Business News

Pennsylvania's new $47.6 billion budget sets aside $500 million to improve old industrial sites so new businesses can expand or relocate to the properties.

A text scam is making its rounds again, according to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Recipients are urged to not click the link in the text.

Gov. Josh Shapiro is expected to visit the Bethlehem Steel General Office Building on Tuesday to promote his $500 million shovel-ready development program. The program was funded in the recently approved $47.6 billion 2024-2025 state budget.

Gov. John Shapiro last month signed HB 1333 into law, which allows for recycled materials to be used in stuffed toys manufactured and sold statewide. In the Lehigh Valley, one toy manufacturer plans to launch a sustainable line.

For decades, the land that is now Green Knight Industrial Park in Wind Gap, Plainfield Twp. and Bushkill Twp. contained a pile of 2,000,000 tires. On Thursday, officials cut the ribbon on the park's first completed building, a 50,000-square-foot warehouse.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission issued 19 recommendations for PPL Electric to improve upon, including fixing its poor customer service and restoring power to customers faster following an outage.

The Lehigh County Redevelopment Authority approved a contract between Elias Property Group and Synergy Environmental Group for $67,000 for an environmental study at the former Lehigh Valley Dairy site.

The $208 million will also produce 295 new union jobs, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s announcement said, though it’s unclear what cut of the funding the Macungie facility is getting or the number of new jobs expected locally.

Northampton County officials held a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for a new maintenance building for groundskeepers, replacing a more-than-century-old wooden barn the Parks Department currently uses.

State Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-Lehigh/Bucks, is looking to force his predecessor, now Secretary of Revenue Pat Browne, to release tax returns about Allentown's Neighborhood Improvement Zone. Browne, who crafted the NIZ, has worked to keep the information confidential for five years.

Sophisticated gadgets like special laptops and tablets are being developed to assist people who are blind, but the equipment can cost thousands of dollars.

Local pharmaceutical company Sharp, announced this week that it will hire hundreds of new workers as it prepares a $42 million expansion project here in the Lehigh Valley.

Pennsylvania is preparing to ease COVID restrictions this weekend. Bars and restaurants can serve alcohol without food, lift curfews and increase capacity. But the move comes as COVID cases are on the rise and service employees may not be vaccinated yet.

Pennsylvania State Rep. Lisa Boscola wants to give tax relief to struggling restaurants and bars so that they can stay in business during the pandemic.

A new snapshot of Allentown’s manufacturing sector finds that - even in 2020 - there’s some reason for hope.

President Donald Trump signed the latest federal stimulus bill yesterday, but federal unemployment benefits may still be delayed for recipients. In the interim, WLVR’s Brittany Sweeney has more on other Pennsylvania resources for people struggling to make ends meet.

On January 1, a CDC moratorium on evictions will expire. The deadline is creating significant uncertainty for families in the Lehigh Valley, and the organizations getting ready to assist them.

Hidden beneath the open space, jewel lakes and dense forests is the silent frustration in households across the region that are struggling to keep pace with the modern world.

Governor Tom Wolf is calling on Congress to pass a pandemic relief package. He and New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy met Monday calling the situation in their states, “dire.”

If you’re planning on going skiing in the region this season, don’t forget your car. You may need it for more than you think. WLVR’s Haley O’Brien visited a resort in Berks County that’s making some changes.

The poverty rate in the United States has steadily increased since the summer. As more people slip into poverty, it's difficult for experts to estimate how many will recover financially after the pandemic ends.

WLVR’s Community Correspondent Genesis Ortega spoke with DiDonato who says the Governor could’ve saved restaurants a lot of money if he had given them advanced notice of the restaurant shutdown.