Morning Call - Lehigh Valley & Allentown PA News, Sports, Weather, Business & Things to Do

Texas truck driver charged in fatal hit-and-run on I-78 in Berks [Update]

April 17, 2026 at 10:33 pm

Allentown Center Square redesign set to begin. What to know about project, travel restrictions

The redesign of Seventh and Hamilton streets around the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Allentown's Center Square is getting started. What to know about the changes and travel restrictions.

This rendering shows the plans for a redesigned Center Square in Allentown, which will reduce travel lanes for motorists while adding a bike lane through the intersection (Omnes Studio/Courtesy City of Allentown).

The Walnut Square Apartments site Thursday, April 16, 2026, in Allentown. Walnut Square is downtown Allentown’s first new affordable housing development. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call)

Affordable apartments in Allentown with ‘really elevated look’ get closer to completion. Take a look inside

Lehigh County has not had its own juvenile detention center since 2014. A new partnership with three other counties to form a regional facility is up for a vote. (Rich Schultz/ TMC)

Lehigh County wants to create a joint juvenile detention facility in Berks. But critics are trying to put on the brakes

Main Street in Bethlehem bustles with people March 9, 2026, after a news conference at Schropp Dry Goods Shoppe in the city unveiling that the area was nominated in USA Today’s 10Best Main Street competition for 2026. It won in 2025. The news conference also promoted the Our Star Shines All Year Round initiative designed to convince travelers to visit Bethlehem. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)

The Lehigh Valley keeps being honored on national 10 best lists. Here’s why.

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Texas truck driver charged in fatal hit-and-run on I-78 in Berks [Update]

Latest Headlines

Members of Maryland motorcycle club stole bikes from dealerships in Lehigh, other Pa. counties, AG says

18 hours ago
Dave’s Hot Chicken to open new restaurant in the Lehigh Valley

16 hours ago
Pa. man waives hearing in numerous cases of stealing, hoarding human remains

16 hours ago
Actress Christina Applegate reportedly hospitalized since late March

11 hours ago
2025-26 Morning Call all-area boys basketball team: Championships and great players were spread out

19 hours ago
Lehigh County fire company to hold fundraiser for Berks fire company after death of chief, assistant chief

20 hours ago
Quakertown cops acted appropriately in clash, Bucks County chiefs say

20 hours ago
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Affordable apartments in Allentown with ‘really elevated look’ get closer to completion. Take a look inside
Affordable apartments in Allentown with ‘really elevated look’ get closer to completion. Take a look inside
Dave’s Hot Chicken to open new restaurant in the Lehigh Valley
Dave’s Hot Chicken to open new restaurant in the Lehigh Valley
Members of Maryland motorcycle club stole bikes from dealerships in Lehigh, other Pa. counties, AG says
Members of Maryland motorcycle club stole bikes from dealerships in Lehigh, other Pa. counties, AG says
Actress Christina Applegate reportedly hospitalized since late March
Actress Christina Applegate reportedly hospitalized since late March
Parkland High School grad, West Chester student fatally hit by vehicle is mourned: ‘He was the brightest light’
Parkland High School grad, West Chester student fatally hit by vehicle is mourned: ‘He was the brightest light’
Texas truck driver charged in fatal hit-and-run on I-78 in Berks [Update]
Texas truck driver charged in fatal hit-and-run on I-78 in Berks [Update]
2025-26 Morning Call all-area boys basketball team: Championships and great players were spread out
2025-26 Morning Call all-area boys basketball team: Championships and great players were spread out
The Lehigh Valley keeps being honored on national 10 best lists. Here’s why.
The Lehigh Valley keeps being honored on national 10 best lists. Here’s why.
Four St. Luke’s hospitals named among top 100 on national list
Four St. Luke’s hospitals named among top 100 on national list
Allentown Center Square redesign set to begin. What to know about project, travel restrictions
Allentown Center Square redesign set to begin. What to know about project, travel restrictions

Local News

Lehigh University students Sophia Bond and Belle Bramer jump together into cold water Friday, April 17, 2026, during Special Olympics Pennsylvania’s Mobile Polar Plunge at Lehigh University in Bethlehem. More than 100 Lehigh students and staff jumped into the water to raise money and awareness for athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)

Lehigh students take Polar Plunge benefiting Special Olympics Pennsylvania | PHOTOS

Lehigh students take Polar Plunge benefiting Special Olympics Pennsylvania

Sports

Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryce Harper reacts after hitting a pop fly out during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves, Friday, April 17, 2026, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Phillies’ struggles continue with 9-0 loss to Braves

Phils suffer third straight blowout loss; outscored 30-6 in losing streak.

Things to Do

Jeff Mucklin of Nurture Nature Center in Easton holds a glass tube of liquid warmed by his hand during a demonstration on energy at an Earth Day celebration Saturday, April 19, 2025, at Fairview Park in Palmer Township. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call)

Earth Day 2026: A guide to events and cleanups around the Lehigh Valley

Here's where to find community cleanups and other events in celebration of Earth Day.

Opinion

Students walk on the Kutztown University campus in the fall of 2025. The school is one of the colleges in the Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. (Photo courtesy of PSSHE)

Opinion: Pa. system offers affordable college education, brighter future

Opinion: Pa.'s state universities offer an affordable education and can help provide the skilled workers...

Crime and Public Safety

(Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call)

Crash leads to power outage in Northampton County

Power has been restored to more than 2,000 Met-Ed customers after an outage Thursday evening...

Best Reviews

<p>Adobe Stock</p>

Safe, secure and fun playpens your child will love

Playpens can keep toys from being scattered by containing everything to a designated play area....

Business

A worker fuels an Air Canada jet

Air Canada will suspend flights to JFK for nearly 5 months as jet fuel costs soar

It's the latest move in an industry struggling with high fuel costs and falling supplies.

Pennsylvania News

A display at the unveiling of the Commonwealth’s Maternal Health Strategic Action Plan. (Commonwealth Media Services)

Inside the Shapiro administration’s ‘absolutely ambitious’ plan to prevent maternal deaths

Pennsylvania had about 129 pregnancy-associated deaths in 2021, which is the most recent available data.

National News

FILE – This June 12, 2016 file photo shows Lin-Manuel Miranda and the cast of “Hamilton” performing at the Tony Awards at the Beacon Theatre in New York. In April, “Hamilton” won the Pulitzer for drama and current Treasury Secretary Jack Lew reversed a plan to bump Hamilton from the $10 after fans kick up a fuss. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Today in History: April 18, ‘Hamilton’ wins Pulitzer Prize for drama

“Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop stage biography of America’s first treasury secretary, won the Pulitzer Prize...

Allentown

William Oplinger, 2,of Phoenixville, plays in a colorful house Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, in the Winter Wonder Lab exhibit at the Da Vinci Science Center in Allentown. (Amy Shortell/The Morning Call)

Da Vinci Science Center gains NASA grant to celebrate moon mission with Lehigh Valley youth

The Da Vinci Science Center is celebrating America's return to the moon with a Saturday...

Bethlehem Area

Main Street in Bethlehem bustles with people on Monday, March 9, 2026. The downtown won USA Today’s 10Best Main Street competition for a second year in a row. (April Gamiz/The Morning Call)

Bethlehem’s Main Street is again voted the best in US in nationwide poll

A panel of USA Today travel experts selected the top 20 finalists. Then it was...