The Chairman of the Northampton County Republican Committee has filed a criminal complaint against four committee members. Glenn Geissinger claims Stephen Lynch, Richard Morea, Melanie Heilman and Debra Biro printed out sexual images of two committee members and shoved them in their faces at a June 2023 meeting. Lynch says the allegations are frivolous and politically driven and were investigated by the DA's office and the case was closed. Heilman says all four are completely innocent and the allegations are baseless. The four face eight misdemeanor charges.
No injuries are reported after a weekend fire in Quakertown. A fire broke out just before 5:30 Saturday afternoon in a barn along the 200 block of Mill Street. That barn may be a complete loss. It's unclear how the fire started.
The Northampton County district attorney said there will be an investigation regarding Easton EMS. Stephen Baratta says his office received a complaint last week. Easton EMS is a not-for-profit organization, with a primary response area as Easton, Glendon and Williams Township.
It's business as usual today on Route 22 west between 191 and 33. However, it was far from that Friday night into Saturday after a large sinkhole formed on the shoulder of 22, forcing a lane to be closed. PennDOT's Ron Young says a special method of making concrete was used to expedite the repairs. "They used some accelerated concrete techniques so it wouldn't take as long as typical concrete, which could take days to cure," Young says. The sinkhole measured seven feet wide and nine feet deep.
Spring officially arrives Tuesday night at 11:06, but Accu-Weather's Joe Lundberg says it'll feel more like the middle of autumn when it does. "It's going to be chilly. The average high this time of year is about 51, 52 degrees and that's about the best we can hope for every day this week. Most days, I think, are going to be stuck in the 40s," Lundberg says. The coldest night is expected to be Thursday night, with temperatures expected to drop to 21.
Some strategies are emerging in the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Casey and his Republican challenger David McCormick. Each candidate seems to be linking the other to unpopular leaders in their parties. Casey's team reportedly is trying to connect McCormick to Donald Trump on such issues as abortion, taxes and election denial. The McCormick campaign consistently links Casey, a three-term incumbent senator to President's Biden's agenda on immigration, the economy and foreign policy. According to recent polls, almost 20 percent of voters nationwide are so-called "double haters," meaning they're unhappy with both presidential candidates.
In-person gaming revenue is down at Atlantic City's nine casinos. New Jersey gaming officials are saying gaming halls raked in $212 million last month, a 1.6 percent percent decrease year over year. Internet gaming at casinos and their partners are up 28-percent at $182 million in February, compared to last February. Sports wagering also saw a 24-percent increase at casinos, racetracks and their online partners at $68-million last month.
Governor Phil Murphy says he'll spend the rest of his second term implementing recommendations from the report on New Jersey's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first comments Murphy had made about the report that looked at the state's response to the pandemic that killed thousands of New Jerseyans and crippled the state's economy. Murphy says he's setting up a task force that will implement each of the report's 33 recommendations and will prepare training exercises to prepare for the worst case scenario.