The search has been ongoing since 6:45 p.m., according to a Lehigh County emergency radio dispatcher.
Emergency workers are searching the Lehigh River near Walnutport after someone found an upside-down canoe in the river, according to a Lehigh County emergency radio dispatcher.
The canoe was found about 6:45 p.m., she said.
She had no further information about the search.
Walnutport is in Northampton County, although Lehigh County has emergency radio dispatch responsibilities for the borough.The 48-year-old died at 12:20 p.m. after he was thrown from a racecar he was driving.
A Lower Nazareth Township resident died today in a racecar crash at a Maryland track, according to his widow.
Lamont Akins, 48, died at 12:20 p.m. in a crash during a race at Maryland International Raceway, said Akins' widow, Lori. She went to the track after receiving word of the crash this afternoon and was returning tonight to the Lehigh Valley.
"I don't know what happened," she said. "They're doing an autopsy."
The news blog smnewsnet.com reported Akins was thrown from the car after it flipped several times.
Lori Akins said her husband was an avid racer and was at the track pursuing his hobby.
The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office had no information on the incident. Representatives at the racetrack in Mechanicsville, Maryland, directed questions to a manager reporting to work Tuesday morning.
Charles Wynn, of Easton, who described himself as a close friend of Akins, said Akins worked at VIP Honda in North Plainfield, N.J.
"He was a great guy, a hardworking guy," Wynn said.
Lori Akins said the family split time living in Lower Nazareth and at her mother's home in Greenwich Township.
Lamont Akins, 48, died after crashing during a test run on a Maryland drag strip.
UPDATE: New details emerge in fatal drag racing crash that claimed Lower Nazareth Township man
After an initial test run, no one could have expected Lamont Akins' day on the drag strip would end tragically, according to his best friend.
"He made the second pass and something happened to the car," said Easton resident Darrin Robinson. "He ended up rolling it."
Akins, 48, of Lower Nazareth Township, died today in a racecar crash at the Maryland International Raceway, according to his widow.
Lori Akins went to the track after receiving word of the 12:20 p.m. crash. She was on her way back to the Lehigh Valley at 8:30 p.m. this evening.
The cause of death remains uncertain, she said.
"I don't know what happened," she said. "They're doing an autopsy."
The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office had no immediate information on the incident. Nor did representatives at the racetrack in Mechanicsville, Maryland, who directed questions to a manager reporting to work Tuesday morning.
Robinson said Akins was at the racetrack for a "grudge" race. Also known as a match race, it involves drivers who challenge each other for cash or even pink slips to the cars.
Robinson said he raced cars with Akins since they were teenagers. They attended Plainfield High School together in northern New Jersey and met in ninth grade on a race track, he said.
Akins worked during the day as a mechanic at VIP Honda in North Plainfield, N.J., where he started fresh out of high school, Robinson said. But he pursued his passion on area drag strips during his free time.
"He was one of the beasts," Robinson said. "He was one of the most feared racers out there."
That said, Akins was also known for his big heart.
"It was just Lamont's personality. He treated everyone great. He never had any foul words for anybody," Robinson said.
Another friend, Charles Wynn, also of Easton, said if you found yourself in a jam at 3 a.m., you could call on Akins to bail you out.
"You could say, 'I know you put in 14 hours, but can you come over here? My car won't start,' and he'll come right over," Wynn said. "He's just one of those kind of guys you can count on being there."
Robinson participated in highway races with Akins as a youth. They drifted to drag strips as they got older.
"We've been on every track across the eastern part of the United States," Robinson said.
Robinson said Akins' hobby was lucrative. Through sheer force of will he was able to work his way out of poverty into his beautiful Lower Nazareth Township home, Robinson said.
Lori Akins said the family splits time in Lower Nazareth and at her mother's home in Greenwich Township.
Akins leaves behind a stepson, Thomas Rollins, who will graduate next month from Nazareth Area High School.
"He was a hardworking, dedicated man," Robinson said. "He died doing what he loved to do."
People are far more likely to disclose funeral plans to friends and family than reveal their preferences for assistance with day-to-day living as they get older.
You promise "in sickness and in health," but a new poll shows becoming a caregiver to a frail spouse causes more stress than having to care for mom, dad or even the in-laws.
Americans 40 and older say they count on their families to care for them as they age, with good reason: Half of them already have been caregivers to relatives or friends, the poll found.
But neither the graying population nor the loved ones who expect to help them are doing much planning for long-term care. In fact, people are far more likely to disclose their funeral plans to friends and family than reveal their preferences for assistance with day-to-day living as they get older, according to the poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
And while 8 in 10 people who've been caregivers called it a positive experience, it's also incredibly difficult.
