Part of the Lehigh Valley dining landscape is no more. The Brass Rail, along Lehigh Street in Allentown, closed for the final time over the weekend. Restaurant co-owner Pam Ray says she's surprised just how much the Brass Rail meant to its regular customers. "I know how important it's been to us and in our lives. But, I've really realized so profoundly how important it's been to so many people for many generations of their families," Ray says. The Brass Rail will be eventually torn down and reportedly replaced by a car wash and convenience store.
Michael Horvath will now have to wait for a judge's decision on his fate. The Monroe County man's murder trial wrapped up over the weekend with closing arguments by his defense team. He is being accused of stalking, kidnapping and murdering Holly Grim in 2013. Horvath's defense team argued his wife, Cathy, should be considered the main suspect in Grim's death because of a motive for revenge. The judge will have up to seven days to give a verdict.
Police aren't saying much about reports of gunfire in Slatington over the weekend. Police were called to the 100 block of Chestnut Street just after 6:30 Sunday evening for reports of gunshots. Eventually, crime scene tape was put up around a laundromat, and several evidence markers were placed in the parking lot. There are no reports of any injuries or arrests.
Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor and the state's Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate is answering some questions about his health. John Fetterman said he has not yet returned to the campaign trail after suffering a stroke May 13th because his doctor told him to rest and continue to focus on his recovery for a while. Fetterman also says he ignored warning signs five years ago after learning then that he had a heart condition. He also says his cardiologist told him that he never would have had a stroke had he continued taking blood thinners.
A bill that would require the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to notify an E-ZPass account holder of certain violations has passed the state House. It would cover notification for the first time a person incurs a video, aka V-Toll, in a calendar year. V-Tolls are charged when the E-ZPass system can't detect a transponder in a car as it gets on or off a turnpike or travels through a toll plaza. The car is then identified and charged based on the plate or registration information. The V-Ttoll bill is now in the Senate for consideration there.
Legislation that would allow Pennsylvania banks to do business with legitimate cannabis companies has passed the state Senate. By a vote of 46 to three, the state Senate approved the bill that would bar state regulators from punishing banks that serve cannabis or cannabis-related firms. Senate Bill 1167 now heads to the state House for consideration. It was originally introduced by St. Sen. John Disanto.
You may have received an Amber Alert Sunday afternoon. State Police say a two-year-old girl for whom they'd issued that alert has been found safe. Police in York County were searching for Mya Campbell who was in a car that was stolen from a gas station. Maria McKenzie was sighted on surveillance video taking the car and the child, which was later found in Philadelphia. Police are still searching for McKenzie. They don't know whether she knew the child or her family.
Three are dead and 11 are wounded after a shooting Saturday night on South Street in Philadelphia. Danielle Outlaw is the Philadelphia Police Commissioner and describes what police saw when they arrived. "They observed several civilians suffering from gunshot wounds and lying on the sidewalk and in the street," Outlaw says. She says investigators believe police shot a suspect before losing them in the crowd. Outlaw adds that they believe that one of the deceased was involved in a fight that may have been the origin of the shooting. However she notes that the others killed are not thought to have been involved in the fight and were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.