Lehigh County News

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.

WLVR's Brad Klein talks with Bethlehem's Backyard Astronomy Guy, Marty McGuire about planetary viewing in this week's Watching the Skies. Leading into the first week of July, viewers can snag a better view of the planet Mercury just after sunset.

Hundreds were evacuated but no serious injuries were reported in the fire at Independence Square Apartments, 1 Maryland Circle, near the Lehigh Valley Mall.

PennEnvironment's 2024 “Renewables on the Rise” report ranks every state for the production of wind energy, solar power, energy storage and other metrics over the last decade, tracking growth.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump will rally supporters Tuesday at the PPL Center in Allentown. It's his second campaign visit to the Lehigh Valley this year.

After a bit of back-and-forth, Lehigh County's 2025 budget is now final. If it's followed to the letter, the County will spend $554 million next year.

Two Allentown officers alleged they faced retaliation after trying to report their colleagues to superiors.

The inaugural Lehigh Valley Nonprofit Impact Conference at Wind Creek Event Center on Wednesday attracted 300 participants designed to bring nonprofit and community leaders together.

Covering 187 acres in Salisbury and Upper Saucon townships, the sanctuary has seven different trails, and is the conservancy’s ninth nature preserve in the Lehigh Valley.

Bethany Church, citing membership declines following a change of pastors and the COVID-19 pandemic, is opting to sell one of its locations to the hospital network.

The plan, estimated to cost more than $300 million over the next decade, seeks to overhaul and upgrade aging water and wastewater infrastructure across more than a dozen Lehigh County municipalities.

Secretary of Revenue Pat Browne testified on the floor of the state senate that some protected tax information about the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone could not be disclosed even to state lawmakers or publicized as otherwise required by state law.

A land developer's request of the DEP to have Lowhill Township amend its sewage plan was viewed unfavorably during a project review by a committee of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.

The stage is set for the transformation of the overgrown former foundry site at 300 Furnace Street into 144 apartments in four buildings.