Lehigh County News

The Lehigh Valley’s position among the top three small rental markets highlights how much pressure local renters are feeling, but that’s just one side of the housing market continuing to squeeze budgets.

Four children and one adult were found dead following a fast-moving fire late Tuesday at a home in Carbon County, Pennsylvania State Police said.

Pennsylvania's counties, school districts and social service agencies are warning of mounting layoffs, borrowing costs and damage to the state’s safety net as the politically divided state government enters its fourth month of a budget stalemate.

Those parties now will be able to call witnesses and make arguments of their own, as is the case with the original appellee, North Whitehall Township. Argument for the appeal is planned to begin at 9:30 a.m. Nov. 17 at Lehigh County Courthouse.

The Lehigh Valley Topper Cancer Institute named its immunotherapy center in honor of philanthropists Peter and Odete Kelly, who gifted the institute $12 million on Tuesday.

Candidates for Allentown School Board will participate in a forum tonight at the Univest Public Media Center organized by the League of Women Voters of Lehigh County. Seven of the 8 candidates on the ballot are expected to participate.

The U.S. Justice Department has sued Pennsylvania and other states after they refused to turn over sensitive voter data. State and county officials have defended local election practices.

Because of increased volume of traffic, Route 22 in the Lehigh Valley now qualifies for a designation change to an interstate.

Two weeks after Iron Hill Brewery announced the closure of its flagship restaurant, the company shared Thursday that all locations are now closed.

Jared Gerhard, 31, of Macungie, was sentenced Thursday in a hearing before Lehigh County Judge Anna-Kristie M. Marks to 9 to 23 months in Lehigh County Jail, county District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan said.

In counties such as Lehigh, eviction filings have reached their highest point in years, even as rental vacancy rates have fluctuated. That apparent contradiction — rising vacancy estimates alongside persistent eviction volume — is part of a broader housing dynamic playing out across the region.

The special election will be held Tuesday, Feb. 24, in the 22nd House District, which covers parts of East Allentown, Center City and a part of Salisbury Township. The debate was broadcast live on PBS39 and streamed here at LehighValleyNews.com.

Joining host Tom Shortell on this week's Political Pulse, Ryan Crosswell said his campaign is focused on two priorities: lowering costs for families and defending democratic institutions.

The early LIHEAP crisis numbers already represent a notable share of last winter’s total in the Lehigh Valley, according to data provided by the Department of Human Services.

An extreme cold warning, combined with a wind advisory also in effect, could mean wind chills as low as 20 degrees below zero for the region this weekend.

Appearing on this week's Lehigh Valley Political Pulse with host Tom Shortell, Pinsley framed his campaign around what he described as “bread and butter issues,” arguing that rising costs remain the central concern for voters, and that corporate power is to blame.

Gov. Josh Shapiro's 2026-27 budget proposal falls back on familiar proposals to regulate skill games and legalize marijuana, two flashpoints that fueled a months-long budget impasse last year.

"The IronPigs will be concluding our naming rights partnership with Coca-Cola in September of 2027, as at that time our current agreement will come to its successful completion,” IronPigs President Kurt Landes said at a joint news conference Tuesday.

The rich got richer in Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District race at the close of 2025. Campaign finance reports show Ryan Mackenzie, Bob Brooks and Ryan Crosswell raised nearly $1.4 million while Lamont McClure, Carol Obando-Derstine and Mark Pinsley each saw their campaigns lose money.

A webinar Monday brought together regional planners, engineers and industry leaders to explain how data centers operate and what their growth could mean for local communities.

Lehigh County election staff are preparing new polling places and drop box spots for the Feb. 24 special election for the state's 22nd House District between Democrat Ana Tiburcio and Republican Robert Smith Jr.

The Lilly lab gives the school its second major corporate training partnership; LCCC is one of four centers in the U.S. that trains people to work in Amazon’s advanced manufacturing facilities.