The former chief of the Hellertown Police Department is pleading guilty to theft and forgery. Northampton County officials say Robert Shupp admitted earlier this week to stealing cash from a safe and taking money from the borough for what he claims were drug investigations. Prosecutors said Shupp would forge the signatures of other officers to request the funds. Shupp will be sentenced next month.
A 53-year-old Palmerton man was killed in an early Thursday morning crash in Lehigh County. Authorities say John Schaeffer died at the hospital after he drove off Mountain Road and hit a tree in Heidelberg Township just after 1 Thursday morning.
The tractor trailer driver killed in a Wednesday crash has been identified. Timothy Atanda, of Newark, was killed Wednesday afternoon when he drove his tractor trailer off of I-78 in Upper Saucon Township and it flipped over. State Police continue to investigate the circumstances of the crash.
A 61-year-old Bucks County woman is dead after she was hit by a falling tree while walking on the Saucon Rail Trail in Northampton County. Robbin Danko, of Springfield Township, died Wednesday afternoon at St. Luke's University Hospital. She had been walking on the Saucon Rail Trail near the 1700 block of Valerie Lane in Lower Saucon Township when a tree fell and hit her.
How could Easton City Hall become a tourist attraction? When a Hologram Zoo occupies the building's first floor. "They're going to see lifelike animals that are going to be flying around and jumping out at you," says Manpreet Patel. She and her husband Harshal are making a $900,000 investment to hopefully bring the Hologram Zoo to about 6000 square feet of retail space of the Easton City Hall building as soon as this July. The lease still must be approved by City Council. Mayor Sal Panto hopes the attraction will be a compliment to the nearby Crayola Factory. He estimates the Hologram Zoo could draw about 50,000 visitors annually.
Archer Music Hall is officially open in downtown Allentown. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Thursday followed by a Community Day concert. Hall operator Live Nation says they hope to offer 200 shows a year in the 1600-seat main room of the hall and the smaller 500-seat room that will be known as The Arrow. 100-percent of the face value of tickets sold will fund an Allentown School District Foundation scholarship for a student that wants to study the arts.
Pennsylvania Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan voted yesterday to censure a member of her own party. Houlahan and nine other Democrats joined Republicans in censuring Texas Congressman Al Green for protesting President Trump's speech earlier this week. Green stood and waved his cane at the president before being removed from the chamber. Houlahan said she had a "heated discussion" with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson after the vote about punishing conduct violations on both sides.
New details are coming to light surrounding the deadly plane crash in January. According to the NTSB, the black box didn't record any flight audio and investigators believe the device hadn't worked in years. Officials released the preliminary report yesterday about the January 31st crash. Investigators also confirmed there were no distress calls made to air traffic control before the jet plummeted. The NTSB continues to investigate the incident.
A tune written by a Berks County resident could become the State Song of Pennsylvania. State Senator Judy Schwank submitted a proposal Thursday to designate My Pennsylvania Home by Dave Kline as the new song of the commonwealth. It would replace "Pennsylvania" by Eddie Khoury and Ronnie Bonner. Schwank said the song is a "reminder to the wandering Pennsylvanian that no matter how far they roam, they'll always remember the snowflakes and the spring days in the heartland of our Pennsylvania home."
Daylight Saving Time is starting for most of the country this weekend. Clocks will set forward an hour beginning at 2:00 a.m. this Sunday, March ninth, shifting 60 more minutes of daylight to the evening hours until the time moves back an hour again this fall. Fire officials say the twice-annual clock shift is a good time to test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and change batteries if needed.