Lehigh County News

State lawmakers on Monday held a committee hearing titled “Minimizing Risk & Harm: Preparing for Pennsylvania’s Hydrogen Future.” It comes almost two months after President Joe Biden announced seven regional clean hydrogen hub projects, including two in Pennsylvania.

The state Department of Environmental Protection's Energy Programs Office will host five public engagement sessions in December, four in-person and one virtual, as officials work to create a priority climate action plan to address the negative effects of climate change.

Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority hosted its seventh year of Shop With A Cop at Catasauqua Middle School on Dec. 2.

South Whitehall Township will host its first Municipal Open House on Wednesday, Dec. 13 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The event will have light refreshments, including coffee, hot chocolate and cookies. There will also be giveaways of informational packets and flyers.

Rep. Susan Wild, D-Lehigh Valley, urged the U.S. House to take an unprecedented step Thursday and expel Rep. George Santos from office for alleged misconduct.

Mark Pinsley announced Friday, Dec. 1, that he will run for auditor general in 2024. The position oversees financial and performance audits of Pennsylvania state government.

Residents from the Lehigh Valley and beyond on Thursday attended the state Department of Environmental Protection’s last public comment meeting on the commonwealth’s interim environmental justice policy. The majority said the policy doesn’t go far enough.

With rain forecast, the Greater Northern Lehigh Chamber of Commerce has decided to hold its annual tree lighting ceremony virtually at 6:15 p.m. Friday at Veterans Memorial Park on Main Street.

While plans for the site include homes, offices, restaurants and other facilities at the 200-acre East Side property, regulations call for at least 35%, or about 70 acres, to be preserved as open space for outdoor recreation.

A proposed business park in Schnecksville would have an AutoZone along with a Wawa and a medical office building, the developer confirmed Wednesday.

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.

U.S. Rep.-elect Ryan Mackenzie said he expects the incoming Congress and Trump administration to attempt to pull back funding for some projects approved by the Biden administration. "We do want to make sure that the priorities and that the things we want to be achieving, not only as a country but in our local community, are met," he said in an interview with LehighValleyNews.com.

The owner of Board to Death Games at 338 Main St., just off the Emmaus Triangle, said he wants to be a space for both classic board games and more hardcore hobbyist games. Just down the road, on the same side of the Triangle, Let's Go Coffee Co. is set to open at 358 Main St.