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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Opening ceremonies for the 40th Musikfest were held on Friday evening. The nation's largest open-gate music festival will continue through Aug. 13 in south Bethlehem. -
Musikfest, a 10-day festival of music, food, refreshments and more, celebrates its 40th year beginning on Thursday.
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A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Tuesday morning for a seven-level, 731-space, state-of-the-art parking garage on Polk Street in South Bethlehem. It will greatly benefit those attending Musikfest, the 10-day, annual music festival that begins with a preview night Thursday.
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The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission on Thursday night voted against a proposed zoning ordinance amendment by Lower Saucon Township Council regarding the controversial landfill expansion.
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The proposed 866,000-square-foot warehouse project in Bethlehem Township and Freemansburg is inconsistent with FutureLV, the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission determined on Thursday night.
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Upper Macungie Township has filed an application with the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission for a zoning ordinance amendment for minimum lot requirements for distillery, microbrewery and winery use.
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St. Luke's Hospital's Anderson campus proposed expansion is a five-story, 308,000-square-foot project that would add 146 beds and a more than 32,000-square-foot Sterile Processing Infill Development at 1872 Riverside Circle
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The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission's Comprehensive Planning Committee on Tuesday reviewed plans for proposed warehouses — in Bethlehem Township and Freemansburg Borough and another in Allen Township.
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Nearly 70 years after the late Ernest Kotsch Sr. purchased a grocery store at Third and Union streets in Whitehall Township, Kotsch's Market on MacArthur Road is closing its doors. An auction to sell the contents was held on Monday.
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The late Russell Gackenbach, of Allentown, took the first photos of the atomic bomb drop on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945.
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Enci “Aubrey” Wu was last seen on Jan. 11 in the vicinity of MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township, where she was seeking transportation and/or funds from strangers in order to leave Lehigh County, according to the release.
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The project, named Emerson Village, calls for the construction of 57 townhomes and 59 single-unit homes on 35 acres at 3626 Rural Road.
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A panel discussion of female achievers from the Lehigh Valley was held in observance of International Women's Day at Renaissance Allentown Hotel.
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New South Whitehall Township Chief of Police Frank J.C. Lombardo, a former captain with the South Brunswick, New Jersey, Township Police Department, possesses decades of experience in law enforcement.
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The contract extension makes Barkley, the former Whitehall High School star, the highest-paid running back in NFL history.
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A donation to Essentials Café today, on Moravian Day of Giving, will help the organization continue to serve 400 breakfast and lunch meals per week to those in need in our community.
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Concerns over an inadequate number of parking spaces have stalled approval of a townhomes and single-unit homes development project at Rural Road in Whitehall Township.
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The South Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners on Wednesday are expected to appoint former South Brunswick (N.J.) Township Police Capt. Frank J.C. Lombardo as chief of police. Lombardo would fill the vacancy created when Chief Glen Dorney resigned in March.
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At the Allentown Art Museum on Saturday, Dr. James Nangeroni was gifted a painting he entered into a Crayola children's arts contest when he was a third-grade student at Dodd Elementary in 1992.
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A rezoning proposal that would clear the way for an apartment and commercial/retail space project in Bethlehem was reviewed by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission on Thursday night.
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Easton legend and former heavyweight champion Larry Holmes was honored on Wednesday with a watercolor portrait for his work with St. Luke's University Health Network.
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A proposed 25,800-square-foot childcare center in Salisbury Township would be named in memory of Monsignor John P. Murphy, long-time cleric in Allentown who died in 2023 at age 86.
