Filed Under: default || By jt3y
Category: default || By jt3y
It's About Time: We all know it. Stanley Denton, a member of the state Board of Control overseeing Duquesne School District, is finally saying it publicly.
Denton tells Mary Niederberger of the Post-Gazette that West Mifflin Area School District's day-late, dollar-short proposal to manage Duquesne High School is a con game:
"This plan feeds on the pain and agony that the [Duquesne] community is experiencing over losing their high school and it gives them a false sense of hope that maybe there is a way that they can keep their school," said Dr. Denton, an assistant professor of education at Point Park University.
"They are not interested in helping Duquesne residents to keep their school open. This plan is created to keep the Duquesne students out of West Mifflin."
CQ CQ K3RAP: I promised to post a couple of audio excerpts from last weekend's ARRL Field Day. First, a little explanation. After making an antenna from 100 feet of bailing wire (cost, four dollars at Able True Value Home Center in North Versailles), I took my 1967-vintage Heathkit GR-54 shortwave radio out onto the back porch and hooked it up.
Category: default || By jt3y
New U.S. Census Bureau figures indicate that Our Fair City has lost about 1,600 residents since 2000. (Townships, Cities and Boroughs)
The latest estimates peg the city's population at 22,408, down from 24,040 at the decennial census, or 7.3 percent. The situation is the same wherever you go in the Mon-Yough area, and even tiny gains in places like Rostraver and North Huntingdon are offset by losses in the surrounding boroughs and townships:
| Population Changes For Mon-Yough Communities | |||
| 2006 (est.) | 2000 count | % change | |
| City of Clairton | 7,963 | 8,491 | -6.6 |
| City of Duquesne | 6,778 | 7,332 | -8.2 |
| East McKeesport borough | 2,171 | 2,343 | -7.9 |
| Glassport borough | 4,612 | 4,993 | -8.3 |
| Homestead borough | 3,486 | 3,569 | -2.4 |
| Liberty borough | 2,473 | 2,670 | -8.0 |
| Munhall borough | 11,358 | 12,264 | -8.0 |
| North Versailles township | 10,414 | 11,125 | -6.8 |
| Swissvale borough | 8,909 | 9,653 | -8.4 |
| West Mifflin borough | 20,957 | 22,464 | -7.2 |
| Washington County | |||
City of Monongahela | 4,502 | 4,761 | -5.8 |
| Union township | 5,450 | 5,599 | -2.7 |
| Westmoreland County | |||
| Irwin borough | 4,145 | 4,366 | -5.3 |
| North Huntingdon township | 29,432 | 29,123 | +1.1 |
| Rostraver township | 11,735 | 11,634 | +0.8 |
| Trafford borough | 3,077 | 3,236 | -5.2 |
| Tube City Almanac / Source: U.S. Census Bureau | |||
Category: default || By jt3y
We interrupt the normal blather that passes for "insightful" "commentary" at Tube City Almanac to reach into the email bag, where we've got a nice message from Mike Wilson, director of the upcoming documentary about Our Fair City:
I saw your post today about the flick and I just wanted to send you a note. I was happy that you took note of my comments to Eric Slagle. The truth is, I spent a month in McKeesport, and I (and my crew) fell in love with the city, the people and the idea that a city could be given a second chance, in the same way that a person could. It's powerful and profound, and it makes me proud to be an American.
Is this an anti-union, anti-democratic-party piece? Of course not. If you saw "Michael Moore Hates America" you know that the title emerges from a scene where I criticize David Horowitz (who, to this day, has not forgiven me), and that the film itself is pretty apolitical. The title incites the left to riotous thoughts, but when they see the film, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. I will talk about several sides of what resulted in the collapse of the city, but I'll be fair. There were the unions, the management, the global changes going on, even the malls ... all had a hand in the trouble the city saw and is recovering from. But I promise to be fair... that's kind of why I make docs...
Anyhoo, I just wanted to shoot you a note to let you know that your site was one of the places we went to find info, and where we discovered some of the love we found for the city. I give you my word that I'm not out to point blame, but to make a film that tells the story of an American city that went through a boom, a bust, and is now trying desperately to save itself. And I'm happy that you're talking about it. Feel free to shoot me an email if you have questions.
Category: default || By jt3y
Now, in a special investigative report you'll see only at Tube City Almanac (mainly because it's not all that investigative or special), our crack research team has determined that PittGirl, author of the popular Burgh Blog, is from the Mon-Yough area ... in fact, PittGirl is actually "NorwinGirl"!
(SFX: Needle scrapes across record in jukebox.)
The signs have been there all along. Her fascination with Westmoreland County police blotters. Her trips to the Giant Eagle on Route 30. Her references to living "16 miles from downtown."
Lately there have also been several mentions of the Homestead High-Level (OK, the "Homestead Grays") Bridge. Your Honor, we all know that no one who's a native of the Mon-Yough area uses the Parkway East if they don't have to. I'd like to introduce as Exhibit A this report from Google Maps which indicates the distance from Pittsburgh's City-County Building to the North Huntingdon Town House.
Note that "16 miles" from the City-County Building puts us in the vicinity of Penn-Lincoln Memorial Park, across from the former Hi-Way Tux Shop.
(SFX: Gasps of amazement. A woman in the gallery screams.)
Now, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I submit Exhibit B --- last week's photo of the sign outside Berks ("Berks! Berks!") Mens' Wear in Norwin Shopping Center.
I say that PittGirl is a Trib-subscribin', Kerber-Dairy-ice-cream-eatin' kind of lady who knows how to get from Markvue Manor to Harrison City without using Route 30.
I suppose there's a chance she's also Penn-Trafford Girl or even Hempfield Girl ... maybe Murrysville Girl ... but Dr. Pica Pole, director of the Tube City Online Research Laboratory, says there's a "74 percent probability" that PittGirl is from North Huntingdon or Irwin. (There's a "100 percent probability" that I just made that up.)
Join us, PittGirl. You know that underneath your worldly and street-smart exterior, there's a big-haired girl who wants to drink iced tea from the carton and walk around the Mon Valley wearing stone-washed jeans with high heels.
