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                Matt Rourke/AP PhotoHere'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.
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                Courtesy/Dischinat familyNancy Dischinat served as executive director of Workforce Board Lehigh Valley for the past 27 years, helping build an environment of skilled workers that created a sought-out business environment.
 
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                        Rep. Peter Schweyer, chair of the House Education Committee, said a short timetable will likely limit how much lawmakers can change basic education funding in Gov. Josh Shapiro's first budget.
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                        In addition to the introduction of a bill that would automatically return some unclaimed property, a local representative is holding a session that would help residents to find their unclaimed property.
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                        For the first time since 2020, Medicaid recipients must renew their application. That process will begin April 1st.
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                        PennDOT is tackling 37 major projects worth more than $700 million in Berks, Carborn, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton and Schuylkill counties this year.
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                        Gov. Josh Shapiro ordered Pennsylvania flags on all Commonwealth facilities, buildings, and grounds be lowered to half-staff to honor the victims of the RM Palmer Company factory explosion.
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                        West Reading's police chief announced two additional fatalities on Sunday evening, ending the search for two missing individuals. The search and rescue operation followed a chocolate factory explosion Friday night.
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                        Reporter Julian Abraham spent the weekend covering the explosion that occurred Friday at a chocolate factory in West Reading.
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                        As part of a yearlong investigation, The Associated Press obtained the data points underpinning several algorithms deployed by child welfare agencies to understand how they predict which children could be at risk of harm.
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                        A chemical spill of a latex product late Friday in Bristol Township released contaminants into a Delaware River tributary, according to OEM officials.
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                        Three people died and four remain missing in the explosion at the R.M. Palmer Co. chocolate-making plant in West Reading. The grim announcement Saturday night came after a day of hope spurred by a victim found alive in the wreckage early in the day.
 
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                        Over the last three decades, more than 400 farms have been preserved in Lehigh County. The program aims to ward off development and protect open spaces.
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                        Grant applications for the Municipal Opportunities for Retrofits and Energy Efficiency, or MORE, Program are open. Loans are also available through a Lehigh Valley lender.
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                        With temperatures expected to stay in the 90s this week, electric companies are sharing ways for customers to keep their bills low while keeping cool.
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                        PennDOT announced its list of upcoming seasonal driver license, photo and other service centers, as well as road trip tips and travel construction delays.
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                        The Pennsylvania House passed a bill last week that would overhaul the state’s education funding system, sending millions to Lehigh Valley schools over the next seven years. But it faces an uncertain future in the Senate.
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                        No matter what we call it, hazardous heat is expected across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, according to the Weather Prediction Center.
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                        Three farms in Lehigh and Northampton counties were the latest to be included in the state’s Farmland Preservation Program. The program aims to ward off development and protect open spaces.
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                        Senate Republicans blocked a vote on a bill that would guarantee access to assisted reproductive technology. The effort came a day after Democrats blocked a Republican effort to penalize states that attempt to ban invitro fertilization treatments.
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                        A bill aimed at saving local pharmacies with pharmacy benefit manager, or PBMs, reform was touted in Allentown this week. Pennsylvania State Representative Josh Siegel, who represents Lehigh County, joined State Representative Jessica Benham, who represents Allegheny County, at Allentown Pharmacy.
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                        The grant program would allow schools to recruit students, paraprofessionals and other community members to pursue a career in education. It passed the House with bipartisan support last year but has been stuck in committee in the Senate since then.
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                        Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan says machine gun conversion devices, also known as Glock switches, are becoming increasingly common in the region. The illegal modifications turn semi-automatic firearms into automatic weapons.
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                        A new report release by the American Heart Association shows the U.S. on trend to have a cardiovascular disease crisis within 30 years. A public poll shows people feel eating healthy is the way to avoid the crisis, but price points and access limit that ability.