Tom Shortell
Politics ReporterI cover all things politics for LehighValleyNews.com. As veteran reporter of the region, I previously covered the Slate Belt, Northampton County, Lehigh County and local courts during stints at the area’s two newspapers. I also penned the popular Road Warrior column at The Morning Call, keeping readers up to speed on transportation news. I graduated from St. Bonaventure University and have yet to find a pun I don't like. I will gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today. Contact me at toms@lehighvalleynews.com or 610-984-8209.
-
Democratic VIPs including U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, DNC Chair Ken Martin and former U.S. Rep. Susan Wild attended the town hall at Cathedral Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem on Thursday night. The evening came with a rebuke to attendees from the church pastor. -
Organizers with the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, Democratic National Congressional Committee and several other groups invited U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie to a town hall event Thursday over proposed Medicaid cuts. Instead, the first-term Republican will hold his own telephone town hall.
-
Candidates for Northampton County Council, Allentown City Council, Allentown mayor and Parkland School Board are being challenged in court for allegedly failing to meet legal requirements to appear on the May ballot.
-
PennDOT has plans to improve the pavement and add truck climbing lanes in both Lehigh and Northampton counties. But the future of a controversial interchange in Lehigh County has grown more clouded.
-
Races for Lehigh County judge, Lehigh County executive, Allentown mayor and Bethlehem mayor will be some of the most high profile races on the ballot this year.
-
According to PennDOT, 86 crashes occurred at the same Route 22 interchange between 2019 and 2023, the most recent years of data available. And 34 of those crashes occurred in the exact same spot.
-
Michael Wargo of Mahoning Township has advocated for veterans' mental health services for more than a decade after his son died by suicide.
-
The public sees construction crews break ground and manage traffic, but they often miss years of behind-the-scenes work such as acquiring rights of way, managing utilities and engineering. That's what's happening at Freemansburg Avenue and Farmersville Road.
-
Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure says he'll run for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District seat in 2026, seeking to bring the seat back under Democratic control.
-
House Republicans want to slash federal spending by $2 trillion and are eying cuts and restrictions to the $880 billion Medicaid program. Demonstrators say they'll keep applying pressure to U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, to oppose such plans.
