Easton News

“A Community Conversation: Path to a Healthier Valley” starts at 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 22, and can also be watched streaming online on PBS39.org. The hourlong program touches on efforts to make the region a so-called "Blue Zone."

Macungie is just one in a list of examples where the demand for homes in the Lehigh Valley has continued to surge. We put the 'hottest zip code' against other areas to see how they match up.

As part of the Multimodal Transportation Fund, Easton will receive over $83,000 to improve the intersection of Pearl and Bushkill Streets.

Beloved Yardley brewpub Vault Brewing is set to open a new location at 225 Ferry St. in Easton this fall, featuring craft brews and a specially-curated menu.

Larry Holmes Jr. was granted a special exception that will let him open a luxury cigar lounge on Northampton Street in Easton, with a proposed launch this fall.

While you may think it's as easy as posting a stop sign to decrease driving speeds, as it turns out, a lot more work goes into mitigating traffic accidents throughout Easton.

The U.S. DOT's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration awarded more than $41 million Thursday, which provided funding toward Pipeline Emergency Response Grants. Bethlehem and Easton were on the receiving end of those grants.

A discussion about Easton's code of conduct erupted into an argument during council's Wednesday meeting. Councilwoman Taiba Sultana objected to Mayor Sal Panto Jr.'s and Councilman Frank Pintabone's conduct at the last meeting. They said they did nothing wrong.

Palmer Township's planning commission reviewed early plans to transform a more-than-century-old building along the Bushkill Creek. once the Binney & Smith crayon factory, into 108 apartments.

Wilson Borough Council and Wilson Area School District repealed a LERTA for a former project at the old Dixie Cup factory site while approving a tax increment financing plan for the property so it can be developed into a 405-unit residential apartment building.

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.