State & Regional News

Gov. Josh Shapiro proposed increasing basic education funding by $1.1 billion, laying the groundwork to slash tuition costs at state-owned schools and taking out a $500 million bond to spur economic development.

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.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, the Lehigh Valley's first-term Republican lawmaker, will hold his second telephone town hall Wednesday evening. It comes after Congress passed the controversial One Big Beautiful Bill and amid turmoil over the Jeffrey Epstein fallout.

Northampton County officials announced a new agreement with American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 13 Local 1265, officials announced Monday, giving some court employees, 911 center supervisors and workers at the Juvenile Justice Center an 11% raise over the next three years.

Nearly 100,000 passengers flew through Lehigh Valley International Airport last month — the best June on record, airport authority officials said.

Allentown was the only Lehigh Valley city to be awarded funding through this round of the Alternative Fuel Incentive Grant. The program aims to improve air quality in communities through cleaner fuel transportation infrastructure

The National Weather Service said the next couple of days will feature “the most pleasant weather of the summer" in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas.

An annual pest across Pennsylvania, corn earworms can cause damage to both sweet and field corn, cutting into farmers’ profits and home-gardeners’ yields. They've been reported in the Lehigh Valley.

Lehigh County Redevelopment Authority is looking for a developer to lead the project to revitalize the Whitehall Township property.

At 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 19, Copeland will headline ArtsQuest's Blast Furnace Blues Festival, performing on the Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks stage. The concert and festival are free.

Juggling family, business and a new yoga career, Coopersburg's Roey Ebert gets creative with her usual grace

The state Office of Open Records has ordered the Allentown School District to release records connected to BusPatrol, the contractor responsible for administering the district’s stop-arm camera enforcement program.

Thursday marked five years since U.S. Rep. John Lewis' death from stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He was 80 years old.

The rescission bill affects public media and foreign aid and now heads back to the U.S. House, which previously passed a different version of the funding cuts. President Donald Trump must sign the legislation before midnight Friday to eliminate the previously approved funding.