Former Bethlehem Area School Superintendent Joseph Roy and the Bethlehem Area School District have settled a lawsuit brought by an district assistant principal. The case, which was dismissed in federal court Tuesday, was filed in April. It was launched against now-retired superintendent Joseph Roy and the school district by Liberty High School Assistant Principal Antonio Traca. He'd claimed Roy punched him in the chest and cursed at him during an Easton-Liberty high school game last year. It happened as Traca told police he was trying to break up a student fight. Details of the settlement have not been released.
Northampton County District Attorney Terry Houck has determined a May 14th shooting that resulted in the death of an Upper Mount Bethel man was justified. Houck says when a 47-year-old woman shot and killed 59-year-old Walter Whaley Jr., she was justified in her belief her life was in jeopardy at that time. Houck says the house was in shambles when police arrived and according to the woman that was done by Whaley, who she says was drinking and breaking objects in the home and eventually grabbed her by the throat, shoved her and pointed his gun at her on several occasions. The woman also said Whaley fired the gun but did not hit her. Houck says an autopsy revealed high levels of both alcohol and methamphetamine in Whaley's system at the time of his death.
Police in Easton say they're not getting a lot of cooperation from people who may have been involved in a Tuesday night shooting in the city. Officers were called to the 800 block of Jackson Street a little after 10 o'clock Tuesday night. When they arrived, they found a 32-year-old man, who had been shot, inside the home. That man is expected to survive. Police say the people being questioned aren't cooperating and they're asking for any camera footage from the area to help push the investigation along.
St. Luke’s University Health Network is set to open its orthopedic hospital this winter. St. Luke's says it will be two stories tall and 52,000 square feet and built into St. Luke’s West End Medical Center, 501 Cetronia Road in South Whitehall Township. It will offer same-day surgeries of the knee, hip, spine, hand and shoulder, as well as treat a myriad of sports-related fractures and other injuries.
According to AAA East Central, the average price for a gallon of gas across Pennsylvania dropped by one cent from the previous Tuesday. The current $3.91 price is 11 cents above last September 26th. In the Lehigh Valley, the average price stands at $3.82, four cents below last Tuesday, but 13 cents higher than last year's price.
New Jersey's senior Senator Bob Menendez is set to appear in Manhattan court today on federal bribery and corruption charges. He'll be arraigned along with his wife Nadine and three co-defendants. The 69-year-old Democrat was indicted last week after being accused of accepting cash, gold bars and gifts in exchange for using his influence to help businessmen and the government of Egypt. Menendez has refused to resign and insists he's innocent, despite growing calls for his resignation.
Both Pennsylvania senators have now called on indicted New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez to resign. Tuesday, Sen. Bob Casey said, "Public service is a sacred trust. The specific allegations set forth in the federal indictment indicate to me that Senator Menendez violated that trust repeatedly. While he is entitled to the presumption of innocence, serving in public office is a privilege that demands a higher standard of conduct. Senator Menendez should resign.” Last Saturday, Pennsylvania's other senator John Fetterman was the first Democratic Senator to publicly call for Menendez’s resignation. Menendez faces charges of accepting bribes to help the government of Egypt among other crimes.
New Jersey Junior Senator Cory Booker is now one of many Democrats calling on his counterpart Senior Senator Bob Menendez to resign. Booker has worked with Menendez for years and released a statement, saying stepping down is not an admission of guilt, but believes it is best for the people Menendez has spent his life serving. However, Menendez refuses to leave his post and says he will fight bribery charges and be exonerated. He's set to be arraigned in Manhattan federal court tomorrow.
Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman has apparently had enough of talk about his wardrobe and the changes to the Senate dress code to accommodate it. In a brief release from his office, Fetterman writes, "This week, I hope to see my colleagues fully address the alleged systemic corruption of Senator Menendez with the same vigor and velocity they brought to concerns about our dress code."
Murder charges against a former Philadelphia Police officer have been dropped. Mark Dial was accused of fatally shooting 27-year-old Eddie Irizarry back in August. The judge cited a lack of evidence in making the decision. Irizarry's family and District Attorney Larry Krasner have said they will appeal the decision. Dial was suspended with the intent to dismiss by former Commissioner Danielle Outlaw.
Philadelphia police made numerous arrests on charges of breaking into and looting stores Tuesday night. Interim police Commissioner John Stanford says looting began around 8:00pm with crowds growing to as high as 100 people. Police have arrested between 15 and 20 people. Stanford says they believe those involved in the riot came from multiple parts of the city, and not just once specific area. "They all started to come from, what we know at this point, from different parts of the city and by different methods. We had a number of officers who were able to be quickly dispersed and respond to those incidents," Stanford says. The looting coming the same day a judge dismissed charges against a former Philadelphia police officer for the fatal shooting of 27 year old Eddie Irizarry.
A House GOP member from Lebanon has introduced a measure that would bar candidates from running for two public offices simultaneously. In a co-sponsor memo, state Representative Russ Diamond mentions the start of this year's legislative session as evidence of the need for House Bill 1709. He says a successful run for two different offices can not only leave constituencies without representation but can also contribute to chaos in governing.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission has established some new rules about harvesting game as part of efforts to reduce Chronic Wasting Disease. Hunters who harvest a deer, elk, or some other game outside of Pennsylvania may take it directly to any Game Commission-approved processor or taxidermist anywhere in the state. Previously, Pennsylvanian hunters were forbidden from bringing "high risk" deer from other states back to Pennsylvania. Likewise, hunters were not allowed to move these parts from any Disease Management Area to anywhere else in Pennsylvania. The regulations also apply to deer killed in car collisions that are picked up for consumption.
A Pennsylvania Democratic lawmaker has announced his bid for state treasurer. State House Representative Ryan Bizzarro says he'll tie Republican incumbent Stacy Garrity to her extreme views on abortion rights and the January 6th attacks. Even though the treasury position deals with state finances, not common political issues, Bizzaro says he'll use the partisan issues to distance himself from his opponent. Garrity, an Iraq war veteran who defeated a Democratic incumbent in 2020, has also recently posted on social media about President Biden's policies as well as joined other Republicans to criticize John Fetterman's wardrobe choices in the Senate chambers.
After a 3-2, ten inning win against Pittsburgh last night, the Phillies wrapped up a playoff spot and the top wildcard seed in the wildcard of the playoffs. Phillies star Bryce Harper is looking forward to another Red October. "Our team is built for October. We have a lineup that is built for that. We have three or four horses in our starting staff. We've got guys in the back end of our bullpen who are lights out. So we're totally looking forward to it and we're really excited," Harper said. The Phillies know they open the playoffs at home next Tuesday. Their opponent is still to be determined.
For the first time since 2012, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs finished the baseball season with the highest total attendance and average attendance in all of minor league baseball. Total attendance at Coca-Cola Park this year eclipsed 567,000 fans for an average attendance of just below 8000. The IronPigs led the minors in both average and total attendance in both 2011 and 2012 and average attendance in 2010.