MONROE UNFILTERED: THE DAILY BUZZ | August 31
Street Takeover Triggers a Main Street Curfew
Monday, August 31, 2026
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THE WEEK'S WEATHER
Fall has definitely been in the air the last few days. Today is the last day of August, and the sky can't quite decide how to send the month off. Expect a high somewhere in the high-70s to low-80s, a low near 66°F overnight, and just a slight chance of rain, so keep half an eye on the clouds but don't cancel anything over it. It's also the first day of school for Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg students, so budget extra time for the buses this morning.
September opens Tuesday with a real chance of thunderstorms, roughly 50 to 70 percent, and a high in the mid- to upper-80s, so keep the umbrella in the car if you're headed out this evening. Wednesday holds a similar pattern, high-70s to mid-80s with a solid chance of rain around 70 percent.
Thursday and Friday are looking better. Thursday stays in the mid-80s with a coin-flip chance of rain, easing to the low-80s and mostly sunny skies by Friday, good timing for Pocono Environmental Education Center's Labor Day Family Camp, which kicks off Friday and runs through Sunday. Saturday holds in the high-70s under mostly sunny skies, temps easing back down after a warm midweek. You will probably catch a hint of fall in the air. A solid forecast for StroudFest's 20th anniversary downtown.
STREET TAKEOVER TRIGGERS A MAIN STREET CURFEW
A large, unpermitted gathering of people and vehicles took over Main Street between Fifth and Ninth streets late Saturday night into early Sunday morning, with drivers doing donuts and burnouts at the Main and Seventh intersection, Stroudsburg Borough and Mayor Ellen Currie say. Two people were arrested in connection with the incident, Currie confirmed to WBRE/WYOU, though no injuries or confirmed property damage were reported. Video circulating on social media, including footage shared by the local page Walk With Blue, shows a Corvette and a pickup truck performing donuts and a burnout in the middle of Main Street. We saw the aftermath Sunday morning as we drove through Main Street. Guests at the Penn Stroud Hotel reportedly had to change rooms because of the disturbance, and businesses and residents reportedly called 911 during the incident.
Currie responded by declaring a state of emergency and issuing a nightly curfew for the corridor: no one may gather, congregate, assemble or remain part of a public gathering on the roadway or sidewalks of Main Street between Fifth and Ninth streets from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. each night, starting Sunday, Aug. 30, through 5 a.m. Friday, Sept. 4. Lawful passage by pedestrians and vehicles is not affected. “In light of the disgraceful behavior on Main Street last evening, I am issuing a curfew for the next few days, with plans to extend it into the weekend, if necessary,” Currie said. She said she is working with the Monroe County District Attorney's office, Stroud Area Regional Police and Borough Council, and may lift the restriction early or extend it depending on conditions.
A GUILTY PLEA FOR OUR LOCAL “JESSE JAMES”
Jonathan Berrios, 34, of Stroudsburg pleaded guilty Aug. 28 to second-degree felony robbery for the March 7 robbery of the Citizens Bank on Erin Lane in Chestnuthill Township, the Pocono Record reports. Berrios handed a teller a note reading “I have a gun, I'm here to rob, give me whatever you have.” How poetic. He walked out with $1,135 in mutilated bills plus $2,813 from the drawer, $3,948 total. He was also tied to a February bank robbery in Northampton County. Judge Stephen Higgins set sentencing for Nov. 20.
We first told you about Berrios back in March, when state police tracked him down and arrested him days after the robbery. Nearly six months later, the case has its outcome: guilty, to the reduced charge of second-degree robbery.
THE DAILY RUNDOWN
Fill 'Er Up. The average for East Stroudsburg is $4.13 per gallon, up 1.9 percent from $4.06 per gallon this time last week. That is still below the state average of $4.21 per gallon.
Solar Comes to Stroud Township. GreenKey Solar pitched Stroud Township's planning commission Aug. 26 on a 9 megawatt solar facility spread across roughly 37 of 62 acres near Chipperfield Drive, the Pocono Record reports. The commission accepted the sketch plan, but variance requests are still ahead before anything is final. Part of the site overlaps a 2010 proposal that led the township to create its Solar Energy Facility Overlay District back in 2012.
WHAT WERE YA THINKIN'
Grand Theft License Plate. Brian Sullin was arrested Aug. 27 on a theft from a motor vehicle charge after police say someone swapped a victim's license plate for a different, stolen one at the Crossings Premium Outlets on Aug. 12, CrimeWatch reports. Sometimes it really is that random. He's presumed innocent until proven guilty.
A DUI That Nearly Cost Five Friends Their Lives. Anthony M. Cangelosi, 19, of Price Township pleaded guilty Aug. 28 to three third-degree felony counts of aggravated assault by vehicle, plus a misdemeanor DUI charge at the highest rate, the Pocono Record reports, for the July 20, 2025 crash in East Stroudsburg that ejected two of his five passengers, one suffering what prosecutors described as significant facial and bodily trauma. Cangelosi's blood alcohol content was 0.105 percent, above Pennsylvania's 0.08 percent legal limit, and Stroud Area Regional Police's Collision Reconstruction Unit clocked him at 51 mph in a 25 mph zone. Sentencing is set for Nov. 20, the same day as Berrios.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Back to school. Today, Aug. 31, is the first day of classes for Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg students. Stroud Area Regional Police posted a back-to-school safety reminder this week: watch for buses, walkers, and reduced speed school zones.
Stroudsburg Borough Council meets Tuesday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m., with a public hearing on the borough's 2026 Community Development Block Grant application and a request from Stroudsburg High School to set off fireworks after every home touchdown this season (remaining dates: Sept. 4, Oct. 2, Oct. 8, and Oct. 30).
PEEC's Labor Day Family Camp runs Sept. 4 through 7 at the Pocono Environmental Education Center, $270 per adult, 570-828-2319 for details.
StroudFest marks its 20th anniversary Saturday, Sept. 5, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. in downtown Stroudsburg, with four stages and more than 170 vendors.