East Penn News

Vice President JD Vance will swing through the Lehigh Valley on Tuesday as the Republican Party courts voters ahead of the midterm election. The Lehigh Valley and the surrounding area are ripe with swing voters who could flip control of the U.S. House in next year's election.

After setting aside a realignment plan in fall 2025, East Penn School District now is exploring a $142 million redistricting project that would see hundreds of students moved to different schools, and building renovations.

The family of Renna Marra, who has Pitt-Hopkins syndrome, is raising funds for a trained guide dog to help Renna with tasks as mobility assistance, behavioral calming and social communication.

Macungie residents, including a long-serving corporal of the police department, packed a borough council meeting Wednesday morning to protest a revised police internal affairs policy.

Hilary Unger, owner of Perianth Interior Design, was chosen Designer of the Year for 2025 by the Interior Design Society in the category of Living Spaces Over $100,000.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie helped secure $1.6 million in earmarks toward a new Alburtis Fire Station. The existing structure is too small to serve a modern fire department.

Next month, Wind Creek Event Center owner Jeff Trainer plans to open The Broken Record, a restaurant in Lower Macungie Township that will combine a broad range of food offerings with a music theme — and perhaps more.

At a Lower Macungie Planning Commission meeting Tuesday, officials praised a data center zoning ordinance under consideration in neighboring Upper Macungie.

Three African Servals escaped from Cricket Wildlife Center after a powerful storm last Wednesday damaged their enclosure. After dozens of reported sightings, two of the wild cats are back, leaving one left to capture.

Three Democrats will join the Lower Macungie Township Board of Commissioners in January. The trio appear to have become the first Democrats to be elected to the township governing body in more than a half century.

The new website for the Borough of Emmaus has launched after months of development due to the previous municipal site's takedown due to hacking.

Incumbents Maury G. Robert and Ron R. Beitler are joined on the ballot by challenger Gregory S. Chaputa, all noting land preservation and managing development as a priority.

Borough council on Monday night heard a presentation on options to mitigate PFAS in its residential drinking supply. None of the proposals are cheap.

Take a look at stories throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

One of the most notable points touched on was the plan to build a districtwide mathematics website to give both students and guardians a greater understanding of the math course sequence and to provide additional math resources online.

Emmaus has Let's Play Books, a shop that is now expanding to a second location. The new store, called The End: a bookstore, opens in Allentown on Saturday for Independent Bookstore Day.

Mad Dogs Hot Dogs in Macungie is no longer closing after owners announced a buyer of the restaurant.

"Mad Dogs Hot Dogs" in Macungie, a popular lunchtime spot known for its wide and creative variety of hot dog topping combinations, will close at the end of April, according to the owners.

A juvenile suspect has been charged with misdemeanor counts as a result of a state police investigation of sewing needles in food at the Giant.

East Penn School Board on Monday discussed adding special needs and support staff to the district in continued budget discussions.

In the small Borough of Alburtis, candidates for the election are a mix of old and new members of the council

Township commissioners approved a zoning ordinance modification that helps to clear the way for the Lehigh Valley Town Center project that includes a TopGolf, an aquarium or nature center, and hundreds of apartments.