It took more than five hours for firefighters to bring a massive fire under control at a West Easton industrial complex Tuesday. William Bogari is the West Easton Fire Chief and says the fire at the facility at 1550 Lehigh Drive posed numerous challenges. "This property is difficult to access from the street. There's multiple gates and different areas to get to different areas of this campus. There's no water on this complext, so we had to rely on two public fire hydrants," Bogari said. Firefighters remained on the scene overnight to make sure no hot spots reignited the fire. Power was back on Tuesday night after Met-Ed cut it to thousands of people for several hourse to protect firefighters. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Nobody was hurt.
An 18-year-old was shot in Easton on Monday night. It happened around 9:30 p.m. in the 1300 block of Washington Street. Police found evidence that shots had been fired, however nobody was there. They then learned that a gunshot victim had shown up at the hospital in a private vehicle. The 18-year-old's injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. Police say he is not cooperating with investigators.
A woman was killed and a man was injured in a crash involving a motorcycle and truck in Northampton County Tuesday afternoon. The accident happened at the intersection of Airport Road and Portland Drive in East Allen Township just before 1:30 Tuesday afternoon. A 31-year-old woman from Lehigh Township was pronounced dead at the scene and the other occupant of the motorcycle, a 44-year-old man who is also from Lehigh Township, was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg for his injuries. The driver and the passenger of the truck were not injured. The crash remains under investigation.
It's going to cost a lot of money to renovation Easton Area High School. Easton High is home to 3,020 students, which is roughly 109% of building capacity. The designers presented four options, which range in price between $204 million to $247 million and would be completed in three-to-five years. The board is expected to provide feedback on the designs in May. The last time Easton High was renovated was in 2003.
Officials with the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley say they've just completed their largest campaign in the organization's more than 100-year history. Leaders say they've raised almost $23 million for their 2022-23 campaign. Local corporate sponsors also have played a big part: Employees from the PPL Corporation contributed more than $6 million to the effort and Air Products raised more than $5 million. Also, City Center Allentown and Crayola each donated more than $1 million.
According to AAA East Central's latest numbers, the average price for a gallon of gas in Pennsylvania inched up three cents from the previous Tuesday. As of yesterday, the average price stood at $3.58 a gallon, up three pennies from March 28th, but 69 cents less than one year earlier. In the Lehigh Valley, the average price is $3.47, seven cents more than a week earlier, but 75 cents lower than April 4, 2022.
Governor Phil Murphy has signed an executive order that protects gender-affirming healthcare for anyone within New Jersey's borders. The order comes in response to actions in many Republican-led states that critics claim would restrict healthcare for transgender people. Murphy's order is similar to a proposal from State Senator Andrew Zwicker that would protect transgender healthcare in New Jersey. Zwicker's bill has stalled in the legislature but a spokesperson for Murphy's office says it inspired Murphy's order.