One of the most renowned restaurants in the world, Noma, will close at the end of 2024 as its chef and creator, René Redzepi, says fine dining has hit a sustainability breaking point, the New York Times reports.
It's sad news for foodies and gastro tourists across the globe. Redzepi and his Copenhagen restaurant that opened 20 years ago have been charged with transforming fine dining into an experience worth traveling for — and apparently worth paying at least $500 per person. (To give you a better sense of the type of experience Noma offers, the menu currently features grilled reindeer heart, and saffron ice cream served in a beeswax bowl.)
It seems even restaurants at the top of the food chain are facing the same major crisis as neighborhood joints across the country. Namely, paying a full staff of servers, chefs and others a fair and sustainable wage as the price of food keeps rising.
Now, I'm off to watch some Chef's Table and dream of delicious and whimsical culinary creations.
Now, for the news you need to start your week.
- Covid infections are on the rise once again across the U.S. Hospitalizations are up 70% in recent weeks and about 300 to 400 people are dying from the virus daily. A new omicron subvarient, XBB. 1.5 — which was almost unknown as recently as November — now accounts for almost a third of new infections and is the dominant variant in the Northeast. It is also said to be the most transmissible variant yet. On the flip side, both the flu and RSV have trended down in recent weeks, easing a months-long wave that saw hospital beds pushed to the limit in some areas with sick kids. NPR
- Baltimore City's arts and events arm is in the hot seat after a debacle over plans for an annual parade led to the mayor publicly calling for the agency's director to resign. Mayor Brandon Scott sent a letter Friday calling for the removal of Donna Drew Sawyer, CEO of the
Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts
(BOPA) since 2018. Scott said he's lost confidence in Sawyer and that if the change does not happen quickly he will withhold city funding for BOPA. His actions followed a highly-criticized announcement last week that BOPA would not hold the city's Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade in 2023. Subsequently, a spokesperson for the Mayor's office said the parade will take place after all. This latest dust-up follows a series of other missteps by BOPA. Baltimore Fishbowl
- The Maryland General Assembly will convene on Wednesday, the first time in eight years Democrats will control the governor's office and both chambers. On the agenda for the 90-day session: forming a budget and considering thousands of bills covering everything from transportation, crime and education, to recreational marijuana, abortion access, economic development, regional planning and plenty of hyper-local issues. Lawmakers will also get to utilize a $5.5 billion surplus in the state budget. Baltimore Banner Among the top priorities for Baltimore City, Mayor Scott said he wants to see a focus on reforming tax sale, improving public safety and traffic enforcement. The city also has a number of budget requests Scott is hoping to see filled. WYPR
- Baltimore-based
National Federation of the Blind
is facing a lawsuit that alleges widespread sexual misconduct and a failure to protect its students, including minors, from known sexual abusers. The national group serves as an advocate for the rights of blind people and offers programs, services and resources to blind Americans. The lawsuit comes from a young woman who alleges she was repeatedly sexually assaulted when she was 16 by her instructor while attending a training program in 2018 in Lousiana. CBS Baltimore
- In other legal news, the CEO of nonprofit
Strong City Baltimore
resigned last week after being accused in a lawsuit of diverting funds earmarked for community-led projects for its own new headquarters. The Baltimore Brew has the exclusive on the suit, which comes as the organization is also facing an investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office of Maryland. (Notably, Baltimore Inspector General Isabel Mercedes Cumming first opened an investigation into the nonprofit in late 2020.) FBI agents are looking into Payroll Protection Program loan applications made by Strong City as the nonprofit also faces an IRS tax lien for failing to pay payroll and Social Security taxes in 2017.
- And in Annapolis, three brothers who founded a local marketing firm are tied up in a legal battle over the company's ownership that has included accusations in civil court and prompted criminal investigations of their relatives. Dan and John White founded Compass Marketing in 1998, and by 2006 the company reported more than $60 million in annual sales, had big-name clients like Unilever, Gillette and Slim Fast, and became well-known for its local philanthropic efforts. Another brother, Michael White, also served as the company's vice president of operations. Read more about the company and its legal turmoil in the Baltimore Sun.
- The
Baltimore Ravens
will once again face the Bengals this weekend, Sunday at 8:15 p.m. in Cincinnati. The playoff game follows a 27-16 loss by Baltimore to
Cincinnati Bengals
on Sunday. It's still unknow whether QB Lamar Jackson will make an appearance as he's missed five games due to a PCL sprain. CBS Baltimore
- It's the end of an era — the longtime 411 directory service is now unavailable to millions of Americans as of this month.
AT&T
customers with digital landlines now can't dial 411 or 0 to reach an operator after the cell phone provider ended operator service for wireless callers in 2021. Customers with home phone landlines, or who have carriers
Verizon
,
T-Mobile
and others, will still be able to use the services for a fee. WBAL-TV
