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Operating as usual
A Republican-led state Senate committee is sharing claims of voting irregularities from last fall’s election that do not show proof of widespread problems. Experts say the panel is trying to use those claims to justify sweeping changes to Pennsylvania’s mail-in ballot rules.
A Lehigh County probe showed 288 cases of people depositing more than one ballot - a violation of the law
Training for manufacturing jobs in the Valley just got another infusion of cash from the state: $50,000.
The money will help provide no cost classes to learn skilled trades at Northampton Community College’s “Fab Lab.”
Students at NCC's Fab Lab make Martin guitars, learn about wiring, electronics, sound design and more.
New data from the Pew Research Center revealed that the gender wage gap in the Lehigh Valley is shrinking for workers under the age of 30.
In the Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton area, women under 30 earn 90% of what men do. The data is based on figures from 2019 and is for full-time, year-round workers, according to Pew.
Pew research says the Lehigh Valley is a better place to work when it comes to gender-based pay equity for young workers.
Pennsylvania seniors may be eligible for health care coverage beyond Medicare.
There are some options that may not burden tight budgets. Medicare is health care coverage from the federal government for people aged 65 and older or those with certain disabilities.
Preventive programs can help people stay healthier and are available for no extra Medicare premium.
What You Need to Know: the state of the city, Latino candidate drops out of primary race and debates have begun
Here's what you need to know this week.
Lehigh Valley residents may soon have a new option for getting out of town.
American Airlines will begin offering bus service in June to Philadelphia International Airport so travelers can catch a flight out of the major hub.
Avoid the Philly crowds by checking in and getting TSA clearance at LVIA.
After more than two years of being largely closed to the public because of the coronavirus pandemic, the nation’s more than 1,200 Social Security Administration field offices reopened Thursday.
As doors open, expect the possibility of long waits
As the autism prevalence rate rises in the U.S., so do wait lists to see a specialist equipped to diagnose the disorder and green-light certain services. But there are things families can do to help their children while they wait.
A shortage of specialists is among the reasons for wait lists for testing
The only Latino candidate in the primary election race for Allentown’s 22nd state House District has dropped out of the Allentown House Race.
Norberto Dominguez says a shortened timeframe to campaign affected his decision
Pennsylvania’s Safe2Say Something program was intended to help prevent violence in schools, but many students have been using it to share mental health concerns. At a roundtable with students at North Hills High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro called for more money for mental health care in schools.
The Safe2Say Something program gets thousands of tips about mental health and bullying
A small Lehigh Valley borough is struggling to keep volunteer firefighters so the Safety First Volunteer Fire Company in West Easton is rebranding in hopes of being able to better serve its community.
It’s now the newly formed West Easton Volunteer Fire Company No. 1.
The organization parted ways with its social club to ensure it would get all the funding it could.
Hundreds of people in Lehigh County broke the law by dropping off more than one mail-in ballot at a county-approved drop box during the November 2021 election, according to the district attorney’s office.
But District Attorney Jim Martin said no one will be prosecuted because identifying most of the violators is impossible.
It is illegal to deposit anyone's ballot in a drop box other than your own
A second COVID booster is now available for people aged 50 and older and those who are immunocompromised.
Lehigh Valley Health Network reports that there has not been a high turnout for the shots so far in the Lehigh Valley.
People tend to get vaccinated when the number of new infections goes up.
Pennsylvania is working to make it easier for people in prison to seek reduced sentences, and for formerly incarcerated individuals to ask for pardons.
Officials say the state’s clemency system is going online for the first time.
Lt. Gov. Fetterman says the digital update is long overdue.
A new apprenticeship program in Pennsylvania hopes to help address a shortage of truck drivers in Pennsylvania.
The American Trucker Association estimates a shortage of 80,000 drivers nationwide
Lehigh Valley residents are invited to get outside and take a lunchtime stroll on April 6, National Walking Day.
Reset Outdoors is a counseling service in Bethlehem that aims to reconnect people with nature to help foster a more healthy and balanced life.
Experts say being outside for even 5-10 minutes lowers cortisol levels.
The Department of Environmental Protection is rolling out new rules to better help communities with high exposure to pollution or environmental hazards.
Virtual public hearings on the new rules are set to begin this week.
About 60 people gathered at Payrow Plaza in Bethlehem on Sunday to take part in an anti-hate march.
Attendees of the “March for Peace and Unity” say they were alarmed by a recent Anti-Defamation League report that found hundreds of incidents of people spreading white supremacist propaganda in Pennsylvania.
