State & Regional News

Crews released and burned toxic chemicals from a wrecked train in Ohio near the Pennsylvania border, but residents remain in the dark about what toxic substances could be lingering in their evacuated neighborhoods.

Members of the Valley's Syrian and Turkish communities issue concerns for family overseas. They'll gather today at St. George Antiochian Orthodox Church in Allentown and the Muslim Association of Lehigh Valley.

Lehigh Valley lawmakers and educators were quick to react. One lawmaker said it was a victory for children in poorer school districts such as Allentown.

Easton Area Neighborhood Centers Inc. and the Seed Farm in Upper Milford Township are getting $50,000 and $27,754 respectively to put toward their greenhouses.

Independence and Bailey’s Island are now state forest lands.

91.3 WLVR's Brad Klein speaks with Capitol Bureau Chief Sam Dunklau about the balance of power in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

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State funding has been awarded to a number of local fire and EMS services across Northampton and Lehigh counties.

The federal government's pandemic-era prohibition against kicking people off Medicaid is ending, meaning that hundreds of thousands of people in Pennsylvania face losing free health insurance. Many people who stand to lose Medicaid coverage have no idea that the changes are coming.

The Pennsylvania state House has been unable to function for a month. Three special elections this week could end the standoff, though big questions remain.

State Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-Lehigh/Bucks, introduced the bill in 2023 after a student brought a knife to Schnecksville Elementary School. Parents didn't learn of the incident until a week later.

The speaker series, which runs on select Thursdays through March, focuses on engaging residents about the local environment, as well as conservation efforts.

As the federal government shutdown drags on into its second month, hundreds of flights Friday are being canceled at 40 airports across the country. Regional airports, such as LVIA, could be affected, too.

The hourlong program by PBS39 comes in the wake of the closure of a homeless encampment along Jordan Creek in Allentown and the scheduled shutdown of a separate one along the Lehigh River in Bethlehem.

Current conditions, along with the continued drying of fine fuels, "could support the rapid spread of any fires that ignite, which could quickly become difficult to control," the National Weather Service said.

With an unusually politicized Supreme Court retention question on the ballot Tuesday, Lehigh Valley voters overwhelmingly backed Democratic candidates.

Mackenzie, along with officials from Wildlands Conservancy, the Appalachian Mountain Club and the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, on Wednesday morning hiked a portion of the property, lauding the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund that helped preserve it.

Following a wind advisory Wednesday night, forecasters say the Lehigh Valley will see a fairly active pattern continuing through the weekend and into early next week as temperatures tumble.

Democrat Sarah Fevig may have spent a record amount for a single county commissioner candidate in her campaign. Meanwhile, Zach Cole-Borghi handily defeated his opponent despite the specter of criminal charges.

All three of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices who sought reelection Tuesday will get another term. The result shapes the makeup of the seven-member court through the next presidential election in 2028.

People came to the polls mindful of the state Supreme Court retention vote — and with a wide variety of issues on their minds, from the federal government shutdown to abortion policy and access to health care.

Here's all you need to know about the 2025 general election in the Lehigh Valley, where scores of local races are on the ballot — including county and municipal offices, plus school boards and Pennsylvania Supreme Court retention questions getting an unusual amount of attention.