It appears Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk has won another term at city hall. Tuerk holds a big edge over Allentown City Councilman Ed Zucal in the Democrat primary and Tuerk says he's not all that surprised. "It's pretty decisive, but it's consistent with my experience knocking on doors and talking with Allentown residents. It's pretty clear we're going to have a big victory here," Tuerk says. While no Republican was on the ballot Tuesday, Zucal is hoping to have earned more than 100 write-in votes from Republican voters. If he did, he would then appear on the November ballot for a rematch with the incumbent mayor.
Bethlehem's current mayor appears set for another term. With 99 percent of votes counted, William Reynolds holds a 2100 vote edge on City Councilwoman Grace Crampsie Smith. Reynolds has been mayor since winning the job in 2021. No Republican ran for the position.
In the county executive race in Lehigh County, with 99 percent of votes counted, Roger MacLean holds a roughly 700 vote edge over Mike Welsh in the race for Lehigh County executive. The winner will take on Democrat Joshua Siegel in November's general election. Siegel ran unopposed on Tuesday.
The race for Northampton County executive is all set. Tara Zrinski defeated Amy Cozze in Tuesday's Democrat primary and thanked her supporters. "Each and every one of you share this victory with me. Each and every one of you are going to follow me to our victory in November," Zrinski said to cheers. Zrinski defeated Cozze by about 3200 votes. She'll take on Republican Thomas Giovanni in November's general election.
This November's race for Lehigh County Common Pleas Judge looks like it will be a choice between Mark Stanziola, who won Tuesday's Democrat primary race, and Patricia Fuentes Mulqueen, who was the winner in the Republican primary. Northampton County voters also had a Common Pleas race as well and Jeremy Clark appears to have won the Democrat primary and will face off against James Fuller in November after Fuller's victory in the GOP primary.
In the Republican primary for a seat on Commonwealth Court, Erie-based attorney Matthew Wolford beat Berks County’s Joshua Prince. Wolford picked up 62 percent of the votes to easily defeat Prince. Wolford will now face Democrat Stella Tsai in the general election. Tsai ran unopposed in Tuesday's Democrat primary. In the GOP Superior Court primary, Maria Battista defeated Ann Marie Wheatcraft by about 53,000 votes. Battista will take on Democrat Brandon Neuman, who ran unopposed Tuesday.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is one step closer to another term. He took down former judge Pat Dugan in yesterday's primary election. Krasner took time to thank his voters in a victory speech. No Republican candidate has expressed any interest in challenging Krasner in the November general election.
The Secretary of the Commonwealth says yesterday's municipal primary election was a success. Secretary Al Schmidt said Pennsylvanians were able to securely cast their vote at more than 9,000 precincts across 67 counties with only minor issues being reported. He added that Department of State staff received less calls from the Commonwealth voter hotline yesterday than the last municipal primary in 2023. The department says final turnout numbers will be released in several days.
Major cuts could be in the offing at LANTA. The transit agency's budget draft for the fiscal year beginning July 1 includes the biggest service cut at LANTA in decades. LANTA says the draft budget includes a 20% cut in bus service and a 25% fare increase for the fixed-route buses. Fares for the Shared Ride for Seniors service would also go up by 25% or more. While fares would go higher, service would be cut. 50 percent of Saturday service and 75 percent of Sunday service would be wiped out, as would half of all service after 7pm. The LANTAVan program for seniors would be limited to specific days of the week with reduced hours and all bus service in the Slate Belt and Walnutport/Slatington areas would be discontinued entirely. These changes could begin as early as January 2026. LANTA says these changes are being proposed to cover a yearly budget shortfall of about $8 million for the bus system and another $3 million for the Shared Ride service starting next fiscal year.
A father and son charged in connection with a deadly 2024 shooting at a Stroudsburg Wawa will go to trial together. Twenty-five-year-old Andrew Quattrochi faces charges including criminal homicide in the death of a 17-year-old victim. The defendant's father, 54-year-old Joseph Quattrochi, is charged with hindering apprehension and conspiracy to commit assault. Trial for the Quattrochis is expected to take place in September or October. At a status conference involving all parties yesterday, it was estimated that the trial will last about eight days.
Gas prices are 2 cents higher in Pennsylvania this week at $3.30 a gallon. That number is 44 cents less than the price last year. In the Lehigh Valley, the average price was at $3.20 as of Tuesday, up nine cents from the previous week, but 46 below where it stood Last May 13th.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board reports the combined total revenue generated from all forms of gaming along with fantasy contests during April 2025 was $558.7 million, an increase of 10.7% from last April. Wind Creek Bethlehem pulled in more than $47.8 million of that number, up 3 percent from last April's figure. Wind Creek Bethlehem was the fifth-highest earner in Pennsylvania last month. Valley Forge Casino Resort was number one at more than $99 million taken in last month.
In Idaho, attorneys representing Bryan Kohberger have presented the court with a list of other possible suspects in the murder case. Kohberger, who has family ties to the Poconos region, is charged with the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students. As pre-trial motions continue, the presiding judge this week says they will keep the defense's list under seal until they can provide evidence in regards to those alleged other suspects. The judge is expected to rule next month on whether or not the list can be introduced by the defense at trial.
Expect the Pennsylvania Turnpike to be crowded this holiday weekend. From Friday to Monday, Turnpike officials project over two-million drivers will hit the road to celebrate Memorial Day. That's an increase of almost-three-percent from last year. Construction and maintenance on the turnpike will be suspended starting Thursday afternoon in an effort to reduce traffic delays.
In an about-face in its previous opposition to wind farms, the Trump Administration has lifted an order that stopped work on a Jersey Shore wind farm. Empire Wind One is owned by Norwegian renewable energy company Equinor and is located 19 miles off Long Branch. Last month, the Interior Department issued a stop-work order against the project after the White House shut down all new offshore wind development. But New York Governor Kathy Hochul argued the company already had all the required federal permits in hand before Trump took office and this week, Governor Hochul announced the stop-work order had been lifted. Empire Wind One would be New Jersey's largest wind farm project to date.