Makenzie Christman
Digital news content producerI'm a Lehigh Valley native whose passion for journalism traces back to my high school newspaper. I previously reported for The Republican Herald in Pottsville and freelanced for SpotlightPA and WPSU through Penn State University's startup, The News Lab. Outside of the office, I'm usually doting on my dog or tasting what the Valley's food landscape has to offer. Contact me at makenziec@lehighvalleynews.com or 610-984-8138.
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The Dubai chocolate trend was in the Lehigh Valley years before it went viral online. But recently, the trend has recirculated online and brought about new inspiration at local businesses. -
The Knauss Homestead Preservation Society is coming back for its fourth year this summer at the Knauss Homestead Farmhouse in Emmaus. The late July event is free, but registration for attendance is required.
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Legislators worked to establish penalties for xylazine use and trafficking in an attempt to lessen its presence in Pennsylvania's illicit drug supply. Some say doing so made way for a new, unclassified veterinary tranquilizer to take its place — medetomidine.
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In a move that Santander Bank said aligns with the financial institution's digital shift nationwide, seven Lehigh Valley branches will be sold to Community Bank. Branches will remain open and employees will be offered continued employment during the transition, which is expected to complete by the end of the year,
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Nearly a year after the Biden administration designated xylazine as an "emerging threat" to the United States, Gov. Josh Shapiro classified it as a schedule III drug, making unauthorized possession a crime in Pennsylvania. Experts say the move has partly served to clear the way for new illicit substances to enter the drug market.
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Despite not being approved for human consumption, veterinary tranquilizers are infiltrating the illicit drug supply in Pennsylvania. Harm reduction specialists and health care professionals say these overdoses can't be approached solely with naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug.
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President Donald Trump campaigned on immigration enforcement and recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations have gained national and local attention. This week on Political Pulse, host Tom Shortell and political scientist Chris Borick look into the public's reaction to these raids.
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Xylazine, an animal-grade tranquilizer that's not approved for human use, has taken Pennsylvania's illicit drug supply by storm. Known on the streets as "tranq," it accounted for almost 1 in 4 overdose deaths in Pennsylvania by 2023. Last year in Lehigh County, it was a contributing cause of death in 20 of the 112 deadly overdoses, or 17.9 percent of cases.
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Known as "tranq" on the streets, an animal tranquilizer named xylazine infiltrated drug supplies throughout Pennsylvania since 2019. Its presence in the Lehigh Valley has grown, with deadly consequences.
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On Tuesday afternoon, Lehigh Valley International Airport recorded temperatures that tied the record heat set in Allentown over a century ago on June 24.
