It appears the PPL Tower in Allentown will become home to 112 apartments. The Allentown Zoning Hearing Board has voted in favor of converting most of the 96-year-old building into one and two bedroom apartments and developer Nick Dye says he can't wait to get to work. "We're excited. This was one of the last pieces before we're off to the races here," Dye says. The apartment units will average roughly 1,110 square feet. Construction will start next year and Dye says the building's interior demolition and reconstruction should take about two years. The total cost of renovation is $30 million.
Monday night, Emmaus Borough Council held its first hearing and granted preliminary approval for a big tax hike next year. If approved, the proposed rate for 2025 would represent a 26% increase, meaning for a property assessed at $100,000, the proposed tax bill for 2025 would equal $1,044.55, compared to $831.55 this year. A second hearing on the tax increase is scheduled for December 16.
Some rain and/or snow showers are possible in the Lehigh Valley Wednesday night, but Accu-Weather's Joe Lundberg is more concerned about a second batch of wintry weather coming Thursday morning. "The front will probably come through right around daybreak Thursday and that's when there could be a quick burst of snow and that's the thing that's most concerning," Lundberg says. He says it may snow hard enough and just long enough to cause some potentially difficult driving conditions Thursday morning.
Pennsylvanians are being warned to look out for a scam involving the state Public Utility Commission. The PUC says scammers are making webpages that look like the state's official energy shopping platforms. The commission says Pennsylvanians need to stay vigilant and make sure they are using the official websites and not a potential threat. Those websites are www.papowerswitch.com and www.pagasswitch.com.
More than a thousand vehicle crashes were reported in Pennsylvania during the Thanksgiving travel period. State Police say a total of 1075 wrecks were investigated from Wednesday to Sunday, an increase of almost 100 from last year. Seven people died. Troopers also arrested 552 people on suspicion of driving under the influence and issued over seven-thousand speeding tickets.
A lawmaker is planning to introduce legislation to legalize adult-use cannabis. State Representative Dan Frankel of Allegheny County is co-sponsoring a bill that would regulate and decriminalize recreational marijuana so a person wouldn't face charges if they're caught with it. Frankel says Pennsylvania needs to catch up with the rest of the region and make adult-use cannabis legal.