February 23, 2007
Number One, With a Bullet
As the self-appointed online chronicler of the Mon-Yough area, I guess I need to mention the recent rash of shootings in and around the city, notably:
- Jan. 15: James Robertson, 34, and Dominique Cochran, 23, fatally shot following argument in 1500 block of Scott Street. County police are seeking Leroy Harris, 23
- Jan. 19: Donyea Thomas, 27, fatally shot by unknown assailants inside Hi-View Garden Apartments, Coursin Street; girlfriend wounded
- Feb. 7: Unidentified 17-year-old male shot and wounded, 2500 block of Jenny Lind Street
- Feb. 19: Sidney McLean, 42, fatally shot outside J. Huston Bar & Lounge, Lysle Boulevard
And those are only the shootings in the city since the first of the year --- it doesn't count the Nov. 26 shooting in West Mifflin (
one dead, two wounded).
Props to Mayor Jim Brewster for stepping up with his
youth violence coalition, but this is not a McKeesport problem, it's a
regional problem. Where are the mayors of West Mifflin, Duquesne, Glassport, Port Vue, etc.? It's time for them to step forward, too.
I haven't really written anything about this, mostly because I don't have anything useful to add. (That's never stopped me in the past, of course.)
It goes without saying that this is bad (I feel like
Mr. Mackey on "South Park" ... "Gunning down people in the stairway of their apartment building is bad, mm-kay?"), but if I had any solutions, I'd be driving a patrol car or teaching sociology, not screwing around on the Internet.
I'm not going to speculate on why these victims were killed, though I have some theories (you do too, I'll bet), and it looks like these people had enemies who wanted to harm them.
The good news, if you can call it that, is that the Mon-Yough area doesn't seem to have a lot of
random crime, where the victim doesn't have any connection to the perpetrator. That's no comfort if you have a shooting in your neighborhood --- or if someone you know gets shot, and I feel bad for people who knew the victims.
But you don't seem likely to get shot randomly by some nut. I was talking to a friend who works for a non-profit agency in Braddock, and he gets mad when people tell him the borough is dangerous. "I'm there all hours of the day and night, and I've been there for 20 years, and no one ever bothers me," he says.
Thank God, I've had the same experience in 15 years of wandering the Mon Valley, but try convincing someone from outside the area that it's relatively safe.
Look, when people are poor, other people will victimize them, and these days, it's almost always drug-related. It's the same story in Duquesne, Greensburg, Monessen, Washington, New Kensington or any urban area in Western Pennsylvania.
And frankly, there were always these sorts of crimes --- but 40 years ago, it wasn't drugs, it was illegal booze and cigarettes and gambling. Also, the criminals didn't have automatic weapons --- they beat the crap out of their victims, or stabbed them, or shot them with a si
hot "Saturday Night Special." You couldn't do a "drive-by" with brass knuckles or a leather sap.
I don't want to get on a gun-control rant, but only the most addled NRA apologist doesn't admit that cheap automatic and semi-automatic weapons are a major contributing factor in turning non-fatal beatings and knifings of "the good ol' days" into fatal stabbings.
And don't bother feeding me the line, "Well, if the police would enforce the gun laws ..."
Bull. The market is
flooded with guns. We need to start shutting them off at the sources --- at the manufacturers and importers --- and local and county police can't do a thing about that --- it's a federal problem. Your Congress, which is terrified by the gun lobby, has no will to do anything. Telling local police to "enforce the gun laws" is like throwing a drowning man both ends of a rope.
Anyway, like I said, I have no answers, just frustration that this stuff is happening, and that it's probably going to keep happening.
But I, for one, am not going to let it discourage me from doing what I want to do, when I want to do it, in the Mon-Yough area, and I hope you go where you want to go and do what you want to do, too.
(Don't be
stupid. Hey, you wanna go pick up a hooker or buy crack, don't be surprised if
bad things happen.)
So go see the library, attend a concert or a high-school basketball game, and never, never, never let the bad guys take over.
. . .
P.S.: Want to drop a dime on a bad guy, but do it anonymously?
