Saturday, May 25, 2013
PennDOT's new YouTube channel features safety information and a video of a recent highway tanker fire.
PennDOT has a new YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/PennsylvaniaDOT, to expand its public outreach on safety and education initiatives, as well as department operations. “Our YouTube channel is our next step in communicating with our customers in more personal, interactive ways,” PennDOT Secretary Barry J. Schoch said. So far, the new PennDOT YouTube channel includes: In the future, the department plans to add videos featuring department maintenance operations as well as highway safety efforts. The channel complements PennDOT’s social media outreach on Facebook and Twitter. Since the department launched its official Twitter account – PennDOTNews – in 2010, more than 11,000 followers have signed on. The PennDOT Facebook page, which was …
Friday, May 24, 2013
Drivers can expect roving patrols, safety checkpoints and special attention to seat belt compliance over Memorial Day Weekend.
PennDOT will partner with more than 600 law enforcement agencies and the Pennsylvania State Police to participate in a national “Click It or Ticket” seat-belt enforcement effort through June 9. The effort will focus largely on nighttime enforcement, using traffic safety checkpoints and roving patrols. Police will also use Traffic Enforcement Zones, which combine roving patrol and checkpoint tactics on roadways with high numbers of unbuckled crashes. According to PennDOT data, 503 people died last year in unbelted crashes, a decrease from 509 such fatalities in 2011. The total number of crashes in which people were not wearing seat belts also decreased to 15,528, compared with 16,298 in 2011. The majority of enforcement will occur at night…
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Nominees include two former Northampton County officials and incumbent Peg Ferraro.
- ELECTIONS
-
Wednesday, May 22
Ten candidates—five Republicans, five Democrats—will face off this fall for five open seats on Northampton County Council. Voters in both parties made their nominations Tuesday, choosing a mix of veteran county officials and poltiical newcomers. According to unofficial election results, the five Republican nominees are: The Democratic nominees are: Also in the race were Republicans Tricia Mezzacappa and Frank Hesch, and Democrats Kerry Myers, Jason Toedter and William Wallace.
Hellertown Borough Council President Phil Weber will not appear on the ballot in November's general election, if unofficial results from Tuesday's Democratic primary are upheld.
It is sometimes said that a single vote doesn't make a difference. So why bother to vote at all? Occasionally, however, a single vote can make all the difference. In Hellertown, for example, a single vote cast in Tuesday's primary election appears to have cost incumbent borough council president Philip Weber a shot at another four-year term on the council. According to unofficial Northampton County election results, with 100 percent of precincts reporting their vote totals, Weber—with 161 votes—had finished in last place among a field of five candidates running on the Democratic ticket. The fourth place finisher, James W. Hill, tallied 162 votes, according to the results. The top four Democratic vote-getters will advance to the general …
40.57948
-75.34084
Borough of Hellertown
685 Main St, Hellertown, PA
/articles/council-president-defeated-by-one-vote
1785475
/locations/9407649
Saucon Valley residents took the polls Tuesday to vote for school board candidates. Below are the unofficial primary election results provided by Northampton County.
Ralph Puerta and Sandra Miller were the top vote-getters on the respective Republican and Democratic ballots in Tuesday's Saucon Valley School Board primary election race, according to unofficial results from Northampton County. A total of 11 candidates were cross-filed on both tickets, with the top four vote-getters from each side eligible to advance to the general election in November. According to the unofficial results, with 100 percent of precincts reporting, the top four vote-getters among Republicans were: With 100 percent of precincts reporting, the top four vote-getters among Democrats were: Therefore, the seven candidates advancing to the general election will be Puerta, Miller, Dowling, Reilly, Inghrim, Phillips and Lebkeucher. …
40.570549
-75.327816
Saucon Valley School District
2097 Polk Valley Rd, Hellertown, PA
/articles/xx-win-saucon-valley-school-board-primary
875167
/locations/9407591
40.57948
-75.34084
Borough of Hellertown
685 Main St, Hellertown, PA
/articles/xx-win-saucon-valley-school-board-primary
1785475
/locations/9407592
40.5865
-75.38857
Lower Saucon Township
3700 Old Philadelphia Pike, Bethlehem, PA
/articles/xx-win-saucon-valley-school-board-primary
1787459
/locations/9407593
Wednesday's Senate hearing on the IRS 'Tea Party' scandal included Pennsylvania's Sen. Pat Toomey and Sen. Bob Casey, who both released statements after the event.
