Parkland News

The Upper Macungie Planning Commission reviewed a sketch plan for renovations and expansions to Trexler Travel Center on 5829 Tilghman St.

The North Whitehall Township Zoning Hearing Board announced neonatal kitten rescue Foxy's Cradle violated zoning regulations during a meeting held Thursday, Dec. 20.

The Parkland School Board appointed David Ellowitch to fill the vacant two-year seat left by state Sen. Jarrett Coleman’s resignation.

KidsPeace, which provides behavioral and mental health services to children, collected about 1,400 toys for its 12th annual Angel Tree holiday gift drive.

The Upper Macungie Zoning Hearing Board on Wednesday approved plans for a 60-foot tall, 326,859 square-foot building expansion to Americold Logistics’ cold storage warehouse at 7150 Ambassador Drive.

A new hospital in the St. Luke’s University Health Network is now open. The ribbon was cut on the orthopedic hospital Wednesday and patients will start being seen at the South Whitehall Township location next week.

Upper Macungie supervisor and former township staffer Kathy Rader had her final meeting with the board Thursday. Rader first joined the board in 2006, and she worked for the township from 1985 to 2016.

Upper Macungie's Board of Supervisors adopted the 2024 budget on Thursday. The property tax millage rate will stay at 0.64, but the refuse and recycling fee will increase by $30.

South Whitehall Township residents will not have to pay more in township taxes next year, but the waste collection fee will soon increase.

The North Whitehall Township Board of Supervisors approved the implementation of a four-day work week for municipal staff after a ten-month trial period.

The appeal involves potential open meetings violations.

At the latest hearing for the proposed facility, both witnesses spoke about the need for recovery houses. "There's as much effort being made to get the drugs out there as to keep them also on the down-low, very silenced, so no one really can tell. And they're attacking our young population.” Julissa Pena, a witness for the applicant said.

The board may have violated transparency laws because key discussions about filling a vacancy did not happen in public, according to Melissa Melewsky, in-house counsel for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.

The Parkland School Board voted 7-1 to appoint a longtime former board member to fill the vacant seat.

The new lawmakers from the Lehigh Valley joined more than 50 other new faces who were ceremonially sworn in to the General Assembly in Harrisburg.

Jarrett Coleman initially planned to stay on as a Parkland School Board member while simultaneously serving in the state Senate. He changed course last month. Good government advocates say such an arrangement creates the potential for conflicts of interest.

Andre Williams owns AW Selvedge and DKShin, denim companies. He is based in the Lehigh Valley. He’s using the skills he honed on the field to dress people. And he said making a sale gives him the feeling of a win.

Three South Whitehall Township Zoning Hearing Board members cannot attend meetings in the coming months, so the board appointed a hearing officer. It will allow the board to legally meet a required quorum.

South Whitehall Twp. commissioners are seeking applicants for vacant alternate seats on the Zoning Hearing Board.

Longtime former board member Robert Bold served as board president five times and vice president three times. He would fill the vacancy created by state Sen. Jarrett Coleman's resignation.

The sprawling plan in South Whitehall touches on infrastructure and future development in a township that has seen contentious debate over its future in recent years

This development comes six years after voters in South Whitehall voted to allow the township to borrow $600,000 to repair the dam.