Crime Stoppers Hotline: 1-800-4-PA-TIPS
Allegheny County Sheriff's Fugitive Task Force: (412) 350-4714
. . .
Jefferson Hills website: There was a nice article in the
Daily News the other night (unfortunately, I can't find it online) about a man who's launched a non-profit website about Jefferson Hills. (Thank you to the Alert Reader who sent me
the URL, because I misplaced the newspaper. Mea culpa.)
Someone should start a website about McKeesport. Wow, wouldn't
that be something!
Bitter? Sarcastic?
Me? Nah.
I'm going to go sit in the corner and suck my thumb. I feel a pout coming on.
. . .
To Do This Weekend: If you're not pouting, then head over to UPMC McKeesport Hospital, which is presenting "Amandla!! A Celebration of African Arts." It's a performance by peace activist and Malawi native
Masankho Banda. That's at 12 noon tomorrow in the Kelly Conference Center, 1500 Fifth Ave. at Evans Street. Call (412) 432-7284. ... KDKA-TV newscaster and McKeesport native Harold Hayes will talk about his life and work at 4 p.m. Sunday at the McKeesport Heritage Center, 1832 Arboretum Drive in Renziehausen Park. Call (412) 678-1832.
February 22, 2007
Shurely Shome Mishtake
An item in yesterday's Almanac misspelled the name of a new restaurant on Lysle Boulevard called The Enzone. We regret the error.
Also, a Jan. 26 story about the Port Authority public hearing at the Palisades misspelled the name of Pat McMahon, business agent of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 85. We regret the error.
And on Jan. 18, the Almanac incorrectly surmised the location of McKeesport's notorious "Brick Alley" red-light district. It was located on Rose Alley.
The Almanac would like to issue these additional apologies and corrections:
- On Jan. 19, the Almanac's editor was contacted by Marty Levine of Pittsburgh City Paper for comment in an article about blogging, and in an attempt to be "funny," the editor was flippant. The Almanac has apologized to Mr. Levine but still regrets not being mentioned in the article.
- On Aug. 10, 2006, the Almanac made reference to "Islamic fascism." The Almanac would like to apologize for parroting this trite bit of Fox News sloganeering, and blames the editor's bad reaction to a combination of over-the-counter allergy pills, warm beer, and Jack Kelly's column in the Post-Gazette.
- The editor thought his grandmother's birthday was Tuesday. In fact, it was Sunday. He apologized profusely to his grandmother, who forgave him, because she's used to that kind of self-centered nitwittery. Still, he regrets the error and feels a great deal of guilt, as well he should.
- On Nov. 30, 2006, the Almanac's editor returned William Severini Kowinski's book The Malling of America: An Inside Look at the Great Consumer Paradise to the library. It was 259 days late. The editor thought he had returned it, but found it under a pile of junk. The editor regrets being a slob, and regrets reporting the book to the library as "lost," thus wasting the library's time for several weeks. He also regrets that he still doesn't have the $64.75 in fines necessary to clear his account.
- On Sept. 4, 1998, while covering the controversy over the Woodland Hills High School Band's decision to play the Confederate anthem "Dixie" during a half-time show, the Almanac's editor (then working for the Tribune-Review) interviewed a right-wing political columnist. The columnist said that "Dixie" wasn't symbolic of racism, but of "states' rights," and claimed that many African-Americans served in the Confederate Army with pride. The editor regrets using such patently ridiculous statements in his story, and has no excuse except for an ill-considered desire to "balance" the coverage. As a Catholic he fully expects to be punished in purgatory by Bull Connor and a phalanx of Alabama State Troopers wielding fire hoses.
- One morning in 1991, while making announcements over the public-address system at Serra Catholic High School, the Almanac's editor began by saying, "Good morning, Serra High School," in the manner of Robin Williams in the movie Good Morning Vietnam. It was a cliche even then, and the editor regrets doing it, and hopes that he lives it down by the time of his 50th class reunion. He also regrets not being able to offer any explanation for his behavior when he was summoned to the Dean of Students' office.
