Lehigh County News

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission last week released a draft of its Priority Climate Action Plan, a document almost a year in the making aimed at tamping down the region’s carbon emissions and mitigating the effects of climate change.

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.

The three GOP candidates for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District discussed cutting taxes, reducing regulations and passing a balanced budget amendment as ways to improve the U.S. economy. (Third of five parts)

Maria Montero, Kevin Dellicker and Ryan Mackenzie discuss isolationism, NATO and the conflicts in Ukraine and Israel. The three Republicans are vying for the GOP nomination in the 7th Congressional District to face incumbent U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, D-Lehigh Valley. (Second of five parts)

Kevin Dellicker, a Republican candidate for PA-7, said he could support federal legislation setting stricter restrictions on abortion. His opponents in the Republican primary, Ryan Mackenzie and Maria Montero, said the issue of abortion access should be left to the states. (First of five parts)

Lehigh County is pulling the Child Advocacy Center, which serves children who may have been abused, out of Lehigh Valley Health Network. The new center may lack a medical specialist in the field.

As Miller-Keystone Blood Center is set to no longer be the primary supplier of one of its largest customers, supporters are speaking out about what the nonprofit center has done for them. Blood donors, recipients and coordinators are sharing their life-saving stories.

Willow Haven Farm began its Foster a Chick program this week. Community members can take home the farm’s day-old baby chicks, take care of them for a few weeks, then return them to the farm.

In their first meeting since the passenger rail feasibility study was revealed, Lehigh Valley Planning Commission officials said it would take months for any further decisions to be made.

For the third year in a row, St. Luke's University Health Network topped health systems in Pennsylvania for charitable giving, according to the Lown Institute.

More than 350 young students throughout the Greater Lehigh Valley participated in a mural painting event at Lehigh Valley Children's Center in Allentown on Thursday.The completed mural will appear on an exterior wall of the new Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. The center is slated for a May 22 opening.

Allentown will receive $500,000 from the Commonwealth Financing Authority’s Multimodal Transportation Fund to extend the MLK Trail and connect it with Lehigh Parkway.

The North Whitehall Planning Commission reviewed a preliminary/final plan for Phase II of Timberidge Luxury Apartments, an apartment complex near Main Street and Levans Road that is currently under construction.

Mack Defense, a subsidiary of Mack Trucks, provides heavy duty vehicles to not only the U.S. military but allied militaries around the world. David C. Hartzell Sr., president and CEO of Mack Defense, discussed the company's commitment during a Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce event.