State & Regional News

On July 1, the Girls on the Run Lehigh Valley and Pocono chapters will merge.

Monday, May 1, is the last day to register to vote in the Pennsylvania primary.

Hundreds of power outages were reported across the Lehigh Valley early Monday following heavy rains. At least 2.35 inches fell at the airport.

Proposed shipping routes showed Norfolk Southern trains carrying LNG directly through several Lehigh Valley municipalities on their way to southern New Jersey.

A $1.5 million grant program has been announced by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to support the Accelerated Program for PK-12 Special Education Teacher Certification.

Ticks are showing up in greater numbers this year across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. So far, more than 700 ticks have been sent in for a testing program in Connecticut that normally would have gotten 200 to 300 by now.

In an effort to close the news gap, the Harrisburg NPR member affiliate welcomes the gift from the Steinman family, owners of Lancaster County's main news operation.

The bill, drafted in response to a mass poisoning at an Allentown daycare last year, would require child care centers to have carbon monoxide detectors.

Community leaders gathered to walk around — literally — and brainstorm ways to make things safer for those who don't drive. The effort will last into the fall and involves several communities in Lehigh and Northampton counties.

Senate Bill 400, introduced to the Pennsylvanian legislature would repeal closed primaries in the state of Pa.

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s gift ban says he can’t take tickets from groups with “financial relations with the Commonwealth.” Team Pennsylvania was awarded $1.8 million in state contracts this year.

The most popular names have been a constant the past few years, according to the major health networks. But one trend that emerged in 2023 in the Lehigh Valley seems to be tied to sports — specifically, the success and popularity of the Philadelphia Phillies. Taylor Swift also may be having an impact.

The Pennsylvania Department of State is starting a new office to help train county election workers, Pa. Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said. It also plans to update its guidance for logic and accuracy testing that could have caught issues with the Northampton County voting machines.

Lafayette College will host the 2024 vice presidential debate this coming September, drawing the world's eyes to its Easton campus. Nicole Hurd, the college's president, hopes it will be an opportunity to highlight the liberal arts school and the greater Easton community.

Lawmakers in Harrisburg passed nearly three dozen laws last week in a final burst of action as they held their last voting session of the year.

Nippon Steel is set to pay more than $14 billion to acquire Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel in a deal that Rep. Susan Wild said is “really kind of heartbreaking."

Pennsylvania's gas tax– the highest in the nation in 2023 – will drop from $0.611/gallon to $0.576/gallon and will remain in place through 2024.

It might seem counterintuitive, but harvesting holiday trees year after year is better for the environment than using an artificial one, experts said, especially amid the proliferation of plastic piling up in landfills.

Bethlehem Police Chief Michelle Kott said these types of incentives will help to attract “the best and brightest” candidates to serve the city.

More than three dozen projects in the Valley were awarded grants, receiving about 7% of the total funding awarded. Statewide, $335 million in grants were announced Wednesday.

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.

State Sen. Lisa Boscola said it's a fallacy if the U.S. Postal Service thinks it can save up to $7 million by shipping outgoing mail from the Lehigh Valley to Harrisburg for processing without cutting jobs. On Monday, she called on USPS to do further analysis of its plans.