Lehigh County News

The Great Allentown Fair returns Wednesday, Aug. 27, and so does the competition for fair royalty. Here are the four Lehigh Valley finalists hoping to be crowned the next Great Allentown Fair queen.

On Sunday afternoon, Salisbury Township Police Department responded to a report of a motor vehicle that crashed into a home. During the incident, the driver was pinned between the vehicle and a home.

A 62-year-old Allentown man died Monday after his vehicle collided with a LANTA bus.

West Nile virus is endemic to Pennsylvania, including the Lehigh Valley. While human cases this year remain low, officials are still urging residents to avoid mosquito bites.

ICE agents have agreed not to wear masks and to present ID and warrants when operating inside the Lehigh County Courthouse. But county officials declined to spell out specific procedures for ICE inside the courthouses.

The Governor’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs has appointed 27 commissioners for its 2025-27 board, including several leaders from Lehigh and Northampton counties.

Detoured traffic during the ramp closure will continue on Route 309 to the Interstate 78 merge to Route 222 to Route 309 North to the Tilghman Street East exit.

On a narrow residential street, Etienne Theagene was driving 40.7 mph when he struck and killed Edward Tomcics, according to a criminal complaint filed Thursday.

Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s Bake Oven Knob Hawk Watch is back for another season. Officials are seeking volunteer observers and counters.

Until state legislators adopt a budget, state agencies can't reimburse counties for services they provide. Right now, Lehigh County is waiting on $12.5 million in reimbursements, with no end to the budget impasse in sight.

The Annual Pennsylvania Wild Turkey Sighting Survey, which began Tuesday, aims to track population trends across the state for a bird that once almost went extinct in the U.S.

The gunman showed up uninvited at a gathering outside a borough home late on the Fourth of July, borough police said. He fled after shooting three people as well as apparently accidentally shooting himself in the leg, the police chief said. The 18-year-old is being charged with several assault and weapons crimes.

There are 51 stops on this year’s trail. In its eighth year, the trail is focused on celebrating local creameries across the state while driving business during the summer months.

Legislators worked to establish penalties for xylazine use and trafficking in an attempt to lessen its presence in Pennsylvania's illicit drug supply. Some say doing so made way for a new, unclassified veterinary tranquilizer to take its place — medetomidine.

The tax and spending plan drew praise from Republicans for lowering taxes and funding border security, but Democrats condemned it for slashing Medicaid coverage and raising the deficit.

In a move that Santander Bank said aligns with the financial institution's digital shift nationwide, seven Lehigh Valley branches will be sold to Community Bank. Branches will remain open and employees will be offered continued employment during the transition, which is expected to complete by the end of the year,

South Whitehall Township's board of commissioners voted Wednesday to purchase upgraded radios for first responders in the township through a five-year payment plan provided by Lehigh County.

Nearly a year after the Biden administration designated xylazine as an "emerging threat" to the United States, Gov. Josh Shapiro classified it as a schedule III drug, making unauthorized possession a crime in Pennsylvania. Experts say the move has partly served to clear the way for new illicit substances to enter the drug market.

Allentown's Redevelopment Authority is applying for up to $2.5 million that could be used to rehab 10 single-family homes for low-income residents.

Despite not being approved for human consumption, veterinary tranquilizers are infiltrating the illicit drug supply in Pennsylvania. Harm reduction specialists and health care professionals say these overdoses can't be approached solely with naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug.

Newhard Farms Corn Shed opened Tuesday for sweet corn sales. While it opened a few days later than in recent years, there's expected to be a good supply this season.

The bill would limit the manufacture, sale, distribution and use of firefighting foam containing PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, beginning in 2026.