in an apparent warning to the graduates about losing life’s momentum “too many of our young people have really been taught to think of themselves as victims we reject that idea that anyone is born a victim Our heroes are the ones who take charge of their own destiny make their own luck and determine their own fate “Let me tell you a little story about a great real estate developer named William Levitt Some of you might live in one,” Trump began No basements Here's why Levittown doesn't have basements, but does have bomb shelters and lots of lawns Levitt was president of Levitt and Sons Inc. the biggest housebuilder in America in the mid-20th century built and sold low-cost houses to eager post-World War II buyers There were more Levittowns around the world Levitt sold his company to ITT for $92 million The endeavor flopped and he died heavily in debt in 1994 Regrets, they have a few As Trump finishes his first 100 days, we asked Levittown: How's the president doing? It was such an amazing story because he was so rich … But he lost his momentum Trump met Levitt at a swank party in New York “It was a party of a powerful man in a magnificent apartment overlooking the park I walked in and there were 50 or so people … all the biggest business people in the world And I went over and talked to him and I said “If he would have kept going instead of selling and relaxing … he probably would have been three times bigger than he was The president concluded: “You have to know when your momentum time is up Follow your momentum …You don't hear it from too many JD Mullane can be reached at jmullane@couriertimes.com Thursday: A man wanted on a warrant by the Bucks County Sheriff’s Office was arrested Thursday morning following a standoff that lasted several hours in the Levittown section of Bristol Township The Bucks County Sheriff’s Office identified the man as John Chambers who was wanted for failing to appear in court on assault and related charges Deputies were conducting surveillance on the unit block of Wildflower Road Chambers became confrontational and threatened to retrieve a firearm deputies secured the location and requested assistance from the Bucks County South Emergency Response Team a tactical unit that includes officers from Bristol Township Tactical officers called for Chambers to come out and negotiators from the SWAT team established communication with him Chambers surrendered peacefully just before 11 a.m. No injuries were reported during the standoff Mill Creek Elementary School and Benjamin Franklin Middle School were placed on a security hold as a precaution The hold was lifted once Chambers was taken into custody Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran praised the professionalism of the responding deputies and officers “Keeping our community safe by serving arrest warrants for those wanted for crimes is our top priority and it is also one of the most inherently dangerous You never know the mindset of the individual you are attempting to apprehend or how they might react Our deputies face these risks daily to ensure that individuals who fail to appear in court or pose a threat to the community are brought to justice,” said Harran “I am grateful for the hard work and professionalism of my deputies and emergency personnel in bringing this standoff to a peaceful conclusion,” the sheriff said Chambers has been remanded to the Bucks County Correctional Facility The Bucks County Sheriff’s Office encouraged people with outstanding warrants to voluntarily turn themselves in to resolve their legal matters proactively. Those wishing to inquire about outstanding warrants or voluntarily surrender can contact the sheriff’s office warrant division at 215-348-6126 or SheriffWarrants@buckscounty.org Thursday: The standoff ended just before 11 a.m when the man was taken into custody.No injuries were reported Thursday: The incident on Wildflower Road in Bristol Township’s Levittown section appears to be a standoff Police from across Lower Bucks County are assisting and the Bucks County South Emergency Response Team was activated The Bristol Township School District placed Harry S the incident appears contained to the neighborhood nearby Original Story: Police blocked off a portion of a Levittown neighborhood Thursday morning as law enforcement from multiple agencies responded to an incident Bristol Township police and the Bucks County Sheriff’s Office were on the scene around 9:30 a.m The police activity was centered on a home off Wildflower Road in Bristol Township Wildflower Road was blocked near Green Lane Law enforcement sources indicated that officers from multiple agencies were called to assist Residents near the scene were advised to shelter in place Further details regarding the nature of the incident were not immediately available Report a correction via email | Editorial standards and policies You have successfully joined our email list This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Connecting talented and ambitious people in the world's greatest cities our mission is to be a top quality institution Join our more than 40,000 students studying in hundreds of programs on six continents all around the globe and scholars expect high achievement in pursuit of engaging the world's diverse challenges we draw spirit from our cities and their famous cultural institutions and professional opportunities Being at the forefront of their disciplines our faculty shape the understanding of an enormous range of academic fields The cost of housing became a top issue in last year’s presidential campaign—and, in fact, was the No. 1 concern for adults 18 to 27 years old with more than 90% saying housing affordability was important in their voting choice This was not surprising given rising housing costs Single-family home prices increased by nearly 6% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the same period a year earlier. This change was compounded by the post-pandemic surge in 30-year mortgage rates which stood at 6.6% at the end of 2024—up from 3.7% in December 2019 While the number of houses for sale reached a four-year high in November, “the US has failed to keep up with the housing demands of a continually increasing population,” Bankrate concluded in the fall adding that this was particularly felt among millennials “a huge demographic who are now at prime home-buying age.” But today’s circumstances pale in comparison to those in the mid-20th century—when housing in the US was so scarce that trolley cars and even ice boxes were advertised as homes which began to rise in 1943 and accelerated when servicemen and servicewomen returned to the states after World War II marking the start of the Baby Boom generation To address this growing need, real-estate developer William Levitt, a Navy veteran who attended NYU in the 1920s, began building massive housing developments, known as Levittowns, in the late 1940s—first on Long Island, which eventually grew to 17,000 homes Berenson notes that it “took couples an average of five minutes to select a homesite and not much longer to complete their paperwork and secure their loans,” adding that on a single day the development company founded by William’s father Their story is marked by racial segregation as well as criticisms that their construction both encouraged conformity and helped plant the seeds for today’s soaring housing prices “Levitt and a few other homebuilders and government officials had known for some time that too few private dwellings had been built during the Depression and World War II,” writes NYU historian Edward Berenson in his new book, Perfect Communities: Levitt, Levittown, and the Dream of White Suburbia (Yale University Press) “The massive Long Island housing project that made so many people happy also made Levitt the largest and most influential homebuilder in  the United States He became the face of America’s postwar housing boom and attracted the obsessive interest of national media outlets most of which were headquartered in New York City.” director of NYU’s Institute of French Studies about Levitt’s undeniable impact on American suburbs and how lessons from Levittowns could be instructive today The main issue actually was whether to build privately financed housing or public housing And so the Truman administration came up with a compromise which was that you would have a lot of government help that would go to private builders to put up housing that returning veterans needed It’s possible that some people nowadays would see this as socialistic but at the time it really was a compromise between a government-supported project and private enterprise there’s a really interesting quote from Bill Levitt’s father who said that they could have never built Levittown without all the government support they received And that support came mostly in the form of mortgage guarantees that would be issued to regular home buyers Basically what the government said to the banks that were loaning money to home buyers is “We’ve got your back”—if a home buyer defaults the government will step in and pay off the loan it lowered interest rates a lot because the banks had no risk They knew that the government was going to backstop them And so this was a major government intervention but that intervention went to support private builders and private home buyers—and not public building projects But