A newborn is fighting for its life after possibly being assaulted in Bethlehem. A six-week-old is receiving medical treatment for life-threatening injuries. Police are investigating what is being considered a case of aggravated assault that occurred Monday in a Linden Street home. There haven't been any charges filed or suspects named in the case.
Allentown City Council has put a plan to raise parking meter rates near the PPL Center on the back burner. Council members voiced concern about raising the rates, its impact on residents and giving too much authority to the city's Parking Authority. The plan calls for the first two hours of meter parking to cost the standard meter rate. After that, an additional fee would be tacked on that would be equal to the parking garage rate on that particular night. That could range anywhere from $3 to $10. The new rates, which would only be in place on PPL Center event nights, would affect cars parked on Hamilton, Linden and Walnut streets between Fourth Street and 12th Street.
Bethlehem City Council will vote next week on whether to transfer its 911 communications system and software to Northampton County. Allentown and Bethlehem had been the only Pennsylvania cities to run their own 911 operations and Allentown has already announced it was transferring its operations to Lehigh County. If Bethlehem City Council approves the move, the city is expected to bring in nearly $1.4 million.
Police, fire crews and the bomb squad were called to a home in Northampton County Wednesday morning after a possible explosive was found. The device was found in a home in the 500 block of Fairview Avenue in Bangor. Officials said it was suspected to be an old explosive of some kind, but the fire chief at the scene said the device is inert. Someone found the device in the attic while working to clear out the home to be gutted. The Bethlehem bomb squad was called to the scene as a precaution.
Accu-Weather's Elliot Abrams says we might get a little more snow over the weekend. "The end of the weekend, maybe the end of Sunday into Monday there's some snow and there are some other chances next week," Abrams says. However, a Saturday into Sunday snow appears to be headed south of us and shouldn't impact our area and the chances for more snow next week are sketchy according to Abrams.
The Kutztown Folk Festival has been named a finalist in USA Today's Readers' Choice Travel Awards. The annual summer festival is one of 20 nominees for the paper's best cultural festival. People can go online to cast their vote now through March 11th. The 70th annual Kutztown Folk Festival begins this year on June 29th.
The five New Jersey Roman Catholic Dioceses are releasing a list of all its clergy members who have been credibly accused of child sexual assault. The list dates back decades and names 190 people. Of those named, more than 100 are dead, while almost all the rest have already been removed from ministry. The dioceses have already announced the creation of an Independent Victim Compensation Program, which is to make payments to victims deemed eligible for compensation with money coming strictly from diocese funds.
Some of professional football's former players are praising a decision to reduce physical contact in high school football. The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association passed limits that reduce the allowed time of in-season full contact from 90 to 15 minutes per week, while pre-season full contact was reduced from no limit to six total hours all season, including scrimmages. Ed Marinaro, a New Jersey native and former star for the Jets, Vikings and Seahawks, tweeted Wednesday that the rul changes are long overdue. Archie Manning, a one-time NFL quarterback and father of both Eli and Peyton Manning, congratulated the organization on adopting its new guidelines.
Oddsmakers are predicting there will be more Valentine's Day-inspired wedding proposals per-capita in New Jersey today than any other state. Betting expert Alex Donohue, of Bet-NJ.com, says more than 15,000 people in the Garden State will get engaged. New Jersey ranks as the most romantic state on Valentine's Day based on the number of people popping the question relative to its overall population. Donohue says while Valentine's Day is popular to proposed, Christmas still ranks number one.
The Phillies and pitcher Aaron Nola have agreed to a four-year, $45 million contract and manager Gabe Kapler couldn't be more pleased. "I think Aaron Nola brings a preparation that we can all look up to and our other players can emulate," Kapler says. Nola went 17-6 with a 2.37 ERA last year and finished third in the National League Cy Young Award voting.