Lehigh County News

Silk Lehigh Valley has to move from its location in the Hamilton Business Center after Allentown inspectors deemed the building an "immediate risk to human life” earlier this month.

Monsignor John P. Murphy headed St. Thomas More Church in Allentown for more than 40 years. He died Friday at age 86, according to the Diocese of Allentown.

Lehigh County Courthouse is expected to reopen a week after fire sprinklers damaged the building's electrical system Tuesday night.

The South Whitehall Board of Commissioners is seeking applications to fill a vacant seat. The current commissioners will conduct public interviews with applicants at a special meeting on Dec. 28, then vote to appoint one of them.

The Upper Macungie Planning Commission reviewed a sketch plan for renovations and expansions to Trexler Travel Center on 5829 Tilghman St.

It might seem counterintuitive, but harvesting holiday trees year after year is better for the environment than using an artificial one, experts said, especially amid the proliferation of plastic piling up in landfills.

The new position will appear on the ballot in 2025. The Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas had one of the higher caseloads for counties of its size.

Officials on Wednesday reviewed several preliminary transportation policy strategies for the Valley's priority climate action plan. The plan’s focus is to reduce carbon emissions from transportation, a significant driver of greenhouse gas emissions across the region.

More than three dozen projects in the Valley were awarded grants, receiving about 7% of the total funding awarded. Statewide, $335 million in grants were announced Wednesday.

KidsPeace, which provides behavioral and mental health services to children, collected about 1,400 toys for its 12th annual Angel Tree holiday gift drive.

This weekend is the 27th annual Lehigh Gap Area Feeder Watch. Officials are calling for volunteers.

North Whitehall Township Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Monday to grant approval to the final plan for the township building renovations.

South Whitehall received a grant of about $555,000 from PennDOT to modernize the intersection of Hamilton Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue. The intersection is next to Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom and has seen major traffic delays.

A class action lawsuit is in the works alleging Lehigh Valley Health Network and others falsely accused people of child abuse, a legal filing says.

With its workspace drastically reduced at the proposed Bethlehem Cultural Arts Center at the current site of the Banana Factory, the Pennsylvania Youth Theatre's search for a new venue continues

Given expected shortages, Allentown high schools and others are connecting the county elections staff with students in hopes of beefing up the number of young and bilingual poll workers.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, state parks across Pennsylvania were inundated with visitors.

The Brookside Meadows apartments land development plans were rejected in a 2-1 vote citing stormwater and traffic concerns

Nowhere Coffee Co. co-owners Juan and Lauren Vargas spoke at the Upper Macungie Township supervisors meeting Thursday about their frustration over what they said was a system not set up for small business owners.

The Lehigh Valley Town Center's Topgolf got final land development approval during Lower Macungie Township meeting Thursday.

Campaign finance reports show Republican Kevin Dellicker outraised the rest of the GOP field combined in his bid for PA-7. But Democratic incumbent Susan Wild raised twice as much as all of the Republicans put together.

In addition to two Lehigh County fatalities, three people have died in Northampton County crashes since Saturday, according to the Northampton County Coroner's Office.