Bethlehem Mayor William Reynolds delivered his State of the City address Thursday and says the Christmas City is on solid financial footing. "The financial trajectory of the city going forward is extremely bright because of wise financial decision-making in years past in City Hall and also because of the trust and the faith that the private sector has in where Bethlehem is going," Reynolds says. The mayor says his city’s revenue is on track to outpace its debt by 2026, something the mayor says is almost unheard of these days in government.
Seven people, including five from Allentown, are facing charges in a drug trafficking investigation in Lehigh County. The arrests come after a six-month investigation by the Pennsylvania attorney general's office. The seven, two of whom are from Philadelphia, are accused of trafficking fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine.
A dump truck crashed into a home Thursday in Lehigh County. It happened around 6:30 Thursday morning in Weisenberg Township, in the area of Route 863 and Kistler Court. Police have not said what led to the crash or if anyone was hurt.
Another tenant of the Westgate Mall is out. Subway will close on Friday, April 7. A sign on the Subway door says, "While we are sad to go, please stay tuned for updates as we continue to look for a location nearby and hope to relocate as soon as possible.”
St. Luke's Unvirsity Health Network held a ribbon-cutting Thursday to celebrate the completion of phase one of its new St. Luke's Health Center in Jim Thorpe. Patients will begin being seen Monday.
The offices of Pennsylvania senators John Fetterman and Bob Casey say Pennsylvania is getting millions of dollars to replace lead pipes and help make drinking water safer. The Environmental Protection Agency is allotting $266 million to the Keystone State to remove harmful "forever chemicals" from drinking water. According to an EPA study, Pennsylvania has the fourth-most lead pipes underground in the country.
A Republican House member has announced plans for legislation that would bar children being in the audience at drag shows. State Rep. Aaron Bernstine from Lawrence says the idea is to prevent drag shows from being performed at schools and libraries. The legislation was inspired by controversies over such shows in Lancaster and Bucks counties. The proposal would classify drag shows as an "adult-oriented business" and is similar to new, similar mandates in other areas of the country.
More than half-a-million Honda CR-Vs are now the subject of a recall in the salt-belt region of the U.S. The recall includes 2007 to 2011 CR-Vs sold or registered in 22 states including Pennsylvania plus the Washington DC area. Honda says that mud, water and de-icing agents, such as road salt, have the potential to get into the rear frame of the vehicle causing the internal structure to corrode. This could lead to the trailing arm falling off and possibly causing a crash or injury. Folks with vehicles included in the recall should have their CR-V inspected by a dealer.
The first of 81 Phillies home games is today. When Phillies fans head into Citizens Bank Park, they'll notice a much larger scoreboard and much louder audio system. Ex-Phillies manager Charlie Manuel likes what he sees and hears. "I think this new scoreboard has got me pumped when it was playing the base a few minutes ago it was real loud because I can't imagine when we fill this ballpark up on opening day and they turn that music up and the noise, it's going to be unreal," Manuel says. The scoreboard is 152 feet feet and 86 feet tall. That's 77-percent bigger than the previous one and the third biggest in the big leagues.