State & Regional News

Applications open Monday for the 2024 Lehigh Valley Greenways Mini Grant Program and are accepted until 4 p.m. March 8. The grants are earmarked for conservation efforts in Lehigh and Northampton counties.

More than 160,000 Pennsylvania students are enrolled in brick-and-mortar and cyber charter schools, with the latter’s enrollment having ballooned in recent years.

Jay Bryson, chief economist for Wells Fargo’s Corporate and Investment Bank, told Lehigh Valley business leaders Wednesday that he expects the economy will lose some steam in the coming months, but avoid a recession.

Christopher Fitzgerald was shot and killed near the Temple University campus in Philadelphia while working as a university police officer in February 2023.

A 605-pound black bear harvested in the Lehigh Valley has ranked one of the largest in the state to be bagged during its most recent season, and was the sixth-heaviest bear in Pennsylvania for 2023.

The Ready to Learn Block Grant money can be put toward a variety of uses, including the expansion of a school district’s social and health services, and even professional development for educators.

Lawmakers announced the $40 million infusion that they said will support a new Northside Logistics and Cargo Complex. It will include a new dock facility and direct truck-to-aircraft loading apron at LVIA.

The team behind Lehigh University's "Community Mapping for Environmental Justice” project is creating an interactive map of litter in Bethlehem. Officials said the collaborative effort aims to improve the health and well-being of the entire community.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

Registration is open for the Nurture Nature Center's Youth Climate Summit of the Lehigh Valley, a free event April 19 and 20. The summit aims to engage middle and high school students in climate change issues, as well as seek solutions.

The Lehigh Little League 9-and-10-year-old all-stars won the state championship to qualify for the Eastern Regional Tournament Aug. 2-9 in Cranston, Rhoad Island.

Dangerous heat is expected Monday through Wednesday in the Lehigh Valley, with concerns of excessive rainfall on Thursday before much cooler air arrives.

Excessive humidity and extremely warm temperatures have prompted a heat advisory for the Lehigh Valley on Friday. On top of the heat, there's a risk of severe weather and an unsettled weekend ahead.

Members passed a resolution supporting a Pennsylvania House bill to legalize marijuana and Gov. Josh Shapiro's proposed budget, which projects millions in taxes from the move. Two former cops on council voted against the measure.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, said Congress should intervene if the Trump administration fails to release details of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein. The sex offender and financier's death in custody in 2019 has sparked years of speculation and conspiracy theories.

Judge Steven Hippler ordered Bryan Kohberger to serve life in prison without parole for killing four University of Idaho students. Friends and relatives delivered powerful statements of love, anguish and condemnation at the sentencing hearing Wednesday.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, the Lehigh Valley's first-term Republican lawmaker, will hold his second telephone town hall Wednesday evening. It comes after Congress passed the controversial One Big Beautiful Bill and amid turmoil over the Jeffrey Epstein fallout.

Northampton County officials announced a new agreement with American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 13 Local 1265, officials announced Monday, giving some court employees, 911 center supervisors and workers at the Juvenile Justice Center an 11% raise over the next three years.

Nearly 100,000 passengers flew through Lehigh Valley International Airport last month — the best June on record, airport authority officials said.

Allentown was the only Lehigh Valley city to be awarded funding through this round of the Alternative Fuel Incentive Grant. The program aims to improve air quality in communities through cleaner fuel transportation infrastructure

The National Weather Service said the next couple of days will feature “the most pleasant weather of the summer" in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas.

An annual pest across Pennsylvania, corn earworms can cause damage to both sweet and field corn, cutting into farmers’ profits and home-gardeners’ yields. They've been reported in the Lehigh Valley.