
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Penguin Ticket Raffle

Munhall Bicycle Safety Rally
For more information contact The Munhall Police Department at
412-464-7300 or munhallcrimewatch@comcast.net
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
50 YEARS LATER
In the contrast between these two visits -- one conducted in a bipolar world, the other in a multipolar world -- is the history of the world in the last half-century.
For when Nikita S. Khrushchev traveled to Pittsburgh 50 years ago to the day when delegates of the G-20 summit begin to gather here, the globe was divided between capitalist and communist. The greatest economic empire in the world was based in the steel mills of Pittsburgh, the motorcar plants of Detroit and the aviation industry of California, with new rivals springing up in hastily developed but grim industrial colonies planted on the Eurasian steppes and developed as part of the Third Five-Year Plan in the Soviet Union, a nation that no longer exists.
In Khrushchev's time the engine of finance operated mostly on Wall Street, and maybe in the City of London, and nobody cared what the finance minister of Brazil had to say about anything. The notion that Indonesia, independent for only a decade, would be invited to a critical world summit, was beyond laughable. And Turkey, Mexico and South Africa? You must be joking.
Khrushchev and Dwight D. Eisenhower, the American president, might have agreed that China should be invited, but they wouldn't have agreed which China -- the one based in Peking, as it was called then, or Taipei. While they might have believed that Mao's China held the key to global ideological struggle, neither could have conceived of a world when Beijing held the fortunes of the world economy in its loan portfolios.
Fifty years ago Khrushchev took a motorcade ride past Chiodo's Tavern in Homestead, long a celebrated venue for eating, drinking and tall tales. Today Chiodo's, sited on a prominent Homestead corner near the Monongahela River, is gone, replaced by a chain drugstore, and Homestead, then as now known to historians as the site of a historic 1892 labor confrontation, is a center for big-box shopping, not the site of a giant steel mill.
Khrushchev's visit to Pittsburgh on Sept. 24, 1959, came two years before Barack Obama was born. It occurred in a world before manned space travel, when the Princess phone was the ultimate in communication, when the term (BEG ITAL)microwave was something you encountered in a college physics textbook instead of on your kitchen counter.
The centerpiece of the Khrushchev visit was a luncheon speech at the University of Pittsburgh, where he predicted the Soviet Union would overtake the United States and where he asserted that the Soviets' one party was better than America's two.
"Come to our country and see how those slaves of Communism live," he told the 450 people at the Pitt luncheon. "I have come here to see how the slaves of capitalism are living -- and I think their living is not a bad one at all."
Khrushchev's message in 1959 Pittsburgh was one of conciliation and peace, speaking of "sincere competition in which there will be no bloodshed." But his remarks, many of them off the cuff, were delivered during what John F. Kennedy two years later would call a "hard and bitter peace," a peace that later nearly was shattered in Cuba and Berlin and that would spill into bloodshed in Vietnam and Laos.
Fifty years ago Khrushchev told his Pittsburgh audience to "step up your drive -- or you will really find yourselves lagging behind us." Within two years, the Soviets would beat the United States into space, with Yuri Gagarin orbiting the Earth before Alan B. Shepard Jr.'s suborbital flight. But the United States beat the Soviets to the moon -- the Soviets never got there -- and the American arms buildup of the Reagan years may have contributed to the collapse of the Communist block only 30 years after the visit of Khrushchev, whose name was all but obliterated from Soviet hagiography.
Here in Pittsburgh, Khrushchev listened as Gov. David L. Lawrence described the American political landscape, saying, "To those who do not know us well, we may seem at times a divided people." Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell, who backed Hillary Rodham Clinton over Obama in the 2008 Pennsylvania primary, might give much the same speech today. But he would be giving it in an entirely different context.
Over the past 50 years, the United States has transformed the civil rights movement, in its relative infancy in 1959, from a threat to domestic serenity into an iconic symbol of American democracy. The nation has a black president and has had two black secretaries of state and three female secretaries of state -- indeed, there hasn't been a white male leading the State Department for more than a dozen years. Though the promise of Lenin (a classless society) never was achieved, the promise of Jefferson (a land where all were created equal) may be within reach.
