Sunday FYI here.

May I see a show of hands?

How many of you think this is a post about Donald the Orange and his legal theater of the absurd?

Sorry to disappoint but I would rather take a foot to the ‘nads than write about that garbage.

No this judge has ruled on an age old question that has been nagging humanity for a very long time……is a taco a sandwich?

Since before the pandemic, Martin Quintana has been trying to get zoning approval in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to open a second location for The Famous Taco, his Mexican-style eatery serving up tacos, burritos, and the like. This week, a judge finally issued a ruling that clears the path for that—with a critical proclamation that tacos are, indeed, sandwiches. More on the case:

• Initial agreement: In 2019, Quintana first put in his request to open another Famous Taco location, but to get the OK, he had to sign a written deal that his new place would be a “sandwich bar-style” venue serving up “made-to-order” sandwiches, according to court documents cited by the Courier Journal. The argument then became “is a taco a sandwich,” Quintana’s reps said in those docs.
• Restrictions: Per the Journal Gazette, the written commitment specifically cites examples like Subway or Jimmy John’s as examples of eateries that would be OK under the deal, while other types of fast-food restaurants would not be. Sandwich shops covered by the agreement also can’t have drive-thrus or outdoor seating and can’t serve booze.
• Suit: Quintana said that the local Covington Creek Association informed him that his plan for the new Famous Taco “ran afoul” of the agreement he’d signed, and so his team offered an amendment to the agreement that would permit him to sell that type of food. In December 2022, he filed a civil lawsuit against the Fort Wayne Plan Commission for rejecting that amendment, per the AP.
• Decision day: On Monday, Judge Craig Bobay of Allen Superior Court sided with Quintana, ruling that Quintana’s planned eatery actually conformed to the original written commitment and didn’t even need an amendment. “The Court agrees with Quintana that tacos and burritos are Mexican-style sandwiches, and the original Written Commitment does not restrict potential restaurants to only American cuisine-style sandwiches,” Bobay wrote in his decision. He added that restaurants serving “made-to-order Greek gyros, Indian naan wraps, or Vietnamese banh mi” would also fall under this umbrella, as long as they met other spelled-out conditions.
• Reaction: Quintana, who came to the US from Mexico in 1988 and toiled as a farmworker before getting into the restaurant industry, says he’s thrilled with the decision and plans to open up his new place before the end of the summer. “I’m glad this thing is over. We are happy,” he tells the AP.

Whew!  I am so glad this issue has been settled for it was keeping me up most nights trying to decide for myself.

And now we know!

On a side note….keeping with the FYI thing….the annual report is out for the weather this Summer….

The federal Climate Prediction Center has updated its summer forecast, and it’s hotter and drier than the last one. The predictions show almost every state moving toward a hotter-than-normal June, July, and August, the Hill reports. That would mean this summer could be a lot like summer 2023, which a study has found was the Northern Hemisphere’s hottest in more than 2,000 years. And then there’s La Niña, which looks like it’ll become a factor between July and September. La Niña years can mean drought conditions for the southern half of the country, including Southern California and the Southwest, as well as a stronger hurricane season in the Atlantic.

The best chances of an unusually hot summer are in the West, with Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and parts of Colorado having a 60% to 70% likelihood. At the same time, the region is looking likely to have below-normal precipitation, which could lead to drought conditions there. The Northeast also is looking like it will be hot. Betting is even on a few places, per the Hill. The center gives North Dakota, South Dakota, and parts of Minnesota and Iowa equal chances of having a normal summer, hotter-than-average summer, or cooler-than-average summer.

Not a good prediction for me since I live at the northern end of Hurricane Ally…..the heat prediction is not good either….last year we had a day that topped 120…..those days are very uncomfortable for an old fart like me.

I hope your region has a better forecast than mine.

Sorry to be a bummer….but please enjoy your Sunday…..and as always…..Be Well and Be Safe….

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”