State & Regional News

Held June 7 in Bethlehem, the Lehigh Valley Environmental Advisory Council Network’s “Funding Municipal Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Programs,” focused on federal and state funding opportunities available to organizations across the region.

There’s one major question as we approach the summer solstice in the Lehigh Valley – where’s the warmth?

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.

The deadline is right around the corner to nominate a veteran for one of the American Red Cross Lehigh Valley Heroes awards. The American Red Cross will once again pay tribute to those who served our country and the community.

Pennsylvania’s highest court has ruled people whose mail ballots are rejected for not following technical procedures in state law can cast provisional ballots. The decision is sure to affect some of the thousands of mail-in votes experts say are likely to be rejected this fall for not following all of the mail-in voting procedures required.

Another visit from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is in order for the Lehigh Valley. The Democratic vice presidential candidate will make his second trip to the area this Friday in Allentown.

Secretary of Revenue Pat Browne testified on the floor of the state senate that some protected tax information about the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone could not be disclosed even to state lawmakers or publicized as otherwise required by state law.

The Bethlehem Area School District is getting $2 million in federal rebates to buy 10 more electric school buses. Officials expect the buses to be in service next school year.

The deadline for Pennsylvanians to register to vote in the 2024 general election is Oct. 21 — just 15 days before Election Day on Nov. 5.

Fethullah Gülen, a reclusive U.S.-based Islamic cleric who inspired a global social movement while facing accusations he masterminded a failed 2016 coup in his native Turkey, has died. He lived the last several years in the Saylorsburg area of Monroe County, Pa.

Pennsylvania law requires voters deposit only their own ballot and prohibits people from returning other voters’ ballots — including a spouse's — to a drop box on their behalf. Enforcement is another issue.

United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain visited Allentown on Sunday to rally union members for the Harris-Walz ticket and other Democrats on the ballot ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

An Allentown resident living with disabilities recently met with Congresswoman Susan Wild to talk about what congress can do to improve services for people like him.

The manufacturer of Giant's store-brand waffles has issued a recall due to potential listeria contamination, the supplier announced on Oct. 18. 2024.

Senate Republicans want Revenue Secretary Pat Browne to release a trove of tax records from Allentown's Neighborhood Improvement Zone.