Lehigh County News

Justin Simmons, who served a decade in the Pennsylvania House, is the first Republican to announce a bid for the county’s top job.

Ron W. Beitler is seeking reelection to the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners, he announced in a news release Tuesday.

At a North Whitehall Township Board of Supervisors meeting, residents showed up to voice concerns around the planned Nexus 78 project, and asked why they weren't being told more about it.

Whitehall Township Commissioners detailed an ordinance to initiate a referendum on the upcoming ballot to amend the township charter to eliminate the treasurer position.

Residents can comment on a draft of the 2025-2029 Pennsylvania Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, or SCORP, through March 3. There's a public input form, as well as scheduled webinars.

Three former Public Utility Commission chairmen say PPL is changing its tune on utility-owned generation. They say the Allentown-based utility company unnecessarily wants consumers to fund its power generation venture and profits.

David Isaiah Rivera, 26, was arraigned on charges alleging he fired at a group of people around 4 a.m. outside BKK Lounge, 1500 Union Boulevard, after a fight between two groups inside the club spilled into the parking lot.

A 32-year-old man died and three other people were wounded in a shooting in the parking lot of BKK Lounge, 1500 Union Blvd., early Sunday, according to Allentown police. It was the city's first homicide of 2025.

Many interchanges on Route 22 and Route 309 are badly outdated, leaving drivers to navigate increasingly unsafe roads.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.

Several county and municipal races in the Lehigh Valley were uncontested in the general election. That includes two of the highest-profile jobs in Lehigh and Northampton counties, as well as elected city representatives in Easton and Allentown.

North Whitehall Township's Zoning Hearing Board will hold a special meeting to discuss the zoning appeal for cat nursery Foxy’s Cradle on Nov. 20.

Some voters in Lehigh County said they came out to make their vote count in the school board elections. Others said they wanted to see what candidates would do for the community.

The three townships in the Parkland School District rejected an agreement to continue to give the district $5 from its Local Services Tax. The district will now lose an estimated $300,000 in revenue.

North Whitehall Township is hosting its second Veterans Day Luncheon on Thursday, Nov. 9. It will take place at the banquet hall of Schnecksville Volunteer Fire Company from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Voters are casting ballots in several races at the county and local levels in Tuesday's general election. School board seats and statewide judicial posts also are up for grabs. Check out our rundown and last-minute checklist to get up to speed.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

Rain doesn't appear to have dampened spirits as Macungie Halloween Committee shifts its plans for festival.

The first new building on Muhlenberg’s campus in more than a decade, the Fahy Commons for Public Engagement and Innovation, 2400 W. Chew St., has racked up three different sustainability awards and certifications.

The commission no longer has an investigator, forcing it to refer discrimination complaints about housing, employment and public accommodations to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.

Upper Macungie's proposed 2024 budget does not include a tax increase, but would increase the refuse and recycling fee.

Lehigh Valley Breathes is a Valley-wide effort to monitor air quality amid emissions from trucking and warehousing. The project is expected to run for a year.