Easton News

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Catholic Church will celebrate its 47th annual Lebanese Heritage Festival this weekend with food, music and fun dance performances.

This Sunday, Nestor Gil will premier his new work, LaJiraGira, at the Karl Stirner Arts Trail. The piece focuses on how simple concepts can be interpreted through the lens of art.

The former Dixie Cup plant in Wilson Borough is on track to become a new mixed-use development, Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure said Thursday. The county may help fund the project.

Peach Day is coming back to Scott Park this Saturday, offering Eastonians and visitors plenty of tasty peaches, as well as baked goods and beverages featuring the summer fruit.

Municipalities across the Lehigh Valley hosted National Night Out events, which are meant to bring police and community members together.

Easton City Councilmember Taiba Sultana was arrested by the Easton Police Department Monday afternoon for a charge of simple assault and harassment for allegedly attacking her son, according to court records.

An investor in one of the Easton-area's first sports bars has built a successful business in Bethlehem — Molly's Irish Grille and Sports Pub — that he says he plans to build upon in Palmer Township.

Local police departments are celebrating National Night Out Tuesday, a nationwide initiative to bring cops and community members together.

In an effort to help victims of crime navigate the complexities of the legal system, Easton Police Department has brought on a new community advocate, Kristen Cooper.

Thirteen of the Lehigh Valley's seats in the General Assembly look like they'll have a contested November election. State Senate races in Lehigh and Northampton counties will have contested primaries, as well.

Gary Lewis & The Playboys and The Lovin' Spoonful will perform as part of The My Generation Tour at 7:30 p.m. March 13 at Easton's State Theatre. Joining them will be Terry Sylvester of The Hollies, one of those British groups with which they competed, and which had five Top 10 hits of their own in the 1960s.

"The entire regiment deserves some sort of reconsideration, whether it’s by BusPatrol or by legislative change,” PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing.

A Multi-Agency Resource Center will be open from 3 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Gallery at the State Theatre for victims of the Hampton Hotel fire in Easton.

Broadway's "Rock of Ages" Band features the musician case of the Broadway show playing what it calls playing "the greatest rock hits from the glam metal bands of the '80s."

The United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, in coordination with Greater Easton Development Partnership, has established the fund to help victims of Friday's devastating fire at the Hotel Hampton building, 462 Northampton St. Also, a Red Cross emergency shelter operation has been relocated.

One firefighter suffered serious injuries when he fell off a ladder escaping the fire. Several others received minor injuries. Authorities said the coroner was on scene Saturday "out of an abundance of caution" because they did not have an accurate count of people living in the Hotel Hampton building.

In December alone, there were 676 eviction filings and defaults in Lehigh County — the highest monthly total since August 2023.

In counties such as Lehigh, eviction filings have reached their highest point in years, even as rental vacancy rates have fluctuated. That apparent contradiction — rising vacancy estimates alongside persistent eviction volume — is part of a broader housing dynamic playing out across the region.

Xiaomin Fei, 34, on Thursday entered the plea in the June 3 shooting deaths of Robert and Gretchen Ackerman, Northampton County District Attorney Stephen G. Baratta announced.

Officials signed off on plans that call for 73 condominiums — 15 one-bedroom units, 36 two-bedroom units and 22 three-bedroom units — and about 2,500 square feet of commercial space.

Jack Bennett grew up in the family hardware business and went on to lead it for nearly 25 years. He was one of Easton's most prominent business leaders in the 1970s and '80s. He died Jan. 29 at age 98. Friends say he left an impression on the Downtown business community that still can be felt today.