Dorney Park Nightly Fireworks Plan Fizzles Three times a summer, a South Whitehall woman knows she will have to sedate her dog, her windows will shake, her dishes will rattle and parking will be impossible in her neighborhood, but she and her family will get to see a spectacular nighttime show when nearby Dorney Park shoots its fireworks display. But when she read on Dorney's website that it planned to have nightly fireworks for eight weeks this summer, she was stunned. So far, the township won't allow it, but Dorney plans to appeal. Neighbors are concerned about noise. Primary: Local …

House Painter Stole Picasso Drawing, Police Say Prosecutors in New York said an Easton man stole $100,000 worth of artwork—including a piece by Picasso—from an estate he had been hired to paint. The man is charged with grand larceny, money laundering and identity theft in two different New York counties, and faces up to 26 years in prison, according to a news release from the Kings County, N.Y., district attorney's office. Principal Addresses Alleged Teacher Sex Assault The principal of the Nazareth Area Middle School has sent out a letter to parents in the wake of charges against a drama …

Police Seek Victims of Alleged Child Molester A South Bethlehem man charged with sexually assaulting a 4-year-old child in a backyard might have other victims, the Bethlehem Police Department said Tuesday. The department, in a blog post, put out a call for parents of victims to step forward “so that the proper services can be made available to you and your child.” Emmaus Woman Headed Prostitution Ring, Police Say A 21-year-old Emmaus woman is among 11 women arrested in a prostitution sting at an Allentown strip club, according to a press release issued Thursday by the state Bureau of Liquor …

'Slime' Wanted for Fatal Shooting Outside Strip Club, Authorities Say Bethlehem detectives say a man known as "Slime" gunned down Tyree Wimberly on Club Avenue in January. On Wednesday, District Attorney Jim Martin announced that an arrest warrant has been obtained for Ulysses Rodriguez, a 20-year-old whose last known address was 937 Walnut St., Allentown. Monkey on the Rail Trail? Hellertown police investigated a report of a monkey sighting on the Saucon Rail Trail, but came up empty following a search, according to a Morning Call report. Jimmy Carter Draws 3,000 to Lafayette College Former …

Boston Marathon Blasts: Close Call for Some Local Runners Runners from across the Lehigh Valley competed in the Boston Marathon, scene of deadly explosions Monday.  'What If I Had Slowed Down?' Local Boston Marathon Runner Asks 'I Thought It Was Thunder,' Local Runner Says of Boston Marathon Blasts Local Runners Amy Gleason and Allison Zimmerman had just crossed the finished line. Centre Square service in Easton brings together local churches and synagogues to pray for marathon attack victims. Cicadas are Coming to Lehigh Valley Soon we'll be sharing our parks, roadways and gardens with Brood…

2 Charged with Torturing, Killing Woman and Dumping Body Two Berks County brothers are charged with kidnapping, torturing and killing 26-year-old Jennifer Velez-Negron, whose burned body was found dumped in Salisbury Township two days after Christmas. The brothers also are charged with killing an Easton grad and another man in Reading on Dec 4. Velez-Negron's torture was recorded on a cellphone, according to court records. Woman Beaten, Dragged to Basement Dies, DA Says A 55-year-old Lowhill Township man was charged Thursday with the beating death of his wife in their home, according to the …

30-Year-Old Horse Rescued From Ditch The Schnecksville Fire Department and Lehigh Valley County Animal Rescue Team helped save a horse that fell through a fence into a drainage ditch. Sinkholes Shut Palmer Road A portion of Northwood Avenue in Palmer Township will be closed for several days due to sinkholes, PennDOT announced Thursday afternoon. Missing Man's Body Pulled from Pond A body pulled from one of the Grist Mill Park ponds in Hellertown was that of Steven P. Lockard, who went missing March 28, police and the Northampton County Coroner's Office confirmed Wednesday afternoon. Mom …

