Lehigh County News

The Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital on Monday received a check in the amount of $114,676 from Spirit Halloween, a national costume retailer, for its Child Life Program. The amount increased the retailer's donation to the program over $1 million since 2012.

Aleah Nothstein, of Boot Scootin' with Aleah, teaches line dancing in New Tripoli and Bethlehem with her beau, DJ Mullet.

An influx of residents and warehouses have made highways in Lehigh and Northampton counties more crowded. An analysis by LehighValleyNews.com finds some stretches of road have experienced increases of 40% to 50% in traffic volume, with Route 33 overtaking Interstate 78 as the region's second-busiest highway.

A recent bald eagle rehabilitation and release is a bright spot amid a dangerous time for bald eagles in the Lehigh Valley and the rest of the commonwealth. Bird flu continues to threaten wild bird populations, causing more than a dozen bald eagles to be euthanized across Pennsylvania.

A five-part series this week will explore traffic and transportation issues in the Lehigh Valley. Increasing traffic volume, dangerous driving and insufficient infrastructure are among the topics examined.

Justin Simmons, the former Republican state representative, was among three people who filed nomination papers last week to seek the party's nomination in the May 20 primary election.

The first-of-its-kind report, “Wildlife Corridors: How reconnecting habitats is protecting Pennsylvania’s native species," highlights 10 innovative wildlife corridor projects around the state.

The Lehigh Valley's only Muffler Man, located in Coopersburg, only continues to gain attraction as the years go by. This time, Giant Chip has secured a spot among the state's top "quirkiest" roadside attractions, alongside only one other Muffler Man in the state to make the list.

Democratic VIPs including U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, DNC Chair Ken Martin and former U.S. Rep. Susan Wild attended the town hall at Cathedral Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem on Thursday night. The evening came with a rebuke to attendees from the church pastor.

At a virtual town hall Thursday, U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, said he did not support cuts to Medicare or Social Security, called for peace in Ukraine, and gently pushed back on how the Trump administration handled cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development.

State environmental officials on Thursday evening hosted the last of five public engagement sessions, as they work to create a Priority Climate Action Plan, or PCAP, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emission statewide and mitigate further effects of climate change.

The Upper Macungie Zoning Hearing Board on Wednesday approved plans for a 60-foot tall, 326,859 square-foot building expansion to Americold Logistics’ cold storage warehouse at 7150 Ambassador Drive.

The new official map marks recently acquired land, while setting priorities for future desired open space.

A Tuesday evening webinar cosponsored by the Bethlehem Area Public Library and Bethlehem Food Co-Op focused on how residents can meaningfully participate in the city’s efforts to fight climate change.

Upper Macungie supervisor and former township staffer Kathy Rader had her final meeting with the board Thursday. Rader first joined the board in 2006, and she worked for the township from 1985 to 2016.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture updated its plant hardiness map, showing a warmer Lehigh Valley. The region has moved into a warmer zone from the one where it was placed more than a decade ago. Experts say it has consequences for plant seasons and species.

Upper Macungie's Board of Supervisors adopted the 2024 budget on Thursday. The property tax millage rate will stay at 0.64, but the refuse and recycling fee will increase by $30.

The bill will be reworked by the Lehigh County Human Relations Advisory Council and legislators after conflicting amendments prevented it from moving forward

Almost 11,000 birds of prey were counted this year during the Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s annual autumn hawk watch as they made their way along the raptor "superhighway" in the Valley’s backyard.

South Whitehall Township residents will not have to pay more in township taxes next year, but the waste collection fee will soon increase.

Northampton Community College, Lehigh Carbon Community College and 13 other institutions have yet to receive operating funds authorized in the fiscal-year budget lawmakers approved over the summer.

The North Whitehall Township Board of Supervisors approved the implementation of a four-day work week for municipal staff after a ten-month trial period.