Jury selection is underway in the trial of a Lehigh County man accused of running away to Mexico with a teenage girl. Kevin Esterly faces charges including felony rape for allegedly fleeing the country in 2018 with his stepdaughter's 16-year-old best friend. He allegedly sexually assaulted her and gave her drugs for multiple years. The teen initially told investigators she did not have a sexual relationship with Esterly but recanted her testimony last year, stating that he had threatened to harm his stepdaughter if she told anyone the truth.
As of yesterday, the Easton Post Office on 201 Ferry Street is temporarily closed. Post office officials say water making its way into the building prompted the closure and they have no idea when the building will reopen to the public. In the meantime, customers’ mail will be available and retail services offered at the Palmer Post Office on 650 S. Greenwood Avenue.
The Quakertown Community School District has a new interim superintendent. Assistant Superintendent Lisa Hoffman is taking over for Matthew Friedman, who began a leave of absence last month and subsequently resigned. It's unclear why Friedman resigned, but his departure has nothing to do with a student walkout and police incident last month.
A shooting incident in Carbon County is being investigated as attempted homicide. State Police said shots were fired at a vehicle on State Route 248 in Bowmanstown early Monday morning. Troopers said three people were inside the vehicle, but none of them were injured. Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact PSP.
There's concern in the Jewish community that the war on Iran will lead to additional anti-Semitism. Johnathan Scott Goldman heads up the PA Jewish Coalition. "The fear is the houses of worship and their schools may be targeted and so that's a real concern," Goldman says. He says he thinks that would happen even 'if' Israel wasn't involved.
Philadelphia could host a future Democratic National Convention. The DNC announced five cities are in the running to land the 2028 event, including Philadelphia. Denver, Boston, Atlanta and Chicago are also among the finalists. Philadelphia also hosted the 2000 and 2016 events.
Pennsylvania and 21 other states are giving GoFundMe two weeks to prove the fundraising site is not plagiarizing donation web pages, or taking "tips" from donors. State Attorney General Dave Sunday and 21 other Attorneys General joined charitable regulators in sending a letter to the fundraising site, demanding it show all unauthorized donation web pages, and disclose all info like who donations were made to. They also want GoFundMe to explain how their donation web pages show up in internet search results, also to review whether tips and other charges should be redirected to the charities. Sunday said full transparency is "absolutely necessary on online platforms soliciting and advertising donations."
The Pennsylvania State Capitol is celebrating the opening of its first handicap accessible bathroom. State lawmakers and disability organizations held a ribbon-cutting ceremony yesterday for the bathroom in the East Wing near the Capitol Media Center. "This restroom is more than just the equipment inside because it's dignity. I think that's probably one of the most important things," says the Arc Of Pennsylvania CEO Sherri Landis. She said the accessible restroom allows a handicapped person can enter the Capitol and use a restroom just like everybody else.
Drivers who use EZ Pass in the Garden State may soon have to replace the old transponder boxes on the windshield with stickers. New Jersey Turnpike Authority spokesman Tom Feeney tells NJ.com they are about to test the stickers with digital chips embedded in some of their agency's vehicles. There is no timeline, but Feeney says they may start introducing the sticker tags by the end of the year. Sticker tags may be more of a problem to switch from vehicle to vehicle, but they require no batteries, so Feeney tells NJ.com they would save the Turnpike Authority millions of dollars to replace old transponders with dead batteries.