Last month, Allentown City Council declined to give the Lehigh Valley IronPigs $1 million for mandated renovations at Coca-Cola Park. Tuesday, another local government body did likewise. In a preliminary vote, Northampton County Council voted Tuesday to cut $50,000 for renovations to the IronPigs stadium from the county's 2023 budget. The money would have come from the county's hotel tax fund, which exists to promote tourism. Major League Baseball has demanded renovations to the stadium, which opened in 2008. Despite Allentown City Council's vote, the IronPigs have extended their lease at Coca-Cola Park and remained committed to staying on the east side of Allentown.
Investigators are trying to figure out what started a Tuesday morning fire in Northampton County. The fire happened a little before 8am in a detached garage at a home in the 4700 block of Timberline Road in Lehigh Township. The garage was heavily damaged, but no injuries have been reported.
We're learning more about a Monday afternoon manhunt in Lehigh County. Police say they tried to stop the car driven by 21-year-old Sampson Nyawkun on I-78 in Upper Saucon Township, but he drove off. Eventually, he crashed and fled on foot. That prompted local businesses and homes to be put on lockdown until he was finally arrested. No injuries are reported.
A 71-year-old Slatington woman died prior to an accident Tuesday afternoon. The Lehigh County Coroner's Office says Rebecca Martinez had a medical issue that caused her to lose consciousness while driving on Route 873 in Washington Township. Her car then collided with another vehicle. The coroner has ruled that Martinez didn't die from accident-related injuries, but rather from the medical episode that caused it.
The new acting superintendent of Allentown Public Schools wants to hear from you. Dr. Carol Birks will host what she calls a family / community conversation meeting tonight as part of her efforts to get to know people in the district. It will happen at 5:30 p.m. at the Allentown Public Library.
Democratic Senator Bob Casey was the only U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania to vote for legislation Tuesday that protects the right to same-sex and interracial marriage. Republican Senator Pat Toomey was absent from the vote. The Respect for Marriage Act, which had already passed in the U.S. House, passed in the Senate on Tuesday night by a vote of 61-36. Senator Toomey released a statement earlier this month that said the measure threatened religious liberty, while not offering any new benefits to same-sex marriages that don't already exist.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is cracking down on drinking and driving in the state including the Poconos. PennDOT announced yesterday that people committing repeated DUI offenses will face stricter penalties. The new act is called Deana's Law and it will impose an 18-month driving privilege suspension for a DUI conviction graded as a second-degree felony.
There are now three vacancies in the Pennsylvania state House and state officials say special elections will need to be held to fill them. The open seats are for District 32, which is vacant due to the death of Tony Deluca; District 34, which had been held previously by new U.S. Representative Summer Lee; and District 35, which was left empty when Austin Davis won election as the new lieutenant governor. A date for the special elections hasn't been set yet.
A lawmaker with more than 30 years of legislative experience will step down from his state Senate seat today. Republican John Gordner has represented the district that includes Columbia, Northumberland, Montour and Snyder counties for nearly 20 years. Gordner will reportedly join Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward as an attorney on her staff.
Some Doug Mastriano supporters are petitioning for counties to recount their totals from this month's mid-term elections, even after a recount has already happened in some cases. Results can be recounted if three voters from a precinct pay $50 and file a petition in county court saying fraud or error occurred, although there's no proof needed. "They're not required to submit any evidence of claims as part of that. So it's just some paperwork and we refer to the courts and the courts have to decide how we're going to proceed," says Sean Drasher, director of Lebanon County's Bureau of Registration and Elections.
Governor Murphy is unveiling 25-million dollars in federal funds for New Jersey's Revolutionary War sites. Funds from the American Rescue Plan will be invested in ten historic sites statewide in preparation for the nation's 250th Anniversary in 2026. He noted despite the attention directed elsewhere at other states' place in Revolutionary War history, more battles and skirmishes were fought in New Jersey than anywhere else. Sites awarded funds include Washington's Crossing in Hopewell, Princeton and Monmouth Battlefield State Parks, Proprietary House in Perth Amboy, and sites in Trenton, Haddonfield, Somerville, Elizabeth and Kingston.
A key member of the Philadelphia Eagles defense will miss some playing time. Safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson is expected to be out indefinitely after he suffered a lacerated kidney in Sunday's game. Gardner-Johnson took to social media on Monday and said "I'll be back." This is his first season with the Eagles.