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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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. -
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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Residents of a homeless encampment along Jordan Creek questioned the city's priorities Thursday as officials started the process to shut it down.
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Mayor Matt Tuerk last week said the camp along Jordan Creek would be next to be shut down by the city.
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“We delivered a balanced budget to you,” Mayor Matt Tuerk told council members Wednesday. “We’re going to live within our means.”
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Mayor Matt Tuerk laid out his goals for a second term, while Ed Zucal urged voters to give him an upset victory at a candidates forum at St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church.
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Dozens of students from Ritter Elementary helped with a "push-in" ceremony for a new Allentown fire truck on Monday morning.
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Jeani Garcia, who took the helm at Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley this year, was recently named to serve on the executive committee for the state’s Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
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Former Allentown police officer Jason Krasley was charged with stealing more than $5,000 in May 2019 as he and other Vice and Intelligence Unit officers searched a barbershop. Separately, Krasley still faces several other charges, including rape, sexual assault and prostitution.
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Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk is seeking a 3.96% property-tax increase in next year's budget. He presented his plan Thursday.
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Council members Ce-Ce Gerlach and Natalie Santos want the city to adopt new policies that regulate how officials evict homeless residents from encampments.
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Authorities allege Adam Makowka, 28, of South Whitehall Township, fatally shot Jereka Battle in her Allentown apartment in July.
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City planning officials on Tuesday reviewed the "impending" sale of McKinley Elementary School, which opened in the 1880s.
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Christian Martinez-Ramos, 36, was sentenced Monday to 30 to 60 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to murder and conspiracy to commit murder, according to authorities.
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E-bike and scooter crashes are climbing in the Lehigh Valley and beyond. Police and public officials warn of rising deaths and confusion over Pennsylvania laws.
