Jobs Returning To The Lehigh Valley, Slowly

Lehigh Valley workers were hit harder by the recession and recovered more slowly from the damage than those in many comparable urban areas.

That finding and a slew of others are included in the fifth annual State of the Lehigh Valley research study that was rolled out Thursday at Lehigh University by the Lehigh Valley Research Consortium and Renew Lehigh Valley.

Researchers Christopher Ruebeck and Jamila Bookwala, who led the presentation, ran down regional employment figures between 2006 and 2012, finding that the Lehigh Valley’s job market held its own prior to the recession, comparing favorably with similar metro areas, with the nation as a whole and with our neighbors in New Jersey.

But the Valley’s unemployment rate rose more than comparable metro areas during the Great Recession, and those jobs have come back more slowly than in many comparable areas or the state or nation as a whole.

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-allentown-lehigh-valley-jobs-20130228,0,7642549.story

Bethlehen Mayor John Callahan Apologizes To Wrestling Ref Who Ejected Him

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Northampton County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan apologized Monday to the referee who ejected him from a high school wrestling match over the weekend, a story that media sites across the country picked up.

In an email, Callahan said he should have handled “the incident better no matter how I felt about the calls made during the match” and said he respects that the referee, Dennis Buchman, has “the right to call the match the way he sees it.”

“That said, both Mr. Buchman and I agree that this was a minor incident that has become overblown and unfortunately took away from the great effort and dedication shown by the young men who participated in the tournament,” Callahan said. “I hope that this will no longer distract from the real issues facing Bethlehem and Northampton County.”

Callahan did not return a telephone call seeking a comment.

Read more:

http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-bethlehem-mayor-apologizes-over-wrestling-eject-20130225,0,1969119.story

Sands Casino In Bethlehem Is For Sale

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Northampton County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem is on the selling block, a source familiar with company thinking told The Morning Call.

Las Vegas Sands, the world’s largest casino company, is asking as much as $1 billion for the Bethlehem casino.  But the source cautioned it’s part of company policy to gauge outside interest on every company property in the United States.

In other words, while Las Vegas Sands’ highly lucrative Macau properties are off-limits, every Sands casino in the U.S.— even the Venetian — theoretically could be had, for the right price.

Some analysts theorize that with Sands Bethlehem revenues riding high, and potential gambling competition brewing in New York state, the time is right for Las Vegas Sands to sell Bethlehem — its only U.S. casino outside Las Vegas.

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/news/local/bethlehem/mc-bethlehem-sands-sale-20130117,0,5249878.story

Peep Chick Drop And Fireworks To Ring In New Year At SteelStacks

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Northampton County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

New York City may have Carly Rae Jepsen and its huge crystal ball, but Bethlehem has music from the indie rock band for kids Starfish and will drop a 75-pound light-up Peep to ring in the New Year.

“We’re really trying to create a Dick Clark of Bethlehem event,” Matt Pye, vice president of corporate affairs at Just Born, said Sunday, the first day of the city’s annual Peeps Fest.

Now in its fourth year, the annual family-friendly festival is put on by ArtsQuest and candy-maker Just Born. More than 8,000 people attended the festival last year.

This year, Peeps Fest has more interactive activities and the duration of the festival has been condensed from four to two days.

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/news/local/bethlehem/mc-bethlehem-peeps-fest-20121230,0,7670122.story

Bethlehem City Council Passes $71 Million Budget With 7 Percent Tax Hike

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Northampton County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In a budget where rising pension costs framed the debate, Bethlehem City Council on Thursday adopted a $71 million budget that includes a 7 percent property tax hike and other revenue including a tax on certain concert tickets.

But what it doesn’t include is $500,000 from a citywide trash hauler, a proposal by Mayor John Callahan that drew public backlash.

Instead, council cut hundreds of thousands of dollars from the budget and accepted Callahan’s suggestions on refinancing the landfill debt.  Council also accepted the administration’s updated revenue projections that show the earned income tax and casino fees as bringing in more money than when Callahan first released his budget proposal last month.

Councilman Robert Donchez acknowledged the budget isn’t perfect but a lot of work was put into it.

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-bethlehem-council-passes-budget-20121221,0,6831964.story

Massachusetts Looks To The Lehigh Valley For Inspiration

It’s a river city with quaint Victorian architecture once known for its pioneering manufacturing processes that gave America the industrial might to fight its wars.

