Business News

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 Northampton County Judge found the Tally Ho Tavern to have implemented necessary remedies to past violations, thereby reversing a ruling by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board denying renewal of its liquor license.

A developer’s plans to build a 150,400-square-foot warehouse along Route 100 moves on to Upper Macungie Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday night.

Bethlehem Twp. will not appeal a ruling from a Northampton County judge that will allow an 866,000 square foot warehouse at 1600 Freemansburg Ave.

Plans call for a Tempo by Hilton hotel with a ground-level restaurant and bar, rooftop bar and expanded fitness center, with improvements to come later for the Greenway nearby.

The 2024-25 Pennsylvania State Budget introduced updates to the state's complex liquor laws, including extended happy hours and ready-to-drink cocktails. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board already received over a thousand RTDC applications and has begun permitting with the law effective Sept. 16.

Cut the Scrap! opened in June on North 19th Street in the West End of Allentown. Crafters can trade in secondhand art supplies, shop for goods or take an art class.

SpaceX’s capsule Polaris Dawn splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico in the predawn darkness early Sunday. Returning to Earth were two SpaceX engineers, a former Air Force Thunderbird pilot and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman of the Lehigh Valley. Isaacman became only the 264th person to perform a spacewalk.

Grand View Health signed a nonbinding letter of intent to evaluate the potential of it joining St. Luke's University Health Network. Letters to employees of both health care companies went out Friday to alert them of the potential partnership.

Mad Catter Coffee Roasters celebrated its grand opening at the Allentown Economic Development Corporation’s Bridgeworks Enterprise Center.

The Bethlehem City Planning Commission approved a 52,395-square-foot addition proposed for 2300 City Line Road, near the Airport Road intersection.

Upper Macungie Township held a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday for a $47 million Lifestyle Community Center to be built at Grange Park.

Colonial Intermediate Unit 20 in Forks Township celebrated the grand opening of Colonial Cafe 71, a coffee shop which helps teach employment and life skills.

The Allentown Fairgrounds Farmers Market officially added The Brass Rail to its list of merchants Thursday morning — the first time the eatery has been in operation since it shuttered on Lehigh Street in June 2022.