We are accustomed to thinking how perilous is the world in which we live, but it is almost certainly true that the world of Khrushchev's visit to Pittsburgh was far more dangerous than the one we inhabit now. During his 17 hours here, the Soviet leader warned that the Cold War "could turn into a warm war, or even a hot one -- or even a nuclear one that could not only burn, but also incinerate."
Khrushchev was wrong about many things, but his evaluation of the threat of 1959 was dead right. In the years since then, we have gained a fragile peace but lost our perspective.
THE PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE
JULY 7, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Homestead Borough Community Day
WTAE news reporter Tara Edwards will also be there for pictures and autographs at noon. Shannon Perrine also from Channel 4 Action News and Brenda Waters from KDKA will be on hand after 1:00 PM for more pictures and autographs.
Other notable participants include: Syrian clowns, stilt walkers, Mr. Bills Petting Zoo, Kate Wholens Ponies, Beringers Inflatables, Wendy, Chick Fil a Cow, Smiley Cookie, Puppets in the Summertime Program, Tattoos by The WORKSHOP, Rebecca the ABC Balloon Twisting Artist, caricatures by the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Steel Valley youth groups, festival treats, pastries and several games for the children.
UPMC Braddock has agreed to perform health screenings and Walgreens will be offering ways to stay healthy..
The Pennsylvania Department of Treasury Agent will be on hand to see if you have any long lost money from an unknown inheritance, tax reimbursement, etc. Representatives from Equitable Gas, Duquesne Light, the U.S. ARMY, the Allegheny County Sheriffs office and the State Police will be on hand with helpful information.
Entertainment Schedule:
Sharon Campe - Noon
Community of the Crucified One - 12: 30
Salvation Army Steel Valley Arts Group - 1:15
Puppets in the Summer Parade - 2:00
YMCA @ UPMC Braddock Tri-Boro Steepers - 2:30
Herbert Newell - 4:15
Pathway Steel Drums - 4:45
The Melody Shop Rock/Heart Unplugged - 5:30
Monday, July 6, 2009
Stanley Cup At Waterfront Theater For Pens' DVD Red-Carpet Screening
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Munhall Neighborhood Watch Meeting

The Munhall Police Department along with the Munhall Neighborhood Watch will be holding a meeting to inform the community of the recent burglaries that have occurred in North Munhall. We will talk about what to look out for and also how to better protect your homes.
Remember, we must work together to make a difference in OUR community!
Tuesday July 14, 2009 at 6:15pm
Carnegie Library
510 E. 10th Ave.
Shuffle Board Room
If you are unable to attend or are in need of more information please call 412-464-7300 or Email at munhallcrimewatch@comcast.net
Munch goes to Blue Dust

To Munch, the names read like the Circles of Hell in Dante's "Divine Comedy": Red Robin. T.G.I. Friday's. P.F. Chang's. Damon's. LongHorn. Pizzeria Uno. Sing Sing. Bar Louie. Fuddruckers.
But, hey, sometimes you have to go to Costco, and there's only so many free samples of red pepper hummus or chicken sausage you can get while you're shopping for that 9-liter bottle of olive oil or 72-pair pack of toothpaste. All that conspicuous consumerism makes Munch hungry.
Needless to say Munch was overjoyed to find Blue Dust -- a new independent eatery that proclaims itself "Homestead's first gastropub." It sits on Amity Street, just before you cross the railroad tracks into the land of the Big Boxes.
Although the name sounds apt for a pool hall or a designer drug, "Blue Dust" is actually slang for a byproduct of the steel-making process and an homage to when those nearby smokestacks weren't just a decoration. The family-run establishment is the product of longtime bar and restaurant business veteran Jerry Miller, and the interior is a clean, funky spot to have a drink or nosh awhile.
The bar is made from a colorful tile mosaic, and sculptures of some African fellows stand watch behind it. A pair of cool prints of old steelworks adorn a back wall along with a huge magnetic poetry board, which, judging by some of the suggestive and weird combinations left by previous patrons (Drunk Woman Worship; Have You An Enormous Apparatus; Mother Lather Me To Death), provides hours of potential fun after the beers start flowing.
Speaking of beer, Blue Dust has 26 mostly micro and craft brews on tap. Munch and Roommate of Munch (ROM) swapped East End Big Hop and Victory Prima Pils over a pair of hefty starters: a giant plate of nachos covered in delicious house-made salsa and red bean dip, cheddar cheese, green onions and beef brisket ($9.95); and the Falafel Platter ($6.95), a plate of a dozen of the fried Middle Eastern chickpea spheres served with pita and Greek sauce.
