A 76-year-old Salisbury Township man has died from injuries suffered last week. Joseph Lacomare died Sunday, four days after he was hit by a car in the 500 block of Union Boulevard in Allentown.
Northampton County Commissioner, Tara Zrinski, says she is seeking election as State Representative for the newly formed 137th Legislative District which covers parts of Bethlehem Township, Upper and Lower Nazareth, Palmer Townships Hanover, and Tatamy. Zrinski ran two years ago in the 138th District race and lost to Republican Ann Flood.
The historic Bethlehem Armory has been transformed into an apartment complex. It's located in the 300 block of Prospect Avenue. The sleek new development originally was built in the 1930s as a national guard "i"-plan brick building in three sections. the complex, now called the Bethlehem armory apartments, has 70 units as well as a game room, fitness center, community lounge, and coffee bar. a grand opening and ribbon cutting celebration took place monday.
Sing For America takes part in many charitable performances around the Lehigh Valley every year. Now, Bruce Gilbert is asking for the Lehigh Valley's help after somebody stole more than $18,000 worth of equipment. "We walked in last Tuesday and noticed the door to the outside was open and then when we walked around to where our most-valuable equipment was, it was gone," Gilbert says. He says the equipment was temporarily being stored at the Westgate Mall when it was stolen more than a week ago. If you'd like to help Sing For America purchase new sound and lighting equipment, go to www.singforamerica.com and look for 'help replace our stolen equipment.'
Pennsylvania's state Supreme Court will consider a new map of congressional districts that was favored by Republicans. The map, which passed the Legislature last month and then vetoed by Gov. Tom Wolf, was recommended by Commonwealth Court Judge Patricia McCullough. Analysts say the map maintains nine Republican-leaning seats and shrinks Democratic-leaning districts from six to five and keeps three districts as toss-ups. The state Supreme Court, which has a 5-2 Democratic majority, will hold hearings on the issue February 18th.
Gov. Tom Wolf is set to give his budget address today and it will be his final one as his term nears its end. Political watchdogs say it will be different from years past because it will likely focus on his legacy, instead of the usual goals for the state. One of the issues almost sure to not come up will be taxes as the state is having its first budget surplus in 35 years. Much of that is thanks to pandemic relief from the federal government and higher-than-expected sales revenue. Schools and public health, as well as voting rights are expected to be highlighted.
A bridge in Pittsburgh's been closed when inspectors found a portion of the span had shifted. That happened about a week after the collapse of "another" bridge in Pittsburgh. Officials at PennDOT say motorists should 'not' be concerned that bridges they cross everyday are in danger of falling down even if you see weight restriction signs. "It's a very rigorous analysis. That's why we use the weight restrictions on. It's very important that we get cooperation from everybody who uses that system," says Melissa Batula, PennDOT's acting executive deputy secretary.
New Jersey's school mask mandate is being lifted next month. "This is a huge back towards normalcy for our kids," said Gov. Phil Murphy. He says as of March 7th the state will no longer require students to mask up in schools. However, the governor says individual school districts can still put their own mask mandates in place. The statewide mask mandate on March 7th for children, staff and visitors in childcare settings will also be lifted.