But now, it’s re-imagining itself as a “knowledge corridor,” thanks to nearby colleges, and possibly as an entertainment center as gaming companies circle for a place to put a new casino.

That might sound a lot like Bethlehem.

But it’s Springfield, the biggest city in western Massachusetts.

As leaders there begin to dive into the details of reinventing the greater Springfield area, they are looking at Bethlehem as it enters its fourth year hosting a casino and the rest of the Lehigh Valley for advice and inspiration.

Read more:

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/bethlehem/mc-bethlehem-springfield-gaming-20121129,0,5144006.story

Police: $25K In Copper Has Been Stolen From Former Bethlehem Steel Headquarters

A man charged with six burglaries in Bethlehem’s Martin Tower told investigators he was only “exploring” the vacant building, but he was in fact stealing copper, police say.

Repeated thefts of copper from the former headquarters of Bethlehem Steel led to the installation of video and audio recording devices throughout the 21-story building, court records state.

Investigators said those recordings show Erik Michael Hotton, 27, in the building stealing copper, according to an arrest affidavit.  Police say an estimated $25,000 worth of copper has been stolen over the past six weeks.

Hotton, of 927 Tilghman St. in Allentown, is charged with burglary, conspiracy to commit burglary, theft and receiving stolen property.  He was sent to Lehigh County Prison under $75,000 bail.

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-c-bethlehem-copper-thefts-martin-towners-20121127,0,760997.story

Thomas Hylton Mentioned In Morning Call Article About Bethlehem School District Building Project

Editor’s note:  This is priceless!!! 

…By sticking to Roy’s timeline, the district will not invite a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and historic preservation advocate, Thomas Hylton, to tour Nitschmann as south Bethlehem resident Stephen Antalics had requested.

Board President Michael Faccinetto said Hylton, who had argued in a recent Morning Call editorial for the cheapest possible renovation of Nitschmann, could present his views at a public meeting.  But Faccinetto said the district would not allow Hylton a private tour of Nitschmann as he had gotten at Broughal before the building was torn down to make room for the new school and its athletic fields.

“The last time he came here, he billed the district $5,000 for his services,” Faccinetto said.

On Nov. 20, Hylton, a member of the Pottstown School Board and president of the nonprofit group Save Our Land, Save Our Towns, said he never offered to tour Nitschmann.  He said he did not know his name was being bantered around the district.

“All I ever did was write the piece in the op-ed,” Hylton said…

Read the whole story here:  http://www.mcall.com/news/local/bethlehem/mc-bethlehem-nitschmann-broughal-20121126,0,5200349.story

Lehigh Valley Jobless Rate Cimbs

The Lehigh Valley‘s unemployment rate crept up in September as the labor force continued to grow at a faster pace than businesses are hiring.

A total of 394,200 Valley residents had jobs in September, up 200 from August, according to data released Wednesday by the state Department of Labor and Industry. But the labor force grew by 500 in the same period to hit 432,200. That imbalance between job seekers and opportunities pushed the unemployment rate to 8.8 percent in September, up from 8.7 percent in August.

Sluggish job growth has been a nagging strain on the Valley economy for several months. Businesses are consistently adding jobs — the number of Valley residents employed in September was up 9,400 from a year earlier. But the labor force continues to grow at a faster pace, and September’s unemployment rate is unchanged from a year earlier.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-lehigh-valley-jobs-september-20121031,0,2759536.story

Sandy’s Lehigh Valley Impact: Two Deaths, Power Outages, Damaged Trees, Closed Roads

Hurricane Sandy left about 400,000 homes and businesses in the Lehigh Valley and Poconos regions in the dark and without as many trees and has been blamed for the death of a 17-year-old Wind Gap boy and a Berks County man.

Robert Mills of 81 Eighth St. died in Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest after crashing an all-terrain-vehicle into a fallen tree about 9:30 p.m. Monday in Plainfield Township, Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim reported. Grim said Mills was thrown off the ATV when he drove into the tree which had fallen on W. Center Street near Route 33, and he suffered fatal head injuries.

