Business News

After a decade of business, the restaurant inside the Renaissance Allentown Hotel is expanding its regional sourcing and guest experience with a new culinary concept and revamped interior. Director of Culinary and Restaurant Operations Nick Vogel said he intends to let local ingredients "shine" in the restaurant's four seasonal menus.

A proposed property tax rebate for senior citizens, drawn from hybrid police patrol vehicle fuel savings, will have to wait to be voted on until Jan. 2026.

Two North Whitehall Township supervisors on Wednesday rejected a challenge to township zoning rules surrounding at-home auto repair businesses. It's far from the end of a legal fight over whether township resident Gene Weierbach's business should be allowed to operate.

Community Bike Works in Easton is celebrating the 30th year of its Earn a Bike program. Low-income families from the Lehigh Valley can become eligible to get a bike by signing up online or in person for the 24-hour mentoring program.

Easton officials announced the launch of nonprofit HOME Easton and the start of a new Landlord-Tenant Engagement Program on Wednesday, with the goal to address affordable housing and improve the rental scene in the city.

City planners meet at 5 p.m. Thursday at Bethlehem Town Hall, 10 E. Church St. The proposal for the former Wells Fargo is listed fourth on an agenda of five items.

Lehigh Valley residents attended a state Public Utility Commission hearing on Tuesday to oppose a proposed rate increase by PPL Electric Utilities. It would be the first rate increase in almost a decade.

Testimony began Monday in hearings that could decide what sort of businesses are allowed at homes throughout North Whitehall Township — and whether one resident’s long-running car repair business can keep operating.

The developer behind a proposed 37-story skyscraper in Allentown asked planning officials for another delay.

Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners approved a $36.7 million budget for 2026 Monday. Several residents attended the meeting to oppose the real estate tax increase, the first in the township since 2019.

Historic Hotel Bethlehem on Main Street again will only partially illuminate its rooftop sign from Christmas Eve to Christmas night — a tradition that goes back decades and was forgotten, until its revival a few years ago.

Days before Christmas, the Michael Ann & Saquon Barkley Hope Foundation teamed up with The Salvation Army and Ashley Furniture to help Allentown families recently displaced by fires. The effort provided beds, toys and essential items to children and parents.

Nearly 87,000 passengers passed through Lehigh Valley International Airport last month, the airport's busiest November since 2004.

Lehigh County Commissioners voted Thursday to approve a new memorandum of understanding with United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1776. The union's members will get a 3% raise next year.

New Bethany Executive Director Marc Rittle said the social service agency's client roster has nearly doubled since before the COVID-19 pandemic. The money will be used to expand and create a "health hub."

In its review, the LVPC said the data center proposal lacks specificity needed to fully review the project in Upper Macungie Township.

A new hyperscale data center could be on its way to South Whitehall Township, with the 5.1 million square foot Atlas Industrial project set to be constructed right across the street from Parkland High School.

In the cold of December, Dorney Park offers a preview of summer with its 2026 calendar release, including Opening Day for the park and for Wildwater Kingdom.

No one matched all five Powerball numbers, plus the red Powerball, on Monday night's drawing, but one Lehigh Valley resident matched four out of five white balls to win $200,000. It was among three winning tickets sold in Pennsylvania for the Dec. 15 drawing.

Lehigh Valley Planning Commission's Comprehensive Planning Committee on Tuesday reviewed a proposal for a 2.6 million-square-foot hyperscale data center in Upper Macungie Township, citing a litany of missing information as a concern.

Vice President JD Vance visited Uline Shipping Supplies in the Alburtis area and made a surprise stop at the Allentown Rescue Mission in his first trip to the Lehigh Valley since becoming President Trump's second-in-command.

Easton's Zoning Hearing Board approved a subdivision of the Hooper House property Monday, which will let the Rock Church keep an adjoining parcel that contains the Timothy House.