there were Levittowns beyond the continental US as well Les Résidences du Chateau—how was it similar to American Levittowns and how did it reflect the culture and politics of its location The French came up with a radically different solution for the post-World War II dearth of homes The rate of homelessness in France was between 7% and 10% in 1945 because so many structures were destroyed during the war The French solution was to build the gigantic high rises that surround the cities Those high rises have a really terrible reputation now partly because the government has allowed those projects to deteriorate But they were originally built for middle-class people who needed homes people who got those apartments loved them because they were much better than any alternative But they weren’t very pleasant places to live and they were distant from the cities You were packed in like sardines in these buildings in which every apartment was more or less identical And so there was a huge demand for single-family homes France’s National Institute of Demographic Research started doing surveys in 1947 “What kind of place do you want to live in?” And the overwhelming majority—70% to 80 %—said they wanted to live in a single-family house surrounded by a yard And Levitt got that message—he understood that there would be a market for the kind of housing he was already building in the United States he went to Paris and dipped his toe into the real estate market He built a couple of apartment buildings in Paris He linked up with a mayor of this little town called Le Mesnil-St.-Denis controlled some land that had belonged to a chateau and arranged to sell that land to Levitt One of the many things that’s interesting is that the houses that Levitt built in that French project are nearly identical to the houses that he was building at the same time in Levittown The only difference is that on the outside they had some architectural accents that made them blend in with the look of that part of France So instead of the siding that Levitt put on his houses in the US and instead of the roofing tiles used in the US he put on the more traditional red clay roofing tiles they look a little different from American houses it’s the same house—what Levitt did really cleverly is he recycled his New Jersey house and clad it in an exterior that made it look sort of French which French home builders didn’t do at the time The French home builders that built single-family houses at that time would make a deal with an individual home buyer: They would build a house for them and they would just put it wherever they could find some land which is the same kind of thing he was doing in the US was he would build hundreds of houses in the same area and then create common amenities So he would put in swimming pools and he would build schools and recreation facilities And a lot of French people really liked that because what Levitt did is he created a ready-made community for them which were much smaller than the ones in the US really caught on and they’re still really popular I spent a lot of time there when I was researching the book and the people I talked to love living there Absolutely Levitt made segregation much worse—and it’s especially unfortunate because he was in a position actually to do something about segregation At a time of great demand for housing after World War II he priced his homes reasonably—the original Levitt home on Long Island sold for $6,999 that works out nowadays to somewhere around $120,000 White people were so desperate for homes that they would have been willing to live in the same community with Black people because they didn’t have any other alternative And you’ve got to keep in mind that at first Levitt only sold to veterans So not only was he excluding African American families but he was excluding African Americans who had fought for the United States in the Second World War Because he was the largest and most important home builder in the United States he created a permission structure for other home builders to do the same thing But Levittowns did eventually become integrated It went all the way up to the New Jersey Supreme Court which ruled that because Levitt was essentially taking money from the federal government in the form of these backstopped mortgage loans both New Jersey and federal law required that he sell to everybody And so the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that Levitt had to integrate the community Levitt then took the case to the US Supreme Court, which declined to consider it, leaving the lower-court ruling in place. Afterwards, he hired a man named Harold Lett who was a civil rights official from the state of New Jersey to come to Willingboro and to organize the integration of the community did just an amazing job preparing the White community that they would have African American neighbors Harold and Alene met with police officials they met with the mayor and city council members which played a major role in smoothing the way for the integration of the community the first major post-war American suburb that was originally built for White residents only actually had It’s a cautionary tale in a lot of ways and shows how very difficult it is to achieve real integration in this country The price of housing is felt around the US today Many link affordability to availability and advocate building more housing in response What can we learn from Levittowns that might be instructive today—either as a model or as a cautionary lesson One of the biggest ironies is that the housing problem that Levitt solved after World War II has played a major role in creating the housing problem we now face This is because Levitt surrounded all of his homes with a minimum of 6,000 square feet of yard and then zoned all those places for single-family homes only So what Levitt did was seriously limit the number of homes that you could build in any plot of land That’s a real problem because you can’t create very dense housing Levitt’s approach to building housing made sense after World War II because there was lots of available land outside of major American cities it was okay then—and people wanted a yard for their kids But it created a model that lots of other home builders imitated and now there’s no room to put up more housing Wednesday: Police are continuing their search for a man who robbed a Wells Fargo bank in Bristol Township’s Levittown section Wednesday morning at the bank located along New Falls Road near the intersection with Veterans Highway (Route 413) According to new information from Bristol Township police issued in the early afternoon the suspect’s appearance was heavily obscured wore a head-to-ankle garment and a medical or contractor’s mask Investigators have released still images of the subject The suspect passed a robbery note to a teller implying he had a weapon but never displaying one and the suspect fled the scene on foot into neighboring Middletown Township Officers from the Bristol Township and Middletown Township police departments responded to the area and began searching for the suspect They were assisted by Bucks County sheriff’s deputies and rangers Police said a search was conducted using officers on foot a responding Bristol Township officer was involved in a crash with an uninvolved driver in a Cadillac SUV but both vehicles had to be towed from the scene Investigators have asked anyone who recognizes the suspect or has information about the robbery to contact Detective Alex Asmann at 267-812-3037 or via email at aasmann82@bristolpd.org Original Story: Police are searching for a man who robbed a Wells Fargo Bank in the Levittown section of Bristol Township The robbery occurred at the bank located along New Falls Road near the intersection of Veterans Highway (Route 413) around 9 a.m Sean Cosgrove said investigators are still gathering details about the robbery and the suspect officers conducted a search around the bank and in neighborhoods and woods in Middletown Township They were assisted by a K-9 unit and a drone police were still actively searching for the suspect with officers from Bristol Township and Middletown Township posted in the area a Bristol Township officer responding to the scene was involved in a crash with a Cadillac SUV at the intersection of New Falls Road and Veterans Highway Both vehicles sustained damage and had to be towed Cosgrove said the officer and the driver of the SUV did not suffer serious injuries in the crash Bristol Township detectives were at the bank investigating In addition to Bristol Township and Middletown Township police the Bucks County Sheriff’s Office and Bucks County Rangers were assisting at the scene You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information By Olivia Carville and Margi MurphyIllustrations by Ibrahim Rayintakath Word travels swiftly as one young woman tells the next: “You’re on the website.” Dozens of recent high-school graduates are finding out that their photos have been scraped from their social media accounts And can the women get the images taken down Told there isn’t much the police or anyone else can do they get some help from a global band of investigators and hackers who could take risks that police and prosecutors sometimes couldn't Social media platforms are harming a generation of kids Margi MurphyPodcast Editors and Production: Julia