State & Regional News

The air quality in Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton is so bad, it’s the equivalent of smoking more than 14 cigarettes.

Smoke blanketed the Lehigh Valley area for a second straight day on Wednesday. Light scattering from particles in the smoke turned the sky a fiery orange in some areas.

The Lehigh Valley is under a code red air quality alert in effect until midnight.

Rep. Robert Freeman's signature House Bill 450, which aims to extend the length of the Main Street program, has cleared the House. Freeman noted Easton as a prime example for the success of the program, and why it should be extended.

The borough hopes to provide amenities to its residents and drive tourism. The projects are slated for Gerald C. Yob Community Park.

The event was held May 23 at the Delta Hotels by Marriott in Fogelsville. View all the photos here.

Curbed by the pandemic, some highly anticipated bus travel routes and are coming back.

The resolution, passed 129-72, empowers the House Legislative Budget and Finance Committee to complete a study on the status, management and benefits of wildlife corridors across the state.

Smoke and haze from wildfires in Canada will again spread across Lehigh Valley skies this week, the National Weather Service warned Monday.

About 37% of ticks in Pennsylvania are the kind that carry Lyme disease, according to the Tick Research Lab of Pennsylvania at East Stroudsburg University.

Gov. Tom Wolf is halting a package of election law changes pushed by the Republican-led state legislature, a move that has been widely anticipated.

In a 5-4 decision Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the state of New Jersey cannot block construction of the PennEast natural gas pipeline on state lands.

Restaurants and bars will likely not be able to sell mixed drinks to-go this summer, despite many state lawmakers who support extending the pandemic-era rule.

Summer’s here and meteorologists forecast the Lehigh Valley may experience another heat wave in the coming days. Temperatures may push 90 degrees.

On June 24, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended its federal eviction moratorium through July 31. U.S. Rep. Susan Wild (D-Lehigh/Monroe) says there are federal dollars available for Lehigh Valley residents who need rental assistance.

Some lawmakers and environmental groups are calling on the Wolf administration to strengthen a proposed regulation that aims to curb emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane before the rule comes up for a final vote. But the proposal exempts tens of thousands of low-producing wells.

State lawmakers are still hashing out the final details of the next state budget, which is due by the end of the month. But an agreement on the spending plan could be reached in the coming days.

Pennsylvania House Republicans voted to prohibit schools and universities from requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for students — and to strip the state health secretary from being able to order certain emergency public health measures in the future.

In Allentown on June 21, education advocates, parents, and students marched to support Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed changes to the way the commonwealth funds its schools.

Latino leaders from across the state said Thursday the 2021 Pennsylvania Latino Convention will take place in Reading this fall.

Gov. Tom Wolf spoke out on June 17 against a Republican-backed election reform bill, calling it an ‘unconstitutional’ attack on voter rights.