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.

Voting still is taking place inside Salem United Church of Christ after someone threw an explosive device outside the polling place. Local, state and federal official are investigating.

Tuesday is Primary Election Day in Pennsylvania. Lehigh Valley Democratic voters will cast ballots in the 7th Congressional District, 16th District state Senate, the 22nd District state House of Representatives and 187th District state House. Republicans have no races for those seats; GOP candidates in them are unopposed.

The Democratic primary for Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District has dominated the airwaves, but voters in Lehigh County and northern Bucks County have other statehouse races to weigh in on.

A Lehigh County jury found Steven M. Rosa, 30, guilty of first-degree homicide in the July 28, 2022, killing of Tywon Deleva Abner, 33, of Allentown just after 11 p.m. in the 500 block of West Allen Street.

The proposed ordinance looks to define data centers and establish regulations to close gaps in the city’s zoning ordinance before any proposals are submitted.

Beginning June 6, Pennsylvania drivers caught holding a cell phone behind the wheel under Paul Miller’s Law will face a $50 fine, plus court costs and fees.

State Rep. Ana Tiburcio is seeking a two-year term after winning a special election in February. She's facing Allentown City Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach, who's been a progressive voice in Lehigh Valley politics for 15 years.

Carol Obando-Derstine, Lamont McClure and Ryan Crosswell expressed a desire to reform ICE rather than abolish it during one-on-one interviews in the PA-7 Talks series.

Lead Left PAC has supported Democrat Lamont McClure over Bob Brooks and Ryan Crosswell, but the super PAC's shadowy origins has led to allegations of Republican interference in the race.

Democratic voters will decide whether Rachel Cuevas or Geoffrey Whitcomb will represent their party in the 187th state House District this November. Republican incumbent Gary Day is running unopposed in his primary.

Elections workers have so far repackaged and resent more than 120 new ballots, and more are on the way to voters, County Executive Josh Siegel said Wednesday.

A woman facing multiple felony charges in a fatal wrong-way crash last year on the Pennsylvania Turnpike was taken into custody Wednesday in Philadelphia, officials said.