Monday, Nov. 2, 2026

Correction: Nobody’s perfect. Our Oct. 29 edition gave the wrong date for the state Environmental Hearing Board hearing on Rep. Tarah Probst and Lisa Wayland's appeal of the I-80 permits. The hearing is Tuesday, Nov. 17, and Wednesday, Nov. 18, at 9 a.m. in Harrisburg, according to the board's hearing schedule, not Monday, Nov. 16.

Tomorrow is Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and anyone in line at 8 p.m. gets to vote. Here is the fine print that trips people up, all from the Monroe County Elections Office's own pages.

Mail ballot still on the counter? It has to be in the county's hands by 8 p.m. Tuesday. Postmarks no longer count, and you cannot drop a voted ballot at your polling place. Only the voter may hand-deliver a ballot. The one exception is a voter with a disability who has designated an agent in writing.

Drop box warning. Only three of the county's seven drop boxes list Election Day hours: the Administration Building and Pocono Mountain Public Library, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Clymer Library, which closes at 7:30 p.m., a half hour short of the deadline. The county shows no Election Day hours for the other four, so do not count on them being open until 8 p.m. The safe plays are the Administration Building or the Pocono Mountain library, or call the Elections Office at 570-517-3165 to confirm. Every box and its hours are in our full guide.

Got a mail ballot but want to vote in person? Bring the ballot and its declaration envelope to your polling place, tell the poll worker you are surrendering them, sign the form and vote as usual. If you cannot find the ballot, you can vote a provisional ballot, which is counted once the county verifies it.

First time voting at a polling place? Bring ID. A PA driver's license, passport, military ID or student ID counts, and so does a utility bill, bank statement or paycheck showing your name and address, according to the county.

Not sure where to vote? The county's polling place locator searches by your street address, not your town. It is not obvious. For me, I’m closer to the Moose Lodge, but I vote at the Municipal Building on Fifth. My sister-in-law lives a block from the Municipal Building but votes at the Moose Lodge. Don’t depend on logic…look it up.

Full guide. Candidates in every race, key dates, how to vote, every drop box and its hours, and links to your sample ballot and the mail ballot tracker are at localunfiltered.com/monroe/election.

Parents: The Stroudsburg Area School District calendar lists Tuesday, Nov. 3, as an Act 80 Day, with no school for students. The calendar is the only notice we found, so check with the district before planning around it.

Election night. Results will post at agencies2.monroecountypa.gov/ElectionResults. We have not seen the county say when to expect them, so do not hold us to a time.

Last Thursday we told you the overnight lane restrictions on I-80 in Stroud Township run from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., weekdays only, but PennDOT had not said which nights. District 5 press officer Sean Brown has now answered: Monday night through Friday morning. He told us Friday (Oct. 30) the work should last about two more weeks, subject to change. He also said the 511PA notice that stretches the restrictions to Exit 305 describes the same work.

Our Oct. 29 edition said westbound traffic in East Stroudsburg would move to the rebuilt westbound lanes that day. Brown says the new ramps have opened, but that lane shift is now planned for Wednesday night, Nov. 4, with a westbound lane restriction until 5 a.m. PennDOT has not given us the exact start time. He said other restrictions on the project are sporadic, with notices sent out as needed, and that PennDOT has no work planned on Chipperfield Drive.

Regular in East Stroudsburg averages $4.34 a gallon, down about 3 cents from $4.37 a week ago, according to AAA. It is down 9 cents from a month ago ($4.43), but up $1.21 from a year ago ($3.13).

East Stroudsburg University beat No. 3 Kutztown 32-25 in overtime on Saturday (Oct. 31), according to ESU Athletics. It was Kutztown's first loss in 39 regular season games, ending the longest active streak in college football, according to Kutztown athletics. Ty Quintois kicked six field goals for the Warriors, who are ranked No. 24 in the American Football Coaches Association poll and play next on Saturday, Nov. 7, at noon at Millersville.

Pleasant Valley beat Stroudsburg in a shootout in Week 10 and took home the EPC Monroe title, according to the Pocono Record.