- The editor regrets racking up a .010 batting average during two seasons of youth baseball in Liberty Borough, 1985-86. The editor would like to profusely apologize for thinking he had any athletic ability.
- In 1984, while arguing with his cousin, the editor regrets throwing a rock at him, hitting him in the head, but frankly, he didn't think he would hit him. (See the above item.) His cousin has since earned a master's degree in chemical engineering from Lehigh University and is working for a Fortune 500 company, so the editor is relieved that no brain damage was done, and the joke appears to be on him.
- The editor regrets ripping off the idea for today's Almanac from Seattle's alternative weekly newspaper The Stranger, though in fairness The Stranger probably was ripping off the annual corrections columns written by Ellen Goodman of the The Boston Globe.
- Finally, the Almanac regrets that today's headline is a reference that not 1 in 100 readers would ever understand. It marks the editor as the worst kind of snob and elitist, and he knew that, but he did it anyway.
After 11 years on the Web, Tube City Online appreciates your continued patronage, and we will work harder than ever to turn out writing of the quality that you've come to expect from the
Tube City Almanac.
Which is to say, "complete bullflop."
The
Almanac regrets getting your hopes up.
February 21, 2007
The Bidness Page
Today is Ash Wednesday, the day when Catholics and many Protestants never tire of hearing that immortal joke, "Hey, did you know there's something on your forehead?"
Alert Reader Tim passed along a column that appeared in the January issue of Western Pennsylvania Hospital News (motto: "One of Western Pennsylvania’s Great Newspapers About Hospitals") written by Jan Jennings, president of American Healthcare Solutions and a native of Our Fair City. You can read it at Jennings’ blog, but it’s worth quoting some of it here:
There were all kinds of stores, and the city was bustling in the 1950’s. There was one store that was first among equals, at least for my family. It was the Goodman’s Jewelry Store. It was a family business, and the senior Mr. Goodman, through my ten-year-old eyes, was probably 200 years old. He had a very serious looking and craggy face. But could he dress. To this day I always think of him as the best dressed man I ever saw. He had two sons in the business, and I suspect there were other family members involved as well. The store was always sparkling clean and lighted to show off the items for sale.
This store was special to our family. Somehow the Goodmans learned and remembered our names, all of our names. They were patient as my mother looked over all of the wonderful items we could never afford. The Goodmans had a kind and gentle spirit and found a way to steer my parents to items they both wanted and could afford. The Goodman men could wait on two or three people at one time and never seemed flustered or inattentive to their customers’ needs.
When Mr. Goodman saw one of my parents agonizing over the price of something they really wanted to buy, they almost always would find a way to provide a discount on the item. In doing so, it was always done with grace and never embarrassing to my parents. ...
My parents respected the owners of the Goodman’s Jewelry Store because they were always treated with kindness and respect any time they visited the store, in good times and in bad. ...
There were Sunday afternoon drives when we would drive through the better neighborhoods of McKeesport and became familiar with the location of the Goodman home. It was a beautiful place, modest by today’s standards. It is clear to me now that the Goodmans did not get rich serving that community, but they were always first to contribute to the local schools, police and fire departments and countless other local charities. They were Jewish, and we were Christian. It did not matter to them, and it did not matter to us.
There's more --- a lot more --- but those are a few choice morsels. Jennings uses the column to make points about the health care industry, but they're probably lessons we could all learn if we work in customer service:
- Remember your customers’ names
- Demonstrate civility and good manners
- Know your programs and service
- Seize new programs and services
- Price your products strategically.
That's not a bad legacy for the Goodman family to have!
. . .
For you whipper-snappers (how old am I, anyway?), Goodman’s was located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Sinclair Street, in the building that’s currently occupied by the
Coney Island convenience store.
The Tube City Online archives are a little thin on Goodman’s, but according to the McKeesport bicentennial book, Max Goodman came to the city in 1907 from Austria-Hungary and worked as a door-to-door peddler. (The book doesn't say what he sold, but I suspect
pots and pans and other housewares)
After a few years Goodman opened a store on Fourth Street, next to the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie railroad tracks, that sold everything from musical instruments to pistols. By 1937, Goodman's was a jewelry store (for a time they also had an optician on staff) and moved to the new four-story “
Goodman Building” at Fifth and Sinclair.
