More than six years after Holly Grim disappeared from her Lower Macungie home and more than three years after her co-worker Michael Horvath was charged with stalking, kidnapping, torturing and killing her, his trial has been pushed back yet again. Steven Bergstein represents Grim's family and says the family is disappointed an expected April trial has been postponed until this fall at the earliest. "At least they would've had some answers and could begin closing the book on that. With all the issues concerning his attorneys, it's extended even longer," Bergstein says. Monday, Horvath's new attorneys told Monroe County Court they would need several weeks to look over the case before agreeing to a trial start date. Jury selection had been scheduled for next month. In 2016 Grim's remains were found on Horvath's property in Ross Township. The two had worked together at Allen Organ in Macungie.
Northampton County officials are holding public demonstrations twice this week of the county's new voting machines. The first demonstration is tomorrow from 10am-to-noon at the Palmer Library and the second is Friday from 10:30am-12:30pm at the Park Plaze Community Center in Forks Township. The machines malfunctioned when they were used for the first time during the November general election, cauing a paper ballot recount. Meanwhile, a lawsuit is seeking to have the Express X-L machine decertified over claims the machines are insecure and unreliable. County Executive Lamont McClure says the machines cannot be hacked.
A gunshot victim told authorities that he was shot Sunday night by the husband of the woman he was scheduled to meet. Allentown police have charged Timothy Diaz with a Sunday night shooting in the 700 block of North Glenwood Street. The victim told authorities that he’d been shot by Diaz close to Diaz’s Tilghman Street home. The victim told police he was meeting Diaz’s wife in the area where he was shot. He alleges Diaz pulled a handgun from his pants, firing at least five shots and hitting him three times. The victim is expected to fully recover.
Nobody was injured after gunshots were fired lat Sunday night. Officers were called to Sixth and Chapel streets in North Catasauqua just before midnight. Shots were fired in the area, but no one was hurt.
Plans for a sludge treatment plant in Northampton County's Slate Belt are officially off the table. The planned Slate Belt Heat Recovery Center in Plainfield Township would have used landfill gas to turn human waste into fertilizer. The application had been on the table for nearly three years, but zoning issues and environmental worries held things up and now the proposal is dead altogether. The center would have been built on an area of land on the Grand Central Landfill Campus near the Green Knights Energy Center.
Every member of Congres is permitted to invite one guest to the annual State of the Union address, which is tonight. Republican Sen. Pat Toomey's guest will be businessman Joe Topper. Democrat Sen. Bob Casey has invited 14-year-old gun control advocate M'Kiyah Martin, whose cousin was shot to death in 2018. Democrat Congresswoman Susan Wild's guest will be Allentown's Yamelisa Taveras, who is a diabetic who says she had to ration her insulin because of its high costs.
The Philadelphia Flyers' mascot is cleared after being accused of punching a 13-year-old. Philadelphia police say the investigation into Gritty is over and there was no assault. Flyers season-ticket holder Chris Greenwell filed a police report claiming his son Brandon was punched by the mascot after the child had playfully patted him on the head. The Flyers say they reviewed video of the incident and did not see any evidence of a punch.
A Lancaster County groundhog is now a star after debuting in a Super Bowl commercial. Poppy was used in the Jeep commercial with Bill Murray to recreate some of the iconic scenes in Groundhog Day.
New Jersey says its sports wagering books lost money on this year's Super Bowl. The Division of Gaming Enforcement says statistics show Super Bowl wagering in the Garden State added up to mor ethan $54 million. However, the wagering payouts amounted to well mor ethan $58 million. In other words, New Jersey's ten retail sports books and 19 sports wagering mobile apps lost more than $4 million.