State & Regional News

The sudden cave-in of part of the busy East Coast highway created an immediate traffic nightmare for drivers. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro issued a disaster declaration.

After the driest May on record, the Lehigh Valley is still dealing with bone dry conditions, exacerbating allergies and creating optimum conditions for brush fires.

Chris Kiskeravage, the retired assistant chief for training in the Allentown Fire Department, died after a battle with cancer. Colleagues say his personality and wealth of knowledge made lasting impressions on those he instructed.

The White Haven Trail, part of the D&L Trail that stretches through the Lehigh Valley, has been resurfaced, and improvements have been made to the trailhead.

After pandemic-related delays, Wind Creek Bethlehem's new North Tower is officially open for business. It adds new meeting space, hotel rooms and a spa. Officials hope it will help the complex compete with casinos set to open soon in New York.

The bill, spearheaded by state Rep. Mike Schlossberg, would dedicate American Rescue Plan money to training mental health care providers, creating more suicide prevention programs and supporting specialty courts.

The latest map issued by the U.S. Drought Monitor shows a majority of Pennsylvania — including most of the Lehigh Valley — in a moderate drought.

As smoke from the Canadian wildfires continues to shroud the skies of the Lehigh Valley, air purifiers have become a hot-ticket item at just about every retailer.

The air quality in Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton is so bad, it’s the equivalent of smoking more than 14 cigarettes.

Smoke blanketed the Lehigh Valley area for a second straight day on Wednesday. Light scattering from particles in the smoke turned the sky a fiery orange in some areas.

A coalition with wealthy backers is pushing Pennsylvania lawmakers to use public dollars to create tuition vouchers so K-12 students can attend private schools. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration is in support of this idea.

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.

In the wake of an antisemitic group spreading hateful flyers across the area, Rep. Susan Wild and the Jewish Federation of the Lehigh Valley are making it clear that hate has no place in the Lehigh Valley.

State Sen. Lisa Boscola said she will remain a Democrat but will promote the centrist ideology of the centrist Forward Party co-founded by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang.

Gov. Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania officials enlisted the help of Pocono Raceway to speed up the I-95 bridge repair.

There is $1.5 million in funds to be distributed to those in need by Community Action Lehigh Valley.

Republicans leaders are working to increase the number of conservatives who vote by mail. But they may have their work cut out for them after years of attacking the mail-in ballot system.

Pennsylvania's Democratic-controlled House of Representatives approved a measure that would raise the minimum wage to $15 by 2026 in a close vote Tuesday. It has an uncertain future in the Republican-controlled Senate.

Construction crews have been working around the clock to build a temporary overpass that will allow for I-95 to reopen.

“Demand was obviously greater than supply of resources, there’s no doubt about that,” Lehigh County Board of Commissioners Chairman Geoff Brace said, attributing the need to a combination of aging housing stock and the lack of household income in the region.

While environmentalists and researchers said impacts on the region’s crops and water may be few due to the short duration of smoky days, it’s a largely understudied topic.

About 1.5 million people have lost Medicaid coverage in more than two dozen states as a post-pandemic purge of the rolls gets underway.