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.

The Lehigh County Board of Commissioners Cedarbrook Committee was approving contracts for the long-term care facility when it was interrupted by a barrage of profane language - set to the song “Let It Go” from the Disney movie “Frozen.”

Concerned residents held a vigil outside the Lehigh County Jail in Allentown over the weekend with signs and candles to remember an inmate and correctional officer who recently died from COVID-19 and to raise awareness of what they say are dangerous conditions inside.

Lehigh Valley community members say the situation inside the Lehigh County Jail is bleak. Activists say COVID-19 conditions are causing harm to inmates and employees. And they plan to make their voices heard this weekend.

Timothy Benyo, chief clerk for Lehigh County’s Voter Registration and Elections says November’s election was accurate, and things went mostly smoothly, all things considered.

State courts told correctional institutions last year to reduce the number of inmates to help fight the spread of COVID-19 inside.

At a public forum with several Lehigh County Commissioners on Jan. 28, they called their working conditions “life-threatening.”

Lehigh County’s fiscal watchdog is advocating for bail reform.

A corrections officer at the Lehigh County jail died this week after testing positive for the virus in December. He was the first county employee to die from COVID-related complications.

The recent death of a 54-year-old inmate is raising questions about the Lehigh County Jail's ability to protect more than 1,000 staff and inmates.

Lehigh County will now officially recognize Juneteenth as a paid holiday for workers. But the move to give employees the day off to honor African American independence from slavery was met with some opposition

Twitter has jumped on a former Republican Lehigh County commissioner, Dean Browning, for a tweet in which he claimed to be a different race. As WLVR's Tyler Pratt reports, he says it was a misunderstanding.

Voters across the Lehigh Valley experienced long wait times Tuesday morning, but things were moving more quickly in Lehigh County by mid day. But as WLVR’s Tyler Pratt reports, wait times weren’t the only concern for some Spanish speakers at the polls.