"Your relationship changes. Life as you know it becomes different," said Raymond Collins, 62, of Houston, who retired early in part to spend time with his wife, Karen. Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 15 years ago, her mobility has deteriorated enough that she now uses a wheelchair.
Collins, a former business manager for an oil company, said he has felt stress, frustration and, at times, anger.
"The traditional vows are through sickness and health, for richer or poorer, for better or worse, etc.," he said. "At the age of 25 and 32, you say those things and you're high on love and healthy, and life is all in front of you. The meanings of those words are pretty much lost, even when you concentrate on them."
Still, he said caregiving has strengthened his marriage commitment in ways he couldn't foresee as a newlywed nearly 37 years ago.
Caregiving may start with driving a loved one to the doctor or helping with household chores, but progress to hands-on care, such as bathing. Increasingly, family members are handling tasks once left to nurses, such as the care of open wounds or injections of medication.
Increasing numbers
With a rapidly aging population, more families will face those responsibilities: Government figures show nearly 7 in 10 Americans will need long-term care at some point after they reach age 65. Yet just 20 percent of those surveyed think it is likely they will need such care some day. Almost twice as many, 39 percent, are deeply concerned about burdening their families.
Contrary to popular belief, Medicare doesn't pay for the most common types of long-term care — and last year, a bipartisan commission appointed by Congress couldn't agree on how to finance those services, either. But the AP-NORC Center poll found nearly 6 in 10 Americans 40 and older support some type of government-administered long-term care insurance program, a 7-point increase from last year's AP survey.
The poll also found broad support for a range of policy proposals:
Oklahoma this month became the first state to pass the AARP-pushed Caregiver Advice, Record and Enable (CARE) Act that requires hospitals to notify a family caregiver when a loved one is being discharged and to help prepare that caregiver for nursing the patient at home.
Just 30 percent in this age group who say they'll likely care for a loved one in the next five years feel prepared to do so.
Sandwich generation
Women tend to live longer than men and consequently most family caregivers, 41 percent, assist a mother. Seventeen percent have cared for a father, and 14 percent have cared for a spouse or partner, the poll found.
The tug on the sandwich generation — middle-aged people caring for both children and older parents, often while holding down a job — has been well-documented, and the new poll found half of all caregivers report the experience caused stress in the family.
But spouses were most likely to report that stress and to say caregiving weakened their relationship with their partner and burdened their finances.
Spouses are more likely to handle complex care tasks, on duty 24-7 with less help from family and friends, said Lynn Feinberg, a caregiving specialist at AARP.
Physically, that can be harder because spouse caregivers tend to be older: In the AP-NORC poll, the average age of spouse caregivers was 67, compared with 58 for people who've cared for a parent.
Virginia Brumley, 79, of Richmond, Indiana, cared for her husband, Jim, for nearly five years while he suffered dementia and Parkinson's syndrome, care that eventually required feeding, dressing and diapering him.
"I think I loved him more after I started caring for him. I saw what a wonderful person he was: his (positive) attitude, his kindness, his acceptance of things," she said.
But he lived his last 11 months in a nursing home because "I couldn't handle him anymore," Brumley said. "He was too big for me. He was as helpless as a baby."
The AP-NORC Center survey was conducted by telephone March 13 to April 23 among a random national sample of 1,419 adults age 40 or older, with funding from the SCAN Foundation. Results for the full survey have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.6 percentage points.
The costs can make or break retirement.
The costs of long-term care for the elderly can be volatile and unexpected.
As Americans age and longevity improves nationwide, long-term care insurance has become a growing segment of the insurance industry, said Steve Fisher, president of the Pennsylvania Association of Health Underwriters.
Fewer than 8 percent of Americans have long-term care insurance, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The costs can be staggering and generally rise as the consumer ages, Fisher said.
If you're considering insurance for your long-term care needs or someone else's, such as a parent's, chances are you have a lot of questions.
We asked Fisher to provide answers for some of the more common questions that come from people who are in the long-term care insurance market.
Fisher said people who are considering buying long-term care insurance should have a conversation with their children to discuss any concerns you or they might have.
Here's a Q&A with Fisher:
Do I need to buy long-term care (LTC) insurance?
The best way to answer this question is by asking the following question: "If I don't have long-term care insurance, how will my care be paid for if I need long-term care at home or in a facility?" Some people feel they have significant funds in a savings account or financial investments, but the cost of long-term care can quickly deplete those funds. Others feel that their children will be able to take care of them, but that isn't always possible and can still be very expensive for those providing the care. It is also important to understand that the need for long-term care can go on for years with illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease.
When should I buy LTC insurance?
