The East at a glance
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Seton Hill to hold designer dress sale
Mission ImPROMible, a designer dress sale, will be held on the Seton Hill University campus this weekend.
The university's Communication Club will host the annual event from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday in Cecilian Hall in the Administration Building on the campus in Greensburg.
The event is open to the public, and all proceeds will benefit the Keep A Breast Foundation. More than 400 designer dresses, ranging from size 0 to 28, will be for sale at a fraction of the original price. The dresses were donated by local bridal and prom shops. To see pictures of the dresses and prices, visit Mission ImPROMible's Facebook site at www.facebook.com. Details: mission.impromible@gmail.com.
Meeting to discuss full-service grocery in city
The Jeannette Circles Initiative - part of the national Circles Campaign, dedicated to ending poverty - will hold a meeting to discuss ways to draw a full-service grocery store to the city.
The city has no grocery store and was declared a food desert by the U.S. Department of Agriculture last year.
The meeting will be held at the Jeannette Salvation Army gymnasium, 1100 Clay Ave. Ext., at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 29. Snacks will be served.
Details: Lucille Bittner at 724-914-0114 or Margie Stanislaw at 724-244-7304.
Future of Penn-McKee Hotel discussed
Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation is interested in helping to preserve the Penn-McKee Hotel, McKeesport Heritage Center representative Jason Togyer told council at its pre-council meeting Tuesday. The problem is that no one will take ownership of the building, Mr. Togyer said.
In October, the building was designated for a historic marker by the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission, after being nominated by the Battle of Homestead Foundation and the McKeesport Preservation Society. The steel-frame building has concrete floors and a concrete roof and was being eyed by McKeesport Redevelopment Authority, which hoped to acquire and re-use it, until the group was blocked last year by a lawsuit filed by McKeesport Preservation Society.
"The process is now stopped. ... [McKeesport Heritage Center] doesn't want to buy the building; we cannot afford to buy the building," Mr. Togyer said.
Council President Darryl Segina said the Preservation Society has been a "thorn in our side" for so long. "We could research [state] Senate Bill 900, which gives us power to do things [with blighted properties] we haven't done before. And then let them know we mean business," Mr. Segina said.
The building ceased being a hotel in 1980 and operated as a nursing home until 1992. It has been vacant since then; its interior architectural elements have been stolen by looters.
In April 1947, freshmen congressmen John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon had a 90-minute debate on labor law at the hotel, which was then the city's finest They debated the proposed Taft-Hartley Act, which ultimately became law and curtailed some union activism. The unveiling of the historic marker and a symposium on the debate is planned for April 21, the 65th anniversary of the debate.
Three new businesses to open April 1
Three businesses are scheduled to open in Rosa Court on April 1.
Vince Pasqualino, owner of the retail space on William Penn Highway that is named for his mother, said Gluten Free Zone Bakery, Pure Hair Salon and a Sprint store will fill three of the available four spaces that occupy the newly constructed 12,000-square-foot plaza.
A fourth, as yet unidentified, business is close to finalizing arrangements, Mr. Pasqualino said.
Also in Rosa Court will be a new 5,000-square-foot Pasqualino's Italian Eatery. The new facility will be 2,000 square feet larger than the current Pasqualino's restaurant, located further east on Route 22. The new version of the restaurant will feature a banquet room.
The new Pasqualino's is scheduled to open in early fall. The original Murrysville restaurant site will continue to operate.
"Once we have all our tenants in then we'll start working on our restaurant," Mr. Pasqualino said of the Rosa Court space.
Mr. Pasqualino, of Murrysville, owns the businesses with his brother, Damiano Pasqualino of North Huntingdon.
As young boys, the brothers learned the restaurant business from their father, Frank, who opened Pizza Palace in 1971 in Penn Hills.
Opening a takeout delivery pizza shop in 1997 in Wilkins, they moved to Murrysville in 2000, later changing the name to Pasqualino's Italian Eatery when they began serving home-style Italian food as well as pizza.
The brothers also operate a Pasqualino's on Route 30 in North Huntingdon.
Forensic audit of solicitor fees approved
In a split vote, Penn Hills school board last week voted to accept bids on a forensic audit of fees paid to the district solicitor after questions about financial accountability went unanswered.
The school board voted 5-4 in favor of conducting an independent audit of Craig Alexander, the district solicitor. The four dissenting school board votes were cast by Linda Gallo, Carolyn Faggioli, Robert Hudak and Don Kuhn.
"We have been asking several questions about what amount we are paying for [Mr. Alexander's] services and what we are getting in return," said Director Joseph Bailey Sr., who made the motion.
Mr. Bailey added that with "several hundred thousand dollars" paid to the solicitor over the last four years at $90 an hour, the district should know what exactly these funds have been going for - especially in an era where state funding is on a dramatic decline."
"If there is nothing to hide, you hide nothing," said Director Heather Hoolahan.
But some members -- as well as district superintendent Thomas Washington -- expressed unease about voting on an audit when costs are unknown.
• The district announced it received $500 donations for each school from the new Bottom Dollar grocery store in Penn Hills during its recent grand opening. Officials said the funds will be used as reward incentives for students at each school.
nThe district received an update from Turner Construction on the status of the new high school building. Adam Hinds said about 90 percent of the roofing is complete and that while work has begun inside to frame the interior, exterior trimmings - including brickwork -remain behind. Mr. Hinds assured school officials that the building is still on schedule for completion by December.
Ms. Hoolahan raised concerns about drywall that could be compromised because the roof isn't completed, but Mr. Hinds said if there are any doubts about the quality of the drywall it would be replaced. He also noted that it is an industry standard to put up drywall while roofs are still under completion with the help of plastic tarps and other protective measures.
VFD gets Homeland Security grant
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has awarded $825,280 to fire departments in a number of counties in the state, including Westmoreland. The West Newton Volunteer Fire Co. was given $266,000.
These competitive grants are awarded to the departments and nonaffiliated EMS organizations to enhance first responders' ability to protect the health and safety of the public and of first-responder personnel.
Since 2001, the program, "Assistance to Firefighters Grants" has provided approximately $5 billion in grants to first-responder organizations to obtain emergency response equipment, personal protective equipment, firefighting and emergency vehicles and training.
First Published February 9, 2012 12:00 am
