January 23, 2023 |
By Tom Leturgey | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
Community members arrive Thursday at McKeesport Area High School for a community meeting on gun violence convened by the McKeesport Unit of the NAACP. (Vickie Babyak photo for Tube City Almanac)
Focused and persistent community action is necessary when it comes to tackling gun violence, said one of the speakers at a summit last week at McKeesport Area High School.
Tim Stevens, chair and chief executive officer of the Black Political Empowerment Project, or B-PEP, said stakeholders in the Mon Valley need to “stay the course” and keep working on communication and outreach, especially to youth who may be lured into crime or violence.
Anti-bullying and Internet safety are two specific areas that families should pay attention to, Stevens said.
The McKeesport unit of the NAACP on Thursday convened the second of a series of community meetings focused on reducing gun violence. A third is tentatively planned for Feb. 21.
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January 22, 2023 |
By Dianne Ribecca | Posted in: Announcements
The Wilmerding Community Center, previously the YMCA, is having a craft show from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 5.
The craft show will feature crafters and vendors with woodwork, quilted items, jewelry, bath and body products, fragrances, baked goods and more.
The Wilmerding Community Center is located at 1 Memorial Field, off Ice Plant Hill Road. Call (412) 520-7946 for more information.
January 20, 2023 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Announcements
“It Happened One Night,” a 1934 comedy starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert, will be screened at the Carnegie Library of McKeesport, 1507 Library Ave., at 10 a.m. Jan. 27, a spokesperson said. (Columbia Pictures photo)
Carnegie Library of McKeesport will host a family-game night at 5 p.m. Saturday in the children’s room, 1507 Library Ave., a spokesman said.
Library Director Vincent D’Alesio said staff will host parents and kids in a game of “Apples to Apples Jr.,” a vocabulary-building game of funny word combinations.
The game is intended for players ages 8 and up. Registration in advance is requested, because space is limited. Call (412) 672-0625.
In other events for the second half of January, visitors are invited to take a “shelfie” — that’s a self-portrait in the shelves — on Jan. 25 during library business hours. If the photos are posted on social media, tag them with Carnegie Library of McKeesport on Facebook and @McKeesLibrary on Twitter.
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January 20, 2023 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements
Traffic will be restricted on Walnut Street beginning Monday morning so that crews can install new sewer lines, a district spokesman for the state Department of Transportation said.
Lane restrictions will be in place from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. between 11th and 12th avenues, weather-permitting, continuing through late February, PennDOT spokesman Steve Cowan said.
Crews from Wilson Excavating will conduct sewer installation work.
PennDOT is not involved in this work and is providing this information as a public service announcement only, Cowan said.
January 20, 2023 |
By Dianne Ribecca | Posted in: North Versailles Twp. News
No dangerous levels of mold or other contaminants were detected after a water-line broke at East Allegheny Junior-Senior High School, the district’s superintendent told the school board this month.
Sub-zero temperatures over the winter break caused a pipe to break on the second floor, causing significant damage to the second-floor science wing.
School Superintendent Alan Johnson said that after consulting with the district’s environmental and disaster recovery experts, there were no reports of dangerous mold levels or other contaminants.
Environmental specialists were required to conduct additional testing for other toxins for another week, he said, before students could resume in-person classes.
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January 20, 2023 |
By Tom Leturgey | Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne’s new city manager realizes he has many challenges in his post, but he’s ready to take on the charge.
Scott Crawford, 54, started work Dec. 19; Kelly Robertson had left the job in August, and George Newsome had assumed the Interim duties ever since. Newsome moves over to administrative assistant with the addition of Crawford.
“I’ve been working a couple of different roles,” said Crawford in a telephone interview on Tuesday. He has worked in a variety of different financial roles throughout his career. A Mt Washington native, Crawford was with the city of Pittsburgh from 2015 to 2019.
In 2020 and 2021, he was with the Allegheny County Health Department’s financial offices. He tried the private sector with stops at the Rivers Casino and PNC Bank, before finding the vacancy in Duquesne.
