Saturday, March 30, 2013
Violent crime dropped in city in 2012, the same year as a 'historic' number of homicides.
This news should make residents of Palmer and Forks Townships feel better. Despite a "historic" number of homicides last year, Easton was a safer place in 2012, Mayor Sal Panto said Wednesday. Panto addressed the city's record six killings in his annual state of the city address, saying that crime actually dropped in Easton last year. Violent crimes went down 14 percent, the mayor said, with overall crime declining by 16 percent. Of the six killings last year, police have identified suspects in four cases. One of those four—the death of Matthew Kelly—was ruled self-defense last week by a Northampton County grand jury. Panto used much of the addresses to review signficant city accomplishments of 2012: The mayor also praised the city's …
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Easton Area School Board expected to make selection of new schools superintendent next month.
The Easton Area School Board has narrowed its search for a new school superintendent down to two candidates. Robert Culp, assistant executive director of the Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit 21, and Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District Superintendent of Schools Michael Schilder are the two finalists to lead the Easton Area School District, the Express-Times reports. Meanwhile, school board member Pat Vulcano Jr. tells The Morning Call that Easton Mayor Sal Panto applied for the job but didn't make the cut because he didn't submit a required letter of eligibility from the state. Vulcano said the mayor was more or less forced to apply because many residents encouraged him to do so. Last year, when he was rumored to be a Northampton …
Friday, December 14, 2012
Easton mayor says he has no plans to leave city to try to run Northampton County.
Easton Mayor Sal Panto has no plans to run for Northampton County executive next year, according to published reports. Panto said that while he's been mentioned as a possible candidate to take over for executive John Stoffa, he has no interest in trying for the job, the Morning Call reports. "I don't want anybody thinking I dropped out because someone else is in the race," Panto told the newspaper. "I was never in the race formally myself. Other people had me in there." The story lists Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan and former county executive Glenn Reibman as Democratic front-runners in the race. Stoffa is not seeking re-election. Panto said the only job he'd consider taking outside the city is superintendent of the Easton Area School …
Monday, September 10, 2012
17th Congressional District Democratic Candidate Matt Cartwright paddled down the Delaware River to Easton to stump for his campaign and the environment.
On a picture-perfect day made for a canoe ride down the Delaware River and glad-handing at campaign stops, Matt Cartwright, the Democratic candidate for Congress in the newly redrawn 17th District, managed to do both. On Sunday, Cartwright ended a three-day, 30-mile canoe trip down the pristine waters of the Delaware with supporters and members of the Sierra Club at a picnic thrown for him in Scott Park in Easton. There to greet him was Mayor Sal Panto. "Coming to Easton is a huge part of the campaign," said Cartwright, a progressive who unseated 10-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Tim Holden in the Democratic primary in April. Cartwright, a Scranton attorney, said he intended to get know his constituents in the Easton area and work closely with…
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
A cost analysis reveals that Palmer Township might have to contribute $94,000 to a regional skate park.
A year ago, Palmer Township Supervisors were behind a regional skate park, even going as far as passing a resolution supporting one. These days, not so much. On Monday night, the Board of Supervisors discussed a cost analysis for such a park that originally was to be shared by Palmer, Easton, Forks Township and Wilson Borough. Some light was shed on the project that made supervisors cringe: The regional park would cost close to $250,000 and Forks was no longer part of the deal. That would make Palmer's contribution about $94,000 without Forks. Even if Forks Township -- which is funding its own skate park -- was on board, Palmer's contribution was considered $74,000, still much higher than anticipated. "We were first talking about $20,000…
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Nii Guate Asuasa of Ghana's Ga kingdom will visit Easton in late June, Mayor Sal Panto said.
In the 1990s, Easton Mayor Sal Panto met a kid named John Quartey. Quartey was a student at Easton Area High School, and lived in Palmer Township, next door to Panto's brother Joe. He played soccer and tennis, Panto remembered. He went to football and baseball games with the mayor's brother. Oh, and Quartey, a native of the western African nation of Ghana, told everyone he was a prince back home. Fast forward two decades. Quartey -- now known as "Nii Guate Asuasa Ekasee Ako II -- has become king of the Ga kingdom in Ghana. Later this month, he'll visit the United States, making Easton his homebase during a tour that will include a variety of east coast stops, not far from his Palmer Township childhood. "He could go anywhere. But he's …
Thursday, February 23, 2012
In the state of the city address, Mayor Sal Panto said continued economic development is his administration's highest priority.
Furthering local economic development, especially attracting new residents and job-creating businesses that will help grow Easton's tax base, is at the top of the city's to-do list, said Mayor Sal Panto, presenting the annual state of the city address to city council Wednesday evening. "Economic development – the retention of jobs, the creation of jobs and expansion of the tax base must be the highest priority of the City. We must be a best place to do business," Panto said. Panto kept the tone of the address positive and noted the number of improvements, completed projects and ongoing initiatives that have taken place during his administration, saying that "clean and safe," a platform he campaigned on four and a half years ago, is still …
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Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Sal Panto easily fends off challenge from Mike Krill to win another term as Easton's mayor.
Easton voters have once again chosen Sal Panto to be their mayor. Panto, a Democrat who served two terms as mayor in the 1980s before returning to office in 2007, easily won re-election Tuesday, defeating challenger Mike Krill with nearly 80 percent percent of the vote. With 100 percent of the city precincts reporting, Krill had 656 votes to Panto's 2,521, according to unofficial county results. Speaking at campaign headquarters in downtown Easton, Panto said that perhaps the hardest battle of this election was the low turnout in the city. "We knew we had the votes," he told supporters. "We didn't have the voters." In the end, only about 2,900 people voted, the mayor said. By 11 p.m., with all the numbers in, the total figure was actually …
Monday, November 7, 2011
Voters in Easton will decide tomorrow whether to re-elect Mayor Sal Panto or choose challenger Mike Krill.
You have a choice to make tomorrow, Easton voters. Well, actually, there's a few different choices you'll have to make in the voting booth. Here's what's on the ballot tomorrow: Mayor's Race The city's big race this time out is for mayor, with incumbent Sal Panto going up against challenger Mike Krill. Krill, a Republican and city firefighter, has campaigned on the idea that Panto -- and previous mayors -- have focused too much attention on Easton's Downtown and not enough on its other neighborhoods. "It's simply summed up in two words—residents first. Not tourists, not Lafayette College, but residents,” Krill said in a debate with Panto last month. "They've put up with a lot, and it's time to put them first...Leadership needs to seek out …
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Sunday, October 30, 2011
City has lost 1,000 trees due to heavy snowfall.
Easton Mayor Sal Panto is calling Saturday's rare October snowfall "the worst storm most people can remember." "More than 1,000 trees are no longer in our tree inventory," he said in a statement issued Sunday. Panto is encouraging residents without power to stay with friends or family until electricity is restored. "We are in contact with Met-Ed because the more serious problem is loss of power," Panto said. "Frankly, I have been out last night and most of today and have not seen one Met-Ed crew. I just spoke to the director and more manpower is coming in from out of the area including Cleveland. So far our conversation with the county indicates that they will not be opening a shelter." Met-Ed reports close to 9,000 out of power in Easton …
Rasterone
1:54 pm on Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Those bloggers who think EASB needs to find or create a $170,000 a year role for existing superintendent need to go read the exact words of her contract --that is NOT what it says! (Its on line) She is entitled to every $ in the contract--not one $ more and not one $ less. Absolutely no good reason for her to settle of one dollar less , if such is her choice. more ›