U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) is calling on the Department of Homeland Security to hit the brakes on its plan to develop two Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers in Pennsylvania, saying they would have a negative impact on local communities.

“While I have been clear in my support for the enforcement of federal immigration law, this decision will do significant damage to these local tax bases, set back decades-long efforts to boost economic development, and place undue burdens on limited existing infrastructure in these communities,” Fetterman wrote in a letter addressed to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and posted online Saturday.

Fetterman’s criticism comes shortly after DHS purchased an $87 million warehouse in Bern Township, Berks County, and a nearly $120 million former Big Lots distribution center in Tremont Township, Schuylkill County.

The Tremont Township detention center would house as many as 7,500 people, Fetterman noted, while the Bern Township one would be capable of detaining 1,500 people.

Bern Township has 6,706 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and is next to the city of Reading. The facility is near an Amazon warehouse and the Mountain Springs Camping Resort.

Tremont Township — where the much larger detention center is set to be built — has just 283 residents and is next to the 1,670-resident Tremont Borough. Tremont is in a rural area northeast of Harrisburg, near the Appalachian Trail, state game lands, and Fort Indiantown Gap, an Army National Guard training center.

In his letter, Fetterman said local and state officials did not have a chance to weigh in on how these massive facilities would affect everything from sewer systems and the electrical grid to hospitals and emergency medical services.

“Both townships do not currently have the capacity to meet the demands of these detention centers, with Tremont Township officials specifically stating the proposed 7,500-bed detention facility would quadruple the existing burden on their public infrastructure system,” Fetterman said.

The letter maintains Fetterman’s stance as someone who supports ICE operations in general while criticizing the federal government’s recent handling of them. After federal agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis last month, Fetterman called on the Trump administration to fire Noem. A few days later, Fetterman said he supports ICE agents wearing face masks.

Fetterman was among 23 Senate Democrats to cross the aisle last month to vote for a compromise bill funding the federal government through September, while granting just two weeks of funding for DHS.

Fetterman said the Pennsylvania facilities would result in a tax loss of $1.6 million to the communities. He asked DHS to agree to several conditions before proceeding further with the sites.

He requested an “impact assessment,” details on the criteria used to select these facilities, an agreement that federal funds be used to upgrade them, and “a commitment to a period of public engagement and dialogue with these communities.”

“Due to these significant concerns, it is my fear that DHS and ICE did not perform any due diligence, spending more than $200 million in tax dollars for warehouses that cannot be adequately converted and further eroding trust between Pennsylvanians and the Federal government,” Fetterman wrote.

The Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

HOPKINTON, R.I. (WJAR) — A crash on I-95 southbound in Hopkinton near the Rhode Island-Connecticut line blocked traffic intermittently for approximately an hour and a half Saturday morning.

According to the Rhode Island State Police, that crash occurred at around 8:30 this morning. Difficulty in removing one of the crashed cars, which had to be removed from a snowbank, led to the traffic blockage.

Two separate cars were towed from the scene; according to the RISP, it is unclear whether they crashed into each other at this point. The investigation into the crash is still ongoing.

This was the second crash along that stretch of I-95 in a ten-hour span, as a one-car incident at 11:15 on Friday night also caused backups.

According to the RISP, the driver of that car, a 26-year-old man, had minor injuries.

A tiny state, more than a third of which represents conserved land, Vermont has done things its own way since the colonial era. Its Green Mountain Boys militia once fended off land claims from New York and New Hampshire, and for a brief moment, Vermont even functioned as its own republic. That don’t-tread-on-me energy still lingers today, blended with a deep respect for the arts, outdoors, history and small business. In southern Vermont, less than five hours from Philly, the village of Manchester is a microcosm of that personality. Slung between the Green Mountains, the glowing town looks like something straight out of a Hallmark movie — especially in winter, when snow this time of year is nearly guaranteed.

Start the car.

Stay: Kimpton Taconic

Stone fireplaces, leather chairs, plaid wallpaper, draft-blocking drapes, a grand front porch…Kimpton Taconic hits the winter-in-New-England vibes hard. The 86-room boutique hotel sits right on Main Street, close to everything in town, and has a solid on-site tavern, the Copper Grouse (think cider-brined chicken and maple crème brulée). The hotel also offers seamless equipment rentals through a Ski Butlers partnership. Bookings also include two free adult tickets to Hildene.

📍 3835 Main St., Manchester, Vt. 05254

Visit: Hildene

Just south of town, surrounded by woods and snow, Hildene was built at the turn of the 20th century by Mary and Robert Lincoln, the only son of Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln. Run as a museum nonprofit since 1978, the Georgian Revival estate, gardens and 12 miles of trails are open to visitors, making it a must-stop whether you’re into history, architecture, design or horticulture. Train buffs will love Sunbeam, the restored Pullman carriage from Robert Lincoln’s tenure as president of the Pullman Company from 1897 to 1911.

📍 1005 Hildene Rd., Manchester, Vt. 05254

View: Southern Vermont Arts Center

Take a short detour off Main Street into the forest and you’ll find Southern Vermont Arts Center. This estate includes classrooms, museum galleries, performance space, a yoga studio, and a café. Originally built in 1917 as a summer estate for an Ohio socialite and philanthropist, the property was acquired by the arts center in 1950. Grab a coffee at the café and walk—or snow-shore, or cross-country ski—through their epic sculpture park.

📍 860 Southern Vermont Arts Center Dr., Manchester, Vt. 05254

Shop: Northshire Bookstore

Northshire Books is almost a caricature of Vermont: a rambling country house riddled with cozy alcoves. Opened in 1976 and now run by three sisters who grew up shopping here, the store leans hard into its indie roots — staff bios list genre specialties and years of service. They’ve got the bestsellers, sure, but it’s their rare-books collection that’s really special. A signed Jimmy Carter autobiography, for example, or an alternatively-illustrated British edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

📍 4869 Main St., Manchester Center, Vt. 05255

Ski: Bromley Mountain

Located only ten minutes from town, Bromley Mountain’s 47 trails represent a solid mix of expertise levels. If you’re skiing experience begins and ends with the Poconos, maybe start with a few runs on the family-friendly Chase-It trail before leveling up to the Lord’s Prayer, the Plunge and Havoc.

📍 124 Bromley Lodge Rd., Peru, Vt. 05152

Relax: Spa at the Equinox

After a day on the slopes, soothe those boot-bound feet and sore hammies at the Spa at the Equinox. Deep-tissue massage, Ayurveda treatments, cupping therapy, maple sugar scrubs — get one, get them all. You won’t want to leave the spa. It’s got cozy relaxation lounges, a huge indoor pool stretching out beneath an open-beam ceiling and an outdoor hot tub perpetually cloaked in steam.

📍 3567 Main St., Manchester, Vt. 05254

Dine: The Reluctant Panther

Points for the name alone. The Reluctant Panther, whose moniker nods to Vermont’s resistance to outside rule in the late 1700s, has been operating as a bed-and-breakfast since the 1960s — but its restaurant is open to the public. The food is exactly what you want to eat in the winter here: a Vermont cheese board, thick pork chops with German potato salad and smoked maple gastrique, venison osso bucco, all served in a fireplace-warmed dining room. The wine list has earned Wine Spectator recognition four years straight. Meow.

📍 39 W Rd., Manchester, Vt. 05254