State police say the incident last Saturday morning that left a man dead and a woman injured is a case of attempted murder-suicide. Police say 53-year-old Burt Schutt shot his ex-girlfriend, 51-year-old Lisa Gagliardi before using the gun on himself. Gagliardi remains in the hospital in stable condition and is said to be helping with the investigation. It all happened Saturday morning around 11:30 inside a home in the 300 block of East Ninth Street in Northampton.
The Lehigh County Coroner's Office has officially ruled a shooting death from last week as a homicide. The coroner's office says an autopsy shows 35-year-old Giselle Trabal died from a gunshot wound. It happened early Friday morning in the 600 block of North Law Street. It's Allentown's 16th homicide of the year.
Easton Mayor Sal Panto has presented his proposed $73.5 million budget for 2024 and for the 16th consecutive year, it's a budget that does not call for an increase in property taxes. The overall budget is up about $1.3 million over last year and while there's no property tax increase in the budget, residents could see a 15-percent increase in garbage and recycling hauling fees and street parking at meters may pay an extra $1.50 an hour. While parking at a meter may cost more, Panto plans to recommend lowering rates in the parking garages. The deadline to pass the budget is December 15th.
We're off to an unusually warm start to the month of October. "The first two days of the month both reached 80," says Accu-Weather's Dan Pydynowski. He says both today and tomorrow will eclipse the 80 degree mark as well, with today's forecast high of 84 setting a new record.
The Perkiomen Valley School Board voted Monday night to require students to use the bathroom that aligns with their biological sex. The vote came after a lengthy public comment session from those opposed to the idea. "We're asking that a person that's in a minority that has civil rights, we're asking them to give up those rights because a majority, whether that be the population or on the board, feels that their rights aren't as important as theirs," said one man who spoke out at the meeting against the new policy. "That is totally un-American." Another man said, "We need to come together again for the kids. There's a commonsense solution on the table, and that is for transgender students to use the single-stall bathrooms. This does the greatest good for the greatest number for the longest amount of time." The approved policy does just that and opens most single-use restrooms to students. Those restrooms were previously only available to teachers. A second policy that would have restricted students to using the restroom of the gender they have consistently identified with was voted down.
Administrators at a Monroe County assistance organization say their new name will hopefully make clear that they help more than just women. The former Women's Resources of Monroe County, as of yesterday, now goes by the name Safe Monroe. The non profit provides help to anyone directly or indirectly affected by domestic or sexual abuse. More info on the kinds of assistance provided can be found at safemonroe.org.
A state House committee has approved a bill that recommends overhauling Pennsylvania's juvenile justice system. The Judiciary Committee voted 14-11 along party lines to approve House Bill 1381 which would enact ideas proposed by the Juvenile Justice Task Force two years ago. Those ideas include keeping youthful offenders, especially those of color, from being incarcerated and being tried as adults. The task force report found that Pennsylvania arrests juveniles at rates that are higher than those in neighboring states. It also found that the state arrests youth of color unfairly and excessively tries them as adults.
The House Game and Fisheries committee has moved forward with a measure that would fund wildlife rehabilitators. House Bill 1522 was approved in committee Monday and would give those groups the chance to apply for grants from the state, based on the number of wild animals that are under their care. Some hunting groups are opposed to the idea because the legislation would be paid for with grants using money diverted from the state Game Fund, which comes from hunter's license fees.
A federal judge is setting a tentative trial date in the alleged bribery case against New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez. The judge said jury selection is set for May 6th. Prosecutors also raised the possibility at a hearing yesterday that there could be more charges in the weeks ahead. Senator Menendez was allowed to skip yesterday's hearing so he could tend to Senate business in Washington.
Governor Phil Murphy and other state leaders are urging voters to sign up for the state's Track My Ballot program that confirms a county elections official has received their ballot. State elections officials say more than 965-thousand New Jerseyans have signed up for the ballot-tracking program -- or about 15 percent of the state's total electorate. So far, more than 26-thousand November election ballots have been marked as returned by state elections officials. Both parties are spending to help secure elections this fall. The Republican State Leadership Committee has spent about one-million dollars to assure voters the process is protected.
It's game one of the Phillies-Marlins series tonight in Philadelphia. Zack Wheeler pitches for the Phillies and he was asked if he treats this game any differently. "Honestly, not much. I just try to go out there and pitch the same no matter what type of game it is, whether it's spring training or regular season or playoffs. I try not to get too high and try not to get too low," Wheeler says. The Marlins won the season series over the Phillies 7-6.
Members of the 76ers front office are trying to figure out what to do with James Harden. The 10-time All-Star guard didn't show up for media day on Monday. Harden requested a trade back during the summer but the team has yet to grant his wish. This marks the first season under new head coach Nick Nurse.