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| 📷 White House executive chef Cris Comerford, left, and White House executive pastry chef Susie Morrison, right, hold dishes during a media preview for the State Dinner with President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House in Washington on Wednesday. The dinner will include butter-poached Maine lobster. (AP photo by Andrew Harnik) |
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😡 The president's lobster dinner rankles industry boosters and detractors.
◉ President Joe Biden's Thursday state dinner for French President Emmanuel Macron will include butter-poached Maine lobster, with 200 crustaceans sent from here to Washington for the occasion. It comes amid the backdrop of the industry's state-backed lawsuit against the federal government for strict rules aimed at preserving endangered whales.
◉ Seeing some irony was U.S. Rep. Jared Golden of Maine's 2nd District, a Democrat who tweeted that if Biden can buy lobsters for a "fancy dinner," he "should also take the time to meet with the Maine lobstermen his administration is currently regulating out of business."
◉ At the same time, Biden was criticized by an advocacy group that has cheered on retailers and restaurants pulling lobster due to sustainability concerns. Gib Brogan, campaign director for Oceana, told Bloomberg News the lobster "comes from a fishery with well-documented risks" to whales.
📣 Maine saw massive voter turnout in 2022, though figures are not final.
◉ Secretary of State Shenna Bellows' office is estimating turnout at 75 percent, saying that share of the 900,000 voters registered in October cast ballots in November, according to Maine Public. That share should climb as those who registered on Election Day are added to that data.
◉ High turnout is normal in Maine, but 75 percent would be staggering in a midterm. It could also be the highest in the nation. About 78 percent of voters cast ballots in the highly anticipated 2020 presidential election. The share was just over 62 percent in the last gubernatorial race in 2018.
◉ By the share of voting-eligible residents who cast ballots, Maine was first among states at 61.4 percent in 2022, according to the U.S. Elections Project. |
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What we're reading
💌 Former President Donald Trump's Maine loyalists aren't sold on other potential 2024 hopefuls, showing it will be hard for Republicans to dump him.
📁 In court, a retired state trooper outlined alleged retaliation by a superior whom he said wanted him to discuss sensitive federal cases.
🏢 This new Maine loan program will provide aid for green building upgrades.
♨ The acquisition of a Bangor-area heating firm continues a trend away from family ownership and toward consolidation in the industry.
🐟 Endangered Atlantic salmon had the second-best run in 11 years on the Penobscot River in 2022. |
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