Business News

Reporter Julian Abraham spent the weekend covering the explosion that occurred Friday at a chocolate factory in West Reading.

Three people died and four remain missing in the explosion at the R.M. Palmer Co. chocolate-making plant in West Reading. The grim announcement Saturday night came after a day of hope spurred by a victim found alive in the wreckage early in the day.

Goblies Throwable Paintballs and Play Paint are now on shelves in Target and online. The Bethlehem-based products were created by Lehigh University grad Briana Gardell.

Though others have experienced an increase in passenger traffic at Lehigh Valley International Airport, Delta has seen an 18% decline.

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission on Thursday voted to accept recommendations of its Comprehensive Planning Committee for a Bethlehem apartment complex and three area warehouses.

The Allentown Parking Authority hosted a public forum Tuesday night at the Americus Hotel to hear residents' complaints.

Gov. Josh Shapiro said he's long admired the Lehigh Valley's unique ability to build partnerships. It's a skillset he said he hopes to bring to other communities across the state to promote economic growth. Shapiro was keynote speaker at the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. annual meeting in Bethlehem.

A week-long job fair helped to fill 1,500 seasonal positions in preparation for the 2023 season, but hundreds of openings remain for ride operators, security personnel, emergency medical technicians and lifeguards.

Contrasting points of view are at issue with the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission's decision to relocate its headquarters.

Zoning approval was granted for the 54.4-acre mixed use development at 617 N. Krocks Road including apartments, a hotel and retail space. The development will now have to address comments and submit land development plans to the township.

A cold snap that sent temperatures near historic lows brought record winter demand for electricity across numerous regional grids and service territories, including the Lehigh Valley.

Air Products shareholders at their annual meeting elected a new slate of board directors that did not include Chief Executive Officer Seifi Ghasemi, who has led the company since 2014.

The boutique hotel in Downtown Allentown opened on Jan. 15 and is already booking dates for when the Archer Music Hall opens in March.

Scott Slingerland, executive director of recipient nonprofit Coalition for Appropriate Transportation, said, “It’s cool how everybody’s a piece of the puzzle in terms of supporting the community. We all do totally different things, but it all makes up the whole.”

Lehigh Valley International Airport served a record number of passengers in 2024, according to a news release on Wednesday from the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority.The airport served 1,012,240 passengers last year, an increase of 8.7% from 2023.Also, Allegiant Air will resume service from ABE to Denver and Nashville starting in May.

Palmer Township's Board of Supervisors approved preliminary plans for a new Shammy Shine, set to be built next to an existing location on Kingston Road.

The National Weather Service has issued a cold weather advisory for the Lehigh Valley and other parts of eastern Pennsylvania through noon Wednesday, with wind chills dropping to as low as 13 degrees below zero.

Bethlehem Co-op Market wants members and future patrons to keep the faith. A summer opening is now the target.

Nazareth-based Martin Guitar will showcase new guitars, including an acoustic double-neck, at the National Association of Music Merchants trade show in Anaheim this week.

Live Nation, the huge entertainment company that will run the Archer Music Hall, will hold a job fair Thursday and Friday, Jan. 23-24. It has said it expects to fill more than 200 permanent jobs at the venue in nearly 20 categories.

This year's Auto Mania automotive flea market wrapped up Sunday at the Allentown Fairgrounds. Though snow kept many attendees home Sunday, vendors and organizers said brisk business Friday and Saturday more than made up for it.

Stop the Wood Ave Warehouse is on a mission to fight the development of the Easton Commerce Park warehouse proposed at the old Pfizer Pigments plant site, near the borders of Wilson Borough, Easton and Palmer Township.