State & Regional News

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.

Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center hosted the first event of the 2023 PA LGBTQIA Health Summit, which featured discussion on how social factors affect LGBTQIA health.

Shapiro wants to eliminate both the sales and use tax and the gross receipts tax on cell phone services. Doing so would save Pennsylvanians $124 million each year.

The the Pa. Chamber of Business and Industry is putting out its own bracket called “Coolest Thing Made in PA.”

Gov. Tom Wolf said Oct. 21, 2021, that employers who receive state loans, grants or tax breaks will be required to pay workers at least $13.50/hour and to provide paid sick leave.

The Biden administration wants to make Berks County Residential Center a women-only facility. Pennsylvania lawmakers say that's a bad idea.

A bill that would require Pennsylvania public schools to post curriculum materials online is advancing through the state legislature. Republicans unanimously support it.

President Joe Biden is trying to drum up support for a several trillion-dollar infrastructure spending plan that's being negotiated in Congress. The effort included returning to his boyhood home of Scranton.

More meals and a lag between delivery and reimbursement compound the problem.

Gov. Tom Wolf is spearheading a package of legislation aimed at combatting sexual violence on college campuses.

Mike Doyle, who has represented western Pennsylvania in Congress for more than a quarter-century and became the dean of Pennsylvania’s Congressional delegation, announced Monday that he will not run again for re-election. As WESA was first to report early this morning, the move comes as the incumbent faced a challenge from the left next year and — if he won — the prospect of being in the minority party in the U.S. House.

The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs has announced that the Pennsylvania Opioid Command Center will be revamped.

The Pennsylvania Department of State oversees the commonwealth’s elections. The agency is led by Veronica Degraffenreid, who assumed the role of acting secretary of state on Feb. 8.

Penn State is requiring all University Park campus employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by December 8 to comply with President Joe Biden’s executive order, the university announced Tuesday.

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is doling out nearly $2 million in support grants to ramp up booze production and sales.

A cursory glance at September COVID-19 data from Pennsylvania’s health department might lead some to conclude the vaccines are far less effective than they actually are, but a deeper look at who is vaccinated and who isn't paints a different picture.