State & Regional News

Politicians, community members and family of the late state Rep. James Prendergast came out for the dedication of the 13th Street Bridge in his honor Thursday morning.

A strong storm system will bring gusty winds and heavy rain to the Lehigh Valley beginning late Wednesday night and into Thursday, forecasters say, with the look and feel of a nor'easter.

On average, each commuter in the Allentown–Bethlehem–Easton area lost 36 hours to gridlock in 2024 and burned 12 gallons of fuel idling on congested roads, according to the 2025 Urban Mobility Report.

State Rep. Josh Siegel has raised more than $447,000 toward his Lehigh County executive campaign since March — just short of the record Don Cunningham set in 2005. Siegel, a Democrat, has outspent Republican Roger MacLean by a nearly 10-to-1 margin this election cycle.

A little more than a month into Pennsylvania’s fall foliage season, both Lehigh and Northampton counties are predicted to be at peak color.

The move announced Monday affects patients at LVHN hospitals and offices in the Lehigh Valley – those properties that were providing care before Jefferson Health’s acquisition of LVHN last summer.

Pennsylvania lawmakers were supposed to have a budget in place July 1. Their unwillingness to fulfill their responsibility to fund state government is disrupting many providers of early learning services.

State Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-Bucks/Lehigh, was the prime sponsor of the legislation now awaiting Gov. Josh Shapiro's signature. The bill received overwhelming bipartisan support in the state House and Senate.

Lehigh University hosted a symposium examining ways to bolster electric and water systems to cope with the demands of data centers. Getting it right could mean hundreds of new jobs — and a place leading the next generation of technology infrastructure.

With electricity costs jumping across the country, PPL has requested that the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission allow it to raise its rates. The PUC will hold public hearings and collect testimony as it considers it.

The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission at 11 a.m. on Wednesday is holding a meeting at its Allentown office to brainstorm and prioritize ways to decarbonize transportation across the region. Decarbonization is the process of reducing or eliminating carbon dioxide emissions.

Amid the joy and festivities, environmental advocates are urging residents to keep sustainability in mind during what can be a time of year when trash and waste spikes.

State environmental officials on Thursday evening hosted the last of five public engagement sessions, as they work to create a Priority Climate Action Plan, or PCAP, aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emission statewide and mitigate further effects of climate change.

On the sixth day of Hanukkah, some in the local Jewish community called for supporters of Palestinians in Gaza to join in calls for peace.

PennDOT officials detailed planned and continuing work for 2024, including major bridge replacements along well-traveled state routes.

Sunday's rain could transition to snow as the storm system departs the region Monday morning, with the potential to affect the morning commute, according to the National Weather Service.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture updated its plant hardiness map, showing a warmer Lehigh Valley. The region has moved into a warmer zone from the one where it was placed more than a decade ago. Experts say it has consequences for plant seasons and species.

If you're doing anything outdoors, do it Saturday. Rain will arrive Sunday and is forecast to intensify later in the day, with gusty winds. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for Sunday afternoon into Monday afternoon.

In a letter to Gov. Josh Shapiro, state Rep. Milou Mackenzie asked the Department of State to provide Northampton County with instructions on how to avoid more Election Day mistakes with their voting machines.

A sprawling storm system is expected to bring heavy rain, strong winds and snow to the region this weekend.

Almost 11,000 birds of prey were counted this year during the Lehigh Gap Nature Center’s annual autumn hawk watch as they made their way along the raptor "superhighway" in the Valley’s backyard.

Amtrak officials previously said passenger rail between Allentown and New York City could be restored as soon as 2024. However, a $300,000 study exploring the proposed connection is more than a month overdue.