Kate Bernot

As Steve Martin yelled, "The new phone book is here!" In my case, it's the latest issue of SOMM Journal, publishing my usual Bottom Line column. This time around, on how small, smart, focused, food-centric wines lists should be considered just as prestigious as gigantic ones that lists wines just for the sake of having them listed or winning "grand" awards. Now more than ever, makes sense for restaurants, aspiring sommeliers (who want to keep their jobs) and, most importantly, guests. #restaurantlife #restaurantwine #sommelierlife #sommjournal #winelist #hospitalityindustry #HospitalityManagement #sommelierbusiness #sommelierdreams #winelist #foodandbeverage #foodandbeverageindustry

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From the editor of Business Green: “Fresh polling and results suggest Number 10's decision to rollback climate policies - and crucially to be seen to do so - has backfired quite spectacularly.” UK Local elections: Results and polling suggest voters 'as committed as ever' to net zero: https://lnkd.in/e3gDbTvA #netzero #UK #voters #politics

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Today is election day and I’m thinking about human rights. I’m also thinking about wine, as I often do. “There’s Been a DEI Reversal in the Drinks Industry—What Now?” by Betsy Andrews in SevenFifty Daily has me fired up today. DEI programs should not be a separate function in your organization. Diversity, equity, and inclusion must be integrated into every facet of your business practices. It’s good for humanity and it’s good for business. “If [former President Donald] Trump is in office, we’re going to see more leaning into comfort for white-dominant culture in workplaces,” says Akilah Cadet, DHSc, MPH, Ph.D., the CEO of the DEI consultancy Change Cadet and the cofounder of the Diversity in Wine Leadership Forum. “Hopefully we get Kamala Harris in office, we see some systems change, and we learn that leadership doesn’t have to be the white guy. When [former President Barack] Obama was in office, there was a direct correlation to Black people starting businesses. We know it can have that profound impact.” https://lnkd.in/g5iuRbSM Shayna Conde, in her powerful article “Facing Racism on the Job as a Black Beverage Journalist,” also in SevenFifty Daily, points out that only 9% of entry level PR positions are held by Black people and that “the lack of investment in underrepresented media professionals has a direct effect on the growth and sustainability of the beverage industry, and individual companies’ sales.” https://lnkd.in/gVcJnq43 If you need help figuring out how to integrate DEI into your business and make it your norm, I highly suggest you read “DEI Deconstructed” by Lily Zheng.  I’m going to point you back to a post a wrote a year ago: https://lnkd.in/g4NuFecc #dei #storytelling #communications #journalists #blackwomen #wineprofessionals #winebusiness #humanrights #diversityequityinclusion #access

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A rarely-enforced law -- from the Great Depression -- could be used by federal regulators to make your booze cheaper. A person familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN that the Federal Trade Commission is preparing a lawsuit against Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits, the nation's largest wine & spirits distributor. It's the latest move by Biden regulators to show they are trying to lower costs and confront dominant companies. The FTC lawsuit would rely on the Robinson-Patman Act of 1936, which prohibits pricing discrimination. But the law has rarely been used in recent decades and there is a big debate over whether it would lower or raise prices. https://lnkd.in/eB7cbKrv

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For those of you who are hunters, here's a reminder and brief explainer about why "shooting your way out of a pig problem" doesn't help and actually makes things worse with wild pigs.

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I am definitely one of these journalists who has considered leaving the industry over the past year - for a variety of reasons. Financial instability, burnout, and cynicism about the nature and impact of the industry are probably the top three. One of the only things that keeps me going is the reality that many of the people at legacy institutions who can afford to keep working in our industry are simply not very good journalists, and their work - particularly on topics like Palestine - is actually harmful to real people in real life. Journalists who are willing to challenge authority and push back against official narratives to hold power accountable are more needed than ever. Being willing to prioritize career advancement over the quality of your work and your/your outlet's adherence to basic ethical principles is often what enables you to be sustainable in this industry, and that is a central paradox to the quality of the journalistic labor force and the product it puts out.

