An economic expert doubts a recession will hit this year and expects 2024 to be an "OK" year. Jay Bryson, managing director and chief economist for Wells Fargo, told members of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce most businesses are pretty healthy right now and don't plan on laying employees off. While saying that, Bryson told the crowd at the chamber's annual Economic Outlook we're not out of the woods just yet and growth could be sluggish for the next few quarters. He says a lot of what the year will look like depends on the Federal Reserve and what it does with interest rates.
Pennsylvania's attorney general says a Lehigh County lawyer used misleading advertisements to draw clients and did not deliver promised services. Attorney General Michelle Henry says Upper Macungie Township lawyer Erik Helbing advertised and sold debt settlement services in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, claiming they could reduce consumers’ debts through negotiation or litigation. However, Henry says Helbing failed to do that. In a settlement announced Wednesday, Helbing has agreed to pay $25,000 in restitution and another $10,000 in penalties. People who may be eligible for restitution can file a complaint at www.attorneygeneral.gov by April 23.
Lehigh Valley International Airport had its best year for air travel since 2004, with more than 930,000 passengers using LVIA in 2023. The passenger count of 930,946 was a 2% increase from 2022, which had 912,256 passengers. LVIA says it also had a record-breaking year for air cargo.
A Carbon County man is dead after an explosion early Wednesday morning. 58-year-old Steve Sensinger was killed in the explosion as he was experimenting with explosives inside a shed on his property on Franklin Heights Road near Weissport. Police searched the property for more dangerous explosives and Carbon County coroner Mark Smith has this message for the neighborhood. "Talking with state police, we can everybody that there is no danger to the public here," Smith says. Neighbors say police had been called to the Sensinger property several times over the years.
Carbon Transit in Carbon County is making some changes this year. C-T Bus, which runs two fixed routes in the county, will no longer stop for those flagging down a bus driver. The buses will only stop at established bus stops. The transit is also making route changes in Lansford and Lehighton including a service to Lehigh Valley Health Network in Lehighton. The changes will go into effect Monday. You can find more information by visiting the Carbon Transit's official website.
Some of the data that was mistakenly deleted from state police crime lab computers is being restored manually. Police spokesman Myles Snyder says they want to be as accurate as possible to ensure compliance for the material that was lost from 77 of the state's servers. The information contained data from the state police and state employees' retirement system files. Snyder says human error was to blame and one person has lost their job. He has not confirmed reports that two other people who were fired or that the error happened because of people working remotely. He also stresses that the crime lab's physical evidence was never affected.
A new report from a Pennsylvania advocacy group says reports of child abuse and neglect continue to rise in the state. The PA Partnerships for Children says in 2022, there were a thousand more child abuse or child protective services reports compared to the year before. There were also about 45-hundred more cases of neglect during the same time. The group's leaders say the figures show families are struggling with housing and mental health support. The report also shows Pennsylvania has the highest rate of any state for children being placed with family members or someone they know or trust when they come out of the child welfare system.
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman continues to go after his fellow Democrat from across the river, New Jersey's Bob Menendez. Fetterman wants Menendez to step down. "Sen. Menendez has now been accused of being a foreign agent for two nations, Egypt and Qatar. Both of them are negotiating and are part of the situation. That's outrageous that, somehow, that senator can be getting these classified briefings," Fetterman says.
The federal judge who oversaw the trial for Pittsburgh synagogue shooter Robert Bowers is unsealing some documents related to the case. Yesterday, Judge Robert Colville made a ruling to release more than 130 court filings that have been kept from the public in order to help ensure a fair trial. The documents include items that were filed as far back as 2018, the year the deadly attack happened, up to some transcripts of closed-door discussions the judge had with attorneys during the trial last summer. Colville's order states the filings that have been released are only those that both prosecutors and defense lawyers have agreed to make public. An appellate body will review hundreds more filings and make recommendations, according to the judge. Bowers was found guilty on dozens of counts, including those related to federal hate crimes, before being sentenced to death and sent to an Indiana prison to await his punishment.
Five players from Canada's 2018 world junior team have taken a leave of absence from their current clubs amid a report that they have been asked to surrender to police to face sexual assault charges. Among those five is Philadelphia Flyers goalie Carter Hart. Flyers GM Daniel Briere says, "We are aware of this morning's press reports of a very serious matter. We will response appropriately when the outcomes of the investigations are made public." Briere says the NHL wants all investigation-related questions referred to the league and the team will not comment any further. A woman claims she was sexually assaulted by eight members of that team at a gala.