Lehigh County News

The Burn Prevention Network and Lehigh Valley Health Network educate parents about burn and fire risks to their children. What was once a packet of information will now be a video will be shown to those with newborns.

A team of students from Bangor Area High School placed ninth in this year's statewide Envirothon competition, essentially a scholastic scrimmage for environmental science. The team placed first for the wildlife station.

The 21st Century program is to help students with academic support and art and music enrichment.

In a map released Thursday, nearly the entire state of Pennsylvania was designated as “abnormally dry” by the U.S. Drought Monitor. The status is a precursor to drought and is likely to worsen over the next couple of weeks.

Upper Macungie Township is asking for community feedback during its review of the township's zoning ordinance and SALDO.

The mobile stroke unit at Lehigh Valley Health Network is expanding its reach with a new partnership. The specialized ambulance will now assist first responders in part of Berks County with neurological emergencies.

The Emmaus Arts Commission's Paint-A-Hydrant program has now given a new artistic life to nearly 80 hydrants throughout the Borough of Emmaus

The program started with 60 students in 2019, but the numbers have fallen off in the wake of the pandemic.

Nearly three dozen residents attended the May 25 meeting to hear about current grant-funded plans to redo sidewalks in sinking and poor conditions on Lockridge Lane, East Second Street and Roberts Street. The grant-funded project will make the sidewalks ADA compliant.

The school board will develop and vote on a new dress and grooming policy next for the 2023-24 school year.

Gas prices are going up for UGI customers in the near future, but the rate hike will be lower than expected after a settlement announced Thursday with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission.

The League of Women Voters of Lehigh County will moderate and run the forums in partnership with Lehigh Valley Public Media. Participating will be school board candidates from Allentown, Parkland, East Penn and Southern Lehigh school districts.

The Coalition of Manufactured Home Communities of Pennsylvania held a get-together Wednesday to discuss the lot rental price jumps throughout the communities, and tell residents how they are combatting it.

Officials behind the Lehigh Valley Breathes project have announced an Aug. 31 data cut-off date, ending the data collection phase. The project was launched in August 2023.

Lehigh County Commissioner Zach Cole-Borghi is the only defendant in an alleged interstate marijuana ring whom authorities have publicly identified. He made his first public comments since being arrested Aug. 28 at his job at Bethlehem City Hall.

“Sacred Planet with Gulnaz Khan,” is a four-part documentary series focused on how indigenous leaders and traditional religious communities across the world are grappling with the impacts of climate change.

The city EAC on Monday, with support from city officials, planned to launch a trash survey focused on containers. They also discussed the possibility of a pilot program.

Lehigh County took another look at the 2026 budget, highlighting some key areas of concern including a state budget shortfall which has forced the county to fall back on its stabilization fund.

The controller's report — published in mid-July — says the Guardian ad Litem program in Lehigh County lacks centralization, oversight and consistency in billing and compensation. That undermines "public trust in child welfare proceedings," he said.

The case against Matthew Wolfe relied heavily on the expert testimony of Dr. Debra Esernio-Jenssen, the former Lehigh Valley Health Network physician being sued for alleged medical child abuse misdiagnoses. With her credibility under scrutiny, prosecutors agreed to cut years off Wolf's sentence.

The $1,204,400 award through the Carbon Reduction Program will help LANTA make the most of its limited stops along the Enhanced Bus Service’s Blue Line and Green Line routes, according to LANTA Executive Director Owen O’Neil.

Tracy and Joshua Dechant, charged with attempting to starve their teen sons to death, have 60 days to find a defense lawyer, a judge said.