July 13, 2008

Ear, Nose, Throat and Cleats

Posted at 11:19 pm by Jason Togyer
Filed Under: Cartoons | two comments | Link To This Entry

July 12, 2008

Hold That Line

I like John McCain. I don't agree with many of his political positions --- OK, we're both in favor of the American flag, Mom, apple pie and Chevrolet --- but I generally respect and admire the man. I've read Faith of My Fathers and I've followed his career for years.

That's why, for the past decade or so, I've found McCain's public life kind of sad. In a desperate attempt to convince the president's hardcore partisans that he's suddenly become a Bible-thumping, big-government neo-conservative, McCain is saying a lot of things that he clearly doesn't believe, and he's cozying up to a lot of people he never had much use for before.

Yes, I know all politicians do this. Barack Obama isn't playing nice with Hillary Clinton because he's suddenly forgotten all of the nastiness of the Democratic primaries, and he didn't vote for the president's FISA legislation because he suddenly believed the administration should be allowed to tap phones without a warrant.

But on the other hand, much of McCain's appeal has been built on his willingness not to behave like a politician --- to say what's on his mind, even when it didn't endear him to the left or the right.

Alas, now he seems willing to say anything to get elected. To quote Jon Stewart, the Straight Talk Express has been rerouted through B.S. Town.

My old cow-orker Jonathan Potts has the skinny on the latest from the Arizona "maverick":

John McCain told Jon Delano that the Pittsburgh Steelers helped him endure torture at the hands of his North Vietnamese captors:

"When I was first interrogated and really had to give some information because of the physical pressures that were on me, I named the starting lineup -- defensive line -- of the Pittsburgh Steelers as my squadron-mates!"

There's just one problem with that story:

...the Steelers aren't the team whose defensive line McCain named for his Vietnamese tormentors. The Green Bay Packers are. At least according to every previous time McCain has told this story. And the McCain campaign just told ABC News that the senator made a mistake -- it was, indeed, the Packers.

Notes Jonathan, "Yes, a mistake he just happened to make while he was in Pittsburgh, a town with a singular devotion to its football team and the second largest city in a critical swing state."

It's pretty bad on its surface. Below the surface, it's one of the dumber things McCain could have said.

As any true Steelers fan knows, they were one of the worst teams in football before Chuck Noll became the head coach in 1969.

McCain was captured by the North Vietnamese in 1967, after his plane was shot down over Hanoi. The previous season, the Steelers had gone 5-and-8.

While McCain was enduring unspeakable torture in a POW camp in 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1971, the Steelers were going 18 and 50. (They won two games in 1968 and one in 1969.)

The team didn't post a winning record until 1972, when they won the AFC Central Division by defeating the hated Oakland Raiders. (You may have heard about that game.)

McCain wasn't repatriated until 1973.

My point is that there's no way anyone outside of a die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers fan (and there weren't very many in the 1960s) would have committed the 1967 Steelers roster to memory.

And there's no way that McCain (who grew up in northern Virginia) was a die-hard Steelers fan.

On the other hand, the legendary Green Bay Packers of the 1960s would have been familiar to anyone who followed pro football back then.

Why didn't he just tell the story straight --- about the Packers? Why did he feel the need to fudge the truth?

I'm not trying to read anything more into this story than necessary. I don't think it shows some pattern of dishonesty, or some deep character flaw. McCain doesn't have to prove his character to anyone.

But I do think it's sad.

And although I don't think I would vote for him for president, I'd like to see the Straight Talk Express upright and on the rails again.

I sure hope it happens before McCain starts to brag about listening to Bob Prince call the 1960 World Series on the radio, or seeing them raise that B-25 bomber from the Mon.

Posted at 3:28 pm by Jason Togyer
Filed Under: Politics, Rants a.k.a. Commentary, Wild World of Sports | one comment | Link To This Entry

July 11, 2008

Rally Organizers Seek End to Violence

Sponsors of an upcoming rally for Mon-Yough area youth are trying to encourage and inspire them to stay away from drugs, alcohol and crime.

