Moravian Academy has been named the first school in Pennsylvania and one of only five in the United States to partner with the Villars Institute in Switzerland, and that news is opening the door to a new global opportunity for students here in the Lehigh Valley.
We sat down with Moravian Academy Head of School Adrienne Finley Odell to talk about what the partnership means, why systems thinking matters for today’s students, and how sustainability education can connect directly to real-world leadership. The conversation also touches on Moravian Academy’s long history, its three-campus presence in Bethlehem and Allentown, and how that legacy continues to evolve.
This spring, Moravian Academy’s first student cohort will begin preparing for the program before heading to Switzerland in mid-June for the Villars Institute leadership symposium. It is a chance for students to learn alongside peers and global leaders while bringing those ideas back to their school and community.
Godfrey Daniels is cruisin’ right along as it celebrates its 50th birthday season, and the Bethlehem listening room is marking the milestone in a big way this year!
Poets for Justice is bringing its “Unplugged: Speak Your Truth” spoken word showcase to Bethlehem on Sunday, March 8, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. The event will take place at the Bethlehem Visitor Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
On this special series of the Lehigh Valley with Love Podcast, we sat down with candidates running for U.S. House in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District ahead of the May 19, 2026 primary.
To keep this fair and useful, every candidate was asked the same core questions. Mark Pinsley is not included because he dropped out. We also reached out multiple times to Congressman Ryan McKenzie’s office and did not receive a response.
In this episode, we speak with Bob Brooks, a career firefighter with the City of Bethlehem and a union leader. Brooks talks about affordability in the Lehigh Valley, what federal policy can do to expand housing supply, and how he thinks about public safety, healthcare, and local development.
Day to day financial stress Brooks says the biggest day to day financial stresses he hears about are healthcare and housing, and he focuses first on housing. He argues the region needs to build a lot more housing quickly and says that requires cutting red tape, including permitting and zoning reforms. He supports first time home buyer help and talks about expanding programs similar to the HELPERS Act style loan concept. He also argues for cracking down on bulk home buying by private equity and corporate purchasers that he says distort the housing market.
Healthcare and ACA premium tax credits Brooks says he supports extending the ACA premium tax credits and argues they should not be removed without a replacement plan. He warns that cutting help people rely on will raise costs, and he links paying for coverage support to tax policy changes. He argues for a minimum tax on billionaires and large corporations, saying that would fund major priorities. He also says making programs permanent will require negotiation and compromise, and he frames himself as a negotiator from his labor leadership experience.
Immigration enforcement, legal pathways, and work authorization Brooks frames the issue through public safety and argues enforcement efforts should focus on serious criminals, not everyday people. He says the purpose of ICE should be to target drug dealers and people committing violent crimes, and he argues the agency should be refocused. He also calls for streamlining the pathway to citizenship and supports adding more immigration judges to speed up the process, criticizing long wait times.
Warehouses and data centers Brooks says he will side with workers, and evaluates projects based on whether they bring real jobs and benefits. He says he is concerned about data centers in particular because of infrastructure impacts, especially strain on the electric grid. He says federal involvement is limited compared to local government, but argues there is room for federal regulation related to electricity markets and for slowing or tightening approvals. He also argues data centers should be required to generate their own power rather than pulling heavily from the existing grid.
Homelessness Brooks argues federal action should expand housing options and help people afford them. He supports expanding Housing Choice Vouchers, but says vouchers are capped and that cap is linked to the lack of available housing. He argues the solution requires building more housing and increasing affordable and entry level housing. He also emphasizes mental health funding, saying mental health needs are a major factor in homelessness and that resources have not matched the scale of need.
Third place in the Lehigh Valley Brooks says his third place is a baseball field behind the Nazareth Intermediate School, where he coaches varsity baseball for Nazareth High School. He describes it as a place where he can put his phone away and focus on helping young people grow.
On this special series of the Lehigh Valley with Love Podcast, we sat down with candidates running for U.S. House in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District ahead of the May 19, 2026 primary.
To keep this fair and useful, every candidate was asked the same core questions. We also reached out multiple times to Congressman Ryan McKenzie’s office and did not receive a response.
In this episode, we speak with Carol Obando-Derstine, who shares why she is running and what she is hearing from residents across PA-07.
Day to day financial stress Obando-Derstine says people are struggling to make ends meet and pay for the essentials of life, specifically naming housing, healthcare, groceries, utilities, and childcare. She cites the United Way ALICE report and says it shows 41 percent of district families are struggling to cover the essentials, which she describes as roughly 124,000 households.
Healthcare and ACA premium tax credits Obando-Derstine supports extending the ACA premium tax credits. She frames healthcare as personal, sharing stories of people she knew who could not afford care and how costs can financially devastate families. She argues that access to care helps families and also strengthens the economy because prevention and early treatment keep people healthier and working. In this conversation, she focuses on why the subsidies matter and does not detail a specific funding mechanism.
