Lehigh County News

With the new year comes a new season of high school musicals, as hundreds of student performers begin rehearsals, hoping for a nomination at the 24th annual Freddy Awards.

Fewer than two dozen rank-and-file members from the Lehigh County Democratic Committee are set to nominate the party’s candidate for the Feb. 24 special election.

While the political news cycle can change on a dime, some clear stories appear in store for 2026, including the Lehigh Valley's congressional race.

For the first time, all three of the Lehigh Valley’s cities have a sustainability manager or coordinator, a role dedicated to sustainability initiatives and fighting the worsening impacts of climate change.

The rebate is meant to help seniors, widows and widowers and residents with disabilities who paid property taxes or rent in 2024.

Griddle 145, which since 2011 has operated on MacArthur Road, will close Wednesday, Dec. 31, the restaurant announced in a Facebook post today, Saturday, Dec. 27.

Gregg A. Henritzy was pronounced dead at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 25 in the emergency department at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest.

Families of children who are patients at Lehigh Valley Health Network were treated to a toy giveaway on Tuesday morning.

Days before Christmas, the Michael Ann & Saquon Barkley Hope Foundation teamed up with The Salvation Army and Ashley Furniture to help Allentown families recently displaced by fires. The effort provided beds, toys and essential items to children and parents.

Influenza cases are rising rapidly across the Lehigh Valley and Pennsylvania, with local hospitals reporting a sharp uptick in patients and state data confirming sustained growth in flu activity.

More than 130 people attended the panel, which focused on efforts across the state to tamp down on light pollution, not only to benefit star-gazers, but for fireflies and migrating birds, too.

A 22-year-old Allentown man has been charged in connection with a 2024 fatal shooting at Fountain Park in Allentown. He is one of four people charged in the shooting death of Angel Martinez-Velez.

Michael Breisch, of Wind Gap, was accused of killing Rose Josephine Hnath, a 78-year-old widow, in her North Whitehall Township home in January 1989, when he was 30 years old.

Lehigh Valley Political Pulse host Tom Shortell wants to hear from you. Readers are encouraged to submit questions through the link in the article. They may be addressed on a future episode of the program.

Plans for 48 apartments, including 40 affordable units, on Calvary Temple's South Whitehall Township property are not ready for approval, township officials said Thursday, but will be soon.

State police at Fogelsville said the boy died after being taken by ambulance to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest on Thursday afternoon.

PennDOT has decided to convert a normally empty parking lot off William Penn Highway into 30 or more truck parking spots. While warehouses have boomed across the Lehigh Valley, truck parking has failed to keep up.

The findings from St. Luke’s University Health Network’s recently completed triennial Community Health Needs Assessment revealed a host of medical-related conditions and concerns of Allentown residents.

Veronika Vostinak, Allentown's sustainability coordinator, on Wednesday gave a hourlong presentation to the Lehigh Valley Environmental Advisory Council Network on her experience with plastic reduction efforts, targeting single-use foodwares and reusables for dine-in.

Lehigh County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday introduced a measure enacting the 2026 county budget. It's the last step before a final vote this month.

While a full report is expected next year, researchers behind Lehigh Valley Breathes have released a data analysis, which includes three comparisons looking at fine particulate pollution across eight monitoring locations.

Low-income residents from in and around the Lehigh Valley met with UGI representatives Wednesday for assistance in managing their monthly heating bills.