Nutter and Dara Look-PottsStory Editors: Neda Toloui-Semnani Caitlin KenneyExecutive Producers: Kate Osborn Tyler Klang and Nikki EttoreSenior Executive Editor: Kristin PowersOriginal Score and Mixing: Steve BoneArt Direction: Albert Hicks IV Jaclyn KesslerOriginal Art: Ibrahim RayintakathAdditional support by: Henry Ajder As U.S. President Donald Trump crosses the first 100 days of his second term what does Levittown think of the job he’s doing Throughout nearly three-quarters of a century, the iconic post-World War II suburb of Levittown has been dominated by blue collar middle-class Democratic Party voters in Lower Bucks County It could be considered a bellwether of the average American voter Last November, Levittown and its 41 sections supported Trump, the Republican who defeated Democrat Kamala Harris in Levittown by 1.3 percentage points according to Bucks County election data analyzed by this news organization That’s nearly the same margin that Trump won both Bucks County and Pennsylvania most Levittowners who voted for Trump said they will give the president time to set things right so good,” said Brian Wilcos of the Blue Ridge section of Levittown who had just picked up his two young daughters from school 2024 Levittown voters Bucks County may decide the White House. We look at these swing voters in Levittown Trumpy Levittown Bucks County may decide the White House. We look at these swing voters in Levittown To longtime observers of Lower Bucks County politics it’s hard to believe that Levittown would go for Trump the plurality of Levittown’s voters remain Democrats The four municipalities are controlled by Democrats We crunched the numbers on the last three presidential elections to see how Levittowners voted Levittown, with a population of 51,000, has been trending Trump since 2016. It was noticed when an unusual number of pro-Trump lawn signs sprouted in Levittown’s solidly Democratic neighborhoods probably the bluest of the community’s deep blue precincts Approximately 31,295 registered voters live in Levittown and all but about 556 of them registered to vote in time for the presidential election Expensive Levittown house sale, market shattering records — and frustrating would-be buyers They are Trump’s key demographic: working people and families with incomes of less than $100,000 who have a high school education or “some college," who are unapologetically patriotic and who appreciate an American president who is But it’s not as if Levittowners have suddenly turned Republican Democrats outnumber Republican voters by about 8.6 points in Levittown Nearly 17% of voters belong to another party or are unaffiliated A greater number of Democrats also voted in the last election than did Republicans Roughly 11,933 Democrats voted compared to 9,817 Republicans roughly 78% of each major party's voters eligible to vote last year Approximately 3,603 third party or unaffiliated voters also showed up to the polls In our analysis of Levittown’s 41 sections only three are reliably Republican: Juniper Hill Fitzpatrick at 100 days: How Rep. Fitzpatrick fared in Trump's first 100 days. Did the Republican toe party line? But just 12 Levittown neighborhoods remain reliably Democrat — Plumbridge Crabtree Hollow and Goldenridge in Bristol Township Maybe most concerning for "team blue" in Bucks County is that another 14 sections which had gone for Hillary Clinton 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020 Most of them are in the Democratic stronghold of Bristol Township Add to that eight more sections that split the presidential vote between Trump and Harris: Thornridge and North Park in Falls Cobalt Ridge and Forsythia Gate in Middletown If there’s an award for political prescience it belongs to the voters of Pinewood in Falls Blue Ridge in Bristol Township and Snowball Gate in Middletown Those sections have been Trumpy since 2020 Job approval in Pa. What do Donald Trump's approval ratings in PA, national polls say about the U.S. president? In doorstep interviews with Levittowners in ’16 the two top issues were the economy and illegal immigration But don’t roll across our border and then demand things from us.'”   and how it triggered the markets,” said Jaime Shipp among 14 Levittown sections which Trump flipped and won in ‘24 Shipp was a Democrat and voted for Biden/Harris in 2020 before registering Republican last year Opinion on Trump at 100 days: 77 million Americans voted for Trump. After 100 days, few of them regret it. | Opinion “I wasn’t happy with how Trump handled the pandemic "But the change we got with Biden was worse than Trump “I’ll take a little bit of hit,” she said of her retirement investments trying to fix them is gonna be give and take Shipp’s next-door neighbor and a disabled Air Force veteran with a “We the People” tattoo on his right arm I didn’t sell one single stock," Long said a Harris supporter likes TrumpFavor Tuopay who lives along Harvest Road on the Kamala Harris side of Highland Park “I thought America should try a different flavor,” said Tuopay a home health aide and an immigrant from Liberia he said Trump has impressed him in his first 100 days “I believe in him because he is a man of his word That’s the first quality in a great leader the inflation rate might increase or decrease Birch Valley in Falls flipped to Trump Not long ago Jim Simpson would have been a classic Levittown Democrat owns a Levittowner and works as a self-employed electrician he and his neighbors flipped their blue Birch Valley section to Republican red “but when (Trump) said he wasn’t going to tax Social Security or overtime Simpson wondered if slapping tariffs on allies around the world will drive up prices eventually hurting people in Levittown and places like it Simpson said he’s willing to give the president some leeway “What did Biden do in his first 100 days?”  who would only speak through a Ring doorbell camera “I did not vote for (Trump)," the neighbor said Lovin' Ltown Levittown among best places to move to in Pa., according to ConsumerAffairs. Here's why. While Tullytown remains heavily Democratic a devoted and lifelong Democrat who lives in the Lakeside section She is at a loss to explain why her neighbors would vote for Trump Miller worried that the Trump tariffs will make food too expensive America wasn’t doing too badly when Biden was removed (from the presidential race) My stock market investments and everything And I just don’t trust (Trump) to do what’s right.”  “I’ve always believed in voting for who I consider is the best person for the job,” he said “I see things differently than most people who don’t like Trump," Polaski said And the reason why is because if he succeeds you should not want your president to fail to prove some political point Chris Ullery can be reached at cullery@couriertimes.com If you assumed no one cared to preserve Levittown’s past The lifelong Levittowner, now 76 years old, has thousands of rare artifacts documenting the construction and early years of the mid-20th century suburban city “I have photographs of the Levittown Parkway before it was Levittown Parkway,” said Marable seated at the dining room table of his Country Clubber in Snowball Gate From 2022: Time to remember: For Levittown's 70th anniversary, museum offers rare glimpse into town's storied past He has diner menus and pool tags and black-marbled asbestos floor tiles He has jars of unopened Plextone yellow speckle paint which were sprayed on walls throughout Levittown’s 17 blueprints and keys engraved “Levittown” — the keys handed to those first-generation newlyweds after making settlement he kept it in a private museum in a Levittown house He sold the property and carted the collection to his house where it sits in foot lockers and boxes throughout the second floor He’s looking for help finding a permanent location for a public display “I want it to be for the Levittown community “I’m hoping to have it settled by (Levittown’s) 75th anniversary,” he said If you have ideas of buying his collection to sell it piecemeal online “I’m looking for a person who understand the importance of this stuff who will help me find a permanent location that can be visited by the Levittown community,” he said "I have pieces of my collection in Harrisburg Maybe put it all in a back room and shut the door.” He said his collection traces early meetings that brothers Bill and Alfred Levitt had with their father, Abraham, founder of Levitt and Sons Inc. The Levitts’ newspaper advertisements weren’t subtle: “Levittown The most perfectly planned community in America!” “They considered Bucks County their golden community from a planning perspective,” Marable said His parents were among those young marrieds They bought a Levittowner-style house in Willowood He started the collection by accident in 2006 “I found original photographs taken by the Levitts on one of their first visits to Bucks County,” he said including what he believes is Bill Levitt’s ornate pen and pencil desk set indexes of the original Levittowners who purchased $5 membership to the LPRA pools and a tape reel of upbeat Muzak that played at the exhibit center (“Easter Parade” was among the selections) Patrick’s Day spirit will fill New Falls Road this Saturday as the Bucks County St and will kick off at Conwell-Egan Catholic High School in Bristol Township Participants will proceed along New Falls Road