Easton News

Next year marks 250 years since the colonists produced a bold declaration of freedom and self-governance that still echoes today. It will be an occasion celebrated and recognized across the land — and we at Lehigh Valley Public Media are no exception.

Fourth Fridays are back in Easton, promoting locally-owned businesses and bringing the community together with the return of the Cash Mob.

A joint venture project soon will bring a $110 million, 320 multifamily apartment and 92 for-sale townhomes project to Palmer Township.

Turkish candy company Kervan celebrated a groundbreaking for a new warehouse, manufacturing, and office space off Commerce Park Drive at the border of Bethlehem and Lower Nazareth townships.

Easton City Council approved $1 million in grant applications for community organizations and city programs, though the potential for the CDBG program to disappear remains an ever-present threat.

Lehigh Valley Dodgeball is building an inclusive, community-driven space for players of all skill levels in Easton. Open gyms are now underway every Monday night.

Easton Area School District approved a $214 million budget for the upcoming school year. With a 3.5% tax increase to keep the district running, $3.3 million will go toward the new high school project.

The former West Easton clerk is charged with three felonies for allegedly accepting cash payments for residents' bills but never depositing the money in a borough account. He never returned to work after being sent a text informing him of his suspension in 2023, court records show.

Police said Amir Sims-Watson, 17, opened fire on a group of pedestrians in Allentown before robbing a woman at gunpoint at Trexler Middle School. Two other teens are charged in the shooting.

The setup offers superior maneuverability, firefighters said, especially on Easton’s tight and twisting streets, some of which date back to the Revolutionary War era.

Easton City Council approved a resolution that would allow the city to take the historic Hooper House by eminent domain, but officials would prefer not to fall back on that option, hoping discussions with owner Rock Church may be successful.

The “Easton Commerce Park" proposal for a 1,006,880-square-foot warehouse at the old Pfizer Pigments property off Wood Avenue drew concerns from members of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.

In the midst of scorching temperatures, Tandoor Grill owner Raj Muddu is giving out free water bottles to help cool off Easton community members.

Easton Area School District approved a final 2024-25 budget in the amount of $208 million, though some board members are concerned about the potential for shortfalls.

Lafayette College was selected by the Commission on Presidential Debates to host the nation's only vice presidential debate this year. The commission has called off that debate and three presidential ones that it had expected to organize.

James Bartolacci, an Easton-area artist and grant-winner, is working on new pieces intended for an art exhibition in Germany.

A feature film, "The Next Play," is set to be shot in the Lehigh Valley in July 2025. The field hockey-themed drama also touches on pressure and suicide concerns that student-athletes face.

The Lehigh Valley ranks as the eighth-highest industrial market in the U.S., it was disclosed at a Lehigh Valley Planning Commission roundtable meeting on Friday.

The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights found Lafayette College did not consistently address instances of alleged harassment online and off campus last fall in the weeks following the start of the Israel-Hamas war.

Wilson Area School District passed a $46.48 million budget for 2024-25, marking a 1% increase over last year's tax rate, according to the district's business manager.

The Delaware River Sojourn, an eight-day guided paddling and camping trip, is underway. About 100 paddlers are participating.

Northampton County Council must hold new hearings on a financing program for a project turning the former Wilson Borough Dixie Cup factory into apartments.