If you've loved the lack of snow this season, your luck appears to be running out this weekend. "It's the biggest one we've had this winter. But, we haven't had much to compare it to," says Accu-Weather's Joe Lundberg. He says it should begin snowing around midday Saturday and continue into Saturday evening when temperatures will rise and change the snow over to rain. Total snowfall accumulation is expected to be in the two-to-four inch range.
The Allentown City Council has asked the developer of a proposed housing project to answer residents' concerns about the plans. The proposed Barnes Lane residential plan would build 43 homes on 13-and-a-half acres at the base of South Mountain. At Wednesday night's council meeting, about a half-dozen residents says they were concerned about increased traffic and impact on the neighborhood.
Firefighters were called to a house fire in Allentown just before 9 o'clock Wednesday morning. The fire happened in a row home on North 10th Street. Firefighters were able to contain most of the fire to the basement, but the three people who live there are displaced. Everyone made it out safely, and the surrounding homes were evacuated as a precaution. No word on what started the fire.
A Coopersburg woman faces charges of endangering her handicapped daughter while the mother was trying to kill herself. 37-year-old Sara Rhoads is accused of neglect of a care-dependent person and reckless endangerment. Police say they found Rhoads with her 18-year-old daughter inside their car with the engine running inside their garage. The daughter has cerebral palsy and autism.
A WWE Hall of Famer has died. Former Bethlehem resident Rocky Johnson has died at the age of 75. Johnson was the father of wrestling and Hollywood superstar Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, who inducted his father into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008.
Pennsylvania is one step closer to banning drivers from using hand-held devices while they drive. State representatives have approved a bill that would prohibit any hand-held device from being used while driving. However, an amendment to the bill stipulates police would not be allowed to pull a driver over solely for violating that law. St. Rep. Rosemary Brown, who represents parts of Pike and Monroe counties, says she opposes that amendment. "I believe that a primary offense is absolutely necessary to make a very strong statement that we have a true expectation of the driver when they get behind the wheel, that driving is their priority and that the cell phone is not," Brown said. Brown is one of the bill's original sponsors. The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration.
Pennsylania Health Department officials say there have been 11 more flu-related deaths this season. Statewide, that brings the total of 24 with more than 32,000 confirmed flu cases since the end of October.
Pennsylvania's attorney general says he would like to keep that job. Wednesday, Josh Shapiro announced his bid for re-election on social media. The Democrat and former Montgomery County commissioner won his first term in 2016.
The Philadelphia International Airport is announcing a pilot program for biometric exit screening technologies. Biometric screening is designed to verify traveler identities by cross-checking facial scans with photos already on file with the federal government, according to the airport. The initiative, starting Tuesday, will be implemented at three international gates to help U.S. Customs and Border Protection process departing passengers.
New Jersey lawmakers have passed and sent onto Gov. Phil Murphy a bill to fund school lunches for students following a lunch-shaming controversy. Students have been denied hot meals because of food debts. Murphy has indicated he will sign the funding bill, saying no student should be shamed or punished because they cannot afford a meal.
Former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Harold Carmichael is going into the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer. He got the news Wednesday on NFL Network. "This is the ultimate, ultimate honor that you can get in the National Football League," Carmichael says. Carmichael's 589 catches, 8978 receiving yards and 79 touchdowns are all Eagles franchise records.