County News

Lehigh County commissioners approved a nearly $1 million contract with long-term vendor Lehigh Valley Pretrial Services Inc. though several commissioners and the county controller raised concerns about transparency.

The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission approved 36 new honorees for 2022, including the Allentown State Hospital and the President Pumping Engine in Upper Saucon Township.

PennDOT will spend millions of dollars to start construction on major transportation projects including bridges, traffic circles, milling, paving and patching roadways and updating interchanges.

In 2021, the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism tabulated 2,717 antisemitic incidents throughout the United States. It was a 34% increase from 2020 and the highest number on record since the ADL began tracking in 1979. The Lehigh Valley has seen numerous incidents.

Living off the land and taking care of a historic property, as the current owners said, come with a commitment to see things through.

Lehigh County Executive Phil Armstrong vetoed a pair of bills that would have increased the salaries for several municipal officials. Armstrong said that he couldn't "justify" the move while county residents deal with inflation.

Lehigh County Sheriff Joe Hanna announced Tuesday he will seek a third term in the 2023 election cycle.

The Northampton County coroner is investigating and has identified the remains as belonging to William Edelman Jr. of Catasauqua.

Community forum for Upper Saucon Township seeks long needed third communal space

Without any contested races, Northampton County quietly passed its risk-limiting voting machine audit Monday afternoon.

The Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation’s annual meeting Tuesday included speeches and panel discussions on economic trends and challenges.

A section of Institute Drive will be closed through most of April to protect breeding amphibians. Experts said the road-closing conservation effort is not only important for the animals, but also for the region’s overall landscape and ecosystem.

It’s expected to be a busy day for power crews in the Lehigh Valley with a wind advisory in place until 8 p.m., northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph and gusts up to 55 mph. Met-Ed and PPL Electric Utilities were reporting scattered outages.

The 120-acre park in Northampton County boasts more than 100 species of trees and shrubs from around the world. "What's unique is it's in a public park setting. It's run by county park staff, not a nonprofit or not a for-profit entity,” the superintendent said.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey got a mention during President Biden's State of the Union address but U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, D-Lehigh Valley, did not. Politics reporter Tom Shortell provides a post-mortem on the SOTU.

Ruben Payan, the NTSB investigator in charge of the investigation, released new details and updated local officials during a meeting of Lower Saucon Township Council. Three of the derailed cars were hazardous materials tankers.

Three secure ballot drop-off boxes will be installed in new areas of Northampton County prior to the April 23 primary election, bringing the total number of drop-off boxes in the county to seven.

Advocates and officials across Pennsylvania have signaled their support the new standards for fine particle pollution, also called soot or PM 2.5. However, federal officials don’t anticipate communities will meet the standard for almost a decade.

Lehigh Valley Breathes aims to monitor air quality amid emissions from trucking and warehousing. Here's the February update.

The National Transportation Safety Board says an eastbound train hit a stopped train on the tracks and derailed onto westbound tracks, where a westbound train collided with the wreckage. Photos from the scene in Lower Saucon Township showed multiple rail cars off the tracks.

A video clip showing auditor general candidate Malcolm Kenyatta telling a voter his Lehigh Valley-based opponent Mark Pinsley of not caring about Black people is circulating online, raising questions about the campaign.

LANTA and UGI Energy Services have signed a three-year deal that will provide the transportation authority with compressed natural gas collected from landfills in eastern Pennsylvania.