Pennsylvania's Sen. Bob Casey (D) and Sen. Pat Toomey (R) both participated in Wednesday's hearing about IRS scrutinty of conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status. Both men released statements regarding the event. Witnesses before the Senate Finance Committee were: Casey, chairman of the Finance Subcommittee on Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Growth, said: “Pennsylvanians and Americans across the country deserve to know that the IRS and all government agencies do their jobs without prejudice or political agenda. I intend to hold accountable those responsible for any breach of the taxpayer’s trust. Today, as a member of the Senate Finance Committee, I directly questioned top IRS officials about what took place, who was …
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Bethlehem mayor will face off against Republican John Brown in November in Northampton County Executive race.
Northampton County Democrats appear to have chosen Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan as their pick for the next county executive. Unofficial results from the county election office showed Callahan leading challengers Glenn Reibman, the former executive, and county Councilman Lamont McClure. Results from WFMZ had Callahan winning 50 percent of the vote with 82 percent of precints reporting. Callahan will face Republican John Brown in this year's general election. Brown, the mayor of Bangor, had no opposition for his party's nomination. The winner will replace John Stoffa, who is not seeking re-election. All three Democratic candidates had campaigned on platforms that stressed economic development and the need to keep Gracedale—the county-owned …
Monday, May 20, 2013
Here's what you need to know about Tuesday's primary election in Hellertown, Lower Saucon Township and the Saucon Valley School District.
Tuesday, May 21 is primary election day in Pennsylvania. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Poll problems? Contact the Northampton County Office of Voter Registration at (610) 559-3055. Not sure where to vote? You can find your local polling place by entering your street address in a form on the Pennsylvania Department of State's website. Hellertown Borough Races Lower Saucon Township Race Saucon Valley School District Race Northampton County Race Useful link:
40.570549
-75.327816
Saucon Valley School District
2097 Polk Valley Rd, Hellertown, PA
/articles/saucon-valley-voters-guide-2013-primary-election
875167
/locations/9395197
Phase Two of the Saucon Rail Trail in Upper Saucon Township should be open to the public by early summer, the township's engineer told supervisors May 13.
The eagerly-awaited "Phase Two" extension of the Saucon Rail Trail in Upper Saucon Township is expected to open in mid-late June, engineer Dennis Harman reported to township supervisors at their May 13 meeting. Phase Two of the trail's construction will extend it by more than a mile—south through Center Valley, to the township's border with Coopersburg. The trail's current southern terminus is Upper Saucon Township Community Park, while its northern terminus is in Hellertown. Harman said paving was taking place the week of May 13, with fencing and signage work scheduled to begin the following week. Phase One of the trail—which also passes through Lower Saucon Township—was opened two years ago. For more information about the Saucon Rail …
40.5025
-75.3871
Upper Saucon Township Community Park
On Preston Lane, off of 378, Center Valley, PA
/articles/rail-trail-s-phase-2-expected-to-open-in-mid-late-june
1799916
/locations/9386598
40.53387
-75.40358
Upper Saucon Township Municipal Building
5500 Camp Meeting Rd, Center Valley, PA
/articles/rail-trail-s-phase-2-expected-to-open-in-mid-late-june
1801096
/locations/9386599
Sunday, May 19, 2013
State Rep. Justin Simmons (R-Lehigh/Northampton) announced in a press release that he is sponsoring a bill to 'remove the ability of school board candidates to cross-file nomination petitions.'
- GOVERNMENT
-
Sunday, May 19
State Rep. Justin Simmons (R-131) announced Wednesday that he is sponsoring a bill to remove the ability of school board candidates to cross-file nomination petitions. House Bill 1020 was approved by the House State Government Committee Wednesday, Simmons said. The bill would amend the Pennsylvania Election Code of 1937, which currently allows school board member candidates to file nomination petitions for multiple political parties. Consequently, school board candidates in Pennsylvania who are cross-filed appear on both the Democratic and Republican ballots in primary elections. "Historically, school board candidates have been permitted to cross-file because this position has been thought of as being non-partisan," Simmons said. "However…
40.511569
-75.390725
Office of State Representative Justin Simmons
21 N Main St Ste 9, Coopersburg, PA
/articles/end-cross-filing-by-school-board-candidates-state-rep-says
2325227
/locations/9391935
Liberty 1
8:41 pm on Saturday, May 25, 2013
That does not give the government the right to stop anybody without cause and make suspects out of everybody. If you get pulled over for speeding, out of date tags, reckless driving etc. then you face the penalty. But I resent being a suspect. more ›