and that of other local and national celebrities will be told this weekend in Renziehausen Park, McKeesport. The photo is not of Hester’s saloon but depicts a 1919-era tavern. (Library of Congress collection)
Some of the best stories to come out of the 15132 zip code will be told with a dramatic flair this Saturday within the trails and landmarks of Renziehausen Park.
The first-ever “Renzie Ramble Walking Tour,” presented by the McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center and the McKeesport Little Theater, will go beyond the Living History Tours that have taken place for the past seven years in the McKeesport & Versailles Cemetery.
“It’s stuff we would like to do on the cemetery tour but can’t because either they are not buried there or we don’t have the exact facts,” said David Moore, museum director at the MRH&HC. “When we do the cemetery tour a lot of research goes into every single one of those characters, whereas for this we did the research but if we couldn’t confirm it we had to fill it in.”
When the McKeesport Dek Hockey Association announced in March that they would have adult leagues in the spring, interest was high after a year of COVID-19 restrictions. Although youth leagues were postponed, enrollment in the adult leagues flourished.
The rink offered a dose of normalcy for adults during the pandemic. Not only was the rink a location for adults to gather safely to get some much-needed exercise, but it also gave players an opportunity for fellowship.
“It’s been an amazing experience,” said Andy Miller, a Glassport resident who plays in the adult leagues. “I started playing here about two years ago. Now, I’m usually here three or four nights per week playing games.”
McKeesport’s affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness will meet at 6 p.m. July 1 in the pavilion adjacent to the McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center in Renziehausen Park, a spokeswoman said. The meeting is open to families and friends of loved ones living with mental illness.
NAMI is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. It offers understanding and support unique to those who are affected by these conditions. NAMI McKeesport occasionally invites mental health professionals to speak about treatment and resources.
For more information about the McKeesport meeting, call (412) 527-6600. For the NAMI Helpline, call (412) 366-3788 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Children wait to take a ride on the kiddie train at McKeesport’s Good Neighbor Day. (Vickie Babyak photo for Tube City Almanac)
Approximately 40 organizations participated in McKeesport Good Neighbor Day along Fifth Avenue between Market and Locust streets on Wednesday.
McKeesport residents and their neighbors from surrounding communities came together to enjoy the festivities. Events started at 10 a.m. and lasted until 4 p.m. Admission was free.
Agencies provided information about women’s health, family support systems, well-being of children, and local businesses promoted their products. Food vendors sold drinks, snacks and complete meals. Children enjoyed feeding farm animals at the petting zoo, took rides on a kiddie train, and jumped in a bouncing house.
The annual event, sponsored by the City of McKeesport, was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Paramedics from McKeesport Area Rescue Service joined city police and firefighters to talk to local students about public-safety careers. (Submitted photo)
McKeesport Area School District students participating in a day camp are getting a close-up look at career paths this week.
On Monday, first-responders from McKeesport police and fire departments and McKeesport Ambulance Rescue Service met with students to answer questions and show them how emergency equipment works.
The summer camp, funded by the Dick’s Sporting Goods Foundation, includes daily sessions focused on hands-on learning, athletics and enrichment. This week is “Career Week,” organizers said.
A fast-moving storm knocked down this tree in McKeesport’s Renziehausen Park on Monday afternoon. (Kristen Keleschenyi photo)
For the second day in a row, intense thunderstorms slammed parts of the Pittsburgh area on Monday, flooding streets, knocking down trees and turning out the lights for thousands of residents.
Duquesne Light Co. said more than 5,200 customers were without power Monday night, including about 1,000 in McKeesport, North Versailles Twp. and Port Vue. About 3,000 West Penn Power customers in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties also were without power, including in White Oak, Coulter and Elizabeth Twp., company officials said.
A fast-moving line of storms swept through the Mon-Yough area between 2 and 3 p.m., bringing dangerous lightning, high winds and pea-size hail.
