A woman is expected to fully recover after being shot just after midnight Thursday morning. It happened in the 300 block of North Seventh Street in Allentown. When police arrived they found a woman on scene with a gunshot wound. She was taken to the hospital and her injuries do not appear to be life-threatening. The investigation is active and ongoing.
Lehigh County has followed surrounding counties and is now under a burn ban. Chairman of the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners Geoff Brace says even 'with' the burn ban, the entire area is on the edge of big trouble. "Somebody disposing of a cigarette butt inappropriately or somebody cutting down a tree and a spark from a chainsaw triggering a fire that consumers hundreds of acres of a forest, those are real concerns right now," Brace says. The penalty for violating the Lehigh County burn ban is $100 for the first offense, $200 for the second offense and $300 for the third and any subsequent offense.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy is now declaring a drought warning with the state currently in a record breaking dry spell. "Everyone of us needs to do everything we can to conserve water. It also goes without saying that this is not the time for lighting outdoor fires either," Murphy says. The warning is one step below a water emergency and mandatory restrictions and will allow officials to control reservoir releases and modify the rate of flow from streams in order to conserve water.
It may not be Thanksgiving yet, but Santa Claus' schedule gets a lot busier beginning today. Santa's official arrival at the Lehigh Valley Mall is this afternoon at 5;30. Saturday, Santa makes a grand entrance at the Promenade Saucon Valley as part of their big tree lighting. At the Palmer Park Mall, Santa's big parade isn't until November 30th and at the Pocono Premium Outlets, the Strolling Santa makes his season debut on December 7.
Advance Auto Parts is closing more than 700 locations nationwide. The North Carolina based retailer says the closures are part of its business-restructuring plan. Roughly 500 corporate stores and 200 independently owned stores will close by mid-2025. It's not clear yet which locations will shut down. The company has about 48-hundred locations nationwide.
High school playoff football continues tonight in the Lehigh Valley. In a Class 3-A first round matchup, 12-0 Northwestern Lehigh hosts 8-3 Cornwall-Egan tonight, with the winner advancing to the PIAA quarterfinals against the District 2 champion next weekend. Parkland and Emmaus, both 10-2, play tonight in the District 11 Class 6-A title game. 10-2 East Stroudsburg South will play 8-4 Roman Catholic in the first round of the PIAA Class 5-A playoffs.