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For the foodies: The Economist has published a story titled "The Curse of the Michelin Star". I don't have an account with them, but have found this new research the article refers to, which offers public access. Makes for interesting reading... https://lnkd.in/d3Wyw267

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After many years in the biz, I can attest everything here is true. Journalism is much more than a career. It's a noble profession and a contact sport that isn't for the faint of heart. And remember that news doesn't happen in newsrooms so get out of the office as much as possible! #journalism #reporters Southern California News Group https://lnkd.in/gzcY4tu5

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Dear fellow journalists covering the U.S. election: We can do better. Take a long, hard look at this list* by Mark Jacob (Stop the Presses) and Steven Beschloss. My top pick is number 4: Describe the stake of things. My pet peeve is number 2: Stop being a stenographer. Yes, politicians talk a lot. And many journalists can pen down quotes as fast as a stenographer. However, we are trained for a different task: Find and present the *relevant* information, even if it may feel like this needle-and-haystack-thing. Provide context, show evidence. Journalists are not supposed to repeat speeches, but to deliver the information people need to make decisions. *I'll link to the source in the comments. It includes a video in which Mark and Steven discuss their recommendations. What would you add - or change? #journalism #press #writerslife

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Dropped some #politicalnews last week that establishes how frequent #cannabis users plan to vote this November. The headline finding: Most of them are moveable from an electoral standpoint. This voting bloc may have the most true swing voters of any. Only 14% say they're locked in to either President Biden or the other guy. There's this huge electoral reward for endorsing legal weed, and it's going to have an impact this November. The Biden-Harris administration is embracing pro-cannabis policy. Meanwhile, cannabis presents a major disadvantage for Republican candidates. Republicans have no room to maneuver on cannabis because the GOP platform still endorses prohibition. Forbes, Marijuana Moment , HIGH TIMES, GreenState , Cultivated Media, and others gave this poll (+/-3.9%) some great exposure. It's probably the first poll that treats this demographic, which is more than 35m voting-age people, as a serious voting bloc. #2024election #polling #voting

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Check out how I approach editing human-written content vs AI-generated content. (Secret: There's always a human in the loop!)

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Vintage beads and where to find them: my latest subscriber feature. 👇 https://lnkd.in/erYWmiAN

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New H-Diplo Roundtable on Sarah Foss's _On Our Own Terms: Development and Indigeneity in Cold War Guatemala_. The University of North Carolina Press, 2022. https://lnkd.in/ehTyE88b Introduction by Amy C. Offner, University of Pennsylvania Reviewers: John Aerni-Flessner, Michigan State University Nicole Pacino, University of Alabama in Huntsville Dustin Walcher, Southern Oregon University Response by Sarah Foss, Oklahoma State University   From the introduction: Sarah Foss’s _On Our Own Terms_, a deeply researched history of Indigenous Guatemalans’ engagement with development during the Cold War, is an impressive accomplishment. Reviewers John Aerni-Flessner, Nicole Pacino, and Dustin Walcher, who come from the fields of Latin American and African studies, affirm its important contributions to Guatemalan and twentieth-century Latin American history, as well as the wider history of Cold War development. Pacino lauds the book as “beautifully written,” “deeply engaging,” and “both theoretically sophisticated and accessible.” Aerni-Flessner, a historian of Africa, emphasizes the book’s relevance beyond the field of Latin American history. _On Our Own Terms_ speaks to Africanists’ interest in “the multiple and varied meanings of the idea of ‘development,’” he writes, and its creative use of oral, visual, and textual evidence “pushes historians of Africa to think harder about possible sources for recovering and rewriting…difficult histories.” As Walcher notes, Latin Americanists have long rejected the idea that the region was shaped primarily from without: Latin Americans made their own history within “asymmetrical power relationships.” But he rightly observes that stories about the negotiation of imperial power in post-independence Latin America have often focused on “political and economic elite[s]” within the region. Foss’s argument that Indigenous people shaped international development is thus “refreshing and significant.” Within the historiography of international development, _On Our Own Terms_ is indeed one of the first books to explore seriously the way that Indigenous people in Latin America experienced and shaped international development programs...

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Management company executives and managers of communities with employees this edition is especially relevant for you, but managers, assistants, and all levels of HOA support can benefit from my article on how your actions and attitude impact the entire organization.

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Live notepad, research document - Trump Pence January 6th timeline here: https://lnkd.in/eeyTr6ZW This is a living notepad, updated regularly What are the gaps that need filling? Reply here or email [email protected] #PenceJan6Story

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The total value of U.S. food and beverage imports last year was just shy of $190 billion, a figure that was up by almost three-quarters compared with 2013, the USDA Economic Research Service reported last month. Over the past 25 years, meanwhile, the value of U.S. agricultural imports has gone up five-fold, with imports of consumer-oriented agricultural goods increasing especially quickly. Dynamics like these are taking on added urgency for the grocery industry in light of President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to impose stiff tariffs on imported goods, which economists told me would be almost certain to push up prices for shoppers if it were to be implemented. Thanks to David L. Ortega of Michigan State University, Michael Snipes of University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee and Arun Sundaram, CPA, CFA of CFRA Research for sharing your expertise with me! https://lnkd.in/eP4NtNnw

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