State & Regional News

Pennsylvania Master Naturalist is partnering with the Lehigh County Conservation District to host a Master Naturalist Volunteer training. The course aims to bolster local conservation efforts.

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.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America released its Allergy Capitals report this month. Allentown ranked in the Top 15 nationwide.

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.