Northampton County News

Police said Amir Sims-Watson, 17, opened fire on a group of pedestrians in Allentown before robbing a woman at gunpoint at Trexler Middle School. Two other teens are charged in the shooting.

The district will operate four elementary schools in the 2026-27 school year when East Allen Elementary opens. Moore Elementary will be closed, but the district will keep the property for potential use.

Northampton Area School Board voted 5-4 for the spending plan. Some school directors said the tax hike was too high and the district should have cut more expenses.

Nazareth Area School District on Tuesday approved a $117 million budget with a 2.95% tax increase for 2025-26, though not without some opposition.

Sister started colorectal cancer awareness fundraiser last year for her brother, who loved cars and cookies and died too young from the disease.

Governor Josh Shapiro, joined by local and state politicians, spoke out in support of mass transit investments for the betterment of the Commonwealth, at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hecktown Oaks Thursday.

Montgomery County-based Teeze became Roughhouse and hit it big on MTV in the 1980s. Now they're back together and playing their original album tonight at The Gin Mill in Northampton Borough.

Nazareth Area School Board approved a bid for a nearly $500,000 parking lot for Shafer Elementary School to accommodate growth and ease on-street parking.

School directors voted 5-3 for a $140.7 million spending plan that includes a 4% tax hike, which would raise $3.2 million in additional revenue for the district.

School directors voted 5-3 to continue funding the Northampton Area Public Library at its current level.

E-bike and scooter crashes are climbing in the Lehigh Valley and beyond. Police and public officials warn of rising deaths and confusion over Pennsylvania laws.

More than 130 people attended the panel, which focused on efforts across the state to tamp down on light pollution, not only to benefit star-gazers, but for fireflies and migrating birds, too.

Professor Louie and The Crowmatix will perform some of those songs when it performs at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 12, at the Bell Tower Cultural Center, 2904 Church Road, Lower Mount Bethel Township. Tickets, at $20, are available in advance at the Bell Tower website. They will be $25 at the door.

Twenty-seven city restaurants and eateries have so far responded to a single-use plastics survey.

Lehigh Valley Political Pulse host Tom Shortell wants to hear from you. Readers are encouraged to submit questions through the link in the article. They may be addressed on a future episode of the program.

The Gateway on Fourth, a 120-unit affordable housing project, expected to cost $29 million, just received $16 million in highly competitive tax credits awarded by the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency board. It's one of two affordable housing projects out of six total applicants in the Lehigh Valley to receive the credits.

PennDOT has decided to convert a normally empty parking lot off William Penn Highway into 30 or more truck parking spots. While warehouses have boomed across the Lehigh Valley, truck parking has failed to keep up.

Veronika Vostinak, Allentown's sustainability coordinator, on Wednesday gave a hourlong presentation to the Lehigh Valley Environmental Advisory Council Network on her experience with plastic reduction efforts, targeting single-use foodwares and reusables for dine-in.

Low-income residents from in and around the Lehigh Valley met with UGI representatives Wednesday for assistance in managing their monthly heating bills.

Senate Democrats have refused to fund the federal government unless Republicans agree to extend tax subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. U.S. Ryan Mackenzie supports the tax subsidies but echoed Republican demands that no deal can be struck until the federal government is funded.

The Environmental Advisory Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to send City Council a letter stating the EAC’s intent to work on a dark skies ordinance and urging city officials to consider collaborating, then adopting it when the time comes.

State environmental officials are calling on residents to nominate their favorite waterway to be 2026 River of the Year. The effort aims to elevate public awareness of specific rivers and recognize important conservation needs and achievements.