After a nearly five hour meeting Tuesday night, Bethlehem City Council took no action on adopting a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. The meeting's public comment portion of the meeting stretched for hours, with residents arguing both for and against a ceasefire, however a majority of speakers were in favor of adopting the ceasefire and expressed support for a Palestinian state free of what they called Israeli occupation and genocide. Others said Israel had the right to defend itself against terrorists, while others essentially said it was none of Bethlehem City Council's business. Public comment on the issue stretched beyond midnight.
Back in the 80's there were dozens of J's Steaks & Subs in the Lehigh Valley region. Now there is one. The Stefko Boulevard, Bethlehem location of J's Steaks and Subs has closed, leaving only Main Street, Northampton location as the only surviving J's.
Gas prices are creeping a bit higher in both the Lehigh Valley and across the commonwealth. According to AAA East Central, the average price of a gallon of gas in Pennsylvania was $3.54 Tuesday, up three cents from last Tuesday, but seven cents lower than one year ago. In the Lehigh Valley, that average price was $3.46 Tuesday, up seven cents from a week earlier and two cents higher than it was last March.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike's Tom Macchione says road construction season is about to heat up. "You'll see a lot more road crews out there, patching potholes, cleaning out drains, painting lines," Macchione says. And with more work zones becoming active, Macchione reminds drivers of the state's work zone speed enforcement law, which just became permanent. The program uses vehicle-mounted systems to detect people who exceed posted work zone speed limits by 11-miles-per-hour. Drivers will get a warning letter for a first offense, a $75 fine for a second offense and a $150 fine for a third and all subsequent offenses. Macchione says drivers need to pretend they have a family member working in those zones and slow down.
Pennsylvania State Police are returning to classic colors for their patrol vehicles. Spokesman Myles Snyder says the change is being made because of a re-evaluation by current command staff. They found that although the current gray scheme uniquely identifies cruisers, they felt that white provides the best color in terms of visibility and safety for patrol troopers. Snyder says there's not a specific timeline to replace the vehicles, but the new white cars will be cycled in as they arrive.
State officials say fewer jobs may have been created over the last year than previously thought. The Department of Labor & Industry says Pennsylvania employers added more than 111,000 jobs in 2023, pushing the number of nonfarm positions to a new state record of over six million jobs. And even though the jobless rate was down almost a full percentage point from the year before, the Independent Fiscal Office says Pennsylvania figures could be interpreted to show a 75-thousand-job gap in the annualized average growth for the fourth quarter of last year. Officials say they're waiting to see data on specific industries before making further conclusions.
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has released its 2022-2023 annual report and it shows a 3.5% increase in sales, up to $2.2 billion. Tequila, ready-to-drink beverages and whiskey topped the list of product categories showing the biggest year-over-year increase in sales. Unflavored vodka was the top spirits category in 43 counties while California cabernet sauvignon was the best-selling wine in 42 counties.
New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez is facing new obstruction of justice charges. The state's senior senator was indicted on 12 new criminal charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery, fraud, extortion and conspiracy for a public official to act as a foreign agent. The charges are related to a years-long corruption and bribery scheme involving the governments of Egypt and Qatar. The new charges come on the heels of a co-defendant in the case last week pleading guilty and agreeing to cooperate with the prosecution.
Two leaders in the New Jersey State Senate are proposing a gas tax hike and electric vehicle fees to extend the Transportation Trust Fund another five years. Senate President Nicholas Scutari and Budget and Appropriations Committee chair Paul Sarlo are proposing a gas tax hike of about one-point-nine cents a year for the next five years. Their proposal is also designed to provide some parity for electric vehicle motorists who are not affected by the gas tax increase through an annual registration surcharge of 250 dollars for electric vehicle.
The iconic New Jersey restaurant booth featured in HBO's "Sopranos'" finale has garnered a big payday at auction. The infamous booth is where Tony Soprano sat with his family before the screen suddenly went black during the series finale in 2007. Holsten's in Bloomfield put the booth up for auction on eBay last week, hoping to get $10,000 for renovations. But the booth, the divider and plaque that reads, "Reserved for the Sopranos," went for more than $82,000.
It appears more likely that Whitehall High grad and Penn State star Saquon Barkley will be playing for a new team this coming NFL season. After doing so last year, the New York Giants are not franchise-tagging Barkley this time. That means Barkley will become a free agent next Monday. While the two sides can still negotiate a contract extension before free agency, Tuesday’s announcement means Barkley has taken his last snap with the Giants.
The Philadelphia 76ers hope their star guard will get back on the court quickly. The team announced on Tuesday that Tyrese Maxey is dealing with concussion symptoms after colliding with Dallas Mavericks forward Derrick Jones Jr. on Sunday. The dynamic scorer left the game after slipping while driving to the basket in the third quarter, but eventually came back. Maxey is averaging 26 points and 6.3 assists per game this season. Philadelphia is already playing without reigning MVP Joel Embiid, who is working through a knee issue.