‘Grows Like Gangbusters’ — Man, Will You Ever Itch + Never Forget

ACROSS AMERICA — Our first story today comes with a warning: If you don’t already have an itch that needs scratching, reading this may make you think you do. And you can blame climate change.

Ecologist Jacqueline Mohan’s field research at the Harvard Forest is revealing some potentially bad news for 80 percent of the population — people who break out in a rash when they come in contact with poison ivy.

Her data suggests the warming of the planet supercharges the noxious plant, creating optimum conditions for it to “grow like gangbusters” and making it “bigger, stronger, itchier.” Read the full story on Worcester, Massachusetts, Patch.

Never Forget

The 1996 TWA Flight 800 tragedy changed Skip Pulcrano. He heard the explosion of the Paris-bound flight off Long Island miles away in Brick, New Jersey. It affected the former Manasquan cheer coach in another way: Two students among the 230 killed were cheerleaders from Montoursville, Pennsylvania.

Pulcrano’s cheer squad that year autographed megaphones and presented them to their grief-stricken peers across the state line. And he’s done something similar every year since, years into his retirement, taking Manasquan cheerleaders with him.

“It teaches kids humility and that tragedy can happen at any time," Pulcrano said. Read the full story on Wall, New Jersey, Patch.

More Reads

Picture This: Your date is snuggled up in the seat next to you, your hands meet in the tub of freshly buttered warm popcorn — it’s date night, coming soon to a legitimate drive-in movie theater (not a pop-up) near Westerfield, Connecticut, via Meridan, Connecticut, Patch.

“Super Happy Fun” Insurrection: Several social justice groups are pushing back against a Saturday event in Massachusetts organized by the right-wing group Super Happy Fun America, which they say promotes hatred and insurrection, via Worcester, Massachusetts Patch.

“QAnon Shaman’ Negotiations: Jacob Chansley, who appeared bare-chested in a horned headdress and became one of the most well-known faces in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, is in plea negotiations after prison psychologists diagnosed him with several mental illnesses, via Phoenix Patch.

Ice Cream Politics: After the all-natural gourmet ice cream maker Ben & Jerry’s announced its latest expansion, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had a sizzling announcement of his own, via Clearwater, Florida, Patch.

Good News Fix: Among 11 good news stories showcased here, a group of neighbors banded together and got up in some aggressive swans’ business when they attacked a pair of rare black swans that were domesticated and unable to fight their own battles, via Across America Patch.

In Case You Missed It

Anti-Asian hate and violence aren’t anything new, according to Jack Schwartz, the general manager of a San Francisco Bay area radio station uniquely positioned to confront it.

Asian hate has “been going on for years,” but “feelings that have been subjugated have been allowed to come out more into the open” in recent years, Schwartz told Patch.

“And because of that, a lot of people are really scared,” Schwartz said. “My staff is very aware of that because they're Asian themselves.”

What’s the radio station KTSF doing about it? Read the full story on San Mateo, California, Patch.

Quotable

“It's time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. It's the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down.”

— Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on recent COVID-19 spikes in her state, via Across Alabama Patch

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