Lehigh Valley Health Network and Jefferson Health have announced plans to merge. LVHN President and CEO Brian Nester says this is a big deal for Lehigh Valley residents. "We will immediately become better and more capable," says Nester. If approved by regulators, the merger would result in a network including 30 hospitals, more than 700 outpatient sites, and more than 62,000 employees. Nester acknowledges some job cuts could eventually result of a merger. He says a name for a combined health care system has not yet been determined. A merger could happen as soon as the end of 2024.
A new Muhlenberg College poll shows registered voters in Pennsylvania aren't particularly thrilled with either party's presidential frontrunner. The poll shows President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are in essentially a dead heat here in Pennsylvania, with Biden leading Trump 42% to 41% with 16% choosing neither or another candidate and 1% undecided. About two of three voters polled don't believe Biden deserves to be reelected, 57% disapprove of his job performance and roughly 75% say the 81-year-old Biden is too old to serve a second term. However, nearly seven of ten voters say Trump doesn't possess the right temperament to be president again. Another question asked to 421 registered voters statewide was whether the country would be better off if neither Biden nor Trump was on the 2024 ballot. 41% said yes.
Residents in Jim Thorpe will see a tax increase next year. The borough manager announced the average taxpayer should expect to pay about 45-dollars more next year. The tax increase is expected to cover increased water and sewer costs while average garbage fees will increase to more than 51-dollars-a-month.
A WPVI news helicopter, better known as Chopper 6, crashed in the woods of South Jersey around 8 o'clock Tuesday night. WPVI reporter Katherine Scott says both people aboard died. "It's an absolute tragedy. Chopper 6 went down last night with a photographer and pilot onboard. The pilot and photographer did not survive," Scott reported. WPVI is not yet releasing the names of the crew members who died, but is saying they have a long history with the station and have been working as part of the Action News team for years.
A few of Pennsylvania's representatives in Washington are asking federal officials to block the sale of U.S. Steel. Senators Bob Casey and John Fetterman, along with Congressman Chris Deluzio, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen yesterday, claiming allowing Japanese firm, Nippon Steel, to acquire the company would compromise national security. Yellen is the chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment, a body that evaluates the impact of investments from other nations in the U.S. The letter goes on to point out that Nippon Steel has operations in China, a country that is considered a U.S. adversary.
The number of people exposed to poisonous wild mushrooms is spiking in the Garden State. There were 159 documented exposure cases this past year, up 22 percent from the prior year. Stats show 48 people went to the hospital because of it. A representative from the New Jersey Poison Control Center at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School says there's no particular reason for the increase but it's not something to be alarmed about.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division of Consumer Affairs are taking steps to protect consumers from being overcharged while shopping, dining, and traveling this holiday season. Among other concerns, the state is conducting inspections of baggage scales for overcharging at New Jersey's two international airports. The state has also launched a major crackdown on businesses charging hidden credit card fees or refusing to accept cash payments. This has prompted corrective actions statewide with citations issued to establishments and stores who violate laws, as the state tries to raise public awareness about these kinds of fraud.