Easton News

A new Northampton County budget, introduced by County Executive Lamont McClure Tuesday, keeps taxes flat. He said he would have cut taxes, if it weren't for the County Council.

Shelly (Jacobs) Bartolacci is retiring as an Easton girls basketball coach three years after retiring from teaching. Her retirement marks the end of a 54-year association with the Easton Area School District as a student, teacher or coach.

Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. presented his 2024 budget to Easton City Council Monday, kicking off a series of meetings to be held over the next two months before it is finalized.

The fifth edition of College Hill Porchfest saw about 150 musicians perform at 31 improvised stages across the Easton neighborhood.

Bob Stem is the winningest football coach for two high schools — Bethlehem Catholic and Phillipsburg, his alma mater. Stem, a teacher and coach for most of his life, died Friday at age 84.

Northampton County Judge Anthony Beltrami joined the bench in 2006. He moonlights as an amateur harness driver at horse-racing tracks in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York. Earlier this year he was named Amateur Driver of the Year by the U.S. Harness Writers Association.

Several Christian churches will come together with prominent figures in the local LGBTQ+ community to discuss the complex relationship between the two this weekend at the Colors of Hope Conference in Easton.

The Lehigh Valley and Forks Township planning commissions are weighing the school’s plans for a $10 million lacrosse center at Metzgar Fields Athletic Complex.

Easton's garbage and recycling transportation contract is nearly double the cost of the previous one. City officials are exploring options to prevent that increase from passing on to residents.

A local initiative to develop a sustainable farm food infrastructure was instrumental in Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding choosing to appear in Easton to announce the theme for the 2024 state Farm Show in Harrisburg.

The drowning death of a Hanover Township, Northampton County, child in July has been ruled accidental, the district attorney said.

Easton City Council opted to remove a Welcoming City ordinance from its Wednesday agenda, leading to a debate among council and the public as to the need for and intent of the legislation.

City and county officials came together on Easton's Ferry Street on Wednesday to celebrate the opening of a four-unit affordable housing building which once served as the Italian Presbyterian Church.

Route 22 was initially closed in both directions in Northampton County between the Route 191 and Route 512 exits. A dump truck overturned, spilling ashpalt onto both sides of the highway; the driver was hospitalized, according to state police.

Yandiel Onil Gonzalez, 16, surrendered to authorities Wednesday and will be charged as an adult, police said in a news release. The shooting occurred July 12 on South Side.

Easton City Council at a Tuesday meeting took a look at the capital improvement plan for the next five years, highlighting projects such as pool rehabilitation, waterfront development, fire station work and more.

In January, a majority of faculty approved a no-confidence vote for Lafayette College President Nicole Hurd. This week, the college board of trustees approved an extension to her contract lasting until 2030. She joined Lafayette as its leader in 2021.

Threatened due to habitat loss and other factors, purple martins in the Lehigh Valley depend on man-made bird houses. For the first time, they've taken up residence at St. Luke's Arboretum in Bethlehem Township.

Cupid Foundations Inc. opened its design studio, CupidIntimates, on West Lehigh Street in Bethlehem in 1987. It's still designing original shapewear that it manufactures and sells in department stores and other national retailers.

Easton's Book & Puppet Co. will hold "Authenticity: A Celebration of Pride and Art," highlighting the diversity of the queer art community, on Saturday, Aug. 9.

Easton planners recommended against the zoning hearing board granting a special exception that would see a tributary on the grounds of the Easton Commerce Park project relocated.

Easton has taken in $1.3 million in funding which will allow for $1 million award for traffic calming and safety improvements, and another $300,000 for a downtown intersection redesign.