Picket lines are up outside the Nestle Purina plant in South Whitehall Township. Ian Heiser is among the striking workers and he lists what employees are looking for. "To get better and fairer wages and health care and pension," Heiser said. The workers walked off the job at midnight Saturday night. In a statement, Nestle Purina says, "Nestlé Purina remains ready and willing to continue bargaining in good faith to resolve this dispute."
Beginning today, Lehigh County's 988 call center is up and running. The 988 hotline is already available nationwide for those experiencing a mental health crisis, but as of today, Lehigh Valley callers will talk with Lehigh Valley operators who will provide 24/7 counseling and who are familiar with local services available to those in need. Crimes and medical emergencies still should be reported to 911, however those dealilng with thoughts of suicide or other psychological emergencies who are not in immediate physical danger can call 988 to reach a local counselor. If 988 staff determine that an emergency requires police or medical assistance, they can transfer to 911 dispatch.
Beginning today, road work may affect traffic all week on Route 378 in Bethlehem. PennDOT said crews will be doing patch work along Route 378 between the Main Street and Route 22 exits. That work will take place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. today through Friday. A northbound lane will be restricted during that time. PennDOT crews also will be doing work on Route 378 between Third Avenue and Main Street during the same time, but it is not expected to restrict any lanes.
One person was taken to the hospital after a crash in Easton early Sunday morning. Northampton County officials said the wreck happened on the 900 block of Butler Street, but no other details have been released. Multiple vehicles were damaged. The victim's condition is not known at this time.
A large response was needed for a house fire in Lehigh County this past weekend. Multiple crews were sent to a home on the 7600 block of Brynn Drive in Lower Milford Township Saturday night. Firefighters said smoke could be seen coming from the roof of the home. However, no injuries were reported.
A preliminary hearing will be held Wednesday for a Franklin Township man charged in the death of his infant son. On September 10th of last year, police responded to the home of 32-year-old Skylar Strickland and found a three-month-old nonresponsive boy. Strickland said that he and his wife had fallen asleep with the child in the bed and woke up to find the boy face down, indicating that he may have at some point rolled over onto the child who was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. The suspect, now charged with involuntary manslaughter, admits he had been drinking and smoked marijuana on the night in question.
Pennsylvania motorcyclists can officially get their inspections done throughout the year. PennDOT says the law signed by Governor Shapiro last November that allows year-round motorcycle inspections is now in effect. Department officials say the new law will give "motorcyclists more options to keep their vehicles road ready." According to PennDOT, there are more than 350-thousand registered motorcycles in Pennsylvania.
The Pa. Department of Corrections recently announced that the department set a record last year for the number of visits conducted between the incarcerated population and their loved ones. Individuals incarcerated at the DOC’s 24 facilities participated in a total of 986,337 video and in-person visits in 2024 - four percent more than in 2023 and 377 percent more total visits than in 2019, before video visitation was widely implemented. In-person visits have more than doubled since 2021, but have reduced by 45% since 2019 after the implementation of video visitation.
The Phillies are 4-4 in Spring Training games after beating Baltimore 5-4 and losing to Toronto 5-4 Sunday. Phils third baseman Alec Bohm says he's satisfied with how his spring in Florida has gone. "I feel like my bat has been good. I've hit some balls hard and the misses have been good misses in my opinion and I feel like I'm in a good spot," Bohm says. The Phillies have a day off today before playing the Yankees Tuesday.