A fallen tree also caused the death of a 62-year-old Berks County man Monday night.  The Berks County coroner’s office said Gerald Witman was killed when a tree fell on his home in Pike Township near Boyertown,

Local officials did not report any significant damage to buildings or public structures except for three house fires Monday night in Buck County in the 1300 block of Old Bethlehem Pike near Quakertown and in Tinicum Township and Chalfont.  Though it was not immediately clear if they were linked to the storm, an emergency radio dispatcher said no injuries were reported in the fires.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-superstorm-sandy-allentown-lehigh-valley-storm–20121030,0,2995804.story

Coroner: Garrett Reid, Son Of Eagles Coach Andy Reid, Died From Accidental Heroin Overdose

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Northampton County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Easton, PA – An accidental heroin overdose killed Garrett Reid, the son of Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid, a coroner said Thursday.

Northampton CountyCoroner Zachary Lysek said a toxicology test confirmed the presence of heroin in Garrett Reid’s body.

Investigators revealed they found a used syringe and spoon in his room, along with a gym bag filled with dozens of syringes and needles, many of them unopened.

“We are confident today that Mr. Reid’s death was the result of a self-injected lethal dose of heroin,” District Attorney John Morganelli said at a news conference in Easton.

Reid was found dead in his dorm room early on Aug. 5 at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, where he was assisting the team’s strength and conditioning coach during training camp.

Read more:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=421805

Bethlehem Zoners Reject South Side Artist Colony

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Northampton County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A nonprofit developer said this week’s zoning denial would not stop its multi-million-dollar plan to bring low-rent housing and a convert a vacant church into an art gallery in south Bethlehem.

Housing Development Corp. Midatlantic of Lancaster will go back to the drawing board to determine how to address the parking issues associated with the $11 million project, President Michael Carper said.

“We closed on the properties. We own them. We’re not going away and will make it work,” he said.

Plans included converting the vacant St. Stanislaus Church on Hayes Street into an art gallery accompanied with building 28 new, low-rent townhouses, loft apartments and 26 parking spaces on the property.

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/news/local/bethlehem/mc-bethlehem-zoners-art-gallery-20120927,0,2601905.story

Bethlehem’s Vegan Treats Named One Of World’s Best Bakeries

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Northampton County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Vegan Treats, the little Bethlehem bakery where stars shop, has just received sweet news from American Express. It has been named as one of 10 of the World’s Best Bakeries.

It’s featured in Departures, an American Express magazine available only to the company’s Platinum and Centurion charge card holders.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/dining/mc-vegan-treats-american-express-20120906,0,6639845.story

Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem Table Games Boom Benefits Easton

English: Skyline of Easton, PA from Lafayette College (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  Great to see this money benefit the taxpayers of Pennsylvania!

The city was left out of the local share of taxes on the casino’s thousands of slot machines, but came away with a 25 percent cut of local table gaming taxes. The games — poker, blackjack and more than a dozen other options — remain a fraction of the tens of millions poured into Sands’ slot machines, but the casino’s tables are the most popular in the state and show no sign of slowing down.

The city budgeted $560,000 in table games money this year, a slight uptick from 2011′s $530,000 haul, yet Easton could see more than $700,000 if the boom in south Bethlehem continues. Through the first two quarters this year, Sands shunted $336,000 into Easton’s coffers and the table games at Sands remain the state’s highest grossing.

“We are definitely getting more than we expected,” Easton Finance Director Chris Heagele said.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/easton/mc-easton-sees-windfall-table-games-revenue-20120824,0,5728945.story

Musikfest Braces For Better Year After Record Loss

Musikfest was preparing to hit a high note last year, introducing the 10-day party of music and food to south Bethlehem at its ambitious new SteelStacks campus.

But rain doused the festival for six days, flooding the Monocacy Creek and closing down nearby venues on the north side. The festival lost $750,000 — triple the amount of its worst year since it began 28 years ago.

The deficit came in the very year its nonprofit organizer, ArtsQuest, could least afford it because of the uncertainty that came with launching its performing arts center at SteelStacks. The loss from Musikfest, which provides half the nonprofit’s revenue, pushed ArtsQuest into a $1 million operating loss, more than 5 percent of its budget.

So, as Musikfest opens Friday evening, its financial performance is stealing some of the spotlight.

Read more:  http://www.mcall.com/news/local/musikfest/mc-bethlehem-musikfest-preview-20120802,0,7463125.story

Oktoberfest To Expand At ArtsQuest’s SteelStacks

Oktoberfest, the most successful new festival in the first year of ArtsQuest’s SteelStacks campus in 2011, returns in October with new food, new contests and advance tickets that save festival-goers up to 25 percent, it was announced Monday.

