State & Regional News

A Montour County environmental educator, arborist and musician is attempting to climb the tallest tree at the highest point in each of the Commonwealth’s 67 counties.

One person who consumed raw milk from Apple Valley Creamery in East Berlin and became ill, officials said. The milk is sold in three Lehigh Valley locations.

The annual scholastic competition combines classroom learning and outdoor activities to engage students in environmental science. The state competition is scheduled for May 22 in Mifflinburg.

An Upper Macungie man has been arrested on charges of illegal possession of drugs and weapons, including cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, firearms, and explosive devices Wednesday morning.

PennDOT intends to begin a $91.6 million reconstruction project on the Route 309-Tilghman Street interchange later this year. The interchange saw more than 200 crashes between 2018 and 2022, according to PennDOT crash data.

Carbon County officials on Thursday will sign on to a partnership with Northampton, officials announced. Their goal is to bolster farmland preservation efforts.

Easton has secured $930,118 Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside program funding to replace the deteriorating Abbott Street Bridge, Senator Lisa Boscola announced this week.

Avian influenza, called bird flu, is threatening poultry and dairy cows across the country. Now, local doctors are monitoring the situation closely because it could mutate and become more serious for humans.

Easton's South Side and Allentown have been welcomed into Blueprint Communities, a program focused on training local officials to help foster improvements in local communities' quality of life.

Arcadia plans to tear down the SureStay Plus Hotel by Best Western at 300 Gateway Drive off Route 512 and replace it with a 250,000-square-foot warehouse. If the permit is approved, developers will be allowed to discharge stormwater from construction activities into the Monocacy Creek.

The Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike will be temporarily closed this weekend, between the Pocono and Wyoming Valley interchanges. Officials say crews will be performing bridge work.

In the first round of Neighborhood Assistance Program funding from the state, Lehigh Valley-based programs received more than $2 million.

Governor Josh Shapiro came to a growing district in the Lehigh Valley — East Penn School District — to celebrate an increase in public school funding through the 2024-25 Pennsylvania state budget.

Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations, said bad actors like Russia are abusing their place in the world order. But until a viable alternative exists, responsible citizens must engage in systems like the U.N. to work toward a better future.

State officials announced a $1 million pool for the 2025 Environmental Education Grants Program, as well as the Nov. 15 deadline to apply. Two Lehigh Valley projects were funded in the last round.

This week on Political Pulse, Chris and Tom move away from talk of the presidential race and shift gears to focus on statehouse races.

Easton has secured a $100,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, which will go toward public arts projects including new murals throughout the city.

Staff and volunteers at the sanctuary have monitored the autumnal migration since 1934 as part of conservation research efforts. It’s the longest-running raptor migration count in the world.

Following a Commonwealth Court ruling Friday, Pennsylvania counties cannot throw out mail-in votes over incorrect envelope dates.

Warehouse construction and approvals have slowed down considerably over the last several months in Lehigh and Northampton counties. Is it a temporary lull, or a new reality?

A winning Powerball ticket has gone unclaimed in Lehigh County for nearly a year. Pennsylvania Lottery is trying to seek the winner before the prize — $150,000 — expires.

State and local lawmakers on Thursday talked up a $25 million program to install solar power at Pennsylvania schools. That program could be implemented at Allentown public schools.