Urinal Video Games Installed at Coca-Cola Park Coca-Cola Park will be the first sports venue to feature a new "Urinal Gaming System,” allowing fans to interact with the world's only truly hands-free urinal game controller, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs announced Tuesday. Dying Dog Left Outside Pet Shop Bracha was found in a box, malnourished and dying, in front a pet store in a strip mall outside of Easton. $299K Grant to Train Students in LV Manufacturing Jobs Gov. Tom Corbett cames to Lehigh Career & Technical Institute in North Whitehall with money to train students for high-tech …

Fire Rips Through Building, Kills 4 A ferocious fire killed four people—a mother and her son and boyfriend, and another woman—as it consumed an Emmaus duplex at 36-38 S. Fifth St. on Sunday. The cause was not suspicious, police said. Home Invasion: 2 Residents Held at Gunpoint Police are searching for three men who broke into a Northampton County home early Wednesday, held the residents at gunpoint and robbed them. Man, 83, Kills Wife, Self at Lehigh Valley Hospice An elderly man shot and killed his wife, a hospice patient, at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Allentown then killed himself Tuesday, …

Freshman Charged in High School Bomb Hoax, Police Say An Emmaus High School ninth-grader was charged with making terroristic threats—a third-degree felony—for a Dec. 20, 2012 bomb hoax at the school, according to Emmaus Police. Charges will be referred to Lehigh County Juvenile Court. The high school has been the target of three bomb hoaxes in the last three months. Investigation into the other incidents continues, police say. Road Rage on I-78: Shot Fired at Woman's Car Pennsylvania State Police at Belfast are looking for eyewitnesses to a road rage incident in which a gun was fired into a …

Couple Steals 2 Cop Cars, Leads Wild Chase, Police Say Two stolen police cars plus two high-speed chases in two cities in two states add up to a mountain of charges filed against Shayna Sykes and Blake Bills, a Macungie couple who allegedly went on a drug-fueled joy ride through Camden and Philadelphia on Tuesday. Camden Police Chief Scott Thomson called Sykes and Bills the “junkie version of Bonnie and Clyde.”  Manhunt for Driver in Fatal Brooklyn Crash Ends in Bethlehem A three-day manhunt for the alleged driver in a hit-and-run crash in Brooklyn that killed a young pregnant woman and her …

One of Pa.'s Most Wanted Caught After 18 Years on Run After nearly two decades on the run, Francisco Miranda was taken into custody in connection with the death of Jorge Valazquez, who was stabbed in the heart in a parking lot in Bethlehem in 1994, according to Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli. Miranda was the chief suspect in the death, but had vanished, spending 18 years on Pennsylvania's Most Wanted list. Police said he had been living in the Dominican Republic. Deadly Flu Season Claims Nursing Student, 31, of Schnecksville A 31-year-old Lehigh Carbon Community College …

Oops, U.S. Luge Team Sleds Fall Off Truck Pennsylvania state police at the Bethlehem barracks were trying to locate sleds used by the U.S. Luge Team after the equipment fell off a truck and was picked up by someone on Feb. 15. The team, based in Lake Placid, N.Y., was training on a Lehigh Valley ski slope last week and was on the way back to a hotel. The rear door of a truck carrying their sleds was not securely fastened and fell open. On Friday state police reported the luges were recovered. Troopers Honored at White House for Saving Kidnapped Boy Two Pennsylvania state troopers were honored…

'Serial Rapist' May Have Other Victims, DA Says A Bethlehem man who allegedly blamed his sex addiction for the rape of two teens he met on Facebook may have other victims, Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli said Wednesday. He said police interviews with 20-year-old David Martinez suggest he met and sexually assaulted other girls. "We do consider him a person of danger and a serial rapist," Morganelli said. Martinez is in Northampton County Prison on $100,000 bail. Pit Bull Mauls Two People and Dog, Police Say Salisbury Township police shot and killed a stray pit bull Monday …