The daylong event is set for August 9 at Stephen Barry Field in Renziehausen Park, says Alease Paige, one of the organizers and a member of the McKeesport Healthy Communities PartnerSHIP.

Although plans are still tentative, she says the program will probably include music, food, free health screenings and a motivational speech by the Rev. Karen Garland, recently appointed pastor of Zion Apostolic Assembly Church.

It's the second such rally sponsored by the Concerned Citizens of the Mon Valley, Paige says. An organizational meeting is set for July 19.

"The Mon Valley has changed, and our youth really have changed," says Paige, retired from Sky Bank and its predecessor, Three Rivers Bank. "You can't turn on the news without hearing who was shot, stabbed or robbed."

Drug crimes and gun violence don't respect neighborhood borders, she says. "Crime has no face --- no color," Paige says. "And it's not just McKeesport --- it's everywhere."

Besides city Mayor Jim Brewster, she says, the mayors of Port Vue and Clairton are also involved in the planning, along with representatives of the McKeesport branch of the NAACP and the Steel Valley OIC.

"We're trying to reach out to as many people as possible," Paige says, "and we're trying to get as many people as we can to come out."

Perhaps the most promising sign is that local teen-agers are doing much of the organizing themselves, she says. "We plan what they want to do," Paige says. "They tell us who they want to speak to them."

For more information, call Paige at (412) 673-2206.

. . .

Fire Guts Apartments: The American Red Cross is helping about 40 victims of a fire this morning at the Hi-View Gardens apartment complex on Coursin Street, according to broadcast and published reports.

Several suburban companies joined city firefighters in battling the multiple-alarm blaze. Seven people had to be rescued by fire personnel and some residents were taken to UPMC McKeesport hospital for treatment.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation by the Allegheny County Fire Marshal's Office.

Michael Palcsey and Jennifer Vertullo have more in the Daily News. The Watchdesk website has additional photos.

. . .

To Do This Weekend: You can help say goodbye to the "Daddio of the Raddio," Munhall native Porky Chedwick, at a dance Sunday night in Sharpsburg.

Chedwick, who pioneered the programming of so-called "race" music on Homestead's WHOD (860) in the late 1940s, is credited with introducing generations of white teen-agers to rhythm, rock and blues songs recorded by black artists.

At age 90, Chedwick is relocating to Florida after a radio career that has spanned 60 years and an untold number of stations, including WHOD's successor WAMO, Jeannette's WKFB (770) and McKeesport's WEDO (810).

The dance starts at 7 p.m. at Jimmy G's Restaurant, 1822 Main St., Sharpsburg. A donation of $10 will be requested. Call (412) 781-4884.

Posted at 5:17 pm by Jason Togyer
Filed Under: Events, News | one comment | Link To This Entry

July 09, 2008

Tax Breaks, Loans Abound as Enterprise Zone Grows

Businesses in almost every city neighborhood are now eligible for low-interest loans, tax breaks and outright grants after the expansion of McKeesport's "Enterprise Zone" designation.

The zone, previously restricted to Downtown and Walnut Street, now encompasses:

• Grandview Avenue


• Versailles Avenue


• Eden Park Boulevard


• O'Neil Boulevard


• Lincoln Way


• the 10th Ward, and


• part of Long Run Road (state Route 48).

Those streets comprise most of the business districts in the city.

In addition, Enterprise Zone benefits --- previously restricted only to so-called S- and C-corporations --- are now available to almost all kinds of businesses, including "mom-and-pop" stores, sole proprietorships, and limited partnerships.

That allows everyone from major industrial firms to small, independent companies to take advantage of state financial assistance.

The changes took effect July 1.

McKeesport, Duquesne and Clairton have had designated "Enterprise Zones" since 1996. Development in the three local Enterprise Zones is coordinated by Chuck Starrett at the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Duquesne.

Bethany Budd Bauer, community development coordinator in McKeesport, says communities are required to renew their Enterprise Zone status periodically.

