At least one person was killed in a Thursday night crash on Route 22. The accident happened around 9:30 on Route 22 in Hanover Township and closed 22 west between Route 512 and Schoenersville Road until around 4 o'clock this morning. No details on the circumstances of the crash have been released.
The Lehigh County Coroner's Office has identified the 73-year-old man shot to death during a confrontation with police Wednesday afternoon. Gary Moyer was pronounced dead just after 3pm in the 100 block of North 38th Street in South Whitehall Township. Initial reports indicate Moyer was carrying a rifle and ignored police commands to drop it and to stop approaching them. Eventually, police opened fire, killing Moyer. Investigators say a note was found in the man's home following the incident, and preliminary findings suggest he had long-term health issues.
The North Whitehall Township Planning Commission rejected a preliminary/final land development warehouse proposal Thursday night. The project calls for a 501,405-square-foot warehouse on a 71-acre site at 3129 Route 309 near the Kernsville and Orefield roads intersection and Orefield Middle School and among those who spoke out against the plan Thursday night was Parkland School District assistant superintendent Tim Chorones. "The district opposes the plan to have truck traffic utilize the proposed road connecting to Orefield Road, which is in conflict of what your presentation was earlier today. The district also opposes the increased truck traffic that has the potential to impact the safe transport of close to 10,000 students," Cherones said. An attorney for the developer said the school district was a little late to the game. "They have been aware of this project for at least two years, if not more. Not at that time nor until tonight did the school district express any concerns," the attorney said at the meeting at Lehigh Carbon Community College. While the planning commission gave the plan a thumbs down, the township board of supervisors ultimately makes the final decision. That vote is scheduled for June 2.
A former Northampton County strip club is getting a major facelift. The old Spanky's East strip club in Wilson was bought a year ago by a Lower Nazareth developer, who is now set gut the building and convert it into a car dealer on the ground floor and apartment on three floors.
Pennsylvania hospital systems, including one in the Lehigh Valley, are joining together to file a lawsuit against Blue Cross Blue Shield. The federal class action lawsuit accuses the insurance company of "restricting competition for the purchase of healthcare services" so it could pay healthcare providers "far less" than what they're worth in a competitive market. It alleges these practices have gone on for decades. Among the plaintiffs are St. Luke's and Geisinger Health.
One of the wettest Mays in recorded history is going to get wetter tonight. "There may be one-to-two inches of rain from this storm system tonight. That could put a lot of water down and there's a concern for flash flooding. That's why we have flash flood watch from 7pm tonight through 8am tomorrow for the entire area," says Accu-Weather's Joe Lundberg. He says there's a pretty good chance we'll see even more rain on Saturday, perhaps even a thunderstorm.
First time filings for unemployment are down slightly across Pennsylvania. That's according to the latest data released from the U.S. Department of Labor, which says that for the week ending May 24th, there were over 10,200 initial filings for unemployment in the state. That number is down by more than 200 compared to the week prior.
President Trump is heading to a rally in Pittsburgh today. It's his first rally since his reelection and it follows the announcement that Japan-based Nippon Steel will be allowed to invest in U.S. Steel. The deal, which Trump has touted in recent days, would effectively merge the two major steel producers while keeping the company's headquarters in Pittsburgh. Trump will speak at U.S. Steel Corporation.
We now know when four Penn State home football games will be played. Penn State says its season opener on August 30th against Nevada will kickoff at 3:30 on CBS. Penn State's September 6 game against Florida International will be a noon kickoff on the Big Ten Network. Villanova visits Happy Valley on September 13 for a 3:30 game on FS1 and then on September 27, Penn State will hold its annual White Out game against Oregon at 7:30 on NBC. Start times for Penn State's remaining home games, October 11 against Northwestern, November 8 against Indiana and November 22 against Nebraska have not yet been announced.