Lehigh County News

Many interchanges on Route 22 and Route 309 are badly outdated, leaving drivers to navigate increasingly unsafe roads. PennDOT has plans to address several of them, including trouble spots in Fullerton and Center Valley.

About 150 people are expected to gather at Covered Bridge Park in South Whitehall Township early Sunday morning for the Lehigh Valley groundhog lodge's annual celebration.

For the first time ever, Pennsylvania will return unclaimed property automatically, without requiring forms or other red tape. 8,000 Pennsylvanians will receive letters this week, with checks following in 45 days.

The Trump administration directive, rescinded Wednesday, could have put tens of millions of dollars at risk across the Lehigh Valley, speakers said Friday outside the Lehigh County Government Center.

Democrat Geoff Brace, who represents the county’s 4th District, announced his plans to seek another term.

Led by Executive Producer Brittany Sweeney, the one-hour special focuses on homelessness in the Lehigh Valley, the work around it and the search for solutions.

The victim in Tuesday's crash on Route 100 was identified Thursday as Krishan Kumar of Upper Macungie. He was a passenger in a car that collided with a tractor trailer in the area of Route 100 and Schaefer Run Road.

The results of the 2023 citywide greenhouse gas inventory are in. The project was part of Penn State’s Local Climate Action Program.

Lehigh Valley lawmakers have continued to raise concerns about traffic safety in the area. On Tuesday, Sen. Jarrett Coleman announced that PennDOT would designate Route 22 a safety corridor, which should be a step toward traffic safety, a PennDOT representative said.

Brenda Rodriguez, 51, of Palmerton is charged with criminal solicitation/criminal homicide and conspiracy-aggravated assault in the shooting death of her husband, Hector Manuel Garcia Gomez, 46, of Palmerton on Dec. 7.

Five farms, three in Lehigh County and two in Northampton County, were the latest to be included in the commonwealth’s Farmland Preservation Program, along with more than a dozen others across the state.

Francis Malofiy of law firm Francis Alexander on Tuesday filed a complaint for a class action lawsuit on behalf of 12 families who all say they were falsely accused of child abuse by LVHN doctors.

After months of debates, amendments and rewrites, a wide-spanning non-discrimination law has been passed, covering all of Lehigh County.

South Whitehall Township recently launched Transportation PLAN, a comprehensive transportation planning initiative.

A Lehigh Valley resident was recognized as a “Volunteer of the Year” for 2023 by Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, a statewide nonprofit that focuses on litter cleanups and community improvements.

Tuesday served as a preview of the political campaigns to come as candidates filed paperwork to appear on the April primary ballot. Voters will decide races for president, Congress and the General Assembly among others this year.

Whitehall Township commissioners selected new member Rob Piligian after several votes during a meeting Monday night, just shy of the deadline to do so.

A change.org petition opposing the new mascot chosen by the Whitehall-Coplay School District has attracted more than 1,200 signatures. The mascot, named Big Z, is so named in honor of the school name Zephyr, which was also a train that once ran through Whitehall Township.

Candidates for president, Congress, the General Assembly and Pennsylvania's row offices must file their petitions with the state by Tuesday. Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley could be a critical swing region at both the national and state levels.

One area of potential concern at the Allentown State Hospital had been the presence of dioxins in the soil. Dioxins are a group of toxic chemical compounds that take a long time to break down in the environment, and can cause health problems in people.

With an inconclusive prediction, Sunday's Super Bowl is up in the air — according to the Lehigh Valley Zoo's otters. The zoo in Lehigh County hosted its Otter Bowl XIII, which drew hundreds of spectators Saturday.

It’s a special year for cicadas, insects known for their high-pitched mating songs. Two adjacent broods are expected to co-emerge for the first time in 221 years. Here's the next time they emerge in the Valley.