Jason Addy
Allentown Area reporterI cover Allentown and have worked for news outlets in Pennsylvania, Chicago and Minneapolis since graduating from Penn State. It’s great to be much closer to home — I was born and raised in Lehighton — and I’m excited to help share Allentown’s stories. If you've got an idea, I want to hear it. You can reach me any time at jasona@lehighvalleynews.com.
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Officials are earmarking about a quarter of the money to pay for other capital projects the city has “not been able to work on for many, many years,” Allentown Finance Director Bina Patel said Wednesday. -
Allowing some residents to stay at the encampment for an extra month is “the safest and most humane course of action,” Mayor Matt Tuerk said. But no one else will be allowed to set up camp there before its closure.
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The first phase of the project is to cost about $2.3 million and is “shovel ready,” according to Mandy Tolino, who leads Allentown’s parks and recreation department.
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Edward Tomcics was fatally struck on the night of Dec. 25 outside his home on Water Street. More than seven months later, authorities charged the man who hit him.
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Officials on Thursday said Allentown YMCA will open its shelter at least six weeks early this year to serve some residents of a homeless encampment who are being evicted.
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$50,000 will cover about a month of operations at the Allentown YMCA's warming shelter, which typically opens in mid-November. But it could struggle to open its doors before a homeless encampment's Aug. 25 eviction deadline.
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Officials approved a $57 million project to convert miles of former railroad tracks into roads and trails between Hamilton Street in Allentown and Race Street in Whitehall Township.
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Resurrected Community Life Church is renovating its building on West Turner Street to serve more than 1,000 young students in Allentown.
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The new school is expected to serve about 1,200 Allentown students in kindergarten through eighth grade. City Center is optimistic it will be ready for the start of the 2027-28 school year.
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Residents who spoke to LehighValleyNews.com said they don’t know where they will go; the camp near Tilghman Street was an oasis for many who previously lived alone or in small groups.
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Musikfest is “the tip of the spear” for Lehigh Valley’s tourism industry, drawing more than 1 million people to the region, ArtsQuest CEO Kassie Hilgert said.
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Exchange 32 earned approval for its plans to keep parking two dozen tractor-trailers outside a vacant office building on South 12th Street.
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Planning officials granted conditional approval for Blackstone Structures' plans to build a new mixed-use complex with dozens of apartments at the former home of Gen. Harry Trexler.
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A Pennsylvania State Police trooper was justified when he shot at a 47-year-old Allentown man who allegedly drove at the trooper, according to Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin.
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Dominic Germano is selling a 50% stake in Telfair Inc., which owns MainGate Night Club and two other properties at the corner of 17th and Liberty streets in Allentown.
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City Council member Candida Affa said she didn’t want to jeopardize the city’s legal cases against nuisance properties by continuing to serve.
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Jonathan A. Richards, 41, of Shillington, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.24% at the time of the crash — three times the legal limit, authorities said.
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Thong Pham hit his head in September 2019 after he was punched at an Allentown bar, authorities said. He never regained consciousness and died in 2021.
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The Allentown Police Department can now enter a formal contract to work with Pinebrook Family Answers' “community intervention specialists.”
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Several top Allentown police officials have declined to answer whether they are following the department’s use-of-force policy.
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The Allentown Police Department said it expects to get $1.5 million by next year to fund its purchase of new technology to solve crimes. Some residents are urging city officials to invest in prevention measures, too.
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For the third time this month, developer Nat Hyman has earned zoning officials’ blessing to expand an apartment complex.
