School cellphone ban heads to Shapiro’s desk after 47-3 Pa. Senate vote
By Jai Smith
Lehigh Valley, the day so far
Pharmacy tech who sat on a Pa. township board charged with stealing nearly 90,000 opioid pills
By Jai Smith
Disabled artists, city and LANTA leaders to talk art and access at Bethlehem library Saturday
The library's event page lists Janine Santoro, the city's director of equity and inclusion, as its contact. Santoro organized a panel at the library in July 2025 as the city marked the 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act and raised its first Disability Pride flag, and three of Saturday's speakers were listed as panelists then.
By Jai SmithAlso new
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Whitehall Township man to face trial in fatal stabbing of his father
A judge's ruling at a preliminary hearing Tuesday sends the homicide case against Daniel Latorre Jr. to Lehigh County Court. Court records show he is due there Dec. 10 at 1:30 p.m. for formal arraignment before Judge Douglas G. Reichley.
By Jai Smith
Giant extends rewards points deadline as website, app outage stretches into second week
"We will automatically extend any points that were set to expire on 10/31 to be good through 11/30," Giant spokesperson Ashley Flower said in a statement. "This will reflect in customers’ account balance on 11/1, and no action is required from the customer."
By Jai Smith
Christkindlmarkt Bethlehem 2026 doubles heated igloos and adds new attractions
The expansion follows what ArtsQuest called a record-breaking year: 145,552 visitors in 2025, nearly 14% more than the year before. That works out to about 128,000 in 2024. The igloos, introduced last year, sold out on most weekends, ArtsQuest said, and 192 families and groups used them.
By Jai Smith
Cars & Coffee Lehigh Valley closes out 2026 season Sunday
Sam Jellinek, the IronPigs' manager of broadcasting and media relations, confirmed the time in an email. The show's Facebook page announced the closer Oct. 18, writing: “Looking forward to getting everyone back together again.”
By Jai Smith
Bethlehem man, 20, dies 9 days after shooting; no one in custody
Davis was pronounced dead at 5:20 p.m. Saturday at St. Luke's University Hospital, nine days after the shooting, Coroner Daniel A. Buglio said in a release Monday. Davis died of gunshot injuries, the coroner said, and an autopsy was scheduled for Monday.
By Jai Smith
Lehigh County Assistance Office worker charged with stealing over $20,000 in benefits
Sheila McDonald, 46, of Pittsburgh, was responsible for securing the Electronic Benefit Transfer cards created and mailed by the office, with access to recipients’ dates of birth and Social Security numbers, according to a joint news release. The release said 48 cards she activated were used more than 270 times for $20,558.61 in benefits, or about $428 a card.
By Jai Smith
LeBron James’ Sixers debut brings watch parties, giveaways to Lehigh Valley
The team's opening-week fan events are all in Philadelphia, and none of the bars on its 76ers Bar Network page is in the Lehigh Valley. Closer to home, the downtown Allentown bar and two restaurant chains are marking the start of the season.
By Jai Smith
Lehigh Valley’s only Crumbl still open after chain drops 79 stores
Crumbl's store list shows 1,050 locations today, down from 1,106 in a copy of the page the Internet Archive saved Jan. 7. In that time, 79 stores came off the list and 23 were added.
By Jai Smith