Dutch Springs may not be a goner after all. The Texas company that plans to put two warehouses on the Dutch Springs property is now proposing separating the 50-acre quarry lake and keeping it open for scuba diving. The Bethlehem Township zoning board has a meeting next Wednesday to discuss the issue further. Trammell Crow Co. still plans to put a warehouse in Lower Nazareth Township and another in Bethlehem Township, both on Dutch Springs property.
Two men are missing and Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub suspects foul play. "Law enforcement believes that something has happened to Matthew Branning and that his co-worker, Michael Stark is, in some way, involved," Weintraub says. Branning and Stark haven't been seen since October 15th. Branning, who is from Sellersville, was last seen on surveillance video at a Sellersville ATM that day. Another unidentified person could be seen in the back seat of the car. After that, Weintraub says cell phone and toll booth evidence show Branning's vehicle ended up in Cape May, New Jersey, where Stark was seen on video buying something at a Wawa around 9:30 that night. Branning was nowhere to be seen. About a month later, Stark, who is also wanted in Monroe County on drug paraphernalia and resisting arrest charges, was then seen on video at a Michigan pawn shop. Stark, who is from Royersford, and Branning work together an Enchlor Inc. in Silverdale, near Sellersville.
Christkindlmarkt's 29th year was one of its most-successful ones. ArtsQuest officials say more than 93,500 people checked out the market at SteelStacks this year. That's second to 2019's record-setting number, 95,000.
Bethlehem City Council voted 5-1 Tuesday night to adopt a $94.8 million budget for 2022, which includes no new taxes. The Northampton County tax rate for the city will remain at 8.61 mills and the Lehigh County tax rate for the city will remain at 2.72 mills.
All six of the Poconos' ski resorts are expected to be open by this weekend. Camelback Mountain opened for the season Wednesday, with Shawnee and Ski Big Bear to follow suit on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Blue Mountain, Big Boulder and Jack Frost opened earlier this month.
A spat between Yuengling and Anheuser-Busch appears to be over. Yuengling, brewed in Pottsville, was upset Anheuser-Busch was using the tagline "Get ready for the next generation of beer" to promote its new Bud Light Next zero-carb beer. Yuengling said its own low-carb brew, Flight, is already marketed as the "next generation of light beer" and that phrase was registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office more than a year ago. Yuengling sent Anheuser-Busch a cease-and-desist letter and shortly after that Anheuser-Busch's new tagline became "Get ready for what's next."
In a 6-1 ruling, Pennsylvania's Supreme Court has ruled the so-called "Victim Rights Amendment" ballot initiative approved by Pennsylvania voters in 2019 is invalid. The justices ruled the initiative violated the Pennsylvania Constitution’s requirement that amendments address a single topic to prevent lawmakers from bundling together items that might not pass on their individual merits. The amendment spelled out 15 rights for victims.
The salad brand Fresh Express has issued a voluntary recall of branded and private-label salad products because of possible contamination with listeria. Many of the brands were distributed in northeastern states, including Pennsylvania. The recall includes all use-by dates of fresh salad items with product codes Z324 through Z350. The product codes are on the front of the packages. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says refunds are available from where the salads were originally purchased.
One day after the Eagles' Tuesday night win, head coach Nick Sirianni tested positive for COVID-19. His status for Sunday's game against the Giants is up in the air, but he says he'll be heavily involved in the game plan. "The rest of the week, I'll be in every meeting, virtually. Every single meeting, every quarterback meeting, every offensive meeting, every team meeting, I'll be running those and it's business as usual," Sirianni says. The Eagles are 7-7 and tied for the final playoff spot in the NFC.
Last night's Lehigh Valley Phantoms' game in Hershey was postponed due to COVID issues affecting Hershey. A make-up date has not yet been announced. The Phantoms are now off until Wednesday when they host Cleveland.