McKeesport officials originally tried to have the entire city declared an enterprise zone, she says. The state Department of Community and Economic Development, which grants the Enterprise Zone designation, turned down the idea, saying that too many residential areas would have been included.

Still, Bauer notes, the Enterprise Zone now includes all of the city's major streets and commercial, industrial or mixed-use areas, including the Christy Park area and neighborhoods around McKeesport Area High School and Penn State University's campus.

"It doesn't go into the side streets, just the main corridors," she says. "But because of the university being located down there, I wanted businesses to be able to take advantage of the program."

Enterprise Zone benefits are generally restricted to capital improvements, and are not intended for ongoing costs, like meeting payroll.

But stores and other companies are allowed to apply for grants of up to $500,000. They can also get state tax credits covering 25 percent of any improvements they make, up to $500,000 per year.

In addition, several state agencies will provide financing below market rates to businesses who are expanding or locating in an Enterprise Zone.

"In some instances there are tax credits available for purchasing new equipment or expanding and improving buildings," Bauer says. "There are also low-interest loan programs, but there are job creation requirements."

Although residents and homeowners don't directly receive Enterprise Zone benefits, Bauer says they do create jobs and put vacant properties back onto the tax rolls, which helps the entire city.

Local businesses that have already taken advantage of Enterprise Zone programs include:

• Book Country Clearinghouse, which relocated last year to the old Potter-McCune Co. warehouse on Walnut Street;


• Steel City Products, which is expanding its distribution facility at the RIDC Industrial Park on the old National Works site; and


• Columbus, Ohio, based Huntington Bank, which built a new office on Fifth Avenue near UPMC McKeesport Hospital to consolidate two former McKeesport National Bank branches Downtown.

. . .

For more information about the Enterprise Zones in McKeesport, Clairton and Duquesne, call Chuck Starrett at (412) 469-8744.

Posted at 10:32 pm by Jason Togyer
Filed Under: News | two comments | Link To This Entry

July 07, 2008

Faces in the Crowd

It's usually not polite to stare.

But it would be impolite not to stare --- or at least take a good look --- at the new mural taking shape on Market Street, Downtown.

With help from students at McKeesport Area High School, Wilkinsburg and Pittsburgh, nonprofit group called the MLK Community Mural Project is decorating the side of the former Abriola Auto Parts store with a collage of faces: white, black, native American and Asian.

"We've got a good bunch of kids here," says teacher and artist Jeff Katrencik of Houston, Washington County, who is helping lead the team working on the mural Downtown.

The mural is one of about two dozen that will be completed this summer, says artist Edward Rawson of Squirrel Hill, chief operating officer of the MLK project. Another is underway right now at the Port Authority's park and ride lot on Duquesne Boulevard in Duquesne.

Funding is provided in part by National City Bank, with additional support from several local foundations.

Some materials are provided by PPG Industries and Golden Artist Colors of New Berlin, N.Y., Rawson says.

City native Robert Qualters, an artist who has worked on murals throughout the Mon Valley, is among the MLK project's board members.

Founded by artist and graphic designer Kyle Holbrook, the group painted 26 murals last year, primarily along the Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway.

"We work with a lot of high school age kids, 15 to 18," Rawson says. "All of them are interested in the arts."

The MLK project's murals have depicted a variety of subjects, including local history, people, places and events. The theme of the mural Downtown is the connection between different people in the community --- friends, family members and neighbors --- and the faces include those of several city residents.

Students working on the community murals are paid for their time, Rawson says.

"We like to get kids from different neighborhoods mixing it up," he says.

When the mural is complete, it will be sealed with a protective anti-graffiti coating supplied by PPG. The MLK project also has a $5,000 maintenance fund for each mural that will provide ongoing repairs for the next 10 years.

Rawson and Katrencik say the students working on the murals are stoked to realize that something they're doing today will remain part of the neighborhood for years to come.

"Sometimes the real story is working with the kids," not the murals themselves, Rawson says.

Posted at 07:41 am by Jason Togyer
Filed Under: News | four comments | Link To This Entry