State & Regional News

Penn State Extension this summer published "The Bees of Pennsylvania: A Guide to the Genera,” outlining the commonwealth’s more than 440 species of bees, organized by genus.

Allentown City Council last month gave Mayor Matt Tuerk 30 days to acquire a property for safe camping or temporary shelter for residents of an encampment due to close Sept. 29. Tuerk says he won't meet that deadline.

Senate Bill 980, introduced Wednesday, would phase out the manufacture, sale and use of firefighting foams containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, beginning in 2026.

For more than three decades, Hunters Sharing the Harvest has facilitated a venison donation program throughout Pennsylvania, creating a network of deer processors and hunger relief agencies. Find out how much was donated and where last season.

The National Weather Service said Friday that much of the Lehigh Valley and surrounding area has experienced its coldest August in about 10 years.

The 2025 autumn migration count has begun at Hawk Mountain. It's the longest running raptor migration count in the world.

The Watershed Coalition of the Lehigh Valley was one of the half-dozen winners of this year’s Environmental Partnership Awards.

Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure, a candidate for Congress in the 7th Congressional District, called out former federal prosecutor Ryan Crosswell at IBEW 375 headquarters in Allentown.

The expanded runs between the Allentown area and Newark will begin Monday, Sept. 8.

Bob Brooks, a retired Bethlehem firefighter, became the fifth Democrat to enter the race for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District. The primary election winner in next year's midterm race will take on U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, the Republican incumbent.

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.

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission at 11 a.m. on Wednesday is holding a meeting at its Allentown office to brainstorm and prioritize ways to decarbonize transportation across the region. Decarbonization is the process of reducing or eliminating carbon dioxide emissions.

Amid the joy and festivities, environmental advocates are urging residents to keep sustainability in mind during what can be a time of year when trash and waste spikes.

State environmental officials on Thursday evening hosted the last of five public engagement sessions, as they work to create a Priority Climate Action Plan, or PCAP, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emission statewide and mitigate further effects of climate change.