Off-stage, I can hear the other freaks shouting "One! Of! Us! One! Of! Us!"
. . .
P.S.: Did anyone else notice that thing started out as an "investigative report," segued into a courtroom scene, and wound up as a bad horror movie? Talk about your hack writing.
. . .
Dot's Not All: At the invitation of Alert Reader Bill, on Saturday afternoon I visited White Oak Park, which is along the border with (crashing piano chord) North Huntingdon! That's where McKeesport-based Two Rivers Amateur Radio Club was holding its Field Day festivities.
Sponsored each year by the American Radio Relay League and other amateur radio groups from around the world, Field Day is a test to see whether local clubs and other "hams" are capable of getting on the air and staying in communication in the event of a major catastrophic emergency.
Along with a portable power plant loaned by AT&T (Cingular Wireless) and members' tents, camping equipment, and portable antennas the club had established a successful base within a few hours Saturday morning near the water tower on Carpenter Lane and was operating on four different radio wavelengths. One member was making better than one contact per minute with operators in the U.S. and Canada.
There's a perception that hams are all laboriously clicking out messages in Morse code on telegraph keys with antique radios. Several Two Rivers operators were using Morse on Saturday, but mainly to conserve bandwidth and to punch through atmospheric noise --- code has a way of cutting through the static.
Otherwise, the Field Day set-ups were modern, using computer-controlled receivers and loggers and digital signal processing.
Special thanks to Vickie Petrulis, N3XBX, and Chuck Gessner, KC3ET, for their hospitality; if you're interested in amateur radio, the club meets the third Tuesday of each month, except August and December, at McKeesport Area High School on Eden Park Boulevard.
. . .
Stay Tuned: I should have said "most hams" are using modern equipment. I'm using junk. I was talking to someone from the club using the rig in my car when the microphone crapped out in mid-sentence. That's embarrassing, to say the least.
When I got home, I got about 100 feet of steel bailing wire and strung a simple antenna from the back porch to the end of my property line. Then I connected a couple of old 1970s-vintage shortwave receivers and listened into Field Day activities for a while. Total cost of the receiving set-up: About $10.
Well, it was like trying to catch butterflies with a bulldozer. I'll post a few audio excerpts for you tomorrow and you can see what I mean.
Category: default || By jt3y
Oh, Chris Potter, how could you? At the end of a perfectly nice column in City Paper you had to take a gratuitous slap at Our Fair City:
And that's just the beginning. As state law spells out, "No change in classification ... shall become effective until 10 years after the certification" of the population loss. In the meantime, the courts would appoint a commission to recommend changes to the government structure. Pittsburgh would become a third-class city only if city officials did nothing to act on those changes.
Granted, city officials doing nothing is a foregone conclusion -- especially if taking action might threaten their jobs. But there's another, much more likely, option. The legislature could rewrite the definition of a second-class city, so it included cities with fewer than 250,000 people. Harrisburg did this after the 2000 Census, to protect the status of Lackawanna and Fayette counties.
Still by 2030, it's at least possible we could have a whole different city ... a place like, say, McKeesport. Reformers take heart!
| Pittsburgh has ... | while McKeesport has ... | |
| a symphony | a symphony | |
| a public library system | a public library system | |
| a public park system | a public park system | |
| a waterfront | a waterfront | |
| Pittsburgh also has ... | while McKeesport has ... | |
| a city-school combined wage tax rate of 3 percent | a city-school wage tax rate of 1.7 percent | |
| a mayor who’s a former college football player and ... er ... that’s it | a mayor who’s a former vice president of Mellon Financial Corp. and old enough to shave |
|
| Act 47 distressed status | a budget surplus | |
 |
|
|
Category: default || By jt3y
I was home from work about three weeks ago and had an odd visitor in the afternoon. A guy in his early 20s, looking entirely too eager, was on the front porch. He was dressed too self-consciously hip to be a Mormon or a Jehovah's Witness.
"Can I talk to you for a few minutes?" he said.
"I'm kinda busy," I said, because I was.
"Well, I'm here taking a survey in your area about dining out," he said. "You like to eat out, right?"
I rolled my eyes. "What are you selling?"
He showed me a gift certificate to a so-called "upscale" chain restaurant located at the Waterfront in Homestead. It's one of those restaurants with fake kitschy crap hanging on the walls. Those of you who know my dislike of chain restaurants with crap on the walls know that it wasn't an enticement.
"All you have to do is answer a few questions about dining out, and we'd like to give you this voucher, absolutely free, for $50 in free food from Fancy Chain Restaurant With Crap On The Walls," he said.
"Thank you," I said, "but I'm not interested."
The guy practically stuck his foot in the door. "All you have to do is answer some questions."
"No, thank you," I said.
Now he was pissed. "So I guess you don't like to eat out for free," he said.
"I do," I said, "but not at your lousy restaurant." And I closed the door on him.
. . .
I'm not 100 percent sure, but I have my suspicions, that this guy was working for a multi-level marketing company. Only someone who had been brainwashed ... er, I mean, highly trained by skillful professionals ... would have been that persistent, and frankly that rude, when I said "no."
The excellent website Consumerist has been investigating a company that hires recent college graduates and promises them a career in "business-to-business sales." After indoctrinating them with techniques that some would describe as cult-like, it sends them out on door-to-door sales calls.
If you're a recent graduate or a current student looking for a summer job, and you see an ad on Monster, CareerBuilder, or some other service offering "entry-level sales and promotional jobs," compare it to one of these to make sure it's not a scam. Jobs that promise "limited and immediate" openings, "intensive, hands-on training," and "unlimited growth potential" should set off alarm bells, according to Consumerist.
. . .
Another young salesman came to my door over the weekend. He had the same overly-enthusiastic, cheese-eating grin. "I'm not trying to change your religion," he said, "I just want to talk to you for a few minutes."
"I'm listening," I said through the screen door.
