Northampton County News

As the North American Music Merchant's yearly show kicks off in California, music lovers in Nazareth can check out C.F. Martin's newest lineup at their local headquarters.

Rob Albert, who has worked with B. Braun for 40 years, was appointed chief executive officer to succeed Jean-Claude Dubacher, the company's board of directors announced. He has worked in operations, sales and marketing since joining the company in 1984.

The new owner of Carl's Corner told LehighValleyNews.com that he settled on the property this week and looks to take over the business Sunday. Carl's Corner has locations in Bethlehem and Lower Nazareth Township.

The district said it's owed more than $700,000 in school lunch debt, unpaid tuition by ex-employees, missing or damaged Chromebooks and facility fees.

PPL Electric Utilities and Met-Ed, which serve the Lehigh Valley, said high winds were bringing down poles and wires. The biggest trouble spots appeared to be in Lower Macungie Township, the Bath area, and the Slate Belt.

Olivia Louise McMahon traveled to Dubai last month as part of Penn State University's delegation to the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Officials from around the world discussed how to limit the effects of climate change already present and prepare for further impacts.

January is National Radon Action Month, and officials from the American Lung Association are offering a limited supply of free radon test kits for commonwealth residents, including those in the the Lehigh Valley.

As 2023 draws to a close, lehighvalleynews.com offers a retrospective of a variety of stories about people, places and things that make the Lehigh Valley special.

Northampton Area Board of Education said it would have been on the hook for about $9.5 million if construction contracts were cancelled for a new elementary school.

Chances are, you'll still be able to find a tree, it just might take a little extra work — and you might want to get it soon. Roger from Unangst Tree Farms explains the ins and outs of why this problem, a decade in the making, is now causing tree farms and stands to sell-out when it's barely December.

The landfill, located at 2335 Applebutter Road, and its potential expansion were polarizing topics in the race for Lower Saucon Township Council.

The Pennsylvania Department of State is starting a new office to help train county election workers, Pa. Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said. It also plans to update its guidance for logic and accuracy testing that could have caught issues with the Northampton County voting machines.

Only some of the newest Northampton County elected officials are actually new to county government. The new slate of county elected leaders will take office Jan. 2.

Lafayette College will host the 2024 vice presidential debate this coming September, drawing the world's eyes to its Easton campus. Nicole Hurd, the college's president, hopes it will be an opportunity to highlight the liberal arts school and the greater Easton community.

Lawmakers in Harrisburg passed nearly three dozen laws last week in a final burst of action as they held their last voting session of the year.

“We used to be able to get turnout gear in what, eight weeks? Now it’s taking eight months,” Fire Capt. Scott Krycia said. “It’s just across the board with everything that we use for firefighting now.”

Canine experts emphasize how dangerous and, in some cases, deadly, human foods can be to dogs.

The 4th annual Winter Village in Easton brought in over 56,000 visitors from over 20 states.

“I know a lot of people are dealing with inflation still, yet forever, it seems like,” Lower Saucon councilwoman Sandra Yerger said. “It seems like it might help them out a little bit.”

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.

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.