Parkland News

A webinar Monday brought together regional planners, engineers and industry leaders to explain how data centers operate and what their growth could mean for local communities.

Democrat Geoffrey Whitcomb intends to campaign for the Lehigh County-based district that Republican Gary Day currently represents. The seat heavily favors Republicans.

The Lehigh County Coroner's Office said the 27-year-old died Saturday night at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest — hours after being shot during a standoff with Pennsylvania State Police in a North Whitehall Township driveway.

Lehigh County Coroner Dan Buglio announced that a 93-year-old Lower Macungie Township woman died outside her home of hypothermia. She is Lehigh County's first weather-related fatality of 2026.

Residents of South Whitehall Township voiced their opposition to a proposed 5-million-square-foot data center near Parkland High School.

A Lehigh County judge has denied an appeal that sought to clear the way for Nexus 78, a 501,000-square-foot warehouse proposed for North Whitehall Township. The ruling is unlikely to be the last word in the fight over the warehouse's fate.

In its review, the LVPC said the data center proposal lacks specificity needed to fully review the project in Upper Macungie Township.

Upper Macungie's planning commission voted Wednesday to recommend preliminary approval for a planned 203-home development connecting Schantz Road and Bastian Lane.

Parkland High School's planned $68 million, five-building expansion project is expected to begin early in 2026 and be completed by August 2028.

A new hyperscale data center could be on its way to South Whitehall Township, with the 5.1 million square foot Atlas Industrial project set to be constructed right across the street from Parkland High School.

South Whitehall Township recently launched Transportation PLAN, a comprehensive transportation planning initiative.

Dorney Park and all the parks under the Cedar Fair umbrella will recruit seasonal workers for the summer 2024 season with a huge job fair Feb. 17-24.

Tuesday served as a preview of the political campaigns to come as candidates filed paperwork to appear on the April primary ballot. Voters will decide races for president, Congress and the General Assembly among others this year.

Tuesday's fast-moving storm swept quickly through the Lehigh Valley but packed a wallop, bringing nearly a foot of snow to several spots.

Parkland School District Social Worker Diane Irish has begun hosting office hours for the Parkland REACH Village, a gathering space and community hub of information for anyone who lives in the district.

With an inconclusive prediction, Sunday's Super Bowl is up in the air — according to the Lehigh Valley Zoo's otters. The zoo in Lehigh County hosted its Otter Bowl XIII, which drew hundreds of spectators Saturday.

South Whitehall planners Thursday reviewed a plan for a new medical office for Aesthetic Surgery Associates. The practice would relocate to the new building from its current location at 250 Cetronia Road.

The South Whitehall Board of Commissioners on Wednesday waived the land development review requirement for a Tesla charging station at the Wawa at 408 S Cedar Crest Blvd., near Dorney Park.

Nowhere Coffee Co. co-owners Juan and Lauren Vargas will open their planned roastery in the Allentown area after a permit denial in Upper Macungie.

North Whitehall Township Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Monday to grant approval to the final plan for the township building renovations.

South Whitehall received a grant of about $555,000 from PennDOT to modernize the intersection of Hamilton Boulevard and Lincoln Avenue. The intersection is next to Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom and has seen major traffic delays.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.