The Nazareth Area School District Board of Directors recently passed the final 2026–27 general budget resolution, which includes a tax hike for homeowners.

The plan to spend $121 million includes a tax increase of 4.1%, which brings taxes up to the highest level set by Act 1. This means that property owners will have to pay 2.46 mill more. The budget for $121 million is 3.22 percent more than the budget for 2025–26.

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The board could have raised taxes by 4%, which was on the plan for the evening, but they chose the higher rate.

There is a 1% real estate tax with a.5% district share, a.7% district share of earned income, and a 62.40 mills school tax on the dollar rate in the budget.

Board members say that part of the reason for the tax increase was contractual responsibilities.

The Board President said that she knew any tax increase would be unpopular, especially with the economy the way it is now, when she talked about why she voted for the tax increase.

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With the extra money, though, the district wouldn't have to carry over a loss.

The district's budget for 2025–26 included a 2.95 percent tax hike for homeowners.

Nothing Bundt Cakes has opened a new bakery in Easton, bringing the national specialty cake chain to another Lehigh Valley community.

The Easton bakery is one of three Nothing Bundt Cakes locations in or near the Lehigh Valley, joining the company’s Lehigh/Allentown and Quakertown shops.

The bakery, at 3788 Nazareth Road, soft-opened in late May and is now serving customers,  The location offers pickup, delivery and fundraising services, according to the company’s website.

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Nothing Bundt Cakes sells Bundt cakes in several sizes, including Bundtinis by the dozen, individual Bundtlets and 8- and 10-inch cakes. A menu posted inside the Easton shop listed individual Bundtlets starting at $6.29, Bundtinis by the dozen starting at $30.99 and larger cakes starting at $32.39.

The Easton shop’s menu includes classic flavors such as chocolate chocolate chip, red velvet, white chocolate raspberry, confetti, lemon, carrot, classic vanilla, strawberries and cream, and Oreo cookies and cream, along with gluten-free chocolate chip cookie and gluten-free lemon raspberry options.

A Nothing Bundt Cakes menu board lists flavors, cake sizes and prices inside the Easton bakery.

A menu board inside the new Nothing Bundt Cakes bakery in Easton lists cake flavors, sizes and starting prices.

The storefront also includes what the company calls a “Bundtique,” which sells party and special-occasion items. The shop carries cards, candles, balloons, plates, birthday supplies, and cake gift wrap.

The bakery’s posted hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Pickup hours match the weekday and Saturday bakery hours, with Sunday pickup listed from noon to 5 p.m., according to the company’s Easton page.

The opening comes as Nothing Bundt Cakes rolls out seasonal summer flavors nationwide. The Easton shop’s posted limited-time flavors included S’mores Made With Hershey’s and Banana Prepared With Nutella, and Schwartz said the bakery expects to add peach cobbler for the summer.

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Nothing Bundt Cakes was founded in Las Vegas in 1997 by Dena Tripp and Debbie Shwetz, according to the company’s official history. The Dallas-based company says it has grown to more than 600 locations and describes itself as the No. 1 specialty cake company in the U.S.

With a 4.1% property tax hike, the East Penn School District Board of Directors approved a proposed budget.

The planned nearly $213.6 million budget for 2026–27 is still balanced. However, the district will be under long-term financial pressure as costs continue to rise faster than revenue.

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The budget proposes a tax rate of 22.735 mills and keeps the property tax rebate scheme going for people who qualify. Estimates from the district show that a rise to that level would add about $194 to the yearly property tax bill of the average home in the district, which is currently worth $216,367.

The budget that was given to become balanced in part by cutting the district's contribution to the capital reserve by $1.5 million. There would be a structural deficit and ongoing economic problems even if the budget was balanced. Early talks about the budget showed that there would be a shortfall of about $2.14 million for the 2026–27 school year.

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Officials found $622,000 in cuts that could be made, but they weren't included in Monday's spending plan. The amount was made up of $150,000 in departmental cuts and $222,000 in lost support staff.

At their April 14 meeting, the Allen Township Board of Supervisors agreed to give a restaurant liquor license to the future Wawa store at the corner of Route 329 and Savage Road. The choice was made after a short meeting where KrugerHenry (formerly Flaherty & O'Hara PC) lawyer Ellen Freeman explained how the license would be used.

