After Allentown City Council's vote Wednesday night to reject a 4% property tax increase proposed by Mayor Matt Tuerk, the mayor ripped council. Tuerk told the Morning Call, “I am embarrassed to be in a room for this long, and to watch City Council make asinine decisions.” Council members Cynthia Mota, Daryl Hendricks, Natalie Santos, Ce-Ce Gerlach and Ed Zucal voted to nix the tax hike from Tuerk's budget. Candida Affa and Santo Napoli voted against striking the tax hike. Tuerk says he may veto the budget if it doesn't include a tax increase. A final vote on the budget is scheduled for December 10.
An Allentown police officer will go to trial on assault charges. A district judge has ruled there's sufficient evidence to put Abviud Carvajal on trial for several assault charges stemming from a July incident that began on North 11th Street in Allentown. After suspect Thomas Kravitz led police on a chase from Allentown into Whitehall Township, Kravitz crashed his truck. At that point, the Lehigh County DA's office says body camera and dash camera footage shows Carvajal pistol-whipping Kravitz despite evidence that Kravitz was surrendering, Kravitz, who sustained facial injuries in the incident, is awaiting his arraignment on a variety of charges. Carvajal’s next court date is scheduled for January 8. He remains free on $25,000 unsecured bail.
Authorities continue to investigate a potential threat toward a Lehigh Valley middle school. Officials at Easton Area Middle School say they do not have any screenshots of the since-deleted threat, but they have identified the "alleged student" responsible. Some students reportedly received a message on Snapchat warning of a student bringing a weapon on campus. The incident led to an increased police presence at the school on Wednesday.
It looks like the Lehigh Valley will be getting its second Raising Cane's restaurant late next year. Hanover Township Council in Lehigh County has given its stamp of approval to building a Raising Cane's on the site of the old Friendly's restaurant at the intersection of Catasauqua and Airport roads. Demolition of the empty Friendly's building should begin next spring and construction of the new Raising Cane's should take about six months. Friendly's closed that location in December 2022.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday has announced the creation of the Elder Exploitation Section to focus on cases involving financial exploitation, deception, and theft from older residents. Sunday says many times elderly residents are taken advantage of by people very close to them. "These are some of the most callous acts of betrayal imaginable. Often times, the bad actors are family members. Nearly two-thirds are relatives. In other cases, they may be caregivers," the Attorney General says. Sunday says one in ten seniors has experienced abuse in the past year, but only one in 44 cases is actually reported.
A new hiring cycle has begun for the Pennsylvania State Police. Applicants must have a high school diploma or GED certificate and a valid driver's license from any state. All applicants must be at least 20 years old and cannot have reached 40 years of age upon entry into the training academy. Before getting to the academy, all applicants must pass a polygraph examination and complete a background investigation, physical readiness test and medical and psychological screenings. Applicants for this cycle have until December 19th to apply.
A bill that would ban hair discrimination in Pennsylvania is headed to the governor's desk. The State Senate voted 44-3 yesterday to pass the CROWN Act, which amends the Human Relations Act to prohibit discrimination based on hairstyles commonly associated with race. These include tightly coiled or curled hair, cornrows, braids, and locs. The CROWN Act was passed in the Pennsylvania House back in March.
More than two weeks after election day, a Williamsport City Council race is still not settled. Republican Eric Beiter and Democrat April Line are in a dead heat for the job and tomorrow it will be settled when both pick a number from a box at the Lycoming County Elections Office. Beiter is hoping for the best. "I'm going to be very upset if it doesn't go the way I want, which is to draw the lowest number. But, I have to respect that process and I'll do everything I can to support those who are elected," Beiter says. Line says regardless of the drawing's outcome, she'll be okay. "I learned so much by running. I met so many interesting and wonderful people. I made so many new friends. I feel like no matter what, I win," Line says. A deadlocked election in Northumberland County is also being settled in a similar way.
A trio of respiratory viruses is on the rise in New Jersey though their numbers are nowhere near their peak last year when four different viruses invaded the Garden State. Latest data from New Jersey health officials show positive test results for COVID are rising. State health officials say the three viruses this year -- COVID-19. the flu and RSV -- are expected to continue to rise as winter drives more people indoors and holiday gatherings increase. Last year's flu season led to at least 43-million illnesses, 560-thousand hospitalizations and 38-thousand deaths.
Baseball fans will have a couple of new outlets to catch games on next season. MLB has struck new three-year media rights deals with NBCUniversal, Disney and Netflix. NBC will air more than two dozen Sunday Night Baseball games as well as the entire Wild Card round of the playoffs. Meanwhile, Netflix will have the exclusive rights to the first game of the season as well as the Home Run Derby and the Field of Dreams game.