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.
-
Lehigh Little League 9-10-year-olds open state tournament play at 4 p.m. Monday against Section 1 champion DuBois in Drums, Luzerne County. -
Sammy Sasso, a former Nazareth Area High School state wrestling champion, is charged with possessing unlicensed guns and a controlled substance after police said they stopped the car he was driving because of an expired registration.
-
A former Easton Area High School resource officer who pleaded guilty to sending a sexually explicit image of himself to a 16-year-old female student in 2024 was sentenced to 9-to-24 months in Northampton County Prison, it was announced on Wednesday.
-
A zoning extension request by the developer of a proposed 689,000-square-foot warehouse at the former Coplay quarry was unanimously granted by the Whitehall Township Zoning Hearing Board on Tuesday night.
-
A developer's request to split an expansion project at a retirement home complex was approved by Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners on Monday night.
-
The Wreaths Across America Mobile Education Exhibit scheduled for the Lehigh Valley next week has been postponed due to mechanical issues until later this summer. The military themed, rolling interactive museum is designed to educate the public about service and sacrifice of veterans.
-
Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency has issued an alert regarding an intermittent 911 outage throughout the Commonwealth.
-
Mayor Matt Tuerk called on the county's president judge to “issue a public and unambiguous policy” banning ICE agents from county courthouses, a move he said would “be a major step in restoring trust in government and faith in its fairness.”
-
Lehigh County Board of Commissioners have Ok'd a four-year, $34.6 million contract with PrimeCare Medical to serve inmates in their corrections facilities.
-
State Senators were urged to vote to fully fund public transportation in the state budget during a rally on Thursday in Bethlehem.
-
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
-
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.
-
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.
-
The late Russell Gackenbach, of Allentown, took the first photos of the atomic bomb drop on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945.
-
Allentown native Walt Groller learned to play the accordion at age 4 and became one of the premier polka musicians in the world.
-
Rohullah Balkhi and his family fled Afghanistan to escape the oppression of Taliban rule. As they await a decision on their application for asylum in their apartment in Bethlehem, they face devastating challenges at every turn.
-
The annual Kazoo Parade in Nazareth on Saturday celebrated America's military veterans, including Parade Grand Marshal and borough councilman Charles Donello.
-
One the first day of sweet corn sales at Newhard Farms on Friday, the lines were long and the smiles were in abundance.
-
Lehigh Valley International Airport Executive Director Thomas R. Stoudt said Tuesday he is not opposed to additional hotels being built at the airport. A Courtyard by Marriott is slated to open there late in 2025.
-
Cold Nose Lodge, the dog-training, day care and boarding facility in Alburtis, held a groundbreaking ceremony Monday for its long-planned expansion. The addition will include a larger store front, dedicated training and feeding rooms, an expanded grooming room and more office space.
-
The late William Jacob Heller founded The American Flag Manufacturing Co. in Easton in 1887, helping popularize the U.S. flag nationally. Heller is credited as being instrumental in having flags hung at schoolhouses throughout the nation.
-
The dangerously unhealthy air quality in Lehigh Valley from smoke from Canadian wildfires has residents wearing COVID masks again.
