Welcome to Memorial Day weekend! Even though the weather looks kind of iffy across Pennsylvania over the next few days, I hope you can still find a way to enjoy the long weekend. If you’re looking for something to do, our Kalena Thomhave has this story highlighting some affordable, fun ways to spend the holiday weekend. 

(Quick programming note: we’ll be off for the holiday on Monday, returning to your inbox bright and early Wednesday.)

Since Memorial Day signals the unofficial start of summer, you may be counting down the days until summer vacation (mine’s not until August, so I’ve got a ways to go).

There’s a new kind of vacation destination that is reportedly headed to one of the most popular tourist areas of Bucks County. But while the business is accepting money for “priority access” to its luxury treetop getaway, there are no details on where and when it will be built and open.

The Lookout Towers first garnered attention locally when advertisements for the new attraction in New Hope started appearing on social media earlier this year.

But details regarding the project—including knowledge by town, county, and hospitality officials and planning applications or approvals—don’t exist at this point, with Megan Connelly of Visit Bucks, the county’s tourism agency, telling the Bucks County Courier Times that “New Hope Borough has no information on this project.”

Read more about it in this story.

A meteor from the Perseid meteor shower is captured at Cherry Springs State Park in 2015. Notice how visitors to the Cherry Springs stargazing area use red lighting, as opposed to white, in order to preserve night vision. (Creative Commons)

Let’s keep the summer getaway talk going. 

Many Pennsylvanians like to head to the beach or the mountains this time of year, but some like to spend the summer months stargazing. 

While the full moon reliably lights up the sky each month, Pennsylvanians this summer will also be able to witness meteor showers, Venus as the “evening star,” a partial lunar eclipse, and—if you know where to go—the dazzling Milky Way galaxy. This story has details on the celestial events to expect in Pennsylvania this summer, and how you can experience each one.

• Pennsylvania can move ahead with spending more than $700 million on expanding high-speed internet for roughly 130,000 homes and businesses in rural areas, after federal officials backed down from a threat to withhold the money because of a dispute over state labor law. Find out more here.

• Pennsylvania will face an acute shortage of educators and healthcare workers across all regions of the commonwealth in the next decade, according to new data released by the state. Get the details here.

• In Franklin County, commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday to adopt an ordinance to help municipalities regulate data centers that companies might seek to develop in the area. Find out more in this story.

• The two men suspected of setting off an explosive device near a Lehigh Valley church that was serving as a polling place Tuesday morning are now in custody. Get the story here.

• The city of Erie’s welcoming city status has been renewed, roughly two months after Erie City Council signed off on an ordinance that prohibits the city from supporting federal immigration enforcement actions, except in specific cases. We have the story here.

Latrobe native Fred Rogers on the set of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” (Associated Press)

Did you know that Saturday is 143 Day in Pennsylvania? If you’re not aware of 143 Day, allow me to explain:

Back in 2019, former Gov. Tom Wolf designated May 23 as 143 Day. May 23 is the 143rd day of the year. And the number 143 was very important to Latrobe native Fred Rogers, host of the long-running PBS children’s show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” which was filmed in Pittsburgh. 

Rogers regularly used 143 as his special code for “I Love You,” based on the number of letters in each word, and 143 Day was created in his honor as a statewide call for kindness. And in this moment we’re living in, I think a call for kindness is very much needed.

So let’s all do our best Saturday—and every day, for that matter—to spread kindness.

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Patrick Berkery with stories from Kalena Thomhave, The Associated Press, USA Today via Reuters Connect, and Ian Karbal of the Pennsylvania Capital-Star. It was edited by Brook Bolen.

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