The best time to buy LTC insurance is when you are young and healthy. Unfortunately, many people seem to wait as they don't feel they will need the coverage until they get older. The problem is that premium rates generally increase with age, and health issues may develop that could make a person uninsurable at a later age. And, approximately 40 percent of all long-term care patients are under age 65.
What is the cost of waiting to buy?
The graphic at left provides an example for a 52-year-old female Pennsylvania resident looking at a policy offering a 4 percent inflation rider on $200 daily benefit with a 90-day elimination period and 3-year benefit.
If she waits until age 62 to buy the policy, and assuming that she will remain healthy, the cost of waiting is significant. The annual premium for comparable coverage will have increased from $3,487.64 at age 52 up to $7,636.83 at age 62. If the policy premiums are paid through age 85, this delay would ultimately cost her an additional $60,554.97 in premiums.
How much LTC coverage do I need to buy? and Do I need to include an inflation rider on my LTC policy?
The answers to these questions depend on many factors such as the type of long-term care facility you would want to live in and where it is located. Costs increase every year, so an inflation rider is recommended.
To get a better understanding of how rates can vary by area, visit the following website: www.genworth.com/costofcare.
Additional information can also be found in the NAIC Shopper's Guide to Long Term Care (http://naic.org/store_pub_consumer.htm). It is recommended that you work with an insurance agent/broker who is certified to market long-term care insurance as they can help address your specific concerns.
Steve Fisher, an agent with The DJB Group Insurance Agency in Meadville, Pa., is president of the Pennsylvania Association of Health Underwriters.
The accident caused some travel delays in the area, as one of the westbound lanes on the expressway was shut for more than two hours while troopers investigated the crash.
Five people were injured when the car they were in went off a southern New Jersey highway and crashed into a row of trees.
State police tell The Philadelphia Inquirer that the crash occurred about 8:30 a.m. Monday in a westbound lane of the Atlantic City Expressway near milepost 37.7 in Winslow Township. But the cause of the single-car crash remains under investigation.
All five of the injured were ejected from the vehicle. Two of them suffered serious injuries and were flown to a hospital, while the other three were treated for minor injuries.
The accident caused some travel delays in the area, as one of the westbound lanes on the expressway was shut for more than two hours while troopers investigated the crash.
Manny Munoz, of Moore Township, started the fledgling wrestling company in 2012.
Fans of professional wrestling have an opportunity to see local talent in action at the Charles Chrin Community Center this Friday.
Elite Wrestling, owned by Moore Township resident Manny Munoz, will feature at least a half-dozen Lehigh Valley pro wrestlers at the Palmer Township venue. Sixteen wrestlers are scheduled for the event that will be topped off with Benchmark Bill Daly defending his championship title.
Munoz started wrestling professionally soon after he graduated from Northampton Area High School in 2003. He grew dissatisfied with the treatment that he and the other wrestlers received from many of the promoters. So he started Elite Wrestling in 2012 and began recruiting people to join his ranks.
Many wrestlers want to land a job with the renowned World Wrestling Entertainment, but Munoz has taken a different approach.
He keeps his events family-friendly and focuses on wrestlers' athleticism to entertain the crowds. He doesn't allow wrestlers to use foreign objects in the ring like chairs or tables that are popular elsewhere. He classifies Elite as old-school sports entertainment.
"Every wrestler tries to knock down the door to get in the WWE, which makes it very unlikely to get in," said Munoz. "The only other way to make it is if another company makes it big, and that is what we are trying to do."
The 6-foot-2-inch, 235-pound Daly is a general manager at the Retro Fitness health club in Palmer Township. He joined Elite at its onset and he has been in charge of developing the talent pool. His dedication to professional wrestling has earned him a dislocated knee, broken ribs and five broken noses over the past 13 years.
He once broke the small bone in his lower leg during a match and still wrestled for five more minutes until the match was over. In October he won the Elite championship belt and will defend it Friday against Mr. Touchdown Mark Angelosetti. He warns that the audience should look out for his signature finishing move, the Jersey Pump Slam.
"Anytime I go out there it's full blast," Daly said. "Every single fan is going to get their money's worth."
Doors open 6:30 p.m. and the first bell is at 7:30 p.m. General admission is $10 and it is free admission for kids 5 and under.
Find more info at: www.facebook.com/pages/Elite-Wrestling/213885071961934
For advance tickets, contact Retro Fitness 610-816-0325.
The three-month enforcement boost was funded with state grants, according to a news release.
A three-month police crackdown on traffic violations in Bath and Hanover Township, Northampton County, resulted in nearly 100 traffic citations and arrests, according to police.
Colonial Regional Police used a state grant to participate in the PA Aggressive Driver Special Project on Route 512 and Route 248 in Bath and Route 512 in Hanover Township, according to a news release.