Salads using locally grown greens are available ($7.95-$10.95), as are main entrees like Grilled Lamb Chops, Asian Stir Fry and Pasta Puttanesca ($7.95-$19.95), which are part of a dinner menu that will rotate about once a month.
Munch went with one of the tasty and filling signature sandwiches, the "Homestead Surf & Turf" -- a half crabmeat, half beef brisket ($9.95) while ROM tore apart the "Hot Italian" hoagie of capicola, sopressata, pepperoni, aged provolone and roasted red peppers ($7.95).
Desserts are made daily, but Munch recommends a digestif -- specifically some of the house-mixed flavored vodka. During our visit, Horseradish Vodka -- vodka amply flavored with horseradish root -- was on tap. Although it sounds like a bad dare, it was an excellent if not sinus-clearing nip that had a spicy wasabi aftertaste. On deck is the Thai Pepper & Chili Vodka, with future combinations in the works.
If the name Blue Dust comes from the byproduct of the industry that once dominated Homestead, then perhaps this Blue Dust comes as a byproduct of what exists there now: a public sick of the chains and dying for a friendly, locally owned spot to have a drink and a meal.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
THE 1892 BATTLE OF HOMESTEAD
117th Anniversary
The Battle of Homestead is the most famous event in American labor history, and perhaps the most significant. Just after dawn on July 6, 1892, the battle erupted when locked-out steelworkers of the Carnegie Steel works at Homestead, together with citizens of the town, broke into the closed and fortified mill nick-named "Fort Frick" after CEO Henry Frick. On the bank of the Monongahela River, they confronted a private army of Pinkerton agents hired by Frick as they attempted to land and secure the mill. The battle was soon joined, and raged throughout the day with gunfire, burning oil, and cannon.
At day's end, the Pinkertons surrendered. Seven workers and three Pinkerton "detectives" lay dead, with others wounded. When the Pinkertons were led away they were humiliated and beaten as they passed through a gauntlet of enraged women, children and townspeople. The conflict marked a watershed in U.S. labor relations and casts a deep shadow to this day.
The Battle of Homestead Foundation was founded to preserve the Pump House, as well as the many stories it has to tell.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Save on Kennywood, Sandcastle & Idlewild Tickets

SAVE 20% On Full-Price Admission Tickets To Kennywood, Sandcastle & Idlewild.
Open Call for Historic Landmarks in Homestead, West Homestead, Whitaker and Munhall
Homestead, Munhall, West Homestead, PA – The Society for Pennsylvania and Surrounding-Area History (SPsAh) is pleased to announce the open call for sites to be recognized a Historical Landmark in Homestead, Munhall and West Homestead, and Whitaker boroughs. SPsAh will select two sites and dedicate the location as a Historical Landmark. SPsAh (pronounced spa) will accept any nomination for a location, moment, street, or any place in these cooperating areas.
Submissions can be sent via e-mail to president@historyofpa.com, visit www.historyofpa.com to submit online, or send a snail mail to P.O. Box 293, Munhall, Pa 15120.
“This is a marvelous time for community members to find a new historical moment for the Steel Valley region,” said David Lontoin, board member of SpsAh. “I am pleased that the Society will be offering this opportunity and hope that all participants in the Steel Valley region submit an idea to be considered a Historic Landmark.”
Requirements: The submission is over 55 words and can be as long and detailed oriented as the applicant sees fit. The length of the submission does not create a better chance for selection, every request for a Historical Landmark status will be reviewed equally. Photos and videos are accepted. The submissions do not have to be defined during the history of the steel industry but must be in the locations of Munhall, Homestead, West Homestead and Whitaker borders. Locations do not have to be historically significant to the masses and can be personally significant. SPsAh will dedicate two sites: 1) the community will vote on a site 2) SPsAh board of directors will vote on a site to be dedicated a Historic Landmark. There is no age limit.
Additional Requirements: Sites where actions of personal significance occurred; locations where people live or work; symbols of ideals that shape a person; example of construction; Places characterizing a way of life; or sites able to harvest ideas.
