
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.
-
Bear Creek Mountain Resort in Macungie will celebrate the official opening of its ski season on Sunday at 9 a.m.
-
PPL Electric Utilities offers tips to customers designed to keep them safe and warm during the winter season.
-
Due to its lease not being renewed for 2024, the Pines Dinner Theatre in Allentown will be relocating.
-
Northampton County held a swearing-in ceremony for recently elected council members, others on Tuesday.
-
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.
-
Canine experts emphasize how dangerous and, in some cases, deadly, human foods can be to dogs.
-
All but one township zoning amendment application were reviewed without issue by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission Comprehensive Planning Committee on Tuesday afternoon.
-
Driven by $8.1 billion in manufacturing, the Lehigh Valley's Gross Domestic Product grew to a record $50.2 billion in 2022. The region's economy now ranks above Vermont and Wyoming.
-
AAA anticipates an increase in road and air travel this holiday season.
-
Three Kings Day is returning to the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks on Sunday, Jan. 7 at 2 p.m.Also known as Dia de los Reyes, the observance is a Christian feast day that commemorates the Biblical story of the three kings who followed the star of Bethlehem to bring gifts to the Christ child.
-
Hundreds visited Holy Infancy Church in South Bethlehem on Tuesday to pay homage to the relic of St. Jude, which is making a North American tour. The Apostle’s arm was removed from a tomb at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome years ago and bone fragments were placed in a wood reliquary carved in the shape of an arm imparting a blessing.
-
U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, D-Lehigh Valley, hosted a roundtable discussion on the child care crisis at Bethlehem YMCA on Tuesday.
-
After 40 years with the Boys & Girls Club of Allentown, CEO Deb Fries-Jackson is retiring. The Allentown native and former school teacher was instrumental in the merger of the local Girls Club and Boys Club in 2002.
-
The Lehigh County District Attorney's Office on Monday announced the recovery of more than $115,000 to a Salisbury Township man who was scammed during an online real estate transaction earlier this year.
-
When word went out from a Bethlehem church ministry that it needed a clothes dryer for its pay-as-you-can community cafe, its prayers were answered by the generosity of a fellow city church.
-
The Allentown School District held Unity Day events at its 15 elementary schools on Wednesday. The message at each focused on bullying prevention, as October is National Bullying Prevention Month.
-
Several sightings of black bears have been reported recently in residential areas of Bethlehem Township. Despite the animal not typically being aggressive toward humans, the Pennsylvania Game Commission advises not to approach or entice a black bear.
-
A rare piebald deer, which has a distinctive white coat with patchy brown spots due to a pigmentation anomaly, has been seen in the Easton Cemetery. Such deer make up about 1% of the total whitetail deer population.
-
Rainy weekends have put a damper on attendance at fall festivals in the Lehigh Valley.
-
An incorrect set of instructions was included with mail-in and absentee ballots mailed to Lehigh County voters on Oct. 9. The error with the first ballot mailing has been corrected for subsequent mailings.
-
Limiting the influx of warehouses into Lower Nazareth Township is the key issue for all three candidates for Lower Nazareth Township Board of Supervisors.
-
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.