M. Diane McCormick

Versatile writer. Clean copy. On deadline. PA Freelance Journalist of the Year, 2023 and 2022. 

Yes, that is a typewriter pendant on a chain. I still have my dad's Royal.

About Me

Experience + curiosity = A writer who gets to the heart of the story. News, policy, business, lifestyles, history. Versatile voices, from straightforward to funny. Meet one good freelance

29 Days of 29 Ways to be Heart Healthy

Pants too snug? Cholesterol numbers sneaking up? Realizing you’re ready for the journey puts you on the road to success, says Olivia Duke, employee well-being coordinator at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health.

Sweeping changes aren’t sustainable. Decide what’s doable. Make it simple, like swapping sugary cereal for oatmeal.

Schedule 10 minutes of daily movement. Walk the dog. Take the stairs. Do a pushup every time someone says “Taylor Swift.”

Kids are your secret workout buddies. Running

A Doctor's Life: Dr. Charles Crampton was one of Harrisburg’s most prominent Black citizens, until the system turned against him

He was vice chairman of the Dauphin County Republican Committee. State deputy secretary of health. Vote-getter for power-broker M. Harvey Taylor. Popular emcee for the era’s countless testimonial dinners and confabs. Wartime patriot and tireless civic fundraiser. Beloved high school athletic trainer. Physician whose wealth purportedly derived, at least in part, from providing the “illegal operation” sought by women of all classes and races.

And a man whose reach and influence didn’t protect him, in the end, from arrest for allegedly providing the very abortion procedures that likely had been an open secret for decades. To this day, his legacy lingers in the youth he inspired to pursue their dreams—and in the tale that his story tells of racism’s power to hem in Black Americans of accomplishment.

Brewing Up a Destination

It’s a Friday afternoon at South County Brewing Company. Sam Terroso pops open a beer canned fresh from the tank.

“This is our Phosphene Dream that people go nuts about,” he says. “It’s probably one of the most hop-intensive beers. It’s only made about once every three months, so this will literally have people worked-up this weekend.”

Welcome to South County Brewing Company, a dazzling and daring entry into the craft beer scene. In the York County town of Leader Heights, the South County team

Pioneer, Powerhouse: For 100 years, Hettie Simmons Love has broken barriers, set standards

Honorees for U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr.’s 2023 Black History Month ceremony were naming their most-admired African American activists. Then centenarian Hettie Simmons Love took her turn.

“I don’t really understand how anybody can not be an activist in this time and age, that we all have an opportunity to be who we want to be, to encourage our children to be what they to be, and to provide for them so they can become the people they want to be,” she said to amens and applause.

The life of Hettie S

The Woman's Ultimate Guide to Preventative Health

Do whatever feels right for you. Jog, walk, do yoga, garden, dance, swim. For heart health and cancer prevention, aim for at least 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity.

Being sedentary can raise blood pressure and blood sugar levels, cause excess body fat, and increase cholesterol. At the desk or watching TV–get off your seat every 30 minutes.

Poor sleep can cause weight gain and heighten the risks of diabetes, inflammation, stroke, and h