
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.
-
As of 4:05 p.m. July 1, Dorney Park’s parent company Cedar Fair Entertainment officially merged with Six Flags. The combined company will retain Six Flags as its corporate name and trade under Cedar Fair’s ticker, FUN.
-
The first annual KidsPeace Dodgeball Tournament was held Thursday. It raised money for the Orefield-based nonprofit, which provides behavioral and mental health services to children.
-
South Whitehall Township will hold its first Summer Movie Series event from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday in the township municipal building’s grass circle, 4444 Walbert Ave. It will also hold an information and feedback session about its Transportation PLAN.
-
Farmers Kenneth and Heather Skorinko are planning to open a craft distillery with a tasting room. They would build a 2,400 square foot pole barn at 1990 Neffs Laurys Road in North Whitehall to house it.
-
The Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce's LGBTQ Business Council on Tuesday held an event at the Mediterranean Grill in Bethlehem to teach people how to make workplaces and businesses more inclusive.
-
South Whitehall Planner Gregg Adams is retiring on June 30 after 25 years with the township. Adams helped steer the township through two comprehensive plans and the Ridge Farms controversy.
-
North Whitehall Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a revised plan of the Rising Sun subdivision, which would have 110 single-family homes on about 100 acres at 1321 Rising Sun Road.
-
South Whitehall Board of Commissioners unanimously approved an agreement between the township and Dorney Park to try to address traffic concerns on Hamilton Boulevard near the park.
-
Parkland School Board approved its final budget Tuesday, which will take the millage rate from 16.30 mills to 17.12 mills, a 5% increase. The average resident will pay about $200 more in school property taxes next year.
-
The Parkland School Board on Tuesday accepted district Director of Performing Arts Frank Anonia’s resignation, effective Friday, June 21. Anonia recently was the subject of an internal investigation.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
South Whitehall's Community Development Department hosted a forum Thursday about historic preservation efforts, and residents considered creating a historic society