ending at the Levittown American Baseball Fields in Falls Township across from the Thornridge Shopping Center emergency responders and a general atmosphere of celebration The parade’s theme is “One Community – One Ireland.” The parade was cancelled at the last-minute last year due to a triple-fatal shooting that rocked the community has become a popular local tradition drawing attendees from across Bucks County will be held at the Ancient Order of Hibernians at 614 Corson Street in Bristol Borough For more information on the parade, visit the official Bucks County St. Patrick’s Day Parade website SEPTA on Thursday proposed slashing 45 percent of its services Major impacts are expected in Bucks County and across the region which would begin in August and a new phase would start in January 2026 include the complete elimination of the Trenton Regional Rail Line that stops in Bristol Borough Some bus lines would be eliminated under the proposal SEPTA’s plan would also eliminate four other Regional Rail Lines and 50 bus routes throughout the region like those for sporting events and concerts and subway and rail service would cease at 9 p.m The transit agency also proposed a 21.5 percent fare increase across all lines would make it among the nation’s most expensive public transit systems SEPTA is proposing the cuts that will impact its 753,937 daily passengers which serves Southeastern Pennsylvania and parts of New Jersey and Delaware increased operating costs and challenges related to crime and disorder as factors contributing to the budget deficit including a management pay freeze and reductions in consultant spending the agency still faces a projected $213 million shortfall for the fiscal year beginning July 1 The cuts have slashed the deficit from $240 million to $213 million in recent months While SEPTA has cut costs and seen ridership increase since COVID-19 lows the agency is suffering from the end of federal COVID-19 relief money and increased operating costs SEPTA has also had to grapple with the impact of inflation on everyday necessities such as fuel “This doesn’t have to happen,” said SEPTA Board Chair Kenneth Lawrence Jr Shapiro has proposed a funding plan that would ensure all transit agencies across Pennsylvania have the budget stability needed to serve their communities and other stakeholders make their voices heard in Harrisburg this spring.” Lawmakers in Harrisburg have been discussing new funding for SEPTA that would hold off cuts and service disruptions SEPTA Interim General Manager Scott Sauer pointed to the impact of the proposed cuts on daily commuters and the regional economy “We know how critical service is to our customers and the region and we have done everything possible to avoid the drastic measures that are proposed in this budget,” he said SEPTA officials noted that the transit agency is an economic driver for the region which contributes 38 percent of all of Pennsylvania’s tax revenues and 41 percent of all economic activity in the state The agency warned the cuts would worsen roadway congestion and negatively impact businesses including healthcare systems that rely on SEPTA for employee and patient transportation SEPTA also released its Capital Budget Proposal which includes deferring numerous projects due to funding constraints and inflation The move would delay accessibility improvements SEPTA will hold four public hearings about the Proposed Fiscal Year 2026 Operating Budget at SEPTA Headquarters in Philadelphia on May 19 at 11 a.m The Capital Budget hearings will be held on May 21 at 10 a.m In addition to commenting in-person, the public can submit comments by email at operatingbudget@septa.org and capbudget@septa.org voicemail by calling 215-580-7772 for Operating Budget and 215-580-7771 for Capital Budget The SEPTA Board is scheduled to vote on the budgets on June 26. More information is available at https://www.septa.org/budget A fire caused significant damage to a home in Falls Township’s Levittown section Saturday morning 1 and fire crews from mutual aid stations responded to the 60 block of Tapered Oak Lane around 9 a.m The fire extended through the attic and caused serious damage to the home The fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire The Levittown-Fairless Hills Rescue Squad was also on scene A fast-moving blaze left a man in the hospital and his house badly damaged Friday firefighters were called to the 70 block of Red Ridge Road in Middletown Township’s Levittown section for a report of a kitchen fire William Penn Fire Company Deputy Chief Bill Smith said he arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the second floor Arriving firefighters went into the burning home and began battling the flames and intense heat Smith said the fire spread into walls from the kitchen and into the second floor As firefighters were attacking the flames on the second floor Penndel Fire Company’s tower truck was put into service Crews cut a vent in the roof to allow flames and heat to escape as they made progress inside interior attack,” firefighters were able to put the blaze under control in 23 minutes The homeowner suffered burns and was taken by the Penndel-Middletown Emergency Squad to St a captain at the William Penn Fire Company “I don’t know how he found them said conditions were ripe for intense heat inside the home which left two firefighters with minor burns through their protective gear The Middletown Township Fire Marshal’s Office was investigating the cause of the blaze Smith commended the firefighters who battled the flames and the 9-1-1 dispatchers who worked with crews at the scene during the call In addition to the William Penn Fire Company the Bensalem Township Volunteer Fire Department Middletown Township Department of Fire and Emergency Services Bucks County residents will have numerous opportunities to safely dispose of unused or expired medications on Saturday as the county marks National Prescription Drug Take Back Day Spearheaded by the Bucks County Drug and Alcohol Commission in collaboration with local law enforcement and community coalitions the event will feature 48 collection sites operating countywide from 10 a.m the drop-off locations will accept prescription and over-the-counter drugs Thirty of the collection sites will also collect sharps a life-saving medication used to reverse opioid overdoses Below are the drop-off locations in the Levittown area:• Bristol Borough Hall, 250 Pond Street Bristol (Sharps collection included)• Bristol Township Municipal Complex Bristol (Sharps collection included)• Giant Food Store Langhorne (Sharps collection included)• Levittown Library Levittown (Sharps collection included)• Lower Bucks Hospital, 501 Bath Road Bristol (Sharps collection included)• Penndel Police Department • Pennsbury High School, 705 Hood Boulevard Fairless Hills (Sharps collection included)• Tullytown Police Department Tullytown (Sharps collection included)• Walmart Levittown (Sharps collection included)• William Penn Fire Company, 123 Main Street The commission emphasized the importance of safely handling medications by storing them correctly more than 221,000 pounds of unused or unwanted medications have been collected in Bucks County The commission highlighted data from the 2021 Pennsylvania Youth Survey which revealed that half of the county’s students who misused prescription drugs had obtained them from a family member at home For more information about National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, including a full list of drop-off locations, residents can visit bcdac.org or call 215-444-2700 Levittown was built as a community of starter homes for young marrieds seeking their American Dream a Levittown house sold for $720,000 — a price so steep that average Levittowners would not qualify for a mortgage a 1958 Country Clubber in the Forsythia Gate section of Middletown It's the highest price paid for a William Levitt-built house in the iconic suburb's 72-year history "It's a beautiful house, totally redone, with a ton of amenities," said realtor Robin Kemmerer who grew up in the famous post-World War II development known for sturdy low-priced houses and labeled by its builder as the "most perfectly planned community in America." while good for Levittowners building equity and wealth is likely bad for their children and grandchildren A couple seeking their first house here would need an annual income of approximately $120,000 to afford a typically priced Levitt-built house which today costs between $350,00 to $450,000 single-family houses are located in Bucks County Levittown factoids Levittown trivia: 12 things you might not know An average Levittown house in need of kitchen and bath updates now hits the market at between $350,000 and $450,000 Splitting the difference, a $400,000 house purchased with a 30-year fixed mortgage at 6.5% would require a 20% down payment of $90,000 The monthly payment would be approximately $3,000 a month Not many in Levittown. The median annual household income is $97,750, according to the U.S. Census Bureau That means the average Levittown homeowner could not qualify for a mortgage to buy into their own neighborhood About those Ltown basements Why Levittown houses have no basements, and is it really that odd Inflation and high mortgage interest rates aren't the only two items driving house prices A lack of new single-family