Good morning, it’s Wednesday, the final day of July. We’re entering into the last remaining weeks of summer.
Officially speaking, there are still 53 days remaining until fall officially starts, but I’m already seeing back-to-school displays at local stores, and a few even already have Halloween decorations on the shelves, which I have to confess is putting me in a sort of gloomy mood.
Don’t get me wrong, I love apples and pumpkin spice and crisp leaf-scented days as much as they next gal.
But after fall – admittedly one of the most wonderful times of the year in upstate New York – inevitably comes winter, and I am most certainly NOT ready for that yet. Maybe never.
Anyhow, we still have time to really enjoy the best of what summer has to offer, which includes fresh, cooling foods. Foods like avocado – probably the world’s most instagrammed fruit, thanks to influencers and their many forms of picturesque avocado toast.
Just how popular is avocado toast? Well, here’s one measure: The market research firm Datassential reports the simple dish – some version of which has been enjoyed for centuries – has increased 185 percent on U.S. menus over the past four years.
It helps that avocados, no matter how you enjoy them (except, perhaps, for deep fried, which is indeed a thing), are really good for you.
The most popular type of avocado, measured by sales, is the Hass, which accounts for 95% of all avocados consumed in the U.S. and a majority of avocados consumed across the globe. And for this proliferation, we have one man to thank: A Milwaukee, Wisconsin native named Rudolph Hass.
Hass (the man, not the fruit) actually discovered this version of the avocado by mistake. After moving from Wisconsin to California in the early 1920s, he worked as a mailman, but also had a hobby of grafting trees.
As the story goes, when he was tinkering around with some avocado trees, none of his grafting experiments worked – except for one. This tree, which Hass briefly considered chopping down, ended up bearing fruit that had a richer and creamier texture than what people were used to from the most dominant version of the tree at the time, the Fuerte.
Hass knew he had something special on his hands and secured one of the first fruit patents in U.S. history. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop unscrupulous individuals from illegally grafting their Hass trees and propagating them. As a result, Hass himself never truly realized the (ahem) fruits of his labor, financially speaking.
This is pretty sad, considering that avocados are big business these days, with domestic consumption increasing significantly between 1985 (436 million pounds) and 2.7 billion in 2022. Along the same lines, per capital consumption of the creamy, green fruit grew from about 2 pounds in 2001 to 9.22 pounds in 2022.
Market research shows that the campaign about the need to consume the “healthy/good fats” (mainly monounsaturated) that avocados provide to help maintain healthy levels of cholesterol. (Other sources include fatty fish like salmon, herring, and anchovies).
Also, it turns out that the fat content of avocados varies depending on the variety one procures. For each portion (two tablespoons, or two to three thin slices), a California avocado such as Hass contains 4.6 grams of fat and the same portion of a Florida avocado averages 3 grams of fat.
California is the largest domestic producer of avocados, but the U.S. gets the lion’s share of this favorite fruit from Mexico. (In 2021 we imported $3 billion in fresh avocados and exported approximately $31 million of them).
I don’t want to scare you or anything, but avocados might be getting both harder to come by and more expensive to purchase in the not too distant future, thanks to climate change-induced extreme weather events, which apparently is wrecking havoc on the growing season.
So, celebrate this National Avocado Day – held at the peak of the California growing season – by indulging while you still can. There’s nothing more satisfying (assuming you’re a fan) than finding an avocado at the height of its ripeness and enjoying it with just a little lemon or lime juice and a sprinkle of salt. Yum.
Another late summer day, another possibility of thunderstorms. Temperatures will be in the low 80s.
In the headlines…
Vice President Kamala Harris has erased former President Donald Trump’s lead in seven key battleground states roughly a week after becoming the likely Democratic nominee.
A Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll showed Harris and Trump in a tight race across all battleground states, with 48 percent backing Harris and 47 percent saying they support Trump.
Top Democrats announced yesterday that Harris was the only candidate to earn enough delegates to qualify for the virtual roll call to nominate their official presidential candidate, a process that will kick off on Thursday.
