Mall’s future; inclusive coffee shop; $200K Club: Good Morning, Pennsylvania

© JOE HERMITT/pennlive.com/TNS PHOTO OF THE DAY: Cedar Cliff’s Olivia Jones, center, battles for a loose ball against Garnet Valley in their girls PIAA 6A playoff basketball game Friday.

Even monsters get the blues

Turns out, even mythical creatures struggle with self-confidence. So notes our Claudia Dimuro, podcaster extraordinaire and writer of Paranormal PA stories.

She recently wrote about the squonk, a creature said to be “fairly common” in the hemlock forests of Pennsylvania. It has been described as quaint, slow of body, dull of mind and really ugly.

Unfortunately, the squonk is said to be painfully aware of how repulsive it is. In fact, it’s so aware of its looks that one author claims the poor thing “is given to constant weeping over his really upsetting appearance, and can sometimes be tracked by his tear-stained trail.”

© Jimmie Brown/pennlive.com/TNS Urban Churn owner, Adam Brackbill with a brand new flavor this month "Lucky Cricket" which is cricket pieces mixed with toffee blended ice cream. March 10. 2023| Jimmie Brown| jbrown@pennlive.com.

You can read more about the weeping squonk and other Paranormal PA (spirits, creatures, the unexplained) stories by subscribing to a monthly newsletter here. The next issue goes out today.

Now, let’s take a look at this morning’s headlines.

Business

‘It’s an eyesore’: It’s full of empty stores, has fallen behind on bills and looks terrible, Lower Paxton Township officials say of the Colonial Park Mall. They’re more than ready for it to change.

• See also: Central Pa.’s first Ocean State Job Lot opens

Massive warehouse: A California company wants an exception to Mount Joy Township’s zoning ordinance in order to build a 1M square foot warehouse. Residents who showed up at a hearing on the request were not in favor. “This could set us up for unprecedented repercussions,” one said.

• See also: GM offers buyouts to most of its salaried workers in U.S.

Food & drink

How does it taste?: Urban Churn created the “Lucky Cricket”, honey-flavored ice cream with chunks of toffee. The toffee is made with roasted, food-grade crickets – insects that can be considered lucky, but also considered “not food” by most Americans. We tried it anyway.

A brighter business: A new coffee stop in Hampden Township celebrates inclusivity. Nour, named after the owners’ daughter, who has Down syndrome, gives people of all abilities a place to work together.

Jelly beans on hold: The Bethlehem-based Just Born is not making jelly beans for Easter this year. A spokesperson said jelly bean manufacturing is on hold so the company can focus on Mike and Ike and Hot Tamales.

Today’s talkers

Student collapses: A West Shore School District high school student collapsed in a cafeteria and was revived after receiving two doses of Narcan, the opioid overdose reversal drug, school officials said. They didn’t identify what the student had taken.

Still rallying: Pa. Rep. Doug Mastriano, who lost the 2022 race for Pa. governor, is considering a run for U.S. Senate vs. Bob Casey Jr. He was fooled, however, by a fake poll on it. He climbed back onto the political stage for the first time since the election this weekend.

Oscars: “Everything Everywhere All at Once” won seven awards, including Best Picture. Michelle Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win Best Actress while Brendan Fraser won Best Actor for his comeback role in “The Whale.”

Special report

The $200,000 Club: PennLive does an annual round-up of six-figure earners in state government. However, with membership in this once-exclusive “club” growing so large, we doubled the salary threshold to $200,000. Here’s why.

See also:

• Database of workers who made $200,000 (and up)
• State government’s highest earners: Who are they?

Sports

High school wrestling: The PIAA wrestling championships were held in Hershey. Here are some of the results:

• Class 2A Championships results
• Class 3A Championships results
• Unsanctioned girls wrestling championship also held

OTHER DON’T-MISS STORIES

• Girl pleads guilty but mentally ill to killing disabled sister
• CBS21 reporter says goodbye to station
• State police major named state’s homeland security director
• Groundwater tested after Ohio derailment, chemical release
• How much snow could Pa. get from developing nor’easter?

You’re caught up.

Thanks for joining us in Good Morning, Pennsylvania. You can always find the latest Pennsylvania news by visiting PennLive.com. If you value the hard work of our journalists, consider becoming a subscriber.

See you next issue.

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