homes has made the market tight Among the reasons so few affordably priced homes are built in Bucks County is that they would have to be constructed in a large numbers At the time that was less than half the price for a typical new house 2024's most expensive Bucks home sales: These Bucks County homes were the most expensive in 2024? What they sold for A 30-year mortgage for a 1953 Levitt Rancher was $59 a month a newlywed couple received 900 square feet of first-floor living space with an unfinished second floor pink or blue Tracy cabinets with matching General Electric appliances All of this was on about a quarter-acre of land landscaped with a variety of native plants Another local aggravating factor is the county's removal of thousands of acres from the market through its open space preservation program in the late 1990s and early 2000s It was pitched as a well-intentioned measure to keep out land developers with eyes on unprofitable family farms Critics at the time said the program benefitted more affluent communities in Central Bucks stabilizing population and school property taxes But it drove development to Lower Bucks and to Levittown some of Levittown's built-in open spaces — its neighborhood school properties — have been sold to housing developers Bucks Countians supported the open space program which preserved approximately 15,000 acres Voters approved tax hikes for the government land purchases in several referendums The market in Levittown shows no sign of easing A house she recently sold in North Park for $450,000 was snapped up after five days on the market (This story was updated to add new information.) Hempstead Turnpike is a main thoroughfare through the community and is home to shopping centers like Levittown Mews THE SCOOP Once a mass-produced American dream for World War II GIs Levittown has been shedding its cookie cutter and anti-diversity image while retaining the promise of affordability The suburban dream is still reflected in the hamlet's eight pools which developer Levitt & Sons built in 1951 as a community space that locals and groups book for free to hold concerts they vote in contests for the best-decorated houses for Halloween and year-end holidays The "Gazebo Gang," a group of veterans takes on projects to spiff up the community including installing a gazebo at Veterans Memorial Park built by locals and Division Avenue High School students "It's a comfortable community to live in," said Louise Cassano a Levittown Chamber of Commerce board member who was 7 when her family moved to a three-bedroom Cape in 1951 "Everybody gets along very well here." MacLaren Stadium is home to multiple sports fields Original Cape and ranch homes raised by the thousands from 1947 to 1951 are a sort of endangered species as families built add-ons or major expansions Levitt & Sons put covenants requiring the properties be sold only to whites minorities and more affluent house hunters have been moving in Buyers like the community due to its proximity to some of the county's top shopping areas and New York City a changing landscape that has made some residents uncomfortable But prices in general are still lower than those of surrounding communities perhaps reflecting Levittown's blue-collar said former Levittown resident Chris Costa a Coldwell Banker agent who has been working in the area for more than a decade "As home prices have skyrocketed and become out of reach for the more affluent professionals Levittown has taken on new value," Costa said "If you look around the communities of Levittown .. you'll find upscale neighborhoods with beautifully renovated and expanded homes there were 356 home sales with a median sale price of $650,000 there were 400 home sales with a median sale price of $587,500 Transit Nassau Inter-county Express Bus Route 70 Sources: 2022 American Community Survey; OneKey MLS via InfoSparks by ShowingTime; LIRR This $1.1 million Levittown home features a two-story-high entrance three-bath house has been modernized and supersized from its 1951 beginnings It features a two-story-high entrance with a chandelier and an open layout with a large kitchen and first-floor fireplace Sliding glass doors in the kitchen open to a stone patio and a one-car garage Caption: This $849,999 Levittown home contains six bedrooms inground sprinklers and an updated electrical system The roof was replaced in 2018 and there are leased solar panels This $569,000 Levittown home was built in 1948 this Cape reflects what a Levitt & Sons home was like when it was built in 1948 The fenced-in backyard features a landscape with trees and flowering plants The Newsday app makes it easier to access content without having to log in Unlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 6 months But don't expect to get through the five roads that converge in one of Lower Bucks County's busiest thoroughfares. The Bristol Township Police Department is expecting crowds and won't tolerate irate drivers caught off-guard by the celebration "In light of several national tragedies recently where vehicles have struck civilians during celebrations or events being held we are requesting the intersection remain clear," the department said in a press release Friday afternoon NFC expectations Eagles favored to beat Commanders; are Birds also the early favorite to win Super Bowl 59? "There will be a large officer presence and any person entering the intersection will be removed and face criminal penalties We understand this is an exciting time but we strive to keep everyone safe 24/7 and this is no different Please consider celebrating at a local establishment or your home," the police said Super Bowl LII Keeping an eye on the thousands of Eagles Super Bowl revelers in Levittown Five Points filled twice in 2018 after two Eagles wins 21 after defeating the Minnesota Vikings for the NFC win and after leaving Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and the Patriots defeated in Super Bowl LII public nudity (a woman flashed the crown from her boyfriend's shoulders) The police ended their alert Friday with a hopeful message: “GO BIRDS!” which has always been dominated by Democrats As the 2024 presidential contest entered its last weeks, hundreds of "Trump-Vance" signs sprouted on lawns like late-season corn stalks on a Bucks County farm The placards are often accompanied by Trump flags flying right below the stars and stripes from front yard poles Large Trump banners are affixed directly to homes and displayed on backyard fences along both the Levittown and Mill Creek parkways One house in deep-blue Tullytown has a life-sized cardboard cutout of Donald Trump they’re all over the place,” said Andrea Pendle whose lawn along Inkberry Road in the Indian Creek section has a single Kamala Harris sign displayed next to a small red wagon of fall pumpkins She was asked: You think Levittown’s going to Trump with 17,311 houses and 34,000 registered voters across Bristol has always been a lock for Democrats in presidential contests with registered Republicans 11 ticks lower at 36% Is this what explains the burst of Trump signs Are far fewer lawn signs for Vice President Kamala Harris an indication of a lack of enthusiasm Asking "How Trump-y is Levittown" may not be a trivial question considering the stakes of winning the Keystone State and polling that shows a neck-and-neck contest for the White House With Pennsylvania considered critical to determining who becomes the next president goes through the swing district of Bucks County That road begins in Lower Bucks in the middle-class blue-collar suburban heartland of Levittown non-college voters — a key demographic to Trump's bid for a second term we looked at how each of Levittown’s 36 voting precincts spread over 40 sections has voted in the last two presidential races Hillary Clinton took Levittown 51-45% against Trump according to numbers from the county Board of Elections Fries with that? Donald Trump visits Bucks County McDonald's, claims Harris 'lied' about college work Levittown has a sizable block of independent votersBut from Appletree Hill to Whitewood there's also a sizeable block of independents who have ditched both parties Almost 1 in 5 Levittown voters in the Trump era — 17% — either has no political affiliation or is registered with an off-brand party in Bucks County’s 1st Congressional district as well as the rest of the country And while the 2016 and 2020 numbers are comfortably blue for Levittown they don’t reflect the churning volatility not only among Levittown’s indie voters In doorstep interviews conducted last week with about 30 Levittowners the independent streak defies even party affiliation with Democrats telling us they will vote for Trump Republicans telling us it’s Harris for them and still others undecided and John Campbell’s independent vote will matter more than any vote of the party faithful a self-employed carpenter who lives along Tall Pine Lane in Thornridge Thornridge is a longtime bellwether for how Bucks Countians vote It's where the independent muscle is most evident Though Dems have an 8-point edge on Republicans it's one of a handful of sections that split half Trump The only positive thing that I can see with (Trump) is that he promises you’ll make more money if you put in him charge and I just don’t know if I can vote for him Kamala Harris in Bucks County Kamala Harris calls Trump 