Consumer Affairs

The US is mailing Americans COVID tests again. Here's how to get them

A West Easton smoke shop sold a jackpot-winning Match 6 ticket for the Wednesday, September 25, 2024 drawing, earning the purchaser $1.68 million, and the store owner a $10,000 bonus.

The “Stanley Jr. Kids Wheelbarrow and 7-piece Garden Set" has been recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission after the paint on the hoe and rake were found to contain lead levels exceeding the federal content ban.

The 2024-25 Pennsylvania State Budget introduced updates to the state's complex liquor laws, including extended happy hours and ready-to-drink cocktails. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board already received over a thousand RTDC applications and has begun permitting with the law effective Sept. 16.

The city's nine-year contract with Waste Management is set to expire this year.

The Bethlehem Parking Authority on Wednesday approved an increase in the meter bag daily cost from $20 to $25, while maintaining its current “no parking” sign charge at $10 per day.

A winning Powerball ticket has gone unclaimed in Lehigh County for nearly a year. Pennsylvania Lottery is trying to seek the winner before the prize — $150,000 — expires.

The Allentown Fair introduced metal detectors two years ago, and guests "appreciate" the added security they provide, according to organizers.

Lehigh Valley residents were seeking jobs and advertising jobs at the Pennsylvania CareerLink/Workforce Lehigh Valley jobs tent outside the Crayola Experience on Tuesday morning.

The Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority's Board of Governors voted Tuesday to raise the price of parking at Lehigh Valley International Airport, the first increase in about 15 years.

Easton City Councilman Frank Pintabone has confirmed he will host his annual free turkey giveaway for residents in need, set for Nov. 22.

Gov. Josh Shapiro says Pennsylvania's utility companies have stepped up to shelter low-income households this winter. The customers are usually covered by LIHEAP, but the federal assistance program has experienced delays due to the federal government shutdown.

In the Lehigh Valley, 105,000 people rely on SNAP benefits for food assistance. One in four of them is a child. When federal safety nets falter, the charitable food network becomes the community’s last line of defense. It requires collaboration, leadership and shared purpose.

Among the free food, candy and raffles was quite a spread of information available, both in English and Spanish, for families related to a major neighborhood redesign in the works.

The Gateway on Fourth, a 120-unit affordable housing project, expected to cost $29 million, just received $16 million in highly competitive tax credits awarded by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency board. It's one of two affordable housing projects out of six total applicants in the Lehigh Valley to receive the credits.

The filings, which occurred over the past few days in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey, are individual filings of LLCs, including the location that was based at the Lehigh Valley Mall Lifestyle Center.

PPL Electric Utilities this week filed its first distribution base rate request in a decade, seeking approval from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for an 8.6% increase in annual revenue — about $356 million.

It's budget time in Easton again, and for another year, Mayor Sal Panto Jr. has confirmed that property taxes will remain stable.

As a new round of scams make way through Pennsylvanians via phone call and text message, officials are warning residents to be cautious and instead report potential scams to the appropriate agencies.

Two weeks after Iron Hill Brewery announced the closure of its flagship restaurant, the company shared Thursday that all locations are now closed.

Council officials will have the final say on the expenditures outlook, which includes how the city plans to pay for everything from protected bike lanes along West Broad Street to new trees and lights at Rose Garden Park to an armored vehicle replacement for police.

Easton will soon issue a survey and a series of community discussions aimed at improving public transportation routes between the city's neighborhoods.