The Easton Historic District Commission has granted approval for a proposed six-story apartment building. The project is planned for 533-535 Northampton St. and would be next to and partially attached to an existing five-story building at 527-529 Northampton St. There are a total of 18 units in the existing building, with 14 proposed units on floors two through six in the new one. There will be 900 square feet of commercial space on the first floor. Due to parking issues, the design presented Monday night was smaller than what was originally presented several months ago.
A Lehigh County diner has been damaged by fire. Just before 5 o'clock Monday afternoon, firefighters responded to a fire at the Jordan Parkway Diner along MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township. The fire was put out in about 50 minutes. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
The Lansford American Legion is stepping up to help the families of two firefighters who died while fighting a fire in Schuylkill County. The Legion is hosting a basket raffle to raise money for families of Assistant Chief Zachary Paris and Firefighter Marvin Gruber, who died last month at a house fire near Tamaqua. The raffle will be held on Sunday from 11 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. at American Legion Post 123 located along West Ridge Street in Lansford. You can visit the Lansford American Legion's official Facebook page to find more information on how to donate.
Pennsylvania State Police are searching for the men involved in a string of robberies targeting elderly people around the Poconos. A 92-year-old woman was robbed by three Hispanic men this past Friday at the Shop Rite near the intersection of Route 209 and Weir Lake Road in Chestnuthill Township. The woman's purse was allegedly stolen as the men sped-off in a white Chrysler minivan with California plates. Police believe the men are involved in several other robberies that have taken place around Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Musikfest's latest Wind Creek Steel Stage headliner isn't a musician. Comedian Gabriel Iglesias has been booked for Musikfest on the night of August 10th. Earlier Monday, Musikfest announced country star Maren Morris will be the headliner in Bethlehem on August 12th. Tickets for each show go on sale to the general public Friday.
A Republican state lawmaker wants the new state House speaker to resign. In a letter released Monday, Republican St. Rep. Jim Gregory calls for St. Rep. Mark Rozzi's resignation, saying Rozzi has broken a promise by not switching parties to become an independent. In the letter, Gregory wrote that Rozzi made a commitment to uphold a promise to him, to the House and to the people of Pennsylvania. Gregory's letter reads, "The bonds of trust between friends - as close as you and I have been - are now broken." Rossi released a statement saying he will create a bipartisan committee to address the issue and "cut through the noise."
Insurance provider Capital Blue Cross is being fined 85-thousand-dollars by state insurance regulators. It's being issued following a routine examination of the insurer's policies and procedures under the Affordable Care Act. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department says their exam raised concerns about claims processing, coordination of benefits, member communications and mental health parity issues. In addition to the fine, the department ordered Capital Blue Cross to reprocess and pay any claims that were processed incorrectly.
A school leader who won Pennsylvania superintendent of the year has been selected to be Governor-elect Josh Shapiro's nominee for secretary of education. A news release says Khalid Mumin will be nominated after Shapiro is inaugurated January 17th. He has been superintendent of the Lower Merion School district in suburban Philadelphia for a little over a year. Before that, Mumin was superintendent at Reading School District and won superintendent of the year while there.
Senator Wayne Langerholc Junior wants to cancel the automatic hike in Pennsylvania's gas-tax that took effect this year. It's been introduced as Senate Bill 35. The Republican chair of the Senate Transportation Committee also says he is planning legislation that would likely result in higher fees for people who own electric vehicles, which by definition do not pay the gas tax. Langerholc says the Motor License Fund is only anticipated to receive 10-dollars per electric vehicle, compared to 380-dollars per year in gas taxes.
A recent court ruling could make the commonwealth liable for more than 100-million-dollars in tax refunds to businesses. The ruling came in a case that arose over provisions outlining how companies can use past losses to lower their tax bills. Some corporate taxpayers have claimed successfully that provisions, that have since been dropped, violated the state constitution. Now, state courts are dealing with how to handle tax payments that were made when those unconstitutional provisions were in effect.
Twenty-four consecutive Mega Millions drawings have come and gone without a top-prize winner. Players in Pennsylvania and around the country tonight have a chance, if they win the 25th, of collecting an estimated jackpot of on-point-onw-billion dollars. The jackpot is the 3rd largest in the history of the multi-state lottery game. A winner could choose the cash option estimated at just over 568-million dollars. Winning numbers will be drawn tonight at 11.
A federal judge has temporarily blocked a New Jersey law that put restrictions on where and when a person can carry a gun in public. Judge Renee Marie Bumb -- a George W. Bush appointee -- ruled the new law presented what she called considerable constitutional problems. Governor Phil Murphy signed the law three weeks ago that would limit guns in certain sensitive areas and would prohibit a loaded gun from being kept inside a car. The temporary restraining order means portions of the law could be on hold for weeks while the case is heard in court.
Advocacy groups upset over the recent deaths of whales along the Jersey Shore coast have written President Biden urging him to investigate what they think might be a cause: offshore wind energy projects. The latest whale, a 30-ton humpback, washed ashore in Atlantic City this past weekend. Yesterday, the group called Clean Ocean Action, based in Long Branch, along with several other advocacy organizations sent a letter to the White House demanding a pause to wind energy projects and an investigation into the whale deaths. The groups claimed the whales showed no other signs of obvious death, such as ship strikes, and that the only difference this year has been an increase in offshore development activities.