Immigration enforcement, legal pathways, and work authorization Obando-Derstine says immigration policy is personal to her as an immigrant who came to the United States at age three with parents who fled violence in Colombia. She says the system needs fixing in a way that is legal, effective, and humane. She criticizes what she describes as cruelty, racial profiling, and unaccountable enforcement, and says fear is widespread in immigrant communities, including among documented Latinos. She also says she supports secure borders, but argues the current approach creates chaos and does not make communities safer. She calls for more immigration judges and support staff, modernizing immigration courts, speeding up asylum processing, and opening up DACA applications so people are not kept in limbo.
Warehouses and data centers Obando-Derstine notes that local governments make many of the key decisions, and she emphasizes a robust local stakeholder process so residents have meaningful input. Drawing on her background as an energy engineer, she describes work connecting projects to the electric grid, including warehouses. She argues against a top down approach that overrides state and local authority and says local voices should guide what gets built and how communities are impacted, especially when projects use significant resources and create limited jobs.
Homelessness Obando-Derstine says she has direct experience with this issue through service on the Homeless Veterans Task Force for Lehigh County, volunteer work with North Penn Legal Services, and her work advocating for prevention programs to keep families off the streets. She calls for federal action that prevents unjust evictions and proposes establishing a federal Office of Tenant Rights so people understand their rights and landlords are accountable. She also points to the role of legal aid and says cuts to legal aid programs affect the ability to prevent evictions. She supports expanding and strengthening incentives for affordable housing, including the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, and suggests reform to reduce bureaucracy and improve consistency in how states administer that federal credit. She also names local organizations doing the work, including New Bethany and the United Way.
Third place in the Lehigh Valley Obando-Derstine says her third place is her church community, specifically the Spanish service at the Cathedral Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, which she attends with her parents. She describes it as a gathering place with a strong community focus and notes that it also hosts local meetings such as housing related committees.
On this special series of the Lehigh Valley with Love Podcast, we sat down with candidates running for U.S. House in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District ahead of the May 19, 2026 primary.
To keep this fair and useful, every candidate was asked the same core questions. We also reached out multiple times to Congressman Ryan McKenzie’s office and did not receive a response.
In this episode, we speak with Aiden Gonzalez, a Bethlehem resident running in the Democratic primary for PA-07.
Day to day financial stress Gonzalez says healthcare is the biggest day to day financial stress he hears about. He also connects affordability to housing, saying his generation is far more likely to rent long term than to own a home. He adds that energy is a leading cause of inflation and ties that to investing in future technology.
Healthcare and ACA premium tax credits Gonzalez calls the ACA a great program but a half step, and says the country should move to single payer healthcare. He says more than a million people who were on the ACA last year are not on it this year because subsidies expired, and he connects that to rising premiums and costs.
Immigration enforcement, legal pathways, and work authorization Gonzalez emphasizes due process and constitutional protections. He argues that the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments apply to everyone in the country, not only citizens. He also says the U.S. should encourage talented people to come here to work and contribute, and argues current approaches are driving people away.
Warehouses and data centers Gonzalez says data centers are not the kind of future focused investment he wants for the region. He argues they raise electricity and water costs and do not create many permanent jobs. He also says the region has enough warehouses and data centers and describes his preference for projects that create lasting jobs and contribute back to the community.
Homelessness Gonzalez says immediate relief requires federal funding through Housing and Urban Development to build homes to house people experiencing homelessness. He says the longer term goal should be making home ownership achievable, and he mentions increasing first time home owner loans. He also argues for discouraging large scale corporate landlord practices, including a progressive tax on corporate landlords based on how many residences they buy.
Third place in the Lehigh Valley Asked where he likes to spend time outside of work and home, Gonzalez says he is a big gym person and names Powerhouse Gym in Bethlehem.
Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites has added six more dates for its “Baked into Bethlehem with Richard Groman Jr.” program at the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts after the initial event sold out.
The 2026 SouthSide Arts District Annual Meeting was held February 9 at Wind Creek Bethlehem, bringing together local businesses, arts partners, volunteers, and community leaders to celebrate the district’s 10th anniversary and recognize the people doing the work on the ground.
George Wacker, owner of Lehigh Valley with Love Media, has been named one of The Lehigh Valley’s Most Influential People for 2026 in an inaugural list published by The Morning Call.
Sangjaru is bringing Korean folk fusion to Zoellner Arts Center in Bethlehem for one night only.
The group blends traditional Korean instruments with gypsy swing, funk, rock, and improvisation for a live show that moves fast and keeps the energy high.
February at Zoellner Arts Center kicks off with a show built for families. On Sunday, February 1, acclaimed guitarist Kaki King and GLITCH bring BUGS, an imaginative concert that blends music, storytelling, and colorful projection visuals to explore the world of beetles, critters, and ecology.
Designed with kids in mind, BUGS turns live music into a visual experience. As King plays, each note triggers images that are projected directly onto her guitar, transforming it into a “magic guitar” filled with movement, light, and nature-inspired scenes. The performance is playful, engaging, and a great first concert experience for young audiences.
Good Shepherd Rehabilitation has opened registration for the fourth annual DISRUPT: Health-Care Innovation Summit, a two-day conference focused on sparking new ideas through presentations, continuing education, hands-on workshops, and networking. DISRUPT takes place April 18–19, 2026, at the ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks in Bethlehem.
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