Wawa has no strikes for selling alcohol to minors or people who are already drunk in any of its 44 Pennsylvania shops that have a license to do so, which has a lot to do with safety rules and regulations. All Wawa employees have to go through training and follow a strategy of being carded 100% of the time.

As needed by the license, the convenience store will have enough seating for 30 people. That being said, the laywer thinks that most of the beer sales will be to-go. People can buy two six-packs at once or drink one 12-ounce beer while they're there. People can't drink beer in the parking lot or outside of the store's sitting area. The registers can be seen from every spot.

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Because the license lets them, Wawa will only sell beer when it first opens, even though they can sell wine and canned drinks. Sales will only be possible from 7 a.m. to 2 a.m., Monday through Saturday, and from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m., Sunday.

Wawa has to keep up its status as the best supermarket in the area. The business can't let "nuisances" hurt its image. No one from the public who was at the hearing asked any questions or voiced any worries. There were three managers at the time: Jason Frack, Gary Behler, and Tim Paul. All three agreed to give the liquor license.

The next meeting of the Allen Township Board of Supervisors will be on April 28 at 6 p.m. in the Allen Township Municipal Building at 50 Snow Hill Road.

A Northampton County restaurant that has been open for a long time is bringing back a wide range of starters, sandwiches, main courses, and more.

Leaf Restaurant & Cigar Bar will have its grand reopening with a new food menu on Sunday, April 26, at 90 Mort Drive in Forks Township. Leaf offers a premium range of cigars, craft beverages, and freshly prepared food. Leaf is connected to and located in the same building as Famous Smoke Shop. It has a classy cigar room and a more than 2,000-square-foot humidor that holds tens of thousands of fine cigars.

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Leaf's big reopening will be a return to form for the restaurant in the Easton area. Leaf had its own in-house kitchen staff until 2020, making a huge range of lunch and dinner dishes.

Leaf is back and better than ever with a full kitchen staff and a lot of different lunch and dinner meals. As starters, Leaf's kitchen staff, led by Executive Chef Corina Werkheiser, will serve fried calamari, jalapeno bacon deviled eggs, a mini charcuterie board, and a giant pretzel with beer cheese and horseradish mustard. There will also be crab cake sliders, a sweet bourbon chicken sandwich, the Leaf burger (100% angus beef patty, house sauce, choice of cheese, lettuce, tomato, and onion), and the Leaf cheesesteak (shaved ribeye, fried onions and peppers, Cooper or provolone cheese, with house spicy marinara available for free).

Guests can also order main courses, which come with a choice of side. These include pan-seared miso salmon with honey garlic green beans and miso brown butter glaze, smothered bone-in pork chop with mushroom gravy and creamy garlic mashed potatoes, and a 10-ounce ribeye basted in garlic and herbs that is grilled to order and served with horseradish whipped crema and truffle parmesan fries. A shrimp skewer is available for an extra charge.

On the menu, you can also get salads like standard wedge and Caesar, wings by the dozen (with celery and carrots and your choice of ranch or blue cheese sauce), and sides like risotto, roasted broccoli, and vegetable du jour.

There are many options to choose from and it's coming soon! Don't miss out on its opening April 26!! 

Bethlehem Plans Southside Community Center approved plans for $15 million southside of community center!

The South Side Community Center will be planned with help from the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley and the River Crossing YMCA. The center will be built on Mechanic Street, which is between Webster and Taylor streets, next to the Bethlehem Greenway.

The city is putting $1 million toward the project, which is expected to cost $15 million.

This project is going to be an extension of their work with community schools into the neighborhood. Their goal is to help people in the communities grow in spirit, mind, and body through our membership services and programs.

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Mayor Reynolds believes this Southside Community Center will help people feel more connected in an isolated world. The center will have a basketball court and flex room that everyone can use.

Matt Vymazal, who owns the Flying V, which will be only a few blocks away, believes it will be great addition to the community!

The United Way's website has a way for people to donate to the project. They hope people remember that the community helped plan and see this work through, and it's an great honor to see that idea come to life!

The mayor going to keep the public updated on the project schedule. 

