Easton News

Despite the close proximity to legal recreational marijuana in Phillipsburg, Easton has not experienced any tangible negative effects with law enforcement.

Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. held an introductory meeting for the new Neighborhood Advisory Task Force, which will involve residents in weighing in on what needs to be addressed in their communities.

The proposed amendment to Northampton County's administrative code would expand an existing ban on county officials accepting gifts.

Joshua Rifkin will be in residence at Lafayette College for the 2023-24 academic year to help mark the 40th anniversary of Williams Center for the Arts.

The Northampton County DA's office announced Tuesday its most recent gun buyback brought in more than 200 guns, including a submachine gun.

The Easton Zoning Hearing Board approved a variance request that will allow for the construction of a 27-unit apartment and retail building on Northampton Street in the Downtown area.

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

An organ transplant recipient and the donor’s Lehigh Valley family are sharing their experience in order to encourage others to become organ donors. April is National Donate Life Month.

The African singer will perform a mix of old hits and new songs at her concert on Tuesday April 25.

Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. declared April 12 "Larry Holmes Day," honoring the legendary boxer at Wednesday evening's city council meeting.

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.