
Olivia Marble
Parkland area reporterI am the Parkland area reporter for LehighValleyNews.com, covering a broad range of stories. I was born and raised in Massachusetts, so the Lehigh Valley is new to me — I am always looking for restaurant recommendations! I graduated in 2022 from Mount Holyoke College with a degree in journalism. I interned at two NPR member stations during college: GBH in Boston and New England Public Media in Springfield, Mass., and decided I wanted to dedicate my career to public media. In my free time, I love to read, bake and listen to way too many podcasts. Contact me at OliviaM@lehighvalleynews.com or 610-984-8184.
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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.
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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.
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South Whitehall Township residents will not have to pay more in township taxes next year, but the waste collection fee will soon increase.
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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.
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Vice President of the board David Kennedy announced his resignation at Wednesday’s meeting. He said he is moving out of the township to be closer to his grandson.
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The Parkland School Board has officially entered its post-election era, but the directors still have one more two-year seat left to fill.
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The township Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Monday to approve the final 2024 budget, which keeps the property tax rate at 0.6 mils. The budget accounts for three new staff positions, large building projects and increased funds to the township’s volunteer fire companies.
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The North Whitehall Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Monday to table, or delay the vote on, the preliminary plan for 55-plus residential community Strawberry Acres.
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South Whitehall Township will host its first Municipal Open House on Wednesday, Dec. 13 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The event will have light refreshments, including coffee, hot chocolate and cookies. There will also be giveaways of informational packets and flyers.
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Fighting AIDS Continuously Together, or FACT, is hosting its 35th annual Snow Ball on Sunday to raise money to help people in the Greater Lehigh Valley with HIV and AIDS.
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The Parkland School Board on Tuesday honored the district’s team for winning the state championships of the 49th season of "Scholastic Scrimmage," a televised academic quiz show.
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Philadelphia Eagles Safety Reed Blankenship will visit the park as part of its Iron Menace Ride for a Cause event this Friday, which benefits the Eagles Autism Foundation.
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Lehigh County is pulling the Child Advocacy Center, which serves children who may have been abused, out of Lehigh Valley Health Network. The new center may lack a medical specialist in the field.
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Willow Haven Farm began its Foster a Chick program this week. Community members can take home the farm’s day-old baby chicks, take care of them for a few weeks, then return them to the farm.
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The township Zoning Hearing Board voted unanimously Wednesday to allow Verizon to build a cell phone tower at 6411 Haasadahl Road, on the border of Lowhill Township.
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The North Whitehall Planning Commission reviewed a preliminary/final plan for Phase II of Timberidge Luxury Apartments, an apartment complex near Main Street and Levans Road that is currently under construction.
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Upper Macungie Board of Supervisors hosted a resident workshop about its noise ordinance — the local law that governs how loud businesses and residents can be.
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Silk Lehigh Valley hosted an invitation-only open house Friday for its new location at 315 N. 7th St. in Allentown, a former house that is a few blocks from center city.
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Dr. Debra D. Esernio-Jenssen, a Lehigh Valley Health Network physician facing multiple lawsuits over alleged child abuse misdiagnoses, has announced her retirement. Separately, Lehigh County announced it will create a new "community centered" Child Advocacy Center.
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South Whitehall's Community Development Department hosted a forum Thursday about historic preservation efforts, and residents considered creating a historic society