The Lehigh County Coroner's Office has ruled the May death of 45-year-old Timothy Vanbilliard, of Emmaus, an accident. The coroner says full autopsy results are now in and show Vanbilliard died from drug use and a heart condition and not from police techniques used to subdue him at the Weis Markets along North Cedar Crest Boulevard. DA Gavin Holihan's office has ruled the use of force by South Whitehall police was appropriate and no charges will be filed against those officers. Police were called to the store for reports of Vanbilliard acting erratically inside the store. Eventually, Vanbilliard said the officers on the scene were not real police, but were instead sent to kill him. He then began destroying items in the store and threw a bottle of wine at police, who then tased Vanbilliard and handcuffed him. It was at that point Vanbilliard lost consciousness and eventually died.
Another Democrat wants to unseat Republican Congressman Ryan Mackenzie next year. Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley becomes the fourth Democrat to enter the race in the Lehigh Valley's 7th Congressional District. He joins Lamont McClure, Carol Obando-Derstine and Ryan Crosswell in the race. Pinsley has been Lehigh County's controller since 2019. He has twice run unsuccessfully for the state Senate and also lost in last year's run for Pennsylvania auditor general.
More than 100 workers at a Lehigh County logistics company have received bad news. Solutions LLC has announced it's closing its Industrial Boulevard, Upper Macungie Township location by October 10th. That means 101 employees will be out of work.
Groundbreaking happened Thursday on a $10 million project at the Lehigh Valley Zoo. The zoo is building a new accessible playground and a state-of-the-art barn, which is designed to allow visitors to get close to animals and enjoy the experience in a new way. The project is expected to be completed by 2027.
The federal government is restoring funding for a major project at Lehigh Valley International Airport. Senator John Fetterman has announced the Department of Transportation is unfreezing over $1 billion designated for projects across the Commonwealth. The airport will receive about $40 million to construct a Logistics and Cargo Complex. Fetterman said the Department of Transportation agreed to unfreeze the funds after what he called "a few good-faith meetings."
One of the biggest car shows of the year begins today in Macungie Memorial Park. Das Awkscht Fescht opens its annual three-day run today. Bob Hobaugh is the car show's co-chairman and says it is more than just a car show. "We have a tethered balloon ride. We have food. We have arts and crafts, children's activities and of course the swimming pool," Hobaugh says. It's the 62nd annual car show and will feature 2000 vehicles with up to 15,000 visitors each day of the event. This year's featured car is the Camaro.
While we've just flipped the calendar to August, Dorney Park is already looking ahead to fall. The amusement park is hiring for the annual Halloween Haunt festivities, with position openings as a Haunt performer, dancer or actor, as well in ride service, admissions staff and more. Pay starts at $14 an hour for everyone over the age of 16. Halloween Haunt will run Sept. 12 to Oct. 25.
Pennsylvania is upgrading its weather station network to better supply the National Weather Service and local emergency managers with information designed to provide early alerting for things like flash flooding. Randy Padfield is the PEMA director. "With studies showing an increase in the number heavy rain events in the northeast United States and year-after-year flash flooding created highly localized flash flood disasters for communities all across Pennsylvania, this is critical to public safety. The system sends email alerts to hazards like heavy rainfall and strong winds to emergency managers statewide, providing advance warning to direct decision makers," Padfield says.
New unemployment claims continue to decline in Pennsylvania. The U.S. Department of Labor reported about 9400 initial claims in the Commonwealth last week, a decrease of over 900 from the week before. Unemployment claims have now dropped in Pennsylvania five of the past six weeks.
A few hours before the trade deadline Thursday, the Phillies traded a pair of minor leaguers to Minnesota for outfielder Harrison Bader. Phils president Dave Dombrowski explains why they made the move. "He's been a good player for years really, but this year's a little bit better from an offensive perspective. We just think that he's played well and can continue to do so," Dombrowski says. Bader is hitting .258 with a dozen home runs and ten stolen bases this season. He's expected to play center field and left field in Philadelphia.