Lifelong McKeesporters will recall the neon sign that stretched from the fourth floor to street-level spelling out “GOODMAN’S,” with a diamond ring at the bottom that seemed to twinkle. (I remember the sign being red, but I may be mistaken.) The roof for many, many years featured a billboard and clock for Duquesne Brewing Co., and that's visible in many pictures of Downtown.
Max Goodman passed the store onto his son Sam, whose son Bernard took over sometime in the 1940s or ’50s. When I was a little shaver, Downtown sported three jewelry stores—Goodman’s, Morrow’s and Gala—but old-timers will recall DeRoy’s and others.
I don’t remember when Morrow’s closed, but Goodman’s lasted until the late 1980s, leaving Gala as the last Downtown jewelry store. It hung on until 1996 or so, when it moved to Oak Park Mall.
Thus endeth today’s history lesson in that old favorite topic in the McKeesport area, “Defunct Businesses”—a topic that never seems to run dry, unfortunately.
. . .
Meanwhile, in the Land of the Living: There are a couple of notable business openings to report ... it looks like
The Enzone opened this week. That's the sports bar that's taken over the Lysle Boulevard space that was home to Sam's Superior Restaurant for more than 60 years.
Your editor will be paying a visit (in disguise, possibly using the name "
Hedley Lamarr") sometime soon, but in the meantime, feel free to drop in and send your report. I really, really hope it succeeds, and I wish them a lot of luck --- unfortunately, in that location (with no parking and little foot traffic), I'm afraid they're going to need it, but I sure hope not.
Also, the Foodland in Great Valley Shopping Center has reopened as a
"Save-a-Lot," and I understand that it's the second "Save-a-Lot" to pop up around here this week. County officials were scheduled to cut the ribbon on one in Wilkinsburg today.
Save-a-Lot is the discount subsidiary of
Supervalu, the Minnesota-based grocery wholesaler that in the Pittsburgh area is best known as the supplier of Shop 'n Save and Foodland supermarkets. The nation's third-largest grocery chain, Supervalu had
revenues last year (PDF) of $44 billion.
I've never been to a Save-a-Lot --- I do my grocery shopping at what my friend Dan calls "The House of Rancid Lunchmeat" near my home in North Bittyburg --- but the one up in Olympia Shopping Center seems to be holding its own. No doubt people in North Versailles and Turtle Creek will be happy to have an alternative to Wal-Mart again.
Finally, the
Pizza Hut on Buttermilk Hollow Road in West Mifflin closed on Sunday after 30 years. Try to contain your grief. After all, that leaves only
33,999 other locations for overpriced, under-seasoned, mass-produced slabs of artificially-flavored pizza-like food substances.
February 20, 2007
A Message to the Flying Public
And now, a message from Connie Loughead, president and CEO of Elrama Airlines:
Dear Elrama Airlines Customers,
We are sorry and embarrassed. Last week was the worst week in Elrama Airlines’ history --- even worse than the aftermath of our ill-fated “Free Homemade Mayonnaise” promotion in 1994.
Words cannot express how truly sorry we are for the need to apologize. We were founded on the promise of bringing low-cost, low-hassle, low-flying airplanes back into the reach of people with low standards, and we failed to live down to those last week.
Many of you were stranded, delayed or left to sit in fetid water for up to 11 hours following the severe ice storms in the Northeast. Many of you had trouble reaching us by telephone as a result of the “Beverly Hillbillies” marathon on TVLand. (Mother assures me that she will leave the phone, or at least the answering machine, plugged in during next month’s “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.” marathon.)
Although Elrama Airlines cannot prevent severe weather, the crew of Flight 139 should have recognized that some of our passengers have heart conditions or other physical problems, and that it was a bad idea to ask them to shovel the runway at the Greene County Airport. In the future, we will hire local children, or possibly buy a snowblower.
