State & Regional News

WLVR's Megan Frank talks with reporters Tom Shortell and Julian Abraham.

It’s becoming increasingly probable that a subtropical storm develops off the Southeast coast this weekend, forecasters say, but expected impacts to the Lehigh Valley remain in question.

Released Tuesday, results from Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion’s National Surveys on Energy and the Environment show Americans want to prevent future global warming, and also believe adaptation to climate change will require major lifestyle changes.

Under the new format, prompts on the computer screens in driver’s license centers in Pennsylvania will take the user to a template to register to vote.

The biggest differences between tropical and subtropical storms are in the way they form and in the broad impacts. A subtropical system could target the region this weekend.

Nine juveniles who escaped from a detention center in Berks County and were at large for less than a day have been captured, state police said Monday.

A heat map generated from PennDOT crash statistics shows a high rate of collisions involving deer and vehicles — the Lehigh Valley included. Pennsylvania also ranked No. 3 overall for the likelihood of having an animal-vehicle collision.

U.S. Senator Bob Casey is rallying bipartisan support to restore federal funding for hunter safety and archery courses in schools, citing a misinterpretation of the Safer Communities Act.

Several Lehigh Valley residents reported witnessing a string of lights in the sky in the Allentown and Bethlehem areas on Saturday night, Sept. 16.

Congresswoman Susan Wild is advocating for $16 billion in additional dollars to support the sector.

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.