State & Regional News

This week on Watching the Skies, WLVR's Brad Klein and Bethlehem's Backyard Astronomy Guy, Marty McGuire talk about the planet Venus and its role as the "morning star."

Ryan Mackenzie, the Lehigh Valley's freshman congressman, cast an essential vote to move President Donald Trump's signature bill through the U.S. House last week. His would-be Democratic opponents say he's sold out poor families to give billionaires a tax break.

State Treasurer Stacy Garrity said her department has returned 500 military medals and pieces of memorabilia to veterans and their families since 2021.

The state Department of Environmental Protection announced $1 million in grants to promote environmental education and stewardship across the state. Four Lehigh Valley programs received funding.

The LVPC on Thursday hosted a workshop, “Planning + Pizza: Deploying Electric Vehicle Infrastructure,” aiming to collect feedback about where best to deploy EV infrastructure throughout the region.

Overall, 31 of the region’s 35 major climate sites were wetter than normal, with 22 of them experiencing one of their 20 wettest May 1-15 periods. Allentown took the top spot, experiencing its wettest May 1-15 ever.

The Lehigh Valley's public transit system says it will have to cut service by 20 percent and boost fares by 25 percent without additional state funding — something that Gov. Josh Shapiro has called for but that lawmakers will have to approve.

Tuesday, May 20, is Primary Election Day in Pennsylvania. Several high-profile local races are on the ballot in Lehigh and Northampton counties. Check out our procrastinator's guide and Q&A.

Drivers who have been ticketed for school bus camera violations say the process to contest them needs to change. PennDOT said thousands of citations across seven Lehigh Valley school districts are still awaiting hearings.

Republicans Roger MacLean and Mike Welsh have spent less than $8,000 combined on their race. Meanwhile, their Democratic opponent Josh Siegel has amassed more than $180,000 in his war chest. The primary election is Tuesday, May 20.

President Trump continued to criticize Pennsylvania’s electoral process during his campaign blitz across the Commonwealth Monday. But state officials say his claims lack validity.

Trump told a crowd outside Lititz on Monday that if re-elected, his administration would continue to preserve manufacturing and industry in Pennsylvania.

State environmental regulators are hitting Sunoco’s Mariner East pipeline project with its sixth violation in Lebanon County since mid-August.

Mail-in voters have until election day to cast their ballot, Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar is recommending voters do not wait, and where possible avoid using the mail.

Voter registration totals have reached a record high in Pennsylvania - and officials say they’re expecting record turnout on election day as well.

A yearlong study conducted by the state Department of Aging, found seniors are conned out of ten million dollars a year in Pennsylvania. And as WLVR’s Megan Frank reports, in many cases the scams come from people they know.

Nearly nine million voters have registered so far to cast their ballots in November, in person and by mail. But Pennsylvania officials say they’re still concerned about getting every vote counted on Election Day.

U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) is accusing the Trump Administration of hampering postal service deliveries. Casey says he has evidence of large containers of priority mail meant for the Lehigh Valley have been sitting for weeks in a Scranton postal facility.

American financial turmoil was front and center in the first debate between the Lehigh Valley’s candidates for the 7th congressional district.

“There’s something freeing about downsizing, and not having so much stuff to worry about.” In 2018 Sarah Branchide and her boyfriend Alex Lorkowski decided to move out of their three bedroom home in Philadelphia and into: a short school bus.

State lawmakers are temporarily suspending in-person activities at the Capitol after a Republican lawmaker tested positive for the coronavirus.

Two Democratic state lawmakers want to punish any Pennsylvania electoral college member who votes contrary to the popular vote in the presidential election.