State & Regional News

COMMENTARY: The one constant in Harrisburg no matter the dominant political party is a reflexive inclination to shield information from the public. This week is Sunshine Week.

Saquon Barkley, the former Penn State star and 2015 graduate of Whitehall High School, reached agreement with the Eagles on a three-year, $37.75 million contract, according to ESPN reporter Adam Schefter.

Penn State University and Moravian University have gone the digital route. Lehigh University is considering such a move, officials say.

Dozens of students from across Pennsylvania will descend on Saucon Valley Middle School’s gymnasium for FIRST Tech Challenge’s robotics state championship, including two teams from the Lehigh Valley.

Pennsylvania’s maple sugaring season is well underway. At the Monroe County Conservation District’s Singing Hemlock Sugar Shack, educators guided visitors through the history of maple syrup production.

E-pollbooks make election day operations much easier for poll workers and speed up key processes. But like most election technology, they are potentially vulnerable to hacking if officials do not have safeguards in place.

Ruben Payan, the NTSB investigator in charge of the investigation, released new details and updated local officials during a meeting of Lower Saucon Township Council. Three of the derailed cars were hazardous materials tankers.

Ashleigh Strange previously served as communications director for PA Stands Up and Make the Road Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania has converted its five-year pilot program into a permanent one. The Work Zone Speed Safety program began enforcement on Feb. 15.

Christie Nicas, a Bethlehem woman who conceived two children through in vitro fertilization, will attend President Joe Biden's 2024 State of the Union address Thursday as a guest of U.S. Rep. Susan Wild.

The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory and excessive heat watch for the Lehigh Valley and southeastern Pennsylvania. The heat advisory will be in effect from Sunday into Monday. Then the temperature really turns up, with heat indexes in triple digits.

The 2024 fundraising efforts comes on the heels of the most successful campaign the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley has ever had. It raised a record-breaking $25 million last year.

The position, budgeted for one year after the annual process turned contentious, focuses on creating and facilitating sustainability initiatives while capturing grant funding to cover the cost of related projects.

The start of Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s annual hawk watch is just over a month out, and preparations are well underway. A tradition in its 64th year, volunteers count birds of prey as they migrate along the raptor "superhighway" in the Lehigh Valley’s backyard.

North Bethlehem Little League is hosting the Pennsylvania State Little League Intermediate 50/70 Tournament through Monday. The local team dropped its opening-round game on Thursday night, but remains alive in the tourney.

A Pennsylvania think tank brings together medical providers and researchers to look at where the state's health care system can be improved. The panel, held by the Commonwealth Foundation, said cost, access, and attention to care are the most important issues to those who live in PA.

Albeit late, lawmakers passed a $47.6 billion plan for the fiscal year that started July 1, with much focus on education this year.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission issued 19 recommendations for PPL Electric to improve upon, including fixing its poor customer service and restoring power to customers faster following an outage.

The National Weather Service posted a flood watch starting at 6 a.m. Friday for the Philadelphia region and its suburbs.

The $208 million will also produce 295 new union jobs, U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s announcement said, though it’s unclear what cut of the funding the Macungie facility is getting or the number of new jobs expected locally.

Gov. Josh Shapiro unveiled new designs for highway welcome signs and license plates this week, both featuring the Liberty Bell and the phrase "Let Freedom Ring." But it appears history hot spot Easton was left out.

While the Easton Police Department only took a few phone calls over fireworks complaints for July 4, it appears citizens and city council are riled up over the nuisance and danger tied to the explosives.