Harris challenged Trump to meet her onstage in September, responding to his backtracking about a planned debate with a direct demand: “If you got something to say, say it to my face.”
Harris will hold her first rally with her running mate next Tuesday in Philadelphia, the first stop in a four-day tour of the battleground states next week, her campaign said on Tuesday night.
Harris and Trump released dueling campaign ads yesterday, as the reshaped US presidential election began to grind into gear with 98 days to go.
The director of Project 2025, the conservative blueprint for a potential second Trump term, has stepped down amid intense criticism including from the former president.
Paul Dans, a former top adviser in Trump’s administration, steered Project 2025 as it carved a leading role in shaping discourse around what conservatives dreamed they could accomplish if Republicans won back the White House.
Trump’s remarks to the annual Bitcoin2024 Conference were delayed last Saturday after two individuals raised security concerns and were removed from the premises ahead of the speech, the U.S. Secret Service said.
Arizona’s primaries last night saw numerous candidates who have questioned the results of past elections gain ground, the latest sign of Donald Trump’s deepening imprint on the GOP in the Grand Canyon State.
In the most significant races of the night, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) and Republican Kari Lake were officially chosen as their parties’ respective Senate nominees.
Lake, in her victory speech, framed the 2024 election in stark terms, while also spending significant time calling for unity and expanding her coalition to include “disaffected Democrats” and moderate Republicans.
Trump slammed Meta and Google for allegedly censoring searches related to the failed attempt on his life, urging his supporters to “go after” the two Big Tech companies.
The Secret Service’s acting director told lawmakers he considered it indefensible that the roof used by the gunman who attempted to assassinate Trump was unsecured, faulting local law enforcement for not circulating vital information to federal authorities.
Secret Service acting Director Ronald Rowe provided new details about the assassination attempt of Trump, delivering forceful testimony at a Senate hearing about the agency’s failures earlier this month in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Rowe Jr. said communications problems between the Secret Service and local law enforcement led to a failure to protect Trump during a shooting on July 13.
The acting Secret Service chief admitted he was “ashamed” of security lapses that kept agents in the dark about the shooter and nearly led to the assassination.
Ismail Haniyeh, one of the most senior Hamas leaders, was assassinated in Iran, the country’s Revolutionary Guards Corps and Hamas said today, a severe blow to the Palestinian group that threatens to engulf the region in further conflict.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed the death of Haniyeh, hours after he attended a swearing in ceremony for the country’s new president, and said it was investigating.
Tensions in the Middle East skyrocketed this week after two key Hamas and Hezbollah leaders were killed in targeted strikes, stoking fears of an escalation in the war in Gaza.
There was no immediate comment from Israel, which has vowed to kill Haniyeh and other Hamas leaders over the group’s Oct. 7 attack. The strike came just after Haniyeh had attended the inauguration of Iran’s new president in Tehran, Iran said.
Israel launched a deadly strike in a densely populated Beirut suburb yesterday in retaliation for a rocket attack in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights that it blamed Hezbollah for and that killed 12 children and teenagers on a soccer field.
Gov. Kathy Hochul said that New York State had found the money to restart work on a long-awaited extension of the Second Avenue subway line in Manhattan.
The total cost of Phase 2 of the project is nearly $8 billion, partially covered by the MTA capital budget, which was supposed to be funded by congestion pricing.
Hochul said the state will provide $54 million in state resources, which will allow the MTA to immediately begin a utility relocation project for the extension.
Checks for low-income parents who already qualify for the state’s child tax credit program are expected to arrive in mailboxes by the end of August, Hochul said.
Hochul’s office said more than 1 million families will receive this financial assistance without any need to apply, as each eligible family will receive a direct payment of up to $330 per child.
A coalition of more than 50 business, energy and labor organizations are calling on Hochul’s administration to conduct a comprehensive assessment of New York’s impending mandates under the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
A State Police recruit allegedly attacked a trooper and tried to grab his handgun while attending a new training academy at Cazenovia College in Madison County earlier this month.
