State & Regional News

In the inaugural episode of Political Pulse, Tom Shortell and Chris Borick try to get a bead on how Democrats feel about a presidential ticket remade on the fly.

Several local Democratic organizations are hosting a Unity Rally for Democracy at the Steelworkers Union Hall in Bethlehem at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 26.

The free exhibit, “America’s Beautiful,” at Lehigh Gap Nature Center runs from Aug. 21 to Aug. 29. It includes 50 watercolor paintings of Smokey Bear.

A flash flood warning is in effect for parts of Lehigh and Northampton counties until 11:30 p.m. It follows a line of severe thunderstorms and a flood watch that will be in effect until 2 a.m. Monday.

This year's Lehigh Valley Pride was the largest yet, expanding to fill a parking lot near First Street in Bethlehem for the first time. The threat of severe weather shut down the festival later in the afternoon.

The CDC has reported over 400 cases of salmonella across 31 states and the District of Columbia, including 60 cases in Pennsylvania.

The U.S. DOT's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration awarded more than $41 million Thursday, which provided funding toward Pipeline Emergency Response Grants. Bethlehem and Easton were on the receiving end of those grants.

The Historic Hotel Bethlehem has been voted as the USA Today's best historic hotel/resort in America for a record fourth consecutive year.

PennDOT contractors began moving in equipment onto Route 611 in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Wednesday to begin road construction. A rockslide in December 2022 shut down the road along the Monroe County-Northampton County border.

The Pen Argyl restaurant was brought into the limelight by Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy several months ago. Now it'll join Portnoy for his one-day One Bite Pizza Festival.

Staff at the Lehigh Valley Transportation Study are reviewing more than 600 suggested projects for the region's Long Range Transportation Plan. Planners anticipate getting $4.3 billion in funding, which isn't enough to meet all the needs.

Regional and national news outlets Thursday left out an important detail about the return of the Canadian wildfire smoke — it was nowhere near the ground.

Gov. Josh Shapiro put the reconstruction of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia front and center on Thursday, launching a livestream of the progress that will run online 24/7 until the job is finished.

Held June 7 in Bethlehem, the Lehigh Valley Environmental Advisory Council Network’s “Funding Municipal Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Programs,” focused on federal and state funding opportunities available to organizations across the region.

There’s one major question as we approach the summer solstice in the Lehigh Valley – where’s the warmth?

The House budget recently passed on a party-line vote increased school maintenance funding to $350 million from $100 million proposed by Gov. Josh Shapiro

Few, if any, bridges in Pennsylvania insulate the steel beams in their decks, PennDOT Deputy Secretary Mike Rebert said Wednesday. High-intensity fires capable of destabilizing those bridges are rare, but do happen.

Democrats in Pennsylvania are optimistic that Republicans will finally agree to raise the state's minimum wage after years of debate. A Republican member of the state Senate's leadership team is leading a bill to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour, providing hope for a resolution, although challenges remain in the GOP-controlled state Senate.

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.

Local experts say the Lehigh Valley is well prepared to knock down wildfires, but state data show those blazes are becoming much more common across Pennsylvania.

The Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors reported home sales dropped 22% in May — normally a busy season. Increased interest rates and tight inventory in Lehigh and Northampton counties were driving the figures, according to GLVR.

State Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh, is the architect of a bill that would allocate $100 million of federal American Rescue Plan funding for mental health programs. It passed the House last week and is under state Senate consideration.