"I'm conducting a survey on behalf of the Pittsburgh Pirates," he said. "As a reward for answering a few questions, we'd like to give you a voucher good towards your purchase of tickets to an upcoming Pirates home game."
"I'm not interested," I said.
"That's cool," he said, "but can I write down why not?"
"Yes," I said. "Write down that I'm tired of Mr. Nutting screwing over the fans, and that I'm not spending a dime on that team until they draft some decent players."
He started to laugh ... and wrote it down. I suspect I wasn't the only one who told him that. I wonder if he's still working for the Pirates, or whatever marketing company sent him out on that suicide mission.
. . .
Now along comes a message from Officer Jim about a proposed "walk-out" to be staged Saturday, June 30 when the Pirates play the Washington Nationals at PNC Park:
I've been hearing about this for a while now, and I am seriously thinking about taking off and going. I doubt it will change anything, and I doubt if enough people will do it to make anyone notice, but I'm really thinking about it.
Category: default || By jt3y
A couple of weeks ago I treated the sleek, gray Mercury to a tune-up ... new spark plugs, air filter, fuel filter. I was at an auto parts store in Our Fair City (hmm, that narrows it down now that Carquest has closed) and in an attempt to make small talk with the cashier I read the side of the spark-plugs and said, "Gee, made in the U.S.A. At least something still is."
She snapped at me: "Well, maybe everything wouldn't be made in China if Americans weren't so lazy and overpaid."
Though I thought about whipping my union card out of my wallet, I bit my tongue --- especially since she still hadn't approved my check yet. But I thought to myself: "You're working in an auto parts store. Do you think you're overpaid?"
. . .
Americans work more hours and get fewer holidays than any other industrialized nation, according to study after study and story after story.
There are still pockets of laziness and featherbedding, and yes, I've heard all of the stories about guys sleeping in cranes at National Works in the 1970s and blah, blah, blah, but I'd argue that overall, American productivity is probably at its highest point since World War II.
American quality is up, too --- among carmakers, Ford beat Toyota in the latest J.D. Power survey of best-made automobiles.
It's just difficult for American factories to compete with the Chinese since they're not allowed to put antifreeze in children's cough syrup and lead paint on toys.
Nor can American factories cut wages to ensure profitability, especially since they're not allowed to employ children or slaves.
. . .
I love the products sold in dollar stores, Wal-Mart and elsewhere that feature big American flags on their packages and then, in small print, say "Designed in the U.S.A." On the back they say, "Made in China."
But I saw a new variation on this the other day at a store in Olympia Shopping Center. It had an American flag and in tiny type underneath said, "Proudly distributed in the U.S.A." I didn't know whether to applaud the manufacturer's ingenuity or throw up.
Other than the war in Iraq and our deteriorating foreign policy, I'd really like to see one of the presidential candidates say something --- anything --- about the imbalance of trade and our collapsing manufacturing sector. Personally, I think it's much more destructive than illegal immigration.
Simply blocking imports isn't the answer, nor are prohibitively high tariffs. But we certainly have a right to defend ourselves against products that are making people ill.
. . .
Ultimately, some of the blame falls on us for not complaining to stores and manufacturers. But even if you try to buy American --- and I do --- it's becoming more and more difficult to find any products made here. Even extremely high-end goods are starting to come from China.
The steel industry was the canary in the coal mine. Its collapse foretold the decline of the American textile and furniture industries, and with the Chinese about to enter the U.S. car market, the already-shaky domestic automakers could very well be the next to tumble.
The "creative class" might pipe up (no pun intended, McKeesporters) and tell me that smokestack industries are dead, but not everyone is qualified to work in academia and research. And for defense purposes alone, I'd argue that we need to have some manufacturing base in this country.
Besides, even creative jobs (like journalism!) are being sent overseas. Unless you're in some service industry that depends on face-to-face contact, like retailing, your job could very well be the next to go.
("First they came for the steelworkers, but I wasn't a steelworker ...")
. . .
Blame Wall Street's continual demands for higher profits from American corporations. Blame Congress for gutting American trade policy and slashing regulatory budgets. Blame pundits who have prescribed "free trade" at all costs and damn the consequences.
But for crying out loud, stop blaming American workers.
. . .
P.S.: Besides curing a nasty little hesitation that had developed on acceleration, the tune-up improved my gas mileage by 3 to 4 mpg. If you're tired of paying $3 for a gallon of gas and your car has more than 90,000 miles on it, consider a set of plugs.
Even the supremo top-of-the-line platinum jobs won't set you back more than $3 or $4 each. Throw on a set of new plug wires, too. AC-Delco, Autolite and Champion plugs are made in the United States, and others are, too. Even if you're not mechanically inclined, it's not hard to do yourself, or have a local garage do it when you're in for state inspection.
Category: default || By jt3y
We'll get to today's Almanac after this word from our sponsor, Mayorex Exterminating. Remember, one call to 412-55-LUKEY stops pest infestations before they disrupt your golf tournaments or other sporting events.
. . .
Flicker Ticker: Regarding Saturday's Almanac, let me make one thing perfectly clear. There's no question that Michael Wilson is talented and that he can capture McKeesport or any other subject on film.
The problem --- if there is a problem --- is that hiring the director of Michael Moore Hates America instantly alienates a certain percentage of the potential audience. Rightly or wrongly, some people who otherwise might be sympathetic to this documentary are going to view any project that Wilson does with a certain amount of suspicion, instead of judging the project on its own merits. They're going to be looking for hidden biases, even if there aren't any.
It's similar, though not as bad, as if Michael Moore himself or, say, Al Franken were involved. Even if Franken were the funniest thing since the Marx Brothers (I find him tiresome) some percentage of consumers immediately reject his work because of his past political projects.
I am willing to give Wilson a chance and I'm rooting for him. I'd be more comfortable if someone more neutral were working on the project, but perhaps a controversial, contrarian viewpoint is exactly what we need.
For the record, by the way, the Tube City Almanac is neither neutral nor fair and balanced. We love the Mon-Yough area. So nyahh.
. . .
