Even after a vote last night, there are still more questions than answers about what will happen with the Easton Area High School. By a unanimous vote Tuesday night, the Easton Area School District Board of Education passed a motion directing the superintendent and administration to develop new high school construction on the current site of the high school. Before the vote, Superintendent Tracy Piazza said the vote would not be specifically about what the project will look like nor how to pay for it, but rather a vote to allow the district to begin that process. There are four options for the site: a building renovation, a hybrid concept with new construction and adaptive reuse, new construction in the upper lot and new construction in the lower lot. All options come with an estimated cost of between $230 million and $247 million.
A 40-year-old Upper Milford Township man is dead after a crash on Route 378 in Bethlehem late Monday night. Ricardo Lee died at Lehigh Valley Hospital - Muhlenberg around 11 p.m., about an hour after the crash that happened when Lee crashed into the back of a tractor-trailer while both were heading north on Route 378 near Catasauqua Road. Investigators say Lee was going at a high rate of speed at the time. The driver of the tractor-trailer was also taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Easton Councilwoman Taiba Sultana says she's making a run for the state House. She is hoping to defeat longtime incumbent Robert Freeman in the Democratic primary for the 136th District state House seat. Freeman recently announced he'll run for re-election to a 20th term. Sultana came under scrutiny when she was charged last year for alleged violence against her son. She is also the first Muslim and woman of color to be elected to the Easton City Council.
A state investigator says a lack of leadership is evident at the Catasauqua Borough Police Department. The investigator, who was brought in at the request of Borough council officials, gave a 95-page report of his findings Monday night. David Steffen is a retired police chief from Lancaster County who now works for the state. He claims deficiencies include a police manual that hasn't been updated in over 40 years, a gross approval of overtime and a general lack of leadership by Chief Douglas Kish. One of the cases resulted in an officer making over 73-thousand--dollars in overtime. Steffen recommends several changes to the police department based on his findings.
Gas prices inched up in both the Lehigh Valley and across the state over the past seven days. According to AAA East Center, the average price for a gallon of gas in Pennsylvania was at $3.35 as of Tuesday, one cent higher than the previous week, but 44 cents below where it stood one year earlier. In the Lehigh Valley, the price was $3.30, up four cents from one week earlier, but 41 cents under its January 30, 2023 price.
A Pennsylvania man is in custody for allegedly decapitating his father in Bucks County and then showing the severed head on YouTube. Middletown Police Chief Joseph Bartorilla explained how and where the suspect was found. "The vehicle that the person of interest fled in has been found about 100 miles away. The person of interest, himself, is also detained close to where the vehicle was found," Bartorilla says. The son allegedly posted a 14-minute video that appeared to show him holding up a plastic bag containing a severed head, and claiming it belonged to his father. The video has since been removed. Police say the victim's headless body was found in the upstairs bathroom of a home in Middletown on Tuesday evening.
Tuesday was Help America Vote Day. Ben Hovland, who is the vice chairman of the Bipartisan Federal Election Assistance Commission said this day is for all Americans. "Understand all the safeguards that are there to make your our elections are secure and accurate and have integrity and transparency," Hovland says. He says there has always been some difficulty getting enough poll workers and that was made worse by the pandemic. Hovland says if you're interested, you are asked to contact your county election office to find out the requirements and play where you live.
You'll want to not eat any wavy Utz brand potato chips if you have a milk allergy. Utz Quality Foods of Hanover says it's issuing a voluntary recall for 88 cases of Wavy Original Potato Chips due to an undeclared milk allergen. The chips were to be sold in small packages with an expiration date of May 6th. Company officials say none of their other products are part of the recall.
A Pittsburgh-area lawmaker is introducing a measure that would establish an alert system for people with disabilities. State Representative Jessica Benham has drafted a bill that would set up a statewide purple alert, like silver and amber alerts that are already in place. Benham says a purple alert could have led to a faster resolution in an incident in Allegheny County earlier this month. Kayla Durler, a teen with Down Syndrome, went missing after being dropped off by her bus at school on a day when classes were cancelled. She was eventually found in Downtown Pittsburgh and was ok, but, she was missing for more than 24 hours.
Four NHL players are being directed to surrender to police in London, Ontario on sexual assault charges. Cal Foote and Michael McLeod of the New Jersey Devils, Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames and Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, along with former NHL player Alex Formenton, were members of Canada's 2018 World Juniors team. An investigation began in 2022 after reports came out that Hockey Canada settled a lawsuit with a woman who said eight members to the team sexually assaulted her. The four NHL players have been placed on paid leave, with Formenton turning himself in on Sunday. Hart’s lawyers said their client is facing one count of sexual assault, adding, “He is innocent and will provide a full response to this false accusation in the proper forum, a court of law.”
In 2022, the Phillies were in the World Series. Last year, they were one win away from going back. That makes selling tickets, both season and single game, a lot easier according to John Weber, Senior Vice President of Ticket Sales for the Phillies. "We've increased our season ticket sales from last year from 15,700 to about 18,500 and individual ticket sales began last week and last week we sold about 65,000 tickets through the individual channels," Weber says. The Phillies 2024 regular season opener is March 28th at home versus the Braves.