Lehigh County News

FirstEnergy sought to raise local customers' electric bills by more than 9%, but the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission blocked the higher rate.

The 35-year-old woman faces up to 5 to 20 years in prison in connection with the child's death in April 2021. Authorities said she left the boy in the care of his visibly intoxicated father after giving the man what she believed was heroin.

The bipartisan House Tourism & Economic & Recreational Development Committee spent three days in the Lehigh Valley this week. Part of the visit included a hearing with local organizers to discuss funding celebrations of America's 250th anniversary.

The Lehigh County Board of Elections voted 3-0 to certify 191,158 ballots Wednesday afternoon. Fights over how to count contested provisional ballots are already popping up in the neck-and-neck U.S. Senate race between Bob Casey and David McCormick.

A proposal to build a multi-story, 203,400-square-foot school in Allentown was advanced by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission's comprehensive planning committee on Tuesday.

Cortex Residential is working toward a second affordable housing project in Allentown, with the developer confident of breaking ground on the first next year.

Lehigh County Coroner Dan Buglio says a new post-mortem CT scanner should be up and running in 4 to 8 weeks.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court order Monday is a win for David McCormick and a loss for U.S. Sen. Bob Casey as the campaigns prepare for a statewide recount and press counties for favorable ballot-counting decisions.

The Pennsylvania Workforce Development Association held the ApprenticeshipPA Collaborative and Expo at Wind Creek Event Center. The program is designed to give people paid on-the-job training and employment in lieu of needing a college degree.

The Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors said October data showed “a strong start to the fall selling season,” with new listings up 10.9 percent.

Team Pennsylvania on National Agriculture Day released “The Pennsylvania Agriculture Economic Analysis 2025.” The report takes a deep data dive into the commonwealth’s agriculture sector from 2012-2022.

'A Community Conversation: The Road Ahead' will feature several guests discussing Lehigh Valley traffic and transportation issues. It will be held Thursday, April 3, at the Univest Public Media Center in Bethlehem.

On Wednesday in Heidelberg Township, Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity continued her cross-state tour of informing residents about Money Match, a program that returns unclaimed money and property that belongs to them.

A Republican candidate who had filed a nomination petition withdrew that petition this week amid a challenge. That means the primary ballot for Allentown mayor will include two Democrats and no Republicans.

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission on Thursday approved its staff review of the proposed Executive Education Academy Charter School multi-sport stadium project. It now goes to the Allentown Planning Commission.

Jason Krasley, 48, was released Thursday on unsecured $100,000 bail in each case, which means he did not have to post any money, court records show.

Johansy Suarez-Rivas was pronounced dead at a St. Luke's Hospital in 2021 from fentanyl toxicity. Both parents have now plead guilty to charges associated with the case, Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan announced Thursday.

The airport authority's board of governors will vote next month on whether to consider new rules for companies competing to work on the authority's construction projects.

United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley is teaming up with local organizations to help raise funds for those displaced by the Hotel Lafayette fire.

Pasa Sustainable Agriculture on Wednesday held virtual town hall focused on the current freeze on U.S. Department of Agriculture grants earmarked for farmers implementing climate-smart production practices.

The board on Wednesday voted to correct the one-character mistake and schedule the amended bill for a second reading and vote at its next meeting April 9.

Schweyer, chairman of the Pennsylvania House Education Committee, said the department handles many important functions for public K-12 schools and higher education institutions.