It's been 53 years since Scranton and New York City have been connected by passenger rail. That may be changing says Congressman Matt Cartwright. "We've been working on this for a very long time and people have been hearing about it," Cartwright says. He says the Federal Railroad Administration has greenlighted $500,000 for the Scranton/New York City Amtrak route to proceed. The service would run from Manhattan to Scranton with stops also in Mount Pocono and East Stroudsburg. Cartwright believes the project could be finished as soon as 2028. A public information session will be held December 19th at the Kalahari Convention Center.
A 69-year-old Lower Macungie Township man has died after being hit by a car in Upper Macungie Township. Bruce Foley was hit just after 7 o'clock Monday night near Chris's Family Restaurant on Tilghman Street as he was trying to cross the road. The driver who hit him was not injured. The crash remains under investigation.
Bethlehem City Council voted Tuesday night to increase sewer rates by 8% in 2024. It will raise the average residential sewer bill by about $24 per year.
Gas prices have remained unchanged over the past seven days. According to AAA East Central, the average price for a gallon of gas was $3.55 as of Tuesday, just a fraction of a penny less that the prior week, but 32 cents less last December 5th's price. In the Lehigh Valley, the price of gas jumped up by a nickel to $3.44 a gallon. That's 31 cents less than last year at this time.
State Representative Mark Rozzi is endorsing his ex-wife to replace him as the lawmaker for Berks County. He was the Speaker of the House for a brief time earlier this year and then announced he wouldn't seek re-election so that he can run for Auditor General. Rozzi says Jacklyn Rusnock, the Democratic candidate for the 126th District seat, will be perfect for constituents even if she wasn't perfect for him. He says she was with him throughout his whole political career and knows what constituents need.
Senator Bob Menendez has fired back at Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman's latest effort to troll the indicted New Jersey Democrat. Fetterman hired expelled New York Republican Congressman George Santos to make a personalized greeting on the Cameo app. In the recording, Santos suggests when it comes to the so-called haters against Menendez he should "make them put up or shut up." In response, Menendez says Fetterman shouldn't be using campaign money to enrich the disgraced Santos. Santos says he was not aware it was Bob Menendez he was paid to talk about.
There's a new bill in New Jersey that would ban pet shops from selling dogs and cats. Animal advocates are hoping state legislators push the bill through, which would replace an older bill with new restrictions for pet stores and guidelines for adoption centers. Current law requires stores to obtain animals from breeders who have proper state and federal licenses. Business owners say the new legislation would hurt consumers and force their stores to close.
Penn State's Chop Robinson has declared that he will enter the NFL Draft. The defensive end also posted on X Tuesday that he will skip the school's game with Ole Miss at this year's Peach Bowl. Robinson was named to the first-team All-Big Ten this season after he transferred to Penn State from Maryland two years ago. He is projected as a top-20 pick in mock drafts, with the Atlanta Falcons listed as a potential pick-up.