State & Regional News

Three farms in Lehigh and Northampton counties were the latest to be included in the state’s Farmland Preservation Program. The program aims to ward off development and protect open spaces.

Senate Republicans blocked a vote on a bill that would guarantee access to assisted reproductive technology. The effort came a day after Democrats blocked a Republican effort to penalize states that attempt to ban invitro fertilization treatments.

A bill aimed at saving local pharmacies with pharmacy benefit manager, or PBMs, reform was touted in Allentown this week. Pennsylvania State Representative Josh Siegel, who represents Lehigh County, joined State Representative Jessica Benham, who represents Allegheny County, at Allentown Pharmacy.

The grant program would allow schools to recruit students, paraprofessionals and other community members to pursue a career in education. It passed the House with bipartisan support last year but has been stuck in committee in the Senate since then.

Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin Holihan says machine gun conversion devices, also known as Glock switches, are becoming increasingly common in the region. The illegal modifications turn semi-automatic firearms into automatic weapons.

A new report release by the American Heart Association shows the U.S. on trend to have a cardiovascular disease crisis within 30 years. A public poll shows people feel eating healthy is the way to avoid the crisis, but price points and access limit that ability.

Heat index outlooks — projecting what it feels like outside with the heat and humidity combined — push feels-like temperatures near triple digits between June 17-21 and top 100 degrees in the Lehigh Valley between June 19-25.

More than two dozen state legislators, including one from the Lehigh Valley, have co-sponsored HB2238, which would eliminate the use of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in household products.

A Democratic-sponsored proposal to boost public school funding by billions and impose stricter rules on cyber-charter schools is on its way to the Pennsylvania Senate after passage in the state House.

State officials are holding a virtual town hall meeting Wednesday for residents to share their feedback on the Bureau of Forestry’s newest strategic plan. Here's how to participate.

PennDOT has decided to convert a normally empty parking lot off William Penn Highway into 30 or more truck parking spots. While warehouses have boomed across the Lehigh Valley, truck parking has failed to keep up.

Political scientist Chris Borick joined Tom Shortell again this week to try to make sense of the government shutdown and what it all means.

Senate Democrats have refused to fund the federal government unless Republicans agree to extend tax subsidies for the Affordable Care Act. U.S. Ryan Mackenzie supports the tax subsidies but echoed Republican demands that no deal can be struck until the federal government is funded.

A reinforcing cold front has triggered a freeze watch in the Lehigh Valley from Thursday evening through Friday morning, bringing our coldest overnight temperatures since mid-April.

State environmental officials are calling on residents to nominate their favorite waterway to be 2026 River of the Year. The effort aims to elevate public awareness of specific rivers and recognize important conservation needs and achievements.

The filings, which occurred over the past few days in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey, are individual filings of LLCs, including the location that was based at the Lehigh Valley Mall Lifestyle Center.

Between changes in federal policy and an unprecedented demand for energy, it's a tough time for sustainability. An hour-long panel Monday with industry experts focused on how to address those changes.

Statewide truck parking options will expand for the first time in decades, transportation officials announced Monday, with 18 new parking spaces in the Lehigh Valley by the end of 2026.

Days of temperatures in the mid to lower 80s will be wiped out by a cold front later this week, forecasters say, ending a bonus stretch of warmth and finally ushering in classic fall weather in the Lehigh Valley.

PPL Electric Utilities this week filed its first distribution base rate request in a decade, seeking approval from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission for an 8.6% increase in annual revenue — about $356 million.

From its founding via executive order at the start of the year, the U.S. Department of Government Efficiencies, or DOGE, intended to accomplish a number of lofty goals. But has DOGE lived up to its promise?

The Lehigh Valley’s position among the top three small rental markets highlights how much pressure local renters are feeling, but that’s just one side of the housing market continuing to squeeze budgets.