State & Regional News

Pennsylvania will again operate a water assistance program for low-income households behind in their water or wastewater bills, state officials announced last week.

While the report indicates positive trends, community advocates and leaders raised concerns about high rates of gun violence and educational outcomes. They called for more hyper-localized data to identify trends and correlations between issues impacting Black communities.

Thursday's March For Our Lives rally marks its fifth anniversary since its inception after a 2018 mass shooting at a Florida high school. Hundreds are expected at Thursday's rally in Harrisburg, which coincides with rallies this week in Florida, Michigan, California and Texas.

Gov. Josh Shapiro said he's long admired the Lehigh Valley's unique ability to build partnerships. It's a skillset he said he hopes to bring to other communities across the state to promote economic growth. Shapiro was keynote speaker at the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. annual meeting in Bethlehem.

A six-month investigation found the state’s “competency” review system is so broken it often extends incarceration, which can exacerbate mental health issues.

Another social-media fueled challenge has spurred a rise in the theft of Kia and Hyundai vehicles in Pennsylvania, but has the trend caught on in the Lehigh Valley?

Reporting an increase in violent incidents in the state's prisons in 2022, the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association has suggested that staffing needs to increase, and policies need to be reviewed to help make the prisons safer.

U.S. Army Capt. Christopher Scott Seifert died in an attack on troops in Kuwait. His killer was sentenced to death. For Seifert's parents in the Lehigh Valley, the passage of time hasn't eased the loss. 'He was a much-wanted child and a very loved young man,' says his mother Helen.

Officials say some people have received a text message asking for EBT card information and claiming that their card is blocked.

From a stall program in Reading, Pa., to tracking real-time parking spot availability in Arlington, Va., these are the ways cities are addressing their own parking woes.

Lehigh Valley Health Network is one of three hospital systems in the country chosen to participate in the study. Oncologists with LVHN are looking for patients to participate.

The annual tradition for many doubles as a science fair you can take part in.

Starbucks workers around the country are walking off the job starting Friday, in what will be a three-day strike. It will be the longest work stoppage in the year-old unionization campaign.

“I’m going to be second-guessing myself until the day I die,” Wolf, a two-term Democrat, said during a live public interview with Spotlight PA on Thursday.

Pennsylvania House Republican leader Bryan Cutler is seeking to wait until the May primary before holding special elections in two vacant districts.

U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey, perhaps the most powerful politician ever from the Lehigh Valley, made his farewell address on the Senate floor Thursday afternoon.

A website, Fallen Firefighters of New Tripoli, details the men's lives, contains their obituaries and displays several photos. Funeral services are set for Saturday.

Rep. Susan Wild and Sen. Bob Casey supported the bill, which offers protections for gay and interracial marriages. Sen. Pat Toomey missed the vote.

Bethlehem Police promised more than $1M of the money, for body-cams and retention bonuses. Some of the money will go to justice initiatives and safety programs.

Members of Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Advisory Board are publicly questioning the Wolf administration’s oversight of doctors and third-party certification companies.

State officials expanded the order earlier this year to include four different forms of the drug, including a nasal spray and a syringe option with two injectable single-dose vials of naloxone.

For years, Out of Darkness appeared on reading lists as a recommendation for ambitious young readers ready to face disquieting aspects of the American experience. It began facing bans in 2021.