Lehigh County News

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.

While the penguins were taken off exhibit, barnyard birds and waterfowl at Lehigh Valley Zoo were shuffled to different enclosures so visitors could still view them.

Thousands were in the dark in Lehigh and Northampton counties as thunder rumbled and lighting flashed Friday afternoon in parts of the Lehigh Valley. Wind gusts reached more than 50 mph.

David J. Gibbs, 34, was killed and two others were hurt in a shooting early Friday morning inside Big Woody's Sports Bar and Restaurant on Allentown’s East Side, authorities said.

Lehigh County Commissioners voted Thursday to approve a new memorandum of understanding with United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1776. The union's members will get a 3% raise next year.

During Phase II of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission's process, planners will look to determine a preferred route and whether to connect the railway system to Philadelphia, New York or Reading.

Lehigh County Democratic Chair Lori McFarland said party officials will not conduct their interviews or selection process for the upcoming 22nd House District in public view.

Gemma, a fisher, has died, zoo officials announced Monday. She was an animal ambassador at the zoo for more than a decade.

Registered voters have until 5 p.m. Tuesday, May 13, to request a mail-in ballot for the May 20 primary election. In Lehigh and Northampton counties, the primary will be limited exclusively to registered Democrats and Republicans.

With passengers at Lehigh Valley International Airport and at other local airports, the compliance rate for REAL ID "has been extremely high," officials said. But for those without it, the phased enforcement "won't last forever."

State Sen. Lisa Boscola and and state Sen. Nick Miller, both Democrats, voted in favor of legislation that would prevent transgender athletes from competing in girls' sports. State Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-Lehigh/Bucks, also supported it.

Elijah Patterson, 19, of Allentown, was found guilty of first-degree murder and other charges after a three-day Lehigh County Jury trial in March.

Said Township Police Chief Frank Lombardo, “The decisions that I make, while for the organization, will always be guided by my time on the street, which brought every type of experience a police officer could have.”

Mike Welsh and Roger MacLean are seeking the Republican nomination for Lehigh County executive in the May 20 primary election. They debated Wednesday at the Univest Public Media Center in Bethlehem.

Lehigh County Pension Board voted 4-2 to instruct its investment manager to immediately cease all new investments in Tesla. One county commissioner said Controller Mark Pinsley politicized the issue in an effort to grab headlines.

Even with several days of rain, the Lehigh Valley remains well below average in long term levels of precipitation. Here's how the rest of the month could shape up.

More than 50 local landmarks, restaurants, and shops are featured in a new TV and streaming platform commercial. The ad will air in households in Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey.

Political Pulse host Tom Shortell and political scientist Chris Borick dive into the complex relationship between American health care and politics, with specific regard to Pennsylvania and its role as a "purple" state in elections. Insights from a recent Muhlenberg College survey help depict Pennsylvanians' attitudes on the matter.

Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners will consider a request by Fellowship Community retirement community to complete its proposed expansion in three phases instead of one, as was originally proposed. The change is because of lack of funding.