Mendenhall News

In order to pare down the price of the $53 million SteelStax project, ArtsQuest is cutting out some education classes from the cultural facility planned at the old Bethlehem Steel plant and putting those programs into an expanded Banana Factory.

Regarded as a hub of artists on the South Side for a decade, the Banana Factory will undergo a 3,200-square-foot addition and 20,000-square-foot renovation so that more children can learn ballet, dance, theater and music there.

The groups that will benefit include Pennsylvania Youth Theatre, Hispanic American League of Artists and Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Read more

“There was the chair, there's the closet, there's the safe.”

Robert Corby and his therapist walked this week into the Bethlehem church sacristy -- a room beside the altar -- where he was sexually abused 60 years ago by his priest. via The Morning Call

A Pennsylvania man who allegedly went on a robbery spree around Northampton County is now accused of robbing a township credit union. via Easton Express-Times

“I just think it would be so nice, especially if you have local produce”

Exeter Township could start a farmers market next year, but the supervisors must find the right spot. via Reading Eagle/Reading Times

The electronic voting machines have been tested, sealed and put away, ready for next Tuesday.

Absentee ballots continue to come into the Carbon County Election Bureau, but that will end Friday, when the deadline arrives for those ballots, used by people away for work or too sick to go to polling places.

And now the scanners used to count those absentee ballots are tested and ready to go.

Everything is falling in place for the election -- at least in Carbon County.

County Election Director Kenneth Leffler took one of the final steps to prepare for the primary election Monday when he ran a mandated test of the scanning machine that tallies the absentee ballots. Read more

'CHOICE OF ALL MY LIBRARY' What: 13 rare books owned by Lafayette College in a show named after a rich offer in Shakespeare's ''Titus Andronicus'' Pick hits: The Nuremberg Chronicle of 1493, a lavishly ... via The Morning Call

“I didn't see that in my future but one of my college mentors did, for which I'll be eternally grateful.”

As a teenager in Cheltenham JoAnne A. Epps dreamed of becoming a secretary like her two heroes - her mother, who worked at Temple Univerity and, Della Street the know-it-all assistant on the old Perry Mason ... via Philly.com

“These prices are difficult on people, especially those at the lower end of the economic ladder. "We're very concerned that staple food items aren't affordable to all of our citizens.”

Food stamp program Beneficiaries Nationally: 27.8 million. Pennsylvania: Nearly 1.2 million. via Reading Eagle/Reading Times

“We're following the candidates around the country in the hope we can get them to talk about what their energy policy would entail”

An advocacy group is following presidential candidates around the country to encourage support for increasing the use of the fuel for power generation. via Reading Eagle/Reading Times

Children's services in Berks County to be highlighted From our news staff Services provided by Berks County for the protection of children will be highlighted April 6 to 12 during National County Government ... via Reading Eagle/Reading Times

An Upper Mount Bethel Township home on the 2000 block of Totts Gap Road was robbed between 5:30 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to Pennsylvania State Police at Belfast. via Easton Express-Times

“Quite often the public has this misconception that NASA only does space science”

Reading, PA - For five years, a NASA satellite has circled the globe at 17,000 mph, its three lasers pulsing 40 times a second with one goal - ' to measure the changing size and thickness of the polar ice ... via Reading Eagle/Reading Times

The reward for information leading to an arrest in the homicide of a Redner's supermarket executive has reached $60,000. Police said Gary Redner, 55, was beaten to death outside his Lower Heidelberg Township, ... via WGAL

Paul Kotrotsios > > Publisher > > The Hellenic News of America > > 26 West Chester Pike > > Havertown, PA 19083-5320 > > Dear Mr. via Hellenic News of America

With two large boxes of sweets in her hand -- a gift from an excited doughnut shop vendor -- Chelsea Clinton made her way through the congested aisles at the Allentown Fairgrounds Farmers Market. The visit Friday by the former first daughter tickled Tom Thompson, who owns Mary Ann Donuts.

''She is just a delightful young lady. Pretty as a picture and a wonderful representative for her mother,'' Thompson said.

The meeting, however exciting, won't influence Thompson's vote. On April 22, the day of Pennsylvania 's primary election, Thompson will choose Illinois Sen. Barack Obama . Read more

Mount Airy Casino Resort has put the brakes on its plans for a $60.1 million expansion and is trying to restructure its $380 million in debt, its state-appointed trustee Anthony F. Ceddia told the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Thursday.

The move halts the planned addition of 500 slot machines and 212 hotel rooms that was supposed to begin this year. It also has Ceddia looking to renegotiate the Monroe County resort's debt as its owner, Louis DeNaples, faces perjury charges.

Even as Ceddia gave his update, the board proposed new regulations that would allow it to more easily acquire the kind of FBI investigative files it never got before DeNaples was issued a gaming license. Read more

When ''Oklahoma!'' opened on Broadway in 1943 at New York's St. James Theatre, it marked the first collaboration of the legendary team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein . via The Morning Call

PENNSYLVANIA LOST JOBS, JOBLESS RATE UP IN FEBRUARY | Pennsylvania reported a loss of 8,200 jobs in February, a faster rate of decline than job losses nationally. via The Morning Call

The Lehigh Valley's Jewish population has deep roots, is roughly the size everyone suspected -- 8,000, third-largest in Pennsylvania -- and probably won't grow or shrink much in the near future, according to what is probably the most comprehensive study of Jewish life ever carried out here.

The Jewish Community Study of the Lehigh Valley, based on more than 530 phone interviews with residents of Lehigh and Northampton counties, will probably serve as the statistical foundation for decisions on education, senior care, charitable giving and other matters for years to come. The results were unveiled Tuesday night during a town hall meeting at the Jewish Community Center in Allentown . Read more

“If I can get Kid Rock's tonight, this will be a great day.”

Run-DMC founder and MTV star Rev Run autographs his line of sneakers and shirts for a throng of fans at Sneaker Villa, Reading. via Reading Eagle/Reading Times