The celebration of autumn and the Lehigh Valley‘s Germanic heritage, set for Oct. 5-7 and 12-14, will retain its most popular components: music, food, activities and, of course, beer. And it will have the same title sponsor: D.G. Yuengling & Son brewers.

“The first Oktoberfest celebration at SteelStacks was a huge hit, with nearly 25,000 people coming out,” said ArtsQuest Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations Curt Mosel. “This year’s festival will feature even more attractions and special events, with something for all ages.”

Yuengling announced that the Yuengling Oktoberfest beer debuted at last year’s festival “was so well received that it will make a triumphant return in kegs and now bottles for 2012,” Yuengling Marketing Manager Jen Holtzman said.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/entertainment/mc-oktoberfest-artsquest-bethlehem-20120730,0,6919333.story

Lehigh Valley Economy Boosted By Thriving Nonprofit Arts Sector

Lehigh Valley’s nonprofit arts community pumps $200 million annually into the region’s economy

The two tickets to a live opera rebroadcast at Allentown Symphony Hall were just the first things Jane Wells Schooley spent money on Thursday evening. Before the show, she and her granddaughter had dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant. They planned to get dessert at Rita’s Italian ice afterward.

Still, Schooley, of Lower Nazareth Township, considered the outing an excellent value.

“To be able to expose a young person to opera without spending $200!” she whispered as the curtains parted to a full-screen, high-definition view of the pit orchestra at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. “We are extremely fortunate to have the arts that we have in the Lehigh Valley.”

Fortunate indeed — and in more than one sense. The Valley’s many nonprofit arts and cultural organizations do more than provide diverse entertainment and intellectual stimulation. They also boost the local economy as patrons like Schooley, eager to take advantage of the region’s relatively inexpensive offerings, open their wallets before, during and after the main event.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-lehigh-valley-arts-impact-20120721,0,3268839.story

Sands Bethlehem Leads The Way As Pa. Slot Machine Revenue Up In May

English: Slot machines at Wookey Hole Caves (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PHILADELPHIA. PA  (AP) — Pennsylvania’s gross slot machine revenue was up 3.4 percent in May over the year before, boosted by the second full month of play at Valley Forge Casino Resort in suburban Philadelphia. Existing casinos, meanwhile, saw a modest rise after they registered just the third such monthly decline in April.

The state’s 11 casinos — including Valley Forge, which opened March 31 — collected $212.5 million in gross slots revenue in May, an increase over $205.5 million from the same period the year before, according to revenue figures released Monday by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The 10 existing casinos that were open in both May 2011 and May 2012 saw an increase of 1.5 percent, a month after their gross slots revenue had dipped .6 percent.

Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem showed the most growth in May, pulling in $25.1 million in gross slots revenue, an increase of 11.2 percent over May 2011. The state’s second-newest facility, Sugarhouse Casino in Philadelphia, wasn’t far behind: It reported $16.4 million in gross revenue, an increase of just less than 10 percent.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-pennsylvania-casino-revenue-060412-20120604,0,4866675.story

Lehigh Valley Housing Market Continues To Rebound

The Lehigh Valley housing market continued to rebound in April, with sales and prices up from a year ago.

A total of 466 homes sold in April in Lehigh and Northampton counties, up 24.9 percent from the same month a year ago, according to the Prudential Patt, White Real Estate HomExpert Market Report. The median sale price was $170,000, up 6.3 percent from a year ago and up 8.4 percent from the median sale price in March.

April was the tenth consecutive month of year-to-year sales increases and it was the second straight month of price increases. If the sales pace and price trends holds, it will mean the local housing market bottomed out last year.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-home-sales-april-20120521,0,518533.story

Yes Is Coming To The Sands Bethlehem Event Center

A groundbreaking English progressive rock band that over the past 40 years has produced 13 gold and platinum albums and a half-dozen Top 40 hits will play at Sands Bethlehem Event Center in July, it was just announced.

Yes, which had the triple-platinum album “90125” and No. 1 song “Owner of a Lonely Heart” in 1983, will play at the event enter July 18, the venue has announced.

Tickets, at $49.50, $65 and $85, will go on sale at 10 a.m. April 20 at www. sandseventcenter.com or www.livenation.com, by calling 800-745-3000 or at the event center box office at the Shoppes at the Sands mall at Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem.

Read more: http://blogs.mcall.com/lehighvalleymusic/2012/04/groundbreaking-prog-rockers-to-play-sands-bethlehem-event-center.html