It appears State Revenue Secretary and former Lehigh Valley St. Sen. Pat Browne will have to provide testimony about Allentown’s Neighborhood Improvement Zone in front of the state Senate. Commonwealth Court rejected two emergency injunctions and according to St. Sen. Jarrett Coleman, who defeated Browne in the 2022 Republican primary, Browne is now scheduled to appear before the Senate next Tuesday. The Senate voted 28-22 on Oct. 8 to force him to provide information requested in a subpoena issued in July. Coleman and Senate Republicans want to know specifics about revenue sources for the NIZ, something Browne claimed he could not provide because of changes made to the state Fiscal Code two years ago. Both the Department of Revenue and Senate Democrats had filed suits to challenge the subpoena, saying it would require Browne to violate a taxpayer’s private records.
Former Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney has endorsed Kamala Harris in the presidential race. Now, she has endorsed a Democrat in a closely watched congressional race. Cheney is backing incumbent Susan Wild in her Lehigh Valley race against Republican Ryan Mackenzie. In a statement, Cheney said while she doesn't agree with Wild on everything, Wild is a serious leader who holds a deep respect for the integrity of our democracy.
Allentown City Council voted 4-3 to authorize the administration to begin the process of selling the city-owned property at 1001-1007 Hamilton St., the current home of the 10th and Hamilton police patrol station. David Benner, president of the Allentown Fraternal Order of Police, asked council to vote against the resolution because he said 90% of the officers do not favor a temporary move. The city is considering moving the police department to a building on North Ninth Street, but that would be temporary, as the city plans to move the police to a new centralized headquarters that will be constructed at 425 Hamilton St. The resolution includes an amendment that a buyer for the property cannot take possession of it until adequate facilities for the police department are available for occupancy.
The 57-year-old Monroe County man killed last week by a vehicle while walking along a highway has been identified. The Monroe County Coroner’s Office identified the man as Eric Schecter of Chestnuthill Township. Pennsylvania State Police responded just before 4:30 Thursday morning to Route 115 in Chestnuthill Township. When they arrived, Schecter was lying in the road. He was pronounced dead at the scene less than an hour later. The investigation continues.
The Lehigh County Coroner's Office is reporting an uptick in suicides. Officials say the county has seen more than 40 suicides this year, including eleven since the start of October. Coroner Daniel Buglio says the reasons for the suicides include financial issues and breakups. Buglio wants residents to know the county offers assistance to those in need.
Route 611 in the Delaware Water Gap is expected to reopen on November 4, if not sooner. Congressman Matt Cartwright says electrical work is being completed this week and a rock fence will be installed Monday, with a final repaving planned for October 28. The road near the Monroe-Northampton county line has been closed for nearly two years after a rockslide.
After several weeks of tumbling gas prices, the price at the pump has now headed higher. According to AAA East Central, the average price for a gallon of gas in Pennsylvania stood at $3.37 Tuesday, up three cents from the previous week, but 39 cents less than one year earlier. In the Lehigh Valley, the average price is $3.30, up a nickel from the week before, but 26 cents less than last October 15th.
More than one-point-seven-million mail-in ballots have been requested so far in Pennsylvania. The Department of State says over a million of the ballots have been requested by Democrats, while Republicans have requested almost 500-thousand. A total of two-point-seven-million mail-in ballots were counted in Pennsylvania during the 2020 election.
Governor Josh Shapiro has signed a bill allowing Pennsylvania to eliminate licensing for natural hair braiders. The bill, which passed unanimously through the House and the Senate, exempts hair braiders from needing to have a cosmetology license. Average licensing for jobs in Pennsylvania take almost 120 days to complete and obtain according to the Institute for Justice's Director of Legislation and Senior Legislative Counsel. Pennsylvania has become the 34th state to pass this bill.
The work continues to restart the Unit One reactor at Three Mile Island. In the first media tour of the plant since it was decommissioned in 2019 yesterday, Constellation Energy officials said crews are on track to modernize the plant and turn the reactor back on again. The Unit One Reactor is set to become the Crane Clean Energy Center, which will supply Microsoft with power for its artificial intelligence infrastructure. It could restart as soon as 2028.