Easton News

Easton has confirmed their agreement with Comcast, which will eventually lead to a third option for internet and cable access for residents of the city.

Easton City Council members Frank Pintabone and Crystal Rose will host a community Q&A session with the developers behind the controversial new Easton Commerce Park warehouse project on Thursday, Dec. 19.

The Wilson Area School Board will vote Monday on appointing Harrison Bailey III as the district's new superintendent. Bailey has been principal of Liberty High School in Bethlehem for 12 years.

Marblehead Chowder House on William Penn Highway in Palmer Township has been in operation since 1996. The ownership says the business has changed with the times and owes its success to loyal customers and staff.

Wilson Area School District's second annual Family Computer Science Night welcomed hundreds of students to learn all about computers, AI, robots, and the future careers they could have in the field on Thursday evening.

Easton's 2025 budget was approved, amounting to just under $71 million with no property tax increase, during the city's Dec. 11, 2024 council meeting.

Federal grants totaling $187,766 will go toward emergency shelter services, primary health care and more for the unhoused populations of Bethlehem and Easton.

Internet and cable television provider Comcast may soon ink a 10-year agreement with Easton that would see a $15 million infrastructure investment by the company, along with potential competitive rates for customers.

Easton's 3rd & Ferry Fish Market held its 10th annual Community Dinner & Toy Drive on Dec. 9, 2024, with community members providing an abundance of food, gifts and cash to help those in need throughout the city.

Yardley-based craft brewpub Vault Brewing Co. will celebrate its official opening, with specialty-brewed beers, holiday cocktails, and a curated menu focused on locally-sourced foods this weekend.

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.