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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The $2.8 million project at Andre Reed Park should be finished before next summer, officials said.
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One hookah lounge owner said he bought a metal detector and is doing all he can to ensure customers are safe, but he wants help from police.
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'After-hours' establishments could face huge fines — and potential closure — for violating nuisance-abatement ordinances, under a resolution introduced by the city council. Council was critical of the Tuerk administration's response to violence.
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City officials scheduled two public meetings for next Thursday, June 29, to hear what residents want the area to look like.
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Allentown School District officials said the proposal to allow schools in industrial zones was "simply not good planning" and not safe for children.
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Allentown voters could see five questions on their ballots in November if the proposals are approved.
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Isiah Yeager, 23, of Allentown, is facing a criminal homicide charge after police said he twice stabbed 29-year-old Kevin Tarafa, of Bethlehem, at Synergy Hookah Lounge on Allentown's East Side.
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Sunday’s fatal stabbing at Synergy Hookah Lounge on Union Boulevard in Allentown was “the last straw,” the building's owner said, adding he wants the business “gone like cancer.”
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The Allentown City Council voted 4-2 Thursday against a pilot program to dispatch EMTs and mental health professionals to some 911 calls. That sends the proposal to voters.
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Jason Zulli, a professor at Northampton Area Community College, said he hopes his mural outside People First will help “bring the community together.”
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Several dozen people stood outside City Hall on Wednesday to watch a flag-raising ceremony and a rendition of the national anthem before Mayor Matt Tuerk ushered the crowd inside.
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Supporters detailed the merits of the program Tuesday ahead of the council’s imminent deadline to vote on the proposal.