'unstable' while appealing to GOP voters in Washington Crossing a diesel mechanic and 2013 graduate of the Bucks County Technical High School Bruce is big on gun rights and also on free speech He sees both freedoms under threat by Harris and her party wide-open debates on thorny social issues such as abortion He sees progressives as hostile to free speech canceling and censoring people whose opinions they dislike then you can’t reach common ground,” he said How do you live together in a country like that the TV media really widens the divide between us making it seem like our disagreements are worse than they are.” He said he lives peacefully with his mother and brother “They’re very liberal and they’re not too happy about the (yard) sign,” he said near what residents call the “top drive” not far from New Falls Road Stefanie Barron’s yard has an array of Harris and pro-blue signs Asked what she finds unappealing about Trump She dislikes what Robert Bruce admires: Trump talk Harris’s economic plan to raise taxes on people earning $400,000 a year or more “We can fund education and social programs,” she said though she said she does not like to be labeled “pro-choice.” “It’s a private medical decision," she said among Bucks County's deepest blue municipalities John Peterson’s yard along Stonybrook Drive has a full-sized cardboard cutout of the ex-president “People are always stopping to take selfies,” he said a lifelong Levittowner and a former Democrat Like most of the people interviewed for this story he has an independent’s instincts about politicians “Do I believe in some of the Democratic Party’s beliefs Do I believe in all of the Republicans’ beliefs Peterson is deeply troubled by what he sees as progressive Dems' hostility to free speech something that wasn’t so when he was a registered Democrat “Today’s Democrats don’t want you to have your own opinion," he said “It used to be that the Democrat was for the working man I don’t think the (Democratic Party) cares about working people anymore but I believe that he will do what’s in the interests of the country and working people." There are only a handful of neighborhoods in Levittown where Republicans lead over Democrats Upper Orchard and Juniper Hill are the Trumpiest Quincy Hollow and Snowball Gate are about evenly matched — in fact Snowball had just one more Republican than Democrat on voter rolls reviewed earlier this month Ground Zero for pro-Trump Levittown might be Lower Orchard Drive a Republican ticket-splitter who will never vote for Trump He ripped off a lot of little guys,” said Mason a retired carpenter who has lived in his Jubilee-style Levitt house for 46 years “I think she’ll do a good job for us," he said "and it’s not bad being the first woman president." Her fence is festooned with pro-Trump signs and banners She and her husband moved from Northeast Philadelphia 13 years ago I saw what the Democrats did to Philadelphia.” “I just get the sense she’s not really running anything I can’t vote for someone like that,” Brown said “And don’t get me started on the (southern) border.” Swing state stats What is the 'blue wall'? Latest polls from key states of Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin Over in Trump-y Juniper Hill, Paul and Bonnie Compton have a personal reason for voting Trump. Their daughter fatally overdosed on fentanyl in 2019. She was 33. “If I could just have her back,” Bonnie Compton said, “I’d yell at her, but then I’d hug her.” The poison pours over the southern border and seeps into places like Levittown, she said. “Harris has done nothing and she was supposed to do something, anything. That’s why we are very much in support of closing the border,” the registered Libertarian said. Both she and her husband are also frustrated with the vice president’s infamous “word salad” answers to questions posed by journalists. “It’s like she can’t answer simple questions,” she said. It bothers Tim Dunn, too, who lives along Ice Pond Road in the Indian Creek section, a precinct that went for Hillary in ’16, but flipped to Trump in 2020. “We need answers from (Harris)," he said, "we get word salads." Dunn, who grew up in the Mill Creek Falls section, is 66 and a semi-retired, self-employed concrete contractor. He was a Democrat and voted that way for decades. “I’m a boomer. Who wasn’t a Democrat in Levittown? We were all Catholic, we grew up on the Kennedys. I spent years voting with my heart instead of my brain,” he said. Then came COVID, the lockdowns and the vaccine. “That was tyranny,” he said. “They told us take the jab or your fired. They talk down to us.” He’s not sure if that’s even close to turning Levittown Trump-y red, but he understands why so many people who’ve kept quiet are posting Trump signs, banners and flags in their yards. “Levittown is saying it’s had enough,” he said. JD Mullane can be reached at jmullane@couriertimes.com. Chris Ullery can be reached at cullery@couriertimes.com. Connecting decision makers to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas, Bloomberg quickly and accurately delivers business and financial information, news and insight around the world If this email was forwarded to you, click here to sign up One person was hospitalized after a house fire Wednesday evening in the Levittown section of Bristol Township at a residence in the 30 block of Shepherd Lane with callers telling 9-1-1 that someone was trapped inside Firefighters found the blaze largely contained to the kitchen and extinguished it One resident was taken by the Levittown-Fairless Hills Rescue Squad to a local hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation The Bristol Township Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the blaze It took firefighters about 30 minutes to bring the fire under control and Third District fire companies responded to the scene A longtime Levittown doctor was arrested Wednesday on multiple charges related to alleged illegal prescriptions following a year-long investigation by detectives was charged with 12 counts each of administration of a controlled substance by a practitioner and furnishing false or fraudulent records and three counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance according to Bucks County District Attorney’s Office The arrest came more than a year after a complaint reported by Middletown Township police to the Bucks County Detectives in November 2023 It followed a report to township police that Fox doing what Bucks County District Attorney’s Office called “suspicious and questionable practices when seeing” patients who practiced in the Levittown section of Middletown Township until recently allegedly continued to see patients in the basement of his office building on Frosty Hollow Road and Veterans Highway after his firing from Jefferson Health Investigators detailed in court papers that Fox operated in a questionable manner Patients would be seated in a hallway in the basement and were seen briefly for a fee of $130 investigators alleged that patients would receive a 30-day supply of Suboxone with minimal or no consultation detectives used undercover investigators and informants who visited Fox a medication typically used to treat opioid addiction Two of the undercover officers reported that Fox left his door open while meeting with patients and they could hear that the doctor didn’t talk about health issues The visits by undercover law enforcement took place between Feb Using the Pennsylvania Prescription Drug Monitor Program (PDMP) detectives discovered that Fox was prescribing Suboxone to 80 patients during the time frame of the probe detectives served a search warrant on Fox’s basement office and discovered what appeared to be incomplete patient files with the majority of the notes in the files being prescriptions Fox allegedly told an investigator that he would often use his memory to recall patient information instead of making a file Investigators said they seized 80 patient records and audio files from the office reviewed some of the patient files and audio recordings from the visits for law enforcement selling the prescription as opposed to providing a professional service in the usual course of professional practice The medical records for these individuals were grotesquely deficient in that they contained no significant medical information for any of the patients I reviewed,” he said As LevittownNow.com reported in 2022, Fox was fined $489,025 by federal authorities for failing to maintain complete and accurate records of controlled substances failing to keep required receipt and dispensing records Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) followed an investigation into his records He was ordered to follow new “compliance obligations significantly more stringent than those in the applicable laws and regulations” for three years At the time the 2022 settlement was announced Fox has worked as a family doctor in Levittown since 1999 Fox was placed in Bucks County Correctional Facility with bail set at 10 percent of $75,000 after his preliminary arraignment before District Judge Charles Jonas Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents This website uses cookies to enhance your experience. 