Easton News

Lehigh and Northampton counties and surrounding areas ripe for easy-starting potential fire situations.

After plenty of tours and meetings, representatives from Alloy 5 came to Easton Area School District to present some key findings and potential sites for the prospective new high school.

Easton seniors may be eligible for a property tax rebate as early as 2026, with the city allocating fuel savings from hybrid police vehicles into a fund intended to assist homeowners 65 and older.

The inaugural Lehigh Valley Nonprofit Impact Conference at Wind Creek Event Center on Wednesday attracted 300 participants designed to bring nonprofit and community leaders together.

Wegmans hit customers with robocalls Wednesday after recalling several varieties of its store-brand frozen waffles and pancakes due to potential listeria contamination.

Several parents, educators, and even a young student came to EASD's board meeting Tuesday night to speak out against the reduced music education time at the elementary schools, which has been reduced to 30 minutes per class this year.

Wilson Area School Board approved a bond financing resolution that will secure at least $15 million to renovate the high school athletic fields, and up to $60 million overall for several years' worth of projects.

Easton's 'Ask the Bugler', an AI-powered chatbot on the city website, is now able to converse with constituents in Spanish, making it easier for residents to engage with local government.

The Northampton County Sheriff's Department has issued a warning for residents that a scammer has been contacting residents and extorting them for credit card or Bitcoin payments to avoid jail time.

Two Lehigh Valley area houses of worship have been selected to receive state funding meant to bolster their security as announced by state Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Northampton/Lehigh.

The My Generation Tour of Gary Lewis & The Playboys, The Lovin' Spoonful and The Hollies' Terry Sylvester that stopped Friday, March 13, at Easton's State Theater was a wonderful collection of memories — and an occasional surprise.

The Oak Ridge Boys will stop at 6 p.m. Sunday, March 15, at Easton's State Theatre. Tickets, at $65-$85, remain available at the theatre website and are expected to be available at the door at 453 Northampton St.

Thirteen of the Lehigh Valley's seats in the General Assembly look like they'll have a contested November election. State Senate races in Lehigh and Northampton counties will have contested primaries, as well.

Gary Lewis & The Playboys and The Lovin' Spoonful will perform as part of The My Generation Tour at 7:30 p.m. March 13 at Easton's State Theatre. Joining them will be Terry Sylvester of The Hollies, one of those British groups with which they competed, and which had five Top 10 hits of their own in the 1960s.

"The entire regiment deserves some sort of reconsideration, whether it’s by BusPatrol or by legislative change,” PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing.

A Multi-Agency Resource Center will be open from 3 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Gallery at the State Theatre for victims of the Hampton Hotel fire in Easton.

Broadway's "Rock of Ages" Band features the musician case of the Broadway show playing what it calls playing "the greatest rock hits from the glam metal bands of the '80s."

The United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, in coordination with Greater Easton Development Partnership, has established the fund to help victims of Friday's devastating fire at the Hotel Hampton building, 462 Northampton St. Also, a Red Cross emergency shelter operation has been relocated.

One firefighter suffered serious injuries when he fell off a ladder escaping the fire. Several others received minor injuries. Authorities said the coroner was on scene Saturday "out of an abundance of caution" because they did not have an accurate count of people living in the Hotel Hampton building.

In December alone, there were 676 eviction filings and defaults in Lehigh County — the highest monthly total since August 2023.

In counties such as Lehigh, eviction filings have reached their highest point in years, even as rental vacancy rates have fluctuated. That apparent contradiction — rising vacancy estimates alongside persistent eviction volume — is part of a broader housing dynamic playing out across the region.

Xiaomin Fei, 34, on Thursday entered the plea in the June 3 shooting deaths of Robert and Gretchen Ackerman, Northampton County District Attorney Stephen G. Baratta announced.