Northampton County News

Parental rights are on the agenda in school races as moms versus moms battle for control to set policies on book restrictions, bathrooms, transgender students and teaching history.

Nazareth school board members said they want to review the current regulations for reviewing books, concerned it's a slippery slope. Reviewing all books submitted to the district could cost more than $100,000.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

The Northampton County Department of Parks and Recreation on Friday held a free program for residents about the world’s only flying mammal, bats, at Louise Moore Park, 146 Country Club Road in Lower Nazareth Township.

The school board is expected to vote next week on a request by Moms for Liberty to ban a book. Three other written requests have also been filed.

Memorial Library of Nazareth and Vicinity hosted a children's storytime hour sponsored by the Northampton chapter of conservative group Moms for Liberty.

Former candidate Anna Thomas is taking another run at the 137th House District seat, announcing her run on Oct. 13, 2023.

Limiting the influx of warehouses into Lower Nazareth Township is the key issue for all three candidates for Lower Nazareth Township Board of Supervisors.

The Kellyn foundation aims to bring healthier, more accessible food options to people in the area. Their mobile farmers market goes all year round and now they are working with local farms to help grow their operations.

Open space usage and preservation, zoning and the environment are the major concerns of all three candidates in the race for two open seats on the Upper Nazareth Township Board of Supervisors.

FirstEnergy sought to raise local customers' electric bills by more than 9%, but the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission blocked the higher rate.

Built in 1790, the nationally recognized site is one of a few contributing structures at the Heller Homestead, which serves as a township park and museum along Friedensville Road near the Lower Saucon-Hellertown border.

The bipartisan House Tourism & Economic & Recreational Development Committee spent three days in the Lehigh Valley this week. Part of the visit included a hearing with local organizers to discuss funding celebrations of America's 250th anniversary.

The Lehigh County Board of Elections voted 3-0 to certify 191,158 ballots Wednesday afternoon. Fights over how to count contested provisional ballots are already popping up in the neck-and-neck U.S. Senate race between Bob Casey and David McCormick.

Northampton County's elections commission voted in a multi-day hearing to count provisional ballots missing certain signatures. Their decision has been challenged in county court.

A proposal to build a multi-story, 203,400-square-foot school in Allentown was advanced by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission's comprehensive planning committee on Tuesday.

At another budget discussion in October, Bethlehem Township Manager Doug Bruce said the fire services fund was “not in great shape” considering the purchase of three new fire trucks from 2023-25. A vote on the final budget is scheduled Dec. 16.

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.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court order Monday is a win for David McCormick and a loss for U.S. Sen. Bob Casey as the campaigns prepare for a statewide recount and press counties for favorable ballot-counting decisions.

The Pennsylvania Workforce Development Association held the ApprenticeshipPA Collaborative and Expo at Wind Creek Event Center. The program is designed to give people paid on-the-job training and employment in lieu of needing a college degree.

Officials on Monday morning cut the ribbon on its per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, treatment plant at the Bethlehem Landfill in Lower Saucon Township. The system uses air to separate the chemicals from water.

William Arthur Strunk of Stroudsburg entered the plea Friday before Judge Paula A. Roscioli, Northampton County District Attorney Stephen Baratta said in a release Monday.