Easton News

Easton's annual Toys for Tots drive is joined this year by a food drive, with both collections based out of City Hall, 123 S. Third St.

Easton has tabled a vote on an immigration resolution expressing the city's support for undocumented immigrants in order to add additional commentary, spurring another debate during Tuesday's meeting.

After buying the Lafayette Inn in 2023, Lafayette College failed to pay any hotel tax to Northampton County, an audit found. The college owed the county more than $28,000 in back taxes and fees.

Daniel Weiss led Lafayette College from 2005 to 2013 and is credited with growing the campus beyond College Hill. He was unanimously approved Friday as director and CEO of the Philadelphia Art Museum.

Mangiacarne has rebranded, with Chef Luca Manfè taking sole ownership and changing the name to Luca and Sons, with promises of high-quality meats, cheeses,and a few new items as well.

Jeff Foxworthy, whose catchphrase is “You just might be a redneck,” will perform Thursday, April 9, it was announced.

A video clip allegedly showing a Wilson Area School District football coach swearing at and using a racial slur against a Black man has blown up online, leading to the man's resignation from the district.

There have been hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines triggered by BusPatrol's cameras in Allentown, along with growing backlash from local drivers who say the system is highly flawed.

Crayola has announced the lineup for Crayola Creativity Week 2026, with special guests like Kate Micucci — a Nazareth native — and Questlove.

ASPIRE to Autonomy doled out 125 40-pound boxes of food to Easton community members in need at Centennial Park on Friday evening.

"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.

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.