Lehigh County News

National politics often makes headlines, but former Bethlehem mayor Bob Donchez says municipal government impacts its residents more. This week on Political Pulse, host Tom Shortell dives into what goes on inside local government with Donchez.

Lehigh Gap Nature Center from Feb. 14-16 held its annual Lehigh Gap Area Feeder Watch. The long-term research project focuses on monitoring winter bird populations.

Increased stress due to everyday life, like politics or the economy, coupled with habitual, risky behaviors distracting the driver from the road, can create a slippery slope, ripe for crashes, experts said. Plus, those risky behaviors are far more common than the average driver would think.

Organizations such as colleges, local governments and non-profits are encouraged to apply for funding under Congress's Community Project Funding program. The Lehigh Valley has secured tens of millions in funding through federal discretionary spending in recent years.

The Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital on Monday received a check in the amount of $114,676 from Spirit Halloween, a national costume retailer, for its Child Life Program. The amount increased the retailer's donation to the program over $1 million since 2012.

Aleah Nothstein, of Boot Scootin' with Aleah, teaches line dancing in New Tripoli and Bethlehem with her beau, DJ Mullet.

An influx of residents and warehouses have made highways in Lehigh and Northampton counties more crowded. An analysis by LehighValleyNews.com finds some stretches of road have experienced increases of 40% to 50% in traffic volume, with Route 33 overtaking Interstate 78 as the region's second-busiest highway.

A recent bald eagle rehabilitation and release is a bright spot amid a dangerous time for bald eagles in the Lehigh Valley and the rest of the commonwealth. Bird flu continues to threaten wild bird populations, causing more than a dozen bald eagles to be euthanized across Pennsylvania.

A five-part series this week will explore traffic and transportation issues in the Lehigh Valley. Increasing traffic volume, dangerous driving and insufficient infrastructure are among the topics examined.

Justin Simmons, the former Republican state representative, was among three people who filed nomination papers last week to seek the party's nomination in the May 20 primary election.

South Whitehall Township will hold its first Summer Movie Series event from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday in the township municipal building’s grass circle, 4444 Walbert Ave. It will also hold an information and feedback session about its Transportation PLAN.

A severe thunderstorm brought wind gusts approaching 60 mph, heavy rain and hail to Lehigh and Northampton counties early Wednesday night. Utility companies reported thousands in the dark.

A statistic from the National Council on Aging that shows about one in 10 Americans over the age of 60 have experienced some form of elder abuse.

Farmers Kenneth and Heather Skorinko are planning to open a craft distillery with a tasting room. They would build a 2,400 square foot pole barn at 1990 Neffs Laurys Road in North Whitehall to house it.

A proposed skyscraper on 9th Street in Allentown called Peregrine Tower has garnered local and feasibility concern for its height and impact on the neighborhood.

Officials with the Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority said Tuesday that the airport's future growth will come from Allegiant Air, the ultra-low-cost carrier that accounted for 60% of their passengers in 2023.

Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk on Monday night slammed some council members' "efforts to smear me and this administration" with a long-awaited investigation at City Hall.

A Lehigh University student was found to have forged documents to get into the school. He will now be deported after authorities investigated his admission of the scheme on Reddit, they said.

Lehigh Valley International Airport saw its highest passenger traffic for May since 2004, with more than 85,000 passengers through the gates, a release said Monday.

An early concept for a new mural planned for the plaza at Seventh and Hamilton streets in Allentown has left some asking why it doesn't showcase native species.

The Lehigh Valley ranks as the eighth-highest industrial market in the U.S., it was disclosed at a Lehigh Valley Planning Commission roundtable meeting on Friday.

The planned closure affects a roughly 12-mile stretch of the Northeast Extension in Carbon County.