Lehigh County News

In a move that Santander Bank said aligns with the financial institution's digital shift nationwide, seven Lehigh Valley branches will be sold to Community Bank. Branches will remain open and employees will be offered continued employment during the transition, which is expected to complete by the end of the year,

South Whitehall Township's board of commissioners voted Wednesday to purchase upgraded radios for first responders in the township through a five-year payment plan provided by Lehigh County.

Nearly a year after the Biden administration designated xylazine as an "emerging threat" to the United States, Gov. Josh Shapiro classified it as a schedule III drug, making unauthorized possession a crime in Pennsylvania. Experts say the move has partly served to clear the way for new illicit substances to enter the drug market.

Allentown's Redevelopment Authority is applying for up to $2.5 million that could be used to rehab 10 single-family homes for low-income residents.

Despite not being approved for human consumption, veterinary tranquilizers are infiltrating the illicit drug supply in Pennsylvania. Harm reduction specialists and health care professionals say these overdoses can't be approached solely with naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug.

Newhard Farms Corn Shed opened Tuesday for sweet corn sales. While it opened a few days later than in recent years, there's expected to be a good supply this season.

The bill would limit the manufacture, sale, distribution and use of firefighting foam containing PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, beginning in 2026.

Xylazine, an animal-grade tranquilizer that's not approved for human use, has taken Pennsylvania's illicit drug supply by storm. Known on the streets as "tranq," it accounted for almost 1 in 4 overdose deaths in Pennsylvania by 2023. Last year in Lehigh County, it was a contributing cause of death in 20 of the 112 deadly overdoses, or 17.9 percent of cases.

The funding comes from the commonwealth’s Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure program, a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Known as "tranq" on the streets, an animal tranquilizer named xylazine infiltrated drug supplies throughout Pennsylvania since 2019. Its presence in the Lehigh Valley has grown, with deadly consequences.

Letters of application for renewals of existing wastewater treatment plants and related discharges at Lehigh Township Municipal Authority-Pennsville and Lehigh Carbon Community College were approved by the LVPC Environment Committee on Tuesday morning.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering the eastern hellbender for protections under the federal Endangered Species Act. Find out why habitat loss and the pet trade are contributing to population declines.

A new bridge in Lower Saucon Township allows pedestrians to navigate from Hellertown to Quakertown uninterrupted. A grand opening ceremony was held Saturday.

If predictions stay true, the Lehigh Valley would be on the higher end of the 4- to 7-inch range of snowfall. PennDOT and the PA Turnpike Commission have set vehicle and road restrictions.

With a ban of the social media platform TikTok imminent, Lehigh Valley business owners are weighing in on how it will affect their marketing efforts.

Find the details on upcoming restaurant weeks from East Penn to Northampton Area including participants, giveaways and featured menus.

Shapiro highlighted his administration's historic investments in K-12 public education in the last two years before his budget address in the first week of February.

Francis Anonia, a former Parkland High School performing arts teacher, was arraigned in Lehigh County Court on Friday morning on charges he used his cell phone multiple times to secretly record a male student in a school changing room in 2022. If found guilty of all 19 charges, he could face up to 88 years in prison.

Bethlehem City Council on Dec. 17 unanimously approved the work, allocating $57,850 for local firm Traffic Planning and Design Inc. to complete the preliminary design measures sometime this year but before Dec. 31.

South Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners on Wednesday night voted 3-2 against a text amendment request that would have allowed for the building of a 8,000-square-foot restaurant at the Ridge Farms mixed-use housing development.

Allentown's EAC accomplished a lot in the past year, including successfully lobbying for two pieces of legislation and supporting a sustainability coordinator for the second year.

Angry and frustrated family and friends of the late Edward Tomcics packed the Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday, imploring them to address the speeding epidemic on Water Street. Tomcics, 75, was struck and killed outside his home on Dec. 25. An investigation into the incident is underway.