There's a wide gap in fundraising in the Lehigh Valley's congressional district race. Incumbent Congresswoman Susan Wild raised almost $1.4 million in the first quarter. That's her best first quarter numbers ever. Meanwhile, the three Republicans trying to defeat her this November raised a combined $305,000 in the first quarter. Kevin Dellicker raked in more than $170,000 in the first quarter. St. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie raised $68,000 from January to March for his campaign and Maria Montero's campaign pulled in $66,000 in the first quarter.
A long-vacant Lehigh County building is finally being torn down. Demolition of the Lehigh Valley Dairy building in Whitehall Township is underway. The property has been vacant since 1989 with the building's condition deteriorating ever since. The property has had a history of trespassing, squatters, and dangerous activity since being vacated. Before being converted into a dairy in 1934, the building had served as a silk mill. There's no word yet on what the future holds for the property.
Allentown police want to find the driver involved in a late Sunday night hit-and-run in the city. It happened at 11:30 p.m. at the intersection of 11th and Tilghman streets when a dark-colored sedan hit a bicyclist and then drove off. The vehicle should have front end damage. Police have not commented on the victim's injuries.
The newest Philadelphia Eagle has been added to the list of players in this summer's DeVonta Smith's celebrity softball game at Coca-Cola park. Whitehall High School and Penn State star running back Saquon Barkley will be joining his Eagles teammates at the game, which is scheduled for June 29 at 2pm.
Pennsylvania primary election is next Tuesday. Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt says voting by the mail will again be a popular option. "As of Monday morning, more than 876,000 of those registered voters have requested and been approved to receive a mailed ballot. Nearly 250,000 ballots have already been returned to their county election offices," Schmidt says.
It is National Work Zone Awareness Week. PennDot's Sean Nrown says working on the roads and highways can be dangerous. "Sometimes there's only some cones protecting our workers from drivers going 60, 70 miles per hour on the roadway. Drivers need to be safe out there and realize that there are real world consequences," Brown says. He says local and state police will be looking for people driving too fast in work zones.
It's that time of year when drivers need to be on the alert for large farm equipment on rural roadways. The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau says farmers are returning to their fields for spring planting so the bureau is encouraging people to look out for large agricultural equipment, to slow down and to keep a safe distance for them. PennDOT says there were 83 crashes involving farm equipment last year, with two fatalities. Pennsylvania's Rural Roads Safety Week runs until Saturday.
It's up to Pennsylvania's governor to sign a proposed law that would increase the penalties for killing bald eagles in the state. Lawmakers last week approved a plan to hike the fine for killing an eagle from $200 to $2000. The move comes after a Washington County man admitted to killing an eagle for no reason last May. The Pennsylvania Game Commission says, since 2018, 10 people have been charged with killing bald eagles in the state.
The Flyers season ended in a 2-1 loss to Washington. The Flyers had to win and get help elsewhere to make the playoffs, but neither happened. Despite falling short of the playoffs, head coach John Tortorella appreciated the effort. "I'm proud of the team. They fought to the end," Tortorella said. Washington's win puts them in the playoffs and eliminated Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Detroit.