With the nearly 70 hours of coverage that resulted from the project, police issued the following arrests and citations:
Failure to obey traffic control devices - 19
Speeding - 17
Failure to obey traffic control signals - 14
Failure to wear a seat belt (adult) - 6
Driving with a suspended license/registration - 5
Drug arrests - 3
Careless driving - 2
Improper passing - 2
Drunken driving - 1
Failure to wear a seat belt (child) - 1
Improper turning - 1
Failure to drive on a roadway laned for traffic - 1
Other citations - 22
Other arrests - 1
The crash happens just before 10 a.m. Monday in the 3600 block of Hickory Hill Road, Coroner Scott Grim says.
An 89-year-old Lower Saucon Township man died Monday afternoon following a car crash several hours earlier in the township, the Lehigh County Coroner's Office reports this morning in a news release.
The vehicle Walter King, of the 2200 block of Springtown Hill Road, was driving struck a utility pole about 9:51 a.m. in the 3600 block of Hickory Hill Road, Coroner Scott Grim said.
He died at 5:53 p.m. at St. Luke's University Hospital in Fountain Hill because of blunt force trauma injuries, Grim said. The death was determined to be accidental, Grim said.
The victim said she tried to run away, but he tackled her, punched her several times, covered her face so she couldn't yell and then carried her to his car.
A Nazareth man accused of showing up at his ex-girlfriend's Allentown home, assaulting her and then kidnapping her is headed to state prison.
Kavon Jenkins was sentenced to two to six years in state prison by Lehigh County Judge Maria Dantos for trespassing, simple assault and false imprisonment. Dantos also said Jenkins would not be eligible for Recidivism Risk Reduction Incentive, known as triple R-I, which would have reduced his sentence.
Jenkins had been held in Lehigh County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail, records say.
Police said the woman was coming back to her house at 4 a.m. July 14 in the 100 block of Woodcrest Circle and saw Jenkins' car.
The victim told police Jenkins approached her and took her cellphone, wallet and keys, records say. When the woman tried to run away, Jenkins tackled her, punched her several times, covered her mouth and nose so she couldn't yell and then carried her to his car and drove away, records say.
Jenkins drove the victim to a shopping center parking lot, where she again tried to run away, records say. Jenkins tackled her, punched and bit her, and carried her back to the car, records say.
Jenkins eventually drove the victim to his home in the 100 block of Belvidere Street in Nazareth, records say. The victim told police she saw her house phone and laptop inside Jenkins' apartment, records say.
Police did not provide details of how the victim escaped but said they were called to St. Luke's University Hospital in Fountain Hill for a reported abduction.
Obama noted that he often greets champion athletes at the White House, most recently the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. But he said accomplished students deserve such honors, too.
President Barack Obama drew attention to girls' science and engineering accomplishments today as he announced new teacher training competition as well as mentoring efforts to improve and diversify the nation's technological workforce.
The president pointed out that men outnumber women studying and working in science and that women earn fewer than one in five bachelor's degrees in engineering and computer science.
"Half our team we're not even putting on the field," he said, after touring exhibits at the annual White House Science Fair. "We've got to change those numbers."
Obama announced a new $35 million Education Department competition to train the best math and science teachers. He also announced an expansion of AmeriCorps to help teach science and math courses to 18,000 low-income students this summer, and national science and math mentoring projects in Chicago; Philadelphia; San Francisco; Allentown; Indianapolis; the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina; and Wichita, Kansas.
He noted that he often greets champion athletes at the White House, most recently the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. But he said accomplished students deserve such honors, too.
"As a society, we have to celebrate outstanding work by young people in science at least as much as we do Super Bowl winners because super-star biologists and engineers and rocket scientists and robot builders, they don't always get the attention that they deserve, but they're what's going to transform our society," he said.
Among the displays are a "concussion cushion" designed by a 19-year-old Maria Hanes of Santa Cruz, California, who aspires to be the first female collegiate head football coach. Two Massachusetts high school students, Olivia Van Amsterdam and Katelyn Sweeney, exhibited a rescue robot. Eighteen-year-old Elana Simon, of New York, a high school senior and cancer survivor, described how her illness prompted her to become interested in cancer research.
And Peyton Robertson, a 12-year-old from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, wowed Obama with two inventions -- "sandless" flood retention sandbags and retractable bicycle wheels.
"If you can buy stock in Peyton," Obama said chuckling, "you should do so now."
VA officials, veteran service organizations and members of Congress have known about them for years.
Fake appointments, unofficial logs kept on the sly and appointments made without telling the patient are among tricks used to disguise delays in seeing and treating veterans at Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics.
