The Lower Macungie Board of Commissioners has given the green light for a fast-food restaurant for Wawa. Wawa plans to build a more-than-2000-square-foot drive-thru restaurant on a 1-acre site at the Trexler Business Center, adjacent to the Movie Tavern and the First Commonwealth Credit Union headquarters. The site is vacant currently. The project will include only drive-thru service for prepared food and drinks. No mini-mart or gas gas pumps will be part of it. The restaurant will be open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily and will be the second drive-thru-only Wawa in Pennsylvania.
Swimming is back in part of Beltzville State Park, just in time for an extended stretch of hot weather. Tests showed acceptable bacteria levels in the water at the beach area on Thursday, and swimming was reopened, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources said. Swimming had been closed since Tuesday, after elevated levels were found.
City officials are extending free admission to Allentown pools for a few more days as a heat advisory continues for the area. They say they're extending the free and reduced admissions to the Mack and Cedar Beach city pools through Sunday for kids under 13 and adults over 60. Admission is half-price for adults 14-59 years old. The city noted that admission for non-residents is still full price. Cedar Beach and Mack pools are open from 12-7 p.m.. Residents can also use the spray parks at Bucky Boyle Park and the old Allentown Fairgrounds at no cost.
The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are making an exception to the rules to try to help keep fans cool and hydrated this weekend. Clear and plastic water bottles are allowed to be carried into Coca-Cola Park during the IronPigs homestand tonight-Sunday. The park is also running a deal on water bottles sold inside the park: 4 Dasani water bottles for $10.
The Northampton County coroner's office has identified the body found last weekend near the South Bethlehem Greeway. Coroner Zachary Lysek says the body of 38-year-old Emmanuel Santiago was found Sunday night around 8 o'clock by a passerby in a wooded area between Hayes and Buchanan streets. Lysek says Santiago's body was in an advanced stage of decomposition. Bethlehem police say foul play is not suspected, however the cause of Santiago's death is still pending.
The Lehigh County district attorney is advising residents who received a mailing entitled “Lehigh County Opinion Survey” that it is not from the county and should be ignored. Jim Martin says his office and others in the county have been contacted by residents who got the mailing that includes a promise of a $2 gift card when finished with the “confidential, nonpartisan survey of the people in Lehigh County”.
Pennsylvania's Senate campaign came to the Lehigh Valley Thursday. Republican Mehmet Oz made two stops in Lehigh County. Prior to those appearances, Oz told Fox News he expects to do well in the crucial southeast part of the state and that includes Philadelphia. "We've got lots of women in the suburbs who are rethinking who they should vote for. They'll come to our side in this election because they're worried about their kids and not being able to play a role in the values and the schools that their children go to. And inner-city Philadelphia is very upset by crime, where police have been completely pushed to the side," Oz says. Oz campaigned at the Allentown Fairgrounds Farmers Market and later made a speech at the Allentown Republican National Committee Community Center on Union Boulevard.
At least one person died in a Thursday night accident in Pocono Township. The Monroe County coroner's office was called to the scene of a tractor-trailer crash around 6 p.m. on I-80, before the exit for I-380. Officials have not identified the victim and police have not commented on what happened.
The Penn State Board of Trustees' Finance Committee has recommended increasing tuition for state resident undergraduates. The increase would be for five percent at the University Park campus and two percent at commonwealth campuses. Tuition would not increase for many state residents and out-of-state undergrads with household incomes of $75,000 or less. The full Board of Trustees will vote on the increases at its meeting at Penn State York today.
New Jersey's unemployment rate for last month remains steady at 3.9 percent while the employment rate now exceeds pre-pandemic levels. State officials say employers have added an average of 16,000 jobs a month since the beginning of the year. The state has now recovered almost all of the jobs lost in early 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Governor Phil Murphy is signing new legislation that will require all New Jersey law enforcement to carry professional licenses. "Enacting legislation to create the new professional license for law enforcement. A license, by the way, which all officers must carry as a condition of their service," the governor said. Murphy says the licensing process also ensures those who fail to meet the standards of professionalism not only lose their license, but they will also be disqualified from serving in New Jersey law enforcement.
The NASCAR Cup series will hit the track this weekend at the Pocono Raceway. The whole weekend is booked for the raceway in Long Pond as the General Tire Delivers 200 will take place this evening at 6:30 p.m. and the Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 NASCAR Xfinity Series race will happen tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. The M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 will be the main event that will go down Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m.
The Philadelphia 76ers are planning to build a new arena in Center City. Team officials say the goal is that 76 Devcorp, a development company, would be tapped to build the arena. The new arena would be at the site of the Fashion District and Mayor Kenney backs the plan. The $1.3 billion project would be privately funded and construction wouldn't start until 2027. In the meantime, officials at the Wells Fargo Center say they would like to host the team until 2031 when the current lease is up.