February 27, 2022 |
By Sarah Turnbull | Posted in: White Oak News
White Oak’s 2022 paving project will go out to bid in mid-March, members of council announced at Monday’s meeting.
Borough engineer Ken Hillman provided updates on the borough’s ongoing infrastructure projects.
“The paving project is out to bid — the bids are due March 11,” Hillman said. “We’re also halfway done replacing the inlets on Fawcett Avenue.”
On a related note, Mayor Ina Jean Marton announced that White Oak and McKeesport Area School District will discuss conducting a traffic study around the Francis McClure school in mid-March.
“We’re meeting in mid-March to discuss having a traffic study conducted around Francis McClure for a school zone,” Marton said.
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February 25, 2022 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Tube City Almanac photo)
A $3.4 million renovation of the McKeesport Transportation Center is nearing completion.
Adam Brandolph, spokesman for Port Authority of Allegheny County, said contractors are finishing the last remaining items and that a ribbon-cutting will be scheduled soon.
“We should have more information about that in the next week or so,” he said. The new station is not yet open and transit riders should continue to catch their buses at temporary stops along Lysle Boulevard, Brandolph said.
Located on Lysle Boulevard between Huey and Sinclair streets, the transportation center closed in January 2021 for improvements that included complete removal of the old parking lot, four new bus shelters with benches, ticket vending machines and improved access to the Great Allegheny Passage biking trail.
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February 24, 2022 |
By Adam Reinherz | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The disagreement over the renewal of the superintendent’s contract by outgoing members of the McKeesport Area School Board continues to divide the district — and some parents say it’s a distraction from student education.
Wednesday’s meeting began 32 minutes after its scheduled 7:30 p.m. start time, and it wasn’t long before tempers flared.
Last month, school directors voted 5–4 to hire an outside counsel to review July’s decision by the outgoing board to allow Superintendent Mark Holtzman Jr. to resign, and then be re-hired for another five years.
Attorney William C. Andrews of Andrews & Price reviewed the enforceability of the contract on behalf of the board. On Wednesday, School Board President Mindy Lundberg asked that Andrews’ memorandum be included in the minutes of the meeting.
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February 24, 2022 |
By Sarah Turnbull | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Tube City Almanac photo)
When Chris Tricarico and his wife Heather moved to Pittsburgh in July 2020, they knew they wanted to continue the family tradition of serving high-quality food.
“My family has been in the food business since the 1950s in New York and is what gave us the confidence to make the move here to McKeesport. We love food and have lots of experience owning and operating restaurants,” Tricarico said.
Originally from New York, the Tricaricos spent 19 months working on their new restaurant, Tube City Brew Works, which opened for reservation-only seatings on Feb. 19 and is now open 5 to 11 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays, according to Facebook.
A grand opening is scheduled in March.
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February 21, 2022 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Dorothy Kuharski, left, and Carol Lasch, right, of the White Oak Lions Club present a 100th anniversary banner to Joe Clemente, president of the McKeesport Lions Club. (Tube City Almanac photo)
More than 250 people gathered at the Palisades Ballroom on Saturday night to wish the McKeesport Lions Club a happy 100th anniversary — and cheer on its work.
Invited guests included city, county and state officials, as well as representatives of Lions Clubs from throughout Western Pennsylvania. Entertainment was provided by the rock group Dancing Queen.
“A 100th anniversary is an awesome thing,” said Larry Edwards of Altoona, a member of the board of directors of Lions Clubs International. “Not many organizations last for 100 years.”
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February 21, 2022 |
By Sarah Turnbull | Posted in: White Oak News
The borough of White Oak has several infrastructure projects planned this year, council members announced at the Feb. 14 workshop meeting.
Borough engineer Ken Hillman provided updates on the construction projects planned for this spring.
“Work on inlets started last week, and our 2022 paving project is going out to bid in March. Maintenance garage roofing will start in the spring,” Hillman said.
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February 16, 2022 |
By Paul Wintruba | Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne City Council has approved hiring three new police officers, pending completion of all necessary exams.
At Tuesday’s meeting, council made the job offers contingent on the candidates passing all requisite background checks, medical and psychological evaluations.
This would bring Duquesne’s police force to 14 officers including acting Chief Tom Shaw, city officials said.
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February 16, 2022 |
By Paul Wintruba | Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne officials are working to resolve questions that residents may have about their water and sewerage bills.
At Tuesday’s city council meeting, Councilman Aaron Adams said “the most recent sewer bill that went out to everyone should be correct.”
Some residents have reported their sewerage bills are higher than their water bills, he said. Pennsylvania American Water Co., which treats wastewater, has higher rates than the city’s water department, Adams said.
The city of Duquesne is delaying water shut-offs for two weeks while issues with billing are dealt with, he said.
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February 15, 2022 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Editor’s Note: The writer of this story has a conflict of interest. See explanation at the end of this story.
An engineering report has concluded that only the front part of the former Penn-McKee Hotel, shown here, can be salvaged. McKeesport’s redevelopment authority will make a decision later this year on whether to demolish the entire structure, or try to save a portion of it for reuse. (Tube City Almanac photo)
Matthew Craig was late to the McKeesport Redevelopment Authority meeting on Tuesday, but for a good reason: He stopped to buy a box of Eat’n Park Smiley cookies.
“Because you can’t be sad if you’re eating a cookie,” he said, offering them to the board members.
Although board members didn’t say whether they were sad, they do have some tough decisions to make regarding the historic Penn-McKee Hotel on Fifth Avenue, Downtown.
An engineer’s report presented at Tuesday’s meeting concluded that although part of the building could be saved for reuse, a large portion of it should be demolished — and the cheapest option would be to tear down the entire structure.
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February 14, 2022 |
By Paul Wintruba | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
The Pittsburgh Community Task Force for Police Reform’s report on changes to policing was the focus of the Crossing Bridges summit on Feb. 10.
This was the third installment of the program put on by Penn State Greater Allegheny in McKeesport.
The most recent installment of the summit, “Voices from the Judicial System and Police,” follows two previous online discussions. The first took place between activists and scholars in October 2021 directly following the release of the PCTFPR report, and the second focused on victims of police violence in November 2021.
The Feb. 10 panel was moderated by Sandra Trappen, assistant professor of administrative justice. Panelists included Kim Berkeley Clark, Allegheny County president judge; Iris Richardson, director of diversity, equality and inclusion for Penn State University Public Safety; and David A. Harris, law professor at the University of Pittsburgh.
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