Ditch Old Drugs Saturday at Westgate Mall, Giant Stores

Police will collect unwanted and outdated prescription medications as part of National Take Back Day on Saturday.

The sixth National Take Back Day drug collection will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at locations across the Lehigh Valley including: Local Giant food stores are participating including Bethlehem-area stores on: You can dispose of capsules, pills, including pet medications, and liquids. Syringes or Sharps will not be accepted. Residents who dispose of medications will remain anonymous, as has been the case in the last five collections, and no questions will be asked. The amount of unwanted and expired drugs collected during the past Take Back Day events has been staggering.  During the last five collection events in 2010, 2011 and 2012, a total of 3,269 pounds of drugs were collected in Lehigh County alone. The event helps keep …

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What Goes Here?

What Goes in the Old Art & Drafting Connection?

In recent months, Westgate Mall store was home to Lehigh Valley Republican Victory Center. A week after the election, it is once again vacant.

  Back in May, we wrote about the vacant storefront at the once popular Art & Drafting Connection in the Westgate Mall that had been vacant for a couple of years. Not long after that, a temporary purpose was found for the space: The Lehigh Valley Republican Victory Center became a hub for volunteers to meet, pick up signs and make telephone calls on behalf of GOP candidates. On the day before Election Day, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and actor Jon Voight came to the center to thank and fire up volunteers to keep pushing for Mitt Romney to win Pennsylvania. A week later, barely a trace of the pre-election activity remains. The large storefront is once again vacant. For years, it was the home of the Art & Drafting Connection, a well-…

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Presidential Election

Rudy Giuliani and Jon Voight Will Campaign for Romney in Bethlehem Today

A last-minute campaign sweep across eastern Pennsylvania by two high-profile GOP members will include a stop in Bethlehem Monday afternoon.

  Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Academy Award-winning actor Jon Voight will campaign for Gov. Mitt Romney in Pennsylvania on Monday, including a stop at the Lehigh Valley Victory Office in Westgate Mall, Schoenersville Road in Bethlehem. The GOP surrogates are scheduled to be there at 4:15 p.m. following a campaign appearance in Conshohocken at 2:30 p.m. Monday. The event is free and open to the public. Giuliani and Voigt will be joined by former U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman and former Maryland Gov. Bob Ehrlich.  Gov. Mitt Romney campaigned in Bucks County Sunday and former President Bill Clinton is in Philadelphia today.

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Crime News

Alleged Westgate Mall Ecstasy Dealer Busted

State police informant met alleged Allentown dealer at Westgate Mall twice to buy Ecstasy. The second time, suspect led troopers on a high-speed chase through West Bethlehem.

  An Allentown man is accused of selling Ecstasy pills to a confidential Pennsylvania State Police informant at the Westgate Mall and then fleeing from a subsequent bust and leading police on a high-speed car chase through West Bethlehem, according to court records. Anthony Felix Santiago, 19, of 627 N. 16th St., allegedly made his first sale to the police informant at the Westgate Mall on July 3, selling five MDMA “Molly” pills for $75. “Molly” and “Ecstasy” are two of the slang names for MDMA, a drug that can produce a state of euphoria, a sense of intimacy with others and reduce anxiety. It is commonly associated with dance parties known as “raves” and electronic dance music. The pills are also illegal and can produce some negative …

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What Goes Here?

What Goes in the Art & Drafting Connection?

Popular mom & pop store in the Westgate Mall has been out of business for several years, but its storefront is still vacant.

  The Art & Drafting Connection was for years a popular mom & pop store in the Westgate Mall that offered stationery, office supplies, greeting cards, children’s learning books and custom framing. We didn’t even mention the store’s impressive selection of artists’ supplies including pencils, paints, brushes and pads. Several years back, the store went out of business, leaving a lingering hole in the hearts of its loyal customers and its mall storefront, still vacant after all this time. What goes here, Bethlehem? Tell us in the comment section below. It’s clear that this mall has seen better days, but it still enjoys a good amount of traffic – particularly for during its farmers market on Wednesdays. And there has been recent investment, …

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Daryl Nerl

11:21 pm on Thursday, May 31, 2012

That's a great suggestion, Kelly. Thanks.   more ›

What Goes Here?

What Should Go in the Vacant Pad at Westgate Mall?

Dempsey's closed at least 5 years ago, but nothing has come along to take its place.

  Does anyone remember Dempsey’s American Kitchen? For years, it stood on its own pad at the southwest corner of the Westgate Mall, where Schoenersville Road meets Catasauqua Road, serving up diner-style meals and homemade baked desserts. The chocolate-peanut butter cake was quite good. It has been at least five years, and perhaps closer to 10, since this West Bethlehem restaurant closed its doors for good. With its windows boarded up, the mall occasionally allows visitors – antique car associations or new car dealers, for example – to use the parking lot around the pad for displays. But nothing has come along to take Dempsey’s place, which is surprising when you consider the location. It sits along one of the city’s busiest streets at a …

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