State & Regional News

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.

The Pennsylvania State Police investigated hundreds of crashes over the Christmas holiday weekend, with a rise in crashes, fatal crashes and the number of people killed. One fatality occurred during an alcohol-related crash in Lower Macungie Township.

The new Congress, including Rep. Susan Wild and Senator-elect John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, will be sworn into office at noon on Jan. 3, 2023.

The World Health organization is changing the name of monkeypox. The current name is thought to be both racist and stigmatizing.

Jarrett Coleman initially planned to stay on as a Parkland School Board member while simultaneously serving in the state Senate. He changed course last month. Good government advocates say such an arrangement creates the potential for conflicts of interest.

Diocese of Allentown Bishop Alfred Schlert will lead a special Vespers service and Mass for the pope emeritus at the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena in Allentown.

Elected leaders will jockey for control of the House for at least a few more weeks.

If you think that African countries have nothing to contribute to the global food supply, Ndidi Nwuneli would like you to think about what you eat daily.

Need continues to grow for emergency food services. With the end of pandemic-era benefits and inflation still not letting up, demand is higher than ever, according to food pantry managers.

Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources will host guided hikes in state parks and forests on Jan. 1. Lehigh Valley hikers may want to head to Jacobsburg State Park for a walk through Henry's Woods.

Bryan Kohberger plans to waive an extradition hearing in Monroe County Court so he can be quickly brought to Idaho to face murder charges, his defense attorney said Saturday.

Pat Browne, Lehigh County's former state senator, created legislation that generated over $1 billion for the Lehigh Valley over 28 years in Harrisburg.

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the shy German theologian who tried to reawaken Christianity in a secularized Europe but will forever be remembered as the first pontiff in 600 years to resign from the job, died Saturday. He was 95.