Allentown is making traffic changes near Dieruff High School. The speed limit has been lowered to 25-miles-per-hour, two new signs have been installed to alert drivers to the change in speed limit and the white paint on the crosswalks has gotten a new coat. This comes a month after a teacher's aide was fatally hit by a car there and a student was hit by a car ten days later. City leaders also said they've also planned other improvements in the area to ensure safer crossings.
The candidates who are running for the Seventh Congressional District Representative seat will be debating today. Incumbent Democrat Susan Wild and Republican Lisa Scheller will debate at Muhlenberg College from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. this morning. The debate will be moderated by the president of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce Tony Iannelli and aired on Business Matters on October 10th and October 17th.
The Easton Planning Commission has granted conditional land development approval for the proposed Grand Riverview Hotel on South Delaware Drive along the Delaware River. The eight-story, 108-room hotel will offer guests event spaces and a rooftop terrace, in addition to a restaurant or bar to be built in the cave on the property that was left in place by the former owner, the Kuebler Brewing Company.
Northampton County Council will vote tonight on overriding vetoes by County Executive Lamont McClure. Last month, McClure vetoed three ordinances: one seeking bids for a study of the operations of the Gracedale nursing home, another to seek bids for a study of the pay and compensation of county employees, and the third to raise the salary for the next executive to $105,000 from $85,000. Council voted for the Gracedale and pay studies by 8-0 votes and the pay raise for the executive passed by a 6-2 margin. It takes six votes to override a veto.
There were some jittery moments Wednesday morning for residents in one Allentown neighborhood. UGI says a contractor hit a natural gas line just after 9 o'clock Wednesday morning at North Meadow and Liberty streets. Residents who live in the block surrounding the leak were reportedly evacuated as a precaution.
Wayback Burgers currently has two restaurants in the Lehigh Valley, but hopes to soon double that number. Wayback plans on opening at 2185 W. Union Blvd. in Bethlehem and at the Shepherd’s Corner shopping center, 5585 Hamilton Blvd., in Lower Macungie Township. The current Wayback Burger locations at the Southmont Plaza in Bethlehem Township and along Route 309 in Schnecksville.
With less than five weeks to go until the November midterm elections, Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz says his Democratic opponent Lt. Gov. John Fetterman has the wrong views on drug laws. "He endorsed a program that Oregon already put forward that resulted in a 50-percent increase in drug deaths and a 40-percent increase in homicides," Oz says. Fetterman spoke last month at a summit focused on marijuana legalization, arguing for decriminalization at the national level.
For the first time ever, wine and spirits sales topped the $3 billion mark in the fiscal year 2021-2022. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board says sales hit $3.02 billion in the fiscal year that ended at the end of June. That's nearly $110 million more than the prior fiscal year. Net income soared by 25-percent to nearly $331 million.
Lawmakers in both houses of the state legislature are not in session for a couple more weeks. State officials say the state Senate will reconvene on Monday, October 17th and House members come back to session the following Monday, October 24th. Many committees are still holding hearings and sessions, with some taking place in areas away from the Capitol or via video conference on-line.
Legislators will soon review a bill to ban PFAS chemicals in food packaging in Pennsylvania. State Senator Gene Yaw introduced the legislation and says the substance is used in many everyday coating products, from household cleaners to carpets to nonstick cookware. A companion bill also proposes restricting the use of firefighting foam containing PFAS. Yaw says the chemicals build up in our bodies and also never break down in the environment.
Pennsylvania's state alcohol regulator is offering some rare deals. Fine Wine & Good Spirits is taking 50 percent off more than 33-hundred wines, liquors, and accessory items. Officials say well-known brands are included in the clearance, with sales available in stores or online. Pennsylvania residents can get free shipping on purchases over 99 dollars at F-W-G-S-dot-com.
A Beaver County teacher is going back to work following a suspension over his refusal to use preferred pronouns. South Side Area School Board members reinstated biology and anatomy teacher Daren Cusato during a packed meeting yesterday evening. Roughly four-hundred people were in attendance, around 40 of whom spoke in defense of Cusato's stance. The board has suspended the policy requiring teachers to use preferred pronouns, and has plans to draft a new policy in the coming weeks.
An online candy retailer is sharing Pennsylvania's most-purchased Halloween treats. Analysts at candy-store-dot-com say Hershey's Mini Bars are the favorite among buyers in the Keystone State. The company compared sales data from the last 15 Halloween seasons to determine which candy fared best. Hershey's Mini's include chocolate bars like Krackel, Mister Goodbar, and Hershey's Special Dark.
Former Mayor Michael Nutter is making moves. Nutter will be the chair of a new U.S. Department of Treasury committee. The Philadelphia Business Journal reports one of the main goals of the group is to broaden racial equity in the economy. The committee includes 25-members. Nutter was mayor of Philly from 2007-through-2015.
President Joe Biden is slated to visit Governor Phil Murphy at his Middletown home Thursday night for a fundraiser. This is a scheduled stop on the President's fundraising campaign for the Democratic National Committee's grassroots victory fund. Officials are warning traffic in the surrounding areas could be affected on Thursday. Before he was the Governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy served as the National Finance Chair for the DNC in 2006. Former President Donald Trump visited West Long Branch last month to attend a fundraiser for the New York governor's race this November.