April 22, 2020 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements
Although in-person activities are on hold for the forseeable future, the McKeesport Regional History & Heritage Center is scheduling a series of “Fireside Chats” about Western Pennsylvania’s past.
Museum manager Dave Moore (above) will host the chat series on Facebook beginning at 7 p.m. today (April 22) with a talk about the arrival of golf in Western Pennsylvania.
Teresa Trich, community outreach director, said the center is still monitoring the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and will follow the advice of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf. The center is tentatively hoping to re-open May 12, she said, but “the safety of our staff and patrons comes first and we will only re-open when it is safe to do so.”
Read More
April 22, 2020 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: White Oak News
All White Oak recreational activities have been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Councilwoman Julie Opferman, speaking on behalf of the parks and recreation department, said at Monday night’s meeting that the borough will be monitoring the situation to consider when events can possibly be re-scheduled and resumed.
In other business:
Council approved a motion to exercise the first option year with Cargill, Inc., for the purchase of rock salt for the July 2020 to June 2021 contract year.
Read More
April 22, 2020 |
By Richard Finch Jr. | Posted in: White Oak News
White Oak Council voted 4-3 to rehire a former police officer who was terminated over allegations that he assaulted his wife in September 2018.
The motion was introduced at Monday’s meeting by Councilman Lou Bender, chair of the public safety committee. The officer, Timothy Estep, was hired by the borough in 1995 and terminated in December 2018.
Bender and council members Julie Opferman, Ed Babyak and Chuck Davis voted in favor of rehiring Estep. George Dillinger, Ken Robb and George Pambacas voted against.
In a contentious discussion at Monday’s meeting, livestreamed on Facebook and Zoom, veteran Councilman Kenneth Robb warned fellow officials, “If anything happens as a result of the vote to bring him back, and we get sued, I’m going to offer as additional defendants the people who voted to bring him back.”
Read More
April 19, 2020 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
(Commonwealth of Pennsylvania photo)
One day after a local state representative went public with his criticism over the slow rollout of unemployment benefits for some Pennsylvania workers, the website went live and began accepting applications.
On Saturday, Jerry Oleksiak, state Secretary of Labor & Industry, said that the self-employed, independent contractors and gig workers who cannot file for regular unemployment compensation can now begin applying for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits.
Applications can be filed online at https://pua.benefits.uc.pa.gov/.
Read More
April 18, 2020 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Politics & Elections
(Allegheny County illustration)
All Allegheny County voters will have the option of casting a ballot by mail in the June 2 primary election.
County officials on Friday announced that all registered voters will receive an application for a mail-in ballot, as well as a postage-paid envelope. Registered voters also may apply for a mail-in ballot online at alleghenyvotes.com, if they have not already requested an absentee ballot.
A spokeswoman said the county is having difficulty finding enough workers to staff polling stations because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Read More
April 17, 2020 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Allegheny County officials said Friday they have a “singular focus” on protecting residents and employees of the four Kane Community Living Centers from novel coronavirus.
Since March 25, 83 cases of COVID-19 have been reported at the Glen Hazel center, including 59 residents and 24 employees, according to data released Friday. The facility is licensed for 255 beds.
Four residents of the Glen Hazel center have died from COVID-19, including three at the facility and one in a hospital. Two residents are currently hospitalized, county officials said.
There are two cases of coronavirus at the McKeesport center, including one staff member who tested positive on Monday, and one resident who is currently in isolation, said Dennis Biondo, executive director of the county-owned and operated Kane facilities.
Read More
April 17, 2020 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
State Rep. Austin Davis, shown during a March 11 tour of Steel Center for Career and Technical Education in Jefferson Hills, said Pennsylvania’s rollout of unemployment benefits for independent contractors “has been mired in red tape.” (Submitted photo courtesy of state Rep. Austin Davis)
A state representative from the Mon Valley said Friday that Pennsylvania is moving too slowly to address delays and problems that are keeping some workers from collecting unemployment benefits during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our working families are suffering — they are struggling — because they are not getting access to the unemployment compensation benefits to which they’re entitled,” said state Rep. Austin Davis, Democrat of McKeesport.
“The problem has been compounded for self-employed, independent contractors and gig workers, who are still waiting for directions on where to file,” Davis said.
Read More
April 17, 2020 |
By Emily Pidgeon | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
State Rep. Sara Innamorato speaks during an online town hall Wednesday. (Screenshot via Zoom/Facebook)
More than 1 million Pennsylvanians have applied for unemployment benefits since Gov. Tom Wolf implemented his stay-at-home order on March 23, and many of those filers also rent or mortgage their homes.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grip the world, the order has been extended through April 30, and renters and homeowners remain unsure of the future.
During the “Freedom to Stay” virtual town hall meeting held Wednesday night, members of local and statewide community action groups called on state representatives, senators and local officials to introduce legislation cancelling rent and mortgage payments for residents.
“We’re in unprecedented times, so we need unprecedented legislation,” said state Rep. Sara Innamorato, Democrat from Pittsburgh’s Lawrenceville neighborhood.
Read More
April 15, 2020 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
A worker from Arch Masonry & Restoration of Lawrenceville maneuvers a crane platform into position at the People’s Building, Downtown. (Tube City Almanac photo)
Repairs are underway at the People’s Building, Downtown, after a section of brick near the eighth floor began to crack and peel away from the structure.
Although most construction work in Pennsylvania has been ordered shut down by Gov. Tom Wolf due to the coronavirus pandemic, emergency repairs are allowed to continue — and building owner Jonathan Stark said the brick repairs qualify.
“Any time you do a repair of that scope and size, at that height, it is dangerous, and we were concerned that it might fall onto Lysle Boulevard,” he said.
Read More
April 12, 2020 |
By Nick Zurawsky | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Barney Oursler, director of the Mon Valley Umemployed Committee, testifies at an Allegheny County Sanitary Authority hearing in 2012. (Clean Rivers Pittsburgh via YouTube)
Nearly 405,000 Pennsylvanians filed an initial claim for unemployment compensation in the last week of March, according to the U.S. Employment and Training Administration. A month earlier, the number was a little over 12,000.
Barney Oursler, director of the Mon Valley Unemployed Committee, says he’s “blown away by the number of people desperately trying to get through and apply for unemployment.”
MVUC is a non-profit that aims to help unemployed and dislocated workers gain access to the benefits they need to remake their lives. The organization started in the early 1970s and played a key role defending workers during the steel industry collapse in the 1980s.
Read More
