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.
With the summer holidays just around the corner, White Oak Animal Safe Haven Director Laura Massie knew she had to go the extra mile to help local animals.
Thursday marked the shelter’s first microchip clinic, with nine animals being microchipped.
“We decided to do this because a lot of shelters are full this time of year. Especially with (July 4) coming up – fireworks tend to spook the animals and they run away. So I came up with the idea that people could bring their pets in to be microchipped at a discounted price,” Massie said.
Allegheny County emergency officials are urging residents to be safe during the Independence Day weekend.
“In 2020, many commercial fireworks displays were cancelled due to the pandemic,” said Matt Brown, chief of Allegheny County Emergency Services. This caused many increases in fireworks purchases and use by the public. This trend also resulted in increased noise complaints, fire damages and injuries to those involved or nearby and has continued into 2021.”
Brown said residents should “consider leaving the fireworks displays to the professionals.”
McKeesport will have a fireworks display at Renziehausen Park at 9:30 p.m. Sunday, following a concert by The Vogues at the Lions Bandshell. Other nearby communities with fireworks on July 4 include Monroeville, at the Monroeville Mall Annex, and the city of Pittsburgh at Point State Park.
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.
It appears development of the former Eastland Mall property will begin later than expected.
In an email to North Versailles Twp. officials, James Murray-Coleman, senior vice president for Trammell Crow Co., said the proposed tenant is looking at a “late summer start” as the firm acquires the necessary permits.
Work on the facility — a distribution center — was originally expected to begin in late June or early July. The main tenant is rumored to be Amazon, but no official announcement has been made.
White Oak council will continue its current policy of allowing only passholders into Heritage Hill Pool this summer.
The policy was enacted as part of COVID-19 protocols, but as the number of new cases has sharply fallen, Pennsylvania has relaxed almost all of the restrictions imposed in March 2020.
“This season, the pool will be open to passholders only, as decided back in April,” Councilman George Pambacas said at the June meeting. “We didn’t feel comfortable opening up the pool to everyone for Community Day and then closing it again. Community Day isn’t just about the pool.”
Foul play is not suspected in the death of a man who was found unconscious in a swimming pool at a home on Grandview Avenue Monday afternoon.
The victim was identified as Kurt Bills, 34, said the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office. The cause and manner of death are pending an autospy.
McKeesport police Chief Adam Alfer said Bills had been swimming with a family member at home. The family member went inside for a brief period of time and came back outside to find Bills unresponsive.
Paramedics were called and attempts were made to revive Bills, Alfer said, but he was pronounced dead at UPMC McKeesport hospital. Police are awaiting the medical examiner’s ruling, he said.
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.”
A McKeesport woman is free on $25,000 bond pending a preliminary hearing on charges related to a May 2 shooting that sent another woman to the hospital.
Olivia Faith Lynn Lewis, 22, is charged by McKeesport police with attempted homicide, aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person.
According to a police report, officers were dispatched to Building 55 of the Crawford Village housing development just before 6 p.m. when a ShotSpotter sensor detected a gun shot. A 9-1-1 call was received one minute later, reporting a shooting.
A McKeesport woman faces a preliminary hearing Friday in connection with a crash involving a school bus.
Lakeya Dodoo, 42, is free on her own recognizance pending proceedings before Magisterial District Judge Eugene Riazzi.
According to a police report, on the afternoon of June 2, a black Ford Fusion sedan collided with the bus on Eden Park Boulevard, not far from the McKeesport Area High School campus.