They're not a new phenomenon. VA officials, veteran service organizations and members of Congress have known about them for years.
The "gaming strategies" were used to make it appear veterans were getting appointments within target times set by the department, according to a 2010 department memo to VA facility managers aimed at fighting the practices.
The memo from William Schoenhard, then the VA's deputy undersecretary for health operations and management, said that when a medical appointment wasn't available within the 30-day target time then used by VA, some schedulers would:
Schoenhard's nine-page memo ordered the practices stopped and instructed managers on how to detect them. Then he added:
"Please be cautioned ... additional new or modified gaming strategies may have emerged, so do not consider this list a full description of all current possibilities of ... practices that need to be addressed."
Or as Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., put it at hearing this month: "As soon as new directives are put out, they're torn apart to find out how to get around the requirements."
"Cooking the books" at VA hospitals has exploded into public view since allegations arose that up to 40 patients may have died at the Phoenix VA hospital while awaiting care. The department's inspector general said he's found no evidence so far that any of those deaths were caused by delays. He's widened his office's probe to include 26 VA centers but hasn't specified just what is being investigated at the newly added locations.
There are some 1,700 VA health facilities nationwide, including hospitals, clinics and residential rehabilitation centers. Investigators are now trying to determine how widespread is the practice of falsifying records. But the fact it is a problem has been detailed in VA inspector general reports and Government Accountability Office reports to Congress going back a decade.
The 2010 Schoenhard memo cited practices identified by a task force monitoring access to care.
"We have worked very hard ... to root out these inappropriate uses of the scheduling system and these abuses," VA's Robert Petzel testified at a Senate hearing this month. "This has been a very important thing to us for at least the last four years."
Petzel was the top VA health care official until he was forced to resign ahead of his retirement previously scheduled for later this year.
"It's not that people haven't brought this up before, it's just the word 'secret' lists blew it up in the media," Vietnam Veterans of America's Richard Weidman said in an interview. "They weren't secret, they were handwritten" logs kept aside from computerized scheduling. "People should stop the hysteria and say what the root of this problem is."
The problem, according to Weidman and several other veteran service organizations, is there are not enough medical personnel to meet the demand for VA health care. Several of the groups have complained for years that the VA budget — though continually rising — is too small to provide enough doctors, medical centers and services.
The number of veterans relying on VA for health care has jumped 17 percent since 2009. Operating the largest single health care agency in country with 9 million patients and 85 million appointments a year, the agency has struggled to keep its head above water. It has hired more medical workers and opened 55 more community outpatient clinics, bringing to 820 the number of those clinics nationwide.
VA also has added 21 more mobile clinics to serve veterans in rural areas and now has a fleet of 79 of them.
When it comes to how long it takes to get an appointment, VA stands apart from much of the health care industry. VA now has a 14-day target for seeing patients once they seek appointments and the agency is supposed to chart the timeliness of each of them. Some lawmakers have suggested the target is unrealistic and said basing employee bonuses and pay raises on meeting it is outrageous.
In the private sector, some large health provider networks set standards, but there's little data on how well the standards are followed, making comparisons difficult. Also, the majority of private physicians in the U.S. are not part of a network.
But like the VA, appointment wait times in the private sector vary widely by geography and the attending physician's specialty.
Independent reports have found that though access is a problem, VA care is equal to or better than that in the private sector.
Do you need another chance at Valentine's Day?
This year, as in many years, it snowed in New Jersey around Valentine's Day.
Because of this, New Jersey state Assemblyman John McKeon wants Gov. Chris Christie to issue a proclamation declaring Aug. 14 as Half St. Valentine's Day and encouraging folks to celebrate appropriately, NJ.com reports.
According to the report:
"The harsh weather in New Jersey on Valentine's Day caused many residents to change their holiday plans and, as a result, many businesses were adversely impacted and saw reductions in customer traffic and revenues compared to prior years," the resolution reads.
Read more about the proposal here.
And tell us: Do you need another chance at Valentine's Day?
The defendant's lawyer wants the trial moved to another county.
An eastern Pennsylvania man accused of having killed and dismembered a woman whose remains were left along two interstates six years ago is scheduled for trial this fall.
Opening statements are scheduled Nov. 5 in the Monroe County trial of 40-year-old Charles Ray Hicks, of Tobyhanna.
Prosecutors allege that Hicks tortured and killed 36-year-old Deanna Null in 2008, then dismembered her body and scattered parts in trash bags along Interstates 80 and 380 in the Stroudsburg area.
The district attorney's office says Hicks should be executed if he is convicted of first-degree murder.
Defense attorney William Sayer asked the court Tuesday to hold the trial in another county, citing news coverage of the case. The judge is to rule later on that motion and others.
