Northampton County News

Based on themes of home in the Lehigh Valley and executed via improvisation on the piano, former Nazareth native Dominic Billett's new record “Truer is the Valley, the River, the Pale Sky" paints a thoughtful, vivid picture perfect for walks throughout the region.

At its Nov. 11 meeting, Northampton Area school directors considered five partial renovation options for Moore Elementary.

Northampton Area school directors approved the second round of financing for the East Allen Elementary School and education center project at their meeting last week.

Bethlehem Area school directors approved the purchase agreement for 315 Columbia St. in South Bethlehem at their Monday meeting. The space would serve as a satellite campus for the Bethlehem Area Vo-Tech School.

A partnership between Second Harvest Food Bank and the GIANT Company will make sure a thousand families have a Thanksgiving dinner.

Northampton Area School Board approved Kovalchik's retirement at Monday's school board meeting. It will be effective July 1.

Addison Agen, who finished second to Chloe Kohanski on the show's 13th season, will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, at the center at 30 E. Belvidere St., Nazareth.

State Rep. Joe Emrick won Pennsylvania's 137th House District in his battle against Democratic challenger Anna Thomas.

Republican state Rep. Zachary Mako was well on the way to defeating Democrat Joseph Lenzi to win a fifth term representing the 183rd House District.

The Gap Fire, which erupted Saturday near Route 248 in Lehigh Township, has drawn hundreds of firefighters over four days. Crews have gotten the upper hand and are now searching for and extinguishing hotspots, officials said.

The grand opening of Sheetz on Fourth Street in Bethlehem on Thursday was well attended. One woman drove more than an hour for her first taste of Sheetz coffee.

PennDOT intends to begin a $91.6 million reconstruction project on the Route 309-Tilghman Street interchange later this year. The interchange saw more than 200 crashes between 2018 and 2022, according to PennDOT crash data.

A county judge ordered Northampton Area School District to appoint a new school director by June 3, or the court will take review applicants for the vacancy.

Carbon County officials on Thursday will sign on to a partnership with Northampton, officials announced. Their goal is to bolster farmland preservation efforts.

An agreement between "car-sharing" company Turo and the Lehigh Northampton Airport Authority won final authority approval Tuesday.

It's time for PPL Electric Utilities' annual summer rate drop. Customers who don't shop their electricity supply will see a price decrease in their rates beginning June.

Arcadia plans to tear down the SureStay Plus Hotel by Best Western at 300 Gateway Drive off Route 512 and replace it with a 250,000-square-foot warehouse. If the permit is approved, developers will be allowed to discharge stormwater from construction activities into the Monocacy Creek.

The awards announced last week complete the $155 million school safety grants program package issued by the School safety and Security Committee (SSSC) in January 2024.

This was the 33rd year a ceremony was held at the Lehigh Valley Workers' Memorial at the Rose Garden in Bethlehem. The gatherings are held as part of the AFL-CIO’s nationwide campaign to reduce fatalities and injuries in workplaces.

Ryan Mackenzie pulled off a comfortable win in the Republican primary for the PA-7 congressional race. He credited an army of campaign volunteers, but his 12 years in the state House and at least $419,000 of support from a super PAC helped, too.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan announced on Friday that six persons have been charged in a large-scale burglary ring throughout the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas.

Lehigh Valley Planning Commission has started the process of becoming a Vision Zero region to reduce pedestrian fatalities to zero. LVPC officials say recognition could support all municipalities in the region with grant opportunities.