SPsAh has dedicated Historic Landmark status to people and places of no historical significance, locations of first settlements and many more. For more visit www.historyofpa.com.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
The Waterfront
Built on the site of the former Homestead steel mill, The Waterfront in Homestead provides 260 acres of shopping, entertainment and dining. This upscale shopping complex is one of the "cool" spot in Pittsburgh, with great ambiance and action along Pittsburgh's rivers.
The Waterfront
149 West Bridge Street
Homestead, PA 15120
412-476-8889
Public Transportation: The Pittsburgh Port Authority offers bus service to the Waterfront in Homestead on several different routes including some from Oakland and Downtown.
Hours:
Monday - Saturday, 10:00AM - 9:00PM
Sunday, 12:00pM - 6:00PM
Plus, extended hours during the holiday shopping season.
The Town Center area of the development is home to stores you would find in most malls, including Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle Outfitters, Gap, Hollister, and Victoria's Secret. Macy's(formerly Kaufmann's), Barnes & Noble, and a Loews Cineplex are located in this area as well. The eastern end of the development resembles more of a traditional suburban strip mall, with many big-box retail stores fronting a large parking lot. Stores here include Bed, Bath, & Beyond, Dick's Sporting Goods, Giant Eagle grocery, Lowe's, and Target.
Around the perimeter of the complex, particularly along theMonongahela River, are most of the development's restaurants, almost all of which are typical chain restaurants like Red Robin andT.G.I. Friday's, as well as several fast food locations.
An apartment complex, a few office buildings, fueling station, and a hotel are also located along the river perimeter.
Loews Cineplex Waterfront Theatre: For a pampered movie experience, Loews Theatre at the Waterfront features stadium seating, state of the art acoustics and the most recent movies. Reserve your seats in advance and have dinner there as well.
Directions: From Interstate 376 Take exit 5 toward Squirrel Hill/Homestead. Stay straight through several intersections until on the Homestead Grays Bridge. Make a right at light on bridge to enter The Waterfront.
Web Site: www.waterfrontpgh.com
Kennywood & Sandcastle
In addition to its iconic coasters, the Jack Rabbit and Log Jammer, the historic park boasts a rebuilt and faster Bayern Kurve in which speeding cars circling a track simulate a bobsled ride by leaning slightly inward around curves for even greater thrills.
Open daily through Aug. 25, and four successive weekends and Labor Day. The gates open at 10:30 a.m., and close about 10 p.m. depending on the weather and crowd size.
Standard admission of $33.99 for all-day riding; $20.99 for those 46 inches tall and shorter; $16.99 for seniors ages 55 and older; $18.99 for after 5 p.m. entry; $9.99 for seniors after 5 p.m.; free for ages 2 and younger. Reduced group rates, and special price days.
Location: 4800 Kennywood Blvd., West Mifflin; 412-461-0500; www.kennywood.com.
Next to the Waterfront and a few miles from Kennywood (same ownership), the water park contains a wave pool, 14 waterslides, pools and giant hot tub, and children's area.
Open daily June 13 through Aug. 23; limited operation Aug. 15 - Aug. 23.
Standard admission of $27.99 for all-day fun from 11 a.m. to 6 or 7 p.m. depending on weather and crowd size; $20.99 for seniors and kids 46 inches tall and shorter; ages 3 and younger are free. Season passes, reduced admission after 3 p.m., nd group rates available.
A Kennywood/Sandcastle combo for $33.00 allows admittance to both parks on the same day.
Location: 1000 Sandcastle Dr., West Homestead; 412-462-6666; www.sandcastlewaterpark.com.
Westwood Golf Club
A fully stocked pro shop, lounge, bar, golf lessons, full banquet facilities with the knowledge to make your golf outings, weddings, or any special event truely a day to remember
Just minutes from historic Kennywood, its a great course with fairways that are wide open in some places and tree lined in others.
The greens are fast and makes for a comfortable yet challenging day of golf. Come and enjoy.
Westwood Golf Club is the tri-state areas premier public golf course.
Westwood Golf Club
825 Commonwealth Ave
West Mifflin, PA 15122
ph: 412-462-9555
fax: 412-466-9493
Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead
Bost Building Exhibits
Safety First
Opening March 23, 2009
Steel mills historically have been, and still are, inherently dangerous places. Workers must always be on their guard, for their lives and livelihood depend upon their safety.
