Northampton County News

Northampton Area school directors approved the second round of financing for the East Allen Elementary School and education center project at their meeting last week.

Bethlehem Area school directors approved the purchase agreement for 315 Columbia St. in South Bethlehem at their Monday meeting. The space would serve as a satellite campus for the Bethlehem Area Vo-Tech School.

A partnership between Second Harvest Food Bank and the GIANT Company will make sure a thousand families have a Thanksgiving dinner.

Northampton Area School Board approved Kovalchik's retirement at Monday's school board meeting. It will be effective July 1.

Addison Agen, who finished second to Chloe Kohanski on the show's 13th season, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, at the center at 30 E. Belvidere St., Nazareth.

State Rep. Joe Emrick won Pennsylvania's 137th House District in his battle against Democratic challenger Anna Thomas.

Republican state Rep. Zachary Mako was well on the way to defeating Democrat Joseph Lenzi to win a fifth term representing the 183rd House District.

The Gap Fire, which erupted Saturday near Route 248 in Lehigh Township, has drawn hundreds of firefighters over four days. Crews have gotten the upper hand and are now searching for and extinguishing hotspots, officials said.

Nazareth Borough Council chose to table a potential ban on backyard chickens, ducks, and other fowl so their legal committee could review the matter, after dozens of chicken supporters spoke out during their Nov. 4, 2024 meeting.

Around 10 p.m. Sunday, the evening operation was passed off to DCNR State Wildland Crews, the Lehigh Township Volunteer Fire Co. said on social media. A planned backburn was underway to stop the spread of a fire burning since Saturday.

Monarch butterflies are starting to migrate through the Lehigh Valley. An annual tagging program, held at Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, helps conservation efforts.

How to assist the homeless and food insecure in Bethlehem and the Lehigh Valley was the central message the New Bethany Souper Day Fundraiser luncheon at ArtsQuest Center on Friday.

Testimony that will help a Northampton County judge decide if a lawsuit against the Bethlehem Landfill and Lower Saucon Twp. can move forward continued Friday, and will stretch into a third day.

Representatives from the Department of Homeland Security and local nonprofit Bloom shared ways to recognize human trafficking during a town hall Thursday in Pen Argyl.

Families who pay tuition for schooling are on the receiving end of more than $200,000. The Bridge Educational Foundation is giving scholarships to those who meet the income qualifications at two area schools.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America released its report of the most challenging places to live with asthma. The release coincides with peak asthma season in September.

The Northampton County Office of the District Attorney said an email scam has been taking place in the county, known as "sextortion." The cyber scam is part of an active investigation between local law enforcement and the District Attorney's Office.

"I've never seen traffic in the Lehigh Valley and the aggressiveness that we've seen in the past couple of years like it is now. It’s absolutely [expletive] bananas," one Lehigh Valley lawmaker said.

State Rep. Ryan Mackenzie and U.S. Rep. Susan Wild tangled over Medicare, foreign affairs and Social Security during an hourlong debate Friday at WFMZ's Salisbury Township studio.

In the first round of Neighborhood Assistance Program funding from the state, Lehigh Valley-based programs received more than $2 million.

Northampton County Council voted 5-4 Thursday to provide free pads and tampons in every county-owned restroom equipped with running water, including men's rooms.

Former Hellertown Police Chief Robert Shupp was formally arraigned in a Northampton County court Thursday on charges of stealing from the borough, inching the case towards a trial.