‘Worst ... Musical ... Ever!’: Alert Reader Jonathan sends along this screen-capture from the website of A Local Newspaper. I was on the stage crew (cough, cough, dork!) for the musicals in high school and frankly, a fatal car-accident might have been more entertaining.
. . .
Uh-oh, Better Get Maaco: You probably heard that they finally dug up a 1957 Plymouth Belvedere that was buried in a time capsule under the lawn of the Tulsa, Okla., city hall. As noted before in the Almanac, one of my all-time favorite cars is the 1957-58 Plymouth, but lawdy, they were rust buckets.
The poor '57 in Tulsa was no exception. It didn't help that the concrete used for the burial vault was porous.
Think about that if you're pre-planning your funeral. You might as well get the cheapest casket they offer.
Or have them bury you in a '57 Plymouth.
On second thought, give me the Plymouth and I'll trade you a casket.
Category: default || By jt3y
This is a rare Saturday update. Alert Reader John has found the trailer for the upcoming documentary about Our Fair City, which was mentioned in the Almanac on Wednesday, and Eric Slagle of the Post-Gazette had a story in Thursday's paper.
The trailer is here. Go watch it. I'll wait.
(Jason whistles tunelessly, checks watch.)
. . .
OK, welcome back.
First things first: In the interest of full disclosure, I was approached last year and asked to help on this project. I met with the philanthropist funding the film, Arthur N. Rupe, as well as Jim Hubbard of American Film Renaissance, who was helping Rupe find a director and screenwriter. I also met with someone doing research for the film.
Mr. Rupe is the founder of Specialty Records and promoted early African-American rock 'n roll talents like Little Richard and Sam Cooke when few mainstream labels would record them. He also gave a young musician named Sonny Bono his start in the music business and one of his employees was Barrett Hansen, aka "Dr. Demento."
If you know that I love '50s R&B and rock, you may also know that I worship the ground that Dr. Demento walks on. To put it bluntly, Art Rupe is one of my heroes. Talking with him was one of the great thrills of my life, and I had to restrain myself from giggling like an idiot.
After selling Specialty Records, Rupe went onto greater success as an entrepreneur in real estate and other fields. He's used his income to fuel a heck of a lot of charitable concerns, and has done a heck of a lot of good, including here in the Mon-Yough area.
Nevertheless, it was obvious to me that I wasn't the right person to help on this project. First of all, my number one priority was finishing the Murphy book. Second, I know nothing about filmmaking or script-writing. (Mr. Mamajek never even let me run the projector in high school.) And third, it was clear that Rupe and Hubbard are working from a different political perspective from mine.
But there are no sour grapes at Tube City Online. There is sour cream, sauerkraut, there are even atomic sour balls, but no sour grapes.
. . .
Earlier this week, I noted that I had made the mistake of mentioning Michael Moore's Roger & Me to Rupe and Hubbard and got my ears blistered.
I was about 15 when Roger & Me debuted, and I saw it with my mother at the Rainbow Cinema in White Oak. We kept nudging each other throughout the film because it rang so true to what was happening in McKeesport. When the movie ended, mom said "they could have made that movie here."
As a documentary, Roger & Me is deeply flawed and often dishonest. But Moore captured the feeling of living in a milltown when the mill shuts down as few others have ever done. Since then, Moore's done some shabby work and has become a parody of himself, and that makes me sad.
The director of the upcoming McKeesport film, Michael Wilson, is also the director of Michael Moore Hates America. Hubbard is the co-founder of American Film Renaissance, which was launched in 2004 as a conservative film festival designed to balance out Hollywood's liberal bias.
Now, I'm no leftist. In fact, a number of people in the local "indymedia" collective think I'm a reactionary. I do believe, however, in the value of public education, trade unionism, separation of church and state, and sensible government regulation, and I think the country has gone too far in the opposite direction.
I think you understand why I wished Rupe and Hubbard every possible success and offered any help I could. I even suggested a list of people they might talk to. But I didn't think in my heart of hearts that I should work on this project.
. . .
Anyway, I watched the trailer. Wilson told Slagle that he is not making a political film, and that it is nothing like Michael Moore Hates America (which, by the way, got generally good notices). Says Wilson:
"One of the things that concerned me about the town was that the government is stepping in and doing this top-down development and that, to me, seems wrong. I believe the government should be involved in as little as possible. But I think there is a point that you get to in a city like McKeesport, where, if that doesn't happen, the city is doomed.
"They're kind of doing it the right way," he added. "They're building infrastructure here ... but they're also giving business big tax breaks."
Category: default || By jt3y
One of the men's stores in Our Fair City --- I think it was David Israel, but it could have been Kadar's --- used to run an "ugly tie contest" on Father's Day to play up the stereotype that kids always got dad a tie for Christmas and his birthday. The owner of the "ugliest tie" (which was put on display) got a prize each year.
I actually tried to get one going this year in cooperation with a local disc jockey who has a men's wear store as a sponsor, but the store said "no way." The owner said he didn't want to be associated at all with the word "ugly," which kind of misses the point. Maybe I'll try again next year, but there are few local men's wear stores around any more.
I wouldn't participate because I think I would have a good chance of winning. I've always worked jobs where I had to wear a tie, if not every day than at least on a regular basis, and while the regular rotation is fairly new and sedate, there are a few real "clinkers."
In fact, my hobby for a few years has been scouring the thrift stores and buying ties from defunct local stores, and since many of them faded out in the 1970s and early '80s, I've got a few beauties. Big, wide polyester jobs from Cox's and Gimbels, and skinny narrow knit ones, too.
Most of them are so hideous they can't possibly be worn, but a few do appear from time to time --- for instance, that royal blue job with the fluorescent orange swirls that's in the picture. That'll wake up your co-workers on Monday morning. It makes me smile every time I wear it.
Surprisingly few people ever say, "That's one ugly tie, Jason." They must think I just have terrible taste, and I do, but that's not the point. I know these ties are ugly. That's why I like 'em.
Recent news reports indicate that "casual days" are falling out of fashion as employers institute dress codes again, and that means ties. I can't wait.