Rivers of Steel's new exhibit incorporates films, manuals, posters, signs, personal protection devices and tools allowing visitors to experience what workers were exposed to on a daily basis to ensure their safety, and promote an accident free environment in the workplace.
Information
Admission to the Bost Building is free.
Exhibit Hours
Monday through Friday, 10 am to 4 pm
Saturday, 11 am to 3 pm
The Bost Building will be CLOSED on Friday, July 3, 2009.
Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area
The Bost Building 623 E. Eighth Avenue Homestead, PA 15120
2009 Movies at the Pump House
Located in the Waterfront, site of the former Homestead Works, the Pump House was the site of the battle between workers and the Pinkerton Detective agents during the 1892 Homestead Lockout and Strike. The site has been renovated for use as an interpretive space.
This free monthly Thursday night film series is sponsored by the Battle of Homestead Foundation (BHF):
April 30: The River Ran Red
May 28: Valley Town and Aliquippa: The Union Comes to "Little Siberia"
June 25: Salt of the Earth
July 30: Bread and Roses
August 27: China Blue
September 24: 1877: Grand Army of Starvation and Out of This Furnace: A Walking Tour of Thomas Bell's Novel
All movies begin at 7:30 p.m.
The Pump House is located at 880 E. Waterfront Drive, Munhall.
Steel Valley Trail
With the decline of the steel-making in southwestern Pennsylvania, Rivers of Steel is restoring, protecting and enhancing the land and water resources of the region. By building trails along riverfronts and old railroad corridors and constructing river landings, the Heritage Area is capitalizing on the wealth of natural resources this region offers residents and visitors.
Trail guide maps are available at the following website:
Tour Anytime
Enjoy a peaceful walk along the Monongahela River and through the Waterfront’s retail district to learn about the remaining artifacts from one of the world’s largest steel mills: the Homestead Works.
Adjacent to the Monongahela River, this site was the primary battleground between the Pinkertons and the locked-out steelworkers.
For more information about the Battle of Homestead, try our Battle of Homestead Walking Tour.
Directly across the river from the start of this tour are the Carrie Furnaces, a National Historic Landmark.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Sing Sing Idol

Homestead Borough Community Day
As you may already know, Homestead Borough is planning its annual Community Day event. We are planning this celebration for Saturday, July 11th in Frick Park. with many activities and hometown entertainment. The Police Department and the Fire Company will be supporting this year’s event with public safety demonstrations as well as family games.
Betty Esper, Mayor
Monday, June 22, 2009
Harmony Club of Homestead

Restaurant kicks off 60th anniversary
A Pittsburgh area restaurant staple is ready to have a rockin' summer as it celebrates a special anniversary.
Eat'n Park kicked off the 60th anniversary festivities Friday with a celebration at its Waterfront location in Homestead. The young - and the young at heart - partied with Smiley, the company's cookie mascot, played games and decorated their own special Smiley cookie.
Nashville recording artist Sarah Marince, the voice of the "rock" version of Eat'n Park's famous "Place for Smiles" jingle, entertained the crowd with a special performance. She also helped Team Smiley members hand out prizes during the Eat'n Park trivia challenge.
The Moon Township native said she was excited when Eat'n Park contacted her to record the jingle and star in the "Eat'n Park Rocks!" commercials.
"I grew up around here, and after any school event, everyone would go to Eat'n Park," she said. "It's really cool - there's been so much recognition from the commercial. I can't thank Eat'n Park enough for the opportunity."
Marince said her favorite part of her "Eat'n Park Rocks!" appearances is entertaining children, who she said are some of her biggest fans. But the job also has another perk.
"I've had so many Smiley cookies," she said with a laugh. "I'll decorate them with my friends' names, send them a picture and usually end up eating it myself."
The singer wasn't the only one who enjoyed the cookie decorating event. Six-year-old Amber Porco, of West Mifflin, said that activity was one of her favorite parts of the evening.
She said she was surprised about the icing used in the decorating.
"It was in a bag," Amber said. "Some were two colors mixed."
Amber was joined by her parents, Mike and Lori Porco, and her 8-year-old sister Marisa. The family said they knew Smiley would be at the Waterfront location but was pleasantly surprised to find the party in the parking lot.
Marisa said the family visits Eat'n Park frequently and that she always looks forward to the trip.
"I like the food and the cookies," she said.
By KELLY FENNESSY
Daily News Staff Writer

