This year’s biggest ongoing stories in greater Glenside were, according to our records, the SPS Technologies fire, the multi-pronged illegal activities involving employees of Junkluggers in Willow Grove, and the arson attack at the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg alongside Shapiro’s stream of lawsuits filed against the Trump administration.
SPS Technologies Fire
The industrial fire at the SPS Technologies building in Jenkintown (Abington Township) on the evening of Monday, February 17 received intense regional and national coverage.
68 fire companies responded to the fire and all 60 employees in the building were safely evacuated. All Abington, Jenkintown, and Cheltenham school district schools and buildings/grounds were closed the following Tuesday and Wednesday.
The blaze subsided five days later and an investigation by the Abington Fire Marshal and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives began shortly thereafter. Demolition efforts followed and were completed by the fall.
In September, the Abington Township Fire Marshal’s Office announced that the cause of the fire had been deemed “undetermined”. The announcement came a day after SPS Technologies representatives publicly presented their plans for a new aerospace facility at the Jenkintown site.
The incident triggered a series of class-action lawsuits (more here) against SPS Technologies alongside community meetings, commendations, accusations, petitions, surveys, donations, concerns, and layoffs.
You can read the rest of our coverage here.
Employees of Junkluggers in Willow Grove Arrested for First-Degree Murder, Gun Trafficking
This story began in December 2024 when officials announced the arrest of Charles Fulforth, 41, of Jenkintown, in connection with a home invasion and homicide in Lower Merion that resulted in the deaths of a 61-year-old woman and her 25-year-old son.
A reward of $5000 for information leading to the capture of his accomplice, Kelvin Roberts, 42, of Philadelphia, was announced the same day. Officials said Roberts and Fulforth were trying to steal guns from a Bucks County home but mixed up the address with the Lower Merion house.
Roughly a week later, Roberts was arrested by Upper Moreland police on charges of First-Degree Murder, Robbery, Burglary and related charges for their involvement in the incident. Fulforth was initially charged with Second-Degree Murder, Robbery, Burglary and related charges, though his charge was later upgraded to First-Degree murder.
In January, officials announced the arrest of a third Junkluggers employee—Jeremy Fuentes, 26, of Philadelphia—for Second-Degree Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Robbery and Conspiracy to Commit Burglary in connection with the home invasion. An investigation found that information provided by Fuentes to Fulforth was the impetus behind Fulforth and Roberts entering the home to burglarize/rob it.
The same day in January, officials announced the dismantling of a gun trafficking organization in which Fulforth, Roberts, and Fuentes were directly involved. Court proceedings regarding the illegal organization continued through the summer and fall, with Fulforth and Roberts receiving additional sentences this month after being convicted in July.
Arson Attack at the Governor’s Residence, Shapiro Administration Repeatedly Sues the Trump Administration
Governor Josh Shapiro of Abington Township announced on April 13 that the Governor’s Residence on North Front Street in Harrisburg broke out in fire around 2:00am. No one was harmed, and Cody Balmer, 38, of Harrisburg, was arrested that day on charges of attempted homicide, aggravated arson, and terrorism offenses. Balmer allegedly used a hammer to break a window, then threw a Molotov cocktail into the residence to start the fire.
Officials did not reveal a clear motive for the attack. Balmer was sentenced to not less than 25 years or more than 50 years in prison in October.
The fire caused a significant amount of damage to a portion of the residence and prompted more than $6 million in repairs. In October, we reported that Shapiro’s private residence in Abington Township was to receive roughly $1 million in security upgrades. Those expenditures are currently under investigation by the Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee.
The incident’s national coverage included Shapiro’s appearance on “Good Morning America” in April and an NBC News “Meet the Press” appearance in September where he spoke about “the importance of combatting political violence in this country”. In April, Shapiro told reporters that President Donald Trump called him to share his “warm regards.”
The governor received additional coverage this year for a slew of lawsuits filed against the Trump administration.
In February, Shapiro was appointed by the Trump administration to serve as one of 10 new members to lead the bipartisan Council of Governors less than one week after he filed a lawsuit challenging Trump’s executive order to freeze federal funding in the commonwealth.
In April, Shapiro jointly filed a lawsuit over the Trump administration’s cuts to AmeriCorps.
In June, he sued the Trump administration in an effort to restore $13 million in funds for food banks and farmers that the U.S. Department of Agriculture eliminated earlier this year. He filed another lawsuit in June accusing the Trump administration of terminating billions in already awarded funding to state and local governments, research institutions, universities and more.
In July, he jointly sued the Trump administration over discontinued Medicaid reimbursements to major family planning providers, including Planned Parenthood.
In August, Shapiro joined 15 states and Washington, D.C. in a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s attempts to eliminate gender-affirming healthcare for transgender individuals under age 19.
In October, he joined a 31-page filing in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against a federal subpoena seeking the private medical records of transgender youth. Later that month, he joined a lawsuit which challenges the Trump administration’s decision to revoke millions of dollars in homeland security grants for Pennsylvania and 10 other states.
In December, he filed a multistate lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s overhaul of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Continuum of Care (CoC) Program which supports individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
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