Lehigh County News

Since it's not a presidential or midterm election, the 2023 municipal primary election may have snuck up on folks. If that surprises you, here are some other things you may not know about how our local elections are run.

Gavin Holihan, the uncontested candidate for Lehigh County district attorney, has been endorsed by incumbent Republican Jim Martin and Democratic County Executive Phil Armstrong, among others.

Three candidates for the local office said they focused on juggling campaign tasks around full-time jobs in the lead-up to the primary election. All were driven by a desire to educate voters and help people understand county government and its services.

They have been working without a contract since last summer and say they are overworked and short-staffed.

National issues are seeping into local races, turning elections into proxy partisan fights over race and gender.

Local elections rarely get the same level of participation as presidential races, but the outcomes often have greater impacts on voters' quality of life.

Like all the other major cities in the Lehigh Valley, Allentown is a patchwork of neighborhoods, some with good tree cover and some without any. Officials plan to use a mapping tool as a starting point to make planting trees city-wide more equitable.

Former journalist Ann Wlazelek pays tribute to her mother in a new book.

Debates in the South Whitehall commissioners race have taken place on the candidate's Facebook pages. The posts have primarily debated candidate Ben Long's positions and campaign style.

Concerts on the Grange is a two-day music festival that continues at 5:30 p.m. today, May 13, with tribute acts portraying The Doors and The Grateful Dead. Tickets, at $22 and $34, remain available on the SteelStacks website.

Three Lehigh Valley researchers are arguing bird-strike fatalities are much higher than we might think. They recently published a peer-reviewed study showing bird deaths from window strikes are nearly double previous estimates, and likely higher.

"The Play That Goes Wrong," will begin on Wednesday, May 29 through June 16 as part of Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival at DeSales University. The season also includes productions of "The Merry Wives of Windsor," "Winnie the Pooh and Friends," and "The Color Purple."

Lehigh Valley International Airport will offer people with intellectual and developmental disabilities a 'dress rehearsal' of catching a flight, the airport's governing body announced Tuesday.

Pennsylvania State Police say Jared Gerhard, 30, touched a 17-year-old girl inside a Lower Macungie Township Marshall's Friday while she was shopping with her family.

The colleges have formed a partnership to build and bring online a solar facility in western Kentucky. When completed, the facility will offset electricity usage at the institutions, effectively reducing greenhouse gas emissions from electricity generation to zero.

The Borough of Macungie 2024 Memorial Day program featured local veterans, emergency workers and elected representatives. It was the first program in five years in the borough.

The Allentown Health Bureau is collecting menstrual products for residents that don't have access or can't afford them. The period poverty initiative is underway during Menstrual Health Awareness Month.

Essentially a scholastic scrimmage for environmental science, the annual Envirothon combines classroom learning and outdoor activities to engage students in the environment. The state competition was held Wednesday at Camp Mt. Luther in Mifflinburg.

As residents and tourists explore the region’s many parks, bike trails and scenic overlooks — May is recognized as National Lyme Disease Awareness Month — health and environmental officials are cautioning visitors to check for ticks after their outdoor adventures.

Lehigh County commissioners reflected on Memorial Day, and voiced hope in seeing more veterans take advantage of property tax exemptions.

With renovations complete at Central Station, the borough is looking to sell and repurpose trailers used during renovations as it plans to redesign Lions Field park.

LCCC graduates must be enrolled full-time, attend classes in person, and maintain a 2.0 GPA for 12 consecutive quarters in order to transfer credits.