Dozens marched in the rain in solidarity against anti-Semitic and white supremacist activities
U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey says he will vote against the confirmation of nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Toomey, R-Pa., expressed concerns about Jackson’s record and what he called her lack of a judicial philosophy.
The Republican from Pa. said he has concerns about Jackson's judicial record
Democratic candidates for one of the most hotly watched races in the nation were in the Lehigh Valley for a debate Sunday ahead of the May 17 primary election.
But, they spent a significant amount of time attacking a man who wasn’t there.
Attention focused on a candidate not in attendance -- Lt. Gov. John Fetterman
Hundreds of people turned out to hear the two Republicans running for the Lehigh Valley’s congressional seat in their first debate Friday.
Candidates Lisa Scheller and Kevin Dellicker, and attendees, said it was imperative the winner in November be the GOP.
Lisa Scheller and Kevin Dellicker squared off at Northampton Community College
The wait time to access a specialist who can diagnose a child with autism in the U.S. can be anywhere between two and 18 months, according to a rough estimate by Judith Miller, clinical training director in the Center for Autism Research at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
One solution is to allow more clinicians to give a diagnosis of autism.
Organizers say an anti-hate march planned for this weekend is a direct response to a report by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which found that Pennsylvania has the most hate group propaganda in the country.
Esther Lee says hate group propaganda will not be tolerated.
🎙️ On this Friday's #WhatYouNeedToKnow: Jen Rehill & Jim Deegan discuss how political coverage has changed in the Lehigh Valley as the people and organizations that provide it also change.
A discussion on how the game has changed over the years
Light blue, pink and white colors waved high above the Lehigh Valley’s two largest cities Thursday on Transgender Day of Visibility — the first time the transgender flag was raised at both Bethlehem and Allentown city halls.
People gathered outside city halls to recognize Transgender Day of Visibility
🎙Kicking off #Friday with the official launch of our newest podcast. We hear how one man collects...and consumes...so much cereal. One might call him a cereal killer.
🥣 https://bit.ly/35vnKYJ
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Serial #cereal #podcasting #podcastcommunity #publicradio #PublicRadioJunkies #WLVRNews
The Lehigh River draws people from all over the region for whitewater season, which kicks off for some in April.
Now that COVID-19 case numbers are down, businesses in the Poconos say they’re bracing for a full return of visitors.
Two years after the start of the pandemic, they're ready for a full return of visitors
The Bethlehem Area School District is planning to audit its equity and inclusion practices. It’s the first order of business for a new office focused on addressing inequality.
The goal is to create a culture in which all students' voices are heard.
Allentown Councilwoman Ce-Ce Gerlach has been accepted into a first-time offenders program stemming from charges she endangered a 16-year-old boy while working as a Valley Youth House caseworker.
Ce-Ce Gerlach was accused of leaving a 16-year-old runaway at a homeless camp
Local news outlets across the country are struggling. A recent story in the Columbia Journalism Review cites more than 1,000 U.S. newspapers folding since 2008. And the number of people working in local journalism is shrinking by more than half.
The longtime journalists were bitten by the politics bug early in their careers.
The Bethlehem Area School District is working to become a more trauma-informed place. For example, at Donegan Elementary School they’ve partnered with mindfulness educators to help.
Each session starts with a "mindful minute."
Pennsylvania’s First Lady, Frances Wolf, joined students and lawmakers Monday calling to end campus hunger. Studies show that more than a third of college students are food insecure, meaning they don’t have access to food that is affordable and nutritious.
Frances Wolf says hunger should never be what holds a person back from succeeding in higher education.
At a House education committee hearing Tuesday, state Rep. Barbara Gleim (R-Cumberland) spoke in detail about the bodies of transgender girls and women.
“They have larger hearts, greater lung capacity and more muscle mass than females,” Gleim said, using the word “males” for trans women. “For example, even after two full years of testosterone suppression, males still run faster than women.”
The measure was approved by the House education committee along party lines
After having to cancel the 2020 season and limit crowd size last year, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs are set to return next week with no COVID-19 restrictions.
The team’s first game will be April 5 against the Columbus Clippers at Coca-Cola Park.
https://bit.ly/3tOnYn0
The IronPigs are ready to play ball like it's 2019.
Pennsylvania’s shortened primary election season is coming into focus, now that Monday’s deadline has passed to file nominating petitions for the 2022 ballot.
The deadline to file for the 2022 primary election was 5 p.m. Monday
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WLVR is the Lehigh Valley’s Local NPR News Source. This is a broadcast service of Lehigh University, and Lehigh Valley Public Media shares the HD-2 signal with programming from students and community members. For more information, visit www.wlvr.org.
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