Christmas Eve Beating Victim Dies

Police, coroner, DA investigating fight between two men on Northampton Street in Easton.

A man who was beaten unconscious in downtown Easton on Christmas Eve has died of his injuries, city police said. Andres Ruiz-Avelizapa never regained consciousness and died Monday afternoon, according to police Lt. Matthew Gerould.  Ruiz-Avelizapa had been hospitalized since the early morning hours of Dec. 24, when he was allegedly assaulted by Antonio Ortiz on the 400 block of Northampton Street.  Ortiz, 33, of 462 Northampton St., had been charged with aggravated assault and recklessly endangering another person.  Police are working with the Northampton County District Attorney and Coroner to determine what the next step is. "We're still investigating, and part of that is autopsy," Gerould said.  If prosecutors decide to file homicide …

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The Magic of a Merry Christmas

It's hard not to get caught up in the spirit of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve and Day.

We used to watch for him. As children, we'd look out our windows up into the northern sky on Christmas Eve and seek out Santa Claus and his sleigh. Back in those days, the 1970s, there were no Santa trackers on the Internet. (There was also no Internet and smart phones or much technology.) We did things the old-fashioned way back then, putting out a plate of cookies and milk for Saint Nick, listening to old records as Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, Johnny Mathis and the Carpenters filled our hearts and minds with holiday cheer. Hopefully, by that point of the season, we may have already sat on Santa's lap and offered our wish list or received a letter from him from the North Pole. Going to parties on Christmas Eve held by family and friends was…

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