Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026

PennDOT is showing its plans for the I-80 Section 26M reconstruction project from 5 to 7 p.m. tonight (Tuesday, Oct. 20) in Pocono Hall at Northampton Community College’s Pocono Campus in Tannersville, with a virtual display online, according to the Times News. The project covers about five miles in Hamilton, Pocono and Stroud townships and includes Interchange 302 (Bartonsville) at Route 33. Construction is currently planned to begin in 2030, and public comments are open through Friday, Nov. 13. We already know exactly how bad our lives will be during reconstruction: the cones, the merges and the Route 33 crawl. The plans display is where you find out what we get for it, which in I-80 history is usually a shiny new road with the same traffic on it. The date, time and place come from the Times News alone. PennDOT’s I-80 Bartonsville project page confirms a plans display is planned but did not show those details when we checked, so confirm before you head out.

Two councils are set to weigh the 2027 Stroud Area Regional Police budget tonight. East Stroudsburg’s regular meeting is at 6 p.m. (on Webex and the borough’s Facebook page), where Chief Jennifer Lyon is set to present it and council is set to vote on approval. Its budget workshop follows Monday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. Stroudsburg (7 p.m.) is set to discuss the draft, along with a sign ordinance vote, a $149,044.13 change order on the Ann Street garage repairs and a $6,000 texting alert service. Neither agenda prints a budget total, so we do not know the number yet. Coolbaugh Township supervisors also meet at 6 p.m. at 5520 Municipal Drive. According to minutes in their packet, they voted 4-0-1 on Oct. 6 to authorize a loan to the Pocono Mountain Public Library and 4-0-1 to apply for a state grant for the Main Street Safety and Revitalization Project in Tobyhanna, though those minutes look like a draft until supervisors approve them tonight. The rest of the week’s meetings are on our meetings page at localunfiltered.com.

Pocono Township commissioners voted Monday (Oct. 19) to give the developer of Cranberry Creek, a proposed 150-apartment project with a 6,000-square-foot restaurant, a one-year extension, over at least one no vote, based on a recording of the meeting. The no vote came from a commissioner worried about traffic and about the community impact study that was waived when the project was first approved. Commissioners also approved an ordinance setting a 35 mph speed limit on Cherry Lane Church Road, based on a traffic study. And they voted, again over at least one no vote, to cut the annual license fee for what the township calls transient dwelling units, better known as short-term rentals, from $2,500 to $1,500. The township solicitor said short-term rental groups have threatened to challenge the higher fee, and that a license fee can only recover the township’s costs, not raise revenue. The dissenting commissioner argued the lower fee does not cover the police and legal costs rentals impose on taxpayers.

Vincent A. Merlino, 34, of Blue Bell, was arrested Monday (Oct. 19) after a reported burglary at a Tannersville home around 10:50 a.m., according to the Pocono Township Police report posted on CrimeWatch. Police say the homeowner found the house in disarray and suspected the intruder was still inside. Officers deployed a drone to survey the property, then announced themselves at the front door, and Merlino answered, indicating he was inside. Hide-and-seek is a lot harder when you answer the person who is seeking. Merlino is charged with burglary, a second-degree felony, and five additional charges, including criminal trespass and criminal mischief. He was arraigned, bail was set at $75,000, and he is held at the Monroe County Correctional Facility. He is presumed innocent.

That’s a wrap on today’s Daily Buzz. Share it with a neighbor, and we’ll see you tomorrow.