Mayor Eric Adams has officially nominated Randy Mastro — a veteran attorney known for his hard-nosed tactics representing prominent Republicans and corporations — to be New York City’s corporation counsel, setting up a clash with the City Council.
Mastro must be confirmed by a majority of the 51-member Council, and many members oppose his nomination, including the Council’s Black, Latino and Asian Caucus.
Adams said in a statement that he was “excited” to nominate Mastro, calling him a “world-renowned attorney who brings decades of experience as a public servant, federal prosecutor and pre-eminent trial lawyer.”
City Comptroller Brad Lander announced he’s running against Adams in the 2025 primary election, making him the first candidate to officially declare a challenge against the mayor and teeing up an unusual matchup between two high-profile elected officials.
In the wake of six drownings at city beaches this summer, Adams said the parks department will require some lifeguards to stay on duty for an extra two hours during heat emergencies.
Adams doubled down on his claim that solitary confinement does not exist in New York City jails after issuing a last-minute executive order to block elements of a law banning the practice passed by the City Council.
Adams again found himself defending adviser Timothy Pearson after an NYPD chief’s lawsuit alleged Pearson came after members of a special unit who backed sexual harassment allegations against him and included allegations of prior sexual misconduct.
Adams allegedly turned a “blind eye” to Pearson’s proclivities and the alleged fact that he tried to “ruin” the career of an NYPD chief who confronted him after witnessing his alleged abuse, the bombshell new lawsuit claims.
New York City Rep. Ritchie Torres introduced legislation that aims to allow bodega owners to dip into federal grant money to fund panic buttons and other security measurres.
Thousands fewer overweight trucks are driving on the crumbling triple-cantilever section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway in Brooklyn Heights, thanks to weight sensors that were activated last year to automatically ticket scofflaws, city officials announced.
A 20-year-old man has been charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy in Brooklyn in February, the police said.
A dissident group has won control of the Amazon Labor Union, the only union in the country that formally represents Amazon warehouse workers, election results yesterday showed.
An unemployed student from Illinois working as part of a multi-state crime ring was able to scam an elderly Brunswick couple out of $1 million, according to a federal criminal complaint.
The Buca di Beppo restaurant on Wolf Road, the chain’s last on the East Coast outside of Florida, has closed after 24 years. It’s one of several nationwide to be shuttered over the weekend.
Three Town of Westerlo Planning Board members are suing the town over the decision to combine its Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals into a single entity last month.
Carver Companies, which operates the Port of Coeymans, is selling its sand and gravel operation to a German building materials conglomerate.
Boar’s Head recalled seven million additional pounds of deli meat, expanding a recall of more than 200,000 pounds after its product was linked on Monday to a listeria outbreak that has left two people dead and sickened nearly three dozen.
The expanded recall includes all meats and poultry processed at a Boar’s Head facility in Jarratt, Va.
Boar’s Head said that the US Department of Agriculture had informed the company on Monday evening that its Strassburger brand liverwurst was linked with the outbreak.
Attorneys for R&B singer R. Kelly filed an appeal to his federal sex crimes conviction with the Supreme Court, arguing his conviction should be tossed over the statute of limitations.
Nicola Peltz-Beckham is officially suing a New York grooming company following the sudden death of her chihuahua, Nala, back in June.
The 29-year-old actress and animal rights activist is taking aim at Bedford-based company HoundSpa, specifically one employee named Jony Ceballos, who she claims has a history of mistreating dogs, according to legal documents obtained by TMZ.
Simone Biles dubbed this the “redemption tour” for the U.S. women’s gymnastics team, and the sport’s most decorated star of all-time delivered an electrifying bounce-back performance in Paris.
Biles fronted the American squad to its third all-around team gold medal in the past four Olympics — finishing it off with a typically stellar and acrobatic floor exercise routine — to rebound from a disappointing showing four years ago in Tokyo.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