The man allegedly hit by the 42-year-old Hampton resident testifies in court today about the encounter during which he says the defendant called him a racial slur.
Mario Maisonet admitted to shouting at and giving the middle finger to a man who'd cut him off Feb. 8 on Route 22 West in Phillipsburg.
But the Easton resident said he chose not to dwell on it as he cut down North Main Street to the Easton-Phillipsburg free bridge and on the short drive into Pennsylvania.
But Maisonet said he was alarmed when the same white Volkswagen drove through opposing traffic on the free bridge to come hood to hood with Maisonet's red Hyundai Tiburon.
"I didn't know what he was capable of doing," Maisonet testified this morning during a preliminary hearing for 42-year-old Alexander Patullo Jr., of Hampton. "I only seen stuff like that in movies. I never seen anything like that in real life."
Patullo is accused of assaulting Maisonet with a vehicle during the road rage encounter.
Downtown Easton District Judge Antonia Grifo determined prosecutors presented enough evidence to send charges of aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment to Northampton County Court where Patullo will go to trial unless he pleads guilty or another disposition occurs.
Northampton County Assistant District Attorney Kelly Lewis-Fallenstein, over the defense attorney's objections, successfully added additional counts of aggravated assault and simple assault as well as two traffic-related violations.
Maisonet testified he and his girlfriend went to the Wal-Mart in Pohatcong Township to pick up a toy for a child's birthday party later that day. He said he was driving on Route 22 near the Warren Lanes bowling alley and the KFC restaurant in Phillipsburg when Patullo cut in front of his car without a signal, causing Maisonet to brake to avoid rear-ending the car.
Maisonet said he honked his horn, shouted and gave Patullo the middle finger as he passed him in the right lane, but that was the extent of the interaction.
"He gave me a smirk," Maisonet said. "I kept driving. I forgot about the whole situation."
Maisonet said he was on the free bridge about to enter Easton when Patullo pulled across two lanes of travel to stop in front of Maisonet's vehicle.
Patullo got out of his car, so Maisonet said he grabbed a sheathed machete as he exited his vehicle.
"I was scared," Maisonet said. "I didn't know what to expect."
He said he had the machete because, "I live in a bad, bad neighborhood. I need protection. We have some good folks, but we have a lot of bad folks."
Maisonet insists he never raised the knife, pointed it or poked Patullo with the blade. He said the two exchanged heated words about who cut off whom on Route 22. Then Maisonet's girlfriend beckoned him back to the car.
The two had gone back to their vehicles when Maisonet, who is black, said he heard Patullo yell a racial slur at him. Patullo is white.
"I got real upset at that," Maisonet testified. "This is 2014. I heard that enough when I was a kid. He was a grown man."
Maisonet said he grabbed a paperweight described by another witness as looking like a lead brick and had opened his door to ask Patullo what he'd just said.
Maisonet denied calling Patullo a "fat, white piece of (expletive)," when asked under cross examination by George Heitczman, the attorney representing the defendant.
Maisonet said the next thing he knew, Patullo began driving toward Maisonet's car, striking the door. Maisonet said his leg was caught as the door slammed and he fell to the ground in pain. Patullo drove off without stopping, according to testimony.
Maisonet said he threw the paperweight as Patullo's vehicle passed, but he missed and shattered the windshield of another man's car, which he later paid to replace. A registered nurse came to Maisonet's aid as others helped call police and summon an ambulance, according to Maisonet.
Heitczman questioned why Maisonet tried to leave his car after the argument apparently ended.
"Had you done nothing, nothing else would have happened," Heitczman said.
"Had he not called me a stupid (expletive), I would not have gotten out of my car, no," Maisonet said. "I didn't know I was dealing with a racist."
Heitczman argued Patullo was in fear of Maisonet, having seen the machete and the brick-like paperweight in the man's hand. He said Patullo striking Maisonet was not intentional and Patullo didn't stop because he was unaware he'd injured anyone.
Lewis-Fallenstein said Patullo's actions were reckless at best.
"By the grace of God, he didn't hit anyone else," she said.
Maisonet suffered an ACL tear and crushed muscle, but no broken bones, he testified. He was unable to work for a time and is still undergoing physical therapy, he said.
Patullo, who remains free on 10 percent of $20,000 bail, is next due in court July 22 for his formal arraignment.
Colin Francis, 13, correctly spelled saboteur and rhododendron, organizers of the bee outside Washington, D.C., said.
The Hunterdon County eighth-grader representing The Express-Times region in the 87th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee made it through both onstage preliminary rounds today without a setback, but will not advance to the competition's semifinals.
Colin Francis, 13, correctly spelled saboteur and rhododendron, said organizers of the bee in at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.
