Pennsylvania State Police are looking for a man who allegedly fired shots near a vehicle in Allen Township, Northampton County last Friday night. Police say they were called to the Nor Bath Boulevard late last Friday night after a driver said he stopped his vehicle to avoid hitting a man who was walking across the street near Savage Drive. While the driver's vehicle was stopped, he claims the man walked towards it and fired two shots and then ran away. The driver was not hurt and there was no damage done to his vehicle. It's believed the pedestrian fired the shots into the air. The suspect is described as a white man with blonde hair and a blonde beard. He was about 28-to-35 years of age and about 5'9" and weighed roughly 175 pounds.
Some workers in Lehigh County are getting pink slips for Christmas. Allen Distribution has informed the state and its workers it will be closing down its warehouse on Snowdrift Road in Upper Macungie Township by December 26. It's not clear why Allen Distribution, which has owed the building for 23 years, is closing it. 70 workers will be losing their jobs.
A maintenance worker at an Allentown middle school is under investigation for alleged inappropriate conduct. The Allentown School District says the incident happened after hours at Harrison-Morton Middle School earlier this month but did not involve any students. No other details have been released. The maintenance worker has reportedly been placed on unpaid leave.
A Monroe County strip mall has been severely damaged in a Tuesday night fire. It happened just before 9 o'clock in the Countryside Square Plaza along Route 209 in Hamilton Township. The building was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. No injuries were reported.
The price of gas in both the Lehigh Valley and across the state didn't move much over the past seven days. According to AAA East Central's weekly gas update, Pennsylvania's average price per gallon, as of Tuesday, was $3.22, down a penny from the previous week and 12 cents less than one year earlier. In the Lehigh Valley, the average price was $3.17 as of Tuesday, up two cents from the week earlier, but six cents less than a year ago.
So far in October, we've received less than one inch of rain. Accu-Weather's Joe Lundberg says we've got a good chance to double that in the next 24 hours or so. "It's going to rain pretty much all day long tomorrow. It looks like about a 15 hour from late tonight into tomorrow before it tapers off late in the day. It appears there's going to be one, to one-and-a-half inches and some areas might get two inches out of this," Lundberg says. Lundberg figures there could be enough rain in a short period of time that some street flooding could be possible.
Pennsylvania's attorney general says a large drug distribution operation has been broken up. "A drug trafficking organization that has been operating in Carbon and Schuylkill counties has been dismantled thanks to the work of the office of attorney general and our partners in law enforcement," says Dave Sunday. The AG says Cruz Rodriguez, a man connected to an Allentown gang, transported large amounts of fentanyl and other drugs into the area and distributed them to affiliated dealers. Officers reportedly found eight ounces of fentanyl and over two pounds of meth in Rodriguez's home. Rodriguez and six others were taken into custody following a five-month-long investigation.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is joining other states in suing the Department of Agriculture over the suspension of SNAP benefits because of the Government shutdown. The lawsuit claims there are billions of dollars available in a contingency fund that was created by Congress for this type of incident. It accuses the federal government of refusing to spend funds from "available appropriations." SNAP Benefits are set to be suspended on November 1st.
New Jersey has joined a group of 26 states that are suing the Department of Agriculture over the suspension of SNAP benefits because of the government shutdown. Governor Phil Murphy says the administration's move betrays America's most vulnerable families. More than 800-thousand New Jerseyans rely on the SNAP program to help buy food. A hearing on the lawsuit is scheduled for tomorrow morning in Boston. SNAP benefits are set to be suspended on November 1st.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission is warning drivers to be on the lookout for deer. Officials say we are now in the breeding, or rutting, season for the animals, meaning they are on the move more right now than at any other time of the year. Also, with the shift off of Daylight Saving Time this coming Sunday, more drivers will be out on the road at dawn and dusk. These are the times of the day when deer are most active, according to animal experts.
Community members are launching a fundraiser to help the man who fell from the scoreboard at Acrisure Stadium this past weekend. A friend who set up a Go Fund Me campaign has identified the man as Keith Keller. He says Keller was setting up a remote video camera system when he fell 50 feet, lacerating his liver and spleen and shattering both of his legs. Supporters have donated over 115-thousand dollars so far to support Keller and his wife and cover his medical expenses.
The National Weather Service has issued coastal flood advisories for parts of the Jersey Shore as northeast winds are forecast through tonight. A more significant storm system is expected to bring high winds and heavy rains tomorrow and Friday. The flood advisories are issued for Atlantic, Cape May and Ocean Counties as well as southeastern Burlington County. Jersey Shore areas that suffered major beach erosion in the last storm are especially vulnerable.
Officials in New Jersey are marking the 13th anniversary of superstorm Sandy. It was on October 29th 2012, Sandy came barreling into the New Jersey shore, leaving widespread flooding and damage to homes, businesses, boardwalks and beaches and led to numerous New Jersey deaths. Earlier this year, New Jersey Congressman Frank Pallone helped get financial relief for hundreds of Sandy survivors when the Department of Housing and Urban Development agreed to end the government's effort to take back disaster aid from New Jersey homeowners. Pallone has also led congressional oversight to restore accountability at FEMA.
A New Jersey state senator has introduced a bill to make a staple of summers at the shore and strolls along the boardwalk the official candy of the Garden State. State Senator Carmen Amato Junior's bill would make salt wafer taffy New Jersey's official candy. The Republican Amato from Ocean County says the designation would celebrate a timeless piece of state history. Salt water taffy was born in Atlantic City in the late 1800s.