Easton News

Star of Raising Dion Ja'Siah Young will be honored with the Easton Recognition Award in Centre Square this weekend.

Wilson Area School District is set to host their second Wilson Family Computer Science Night, showcasing fun and hands-on innovative tech for students up to grade eight.

Easton City Councilwoman Taiba Sultana is suing PA Citizens PAC, alleging that racist campaign ads and imagery contributed to harassment and the loss of her campaign for the state House this year.

Easton Area School District's board of education elected Jodi Hess president and Nekisha Robertson vice president during a special meeting.

More than 70 Lafayette College students and other College Hill faithful packed into Gyro Concept at 323 Cattell St. in Easton to celebrate its grand opening. A Bethlehem-area location is coming soon.

The Peace Candle is 106 feet tall. It was first built and lit in 1951 to honor the families who lost loved ones in World War II.

While it may not be a big bonfire, Easton Area School District managed to draw hundreds to Cottingham Stadium for a spirited pep rally prior to the Thanksgiving Day football game against Phillipsburg.

Nadeem Qaddum, the husband of Easton City Councilwoman Taiba Sultana, will run for one of five at-large seats on Northampton County Council in the 2025 election.

Easton Police Chief Carl Scalzo reviewed the 2025 budget with city council on Nov. 26, highlighting a substantial total budget increase for the department.

Ten new shows were added to the State's 2024-25 season lineup.

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.