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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A change.org petition opposing the new mascot chosen by the Whitehall-Coplay School District has attracted more than 1,200 signatures. The mascot, named Big Z, is so named in honor of the school name Zephyr, which was also a train that once ran through Whitehall Township. -
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at a Wawa DriveThru in Lower Macungie Township on Thursday morning. The drive-thru is the second such Wawa store in the nation, the other located in Lower Bucks County.
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Marci Lesko will become the next chief executive officer of the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, it was announced on Monday. Currently serving as the organization’s chief operating officer, Lesko will succeed President David Lewis, effective June 3. Lewis is retiring after 36 years with United Way.
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With its workspace drastically reduced at the proposed Bethlehem Cultural Arts Center at the current site of the Banana Factory, the Pennsylvania Youth Theatre's search for a new venue continues
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The life of the late and longtime Easton supervisor and civic leader John L. Sproat Jr. was celebrated in Centre Square on Wednesday.
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An outdated police manual from 1981, gross approval of overtime and a general lack of leadership by Chief Douglas Kish necessitate change in the Catasauqua Borough Police Department, a study showed.
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Michael Keim was elected Monday as chairman of the board of directors of Lehigh Valley Public Media. Keim is president of Univest Bank and Trust and chief operating officer of Univest Financial Corp.
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About 450 career and technical education students from the Greater Lehigh Valley competed at the SkillsUSA Council District 11 Championships at Agri-Plex at Allentown Fairgrounds on Wednesday.
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Rep. Joshua Siegel announced on Friday he will seek a second term in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. Siegel, 29, represents the 22nd Legislative District, which includes parts of Allentown and Salisbury Township.
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IronPigs Charities/Phillies Winter Caravan was held at ArtsQuest on Thursday night. This year’s total of $71,500 increases the overall total to more than $1.3 million since 2007. Combined with the IronPigs’ Baseball contributions, $2.4 million in cash has been raised since its inception.
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Letters of application for renewals of existing wastewater treatment plants and related discharges at Lehigh Township Municipal Authority-Pennsville and Lehigh Carbon Community College were approved by the LVPC Environment Committee on Tuesday morning.
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Nazareth-based Martin Guitar will showcase new guitars, including an acoustic double-neck, at the National Association of Music Merchants trade show in Anaheim this week.
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The fourth annual DeVonta Smith Celebrity Softball Game will be held on Saturday, June 28 at Coca-Cola Park.
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Francis Anonia, a former Parkland High School performing arts teacher, was arraigned in Lehigh County Court on Friday morning on charges he used his cell phone multiple times to secretly record a male student in a school changing room in 2022. If found guilty of all 19 charges, he could face up to 88 years in prison.
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South Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners on Wednesday night voted 3-2 against a text amendment request that would have allowed for the building of a 8,000-square-foot restaurant at the Ridge Farms mixed-use housing development.
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'I'm here to say I told you so': Whitehall traffic death, inaction, brings sorrow, frenzy at meetingAngry and frustrated family and friends of the late Edward Tomcics packed the Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday, imploring them to address the speeding epidemic on Water Street. Tomcics, 75, was struck and killed outside his home on Dec. 25. An investigation into the incident is underway.
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Ten Lehigh Valley children with disabilities were presented with adaptive bikes or strollers at Carbon Lehigh Intermediate Unit 21. Each individually customized adaptive bike costs $3,500 to $4,000 and is not covered by insurance.
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Less than a year after its celebratory opening, the Wawa drive-thru-only convenience store at 6216 Hamilton Blvd., Lower Macungie Township, closed on Jan. 5. No reason for the closure has been given.
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Citing safety concerns, Lehigh Valley Mall management has notified LANTA that bus service may not be permitted on the mall grounds as of June.
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A 76-apartment and retail development project on the site of the former SouthSide Boys & Girls Club on Fourth Street in Bethlehem is expected to be completed during the first half of 2025.
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Ronald Diehl Jr., of Quakertown, is among 18 individuals nationally who will receive a Carnegie Medal for acts of heroism. In 2022, Diehl pulled a pilot from a crashed and burning plane in Salisbury Township.
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There are those Christmases that remain clear and crisp as a cold Nebraska night. For an 11-year-old boy, this one in the late 1960s is near the top of the Christmas list.
