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

Commemorative mugs line the shelves Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at Wild Bill’s Craft Beverage’s new headquarters in Hanover Township, Lehigh County. The company recently relocated from New Jersey. (Monica Cabrera/The Morning Call)

Retail Watch: Craft soda company ready to hire veterans as it relocates near Allentown

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.

Latest Headlines

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

10 hours ago
Pennsylvania county bans poll workers from using election prediction markets

2 hours ago
Bill White: Get it (rite, right, write) the Grammar Police are back

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

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

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

19 hours ago
Actress Christina Applegate reportedly hospitalized since late March

14 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
Actress Christina Applegate reportedly hospitalized since late March
Actress Christina Applegate reportedly hospitalized since late March
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
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]
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
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

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

Notre Dame-Green Pond head track and field coach Art Corrigan at a track and field meet on April 22, 2025, at Southern Lehigh High School in Center Valley. Corrigan passed away Monday, April 13, 2026 at age 83. (Amy Shortell/The Morning Call)

Notre Dame-Green Pond community mourns the loss of legendary ‘Coach’ Art Corrigan

Longtime track and field coach passed away at age 83

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

The PSERS Public School Employees’ Retirement System building in Harrisburg. April 30, 2021. (Dan Gleiter / dgleiter@pennlive.com)

Letters: Pa. public sector workers’ pension plans should be replaced

Letters: Problems will continue until public sector defined-benefit pension setups are replaced.

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

Madeline Loring poses with a sign celebrating her Teacher of The Year Award. (Contributed photo via Spotlight PA)

PA Local Heroes: The award-winning elementary teacher making math fun

To relieve kids from the pressure of standardized tests, elementary teacher Madeline Loring incorporates fun...

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...