Hershey, PA

The Philly Four: Hershey's Kiss for state candy, Supreme Court extends school mask mandate

Sam Britt

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Sam Britt/ News Break

Welcome to The Philly Four, a daily recap of four of the top stories from the Philadelphia area, covering everything from local government to the Phillies bullpen. A one-stop shop for the most important news bites in the City of Brotherly Love.

Philly Tree Plan wants to address disparity in city

  • The Philly Tree Plan is hoping to address canopy disparities between neighborhoods in the city. These differences in tree cover can account for temperature differences of up to 22 degrees. Trees also help store carbon which can lead to better health outcomes such as reducing respiratory symptoms. As of 2018, 20% of Philadelphia was covered by trees, the goal of the project is to get that number to 30% within the next three decades.

Hundreds rally, march against Asian hate after train assault

  • Hundreds gathered in Philadelphia on Tuesday to rally against Asian hate in response to an ethnically-fueled assault of four Asian-American students on Nov. 17. The march was planned by the family of one of the victims of the assault. More than 9,000 anti-Asian incidents have been reported over the last two years, according to Stop AAPI Hate. This represents a more than 75% spike from pre-pandemic times.

Students push to make Hershey's Kiss state candy

  • Eight Bucks County students and their middle school teacher are trying to convince Pennsylvania to adopt the Hershey's Kiss as the state's official candy. State Rep. Tom Mehaffie circulated a memo last week about legislation to make the idea a reality, citing the importance of The Hershey Company to Pennsylvania's history and economy. Pennsylvania does not currently have a state candy.

Pa. Supreme Court rules to keep school mask mandate in place

  • The Pennsylvania Supreme Court overruled a Commonwealth Court decision on Tuesday to keep a school mask mandate in effect until Dec. 8 when the court can hear oral arguments. The mandate was voided by Commonwealth Court when they found that Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam did not follow proper procedure. However, the decision experienced a stay pending an appeal to the Supreme Court.

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# COVID# school# Hershey# Asian# Trees

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Journalist covering all Philadelphia area news, from last Sunday's Eagles game to the latest from City Hall. For weekly recaps of the news you missed please check out the Philly JAWN newsletter, available at https://newsletter.newsbreakapp.com/

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