WHEW, we’re entering triple digits now, are we? Well, in any case, thank you for sticking along with the ride — whether you’ve been here the whole time, reading along since Weekly Newsletter #1, or whether this is your first time reading The Burgundy Zine. We appreciate you, bug buddies.
It cost me $50 for one adult movie ticket, a small popcorn, and a diet soda to see Cruella on a whim while waiting for the train yesterday. And honestly, the film was so incredible, I’d pay $50 again just to see it one more time. But more about that’s to come next week.
In the meantime, let’s recap what’s been hot here at The Burgundy Zine and gloss over some exciting news elsewhere that you may not have heard about yet.
Located along the main route between Montgomery County and Northwest Philadelphia, one of the nation’s leading cannabis operators, Curaleaf, celebrated the grand opening of its 1,800 sqft City Ave dispensary on Monday.
“We are pleased to expand and strengthen our retail presence in Pennsylvania, offering our unparalleled patient care and education, as well as access to premium cannabis products,” said Curaleaf Chief Executive Officer Joe Bayern. “We look forward to serving these communities and anticipate that demand will quickly surpass projected sales in this market, as cannabis continues to gain acceptance for a variety of health and wellness needs.”
Happy Pi Day, bug buddies — or as we declared last year, happy ViHart day. And in case you were wondering, yes. The mathemusician YouTuber ViHart has already uploaded the 2021 installment of her infamous annual Pi Day series, which you can watch here.
Now that you’ve sampled a slice of pi, and you’re all cozied up at the screen, let’s start chowing down on some whacky science stories, virtual events, and Burgundy Zine community news.
After a three-year legislative battle, Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) signed three bills that legalize up to six ounces of cannabis in New Jersey last week.
“In addition to the estimated $126 million in annual tax revenue by the NJ State Legislature, the adult-use market will now open-up a lot of new economic opportunities across the state,” Patrik Jonsson, Curaleaf Regional President, Northeast, explained to us via email.
Although medical marijuana was initially legalized in the Garden State in 2010, Jonsson noted that this shift to the adult-use market will open these opportunities in a way that supports communities that have been negatively impacted by the War on Drugs.
“This legislation will establish an industry that brings equity and economic opportunity to our communities while establishing minimum standards for safe products and allowing law enforcement to focus their resources on real public safety matters,” Gov. Murphy said last week. “We’re taking a monumental step forward to reduce racial disparities in our criminal justice system, while building a promising new industry and standing on the right side of history.”
“Hey, what’s with all of these places in our recommended restaurants,” said my partner Xavier, as he scrolled through a list of nearby establishments on DoorDash. “Why do they all just specialize in one food, why do they all have the same looking photos, and what’s with their quirky names?”
“I’m not sure,” I shrugged. “One thing is for sure though — some local photographer is making a killing doing photos for all these new pop-ups… Hey, maybe I should get back into freelance photography.”
But something else was off about these new places emerging out of thin air, all boasting the same Gen Z-targeted marketing. When we searched for these restaurants online to see where they are, they didn’t exist.
Whether you love your Zoom classes or loathe them, we need to touch upon the elephant in the room: at least 463 million students are cut off from online learning worldwide.
Fueled by global socioeconomic inequities, a recent UNICEF report illustrates how this accessibility crisis doesn’t discriminate.
Students of all ages are unable to reach remote learning platforms because they lack the devices and infrastructure needed to implement them.
Inactive ingredients are a common staple of prescription medications. Often, they’re pretty harmless additives, like water, salt, or table sugar.
But some inactive ingredients may not be so inactive after all. A press release published by the National Institutes of Health yesterday says some inactive ingredients display biological activity, including “inflammation-related properties.”