Also, I certainly understand why passengers of Flight 226 from Butler, Pa., to Hagerstown, Md., via Troy, Ohio, became upset when the starboard engine fell off over Parkersburg, W.Va., but the plane involved in that incident was serviced just before takeoff, and our lawyers will be in touch with Boomer’s Amoco in Evans City to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.
And for those of you on board that flight: Screaming at the pilot only made things worse. He was having a hard enough time flying without a fuel gauge or altimeter.
To ensure that our employees are working at peak efficiency, I have eliminated the “Brewmeister” machines from our crew lounges and removed DVD players, iPods, “Easy Bake Ovens” and other distractions from all of our cockpits.
More importantly, I have created the Elrama Airlines Passenger Bill of Rights. You have my guarantee that if your flight is delayed more than three hours, six-ounce cans of pop will be half-price (sorry, discount does not apply to Coca-Cola products). In addition, if your plane fails to reach its destination, we will refund a pro-rated portion of your ticket price to you, or your next of kin.
We worked hard to regain your trust in 2003 when Flight 178 from Bellefonte to St. Mary’s inadvertently took off without a licensed pilot onboard. On the advice of our attorneys, I am authorized to say that we may or may not, within the best of our abilities, and at our option, try to win you back again.
Sincerely Yours,
Conrad “Connie” Loughead
President and CEO
Finleyville-Cayman Islands Aviation LLC
d/b/a Elrama Airlines
February 19, 2007
Witty Headline Goes Here
This story isn't really relevant to anything, but I thought I'd share it anyway. Eve Ensler's play The Vagina Monologues has been in the news recently, and I ...
Hold on. Someone at the back is laughing. What's so funny? Would you like to share it with the rest of the class?
I didn't think so.
Anyway, the play debuted while I was in college. I was working for the college newspaper when the campus women's center staged its own production, and the features editor assigned a reporter to review it.
Now, I need to explain that we were using a headline font called "Franklin Gothic," which has pretty wide letters, and that meant you couldn't fit very many words on a line. Also, the managing editor was constantly telling us that we had to use "action words" in our headlines.
You couldn't write a headline like "University To Appoint Study Committee," because that was a passive sentence, and the words "university" and "committee" were too long. Instead, you'd write something like "Deans Plan Study Group" or "Deans Study Plan Group" or "Groups Study Plan Deans" or "Plans Dean Groups Study."
The night before the paper came out, the features editor sent the page with the review over to the proofreaders, who worked in a dingy little office adjoining the newsroom. Suddenly we heard peals of laughter from next door.
The headline on the story was "'Vagina' Defines Women."
I don't remember what the new headline was, but the old one made our "wall of shame," and I although I don't think I had any headlines on the "wall of shame," I had a lot of crunks.
Actually, the worst headline I ever wrote made it into print. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws organized a rally on campus, and we had a feature photo, and I wanted to be clever and tie the rally to a current movie, so I wrote the headline ... wait for it ... "Dazed and Confused?"
Funny, right? No, it wasn't, and I have no excuse, except maybe that I was tired, smug and 19 years old, and oh, you should have seen the letters to the editor that week. We could have run them under the headline "Stupidity Defines Editor."
. . .
Speaking of Stupidity: Do you remember the Pittsburgh Regional Branding Initiative? It was a $200,000, five to 10 year campaign launched in 2002 to come up with an "image" for Pittsburgh that didn't involve steel.
Well, it seems that they let their website (brandpittsburghregion.info) expire. It's now owned by some Internet service in Equatorial Guinea. (I'm not sure what the brand of Equatorial Guinea is. "Come to Guinea and be a pig!" No?)
I suppose this means the branding was a complete success. Nice job, guys! Take an extra 200 G's out of petty cash.
. . .
(P.S. I almost wrote that the campus women's center had "mounted" a production of the play. Hee hee! Oh, grow up.)
Published weekdays (usually), except holidays (and when we have something better to do) at McKeesport, Pa., by Tube City Online LLC, P.O. Box 94, McKeesport, Pa. 15134.