
Phil Gianficaro
General Assignment ReporterA native of northeastern Pennsylvania, I've been a journalist for more than four decades. I've reported on events like the pope's visit and the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, local appearances by Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, covered the Flyers in the Stanley Cup finals, and the Eagles in the playoffs. However, the stories that have touched me most involve ordinary folks in our community. A 12-year-old boy getting the better of cancer; Holocaust survivors sharing horror stories they know the world needs to hear again and again; a little girl from Bucks County who grew up to become Miss America. These are the stories I'm committed to finding and sharing with our readers. About me: Married with a son and a daughter in college. Golf when I can. Morning coffee's a must; Favorite quote from my late mother: "There are givers and takers in this world, which do you want to be?" Contact me at PhilG@lehighvalleynews.com or 267-222-0540.
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Crowds packed the Nowhere Coffee Co., which held the grand opening of its location at 17 N. Ninth St. in Allentown on Friday.
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With a $100,000 grant secured by state Sen. Nick Miller, R-14th District, the Boys & Girls Club of Allentown renovated the 53-year-old gymnasium at its Sixth Street Clubhouse.
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Star Wars Day at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown will take place from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15.
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The Lehigh Valley IronPigs 17th annual Pig Day celebration will be from 9 a.m. till noon March 1 at Coca-Cola Park. Fans will be treated to free food, refreshments, entertainment and activities for children.
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An Allentown man was sentenced on Tuesday to 18-to-60 months in state prison in the accidental death of his 3-year-old son, who shot himself with an unattended gun.
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Water Street in Whitehall Township where a man was struck and killed on Dec. 25 may be temporarily closed to address safety concerns, Mayor Joseph J. Marx Jr. said.
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A ballot referendum that would ask voters to cede electoral authority to Whitehall Township officials who would then appoint the treasurer was rejected by the board of commissioners on Monday night.
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Palmer Township's Aiden Hess, 20, pictured with his mother Melissa, continues searching for a living donor kidney after transplant surgery was cancelled late last month.
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Win or lose in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is viewed as a champion in his hometown of Whitehall and throughout the Lehigh Valley.
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The first of a three-session forum to address the housing availability and affordability crisis in the Lehigh Valley was held at DeSales University on Wednesday.
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State Rep. Mike Schlossberg and mental health experts advocated for an increased investment in school-based health clinics at a news conference at Hays Elementary School in Allentown on Friday.
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Valley Youth House's THRIVE Program, which helps sex-trafficked folks, will receive $150,000 in state funding, Rep. Josh Siegel, D-22nd District, announced at a news conference on Wednesday.
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Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz wowed the crowd with a campaign speech at Freedom High School in Bethlehem on Saturday afternoon.
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Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor, is making his first visit to the Lehigh Valley since Vice President Kamala Harris introduced him as her running mate against former President Donald Trump and U.S. Sen. JD Vance.
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Lehigh County Executive Phil Armstrong came out on the short end of a fundraiser challenge to benefit the Cedarbrook Senior Care and Rehab Center's auxiliary. So he had to kiss a pig.
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Artist Vaughn Randall's cast iron and bronze Locus sculpture was chosen as winner of the third annual Sculpture at SteelStacks national contest. An official ceremony was held outside the Bethlehem Visitor Center on Thursday evening where the sculpture will be displayed for one year.
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Parkland School District's Vision 2030 project to expand and renovate the high school and Orefield Middle School to address school overcrowding has increased by nearly $4 million from its original $210 million price tag.
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A developer’s plans to build a 150,400-square-foot warehouse along Route 100 moves on to Upper Macungie Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday night.
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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.
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Upper Macungie Township held a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday for a $47 million Lifestyle Community Center to be built at Grange Park.
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In appreciation for the early intervention services he received at Colonial Intermediate Unit 20, Nazareth Area High School junior Brody Muthard, 16, has chosen to build a playground there for autistic children for his Boy Scout Eagle Scout project.
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Attendees at the Great Allentown Fair were entertained by two trampoline artists who performed high-flying acrobatics outside the Agri-Plex complex on Thursday.