I've got a lime-green job from Troutman's in Greensburg that's going to knock the boss's eyes out.
. . .
Speaking of Ugly: As an Alert Reader told me, "Anytime someone says something isn't a racial issue, you can bet it's a racial issue." Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend the town meeting at West Mifflin High School last night, which is just as well, because my brain would have exploded. Read the stories in the Tribune-Review and Post-Gazette and see if your brain doesn't cramp, too.
More than 150 people showed up to complain about the idea that the state might force West Mifflin Area High School to accept students from the now-closed Duquesne High School. According to the papers, only one lonely woman showed up to speak in favor of the plan.
I have no proof that this a racial issue --- and maybe it isn't. But in any case, this wild and vocal reaction doesn't make a whole hell of a lot of sense.
First of all, we're talking 200 students total. That's 50 per grade. That's two homerooms per grade, tops.
Second, the line between Duquesne and West Mifflin is invisible. If Duquesne's school system goes down the drain, we condemn future generations to poverty and the city to an endless spiral of decay.
That's going to run down West Mifflin, because the problems will keep spreading up the hill. West Mifflin should have a vested interest in Duquesne's well-being for no other reason than self-preservation.
Third, the idea that West Mifflin School District is "overcrowded" seems suspicious. West Mifflin has at least one school building completely empty and has sold off several others. The Mon-Yough area is bleeding population. Where's this "overcrowding" coming from?
Finally, if there were "tensions" between West Mifflin and Duquesne before, as some parents fear, they sure as hell have been aggravated now. West Mifflin has spent the last year basically telling Duquesne students and their parents that they're not good enough for West Mifflin schools. If the state does force West Mifflin into a merger with Duquesne, PTA meetings are going to be awfully tense.
This could have been avoided. Instead of Pittsburgh Public Schools managing the Duquesne district, West Mifflin could have entered an agreement to run the district, sharing office personnel and jointly purchasing supplies. Support staff could eventually have been shared as well.
Slowly, Duquesne students could have been sent on a tuition basis to West Mifflin schools --- perhaps starting with the younger grades --- until a merger was effected in a few years.
But that didn't happen. And instead of being focused on education, we're focused on ways to keep us more separate. Who suffers? The students of Duquesne High School, and ultimately our whole Mon-Yough region.
Do you know why Pittsburgh lags the rest of the country in entrepreneurship and economic development? One huge reason is that talented people of all races look around at our segregated neighborhoods and get the hell out of here.
Bang! There goes one more toe. Shall we try shooting ourselves in the other foot now?
. . .
To Do This Weekend: The Greater Pittsburgh Soap Box Derby will be held Sunday morning along Eden Park Boulevard near McKeesport Area High School. Racing gets underway at 9 a.m. Visit its website for details ... McKeesport Symphony will hold a free concert at the Renzie Park bandshell at 7 p.m. Sunday as part of the city's summer concert series. Call (412) 664-2854.
Category: default || By jt3y
Letter to the editor, "No response from Village," McKeesport, Pa., Daily News, June 13, 2007, p. 6:
I am still upset and very disappointed with the McKeesport International Village. I thought they would get back to me with a response to my letter, but nothing. I still cannot believe how they feel they are right about not letting us dance because we are not ethnic enough.
Western Square Dancing had been around for a very long time, with people of all nationalities performing this dance. But you people in charge of entertainment feel we are not ethnic enough. But most of all we are Americans, which should give us the right to dance.
Ethnic people are allowed to perform, but we Americans are only allowed to pay to get in and pay for food and spend our money on all the ethnic people. Once again, we think you are really wrong. Once again we Americans are pushed aside and let these foreigners have their way with America and you at the Village are backing them. (...)
I think everyone who agrees with me, please let me know. I really feel like a lot of you feel the same as we do. Write to the Daily News and let them know about how you feel about us Americans being pushed aside ...
Martha Bradley
Elizabeth Twp.
Category: default || By jt3y
P.S.: Everyone is talking about Pittsburgh Mayor Opie "Luke" Ravenstahl trying to get his picture taken with a tiger.
Didn't that happen back in March here at Tube City Almanac?
Category: default || By jt3y
A film crew is in McKeesport right now doing preliminary work on a proposed feature-length documentary about Our Fair City. I've known about this for some time, but I wasn't sure if I was supposed to say anything.
Well, one of the members of the crew posted the information on his blog yesterday, so I guess the cat is out of the bag.
I don't want to spill too many beans (mixed-metaphor alert: a cat is out of the bag spilling beans) because I don't know if I'm supposed to, but a prominent philanthropist with McKeesport roots is underwriting the project. At last report, the documentary was going to look at the city's history and the challenges that have faced it since the steel mill closings of the 1980s.
Maybe this will do for McKeesport what Groundhog Day did for Punxsutawney. (On the other hand, I suppose it could also do for McKeesport what Jaws did for beach vacations.)
Just don't mention Roger & Me, which examined the effect that the decline of the auto industry had on Flint, Mich. I made the mistake of making that comparison with someone involved in the McKeesport project and my ears are still ringing.
. . .
Speaking of History: I have a confession to make. I've gotten a sneak peek at the new history book compiled by the McKeesport Heritage Center.
It's not supposed to be released until June 26, but a little birdie let me see an advance copy. It's a real beaut.
The book is being printed by Arcadia Publishing, a South Carolina-based company that has turned quickie history books into a cottage industry. You've seen Arcadia's sepia-toned paperbacks at the book store --- they currently have volumes out about Duquesne, Homestead, Greensburg, Latrobe and the Pitt Panthers, among other topics.
(I even saw one last week about Forest Hills. You wouldn't think there would be enough old photos to fill a book, but there are.)
My problem with some of the Arcadia books, as I've mentioned before, has been their uneven quality. Some of the books are excellent, but others are padded out with poor-quality photos, multiple views of the same subject, or blurry postcards; I have a feeling Arcadia will print whatever you send them.
That's not the case with the McKeesport book, which is titled, fittingly, McKeesport, and I don't think my reaction is mere chauvinism. Volunteers at the Heritage Center obviously took a lot of time compiling and selecting the images, many of which are of exceptionally high quality.
