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Marshall Drive Work Underway: Above, workers from the Blairsville-based 12th Congressional Regional Equipment Company are shown grading the new extension of Marshall Drive from Old Long Run Road to state Route 48.

City officials say the stream has temporarily been rerouted and a permanent culvert will be installed within the next two weeks. Paving could begin in mid-October.

The $750,000 project is being funded primarily by state grants arranged through the offices of Gov. Ed Rendell and state Sen. Sean Logan (D-Monroeville).

Bids on a traffic light for the new intersection of Route 48 and Marshall Drive are expected to be opened at city council's Oct. 7 meeting. (Tube City Almanac photo)

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Noted and Quoted: "We seem to be spending all of our time talking about the negatives and not about the event. I'm absolutely astounded that the protesters are getting more coverage than the fact that 20 countries will be visiting the city for a historic event." --- McKeesport Mayor James Brewster on next week's "Group of 20" summit in Pittsburgh

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Wittpenn Mourned: Longtime Mon Valley newspaper editor Earle Wittpenn died last Friday after battling cancer. He was 84.

Wittpenn was the former editor of the Homestead Daily Messenger and founding publisher of The Valley Mirror, the weekly newspaper covering the West Mifflin, Steel Valley and Woodland Hills school districts.

A native of Steubenville, Ohio, he began working across the river at the Weirton Daily Times when he was only 13 years old.

Though he would eventually become an editor at the Times, his newspaper career was interrupted for a stint in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division during World War II. Wittpenn moved to Homestead to work at the Messenger in 1966.

In addition to his wife, Michele, Wittpenn is survived by a son, Devon, of Munhall.

Read more in the Post-Gazette and Tribune-Review. Wittpenn also was the subject of an appreciation by Pittsburgh sports journalist Jim O'Brien that was reprinted earlier this month in the Almanac.

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Teaching Asia at Penn State: The international emphasis this year at Penn State's campus in McKeesport is on East Asia --- specifically on the natural environment of the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, Japan, North Korea and South Korea.

Events began last week with a free screening of the film "The Wedding Banquet," and continued Tuesday with a hands-on demonstration of the style of watercolor painting known in Japanese as "sumi-e" by North Hills-based artist and teacher Elaine Bergstrom.

The next event is a screening of an episode of the PBS series "Art:21" slated for 12:15 p.m. Oct. 6 in the Ostermayer Room of the Student Community Center. The episode, "Fantasy," covers four artists whose works explore imaginary worlds.

This year marks the fifth for Penn State Greater Allegheny's "Teaching International" program. A spokeswoman said the curriculum is designed to encourage students to explore global trends and deepen their understanding of other cultures and international issues and events.

Upcoming lectures and events focus on globalization, student research, music and culture. All events are free and open to the public.

For a complete schedule, visit Penn State's website.

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Rusty Website: RustWire, a relatively new website, focuses on post-industrial news and culture in so-called "Rust Belt" regions like Pittsburgh, Detroit, Cleveland and Dayton. The founders are Angie Schmitt and Kate Giammarise.

In June, they interviewed city native John Hoerr about his new novel, Monongahela Dusk (Almanac, Aug. 24). (The Almanac was mentioned by RustWire Aug. 16.)