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January 17, 2023 |
By Jason Togyer | Posted in: Politics & Elections
Allegheny County President Judge Kim Berkeley Clark administers the oath of office to new Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, with his wife, Blayre Holmes Davis, by his side. (Submitted photo courtesy Commonwealth of Pennsylvania)
Pennsylvania’s first Black lieutenant governor was sworn into office on Tuesday morning and credited his upbringing in McKeesport — and the support of his family — with his success.
Lt. Gov. Austin Davis, 33, a lifelong resident of the city and a graduate of McKeesport Senior High School, took the oath of office in Harrisburg from Kim Berkeley Clark, Allegheny County president judge, with his wife, Blayre Holmes Davis, by his side.
One hour later, Davis’s running mate, former Attorney General Josh Shapiro, was sworn in as the commonwealth’s 48th governor, replacing Tom Wolf, who was limited to two terms by the state constitution. Both men are Democrats.
“Growing up my parents instilled in me the values of hard work, compassion and empathy,” Davis said. “The very values that we hope are instilled in all of our leaders. I wouldn’t be the man I am today without my parents Kathy and Ankarie Davis. Thank you for all the life lessons you’ve taught me.”
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January 13, 2023 |
By Bonnijean Cooney Adams | Posted in: Entertainment
Madeline Sclichter as Juliet and Emma Perman as Romeo, seated at center, were surrounded by most of the cast of Youth Shakespeare Society of Pittsburgh's production of “Romeo and Juliet” on Jan. 7 as they wrapped up several months of rehearsals. They resumed tech week rehearsals at Carnegie Stage in Carnegie, where the production will be staged. (Submitted photo)
If you go...
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Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”
Presented by Youth Shakespeare Society of Pittsburgh
Where: Carnegie Stage, 25 W. Main St., Carnegie
When: Friday, Jan. 13 and Saturday, Jan. 14 at 7 p.m.; Sunday, Jan. 15 at 2 p.m.
Tickets: $10, available through our.show/yssprnj and the group’s website, youthshakespearepgh.org/romeoandjuliet
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Those who enjoyed an adaptation of Shakespeare’s work at McKeesport Little Theater last summer will have to travel a little bit farther to see another one of the group’s productions.
Youth Shakespeare Society of Pittsburgh, co-founded in 2019 by Ella Mizera and Theo Fantozzi to provide teens and young adults with performing, directing, and designing experience in Shakespeare productions, is in tech week rehearsals for its adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet.”
The show opens tonight, and runs through Sunday, with two evening and one matinee performance at Carnegie Stage.
Ella Craig, who portrayed Viola in YSSP’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” which was performed at the McKeesport theater in June, has stepped up to direct the classic tragedy.
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January 12, 2023 |
By Amy George | Posted in: McKeesport and Region News, North Versailles Twp. News
The Westmoreland Heritage Trail connects Saltsburg to Trafford, via Monroeville. A proposal is underway to connect the trail to the Great Allegheny Passage via North Versailles Twp. and Turtle Creek. (Daveynin photo via Flickr, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)
Changes coming to the regional trail network could make it easier than ever for Mon-Yough area bicyclists to reach destinations in Monroeville and Westmoreland County.
Currently in the works are plans to extend the current Pittsburgh-to-Maryland trail — the Great Allegheny Passage, or GAP trail — deeper into local communities. One such plan — the Turtle Creek Connector project — would extend the Westmoreland Heritage Trail through Turtle Creek and North Versailles Twp. to meet the GAP, which serves McKeesport, Duquesne and Homestead.
Once a bustling network of railways akin to the region’s industrial history, these converted trails have seen new life in the past few decades and continue to develop with innovative community visions.
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January 12, 2023 |
By Tom Leturgey | Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne City Councilwoman Elaine Washington ironed out a few street department “goals” for 2023 at the governing body’s first meeting of the year.
“New street signs,” she noted. Some need to be installed, while others need to be replaced, she told council.
Washington said the post office gave the city a warning about subpar signage “a few years ago,” and she thinks it’s time that street signs should be a priority.
“We also need to look at overgrowth, especially on Route 837,” she said. “It is our [Duquesne’s] responsibility.” She hopes crews will tackle that project in the late spring.
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