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ASK IRA: Could Heat bypass adding a free-agent center?
Ask Ira! SunSentinel Heat Writer Ira Winderman answers YOUR questions about the team! You can read his latest comments below. To submit your question, e-mail here. Please include your name, city and...
View ArticleEmergency Medicine: Although not perfect, Act 47 could relieve Allentown's...
In the mid 1980s, as Pennsylvania's old industrial base was collapsing, the state Legislature devised a plan to help distressed municipalities. Coal, steel, and heavy manufacturing no longer provided...
View ArticleIn Bethlehem district, some financing costly
School districts across Pennsylvania, including Bethlehem Area, have paid millions of dollars in hidden, hefty fees by getting involved in bond deals that gamble on interest rates, according to a...
View ArticleFirms reap millions in fees from swap deals
On a spring night in 2005, Stanley J. Majewski Jr. dazzled the Bethlehem Area School Board with a budget presentation that highlighted how a rise in home sales was triggering "a vibrant local economy"...
View ArticleBASD's defense of swap deals falls short
Bethlehem Area School District administrators have staunchly defended the district's use of variable rate bonds and complex derivatives in its borrowing plan, saying it saved taxpayers $6.3 million....
View ArticleBeware of disaster scams
On the face of it, Easton has a big problem in 2013, a $3.2 million hole in its budget. It's a hole no one wants to bridge with a property tax hike, so the administration is exploring spending cuts,...
View ArticleMayor defends water, sewer lease plan
Residents had plenty of questions for Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski on Thursday about the city's plan to lease its water and sewer systems to an outside operator for 50 years. Will water rates go...
View ArticleCorbett admin, state store employees agree 1-year wage freeze in new contract.
The city of Allentown and its firefighters union have both appealed portions of a new four-year contract awarded by an arbitrator last month. The firefighters union, Local 302 of the International...
View ArticleGracedale union concessions net $2 million
Gracedale nursing home's largest union has agreed to concessions that Northampton County estimates will save more than $2 million per year. The new contract, which County Council will vote on Thursday,...
View ArticleCorbett admin, state store employees agree 1-year wage freeze in new contract.
Some patients in the area will have to alter their health care plans after a breakdown in negotiations between the state's largest health insurer and a Lehigh Valley health system. Highmark Blue Shield...
View ArticleBeware of disaster scams
Easton City Council agreed to hand the sole key to Two Rivers Landing to Crayola on Wednesday night and avoided arbitration with the city's firefighters. The deal with Crayola, for its Crayola...
View ArticlePublic Employees
Allentown City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to hire an independent consultant for advice on the proposed lease of the city's water and sewer systems. Council will contract with the Pennsylvania...
View ArticleBASD's defense of swap deals falls short
Bethlehem Area School District administrators have staunchly defended the district's use of variable rate bonds and complex derivatives in its borrowing plan, saying it saved taxpayers $6.3 million....
View ArticlePublic Employee Compensation
Oct. 15 (Bloomberg) -- The New York Yankees are "basically stuck" with Alex Rodriguez and the five years and $115 million left on his contract, say baseball executives, including the one who traded the...
View ArticleState House candidates debate natural gas tax, budget issues, agriculture
They all shared a happy moment agreeing to keep hunters home on Sundays, but most issues brought up Monday night at a candidates forum didn't end in harmony. The Northampton/Monroe Farm Bureau...
View ArticleAFSCME, State Reach Tentative Deal.
With little fanfare and only one amendment, Allentown City Council unanimously passed the city's 2013 budget Wednesday without an increase in taxes. The budget, which calls for $88 million in spending,...
View ArticleSouth Whitehall trash fees going up
Folks in South Whitehall Township will have to dip further into their wallets to pay for solid waste and recycling collection in the coming year. Citing a need to cover and balance expenses,...
View ArticleState, PSAC coaches reach contract agreement
The union representing more than 400 athletic coaches across Pennsylvania's 14 state-owned universities and the State System of Higher Education have reached a tentative agreement on a new four-year...
View ArticleLehigh Valley cities grapple with soaring pension costs
For years the Lehigh Valley's three cities have sold land, floated bonds and conjured up other ways to get cash to fill massive holes in pension plans. Allentown's latest plan, to lease its water...
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