State & Regional News

'A Community Conversation: The Road Ahead' will feature several guests discussing Lehigh Valley traffic and transportation issues. It will start at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 3, at the Univest Public Media Center in Bethlehem.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection last week launched the Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction grant program. Aimed at schools and childcare facilities, the program is focused on testing for, and remediating, lead in drinking water.

Lehigh Valley business experts said it's too soon to determine how President Donald Trump's across-the-board tariffs of 10% or more will affect the economy but acknowledged that stakes are high.

Gov. Josh Shapiro made an appearance at Fegley's Brew Works in Bethlehem Wednesday to speak out on tariffs and how they could impact small businesses across the Lehigh Valley, including its thriving craft brewery scene.

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, a national initiative occurring annually to encourage safe driving. It will take on added significance in Pennsylvania this year.

Mega Millions is making changes to its lottery game starting as soon as its April 8 drawing. Changes include an increase in the ticket price and retiring add-on features, and replacing them with new features that Mega Millions says will benefit players.

If Mother Nature has anything to say about it, this could be an abbreviated peak bloom for the cherry blossoms in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas.

Miller-Keystone Blood Center held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to introduce its newest bloodmobile, Bloodhound I — among four new vehicles planned to be put into service over the next year.

“I want to warn everybody there are a lot of procrastinators out there, and our driver's license centers are having real serious issues with lines and people showing up before they even open,” PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said Tuesday.

This week on Political Pulse, host Tom Shortell is joined by political scientist Chris Borick to talk about the department, its standing in American politics and its future.

Medicare recipients will see cost-cutting measures take effect this year, thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act.

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.