If fundraising matters, the race for the Republican nomination in the 7th Congressional District is no contest. Lisa Scheller's campaign reports it raked in more than $414,000 in the first three months of this year. Those numbers leave Scheller's campaign with $1.2 million on hand. Her opponent, Kevin Dellicker, raised more than $32,000 in the first quarter of the year, leaving him with a war chest of more than $109,000. Meanwhile, incumbent Democrat Susan Wild leaves both Scheller and Dellicker in her dust. Her campaign raised $888,000 in the first quarter of the year and has $2.35 million in the bank.
Two people were taken to the hospital Wednesday night after being shot in Allentown. It happened in the 400 block of North 4th Street. Bystanders say a man was shot in the leg, and a woman was struck in the stomach. A bullet then hit a window at a home across the street. Police say the two victims are expected to survive. The investigation is still in progress.
An Easton restaurant has been damaged by a Wednesday afternoon fire. Firefighters were called to the State Cafe and Grill on South 5th Street around 1:45 Wednesday afternoon. It's unclear how long the restaurant will remain closed and the extent of the damage is still unclear. There are no injuries reported. The cause of the fire has not been released.
43 projects across Pennsylvania will share $54 million in federal funding for transportation-related projects. Six projects in Lehigh County will receive a little more than $4 million total. Allentown received the most, a $1.3 million grant to rehabilitate Bogert’s Bridge, which was built in 1841 over the Little Lehigh Creek and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The lone project in Northampton County is a $710,000 grant to Lafayette College for curb bump-outs, marked crosswalks, light fixtures and landscaping work.
The first legal recreational sales of marijuana are starting in New Jersey today in what's a historic day in the Garden State. There were lines at some of the dispensaries before sunrise as people waited to purchase weed, including this man in Bloomfield. "This is historic for New Jersey. I don't know how many leagal states there are right now, but it's a long time coming," he says. There are 13 approved dispensaries throughout the state selling recreational weed to those 21 and older. Customers are limited to buying one ounce of pot at a time. New Jersey legalized recreational pot use about a year-and-a-half ago.
While recreational marijuana becomes legal in neighboring New Jersey today, Pennsylvania State Police say people need to know our state has a zero tolerance law when it comes to driving with marijuana in your system. Under state law, anyone with any trace of marijuana in their blood could be prosecuted for DUI, no matter when that marijuana was consumed.
A national sandwich chain known for its cheesesteaks and its turkey hoagies is set to open its first local site in Lower Macungie Township. Capriotti’s Sandwich Shop plans to grand open June 13 at Shepherds Corner, at Krocks Court and Hamilton Boulevard.
A Republican candidate for U.S. Senate says he has to take a temporary break from campaigning. A spokeswoman for Jeff Bartos says he had a pre-cancerous nodule from his thyroid removed Wednesday. She says the surgery was successful and the candidate will be campaigning again Sunday. Bartos is also expected to participate in a Republican Senate debate in Harrisburg Monday evening.
The six universities that are merging in Pennsylvania's state system will also be allowed to combine their schools' sports programs. The State System of Higher Education announced Wednesday the six sports teams will still compete against each other despite merging into two institutions. The decision by the NCAA Division II membership committee pertains to sports in Division II at Bloomsburg, Lock Haven, Mansfield, California, Clarion and Edinboro universities. The mergers will take place in July.
A report from the National Pest Management Association says bugs will be especially bad in Pennsylvania this year. The group says high temperatures, combined with an early rainy season will contribute to an increase in tick and mosquito activity. They say termites like the same conditions, so you'll likely see increased activity from them, as well.
Longtime Villanova basketball coach Jay Wright is retiring and will become a special assistant to Villanova University President Father Peter Donahue. Wright will be replaced by Fordham coach Kyle Neptune, who was Wright's assistant at Villanova and played his college basketball at Lehigh University.