State & Regional News

For the first time in its 122-year history, Crayola is bringing back retired colors in a special, limited edition 8-pack this spring.

The Valley’s two major health networks are preparing for an increase in bird flu in people. Cases have been generally mild, with none reported so far in Pennsylvania.

The Saturday into Sunday timeframe will see the next storm system target the region, and an active pattern could bring snow next week, forecasters say.

The first of a three-session forum to address the housing availability and affordability crisis in the Lehigh Valley was held at DeSales University on Wednesday.

Just shy of 90 awardees from 45 counties were selected for the commonwealth’s Agricultural Innovation Grant Program. Find out what got funded in the Lehigh Valley.

Lehigh Valley Planning Commission officials last month held the first regional climate planning workshop of the year, WorkshopLV: Environment.

Forecasters are calling for calling for “quite the icy slop of wintry precipitation across the region, including both sleet and freezing rain” as a quick-hitting winter storm descends upon the region late Wednesday.

Republicans balked at Gov. Josh Shapiro's $51.4 billion budget proposal Tuesday, saying the spending patterns did not align with Pennsylvania's financial realities. Lawmakers will debate the plan and determine its outcome.

Justin Simmons, who served a decade in the Pennsylvania House, is the first Republican to announce a bid for the county’s top job.

According to a release issued by ICE, Luis Gualdron-Gualdron, “a citizen and national of Venezuela who previously entered the United States without inspection,” was arrested on Jan. 31 without incident near the prison shortly after an immigration detainer was not honored.

A section of Institute Drive will be closed through most of April to protect breeding amphibians. Experts said the road-closing conservation effort is not only important for the animals, but also for the region’s overall landscape and ecosystem.

According to experts, the only way to view the total eclipse on April 8, 2024, is to be inside the 120 mile-wide path of totality. Outside of it, you won't have nearly the same experience.

Crews worked Saturday to repair a sinkhole that opened in the westbound lanes of Route 22 in Northampton County. The 9-feet-deep sinkhole was partially in the right lane and highway shoulder, according to a PennDOT spokesman.

Spring wildfire season runs from March through May across the commonwealth. State officials are urging residents to do their part to prevent wildfires.

The Lehigh Valley ranked first in the nation in economic development projects in 2023 than any similarly sized market, according to Site Selection magazine. The region also ranked fourth in all communities in the Northeast.

About a million Pennsylvanians have medical debt, but a proposal in the Gov. Josh Shapiro's 2024-25 budget could help alleviate those debts. State Rep. Josh Siegel, who represents parts of Allentown and Salisbury Township, is an advocate for the proposal.

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.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey got a mention during President Biden's State of the Union address but U.S. Rep. Susan Wild, D-Lehigh Valley, did not. Politics reporter Tom Shortell provides a post-mortem on the SOTU.