Lehigh County News

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

The U.S. Department of Commerce has opened applications for the first round of the Regional Technology and Innovation Hub program. Rep. Susan Wild, author of the program, said the Lehigh Valley is the perfect candidate for the funding.

The mayors of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton will participate in group bike rides for Lehigh Valley Bike to Work Week.

In its third year, Spring on the Farm is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. The free event includes a seedling sale, as well as other local vendors.

A program that started at Easton's Nurture Nature Center to protect area watersheds has already garnered state recognition. Now it's expanding.

Lehigh Valley planners held a public meeting Thursday at Allentown’s Bucky Boyle Park, where residents raised some safety concerns about the project.

The four-year contract will raise salaries by nearly 4.7% in the 2023-24 school year, with additional increase each subsequent year. The school board ratified a new contract with the teacher's union, the Allentown Education Association, on Thursday night.

Lehigh Valley high school students had the opportunity to see firsthand what it's like to be a nurse. A nursing simulation was held during National Nurses Week.

The EPA on Thursday announced a new proposal that would set new guidelines for power plants, requiring “ambitious reductions” in carbon pollution. A Pennsylvania environmental group calls the move a "big step in the right direction.”

A plan two years in the making is proving to be successful in Allentown. Nurses for the city and the district worked together to make sure students are safe from preventable disease.

The proposed 866,000-square-foot warehouse project in Bethlehem Township and Freemansburg is inconsistent with FutureLV, the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission determined on Thursday night.

Amidst high temperatures and even higher heat indexes, it is important to know how to cool down and relieve heat stress. However, the Lehigh Valley is underprepared for these extreme temperatures, says an expert.

A statewide drought watch is still in effect, even amid rounds of severe rainstorms and flash flooding.

Officials from Lehigh and Northampton counties are slated to gather at 11 a.m. Aug. 2 at 100 W. Lehigh St. in Bethlehem for a news conference focused on the new project, “Lehigh Valley Breathes.”

Ryan Mackenzie, the longtime Lehigh County state representative, will need to emerge from a crowded Republican field to challenge U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, the three-term incumbent.

Upper Macungie Township has filed an application with the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission for a zoning ordinance amendment for minimum lot requirements for distillery, microbrewery and winery use.

North Whitehall may get a new Wawa in Schnecksville. It would be part of the proposed King’s Route 309 Business Park.

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission's Comprehensive Planning Committee on Tuesday reviewed plans for proposed warehouses — in Bethlehem Township and Freemansburg Borough and another in Allen Township.

Nearly 70 years after the late Ernest Kotsch Sr. purchased a grocery store at Third and Union streets in Whitehall Township, Kotsch's Market on MacArthur Road is closing its doors. An auction to sell the contents was held on Monday.

Dorney Park traffic caused major delays on Hamilton Boulevard Saturday. A Dorney representative said the executive team is working with South Whitehall Township staff to address the issue.

The PACT Act makes it easier for veterans and their survivors to qualify for benefits if they served in the Middle East, Afghanistan or Vietnam. But to make the most of their benefits, they'll need to submit paperwork to the Department of Veterans Affairs by Aug. 9.

The late Russell Gackenbach, of Allentown, took the first photos of the atomic bomb drop on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945.