The Heritage Center has an extensive photo library that includes many pictures donated by the late Irv Saylor, longtime chief photographer of the Daily News. Add the G.C. Murphy Co. archives, photos taken by the Redevelopment Authority, and many, many others donated, and they have a deep selection of professional quality shots available.
If you grew up around here, you've seen some of them before, like the photo of the ill-fated pedestrian mall on Fifth Avenue in the early 1960s. But many others have probably never been published before --- like family photos from prominent and not-so-prominent local residents, for instance.
This is not a full-blown history of McKeesport. It's a photo book, and the information is contained in the captions. But as an inexpensive reference source it's going to be invaluable. And because it's mostly pictures, it's a lot of fun to look through.
Besides the obvious nostalgia value this will have for current and former residents, I hope it becomes a teaching tool for kids to learn about local history.
While the book will be sold in stores and online, Ellen Show of the Heritage Center says they would appreciate it if you'd buy it from there --- the proceeds will more directly support their activities. To reserve a copy, call (412) 678-1832 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, or 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. The book costs $20, payable at delivery.
After June 26, the book will be on sale in the Heritage Center, 1832 Arboretum Drive, Renzie Park.
Tell 'em Tube City Almanac sent you. You won't get a discount or anything, but tell 'em anyway.
Category: default || By jt3y
Today, in lieu of useful content, it's more alleged humor from my alleged radio show.
This is a clip from Sunday night's travesty broadcast, but the bit is actually a rerun from a couple of months ago. I reused it for reasons that will become obvious if you listen.
The link opens in a new window.
Category: default || By jt3y
Josh Yohe is off Bob Nutting's Christmas card list.
Yohe's column from Friday's Daily News isn't online, so you'll have to take my word for it when I say it was on-target and pulled no punches.
Like many sportswriters and baseball fans, he's disgusted at the way that Nutting, chairman and majority stockholder of the Pittsburgh Pirates, is running (or is that ruining?) the team.
They're disappointed that the team didn't draft star prospect Matt Wieters because he would have cost too much to sign. They accuse Nutting of putting a cheap product on the field at the expense of quality.
If Nutting is running the Pirates to make them as cheap as possible, it should come as no surprise. "Cheapness" has been a virtue of his family newspaper chain for decades.
Ogden Newspapers dominates West Virginia (according to one estimate, it sells nearly one in every four newspapers in the state) and southern Ohio, and it has properties in other parts of the country as well, including several in central Pennsylvania, like the Altoona Mirror.
I've seen probably 10 or 12 different Ogden newspapers on a semi-regular basis over the years. They're not the worst newspapers I've ever seen, and there are some real bright spots among them.
Unfortunately, however, many Ogden papers look slapped-together; instead of local news coverage, they're stuffed with cheaper syndicated features. Chris Stirewalt, a commentator for WBOY-TV, the NBC affiliate in Clarksburg, says the Ogden chain's key to success has been "lean newsrooms and aggressive ad sales" which has left many West Virginia towns with a newspaper that "reads like a Rotary Club bulletin and is staffed by those too busy to think."
I've been told candidly by ex-Ogden reporters that the line between the "news," "editorials," and "advertising" is thin to non-existent. Last year, to cite one notorious example, the newspapers "sponsored" a visit by President Bush to Wheeling.
Certainly I've seen a lot of "stories" in Ogden papers that seemed to boost particular local businesses by name. I don't know for sure, but I suspect those stories were a reward to the businesses for advertising in the papers.
It's one thing to print "advertorial" stories if you clearly label them as paid content, but it's a little bit distasteful when you don't disclose that to your readers.
There are some very talented, dedicated people working at Ogden Newspapers --- I've known some of them --- who turn out quality journalism. But unless they're very dedicated to the communities they cover, few people can afford to make a living on the penurious salaries Ogden pays reporters.
There's been little written in the big journalism "watchdog" magazines about Ogden's operating style, possibly because it's a privately held company that operates mainly in very small towns, out of the view of the news media "experts" in New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago.
But the company's holdings also include larger markets like Wheeling, where Ogden owns both the morning and evening papers; and Fort Wayne, Ind., where they bought the afternoon News-Sentinel. I've never been to Fort Wayne, but I've been to Wheeling, and the Ogden papers there (the News-Register and the Intelligencer) don't look like the products of a media market large enough to be rated by both Arbitron and Nielsen. They certainly don't look like the flagships of a big media conglomerate.
I give Ogden a lot of credit for keeping two newspapers operating in places like Wheeling, Parkersburg and Fort Wayne. Not many publishers are willing to do that. In many Appalachian towns, Ogden's resources have probably kept alive papers that might otherwise have failed under independent ownership.
On the other hand, Ogden's dominance in West Virginia has arguably kept out potential competitors. And although the Mountaineer State could use some quality, hard-hitting journalism, that's not likely to happen under Ogden's penny-pinching ways.
Bemoan the woeful Pirates all you want --- they stink out loud. While I've been a Pirates fan since grade school, like Bob Braughler, I don't intend to spend a dime on them until they try --- try --- to become competitive. (And don't tell me about "small-market teams" when Cleveland and Milwaukee are leading their divisions.)
But the Nutting family's supposed stinginess with the Pirates is just part of a pattern that hundreds of writers and editors in Ohio and West Virginia have seen before. And while I'd like to see the Pirates winning, I suspect people in places like Wheeling would be more interested in seeing better quality news coverage.
. . .
(P.S.: I guess you can add to the long list of newspapers where I'm persona non grata.)
Category: default || By jt3y
(Today ... Downtown Development and Duckling Photos! Who could ask for more?)
. . .
First, The Good News: A vacant lot near the McKees' Point Marina and at the entrance to Downtown may soon be developed after being empty for more than 30 years.
The bad news? It's for a satellite county courthouse, which won't pay taxes.
