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Former landfill eyed for PA stargazing site as light pollution creeps up

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Former landfill eyed for PA stargazing site as light pollution creeps up


This story first appeared in PA Local, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA taking a fresh, positive look at the incredible people, beautiful places, and delicious food of Pennsylvania. Sign up for free here.

A former landfill in Pennsylvania’s least populated county may become the state’s newest stargazing attraction.

Officials with Cameron County and the Lumber Heritage Region of Pennsylvania promotional group are working together to revamp the county-owned site. Proposed enhancements include a trail, parking, a wildlife viewing area, a dark sky observation field, and more.

The 99-acre site is an hour away from the internationally renowned — and often very crowded — dark sky viewing at Cherry Springs State Park, and 30 minutes away from Route 6, “one of America’s most scenic drives,” according to National Geographic.

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“The goal is to develop this site to allow for public access and use of the site, and hopefully serve as a hub for some education and outreach for dark sky awareness, [light] pollution, and increasing the dark skies in the area,” explained Rowan Crisp, the education and outreach administrator for the Lumber Heritage Region group.

Because the area is a reclaimed landfill and former strip mine, Crisp said the goal is to not disturb the environment in the process of creating amenities — meaning large buildings and excavations are out while lighter options like a pavilion and elk viewing area are in. (Cameron County is home to a portion of Pennsylvania’s engineered herd of wild elk, the largest east of the Mississippi.)

“Right now everything is on the table, but we do have to be mindful that we don’t want to disturb the soil too much, and we don’t want the area to lose its wild attractions,” Crisp added.

Once updated, the site could bring in 10,000 visitors annually, estimated Cameron County Commissioner Josh Zucal. He said the prospect of more tourists has been met with excitement and reservation from locals, some of whom worry the telescope-toting throngs could diminish the untouched aura of the Pennsylvania Wilds region.

Zucal said that tension is front of mind as the county considers the site: “We do want these people in the county. We want them coming to experience what we have, and to have the opportunity to possibly live here. But at the same time … we don’t want to change our dynamic.”

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The number of visitors will likely grow if the site obtains international dark sky certification, which Crisp said is a possibility. Cherry Springs, in neighboring Potter County, already has that designation and attracts 85,000 to 90,000 visitors annually. Stargazing there has been described as a primal experience and draws people from around the world.

Crowding concerns weren’t the primary focus of a June public meeting about the Cameron County project, but lots of questions were raised that still need to be answered.

Among the open topics: What’s the best way to deal with the site’s “unbearable mosquitoes”? (Bat houses were one idea.) Is Wi-Fi needed for navigation aids? (Cell service is limited.) How will developers ensure crowds don’t scare off the area’s skittish elk? And can the site be made available in the winter, when nights are longer and stargazing conditions ideal?

The site, which consists of little more than a dirt road now, is currently open to the public from April to October.

And while it sits in one of the darkest zones in the entire state, light pollution is possible.

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The firm brought in to help with the planning effort, Virginia’s Lardner/Klein Landscape Architects, said as much in June’s meeting. The firm pointed to nearby Emporium, the county’s largest town, with roughly 2,000 residents, as a potential source of light pollution.

Spotlight PA reported in 2023 that light pollution was a growing concern for officials, including Zucal, across the Pennsylvania Wilds, where darkness is a natural resource. After a dip during the pandemic, light contamination in places like it is slowly creeping back up.

Zucal is eyeing a countywide light pollution ordinance, “so that we can have one umbrella for everyone.”

In the meantime, he’s asking people with thoughts about the dark sky project to chime in.

A second public meeting is tentatively planned for October. Crisp said when the plan is finalized and approved, a final meeting will be held to share the details.

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Members of the public are able to submit ideas and suggestions to be incorporated into a master site plan by emailing the planning team here.

“We are planning to have this plan wrapped up by the beginning of next year,” Zucal added. “This is the time for anybody who wants to have any kind of feedback.”

Newsletter Editor Colin Deppen contributed to this report.



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House Republicans stall activity, Pennsylvania Rep. Meuser calls tactics ‘foolish’ | Fox Business Video

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House Republicans stall activity, Pennsylvania Rep. Meuser calls tactics ‘foolish’ | Fox Business Video


House Speaker Mike Johnson sent representatives home early as hardline Republicans stalled floor activities, demanding action on the SAVE America Act. President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, urging House Republicans to unify and avoid giving power to Democrats. Rep. Dan Meuser (R-PA) labels the stalling tactics ‘foolish,’ emphasizing the need for legislative progress and appropriations.



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Measles detected in two more counties in Pennsylvania as health department recommends early vaccination

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Measles detected in two more counties in Pennsylvania as health department recommends early vaccination


Pennsylvania health officials have now detected measles cases in York and Northumberland Counties as cases in Lancaster County, the center of an ongoing outbreak, continued to rise.

And the state health department is now recommending early measles vaccinations for infants beginning at 6 months in affected areas in an effort to protect them against the spread of the highly contagious disease, which is particularly risky for young children. The same precautions should be taken by families with infants traveling to these areas.

Six Pennsylvania counties have now seen measles cases since an outbreak was first confirmed in Lebanon County in April. In all, the state has reported 81 measles cases across eight counties in 2026, more than five times the cases reported in 2025.

State health officials said it was too early to tell how the latest cases in York and Northumberland Counties are connected to others in the region, but that contact tracing investigations are continuing. All cases were among people who had not received at least two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) or whose vaccination status was unclear.

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As of Wednesday, six cases had been confirmed in Northumberland County, to the north of Dauphin County, and one case had been detected in York County, along Lancaster’s western border.

