State & Regional News

Gov. Shapiro will deliver his budget address on Tuesday, Feb. 6. The deadline to deliver a completed spending plan is June 30.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, state parks across Pennsylvania were inundated with visitors.

State officials late last month announced the theme for this year’s annual tick-themed art contest, “Protect. Check. Remove.” Last year, there were no winners in the Lehigh Valley.

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.

Republican congressional candidates Maria Montero and Ryan Mackenzie criticized U.S. Rep. Susan Wild after she said Carbon County "drank the Trump Kool-Aid" on a conference call with prominent Pennsylvania Democrats.

News Director Jen Rehill talks with journalists Tom Shortell and Brittany Sweeney.

More than $2 million was allocated to nine organizations across Pennsylvania to fund various research efforts, all linked to the state’s $132.5 billion agriculture industry.

Campaign finance reports show Republican Kevin Dellicker outraised the rest of the GOP field combined in his bid for PA-7. But Democratic incumbent Susan Wild raised twice as much as all of the Republicans put together.

Two Lehigh Valley’s representatives in the state house have recently proposed legislation to make affordable housing more accessible.

Under a proposal by Gov. Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania would cap tuition and fees at state-owned colleges to $1,000 a semester for in-state students from households earning up to the median income.

Lehigh County Executive Phillips Armstrong credited the Lehigh Valley's history of collaboration for building the best place to live in the country. After his remarks, he denied allegations by Controller Mark Pinsley that his administration attempted to cover up a controversial audit.

State Senator Nick Miller is hosting two rental rebate programs at apartment complexes in Allentown on February 23 and March 1.

A bright meteor raced across the skies around 6:50 p.m. Wednesday, with people near the Lehigh Valley reporting the sighting.

More than a dozen people pushed council to act, arguing the Israel-Hamas war is a local issue because Allentown taxpayer dollars are helping to fund Israel's military operations.

Such a cease-fire resolution would put Bethlehem among 70-something other municipalities across the country with some form of official public stance on the conflict.

More than 100 businesses, officials, organizations and environmental advocates statewide — including two from the Lehigh Valley — signed a letter to Shapiro arguing his economic development plan, “Pennsylvania Gets It Done,” fails to prioritize sustainable industries and instead doubles down on fossil fuels.

Sen. Bob Casey and Rep. Susan Wild visited Lehigh Valley International Airport Tuesday, highlighting a federal grant to build new air cargo infrastructure.

Two recently formed super PACs are attacking Republican Ryan Mackenzie in the GOP primary for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District. But Mackenzie and others allege it is an effort by Democrats to interfere in the crowded primary.

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission last week released a draft of its Priority Climate Action Plan, a document almost a year in the making aimed at tamping down the region’s carbon emissions and mitigating the effects of climate change.

Five farms, three in Lehigh County and two in Northampton County, were the latest to be included in the commonwealth’s Farmland Preservation Program, along with more than a dozen others across the state.

The legislation would allow gun owners to keep their weapon stored in their car, but would make it a misdemeanor offense to bring it inside a polling place.

Francis Malofiy of law firm Francis Alexander on Tuesday filed a complaint for a class action lawsuit on behalf of 12 families who all say they were falsely accused of child abuse by LVHN doctors.