The so-so news: If it happens, it's development that will bring traffic back to Fifth Avenue --- namely court workers, cops, lawyers, and people waiting for cases to be called --- which could support local businesses, which means jobs. But some proportion of the people hanging around will be criminal defendants.
Anyway, Jennifer Vertullo had the story in last night's Daily News:
Mayor James Brewster announced Wednesday that the city is working with the DA's office on what could be a $4 million construction project at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Market Street.
Parties have been engaged in discussion for years --- envisioning a Mon Valley location for satellite courtrooms, row offices, bond clerks and attorneys. Now, the project is becoming more than a vision.
City Administrator Dennis Pittman said Zappala wants a land commitment by July 1. He said city officials are confident the district attorney will bring County Executive Dan Onorato on board and the facility will be built McKeesport.
On 4 June, PITTSBURGH began to fight a typhoon which by early next day had increased to 70-knot winds and 100-foot waves. Shortly after her starboard scout plane had been lifted off its catapult and dashed onto the deck by the wind, PITTSBURGH’s second deck buckled, her bow structure thrust upward, and then wrenched free. Miraculously, not a man was lost. Now her crew's masterful seamanship saved their own ship. Still fighting the storm, and maneuvering to avoid being rammed by the drifting bow-structure, PITTSBURGH was held quarter on to the seas by engine manipulations while the forward bulkhead was shored. After a 7-hour battle, the storm subsided, and PITTSBURGH proceeded at 6 knots to Guam, arriving 10 June. Her bow, nick-named "McKeesport" (a suburb of Pittsburgh), was later salvaged by fleet tug MUNSEE (ATF-107) and brought into Guam.
Category: default || By jt3y
In case you missed it, Chris Briem of Null Space has apologized for what he calls his "superficial mischaracterization of the fine City of McKeesport." As only a humble chronicler of various minutia, I cannot officially accept apologies on behalf of anyone, but I'm happy to pass it along.
And since yesterday was the 63rd anniversary of D-Day, it's worthwhile to remember these stirring words:
. . .
Amessment: Speaking of Null Space, make sure to read Briem's comments on the assessment mess.
As he points out, Allegheny County's base year system is just as screwed up as the systems in neighboring counties, some of which haven't re-assessed their properties since the 1980s.
Do you think it's fair that the new McMansions going up in Hempfield and North Huntingdon are being assessed at 1973 values? I don't either.
Properties should be assessed every year or two based on their fair-market values. Period. Some people will see their taxes go up; some will see their taxes go down. (In the interest of full disclosure: Mine would go up.)
People can rant about "fairness," but there is no way that a "base-year system" --- freezing tax assessments at some arbitrary year in the past --- is "fair." It's inherently unfair, and that's what Judge R. Stanton Wettick pointed out this week by saying it's unconstitutional.
I hope Allegheny County does appeal this decision to the state Supreme Court, and I hope they do overturn base-year systems, so that all of the counties in the metropolitan area are forced to compete on a level playing field in terms of property taxation. There is no way that the Mon-Yough area can compete for development with places like Cranberry Township as long as Butler County is still valuing properties at their 1969 levels, for crying out loud.
In the meantime, I am formally coining a new word to describe the property tax valuation system in Pennsylvania:
A•mess•ment (ə-mĕs'mənt) (n.) (c. 2007): The act of screwing up the evaluation of the taxable worth of property by politicians who are trying to placate voters instead of using the fair-market value of homes and businesses. I wish I knew what my school taxes were going to be next year, but I can't make out a budget because of the amessment.
Category: default || By jt3y
As the Mon-Yough area's leading online source of misinformation, I feel compelled to mention the ongoing, vocal protest against Ferree Kennels, the city-based animal control company that's under fire for what activists say is cruelty.
What started as one or two people protesting owner Ken Ferree's use of carbon monoxide to put down stray cats has turned into war, with animal-rights activists (you'll pardon the expression) "dogging" Ferree at local council meetings and trying to get his contracts canceled.
On Sunday two dozen demonstrators picketed his kennel on Lysle Boulevard and on Monday speakers urged West Elizabeth council to rethink its decision to authorize Ferree to trap and kill strays.
Besides the carbon monoxide, protesters are also upset that he's killing cats without collars the same day he catches them.
In Tuesday's Daily News, reporter Stacy Lee quotes Ferree as saying the activists are "radicals" and that they're conducting a "vendetta" against him that includes insults and slurs.
I've noted before that Ferree doesn't make a strong case for himself. He says that using carbon monoxide to euthanize animals is not against the law, but testifying before city council last year, he called it "an approved method that's used by people who commit suicide."
That's not exactly the image you should want your business to project, unless you're Jack Kevorkian.
And according to the News, Ferree was put on probation in April 2007 by Forward Township supervisors after a heated dispute with a resident there.
This all makes it difficult to sympathize with Ferree and also helps me understand why the so-called "radicals" are able to generate such outrage.
The Mon Valley needs more businesses, and I don't want Ferree to lose his. I don't think he's a sicko, and I don't think calling him "Hitler" and "fat bastard" is appropriate. On the other hand, if he wants to hang onto his contracts, he'd better "put on a happy face" and be nicer to taxpayers. A little kindness and humility would go a long way toward ending this controversy.
And nobody asked me, but maybe Ferree should modify his business practices. Perhaps all kitties go to heaven, but he doesn't have to send them there so quickly.
. . .
In Other News: Several outlets report that Chesterfield's Restaurant on Route 30 in North Huntingdon Township is being sold. (Here's Chuck Mortimer's story in the Tribune-Review.) The property is being leveled to make way for a Starbucks and a Walgreen's.
Owner Barbara Braun and her late husband, Jack, founded Chesterfield's at the former Ben Gross' Supper Club 24 years ago. I've never been a big fan of Chesterfield's, but I'm in the minority; a lot of people love it.
I don't think we need another chain drug store, and if we do, why doesn't someone redevelop the Norwin Shopping Center across the street? But I wish Mrs. Braun the best of luck --- after more than 20 years, she deserves the right to do with her property as she wishes.
. . .
