Lehigh County News

Proposed housing development Strawberry Acres may need a redesign after North Whitehall planners gave an unfavorable recommendation for a waiver.

Community leaders gathered to walk around — literally — and brainstorm ways to make things safer for those who don't drive. The effort will last into the fall and involves several communities in Lehigh and Northampton counties.

Mayors in Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton are coming together to fight against worsening climate change and strengthen sustainability across the region. Two of the three cities have their own climate action plans.

The first new building on Muhlenberg’s campus in more than a decade, the Fahy Commons for Public Engagement and Innovation, 2400 W. Chew St., opened in January. The 20,000-square-foot, three-floor building cost $13.2 million and is one of the first buildings in the world expected to achieve a rigorous sustainability certification for buildings that give more than they take.

All guests ages 15 years old and younger must be accompanied by a chaperone who is at least 21 years old “in order to be admitted to, or remain in, the park” after 4 p.m. until close.

Behavioral health services are moving from the current Allentown VA clinic. Veterans will soon receive mental health treatment at a new office.

South Whitehall commissioners granted preliminary/final approval to plans for the new Parkland School District operations center at their meeting Wednesday.

Michael J. Marko, who was killed in a torpedo bombing of his ship 79 years ago today, is among World War II veterans whose stories are being kept alive by the nonprofit national storytellers.

A proposed new roller coaster at Dorney Park cleared the final hurdle from South Whitehall Township.

Hasshan Batts, executive director of Promise Neighborhoods of Lehigh Valley, has been named a Fulbright Specialist. He will travel abroad to share his expertise with other countries in areas of violence prevention and health care.

State and county officials have long requested more time to pre-canvass mail-in ballots along with other changes to Pennsylvania's election code. But with the General Assembly gridlocked, those changes are stalled.

State environmental officials awarded $2.55 million in grants as part of a statewide effort to improve air quality in communities through cleaner fuel transportation infrastructure.

The Lehigh Valley (Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro) not only made a significant jump in November’s Realtor.com Market Hotness rankings, it also held steady in the company’s 2025 forecast.

Plans by Pediatric Cancer Foundation of the Lehigh Valley to construct a 1,200-square-foot addition to its existing administrative offices at 4501 Crackersport Road were approved by the South Whitehall Township Planning Commission on Thursday night.

Three farms in Lehigh County were the latest to be included in Pennsylvania’s Farmland Preservation Program. The program aims to ward off development and protect open spaces.

During the 2023-24 hunting seasons, a record-breaking 261,672 pounds of venison from 6,905 deer and six elk statewide was donated through Hunters Sharing the Harvest. Find out how much was donated in the Lehigh Valley.

Part of the DCNR Community Conservation Partnerships Program, the grants support projects to develop new parks, rehabilitate existing spaces and protect vital natural habitats. A dozen Lehigh Valley projects were funded.

Christian Martinez-Ramos, 35, was charged with homicide and aggravated assault-knowingly or recklessly extreme indifference, in the death of Hector Manuel Garcia Gomez, 46 of Palmerton, Carbon County.

Patricia Fuentes Mulqueen, a longtime prosecutor, will run for Lehigh County judge, she announced Tuesday.

The site would accommodate 30 tractor-trailer loading docks, 148 employee parking lot spaces and 44 tractor-trailer parking spaces.

Residents expressed anger toward the township board of commissioners for an 86% increase in annual garbage collection fees in Whitehall Township.

The shooting occurred early Saturday night in a parking lot off the 1100 block of MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township, near Jordan Parkway, according to the Lehigh County Coroner's Office.