Hits & Misses

Congratulations to the Rostraver Township police, the City of McKeesport and its police department, as well as Port Vue council and police officers for hosting successful events Tuesday to mark National Night Out. Rostraver Township police hosted its fourth annual Mon Valley Night Out at the DiVirgilio Sports Complex. The event was held in partnership with the Westmoreland County Drug and Alcohol Commission and the Mon Valley Opioid Coalition. McKeesport officials met with neighbors in the Fawcett Plan section, while Port Vue officials hosted their event inside. With perfect summer weather, big crowds came to support the events and got a chance to win some great prizes at the Rostraver event — all donated by local business and organizations. Thank you to everyone involved and to those who took the time to attend these important events. National Night Out events promote police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer and more caring places to live. Next up is Monessen’s Night Out, set for 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Monessen High School. We hope residents support this important community-building event. Thumbs up to appropriate action. Allegheny County President Judge Susan Evashavik DiLucente has taken the right steps to address a problem in the courtrooms, and she did it with a two-line email. “Dear Judges, I write to remind you all that you only have authority to adjudicate cases and enter orders in the specific divisions to which you have been assigned,” she wrote. “There are exceptions to this general rule, but those exceptions are authorized by administrative orders.” That might seem vague, but a policy that covers everyone rarely details the catalyst. Isreal Moseby, 19, was charged with aggravated assault after a 2023 incident in which police say he stabbed a woman in the neck twice. He was being held at Allegheny County Jail, and experts have found him incompetent to stand trial. Bail requests were denied four times by Judge Edward J. Borkowski before Moseby’s public defender took the case to Orphan’s Court to address the mental health and intellectual disability issues at play. An additional motion was added asking that court’s judge, Michael McCarthy, to modify bail. He did, and Moseby was subsequently moved to an unsecured facility. Moseby escaped from that facility in May and is accused of killing a woman in June. Evashavik DiLucente and Borkowski have both addressed this with the lawyers in stern court sessions. Evashavik DiLucente’s email to the Allegheny County judges makes it clear she expects the judges to police the problem themselves to prevent a repeat.