An Allentown firefighter that lost his speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention will not get another chance. Jeremy Warmkessel confirmed the speech will not be rescheduled. The president of the Allentown Firefighters' Union was one of several speakers cut on Monday due to a time crunch. While he lost his chance to speak at the convention, Warmkessel said the DNC was still a "really neat experience."
Pocono Mountain Regional Police credit surveillance video with helping solve a fatal hit-and-run. The crash happened just before 11 o'clock Friday night in the area of Memorial Boulevard and Cayuga Drive in Tobyhanna. 26-year-old Anthony Rodriguez, of Mount Pocono, was riding his motorcycle when he was hit by a car that was traveling south on Route 611. Police say they tracked leaking coolant to where Steven Rannie left his car. At the scene, they say they found bags of marijuana tossed on the ground. Investigators say they used video surveillance of the vehicle to track it to a home, where they found Rannie, who claimed he had hit a deer. However, police say they found green paint on Rannie's car that matched the color of Rodriguez's motorcycle. Rannie now faces multiple charges.
Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire at a Bethlehem apartment building that sent one person to the hospital. It happened just before 8 p.m. Monday in the 2100 block of Easton Avenue. Fire officials say there was one person home at the time and that person was taken to the hospital for treatment. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by the Bethlehem City Fire Marshal’s Office.
According to AAA East Central, the average price for a gallon of gas in Pennsylvania is 2.9 cents lower this week at $3.56 a gallon. That price is 34 cents lower than the August 20, 2023 price. In the Lehigh Valley, the average price is at $3.42 a gallon, down two cents from a week earlier and 39 cents lower than last year.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reports that combined total revenue generated from all forms of gaming and fantasy contests during July was $500,783,633, an increase of 7.22% when compared to July 2023. Wind Creek Bethlehem raked in the fifth highest total at $47.5 million, which is $3.4 million lower than its July 2023 number.
New Jersey lawmakers are considering a bill that would let motorists write off their E-ZPass tolls on their state income tax returns. Two Jersey Shore lawmakers -- Democratic State Senator Patrick Diegnan from Middlesex and Republican State Senator James Holzapfel from Ocean -- drew up the bill. It would allow drivers to deduct one-thousand dollars from their state income tax for travel on any toll road or bi-state bridge within New Jersey. The proposal has a dim future so far. The bill was introduced in January but has yet to be assigned to a committee. Massachusetts is the only state that allows deduction of state tolls and transit fares from state income tax.
On his last day in the U.S. Senate, disgraced New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez did not go down without a fight. The lifelong politician is asking the judge who oversaw his two-month federal corruption trial to throw out the guilty verdict against him and two other businessmen. Reports indicate he's also trying to negotiate a pardon with President Joe Biden. Menendez is stepping down from the post, but he's trying to avoid spending a long time in prison ahead of his scheduled sentencing for October 29th.