Lehigh County News

City officials are planning a significant overhaul in downtown Allentown, with pedestrians and cyclists to be prioritized in the project.

Improvements at aging Steckel Elementary School and Whitehall-Coplay Middle School will begin with window replacements.

Upper Macungie supervisors soon may vote to adopt a new law meant to address resident complaints of loud noise. The draft of the new law would significantly reduce the maximum allowed noise levels in both the residential and industrial sections of the township.

Four farms in Lehigh and Northampton counties were the latest to be included in Pennsylvania’s Farmland Preservation Program. The program aims to ward off development and protect open spaces.

South Whitehall next year will start a pilot Hometown Heroes Banner Program, displaying banners with local veterans’ photos.

Allegations include Vice detectives having relationships with prostitutes, stealing money during searches and interfering with local and federal investigations.

South Whitehall Board of Commissioners on Wednesday reviewed potential rule changes to township parks to try to stop what the township called "unsafe and unnecessary" behaviors.

Lehigh Valley's Darian Cruz lost his Olympic bronze medal bout to India's Aman Sehrawat, 13-5, on Friday evening at the Paris Olympics. Cruz, the Bethlehem Catholic and Lehigh University champion, was representing Puerto Rico in honor of his grandparents who are native to the US territory.

The South Whitehall Planning Commission on Thursday reviewed a sketch plan for the Parkland High School expansion — the next step in the long process before construction.

Township officials want local and nearby residents to help shape an upcoming "Comprehensive Parks, Recreation, and Open Space" plan through a public survey.

The Dorothy Rider Pool Wildlife Sanctuary still is closed to the public after an April bridge collapse. Officials said a new, permanent bridge is slated to be installed in spring.

Bethlehem police said the couple had three children. The man and the woman were both found suffering from gunshot wounds in the basement of a home in the 200 block of 10th Avenue.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, hailed President Donald Trump's order to remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power and extradite him to the United States to face drug trafficking charges.

Julian Guridy will face Bob Smith in the race to fill former state Rep. Josh Siegel's term.

Democrat Julian Guridy, an aide to state Sen. Nick Miller, is viewed as the favorite to land the party's nomination for the upcoming 22nd House District special election. Allentown Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach, precinct committee person Erlinda Aguilar and Lewis Shupe are also seeking the nomination.

One of Bethlehem's previous ESG application process in 2024 came on behalf of 12 area organizations, such as New Bethany, Third Street Alliance, VETBEDS and Valley Youth House.

Lehigh Valley municipalities will get nearly $3.5 million in combined funding from the Green Light-Go and Multimodal Transportation Fund programs to upgrade traffic signals and improve transportation safety.

Locally, housing costs still remain lower than national averages, but data from real estate marketplaces compared with U.S. Census data in Lehigh and Northampton counties show housing affordability still is a struggle.

Garcia's work with the anti-violence nonprofit organization is fueled by her son's murder in 2012. Her goal is to keep his memory alive and reduce shootings in Allentown moving forward.

Of the thousands of stories covered and told in 2025, our staff picked some of their favorites. They included a bald eagle looking for love in the Hellertown area and an $11 million "sky dome" planned for Easton.

In 2025, LehighValleyNews.com readers gravitated toward stories that reflected mounting economic pressure, public safety concerns, environmental uncertainty and moments of sharp civic tension.

The Broken Record, whose decor and even food names follow a music theme, held a soft opening at its strip-center location at 6776 Hamilton Blvd. in Lower Macungie Township.