Garlic Restaurant + Bar reopens today (Monday, Nov. 2) at 4 p.m. at 27 Washington St. in East Stroudsburg, in the space Bib's Ribs just vacated. Bib's thanked customers and said it sold out of inventory before closing. We’ve posted the menu…my favorites are still on there so I am happy.

The Monroe County Sheriff's Office says it led Sunday's (Nov. 1) Veterans Day Parade in Stroudsburg. Thank you to all who served for defending our great country!

State Public Utility Commission judges hold a prehearing conference Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 10 a.m. on the state Consumer Advocate's complaint against PPL Electric Utilities. Gov. Josh Shapiro is among those asking to join the case. The judges will also look at whether to combine it with PPL's own requests to change its transmission and generation supply charges, which must be decided by June 14, 2027. That matters to every PPL customer here. We have not read the complaint itself; the docket is C-2026-3065756.

The Monroe County Commissioners hold a public workshop today (Monday, Nov. 2) at 10 a.m. in Room 201 of the Administrative Center.

Stroudsburg Borough Council meets tonight at 7 p.m. at 700 Sarah St. Council is asked to approve the 2027 Stroud Area Regional Police budget as presented. Last week we told you the department wants a 12 percent bigger budget and the three towns that fund it would pay 16 percent more, on a draft of about $13.1 million. Most of that jump comes from a one-time $350,000 carryover shrinking to $50,000. Council is also asked to set the 2028 cost split at Stroud Township 46 percent, East Stroudsburg 31 percent and Stroudsburg 23 percent, unless all three towns agree otherwise. The agenda does not say what each town pays now, so nobody reading it can tell whether Stroudsburg's share is going up or down. Somebody should ask before the vote.

Five more boards meet, including Pocono Township commissioners at 6 p.m. Stroudsburg's agenda also includes advertising a Nov. 17 hearing on a home-sale inspection ordinance and the Christmas tree lighting set for Friday, Nov. 27. Times, agendas and video links for every meeting this week are at localunfiltered.com/monroe/meetings.

Highlights only. The full list of local government meetings, with agendas and video links, is at localunfiltered.com/monroe/meetings.

Election Day. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (see above). The PPL prehearing is at 10 a.m. (see the Rundown). East Stroudsburg Borough Council is on the calendar, with a floodplain ordinance hearing, but the borough had not posted an agenda when we checked, so look at eaststroudsburgboro.org before you head out.

County Commissioners meet at 9:30 a.m. at One Quaker Plaza, Room 201. The Pocono Mountain School District board meets at 6 p.m. at the administration building in Swiftwater, with up to $458,867 in building repairs on the agenda, most of it for East High School ($291,140 for breezeway windows and $110,455 for the front area and main entrance doors). Some of the items are still under legal review and could be pulled from the package. PennDOT plans the westbound lane shift at I-80 Exit 308 that night (see the Rundown).

Coolbaugh Township supervisors hold a budget session at 6:30 p.m. at 5520 Municipal Dr., Tobyhanna. Rain is likely.

ESU plays at Millersville at noon. Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm in Stroudsburg hosts its Friends Holiday Workshop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (price not listed; register online or call 570-992-6161). The Pocono Lions Club holds a free Wreaths for Veterans ceremony at 11 a.m. at Pocono Lake Cemetery in Pocono Pines.

The East Stroudsburg Stand Down for veterans in need is at 9:30 a.m. at Dansbury Park. It is free, according to an event listing.

Stroudsburg's proposed home-sale inspection ordinance would get a public hearing Tuesday, Nov. 17, if council votes tonight to advertise it. That is also the first day of the Environmental Hearing Board hearing on the I-80 permits (see the correction above).

St. Luke's Hospital donated a tourniquet and holder for every officer in the Stroud Area Regional Police Department, the department said in an Oct. 29 post. St. Luke's also gave $5,000 toward emergency medical equipment and supplies for all patrol officers and SWAT team members. It will not make much of a dent in a $13.1 million budget, but nobody in the three towns is going to argue about this one.

Have a great week, Monroe County.