A score of 28, registered through onstage spelling and a computer-based test, was needed to advance past the preliminaries. A maximum score of 36 was possible in the preliminaries.
The semifinals are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, broadcast live on ESPN2, and the championship finals are 8 to 10 p.m. Thursday, on ESPN.
Francis, of Milford, won the Scripps Regional Spelling Bee in March at Northampton Community College. He is a student at Warren Hunterdon Christian Home School and became the first home-schooled student to win the regional championship sponsored by The Express-Times and lehighvalleylive.com.
Dent, whose district includes a large swath of the Lehigh Valley, now joins a small minority of GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill who have publicly supported marriage equality.
U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent, the Republican who serves a large swath of the Lehigh Valley, has come out in support of marriage equality, according to a statement his office issued today.
Dent's statement on his position, first reported by The Washington Post, puts him in a minority among those in his political party.
It comes on the heels of a federal judge's ruling last week that invalidated Pennsylvania's law banning same-sex marriage. Dent references that ruling in his statement and also acknowledges that in 1996, as a Pennsylvania legislator, he voted for the law that the judge struck down.
"I did so at the time because I thought it was consistent with a strong majority of the constituents I represented," Dent says. "I voted in a similar manner at the federal level. Years have passed, and the American public's views on this issue have shifted. So have mine. Life is too short to have the force of government stand in the way of two adults whose pursuit of happiness includes marriage."
Dent says he came to this position in part through conversations with his family. He also stresses that the government must "be mindful of the balance between protecting religious liberty and the pursuit of marriage equality."
He says he would oppose compelling religious institutions to perform wedding ceremonies that conflict with their teachings.
"As a Republican, I value equality, personal freedom and a more limited role for government in our lives," the congressman says. "I believe this philosophy should apply to the issue of marriage as well."
Supporters of same-sex marriage were quick to embrace Dent's statement today. Freedom to Marry, an organization with a mission of ending discrimination of same-sex couples, congratulated Dent in a news release.
The Washington Post reports that Dent is only the sixth congressional Republican who has publicly backed marriage equality.
Dent is running unopposed for re-election this fall.
Prosecutors said the duo used a GPS unit to drive to addresses of houses up for sale in the Lehigh Valley as well as Bucks and Carbon counties.
A pair of Lehigh Valley residents accused of 77 burglaries at homes for sale in Bucks, Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties have reached a plea deal with prosecutors.
Patrick Quinn and Kelly Cunningham each pleaded guilty or no contest to 77 counts of burglary and a single count of conspiracy, said Lehigh County Deputy District Attorney Craig Scheetz.
The duo will be sentenced at a later date, but under the deal Scheetz said Quinn's minimum sentence will be capped at 15 years and Cunningham's will be capped at 12 years.
Police said the duo targeted houses for sale, searching a real estate website for addresses and then using a satellite navigation device for driving directions to homes. Quinn, of Lower Saucon Township, and Cunningham, of Hellertown, also targeted residences with posted "for sale" signs that they happened to drive past, authorities say.
Scheetz said the pair pleaded guilty to burglaries of addresses found on a GPS unit -- about 59 -- and then pleaded no contest to the remaining burglaries.
The 28-year-old Quinn and the 23-year-old Cunningham each remain in prison in lieu of $250,000 bail each.
Prosecutors said between Nov. 23, 2013, and May 24, 2013, the duo sold copper pipes, fittings and valves; brass fittings and valves; and tools stolen from the homes to scrapyards in Lehigh and Northampton counties. Scheetz said his office is still working to tally restitution but the damage was estimated to cost $205,000.
Prosecutors said most of the burglaries occurred in the Lehigh Valley, but there was one burglary in Carbon County and four in Bucks County.
A scrapyard owner in May told a Pennsylvania State Police trooper that Quinn and Cunningham routinely brought him copper to be sold for scrap, authorities say. The owner provided the trooper with a description of Cunningham's vehicle as well as her license plate number.
Police searched Cunningham's vehicle and seized a GPS unit, pieces of copper piping, cutting tools, pry tools and duffel bags, authorities say. Inside one of the duffel bags was a salvage yard receipt.
Police also searched the bedroom of a Lower Nazareth apartment where Quinn previously lived and seized a cellphone, shoes and two notebooks with addresses listed inside from Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties, authorities say.
The Northampton County break-ins were in Bethlehem; the townships of Bethlehem, Hanover, Lehigh, Lower Nazareth, Palmer and Upper Nazareth; and the boroughs of Bath, Nazareth, North Catasauqua, Northampton, Pen Argyl, Walnutport, Wilson and Wind Gap, authorities say.
