Easton News

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.

Officials signed off on plans that call for 73 condominiums — 15 one-bedroom units, 36 two-bedroom units and 22 three-bedroom units — and about 2,500 square feet of commercial space.

Jack Bennett grew up in the family hardware business and went on to lead it for nearly 25 years. He was one of Easton's most prominent business leaders in the 1970s and '80s. He died Jan. 29 at age 98. Friends say he left an impression on the Downtown business community that still can be felt today.

Affected customers are being asked to enroll in interest-free payment plans so the city can recover more than $35,000 in unpaid bills, its finance director said Wednesday.

Lawmakers voted 46-1 on Senate Bill 1014, bipartisan legislation that would require public schools to adopt "bell-to-bell" policies restricting student use of smartphones and other internet-connected devices throughout the entire school day.

Alton Brown, who started the Food Network’s “Good Eats” show, will perform An Evening of Alton Brown at 7:30 p.m. April 16, the theater announced. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 30.

Allentown declared a snow emergency ahead of Sunday's major winter storm. Enforcement efforts in the city will begin Saturday morning.

Lehigh Valley's Darian Cruz lost his Olympic bronze medal bout to India's Aman Sehrawat, 13-5, on Friday evening at the Paris Olympics. Cruz, the Bethlehem Catholic and Lehigh University champion, was representing Puerto Rico in honor of his grandparents who are native to the US territory.

An Easton woman has been arrested and charged with animal cruelty related to a shooting incident in Bethlehem, the Northampton County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.

Officials came together in Easton to discuss energy efficiency and weatherization programs intended to help residents while cutting emissions Thursday morning.

Bethlehem's Darian Cruz will wrestle for an Olympic bronze medal on Friday in Paris.

Real estate purveyor Larry Holmes Jr. has secured a recommendation for a zoning exception that could allow him to launch a brand-new luxury cigar bar and lounge in Easton.

Following nearly two decades connecting communities in Easton together, Main Street Initiative's manager Kim Kmetz is moving on to new horizons.

Many National Night Out events in the Lehigh Valley have been rescheduled due to tonight's weather forecast. The nationwide initiative is meant to bring cops and residents together.

The Easton Police Department is warning residents of callers spoofing their phone number in order to coerce money out of them.

In an effort to get a read on what the community really needs, Easton officials are asking the public to take the Blueprint Communities survey.

The tastiest race in town returned to Easton's West Ward on Wednesday with the Zucchini 500, which encourages kids and adults to design their own race cars with the gourd while learning about healthy eating.

Many local police departments are participating in National Night Out, a nationwide initiative to bring cops and residents together.

An Easton-area couple brought home numerous medals from the 2024 Transplant Games of America. They are among seven athletes from Northampton and Lehigh counties who participated.