Easton News

Wilson Borough Council granted preliminary and final approval with conditions for the Easton Commerce Park project Monday, with traffic being the biggest point of concern among the council and crowd.

A microcosm of Pennsylvania, Northampton County's urban areas, rural farms and middle-class suburbs make it a melting pot of different political stripes.

Easton's Nurture Nature Center has been recommended for conditional approval for its proposed planetarium, or "immersive dome," intended to expand programming capabilities.

The identities of the individuals involved in an apparent Allentown murder-suicide case on Thursday have been confirmed by the Lehigh County Coroner's Office.

Debra Biro, Melanie Heilman, Steve Lynch and Richard Morea face charges of harassment following a raucous Northampton County Republican Committee meeting involving pornographic images.

Easton's Planning Commission decided Wednesday to table a hearing for the proposed Easton Commerce Park warehouse in a bid to wait on more information from PennDOT and Wilson Borough before making a decision.

Lana's Comforting Pawsibilities offers training for pets in the Lehigh Valley via positive reinforcement, saving owners of cats and dogs alike from having to give up their precious furry friends.

Pennsylvania's 137th House District, based around Bethlehem Township and the Nazareth area, is one of the biggest toss-up legislative districts in the state. Democratic challenger Anna Thomas is embroiled in a rematch with Republican incumbent state Rep. Joe Emrick.

Easton has secured a $100,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, which will go toward public arts projects including new murals throughout the city.

The Northampton County Elections Office said it has gotten several reports of county voters receiving text messages from "AllVote.com." It's at least the second text-based scam in the Lehigh Valley that county officials are aware of.

The full story, to publish Wednesday, will explore why newly available apartments are attracting large numbers of applicants and what that reveals about the balance between housing supply and demand.

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.