Mayor Pawlowski reacted to Whitehall Township's decision to drop-out of the hockey arena lawsuit.

"I think Whitehall's the first," he said. "I'm hoping that all the others will follow in very short order. Either way, we're moving forward now."

Almost 20 suburbs sued Allentown because some of their tax money was paying for the arena.

The new state budget changes that.

Pawlowski says he hopes to start full-scale construction after Labor Day.