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.

The new makerspace at Slatington Elementary School will help students learn STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) skills. It will primarily be used by an after school program called Schools & Homes In Education, or SHINE.

A Verizon cellular tower was approved at 6341 Chestnut St. in Upper Milford Township on the property of the Western District Fire Company after a heavily attended public meeting.

The combination of higher home prices and higher interest rates are making homes unaffordable for many — and putting a damper on the market.

$798,869 is set for a Turkey Hill Mini Market in Allentown off of I-78, Exit 57 and $727,420 is designated for a charging station at the Wawa off I-78 Exit 49 A-B

Dorney Park's upcoming new roller coaster Iron Menace is a multi-million dollar project that officials hope will bring attendance back to pre-pandemic levels.

North Whitehall supervisors chose a layout for the upcoming township building renovations Monday. The project’s estimated cost is just over $5 million.

Residents gave feedback for the State Route 309 Roadway Betterment Project at a plans display Tuesday.

The final plan for Timberidge Luxury Apartments on Levans Road was approved by North Whitehall's Board of Supervisors Monday.

Residents of Afton Village in Center Valley spent Tuesday cleaning up after an intense storm rushed through parts of the Lehigh Valley on Monday evening. Most of the damage was limited to toppled trees. No injuries from the storm were reported.

Conditional-use approval is being requested for a 116-unit, age-restricted special care residential community on Rural Road in Whitehall Township. The 55-and-over community would consist of single-family attached and detached dwellings.

Residents near the area had been asked to shelter in place.

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.