The Lehigh County break-ins were in Bethlehem; the townships of Lower Macungie, Lower Milford, North Whitehall, South Whitehall, Upper Macungie, Upper Saucon, Washington and Whitehall and the boroughs of Coplay and Emmaus, authorities say.
Business in Allentown, Bethlehem, Freemansburg, Macungie and Hanover Township, Lehigh County, were cited.
Pennsylvania State Police with the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement recently cited a slew of bars and restaurants throughout the Lehigh Valley.
The violations will be brought before an administrative law judge, who could fine the businesses $50 to $1,000 for minor offenses and up to $5,000 for serious offenses, state police say in a news release. The judge may also suspend or revoke a liquor license or require training.
The locations and the citations recently issued, according to state police, are in:
Allentown
Pitchers Sports Bar, 570 Union Blvd.: Didn't adhere to a prior agreement of restrictions on its liquor license and "engaged in unlawful discrimination" by charging male customers to come in but letting women in for free.
Trophy Lounge, 625 Brookdale St.: Failed to notify board within 15 days of changing its manager.
The Stonewall Club and Stonewall Moose Lounge Bar & Grille, 28-30 N. 10th St.: Discounted the price of drinks between midnight and 2 a.m. and gave out more than one free drink per customer.
Bethlehem
Beef Baron, 2366 Catasauqua Road: Sales to a minor.
Molly's Irish Grille and Sports Pub, 4 E. Fourth St.: Played music or used a loudspeaker that could be heard beyond the property line, discounted drinks for happy hour for more than 14 hours in a business week and more than four hours in a day.
MS Depot LLC, 61 W. Lehigh St., which is the address of the Wooden Match: Failed to have manager complete proper alcohol training within the allotted time.
Easton
Mothers Bar & Grille, 3 Lehns Court: Sold or gave alcohol to a 19-year-old.
Mike's Fayette Bar, 11 N. Fourth St., which is the address of the Hotel Lafayette: Failed to post signs about the Clean Air Act and allowed smoking where it wasn't permitted.
The Brick House Tavern, 1428 Butler St.: Failed to adhere to an agreement previously entered into with the board.
Freemansburg
Willow Grove Hotel, 655 Main St.: Smoked or allowed smoking where it wasn't allowed, failed to post signs about the Clean Air Act and "premises was not a bona fide hotel in that there are insufficient bedrooms available for the use of guests."
Hanover Township, Lehigh County
First Class Concessions at Lehigh Valley International Airport, 3311 Airport Road: Failed to notify the board about a new manager within 15 days.
Macungie
The Pub on Main, 102-108 E. Main St.: Failed to notify the board about a new manager within 15 days.
The state announced the violations in press releases today.
Damian Gasdaska, of Phillipsburg, worked with Randall MacMahon, of Easton, and John Cordero, of Breiningsville, to make fake IDs to obtain car loans and apply for credit cards, records and a news release say.
A Phillipsburg man allegedly helped make fake IDs to obtain thousands of dollars worth of bogus car loans, to apply for credit cards and to rent cars, according to a news release and court documents.
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced that 37-year-old Damian Gasdaska worked with Randall MacMahon, of Easton, and John Cordero, of Upper Macungie Township, to steal the identities of people with good credit and create fake driver's licenses, Social Security cards, insurance cards, employment records, bills and invoices to obtain loans and services in their names.
The news release doesn't outline businesses exploited in the scheme. But online court records for Cordero indicate he and Gasdaska stole a person's identity using fake IDs and documents to lease a 2011 Buick Lacrosse on July 5, 2011, from Star Buick GMC in Lower Nazareth Township.
The documents say Cordero and Gasdaska employed a similar scam to get a $32,668 car loan from National Penn Bank to buy a 2012 Acura from Lehigh Valley Acura on June 26, 2012.
Court records indicate MacMahon and Cordero employed the scam to buy a 2009 Infiniti for $27,795 from Thrifty Car Sales in Coopersburg on Nov. 29, 2012.
Authorities charged Gasdaska with conspiracy, aggravated identity theft, six counts of wire fraud and seven counts of bank fraud, according to the news release. He faces a maximum possible sentence of 335 years in prison and a $9 million fine.
Online court records indicate Cordero pleaded guilty to single counts of conspiracy and bank fraud and will be sentenced Aug. 25 in federal court. He is free on $100,000 bail, online records say.
There are no online court records for Gasdaska and MacMahon.
According to the news release, Gasdaska used post office boxes in the name of the false identities to receive mail for various purposes, such as in connection with credit card applications, and used computers at public libraries to further the conspiracy.
There are no listed phone numbers for Gasdaska, MacMahon or Cordero. None of the men could be reached for comment.
