The City of Allentown says concerns about possible flooding is prompting it to give the boot to the homeless population currently living along the Jordan Creek in the Jordan Meadows area of the city. The city says is recently assessed its flood plain maps and says the area along Jordan Creek is in an active flood zone, posing a 'significant danger' to those living there. The city says it's taking 'proactive steps to protect the health and safety of individuals in these high-risk areas'. Beginning today, Allentown says it will post formal notices informing those living in that area that they must vacate by August 25. Earlier this year, Allentown developer Nat Hyman threatened to sue the city and other officials, claiming the city’s failure to address homeless encampments in that area was causing pollution, violating environmental laws and damaging his properties there.
A pedestrian is dead following a crash early Wednesday morning on Route 22 Eastbound in Northampton County. State police say the incident happened shortly after 6 a.m. near the 512 exit in Hanover Township. A section of Route 22 Eastbound was closed near the 512 exit, and authorities say the road reopened shortly after 9:15 a.m. State Police are only identifying the victim as a 65-year-old man from New Jersey.
Allentown City Council voted Wednesday night to rezone the addresses 2851 through 2865 College Drive to Institutional/Government from its current status as a Low-Density Residential zone. The request to rezone came from Cedar Crest College, which intends to rehabilitate the house into an academic center known as the Harman Center for Leadership in Technology.
Over a dozen people are facing charges for their roles in what the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office calls a "criminal enterprise." Attorney General Dave Sunday said the group would steal vehicles from Florida and drive them to Pennsylvania, where they would fraudulently register them with Penn-DOT then try to sell them in a practice known as "vehicle title-washing." Sunday said the group presented fake documents to licensed notaries in Lehigh, Berks, and Dauphin Counties to get the registrations. They reportedly made over a million dollars in the scheme.
Pennsylvania's state budget is now more than a month overdue, causing concern among county officials who rely on state funding to maintain essential services. Meanwhile, Gov. Josh Shapiro says they're not considering a stop-gap spending plan just yet. He says the work for a full-year budget continues. "We understand the issues. I'm not suggesting that we have agreement on each of the issues yet. We have agreement on several. There are others which we are working through," Shapiro says.
A 22-year-old Centre County man is facing charges after allegedly threatening President Donald Trump on social media prior to his inauguration. The Department of Justice accused Jacob Buckley, of Port Matilda, of making the following statements on TikTok on Jan. 16: “I hate MAGA republicans bro on god I’ll kill all of them”; “I’m going to kill Trump”; and, “Bro we going into a literal oligarchy in 4 days and im going to kill Trump.” The maximum penalty for such an offense is five years in prison, a term of supervised release following prison time, a fine, and the imposition of a “special assessment”.
Pennsylvania drivers are feeling the impact of severe flooding this year. According to a new report from CARFAX, over 23-thousand vehicles in the state have been damaged by floodwaters. That's the fourth-most in the U.S, only behind Kentucky, Texas, and Florida. Carfax warned vehicles with water damage are often put up for sale in states like Pennsylvania, where shoppers don't normally check for flood damage.
A team from Venezuela that qualified for the Little League World Series will be able to play in Williamsport. The Athletic reports the team has been granted a national exemption to enter the U.S. with the help of Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick and approval of Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The approval comes two weeks after another baseball team from Venezuela was denied access to the country to play in a different tournament in South Carolina. Senator McCormick says he's thrilled his team was able to play a role in ensuring young athletes are able to participate in a timeless Pennsylvania tradition.