Last Thanksgiving Day, an 11-year-old girl was shot during a road rage incident. Now the man who shot her, Christopher Bencosme has been sentenced to 20 years in state prison. The 19-year-old Bencosme shot the girl on Third Street in Whitehall Township after a near accident on Route 100 in Upper Macungie Township. Bencosme's attorney maintains Bencosme shot at the car after its driver first showed his gun and the action was in self-defense.
The Palmer Township Planning Commission is delaying a proposal for two warehouses in the area. Tuesday night, the commission voted to table discussion for plans at the property at the southwest corner of Main Street and Van Buren Road due to outstanding engineering issues, such as rain runoff. The site would house two huge warehouses on a 53-acre tract of land. The board of supervisors has until October 31st to offer its decision.
Knoebels' Phoenix rollercoaster has been named the Best Wooden Rollercoaster for the fourth year in a row by Amusement Today's magazine. Knoebel family members accepted the award in San Antonio, Texas, which is the birthplace of the coaster that was built in Elysburg in 1985. Knoebels also won a Golden Ticket award for the best food.
According to AAA East Central, the price of gas continues to drop in both Pennsylvania and here in the Lehigh Valley. AAA says the average price for a gallon of unleaded is now $3.91, down six cents from the previous week, but still 62 cents higher than last September 13. In the Lehigh Valley, the average price sits at $3.78 a gallon, down 12 cents from last week, but 55 cents above last September 13th.
The Lehigh Valley’s newest Wawa store is opening up tomorrow. The store at 4089 Jandy Boulevard in Lower Nazareth Township is hosting a grand opening celebration and ribbon-cutting at 8 o'clock Thursday morning. The Lower Nazareth Wawa is next to the shopping center with Carl’s Corner and Dunkin’. It will be the 24th Wawa to open since the start of 2022.
A former Allentown police chief has a new job. Joel Fitzgerald has been hired as Denver's chief for the Regional Transportation District's police force. Fitzgerald was Allentown's police chief from 2013-2015. Since then, he was the police chief in Fort Worth, Texas for four years and Waterloo, Washington.
Police in Phillipsburg say they're taking a zero tolerance approach to a 10pm curfew for children under the age of 18. Mayor Todd Tersigni says it's about keeping kids and adults safe. "Our main mission in this administration is to protect our residents. We are going to enforce this to the best of our ability," Tersigni says. The Phillipsburg Police Department says children under 18 cannot be in any public places in town between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., unless they're with their parents or guardians.
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to hold Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner in contempt of the state legislative body for failing to respond to a subpoena requesting documents from Krasner's office. Chester County Republican John Lawrence says, "The issue before the House is whether a subpoena duly issued and authorized by this House requires the attention and compliance of the recipient or if a subpoena issued and authorized by this House is a worthless piece of paper." The subpoena stems from an ongoing investigation by a House committee into Krasner and Philadelphia's gun violence epidemic. A lawyer for Krasner called the contempt vote "undemocratic" because he has already submitted a response to the subpoena in a court filing asking a judge to kill it. The vote Tuesday was 162-38, with 51 Democrats voting in favor.
Campaign officials for Republican candidate for governor Doug Mastriano say Donald Trump, Junior will be stumping with their man this week. The free rally is set for Friday, September 16th in Chambersburg. Speakers are scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. and run through 6 p.m. A paid-ticket reception also will take place at the restaurant after the rally.
A bill is in the New Jersey legislature to teach about nine-eleven in schools. State Senator Dick Codey believes it is appropriate, given the similarity to commemorations and retellings of the Pearl Harbor attack. He has confidence that Governor Phil Murphy will sign it, and says he'd like to see it passed by September 11th of next year.
Officials with a major gambling conference set for Atlantic City this month has scrapped the idea of holding a panel discussion regarding smoking in casinos. The topic is a sticky one that has gone on for years in the resort city. Casino workers, who have been advocating for an out-right smoking ban, say secondhand smoke is harmful for their health. On the other side, casino executives and officials fear an out-right smoking ban would harm an already crippled industry that is struggling to reach pre-pandemic profit levels. Smoking in casinos is currently the only exemption from New Jersey's clean air law.
New Jersey may allow the return of cardboard boxes and paper bags for grocery delivery services. A statewide ban on single-use plastic carryout bags and polystyrene foam products had gone into effect back in May, with few exceptions. Currently, reusable bags are allowed, and customers are allowed to bring their existing bags, whether they be paper, plastic, or reusable.