General News
Meropi Kyriacou Honored as TNH Educator of the Year
NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.
SALT LAKE CITY — Hard seltzer drinkers in Utah will likely have their choices on grocery store shelves cut in half under legislation that passed the Legislature Thursday in the latest update to strict alcohol laws in the state that’s home to the alcohol-eschewing Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The clampdown is aimed at drinks containing commonly used food flavorings that contain trace amounts of ethyl alcohol, making certain seltzer flavors technically illegal to sell in Utah grocery and convenience stores. The final state Senate vote was 19-8.
Up to 39 of the 80 approved types of hard seltzers — including some made by well-known brands like Truly, Coors and Bud Light — would likely have to go, as well as hard kombuchas.
The bill must still be signed by Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who said last month that he has no plans to veto it.
The impact could be serious for businesses like Salt Lake City-based M&M Distributing, which distributes drinks including hard seltzer brands to retailers, said Shanna Clay, a representative for the company.
“These represent kind of irreplaceable losses to our company as well as threatening jobs,” she said during a recent legislative hearing.
Lawmakers have said stores would be given six months to comply, softening the impact of the changes, and House sponsor Republican Rep. Steve Waldrip said negotiations will continue on ways to return products to retail shelves.
“We will address this issue with seltzers, but in the meantime we have to comply with our laws,” Waldrip said last week.
Under the new law, the seltzers could still be sold in state-owned liquor stores, which are the only legal outlets for wine and spirits in Utah. But limited shelf space means that some varieties could disappear from the state altogether.
Hard seltzers have experienced massive growth in the U.S. recently as customers seek booze with less sugar and calories.
While many US states have complex alcohol regulations, Utah tends to set especially strict laws, like the lowest DUI threshold in the nation.
Most lawmakers are members of the state’s predominant religious faith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is widely known as Mormon and teaches abstinence from alcohol. The faith has declined to comment on the latest legislation.
NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A Filipino villager has been nailed to a wooden cross for the 35th time to reenact Jesus Christ’s suffering in a brutal Good Friday tradition he said he would devote to pray for peace in Ukraine, Gaza and the disputed South China Sea.
NICOSIA - Cyprus’ government has announced measures to deal with price hikes that have cut into household budgets, including for fuel, electricity, and for food as buyers are shifting more toward generic and store brands.
ALBANY – New York State Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris, Senator Andrew Gounardes, and Senator James Skoufis honored Greek Independence at the State Capitol on March 26, welcoming His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros, who offered an invocation before the Senate.
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S.
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA Stavros Niarchos Foundation Center for the Study of Hellenic Culture presents a captivating evening with acclaimed singer-songwriter Alkinoos Ioannidis, who will perform at UCLA’s Schoenberg Hall on Saturday, April 27, 7:30 PM, in a solo concert.