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One Good Lectern Deserves Another: Brian Huber, 17, and Mitchell Kelly, 17, both juniors at McKeesport Area High School, pose with Mayor Jim Brewster and the new podium they constructed for city events.

Huber and Kelly are students in Mike Locke's building construction class. (Almanac photo)

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$6M Committed to RIDC Parks: The Industrial Center of McKeesport and Keystone Commons in East Pittsburgh will share $6 million in "Building PA" funds.

Both industrial parks are operated by the Regional Industrial Development Corp. ICM, which is home to eight companies, including Dish Network, Steel City Products and others, is located on the former U.S. Steel National Works site, while Keystone Commons is a former Westinghouse Electric Corp. facility.

The grants were announced this week by state Reps. Marc Gergely (D-White Oak) and Bill Kortz (D-Dravosburg).

Keystone Commons, which currently houses 43 companies employing more than 1,200 people, will use the money to add several new structures. The city's industrial park will use the money to renovate an existing vacant structure that housed seamless pipe production lines.

"It has been 19 years since the Industrial Center started to be renovated," Kortz said in a prepared statement. "It is definitely time to finish this project. Once it is finished, the facility will be able to run at full capacity, which means there will be room for more employees, more companies, and an all around growth in the local economy. There is certainly a lot of potential here."

More than 800 people presently work on the old National Works site.

Gergely called the funding "a bright spot during these poor economic times."

"I think this funding implies positive things for the Allegheny community," he said. "These facility expansions imply future job openings, which is great for surrounding residents who may be unemployed."

Building PA is a state-sponsored real estate fund, administered by the Commonwealth Financing Authority and the state Department of Community and Economic Development, which invests in commercial properties operated by established developers in small- to mid-sized municipalities. It is designed to close funding gaps that prevent vacant industrial sites from being fully developed.

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Banner Day for WM VFW: VFW Post 914 Intrepid Commander Charles Krebs, left, and Post Quartermaster Mike Mauer display the membership streamer award from National Commander-in-Chief Glen M. Gardner, Jr.

The West Mifflin post was recognized by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States for having one of the highest recruitment rates in Allegheny County.

Post spokesman Mauer said the event marks the second time in three years the post has been awarded a flag streamer for membership gains. (Submitted photo)