It was a busy overnight for firefighters in Allentown. They were called to an apartment building on West Gordon Street around 1:15 this morning. It reportedly took fire crews a little less than an hour to put out the fire, which remains under investigation. There are no injuries reported at this point.
A new business park proposed for Bethlehem Township near Route 33 and the Willian Penn Highway park-and-ride moved a step forward Monday night. The Bethlehem Township Planning Commission recommended conditional final approval for the land development plan for Mill Creek Corporate Center, which will include four buildings, totaling almost 500,000 square feet.
Yocco's is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year and to celebrate, it's given $100,000 to create an endowment at Mercy School for Special Learning. Yocco's president Gary Iacocca, his family, employees, and customers have donated $100,000 over the past two years and Iacocca has now turned the money over to the Catholic Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania to create an endowment to provide long-term support at Mercy School, which has served children and young adults with special needs for 68 years.
Pro-abortion state senators upset about last week's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned the Roe vs. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide rallied for abortion rights at the state Capitol Monday. "My granddaughters will grow up in a country that affords them fewer rights than their grandmother. That's the very definition of going backwards," says St. Sen. Judy Schwank. Those Democratic senators claim Republicans will go forward in further restricting abortions in Pennsylvania if left unchecked and those lawmakers promised to keep them in check.
There's some support in Harrisburg for a gas-tax holiday at the state level, but Republican St. Rep. Seth Grove says he'd like a more permanent solution to higher prices at filling stations. "That is a short-term fix unless you're permanently cutting the tax. I think that would actually increase revenues in motor licensing funds as well as give individuals a break at the gas pump," Grove says. He says talk of a gas-tax holiday is tied to budget negotiations. A new Pennsylvania spending plan is due by the end of this week.
If you have a 529 Guaranteed Savings Plan for your child's college education, you could be eligible to receive a hundred dollars from the state treasurer. That office says if you contribute more than a hundred dollars to your GSP account fund by the end of this month, the treasurer will deposit a hundred dollars in your account. The state has also waived all asset-based fees for the coming fiscal year. More than 100,000 families have the 529 college fund plans.
Spotted lanternflies are back in big numbers across much of Pennsylvania. There's concern about the harm they'll cause to the local environment and economy. "They're estimating that it will cost us about $50 million and about 500 jobs this year. As they continue to spread, it could be devastating for our hardwood and for our farmers," says Heather Andrews, who is master gardener with Garden Trust Consultants. A large part of Pennsylvania's economy is dependent on agriculture. Andrews says Pennsylvania is a hardwood, grape and fruit state and lanternflies could have devastating effects if they aren't stopped.
The state House has rejected a Senate bill that would have required Penn State University to provide information about the location of the Joe Paterno statue. The amendment to an earlier measure would have required the university to submit a report of the statue's location and method of storage and protection to certain legislative committees. The report would be required for the university to receive state funding. The statue was moved ten years ago from its location outside of Beaver Stadium after the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal.