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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Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley received a $35,000 donation from The Giant Company. -
Tracy and Joshua Dechant, charged with attempting to starve their teen sons to death, have 60 days to find a defense lawyer, a judge said.
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Philadelphia Eagles star running back Saquon Barkley was inducted into the Whitehall High School Hall of Fame on Friday night.
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State Police, municipal police officers and members of the Lehigh County Sheriff’s Office took part in virtual reality training at the Jane Scheller-Wayne Woodman Community Service Center at Lehigh Carbon Community College on Wednesday.
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Cindy Jakoby, of Barto, was selected on Tuesday night as the 10 millionth fan in the 17-year history of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
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The Lincoln Leadership Academy Charter School in Allentown held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its $16.8 million school for fourth-to-eighth graders on Friday morning.
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Community Bike Works received more than $600,000 from the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study to fund its bicycle safety and repair program for students in the Lehigh Valley.
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The 173rd year of the Allentown Fair kicked off Wednesday night to large crowds enjoying food, live music, and the crowning of the 2025 fair queen.
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Commonwealth Charter Academy, a large, public, cyber charter school for all school-age children, plans to convert a nearly 47,000-square-foot, one-story building into office space for teachers and staff at 2200 W. Broad St.
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The taxiway expansion program is part of the LVIA’s new taxiway project for the proposed North Cargo Area Development Project.
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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.
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Palmer Township's Aiden Hess, 20, is in need of a donor kidney. A rare condition necessitates his use of a dialysis machine for nine hours every day.
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The fourth and final phase of the $58.7 million Parkland High School expansion project was approved by the South Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners on Wednesday night.
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A proposal to construct a more-than-270,00-square-foot warehouse in Williams Township will advance to a review by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission on Thursday night.
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Emmaus residents packed council chambers on Monday to complain about a 26% tax increase for 2025. Council voted 6-1 to approve the increase.
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Plans by Pediatric Cancer Foundation of the Lehigh Valley to construct a 1,200-square-foot addition to its existing administrative offices at 4501 Crackersport Road were approved by the South Whitehall Township Planning Commission on Thursday night.
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At Manufacturers Resource Center on Wednesday, area manufacturing volunteers assembled 40 youth bicycles to be distributed to children through the Community Bike Works program.