Lebanon County has reported 20 cases and Dauphin and Berks Counties have reported two cases each.

Lancaster County has seen 38 cases of measles since late April, with health officials confirming seven cases in the last two weeks. The area was at the center of a prior measles outbreak in January, when state health officials confirmed eight cases in Lancaster County and an additional four between Chester and Montgomery Counties.

Vaccination rates among kindergarteners have decreased across Pennsylvania in recent years, and some counties affected in the current outbreak have particularly low rates, including Lancaster, where about 88.5% of kindergarten students are vaccinated. Health experts say that 95% of a community must be vaccinated to prevent the spread of the disease.

Health officials have been conducting contact tracing to detect as many cases as possible. In the current outbreak, they have twice warned Lancaster residents that they could have been exposed to measles.

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Shoppers and employees at a local Kohl’s were potentially exposed to the virus over four days after a staffer tested positive in late May, LancasterOnline reported. And a person with measles visited the Lancaster County Courthouse on June 3.

But doctors in Lancaster County say they fear some measles cases are going unreported, either because patients don’t understand the importance of tracking measles cases or because they fear repercussions.

No cases have been confirmed in the Philadelphia region during this outbreak. But Delaware County health officials said last week that they had detected measles in two wastewater samples, indicating that someone with measles had used a bathroom connected to the county’s public water supply. It was unclear if that person lived in the county or was passing through.

Early vaccination recommended

On Wednesday, a statewide health alert urged physicians to accelerate vaccination schedules to protect children against measles. Officials had said they were considering the measure earlier this month as cases continued to rise.

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Measles can infect nine in 10 unvaccinated people who are exposed to it, and can linger in the air for up to two hours and incubate in patients for three weeks. The disease typically presents with a fever and a rash but can cause brain inflammation and pneumonia in serious cases.

Typically, children receive the first of two MMR vaccines at 1 year old, then a second between 4 and 6 years old.

But children as young as 6 months can receive an additional “dose zero” to protect them from the disease amid an outbreak. In its alert, the state health department said parents should vaccinate infants between 6 and 11 months with the “dose zero” if they live in affected areas or if they’re planning to travel there.

Those children should then receive additional MMR doses at 12 to 15 months and 4 to 6 years.

This “dose zero” is less effective than doses given at 1 year old, officials cautioned. But it’s 58% effective against measles when given at 6 to 8 months, and 83% effective when administered at 9 to 11 months.

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“Early MMR vaccination is safe and provides modest protection when measles is spreading,” officials wrote in the alert.

Children older than 12 months who haven’t been vaccinated should get an MMR dose immediately, and a second 28 days later, health officials said. Unvaccinated adults, or those without evidence of immunity, should also get two MMR doses.

And anyone who has received one dose of the MMR vaccine in the past should get a second at least 28 days after their first, officials said.

Usually, children who received a first dose at around 12 months wait to get their second dose until they’re 4 to 6 years old. But in an outbreak situation, those children should get their second doses early — at least 28 days after their first shot.

Adults born before 1957 are typically considered immune, but healthcare workers in that age group who don’t have lab evidence of immunity or prior infection should consider getting vaccinated, state officials said.

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Adults who received an inactivated measles vaccine between 1963 and 1967 are considered unvaccinated during an outbreak, and should also get two doses of the current MMR vaccine.

Pregnant people, people with severely weakened immune systems, and people who have a history of experiencing severe allergic reactions, like anaphylaxis, to a vaccine ingredient or to a previous dose of MMR cannot receive the vaccine.



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The Dish: Caesar salad with a twist from Rivertown Taps in Phoenixville, Pa.

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The Dish: Caesar salad with a twist from Rivertown Taps in Phoenixville, Pa.


PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. (WPVI) — We are heading to Rivertown Taps in historic Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, to make a classic fan favorite, Caesar salad.

And when they say “taps,” they mean it.

There are dozens of drinks, beer and beyond, on tap at Phoenixville’s first self-serve drink tap wall.

“Phoenixville has always been a very beer-centric town, and we’re beer-centric people, so we wanted to have a really curated selection,” says Chef Owner Lewis Leiterman. “We have 36 drinks on tap.”

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Just grab a charge card, choose your glassware and choose your own adventure.

“You pay for whatever you pour by the ounce,” says Leiterman. “You can pour as much or as little as you like.”

The building dates back to the 1800s, and Leiterman made sure to preserve pieces of that history, while bringing something super fresh to the strip.

“We make pastas from scratch,” he says. “We extrude all of our own pastas in house. We do all of our fresh-filled pastas all by hand. We make all our own breads. Everything that’s in here is from scratch.”

The mission includes a commitment to locally sourced food.

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Today, we’re making a house favorite: the Caesar salad – with a twist.

“I hate chasing croutons around a salad, like, the fork never kind of sticks into it,” says Leiterman. “We still wanted that crunch factor, like the classic crouton, but different. What we did was we took some of our old bread and we kind of toasted it up and made a coarse panko texture.”

It’s becomes a universal crouton that makes its way throughout the salad.

“We like to feature seasonal vegetables in our Caesar salad, just for a little bit more flavor and nutrition,” says Leiterman.

He grills up some nice asparagus, and then adds some protein.

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“I love a soft boiled egg on a salad to add more sustenance to a salad and a little bit of heartiness to it,” he says.

The build starts with a mix of greens, like red romaine and red watercress.

The dressing gets a gourmet kick.

“We do a black garlic and truffle Caesar,” he says. “We don’t like to overdress it. My pet peeve is those thick Caesar dressings.”

Add the asparagus to gently warm the salad, shave on some Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, add the soft boiled egg and finally, the breadcrumbs.

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