Northampton County News

The Good Work Farm in Upper Nazareth Township is the most recent preservation project by the Northampton County government — 250 and counting. Pennsylvania leads the country in preserved farmland.

Catasauqua, East Allen Township, Hanover Township, North Catasauqua and Northampton Borough have spent years crafting a joint development plan on how to best steer development within their borders. Allen Township, though, isn't participating.

The school board is expected to vote on hiring a collection agency to target student overdue lunch bills at its next meeting.

A fire that broke out Friday afternoon damaged 16 apartments and displaced 38 people at The Residences at Willow Ridge in Allen Township.

The annual food truck festival will feature dozens of vendors selling burgers, barbecue food, ice cream, wine and craft beer.

Students struggle to return to brick-and-mortar schools after the pandemic, leading rise in home-schooling.

The 12th annual Andre Reed Celebrity Golf Tournament is being held Monday at Woodstone Country Club and Lodge in Northampton County. It will raise money for the Boys & Girls Club of Allentown, which the NFL Hall of Famer says was instrumental in his success.

Some parents and residents are asking schools to take books off library shelves. Others want a parental consent policy for children to take out some books.

In February, society members called a news conference to detail what they described as a campaign of threats and harassment by a rogue group of temple members. The 3 accused are part of that group, according to the temple leadership.

Eighty volunteers helped lay 30,000 square feet of sod at the home of retired Marine Corps veteran Daniel Lasko, who lost his left leg in an explosion in Afghanistan in 2004.

The Pennsylvania Department of State is starting a new office to help train county election workers, Pa. Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said. It also plans to update its guidance for logic and accuracy testing that could have caught issues with the Northampton County voting machines.

Only some of the newest Northampton County elected officials are actually new to county government. The new slate of county elected leaders will take office Jan. 2.

Lafayette College will host the 2024 vice presidential debate this coming September, drawing the world's eyes to its Easton campus. Nicole Hurd, the college's president, hopes it will be an opportunity to highlight the liberal arts school and the greater Easton community.

Lawmakers in Harrisburg passed nearly three dozen laws last week in a final burst of action as they held their last voting session of the year.

“We used to be able to get turnout gear in what, eight weeks? Now it’s taking eight months,” Fire Capt. Scott Krycia said. “It’s just across the board with everything that we use for firefighting now.”

Canine experts emphasize how dangerous and, in some cases, deadly, human foods can be to dogs.

The 4th annual Winter Village in Easton brought in over 56,000 visitors from over 20 states.

“I know a lot of people are dealing with inflation still, yet forever, it seems like,” Lower Saucon councilwoman Sandra Yerger said. “It seems like it might help them out a little bit.”

It might seem counterintuitive, but harvesting holiday trees year after year is better for the environment than using an artificial one, experts said, especially amid the proliferation of plastic piling up in landfills.

Officials on Wednesday reviewed several preliminary transportation policy strategies for the Valley's priority climate action plan. The plan’s focus is to reduce carbon emissions from transportation, a significant driver of greenhouse gas emissions across the region.

More than three dozen projects in the Valley were awarded grants, receiving about 7% of the total funding awarded. Statewide, $335 million in grants were announced Wednesday.

All but one township zoning amendment application were reviewed without issue by the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission Comprehensive Planning Committee on Tuesday afternoon.