State & Regional News

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.

State Rep. Mike Schlossberg, D-Lehigh, is the architect of a bill that would allocate $100 million of federal American Rescue Plan funding for mental health programs. It passed the House last week and is under state Senate consideration.

The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners in April voted to remove the mail-in application process for antlerless licenses, as well as move up the sale to the fourth Monday in June.

Moms for Liberty, a Florida-based nonprofit that didn't exist in 2020, has become a power player in conservative politics ahead of the 2024 elections, including in the Lehigh Valley.

Spraying began 9 a.m. at Washington Crossing State Park. Black flies have been a recognized pest of humans and livestock in Pennsylvania since the 1970s.

"A Community Conversation: Broadcast in the Balance" examines funding cuts under consideration in Congress to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The cuts would result in the defunding of more than $1 billion over two years to public media outlets across the country.

After days of sweltering heat, the Lehigh Valley can finally expect a break as a cold front brings modest relief and cooler temperatures, forecasters say.

Christopher Fitzgerald was a former Lehigh County corrections officer and is the son of former Allentown Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald. He was the first Temple University officer killed in the line of duty.

Cyclists need to make reasonable efforts to allow faster vehicles to pass them, the majority of the Supreme Court justices ruled. But they're not required to get out of the way of cars. Conditions such as traffic flow, weather and road conditions should be considered when determining if a bicyclist needs to pull over.

The federal tax and spending bill, dubbed by President Donald Trump as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” includes eliminating electric vehicle tax credits after this year. Advocates called on senators to put them back.

If later approved by state lawmakers, the minimum wage in Bethlehem in particular would jump to $11 and would be increased incrementally each year thereafter as part of State House Bill 1150, officials said Tuesday.

No climate site in the region reached 100 degrees on Monday, but the suffocating heat and humidity was still record-setting across the Mid-Atlantic region.

The U.S. Senate could vote on the proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act this week. If passed, millions of Americans would lose access to Medicaid and SNAP benefits in order to fund border security and tax cuts to wealthy Americans.

The Keystone Media Awards recognize excellence in journalism and the news media. Lehigh Valley Public Media captured awards in digital news, radio broadcast and television production.

PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator headquartered in Valley Forge, issued a maximum generation alert and load management alert for Monday.

Allentown hasn't had a 100-degree day since July 2011. The forecast high on Tuesday is now 100 degrees.

The emergence of the gig economy has altered the American workforce and created questions about what benefits and protections independent contractors should have under federal law. U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, discussed that during the roundtable.