It's easy to gather outdoor and environmental stories in Northeast Pennsylvania. The region
is also rich with community news.
The year began with a state budget address — that wouldn't be passed until November — and included more funding for outdoor recreation, tourism and conservation statewide, but especially in Northeast Pennsylvania. Protests at federal officials' offices continued throughout communities as the uncertainty of federal funding impacted workers throughout the region. With President Donald Trump back in the White House for his second term, immigrant communities worried about their statuses and rights.
Despite it all, new businesses opened and community members continued their traditions.
Also, a new industry emerged for local governments to tackle — data centers.
Governor Shapiro proposes reopening a popular, but dangerous trail in Carbon County under the state's park system
In 2019, the Pennsylvania Game Commission closed the popular, but dangerous Glen Onoko Fall Trails. People kept getting hurt, and even dying, on the more than 3-mile hike on Game Lands 141 in Carbon County near Jim Thorpe.
Governor Josh Shapiro mentioned the trail, which features views of cascading waterfalls, during his budget address in February. The plan is to transfer the trail from the game commission to the state park system. The trail will become part of the Lehigh Gorge State Park.
Demonstrators outside McCormick's Scranton office say no one answers constituents' calls
By March, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was upending federal programs by cutting staff and budgets to save money. Local voters wanted to know if U.S. Senator Dave McCormick would support Social Security and people with disabilities, how he planned to address taxing millionaires and billionaires, and if he supports cutting jobs at the Department of Veterans Affairs and other agencies.
Constituents said the phone went unanswered at McCormick's office across the state. So, during a March protest, they asked a stuffed chicken instead.
McCormick posted on X that his offices were staffed.
Coffee and honey: A recipe for NEPA's first indigenous woman-owned coffee shop
A Luzerne County couple’s fortuitous pandemic friendship with a beekeeper nearing the end of his life, combined with Navajo traditions to form the backbone of Old Man John’s Coffee and Honey House.
Lakota Maglioli opened the first female indigenous-owned coffee house in Northeast Pennsylvania in March.
Immigration changes, misinformation leave NEPA communities fearful
In January, President Donald Trump was newly inaugurated and vowed to enhance immigration enforcement, including deportations — a promise he kept.
The new polices stoked growing anxiety among members of the region's Hispanic community.
This is a way to shut our agency down,' says union president, Tobyhanna Army Depot employees worried about job security
The Tobyhanna Army Depot in Monroe County is part of the country’s organic industrial base and the largest industrial employer in Northeast Pennsylvania.
In March, layoffs from the Department of Government Efficient (DOGE) made it to the depot. Morale was low at the depot, and some of the approximately 3,000 employees – 30% who are veterans – stressed that they might not be able to retire from the depot, said Ned George, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1647.
Read more about Tobyhanna here: 'Nothing that we wouldn't do for American heroes': Leaders say Tobyhanna Army Depot lives and breathes government efficiency
Bonus stories:
Crammed, angered Archbald residents express disapproval as council approves controversial data center zoning amendment
Saving for the future: Historic Scranton Electric Building to be new Fidelity Bank headquarters
Cultivating culture: Congolese refugees grow crops and community in South Scranton
RECIPES OF THE REGION: Lebanese desserts live on through generations at popular West Scranton food festival
Toboggan time: Unique winter activity returns to Sullivan County
Don't forget to follow along each day at WVIA.org as we publish “Year in review 2024,” a week-long series recounting the top stories of the past year through New Year's Day.
