A new outdoor adventure venue is ready to open later today. HangDog Outdoor Adventure opens today on Cedarville Road, just off of I-78 in Williams Township. The venue includes an outdoor ropes course with four stories of climbing obstacles and zip-lines, a kids course, a dog-friendly beer garden, a gourmet food truck, live music and a lights show.
A free health clinic is coming to Allentown this weekend. A non-profit group called Remote Area Medical will be offering free medical, dental, and vision services at a clinic at the Executive Education Academy Charter School. The school is located at 555 Union Boulevard in Allentown and the clinic will open at 6 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday. Planners say the parking lot will open at midnight as they expect people to start lining up then for when the clinic opens each morning. Costs for the clinic are being covered from Lehigh County's COVID-19 federal funds and by the United Way.
Dorney Park has unveiled Iron Menace, its next rollercoaster and first to be built there since Hydra opened 18 years ago. This customer loves what he sees. "It's going to be incredible when it opens," one man says. Iron Menace is expected to open up sometime during the 2024 season.
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board is putting a liquor license up for auction in Walnutport. The local license is one of 20 available statewide, with the minimum bid set at $25,000. All bids due at noon September 25. It is a sealed bid process, and all bids are due to be opened September 27, with auction winners announced soon after. All 20 licenses are up for grabs because they are expiring under previous ownership.
Congratulations to WFMZ. Their news team hase been nominated for 16 Emmy awards for Excellence in Journalism. The 41st Annual Mid-Atlantic Regional Emmy Awards will be handed out in October.
State Police are now outlining what lead up to a crash that killed five individuals, and have also identified those killed. A motorhome RV blew out its front left tire at around 8:50 p.m., causing it to travel across the grass median and into the northbound lanes of I-81 in Franklin County. That's when, authorities say the RV struck a tractor-trailer, towing double trailers, head on. Officials report that the individuals in the RV, Donald Molander, Kimberly Molander, Miranda Molander, and Dane Molander of Middletown had passed away in the crash. The driver of the tractor-trailer, James Shade of Martinsburg, West Virginia, also died in the accident.
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is developing policy rates for charging electric vehicles. The regulatory agency has kicked off a process that will eventually end in a statement on setting rates. Suggestions include setting prices so that people will charge their cars' electric batteries during non-peak hours. Agency officials say they hope to stay ahead of an expected surge in electric-vehicle use, which they think will certainly affect the power grid.
A Penn State researcher has released data affirming how a shortage of candidates for teaching jobs is leading to diminished outcomes for students. Penn State professor Ed Fuller used data from the state department of education on teacher qualifications to examine the extent to which teachers in Pennsylvania schools are under-qualified. While the existence of under-qualified teachers does not necessarily indicate a school has teacher vacancies, Fuller says his research shows the two issues are correlated. He concludes that schools that have difficulty filling teaching positions often resort to hiring under-qualified teachers.
A state lawmaker is proposing legislation that would bar homeowners' associations from banning the use of clothes lines. Senator Amanda Cappelletti of Montgomery says HOAs often forbid the use of clotheslines and drying racks because they say they're unsightly and "damage the orderly appearance of these communities." Her bill would allow HOAs to only limit the use of these items in backyard areas, and still give condo or planned community residents the right to use them. Currently, twenty other states have laws protecting the right to dry clothes outside.
Prosecutors say a West Virginia man issued threats against witnesses and jurors involved in the recent trial of Tree of Life synagogue shooter Robert Bowers. Forty-seven-year-old Hardy Lloyd, originally from Pittsburgh, was arrested at his Brooke County West Virginia home on Thursday on charges including obstruction of justice, witness tampering and transmitting threats across state lines. Bowers was convicted at trial and sentenced to death.
Mourners, politicians and regular folks, are continuing to pay their respects to New Jersey's late Lieutenant Governor. "She was very intentional in how she treated Black women and she wanted to make sure we had a seat at the table," one mourner said. She was among the hundreds of mourners lined up outside the statehouse in Trenton on Thursday where Sheila Oliver lay in state at the Capitol Rotunda. And hundreds more are showing up at Essex County's historic courthouse in Newark where the 71-year-old lies in repose today.
The law known as the Temp Workers Bill of Rights is now fully in effect in New Jersey. The law expands rights and protections for many temporary workers, including the requirement that the salaries of temp workers are no less than employees of the contractor. Temp workers also have the right to file suit in the county where a violation occurs. The first portions of the law took effect in May but some parts were delayed because of a lawsuit. The remaining parts of the law took effect this week.
We'll have to see if Bryce Harper is in the Phillies lineup tonight when they host the Twins. Manager Rob Thomson says Harper left last night's game with Washington with back spasms. "It's just day-to-day. We'll check him out Friday to see if he's okay," Thomson says. The Phillies beat the Nationals 6-2. They're 64-52 and hold the number one wildcard spot by one-and-a-half games over the San Francisco Giants.