As of 5 o'clock this afternoon, tenants in the Hamilton Business Center in Allentown will be getting kicked out of their space and one tenant is not happy about it. "It's convenient for the employees, because most of them don't have transportation, and it's on the bus route," Sally Douglas says. The city is closing the building due to multiple violations the city says it found in the building. The city says the violations include improper storage of hazardous materials, improperly installed fire suppression systems and blocked fire exits. Building owner Gordon Roberts says some of the city's findings are not accurate and the city's deadline to correct issues was unreasonable.
Two men suffered burns from a fire that started in a tent set up beneath the Fahy Bridge in Bethlehem. Bethlehem Police and Fire Departments responded to the area of New St. and W. Lehigh St. Thursday morning around 7 a.m. for a report of smoke coming from the area underneath the north end of the bridge. Arriving officers say they found two men with burns to their arms and hands. The injuries do not appear to be life-threatening. It appears the fire started inside a tent that had been setup on a foot path under the bridge. The investigation is on-going.
The Allentown School Board held the first public hearing on a proposed charter school. The Lehigh Valley STEAM Academy Charter School is being proposed. STEAM is the name for science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics. If approved, the school would open for kindergarten through third grades in August and would then add one grade level each year until the final year of the charter in 2027-2028. They would then add grade eight in the 2028-2029 school year, which would be the first year of their renewal. If approved STEAM plans to utilize The Commonwealth Building at 510 Hamilton St. as the school's location.
Ski slopes in the Poconos are going to be busy this weekend. Several ski resorts in the area will kick-off the season today including Camelback Resort in Tannersville, Blue Mountain Resort in Palmerton and Big Boulder in Lake Harmony. Camelback will be holding an opening celebration through the weekend that will feature music and giveaways.
Accu-Weather's Bill Deger says the first half of the weekend it fine, but the second half will be a washout. "Definitely the better day to get outside is tomorrow. Sunday starts out dry as well, but by the afternoon and into Sunday night, we're going to be needing the rain gear as we step outside," Deger says. He says we could end up seeing as much as two inches before we begin to dry out on Monday.
Gov. Josh Shapiro is relieved the state's five-and-a-month long budget impasse has finally been resolved. "I think it's important to note that we learned to work together," Shapiro says. The final pieces of the 2023 state budget, which included fiscal and education spending, have been agreed upon and signed by Shapiro. They include $175 million for the School Facility Grant Program, which gives district the opportunity to apply for grants to improve infrastructure and make needed repairs and $100 million for school based mental health resources for students.
Protestors calling for a ceasefire in Gaza were arrested for blocking traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway in Center City on Thursday. The incident occurred at around 3:30 p.m. when nearly 150 people gathered on the Spring Garden Bridge and unfurled banners that included support for Gaza. Some of these shut down the westbound lanes of the expressway. City and state police arrested 32 people; Interim Police Commissioner John Stanford says they will be cited for being on the highway.
Wearing a ski mask is now punishable by a 250-dollar fine in Philadelphia. Mayor Jim Kenney returned the relevant bill to the City Council unsigned on Thursday, which allows the measure to become law. Ski masks are now banned in schools, daycare and rec centers, parks, on public transit, and inside city-owned buildings. Council approved the ban over concerns about what segments of the population would be most impacted.
A Pennsylvania man who made headlines for cheating in a Cleveland fishing tournament was sentenced yesterday in connection with a forgery case. Chase Cominsky was sentenced in Mercer County this week to serve 6 to 12 months in jail after being convicted on charges that he tried to pass phony hundred-dollar bills at a Hermitage bowling alley. Cominsky was in the news last year when he and a partner cheated their way to victory in the Cleveland Championship fishing tournament...an act that later resulted him being sentenced to ten days in jail. He is also currently facing charges in a deer poaching case.
Governor Phil Murphy says he's open to raising New Jersey's minimum wage again. The state's minimum wage is set to rise and in some cases exceed $15 dollars an hour at the start of the new year. The governor says he has wondered whether to take the minimum wage higher. New Jersey's minimum wage was $8.60 when Murphy took office five years ago.
Casino workers upset over the Assembly's failure to pass a smoking ban for casinos took their protest to the Statehouse yesterday. Several casino workers lit up cigarettes and blew smoke toward lawmakers during a meeting yesterday of a committee that had been scheduled to take up the smoking ban. The day before, the bill's sponsor pulled the measure for this session, complaining he did not have the support for the bill and would introduce it again next session. The protesters were escorted out of the Statehouse.
New Jersey is one step closer to making it easier to collect the unpaid tolls owed by out-of-state drivers. The state transportation committee passed Assemblyman Bill Moen's bill yesterday, which would allow New Jersey toll authorities to join authorities from other states to collect tolls by enforcing penalties against those who don't pay. If a driver has six or more toll violations or has more than $500 in unpaid tolls, their vehicle registration could be suspended. First-time violators from out-of-state would be fined up to $100.