Census Will Change County Council Districts

Three municipalities are expected to be in new districts next year.

This fall, voters in Williams Township will have to decide whether to keep incumbent Mike Dowd on Northampton County Council or replace him with challenger Robert Werner. But no matter who wins, they won't be representing Williams Township, which is part of council's second district. Similar scenarios would play out in the communities of Freemansburg and Bath. All three municipalities would move into other council districts at the end of 2011 under an ordinance council will consider later this month. Under the county's home rule charter, all four council districts need to have roughly the same population. The 2010 Census showed Williams had grown by 31 percent, which means it's moving into District Three, which currently includes the …

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An Independent View

How Foods from Other Lands Open America's Doors

New Latino residents could follow the Italian path to integration--through America's stomach.

On my blog, I've been posting excerpts from A History of Italian Immigration to the Easton Area by Richard D. Grifo and Anthony Noto. It was published in 1964 by the Northampton County Historical and Geneological Society, and you can buy a copy at the Sigal Museum.  The most fascinating thing about this history is thinking about Italians as an ethnic Other, since they're now widely considered to be "white." This was not always the case. Italians arrived later than other ethnic groups, mostly between 1900 and 1930: In 1890 there were only 341 [Italians]; in 1900, 1582; in 1910, 3723; in 1920, 4427; in 1930, 4552; and in 1940, 4065... Keep in mind that these figures represent only Italian born residents. The number of residents of Italian …

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Region Added 1,200 Jobs in February

Lehigh Valley unemployment rate drops to 8.7 percent, the lowest since May 2009.

The Lehigh Valley region added 1,200 jobs in February as the unemployment rate inched down to 8.7 percent. That’s the lowest jobless rate since May 2009 when it was 8.6 percent, according to Steven Zellers, state Department of Labor & Industry analyst. Over the past year, the region has added 1,800 jobs, which is not a huge gain but is moving in the right direction, he said. “There’s a lot of positives in this but it’s not something you hire a band and shoot off fireworks for,” Zellers said. The increase of 1,200 seasonally adjusted non-farm jobs in February brought the total number of jobs to 334,100 in the region. For statistical purposes, the state Labor Department groups together the counties of Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon and Warren …

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Census Could Alter County Council Districts

Council president said the Easton area has grown too much for District Two to remain unchanged.

It's redistricting time for Northampton County Council.  Council President John Cusick says the population growth of the Easton area shown in the 2010 U.S. Census means the lines of council's four districts will need to be redrawn.  While Easton itself only grew by two percent in the last decade, census figures show the suburban townships around the city saw significant growth. One of those townships--Williams, which grew by 31 percent--would most likely move out of its current district two and into district three, Cusick said. District three encompasses the boroughs of Bath, Nazareth, Northampton, Freemansburg and North Catasauqua, and the townships of Allen, Bethlehem, East Allen, Lower Nazareth and Lower Saucon. Of those communities, …

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Census: Saucon Valley's Population Grew Modestly

2010 U.S. Census data released today indicates that both Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township experienced modest population growth over the last decade.

New data was released by the United States Census Bureau today, revealing that the populations of both Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township grew modestly between 2000 and 2010. According to the data from the 2010 U.S. Census, Hellertown's population increased by 292 people, from 5,606 individuals in 2000 to 5,898 in 2010. Lower Saucon Township's population increased by 888 people--which represents a slightly more substantial rate--from 9,884 individuals in 2000 to 10,772 in 2010. The total number of housing units in Lower Saucon in 2010 was 4,340, of which 4,120 were occupied and 220 were vacant, according to the census data. In Hellertown, the total number of housing units was 2,774, with 2,604 occupied and 170 housing units vacant. The …

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An Independent View

State of the Valley Report: A Voter's Roadmap?

In this municipal election year, are your local officials making the smartest decisions?

Editor's note: We recently brought you a story about the State of the Lehigh Valley conference. Columnist Jon Geeting was there as well. Because there was a lot to digest, we're running his thoughts on the report in two parts. The State of the Lehigh Valley report could not have come out at a better time. Since 2011 is a municipal election year, voters will have the opportunity to decide whether their current representatives are being good stewards of the region's economy, or if they should be replaced with new people with better ideas. Looking at some of the problems outlined in the report, we can see the outline of some of the political issues that may drive this year's elections: Open Space vs. More Sprawl One finding that really jumped…

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