Easton News

An estimated $450,000 is needed for the next step in the process of studying passenger rail. While Lehigh County officials say they will pay half, Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure said he thinks other local agencies should foot the bill.

Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. swore in firefighter Joseph Liecht as lieutenant earlier this week. Liecht led efforts to combat the July 5 fire that routed nearly 20 people in the 1100 block of Lehigh Street.

Easton officials paid respect Saturday to 43 African Americans whose grave sites have been built over. The city expects to honor their memory with a new memorial in the months to come.

College Hill PorchFest, a celebration of music and community across the Easton neighborhood, will return in September, with applications for performers and porches being accepted until July 31.

The Buffalo Soldiers are set to ride from Allentown to Easton's Nesquehoning Street Park in remembrance of the men interred at a forgotten site as part of the "Forgotten Soldiers Ride" on Saturday.

Join Megan Frank at 9:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. every Friday for Insights with LehighValleyNews.com on WLVR. This week, she's joined by Allentown reporter Jason Addy and Easton reporter Brian Myszkowski.

Weeks after a dam was removed from the Bushkill Creek in Easton as part of a years-long effort to improve stream health, officials continue to restore its banks. A stabilization project will close the bridge for several hours on weekdays over the next couple weeks.

The Northampton County Coroner's Office says the cause and manner of death have yet to be determined. The victim was a 60-year-old man from Easton.

Easton City Council approved a new Project Stabilization Agreement with the Greater Lehigh Valley Building and Construction Trades Council that could lead to more local union workers scoring high-cost government projects.

Tickets for the 50 shows in the new season go on sale to theater members at 10 a.m. Aug. 1 and to the public at 10 a.m. Aug. 8 at www.statetheatre.org, or at the box office at 453 Northampton St., Easton.

While the Easton Police Department only took a few phone calls over fireworks complaints for July 4, it appears citizens and city council are riled up over the nuisance and danger tied to the explosives.

The Wilson Area School Board appointed a familiar face as the district's next acting superintendent. High school Principal John Martuscelli is set to take over in a dual role at the end of this month.

A Philadelphia man was apprehended and charged Wednesday in the 2023 shooting death of a man in the parking lot of an Easton convenience store, officials said.

Funding was awarded through the Lehigh Valley Greenways Mini Grant Program. The program aims to protect and promote natural resources through the implementation of ready-to-go, single-year projects.

Allentown and Easton have been paired with an engineering company to reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. It's Allentown's first time, but Easton's second, in the program.

Skyline Investment Group, the developer planning to turn the disused Dixie Cup factory in Wilson into 405 apartments, offered a combined $2.6 million dollars up front to the borough, school district and county if the project goes forward.

Members of Skyline Investment Group came to Wilson Borough Council to talk TIFs and other areas of interest around the proposed 1921 at Dixie Avenue apartment project on Monday.

The Northampton County Coroner has identified an individual who drowned and later died due to complications of drowning after spending time on the Delaware River this past weekend.

Nearly 250 years ago, Easton was one of three Colonial cities where the newly-adopted Declaration of Independence was read to the public for the first time. On Sunday, the city celebrated its place in history by reading the document again.

Fireworks traditionally cap off Sunday's daylong celebration of Heritage Day in Easton. They're on again this year, but Wilson Borough Mayor Donald Barrett says borough parks will be closed for viewing the show.

President Joe Biden nominated Montgomery County Judge Gail Weilheimer to a judicial vacancy in the U.S. District Court's Eastern District of Pennsylvania. U.S. Rep. Susan Wild said more attorneys from the Lehigh Valley ought to be considered for the postings.

Ismael Segarra is accused of pointing a loaded shotgun at his wife and pulling the trigger. Police said the gun jammed.