State & Regional News

The Walking Purchase, a 1737 land grab perpetrated by William Penn's sons, shaped the Lehigh Valley as residents know it today. But, the land wasn’t actually purchased, as the name might suggest — it was swindled from the Lenni-Lenape.

More than 130 people attended the panel, which focused on efforts across the state to tamp down on light pollution, not only to benefit star-gazers, but for fireflies and migrating birds, too.

Lehigh Valley Political Pulse host Tom Shortell wants to hear from you. Readers are encouraged to submit questions through the link in the article. They may be addressed on a future episode of the program.

As the system moves off the Carolina coast and begins to strengthen and lift northward, impacts farther inland — particularly in the Lehigh Valley — are not expected to be overly hazardous.

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.

Spraying began 8 a.m. Tuesday. Black flies have been a recognized pest of humans and livestock in Pennsylvania since the 1970s.

Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center has a new fawn hotline, where a fawn specialist will help callers quickly determine if a newly found fawn needs help, or needs to be left alone.

As the summer solstice arrives this week, the long-range outlook depicts a pattern shift that will go from seasonal to sizzler in a hurry, forecasters warn.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, got an earful from a constituent Saturday after he accused protesters of feeding a charged political environment that's led to assassinations.

Three farms in Northampton County and three in Lehigh County are among 35 in the state that are the latest to fall under Pennsylvania's farmland preservation program.

High school Ultimate Frisbee teams from across the U.S. began competing Friday in the High School National Invite tournament, held in the Lehigh valley for the first time.

The Lehigh Valley has endured nearly non-stop weekend rain since April, marking one of the region’s wettest springs. Despite high rainfall totals, flooding hasn't been a concern.

About 500 people rallied at two spots Thursday night — outside the Five10 Flats building where ICE agents arrested 17 people the day before, and at Bethlehem City Hall.

U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie voted in line with the Republican majority to strip more than $1 billion of federal funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting over the next two years.

A group from the Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living traveled to Harrisburg on Wednesday to speak with local legislators about the importance of continued state funding for organizations that help the disabled.

The toll booths are no longer needed as the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission adopts open road tolling, with fares collected electronically via overhead structures between highway interchanges.

The state Office of Open Records issued the order after LehighValleyNews.com appealed Allentown's denial of a request for records under the state's Right to Know law.