U.S.S. McKeesport: Multiple Alert Readers sent links to Chris Briem's blog Null Space, which on Monday mentioned what I thought was an urban legend:
June 5th is the anniversary of the date when the cruiser USS Pittsburgh had its bow ripped off by Typhoon Cobra in the South Pacific. The ship would not sink and would make it back to port sans bow. The bow itself actually did not sink and was dubbed the USS McKeesport. The Navy probably didn't appreciate the irony of how improbable cooperation was between the City of Pittsburgh and one of its suburbs.
I've heard that story too --- that sailors dubbed the smaller portion "U.S.S. McKeesport" --- and I'd like to see confirmation if anyone has it. The real S.S. McKeesport was a merchant marine vessel that provided emergency supplies to refugees after the German occupation of France in 1940, and was later used by the Red Cross.
Category: default || By jt3y
Yes, Google may be a soul-crushing entity that's destroying newspapers, but I love it. I'd gladly pay for my monthly Google use much like I pay for my telephone --- in fact, I use it more than the telephone --- and I'm astonished that it's free.
One of Google's many features is "blog alert," which allows you to scan blog postings for certain keywords; Google then mails you links to blog entries in which your keywords appear.
Naturally, one of my Google alerts is for Our Fair City, and that blog alert has turned up all sorts of interesting things over the last few months:
. . .
Mom's Diaries: This purports to be diary entries from a Mon Valley woman who was born in 1929 and died in 2004. It's either actually the diary entries of this woman or it's a fantastic conceptual art project, or maybe it's both.
If you're looking for salacious details, don't bother. Instead you get entries like this one for the first Tuesday of June, 1978:
School. Called Carol. Dave came. Had lunch. Waited for his car. Worked on garden. Carolyn brought sprayer. Trimmed hedges. Harry had game. Had early supper. Went to stores. Kroger, Gold Circle, Murphy Mart & Giant Eagle.
To me this is simply a matter of common sense and pragmatics. I have yet to hear a compelling reason why prayer should be included in governmental meetings. What purpose could it possibly serve? The moral authority of any particular governmental body rests in the respective Constitution(s) of the locality in which it resides. That should be enough legitimacy. Why add an extra layer of assumed authority that by its very nature is deeply personal?
The roads to the Mon Valley communities are two-lane, heavy with traffic lights, and not fast-moving. I now understand why the community leaders here think they need a highway ...
The fine young progressives of Pittsburgh, including Bill Peduto, have been loudly against the Mon-Fay as promoting sprawl and the hollowing out of our urban core (it'd help form a beltway around the city).
I'm no particular fan of highways or sprawl. Still, when I look West towards the airport, I see thriving businesses that feed off the airport, Robinson Town Centre, and the combination of the Parkway and the 28X.
When I look southeast, I see lots of available cheap land, already built up with streets and sewerage, and Kennywood as a built-in draw. It makes me wonder whether a bit of sprawl might be a fair price to pay for bringing some of our almost-dead towns back to life.
Category: default || By jt3y
It's Monday, so it's time for more alleged comedy from my alleged radio show.
I'm not doing embedded audio links any more because they tend to slow down people on dial-up connections ... click here to open a link in a new window.
(You can click on the photo to purchase a finely crafted, diecast-metal 1/18-scale model of a 1966 Cadillac funeral coach. It's a perfect Father's Day present, as long as Dad isn't too worried about his own mortality.)
Category: default || By jt3y
First Things First: This morning I awoke to find a "free sample" of A Local Newspaper on my front porch. This is at least the third time recently that they have delivered a "free sample."
I'm so glad they're delivering "free samples" of a product that's been around since 1786, because otherwise I never would have heard of it.
I mean every time I walked into GetGo or 7-Eleven and saw those big piles of flat, printed material near the entrance, I wondered, "Gee, what's inside those?" Now I know, thanks to the "free sample"! Boy, what a dummy I was!
Seriously, A Local Newspaper (a.k.a. "The Toledo, Ohio-based Block Bugler" to the editorial page of the Greensburg-based "Tribune-Astonisher"), the reason people aren't subscribing isn't because they haven't heard of you.
Perhaps they don't have time to read you, or perhaps they're using that nasty, rotten Interweb that the kids are always "surfing up."
I like newspapers. I really, really do. (They don't like me, however.) I like newspapers so much that I recently subscribed again to the McKeesport, Pa.-based Daily Soon-To-Be-A-Trib-Total-Media-Joint after a decade of buying it on the newsstand.
Besides the fact that the McKeesport Daily STBATTMJ offers news about Our Fair City that I can't find anywhere else --- it has a "unique selling proposition," as they said in the 1950s --- it also has local obituaries, so I can check and see if I died. (And it has "Snuffy Smith." He's still fightin' them revenooers, God bless him.)
I also often buy a Washington Post and a Noo Yawk Daily News, even though they're damned expensive, but they're also damned well written. I subscribed to the Christian Science Monitor because it's got superb international news coverage. Those newspapers have "unique selling propositions."
A Local Newspaper wants to deliver 12-hour-old wire stories to my front porch in a soggy, sodden mess. That's "unique," I'll admit, but it's not a "selling" proposition.
So thanks for the "free samples," Local Newspaper. You would make better use of your time by trying to figure out how to (1.) improve your local content, (2.) minimize your dependence on wire copy, and (3.) make money on the Interwebs. You know, lighting a candle instead of cursing the darkness.
'Cause the whole cursing-the-darkness bit is making metropolitan newspapers look like the buggy-whip makers of America circa 1920. And I haven't received any free samples of buggy-whips lately, if you get my drift.
. . .
Good News You Missed: Then again, underneath all of the wire stories, you find things like this from Eric Slagle. More stories like that, please, and "sample" me again.
. . .
In Other News: The state Department of Education is finally taking Duquesne High School out to the farm:
Gerald Zahorchak, secretary of the state Department of Education, said Tuesday that he will ask the district's board of control to dissolve the high school at its June 5 meeting and will ask the Legislature to give him the power to select multiple districts to take Duquesne's approximately 200 high school students. (Karen Zapf, Tribune-Review)
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