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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City Council members this month unanimously approved a new quarter-century lease — at $1 a year — for the museum in the Little Lehigh Parkway. -
An expansion of the state’s Property Tax/Rent Rebate program “delivers the largest targeted tax cut for Pennsylvania seniors in nearly two decades,” according to the Department of Revenue.
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Jim Martin, who has served as Lehigh County district attorney for a quarter-century, played a major role in the launch of the Regional Intelligence and Investigation Center.
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The county’s legal department urged commissioners to wait until their next meeting to ensure any changes to the bill could be properly advertised, as required by Pennsylvania’s Sunshine Act.
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Mayor Matt Tuerk’s firing of a human-resources employee who filed complaints against the city was “an act of revenge,” Councilman Ed Zucal said. On Tuesday, Tuerk made his first public comments regarding the matter.
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Karen Ocasio, who worked in the human resources department, repeatedly called for an investigation after detailing what she said were her experiences of racism and discrimination while working for the city. One council member labeled her firing "an act of revenge" and "blatant retaliation and retribution” by Mayor Matt Tuerk.
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The Lehigh County Authority is raising its water fees in 2024, but Allentown residents will also have to pay more for sewer services.
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Mayor Matt Tuerk must convince at least one of four Allentown City Council members who voted Wednesday against his latest 2% tax-increase proposal to change their minds.
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Council members Ed Zucal and Ce-Ce Gerlach led an unsuccessful push Wednesday night to override Mayor Matt Tuerk’s veto.
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Allentown Planning Director Jennifer Gomez said her staff had “concerns” about Ideal Concepts’ plans to build more than a quarter-million square feet of office space.
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More than two dozen residents waited hours Monday to speak out against “medical respite rooms” that were described as a temporary shelter by a zoning advertisement. But they never got the chance.
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La Mega Radio, an Allentown-based station, is scheduled to host its Tuesday morning show at the White House.
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The city could then use its general revenues to support local projects without federal oversight, according to an official.
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Allentown inspectors shut down the complex in early December after finding unregistered units and fire hazards.
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City officials are eyeing a more robust program in the wake of an Allentown business complex being deemed "an immediate risk to human life" after unannounced inspections.
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Allentown School District directors approved a resolution to fire Cheryl Clark, who led William Allen High School for less than a year.
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An Allentown auto dealer will be installing several charging stations for electric vehicles on its property at 2405 Lehigh St.
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Allentown hired a new human resources director in June 2023, but he lasted less than two months in the job. Mayor Tuerk’s executive assistant is now set to run the department on an interim basis.
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Temperatures in the Allentown Police Department have dropped into the 50s in recent weeks, while the facility's holding cells are even colder, according to the police union president.
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The Allentown Police Department secured $4.1 million in grants to buy 67 license-plate readers and several gunshot-detection devices.
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Allentown's mayor and police chief are backing Sen. Bob Casey's legislative efforts to stop more fentanyl at the U.S./Mexico border.
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City officials say the technology will be "life-changing," while critics have called the system "reactionary" and an expansion of the "surveillance state."