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Zeallor of Bristol Township as the victim who died of his injuries on Wednesday His death is being investigated as a homicide A $20,000 reward for information on the suspected shooter appears as a post on the Archbishop Ryan High School "Friends of Ryan" Facebook page but it does not state who is offering the reward Zeallor and an unidentified 21-year-old man from Smyrna Delaware were in a 1984 Mustang that was found several yards behind a 2009 Acura TL on northbound I-95 between Bridge Street and Cottman Avenue in the Port Richmond section of the city in the right lane of the highway with heavy rear-end damage Both cars had multiple bullet holes throughout the vehicle including the front windshield of the Mustang State police spokesman said shooting appears to be a road rage incident The Mustang’s driver sustained a gunshot wound to the head and his passenger sustained injuries as a result of the crash Both were taken to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital A state police press release did not say if Zeallor was a driver or passenger in the Mustang but social media posts stated Zeallor was the driver Troopers learned that the 26-year-old unidentified Philadelphia man driving the Acura was picked up at the scene and driven to Temple University Hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound to his upper left leg The accident closed northbound I-95 for several hours A family friend created a GoFundMe campaign for the Zeallor family which has raised more than $17,500 as of Thursday morning to assist Zeallor’s mother and her family A food train for Zeallor’s family that can be accessed online at mealtrain.com/03og5z She added that Zeallor’s mother and family are “extremely grateful” for the community support they have received this is an extremely overwhelming time for the family Although they plan to continue honoring his life in other ways in the future this fundraiser is intended to provide a sheer sense of security while the family continues to process this loss,” Johnson said He also loved driving his "beloved" red 1984 T-Top Mustang He was always judgment-free and open to new people and things," according to his obituary Among the social media tributes to Zeallor was one from the private Pen Ryn school in Falls A school administrator described him as "bright kind and caring young man who loved animals and always thought outside the box." Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com The Levittown area is preparing for a round of winter weather starting Tuesday evening that could impact both the evening and Wednesday morning commutes The National Weather Service’s regional office is forecasting 2 to 4 inches of snow with snowfall rates potentially reaching 1 inch per hour at times The snow is expected to begin between 4 p.m Tuesday and end late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning The heaviest snowfall is predicted to occur in the evening hours Lower Bucks County was in a Winter Weather Advisory ahead of the storm The Wednesday morning commute could also be impacted as crews work to clear roads A break in precipitation is expected for much of Wednesday The National Weather Service predicts a second wave of winter weather will develop during the afternoon The second system will bring a dusting of snow and the possibility of a wintry mix The second round of precipitation could impact the Wednesday evening commute PennDOT officials said crews have been pre-treating the roads ahead of the storm PennDOT and the Pennsylvania Turnpike have placed Tier 1 vehicle restrictions in place on I-295 Below is the forecast for the week ahead: Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon Total daytime snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.Tuesday Night: Snow Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph after midnight New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible Wednesday: A slight chance of snow before 10am New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.Wednesday Night: A chance of rain and snow before 7pm East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west in the afternoon New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.Thursday Night: Partly cloudy with a high near 35.Friday Night: Mostly cloudy Chance of precipitation is 70%.Saturday Night: Rain Chance of precipitation is 90%.Sunday Night: A chance of rain Construction is underway on the homes at the Villas at Greenbrook a new 55-plus residential community being built on the former John Fitch Elementary School site in Bristol Township’s Levittown section is developing the 17.5-acre site on Greenbrook Drive The project began construction last spring and will feature 180 housing units across various building types and styles Promotional materials indicate units ranging from 1,200 to just over 1,800 square feet Some units under construction have already been sold The development includes three 24-unit apartment buildings Amenities planned for the community include a clubhouse and swimming pool The project layout connects to local roads via Short Lane and Greenbrook Drive Township officials have stated that stormwater management will be handled by a subsurface infiltration basin under the parking area adjacent to a 24-unit building as well as two wet detention basins located centrally and at the southeastern corner of the site The former Fitch Elementary School site, along with the Abraham Lincoln Elementary School site on Plumtree Drive and the George Washington Elementary School site on Crabtree Drive, were purchased by developer John McGrath through JRGF LLC in August 2022 for $1.2 million An agreement reached by the Bristol Township Council in November 2022 designated the George Washington Elementary School site on Crabtree Drive as dedicated open space for the township The Lincoln project has not yet come before the council for approval A longtime staple of the Lower Bucks County airwaves is getting a new owner a Delaware County-based “digital media enterprise and public policy think tank,” will receive the station as a donation according to filings with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) The deal is pending FCC approval as of late last week Broad and Liberty operates a website featuring articles and conservative and libertarian-focused opinion pieces Its website states it “advocates for political and economic freedom in local and regional discourse.” the station and Broad and Liberty entered a time share agreement Last year, Broad and Liberty formed a “strategic partnership” with the nonpartisan Politics PA website, a move that drew some criticism. Politics PA pledged the deal would not impact its nonpartisan coverage is owned by businessman and Republican power broker Pasquale T and Philadelphia Eagles announcer Merrill Reese Progressive Broadcasting Company filed an application with the FCC to transfer ownership to B and L Media Ventures LLC which is associated with Broad and Liberty A document filed with the FCC valued the station Its studio is in the Levittown section of Bristol Township WBCB’s programming includes “Pro Football Report” with Reese “Speak Your Piece” with Pat Wandling “Jim Foxwell in the Morning,” and “Baseball Insiders Show” with Tommy Greene The station also broadcasts local sporting events Officials from WBCB and Board and Liberty didn’t respond to a request for comment Editor’s Note: WBCB host Pat Wandling has previously contributed articles and columns to this news organization she was not involved in the reporting of this article The Sunday snowstorm left less snow in Lower Bucks County than was forecast by meteorologists the storm started as rain and then an icy mix before turning to snow in the afternoon hours The National Weather Service’s forecast called for 4 to 8 inches but most of Lower Bucks County received between 2 and 3.5 inches Below are some Bucks County snow totals: Bristol Township: 2 inches (reader report)East Rock Hill Township: 5.2 inches (NWS) Chalfont: 4.3 inches (NWS)Langhorne: 2.5 inches (reader report)Levittown (Falls Township): 2.2 inches (reader report) New Hope: 3.5 inches (reader report)Newtown: 3.4 inches (NWS) Northampton Township: 3.3 inches (NWS)Furlong: 3.2 inches (NWS) Hilltown Township: 3 inches (NWS)Upper Southampton Township: 2.5 inches (NWS)Warminster Township: 2.5 inches (NWS) the entire region entered an Arctic blast that will see temperatures below freezing through the end of the week Forecasters warn of wind chills below 0 degrees and increased risk of hypothermia A Cold Weather Advisory was issued through noon on Wednesday.Below is the forecast from the National Weather Service: West wind 10 to 15 mph.Monday Night: Mostly clear West wind 5 to 10 mph.Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy Northwest wind around 5 mph.Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy with a high near 26.Thursday Night: Partly cloudy with a high near 31.Friday Night: Mostly clear with a high near 34.Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy A mix of winter weather that is expected to cause problems on the roads will begin Wednesday evening according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service’s regional office The area is set to see a combination of snow causing concerns about hazardous travel conditions The regional forecast office describes the upcoming weather as a “messy mixed bag of wintry precipitation.” A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for the area from Wednesday morning through late Thursday morning The storm is expected to move into the region Wednesday afternoon The first phase of the storm could lay as much as 2 inches of snow in Lower Bucks County through Wednesday night The snowfall is expected to transition to a wintry mix overnight leading to possible light ice accumulation the precipitation is likely to turn entirely to rain Forecasters warn that the type and amount of precipitation are still uncertain but the impact on road conditions will likely be significant “Exact precipitation type and forecast totals remain uncertain,” forecasters said the main takeaway remains the same: wintry precipitation will lead to icy and slippery conditions Wednesday night to Thursday morning.” The expected snow and sleet are predicted to be heavy and wet Municipal and state road crews began pretreating roadways Tuesday ahead of the storm but PennDOT officials warn that icy spots may still persist “Roads that look wet may actually be icy and extra caution is needed when approaching bridges and highway ramps where ice can form,” according to a PennDOT spokesperson forecasters said more wintry systems are possible Saturday night followed by a potential system next Tuesday into Wednesday Below is the upcoming forecast from the National Weather Service:Monday: Cloudy North wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the afternoon.Monday Night: A chance of snow before 1am possibly mixed with freezing rain between 1am and 4am Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph after midnight New ice accumulation of less than a 0.1 of an inch possible New snow and sleet accumulation of less than one inch possible East wind around 5 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon New snow and sleet accumulation of less than a half inch possible.Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy with gusts as high as 30 mph.Friday Night: Partly cloudy Chance of precipitation is 50%.Saturday Night: Rain with a high near 45.Sunday Night: Partly cloudy with a high near 36.Monday Night: Mostly cloudy You have successfully joined our email list. With the holiday season upon us, the Levittown area has gone all out on seasonal decorations. Below are photos our team took across the area recently: View this post on Instagram A post shared by LevittownNow.com (@levittownnownews) according to the Library of Congress:Thomas Edison the inventor of the first successful practical light bulb created the very first strand of electric lights these strands were strung around the outside of his Menlo Park Laboratory Railroad passengers traveling by the laboratory got their first look at an electrical light display But it would take almost forty years for electric Christmas lights to become the tradition that we all know and love families would use candles to light up their Christmas trees This practice was often dangerous and led to many home fires Johnson put the very first string of electric Christmas tree lights together in 1882 Edison’s friend and partner in the Edison’s Illumination Company white and blue light bulbs and wound them around his Christmas tree Not only was the tree illuminated with electricity the world was not quite ready for electrical illumination There was a great mistrust of electricity and it would take many more years for society to decorate its Christmas trees and homes with electric lights Some credit President Grover Cleveland with spurring the acceptance of indoor electric Christmas lights President Cleveland requested that the White House family Christmas tree be illuminated by hundreds of multi-colored electric light bulbs President Calvin Coolidge began the country’s celebration of Christmas by lighting the National Christmas Tree with 3,000 electric lights on the Ellipse located south of the White House when General Electric began to offer pre-assembled kits of Christmas lights stringed lights were reserved for the wealthy and electrically savvy The wiring of electric lights was very expensive and required the hiring of the services of a wireman to light an average Christmas tree with electric lights before 1903 would have cost $2000.00 in today’s dollars Johnson may have been the first to create electric strands of light in 1880/1882 it was Albert Sadacca who saw a future in selling electric Christmas lights The Sadacca family owned a novelty lighting company and in 1917 Albert suggested that its store offer brightly colored strands of Christmas lights to the public By the 1920’s Albert and his brothers organized the National Outfit Manufacturers Association (NOMA) with its members cornering the Christmas light market until the 1960’s Today we expect to see the holiday season become aglow with electric strands of light Think of the variety and range of Christmas lights available in today’s market Johnson and Albert Sadacca for illuminating our holiday season A shooting and crash involving at least two vehicles on I-95 early Saturday left two men wounded one from Levittown with a gunshot wound to the head Law enforcement were called to the northbound lanes between Bridge Street and Cottman Avenue on I-95 in Philadelphia at 2:31 a.m. A 2009 white Acura TL with heavy rear-end damage and multiple bullet holes was found abandoned in the right lane state police located a red 1984 Ford Mustang with front-end damage and bullet holes in the windshield had been shot in the head and was taken to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital was also taken to the hospital for injuries sustained in the crash state police had not released details on the men’s conditions had been taken to Temple University Hospital with a gunshot wound to his leg State police said investigators believe a third unknown vehicle was involved in the shooting and fled the scene I-95 northbound was blocked for several hours Troopers asked anyone with information to call the Pennsylvania State Police Troop K Philadelphia Station at 215-452-5216 Power has been restored to most of the Levittown area after strong winds toppled trees and power lines overnight Sunday into Monday morning The National Weather Service reported wind gusts of 52 mph along the Delaware River near Falls Township and 60 mph in Trenton trees and wires on the ground throughout the area Commuters on Bristol-Oxford Valley Road in Middletown Township and Green Lane in Bristol Township dodged large limbs that fell into the roadway PECO reported more than 5,500 customers in the Levittown area were without power Sunday night that number had dropped to less than 1,000 including Langhorne-Newtown Road in Middletown Township experienced traffic signal outages or flashing yellow lights during the Monday morning commute leading to several near-misses before power was restored PECO said it activated its emergency response team due to the storm and widespread outages which affected tens of thousands of customers across the region “Winds gusting to more than 60 mph paired with significant rainfall and saturated ground brought down trees and tree branches and caused extensive damage to electric equipment,” PECO officials said In addition to PECO crews working 12- to 16-hour shifts 700 personnel from PECO contractors and other utility companies were assisting in the restoration effort PECO officials urged residents to “always stay away from damaged electric equipment especially downed power lines and tree limbs that may come into contact with power lines.” Anyone who finds a downed power line is advised to call PECO at 1-800-841-4141 The National Weather Service forecasted that winds are expected to decrease through the afternoon hours The Middletown Township Fire Marshal’s Office continued as of Monday to investigate a fire that tore through a home in Middletown Township’s Levittown section The fire at the house on Silverspruce Road was reported around 7:30 p.m and flames were visible from more than half a mile away The fire marshal’s office was back at the scene Sunday as they attempted to track down a cause Police said there was a “really loud explosion” heard before the fire was reported Neighbors told LevittownNow.com police were asking about fireworks seen above the neighborhood in the minutes before the blaze One resident said there were a number of fireworks going off leading up to the flames being spotted The fire marshal’s office has asked anyone with information on the fire to call them at 215-750-3812 The residents were not home at the time of the blaze and officials said their three dogs made it out alive One firefighter was reported to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries by medics but further details on their condition were unclear “Once the investigation is over we all should know what happened the story is this my son and grandchildren lost everything,” said Cheryl Campbell whose son and his family lived in the house Campbell said the family lost all their possessions including her 10-year-old granddaughter’s favorite blanket and dolls A fundraiser for the family raised $40,000 as of Monday morning and donations of clothes and toiletries flooded in for the family Campbell said neighbors have been helping out and she appreciated the outpouring of support from the community The blaze drew fire companies from around Lower Bucks County Crews were at the scene for hours as they battled hot spots in the William Levitt-built home