Here's what's trending for October 2.

Allentown residents will not see a tax increase in 2025. In a sneak peak of the release of his full budget, Mayor Matt Tuerk said in order for taxes to remain flat, the city will have to cut some services. At this point, what those service cuts will look like are not known.

For the 18th straight year, Easton Mayor Sal Panto says the city will not see a tax increase in 2025. He says the newly proposed $38.5 million budget is about $200,000 lower than this year's package. No city employee positions will be cut, according to the mayor, and the city plans to add one position.

A 64-year-old Germansville man is dead after his motorcycle collided with a deer early Tuesday morning. The crash happened Tuesday morning around 5:00 a.m. in the 4000 block of Mountain Road in Washington Township. Frederick Brauchle III was pronounced dead at the scene about two hours later.

For the first time in 12 years, he lights are coming back on at Coplay’s Balliet Stadium. Sammy Balliet Stadium has been dark since Superstorm Sandy badly damaged the stadium in October of 2012. The lights will be turned on once again tonight around 6:30 p.m. The new lights were made possible through a $500,000 grant secured by State Sen. Nick Miller and State Rep. Jeanne McNeil.

Bethlehem City Council adopted several new ordinances amending the budget to allow for funding of various projects. One such ordinance allows the city to accept a $60,000 grant for Project Lifesaver. The program allows families to register for tracking bands for their loved ones who are prone to wandering, such as those with cognitive disorders like Alzheimer's disease.

A dog that was stolen in Bethlehem earlier this week has been returned to their owner. Police say Juno, the dog taken from The Armory Apartments on Monday, appears to be in good health. Authorities believe they have identified the suspect, but so far, no charges have been filed.

According to AAA East Central, the average price for a gallon of gas continues to drop in both the Lehigh Valley and across the state. Statewide, the average price stood at $3.31 as of Tuesday, down more than two cents from the previous week and 56 cents below last October 1's price. In the Lehigh Valley, the average price for a gallon of gas was $3.19 on Tuesday, almost two cents less than a week ago and 56 cents below last year's figure.

Two leaders of a Penn State fraternity will spend time in jail for the hazing death of a student in 2017. Brendan Young and Daniel Casey have been sentenced to between two and four months in jail for the death of 19-year-old Tim Piazza. Piazza drank heavily during a hazing ritual, fell head-first down a flight of stairs, and was found unconscious and cold. Authorities said it took almost twelve hours before Piazza received medical attention because fraternity members were told not to call for help.

Penn State is launching new Nittany Lion Mascot logos with merchandise set to be available this weekend. Penn State said changes to the Nittany Lion come as part of an effort to modernize its brand. In addition, The Nittany Lion will also have a new signature mark. Die-hard fans won’t have to wait long to get their hands on merchandise featuring these new designs, as merch will be available the weekend of Oct. 4, leading up to Penn State’s next game at Beaver Stadium against UCLA. According to Penn State, the initial product line will hit shelves on Friday at The Family Clothesline on E. College Avenue, State College. Additionally, the Nittany Lion will appear in-store from 4:15 to 5:00 p.m. to sign autographs and take photos. The new merchandise will hit stores across all locations that offer Penn State merchandise following the launch.

A plan from Pennsylvania House Republicans unveiled at the Capitol hopes to curb violent crime. St. Rep. Craig Williams says the House Republican Caucus would help local communities get involved with speaking up against crimes by participating anonymously. "So that everybody gets an opportunity to participate in an anonymous reporting system that could have financial rewards to people who provide tips to law enforcement and we can therefore start to solve these crimes immediately," Williams says. This would extend to 67 counties in the commonwealth.

Fresh off of last night's debate, Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz will be in Reading today. The Minnesota Governor is scheduled to visit the city as part of a tour that includes stops in Harrisburg and York. Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris was planning to join Walz on the trip, but the Vice President will instead be in North Carolina to survey damage from Hurricane Helene.

Security preparations appear to be underway for this weekend's Trump rally in Butler Township. Some vendors who are selling Trump merchandise near the Butler Farm Show grounds say they have seen government SUVs going in and out of the area this week. The former president is returning to the site of the July assassination attempt to address supporters this Saturday. Government leaders and law enforcement officials have said security for the event will be much tighter than the previous rally.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike says its emergency phone number is down. The Star-1-1 number went down late last night, and as of 3:30 this morning was still not working. Turnpike managers say anyone with an emergency should call 9-1-1. No one is saying what happened to cause the outage, or when they expect the Star-1-1 number to be back online.


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