The State Theatre Center for the Arts has been putting on shows with stars for 100 years, from Pets on Parade to the Beach Boys to the Freddies!!

The first comedy and movie theater building almost went out of business, but in the 1980s, people fought to keep it from being torn down. The building was brought back to life by Craig Thatcher, turning it into a performance routine. 

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When the Easton State Theatre Center first come on the scene, it was only a couple of places around, but now there more than 50 in the Valley. It's getting competitive and the State Theatre is a non-profit, so it's all about who you know! 

The Easton State Theatre Center realize the main question is "What do we have to do to get the people here" and they been doing the same thing every night for 100 years to answer this question! 

In the Lehigh Valley, a fast-casual restaurant business is booming!!

A new site of QDOBA Mexican Eats, a fast-casual Mexican restaurant business with roughly 840 outlets in 45 states as well as in Canada, Puerto Rico, Japan and South Korea, is coming soon to 6216 Hamilton Blvd. in Lower Macungie Township, Lehigh County.

The new QDOBA cafe will occupy a soon-to-be refurbished facility that was once home the Lehigh Valley’s first drive-thru Wawa shop, which closed in January 2025. The Lower Macungie QDOBA site will be run by The Integritty Group, a restaurant management and development company led by founders Jiger Patel, Pranav Desai and Raj Mahadevia.

An official opening date has not yet been established, but the Hamilton Boulevard restaurant is likely to open in the second or third quarter of this year. The prior Wawa facility only served drive-thru customers, and the Lower Macungie property will shortly undergo renovations that involve reworking the architecture to allow for indoor dining area.

Derek Zerfass, senior vice president of Colliers’ Allentown office, facilitated the lease and is enthusiastic for the new QDOBA restaurant to debut at the site – located along a popular stretch of Hamilton Boulevard – later this year. The restaurant property is flanked by other famous businesses, including the Lehigh Valley’s first Raising Cane’s and Movie Tavern location.

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QDOBA produces freshly-made, Mexican-inspired food “crafted with current tastes that visitors crave." The food start with great ingredients and meticulous preparation, taking pride in cooking meals in our kitchens each day. Whether it’s slicing crisp produce, flame-grilling steak and poultry, or producing hand-crafted guacamole, they don’t take shortcuts.

QDOBA menu highlights include burritos, bowls, quesadillas, nachos, tacos and salads. With over 30 elements, you can "build your own masterpiece" or select a trademark creation. Proteins like brisket birria, grilled steak, grilled adobo chicken, Cholula hot and sweet chicken, seasoned ground beef, and slow-braised pulled pork are among the options; rice and beans include cilantro lime rice, brown rice, black beans, and pinto beans; salsa and sauces include freshly made pico de gallo, roasted tomato salsa, chile corn salsa, citrus lime vinaigrette, salsa verde, Mexican street corn, pickled lettuce, sour cream, cilantro, and crispy tortilla strips. Additionally, a range of chips and dips are available, including queso diablo, three-cheese queso, and hand-made guacamole.

In Denver, Colorado, QDOBA was first established in 1995 as Zuma Fresh Mexican Grill. In 1997, the brand was renamed Z-TECA; in 1999, it became QDOBA Mexican Grill; and in 2015, it became QDOBA Mexican Eats.

In 2011, the company opened its 600th store;

In 2012, it opened its first overseas location in Canada;

In 2016, it relocated its headquarters from Denver to San Diego;

In 2021, it introduced 100% recyclable, strawless lids and compostable bowls;

In 2022, it opened its first location in Puerto Rico.

The company's respect the communities they proudly serve by conducting fundraisers in over 700 local QDOBA restaurants." Additionally, they honor first responders by providing frontline employees with QDOBA cuisine. Also has collaborations with Toonies for Tummies in Canada and No Kid Hungry in the US have helped fight childhood food insecurity by generating money and feeding over 5 million kids.

In addition to sites of other restaurant brands like Checkers, The Greene Turtle, and Dave's Hot Chicken, the Integritty Group runs over 40 QDOBA outlets in five states. Additionally, the Integritty Group has two QDOBA locations in the Lehigh Valley: one on MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township, which opened in 2012, and another on Schoenersville Road in Bethlehem, which opened in 2024.

