Last week, the North Whitehall Township Planning Commission voted down a proposed half-million-square-foot warehouse project along Route 309 near the Kernsville and Orefield roads intersection. Monday night, The North Whitehall Township Board of Supervisors did likewise. Before the vote, John Pollock, with developer Trammell Crow, addressed the crowd and board. "We worked diligently to respond to and address comments from the township's staff and consultants to create a plan that is legally permitted within the township," Pollock said. Angelo Caggiano, with North Whitehall Taxpayers for Smart Growth, says the board followed the will of the people. "Nobody wants this except the owner/seller of the land and the buyer of the land. Those are the two people. The other 16,000 people who live in North Whitehall Township know this is a really crazy idea," Caggiano says. The project was planned on a 71-acre site.
The death of a Northampton County teenager in a crash last weekend is being treated as a criminal investigation. Police say a group of teens were participating in reckless behavior that resulted in the death of 17-year-old David Nagy early Sunday morning. According to officers, Nagy was killed when he collided with a parked car near Freedom High School in Bethlehem Township, where he was a student. Authorities said two vehicles were involved in the wreck, but it remains unknown if the vehicles collided with each other.
Five Pennsylvania men, including one from Allentown, are suing DraftKings, alleging the company engages in deceptive practices and exploits gambling addictions. The class-action lawsuit alleges DraftKings targets users that are on self-exclusion lists for addicted gamblers, or users who have asked the company to suspend or close their accounts to prevent them from gambling. Allentown's Avi Setton is among the plaintiffs. He says he asked DraftKings to close his account in 2020, but the company didn't. Setton says he lost roughly $350,000 between 2020 and 2024 on DraftKings before the company closed his account in 2024.
Accu-Weather's Heather Zehr says our skies will be a bit hazy again today courtesy of wildfires in Canada. "I think again, at times, for today we are going to have that hazy sunshine. It primarily comes with a milkier look to the sky," Zehr says. The smoke is likely to create poor air quality and area doctors recommend residents keep their windows closed until the smoke clears.
A boil water advisory remains in effect in Catasauqua after a loss of pressure caused by electrical and mechanical pump failures over the weekend. The advisory was issued Saturday and it means residents should not drink water without boiling it first. Boiled or bottled water should be used for things such as drinking, making ice, brushing teeth, washing dishes and food preparation because disease-causing organisms could be in water that is not boiled. Monday, Catasauqua Area School District asked students at Sheckler Elementary School and Catasauqua Middle School to bring bottled water to the schools for drinking until the advisory is lifted.
The Pagoda in Reading has gone dark for an extended period. It's part of the reconstruction project and crews need to shut off the electricity to the landmark. "With the Pagoda being dark, we don't want the public to be alarmed. We have to do this. It's normal protocol," says Joey Miranda, president of the Reading Pagoda Foundation. The work's expected to take five-to-six months.
Pennsylvania senators Dave McCormick and John Fetterman participated in a senate project debate in Boston for Fox News, where the two senators discussed many topics. Fetterman was asked about his health, which has been in the spotlight since he suffered a stroke while running for office in 2022. Fetterman says renewed concerns about his ability to do the job are "part of a smear" against him, calling those allegations "not accurate." He also thanked McCormick for his support during his health crisis. "He did defend me for that. He actually asked me if it was okay for him to defend me because he didn't want to create more of a political problem. He and other people recognize the smear and the process of this," Fetterman said.
Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman claims he is the target of a smear campaign. During a debate with fellow Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick in Boston yesterday, the Democrat Fetterman said a recent critical op-ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer was part of a "weird smear" that is "just not accurate." The Inquirer article said Fetterman should "step aside" if he "can't handle the attention or perform his job," noting that he has missed more votes than almost any other senator over the past two years and is "frequently absent" from meetings. Fetterman claimed he chose to miss the votes in order to spend more time with his family.
Early voting starts today in New Jersey, with voters picking nominees in both parties for Governor, State Assembly and county and municipal offices. There's also an election in the 35th District, where an unexpired term for a State Senate seat is up for grabs. The six-day early voting period opens at 10 a.m. and early voting locations will close at 8 p.m. through Saturday. On Sunday, early voting is open from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.
President Donald Trump supports Republican Jack Ciattarelli after yesterday's brief tele-rally on the eve of New Jersey's early voting. Ciattarelli is seeking the GOP nomination for governor, one of five running in the Republican primary to succeed term-limited Phil Murphy. The president focused on the issues Ciattarelli is running on, including immigration and property tax caps. Ciattarelli and his main competition, former radio host Bill Spadea, had pursued Trump's support. Trump's apparent endorsement makes Ciattarelli the presumptive front-runner.
Governor Phil Murphy has signed a bill into law that would levy criminal charges against anyone who incites a public brawl. It also upgrades the penalties for disorderly conduct. The bill follows last year's Gloucester Township Day event in which police say nearly 500 teens caused chaos and resulted in injuries to three police officers. This year, similar fights broke out at the Hamilton Mall in Hamilton Township and a brawl broke out at a street hockey tournament in Egg Harbor Township.
For just the second time ever, the Philadelphia Eagles have a player gracing the cover of the popular Madden football video game series. EA Sports announced Monday that superstar running back and Whitehall High School graduate Saquon Barkley will be on this year's cover. The only other Eagle to have that honor was quarterback Donovan McNabb 20 years ago.