The old Boyd Theatre in Bethlehem is in its last days. A demolition company has already begun clearing out the interior of the theatre, which has been closed since 2011. It appears demolition of the theatre will begin in early February and could take three months. The building has been vacant after sustaining weather-related damage 11 years ago. DLP Real Estate Capital and Monocacy General Contracting bought the building last year with plans to turn the property into a luxury apartment complex expected to be finished by the end of 2023.
The Dave McCormick for Senate campaign got some big-name support Tuesday afternoon. Texas senator and former presidential candidate Ted Cruz campaigned with McCormick at Lehigh Valley Sporting Clays in Coplay. Cruz told the crowd the race to replace retiring Sen. Pat Toomey is crucial on a national scale. "You are in the battleground deciding the direction of this country," Cruz said. McCormick is one of eight Republicans to have officially entered the race. Six Democrats are also in the race at this point.
Northampton County DA Terry Houck says Roger Kornfeind ripped off 26 customers of nearly $500,000 from July 2018 through this month. Kornfeind allegedly was paid to install swimming pools, but never did the work. The 58-year-old Bethlehem man now faces numerous charges. Houck says simply, "This guy was taking money and he wasn’t doing the work and he was doing it repeatedly.”
Nazareth police are warning the public not to use outside mailboxes at the borough's Main Street Circle when mailing checks. They have not said exactly what the criminal activity is that they're cautioning against but a string of mailbox thefts have been reported around the Lehigh Valley in the past year. The public is asked to either take mail to the drop box located inside the post office, or to personally hand it to a postal worker. If you've been the victim of mail theft, you should contact your local police department. You can also file a report with the United States Postal Service.
Police say 22-year-old Jakob Murray killed his 47-year-old mother inside their Shillington home Sunday. Police say Jakob Murray admitted to choking his mother at their home outside Reading and then using a knife to cut her neck when he realized she wasn't dead yet. Investigators say Murray then stole his mother's credit card and car keys and went to Philadelphia to obtain heroin.
After we get a coating to maybe an inch of snow early Friday, Accu-Weather's Joe Lundberg says a second system will pay us a visit. "I think the snow will return again overnight on Friday night, probably by midnight if not sooner and then last until at least the first part of Saturday morning before moving off our north and east later Saturday and certainly by Saturday night," Lundberg says. And Lundberg says we could get anywhere from two-to-six inches of snow with areas to our east getting substantially more.
Nurses from across Pennsylvania are demanding lawmakers pass the Patient Safety Act to help with staffing shortages caused by the COVID pandemic. The Patient Safety Act would set staffing standards by limiting the number of patients assigned to a nurse depending on the amount of care needed.
The PA Senate Health & Human Services Committee has approved two bills related to abortion in the state. Senate Bill 152 provides direction to the state Department of Health as to how it must prioritize the allocation of public funds for family planning purposes. Senate Bill 956 amends the state constitution regarding the right to abortion or funding for an abortion. It states that there is no constitutional right to an abortion and says that taxpayer dollars can not be used for elective abortions. the amendment would need to pass in two legislative sessions before going to the voters to decide as a ballot referendum.
The Pennsylvania Senate Aging and Youth Committee has approved a measure which mandates the reporting of any infant born in PA with an addiction to opioids. Senate Bill 936 would ensure the coordination of reporting through the Department of Health, which would track the information and break it down by county in an effort to be more aggressive in combating the opioid epidemic. The CDC has reported that nearly one in five pregnant women fill an opioid medication prescription during pregnancy and a child is born with neonatal abstinence syndrome every 25 minutes. The bill now goes to the full PA Senate.
A bill sponsored by a Republican representative from York that would repeal a Pennsylvania union law has been advanced in the state House. The Labor and Industry Committee on Tuesday approved House Bill 2042 sponsored by Republican Rep. Kate Klunk. It would repeal Pennsylvania law regarding fair share fees that public sector unions charge nonmembers. The bill also would require annual notification of public employees who are not union members that they are not required to pay any money to the union unless they agree to do so, as well as their right to decide for themselves whether to join the union. The bill now moves to the full House for consideration.
Pennsylvania lottery players will have another chance to win one of the biggest Mega Millions jackpots in recent memory. No winning tickets were sold for last night's drawing. The jackpot for Friday's drawing now stands at $421 million.
Animal rights group PETA is offering a new suggestion for replacing Punxsutawney Phil. In a letter sent to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club the group has offered to buy a persimmon tree to plant in Gobbler's Knob, noting that the fruit's seeds are as accurate at predicting weather as Phil. In 2020 PETA offered to provide Punxsutawney with an animatronic groundhog. Checking the thickness of local apple skins and corn husks are among the other suggestions offered by PETA to allow Phil and his companion Phyllis to "retire to a reputable animal sanctuary."
Keith Yandle is the NHL's newest iron man after breaking Doug Jarvis' all-time record for most consecutive regulars season games played. Yandle passed Jarvis when the puck was dropped for the opening faceoff of his 965th consecutive game between the Flyers and Islanders. Yandle has now played 1,075 games with the Arizona Coyotes, New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, and Philadelphia Flyers.