Lehigh County News

Catasauqua, East Allen Township, Hanover Township, North Catasauqua and Northampton Borough have spent years crafting a joint development plan on how to best steer development within their borders. Allen Township, though, isn't participating.

Building projects that would address overcrowding in the Parkland School District will cost between $169 million and $391 million, according to a presentation at the school board meeting this week.

There is $1.5 million in funds to be distributed to those in need by Community Action Lehigh Valley.

The water main broke late Tuesday and service has been restored to residents. Officials say the thoroughfare will reopen later today.

Paraprofessionals can get certified for free while continuing to work in their schools.

The Parkland School Board renewed a sports medicine and school health needs agreement with St. Luke's after state Sen. Jarrett Coleman urged them not to. He suggested the health network should find better ways to spend the money.

Making healthy choices easier and more accessible is the goal of a new project in Allentown. The city has teamed up with Lehigh Valley Health Network and a company called Blue Zones to improve the well-being of those who live there.

The Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas has appointed Curtis Dietrich to the Lowhill Township supervisors after ruling last week that he was unlawfully holding the position.

Pennsylvania State Police on Monday night said the driver, a 47-year-old man from Allentown, was not struck by gunfire, as state police initially reported. A trooper fired two rounds after a traffic stop Friday night at South Third and West Union streets. The driver was ordered to Lehigh County Jail.

“Demand was obviously greater than supply of resources, there’s no doubt about that,” Lehigh County Board of Commissioners Chairman Geoff Brace said, attributing the need to a combination of aging housing stock and the lack of household income in the region.

Fresh off his victory in an uncontested primary, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey visited the Hispanic Center of the Lehigh Valley Tuesday to highlight his efforts and criticize Republican challenger David McCormick.

Various state agencies came together to promote drug take-back day this weekend. People can drop off unused or outdated prescription pills at designated drop-off locations.

Pennsylvania's third most populous region received a "C" grade from the American Lung Association and ranked fourth-worst in the mid-Atlantic for ozone pollution. But, it's better than last year’s rankings in the annual "State of the Air" report.

A rundown of how all the local races shook out in Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary election — and the races that are now set for the general election in the fall, according to the counties' unofficial election returns.

State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta defeated Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley in Tuesday's Democratic primary, according to unofficial election results.

With another primary victory in the 136th District during Tuesday's Democratic primary, Rep. Bob Freeman has ensured he will win the seat yet again come fall.

Incumbent state Rep. Zach Mako defeated newcomer Zachari Halkias, a Slatington councilman, in the GOP primary in the 183rd District. He will be opposed by Democrat Joseph Lenzi in the November general election.

The Associated Press called the Republican primary for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District for Ryan Mackenzie on Tuesday night. He'll take on U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, D-Lehigh Valley, in the fall.

Lehigh Valley went to the polls Tuesday for the Pennsylvania primary election, but voters were hard to find throughout the day. Poll workers and observers reported a trickle of a turnout at districts in Lehigh and Northampton counties.

The Lehigh Valley Comprehensive Planning Committee on Tuesday unanimously approved an application from the Parkland School District for a 12,832-square-foot addition to the second floor of the new operations center currently under construction at 2619 Stadium Road in Orefield.

Parkland School Board last week appointed Kelly Bracetty as the new Girls and Boys Cross Country Coach for the 2024-25 school year.

Pennsylvania has been holding elections using no-excuse mail voting since 2019, and the state has steadily moved from persistent delays in reporting results to relatively quick turnarounds. This has been accomplished mostly thanks to workers’ increasing familiarity with the mail process, and state grants allowing counties to upgrade their equipment.