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Recently, the Upper Macungie Township Board of Supervisors passed two laws that will move a big project forward.

For the planned manufacturing campus of the drug company Eli Lilly, the township set up a Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Act (LERTA) district. The Fogelsville Corporate Center, which is near Adams Road and Interstate 78, will be the site of the biggest economic development plan ever made for the Lehigh Valley. Jaindl Land Development owns the farmland that hasn't been built on yet.

LERTA lets taxing bodies in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania create "revitalization zones" in troubled or underused areas so that new building or improvements can get tax breaks in the form of lower local property taxes. As time goes on, taxes are gradually raised on only the greater value of the improvements. This usually happens over 10 years, with the tax break decreasing over that time. In the first year, the tax break would cover 100% of the eligible assessment. Each year after that, the tax break would drop by 10%.

The developer must meet certain requirements set by the town in order to be eligible for the tax breaks. The developer sends the county assessor's office an annual report on the property's improvement value so that it can be used in figuring out the property's value and tax rate. People who live in LERTA districts still have to pay full taxes on their land; the tax break only applies to the increase in value caused by changes.

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The three groups that collect property taxes—Parkland School District, Lehigh County, and Upper Macungie Township—must all agree with the LERTA in order for it to be used for their taxes. Officials from the township backed the LERTA, saying that putting it into effect would be good for Upper Macungie in the long run. 

The pharmaceutical giant Lilly and Gov. Josh Shapiro in January plans for their campus in Lehigh Valley include 925,000 square feet of manufacturing room spread out over several buildings. They said that 850 jobs would be made possible by the project over the next five years.

The company was drawn to the area in part because the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development offered to give them $100 million in government grants.

Through the PA Edge Tax Credit Program, the DCED promised up to $50 million in tax credits. They also promised a $25 million grant through the Pennsylvania Strategic Investments to Enhance Sites Program and a $25 million Pennsylvania First grant.

The state has also promised to give up to $5 million to Lehigh Carbon Community College through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program to help build a workforce development training program that will help the company find new employees in the Lehigh Valley.

Lilly is also getting help from the PA Permit Fast Track Program. Shapiro started this program in November 2024 to make it easier to get permits for important infrastructure and economic development projects. Parts of Main Street and Haaf Road were cleared out by the legislature's second law for the Lilly project recently.

Site Selection Magazine states that the Lehigh Valley is the best place to live!

The Lehigh Valley has been named the best mid-sized market in the US for economic growth by a well-known trade magazine. Lehigh Valley has always been one of the best places in the U.S. for economic growth, but now we can shout, "We're number one!" The ranking is great because it makes the Lehigh Valley known across the country, but what really counts are the jobs and business opportunities that are being created here for the people who live here!

The Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) made a big deal out of the new number. The Governor's Cup awards from Site Selection honor the U.S. states and metro areas that have the most new and expanded business development projects.

There are 49 projects in the Lehigh Valley were chosen for the ranking in 2025. These included B. Braun's $20 million manufacturing expansion in Hanover Township, which created 200 new jobs; Filter King's opening of a new facility in Bethlehem Township, which created up to 120 jobs; and Bosch Rexroth's breaking ground on a $20 million logistics hub in Bethlehem.

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Projects must be at least 20,000 square feet, bring in at least $1 million, or create at least 20 new jobs in order to be included in the ranking. For the past ten years, the Lehigh Valley has been in the top ten of mid-sized markets, which are places with between 200,000 and 1 million people. The Lehigh Valley came in third in 2024.

The Lehigh Valley beat Metro Des Moines-West Des Moines, Iowa, which was ranked second, and Wichita, Kansas, which was ranked third. Site Selection pointed out that the Lehigh Valley is a leader in the logistics market and is also becoming more important in the life sciences, in part because Eli Lilly is building a $3.5 billion center in Upper Macungie Township.

The project, with the code name ‘Project Kennedy,'” only gets one point on the Top Metros scorecard, but it shows that the Lehigh Valley has a lot of strong life sciences companies, such as Thermo Fisher Scientific, B. Braun, and Ilico Genetics. All together, the Lehigh Valley is home to more than 170 life sciences companies that employ more than 6,000 people.