A property that was an eyesore for years and then vacant for more years is beginning to be brought back to life. Five years after it was torn down and 17 years after it was vacated, work has finally begun on the site of the former Martin Tower in Bethlehem. The initial stages are underway of a project that will eventually transform the former corporate headquarters of Bethlehem Steel into a campus of 100,000-square-feet of medical office buildings and more than 1000 housing units.
"As a father of a son and a daughter, I agonize with the parents of East Hills children," Bethlehem Area School District superintendent Dr. Jack Silva said to residents at Monday night's school board meeting at the East Hills Middle School. That school is where former Bethlehem policeman, school resource officer and soccer coach Costas Alestas allegedly had a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old female student. Silva says a webinar to help parents and families of East Hills students address uncomfortable or unfamiliar issues with their children will also be held later this week.
The Lehigh County Coroner's Office says a man killed his wife and then himself over the weekend in North Whitehall Township. 78-year-old Harvey Hartung shot and killed his 79-year-old wife, Carol, inside their home before killing himself.
Two years after it was closed, it appears the Fountain Hill Community Pool will reopen this summer. Borough officials say they hope to have the pool open for the season the week of June 10th. Season passes will cost $60 for residents and $90 for nonresidents, while daily rates will be $8 per person during normal hours and $5 per person after 4 p.m.
A vehicle crashed into the old Bon-Ton at the South Mall Monday morning. The accident happened around 11:15 a.m. when a driver sent their vehicle through a front window and ended up completely inside of the building. There were no reports of injuries and there's no indication yet on what led up to the crash.
The Republican running for the Lehigh Valley's seat in Congress gets some big name support today. House Speaker Mike Johnson will visit the Lehigh Valley this morning in support of Pennsylvania state Rep. Ryan Mackenzie’s run for Congress. Mackenzie’s campaign says Johnson will join Mackenzie at Cetronia Ambulance Corp. in recognition of Emergency Medical Services week. Mackenzie will face Democratic U.S. Rep. Susan Wild in November, in what will be a closely watched race that could determine which party controls the House of Representatives.
"72-million people in America live within a four-hour drive of Pennsylvania," says Gov. Josh Shapiro. He says they should all expect to see a lot of Pennsylvania's newly unveiled tourism push campaign. The 'Your Great American Getaway Starts Here' campaign will run through August statewide and in city's like New York City, Washington DC, Cleveland and Toronto.
There's a little more than a month until Pennsylvania lawmakers have to have a state budget, and those talks are still in limbo. Republicans at the Capitol want to see a tax cut in the new spending plan, while Democrats and Governor Josh Shapiro want to see Pennsylvania's 14 billion-dollar state surplus spent on new programs like public schools and mass transit. It took lawmakers until December of last year to finalize the current state budget, and lawmakers are hoping to avoid that kind of delay again this year.
The corruption trial of New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menendez continues today in Manhattan. Yesterday, federal prosecutors focused on the Egyptian connection by examining how Menendez allegedly used his position as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to help a New Jersey business tycoon land a monopoly deal with Egypt. They claim the veteran Democrat was bribed with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and gold bars found in his wife Nadine's locked closet. They say Menendez used her as a go-between to work these schemes. Testimony yesterday claimed a New Jersey businessman saved Nadine Menendez's home from foreclosure as the senator was helping him land a valuable business relationship with Egypt.
State lawmakers have passed on to Governor Phil Murphy a bill to end basic skills tests for teachers. The bill is meant to address the teacher shortage in New Jersey by removing barriers to would-be educators who want to enter the field. Under the law, educators would be able to obtain an alternate teaching certificate without sitting for a basic skills test. It would leave some requirements in place for instructors who plan to teach specific areas such as math and biology. .