Lehigh County News

Sketch plans for an athletic complex for Allentown Central Catholic High School were reviewed by the Whitehall Township Planning Commission on Wednesday night.

Applications are open for the second Good Farmer Award U.S. Officials are looking for farmers with less than 10 years of experience who exemplify sustainable farming practices while contributing to community and environmental health.

Lehigh County executive candidates Josh Siegel and Roger MacLean met in a debate Wednesday night hosted by Lehigh Valley Public Media in Bethlehem. Siegel argued the next executive needs to have big plans for the office, where MacLean positioned himself as offering more stability.

Plans for a 190,400-square-foot distribution facility along Main Street received unanimous conditional final approval from the Whitehall Township Planning Commission on Wednesday night.

Republican Roger MacLean and Democrat Josh Siegel are vying for a four-year term as Lehigh County executive. The winner in the Nov. 4 election will succeed Democrat Phil Armstrong, who cannot run again because of term limits.

Authorities allege Adam Makowka, 28, of South Whitehall Township, fatally shot Jereka Battle in her Allentown apartment in July.

A crop farm in Lehigh County was included in the latest round of Pennsylvania's Farmland Preservation Program. Twenty-three other farms across the state were also preserved.

Operations at Lehigh Valley International Airport have not suffered from the government shutdown to date, according to Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority officials. However, an increase in air traffic controllers calling out sick during the last shutdown spurred a deal in 2019.

In its 10th year, and led by the Watershed Coalition of the Lehigh Valley, the conference theme was “Back to Basics,” and drew a sold-out crowd with about 180 people, including professionals and volunteers.

School Director Emily Gehman said Southern Lehigh has a pattern of pay disparities between female employees and their male colleagues.

Some Lehigh Valley municipalities are dealing with a growing number of at-large, loose or abandoned animals. Salisbury Township is seeing a record-breaking year of dogs escaping from their homes.

WLVR’s Brad Klein speaks with Environment & Science Reporter, Molly Bilinski about the start later this month of the annual Bake Oven Knob Hawk Watch.

Maria Montero, an Easton resident, is seeking the Republican nomination to challenge U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, the incumbent Democrat, in the Lehigh Valley's 2024 congressional race.

A wound care clinic, independent of the area hospitals, is now open in Salisbury Township. The office is staffed with physical therapists to treat a wide range of injuries.

Bill Bachenberg is accused in a $10 million lawsuit of hiring a cybersecurity company to analyze voting machines in Fulton County for voting irregularities but than stiffing it when it found no evidence of voter fraud.

Upper Macungie Police Department has a new K-9 named Nyala. She was introduced at the Board of Supervisors meeting Thursday.

Route 309's improvement plan will be displayed at the South Whitehall Township Municipal Building on Tuesday.

Called “Lehigh Valley Breathes,” the more than $100,000 project includes installing 40 PurpleAir monitors throughout the region. Officials plan to collect data for a year.

The rehab program, if completed succesfully by the accused person, could result in their charges being reduced or dropped before they even make it to court.

The center's annual Bake Oven Knob Autumn Hawk Watch begins in just over two weeks. Officials are hosting an informational Zoom session at 7 p.m. Aug. 9 to share the history of the count and volunteer opportunities, as well as how to count migrating raptors and some tips for identification.

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.

Extending from Allentown to north of Coplay, the gap, made up of two main sections delineated by the Lehigh River, is expected to be closed in a little over a decade, officials said.