State & Regional News

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, state parks across Pennsylvania were inundated with visitors.

State officials late last month announced the theme for this year’s annual tick-themed art contest, “Protect. Check. Remove.” Last year, there were no winners in the Lehigh Valley.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

Republican congressional candidates Maria Montero and Ryan Mackenzie criticized U.S. Rep. Susan Wild after she said Carbon County "drank the Trump Kool-Aid" on a conference call with prominent Pennsylvania Democrats.

News Director Jen Rehill talks with journalists Tom Shortell and Brittany Sweeney.

More than $2 million was allocated to nine organizations across Pennsylvania to fund various research efforts, all linked to the state’s $132.5 billion agriculture industry.

Campaign finance reports show Republican Kevin Dellicker outraised the rest of the GOP field combined in his bid for PA-7. But Democratic incumbent Susan Wild raised twice as much as all of the Republicans put together.

Two Lehigh Valley’s representatives in the state house have recently proposed legislation to make affordable housing more accessible.

Under a proposal by Gov. Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania would cap tuition and fees at state-owned colleges to $1,000 a semester for in-state students from households earning up to the median income.

The number of people developing cancer is on the rise, but the survival rate is also going up according to the American Cancer Society. Doctors believe there are two contributing factors.

The resolution, passed 129-72, empowers the House Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to complete a study on the status, management and benefits of wildlife corridors across the state.

Smoke and haze from wildfires in Canada will again spread across Lehigh Valley skies this week, the National Weather Service warned Monday.

The Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority's Board of Governors approved terms for a 125-room hotel to be built on LVIA property.

The Lehigh County Conservation District and Dieruff High School are partnering to transform a vacant courtyard at the school into an urban garden.

A team of students from Bangor Area High School placed ninth in this year's statewide Envirothon competition, essentially a scholastic scrimmage for environmental science. The team placed first for the wildlife station.

U.S. Rep. Susan Wild supported a plan Wednesday to temporarily suspend the debt ceiling. If an agreement is not reached in the next week, the U.S. could devastate the global economy by defaulting on its debt.

Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk met up with his counterparts from Scranton and Williamsport on Wednesday as part of a tour to highlight projects funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.

A beautiful May has left the Lehigh Valley searching for a drop in the bucket — a drop of rain, that is, after one of the driest months on record.

A red fox in Northampton County earlier this month became the first mammal in the Lehigh Valley to contract bird flu.

The salad, sold by Wegmans, has been found to contain undeclared milk, posing a potential risk to individuals with milk allergies.

The Pennsylvania Humane Society honored a number of animal rights advocates Friday, including state Rep. Jeanne McNeill for her efforts to fight puppy mills in Pennsylvania.

As a high pressure system moves in over the Lehigh Valley, we can expect dry, mostly sunny conditions, at least for parts of the region until Sunday.