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azknight t1_j6s9t0e wrote

This law is basically resume padding for politicians to claim that they support environmental issues. A $300 annual cap on fines renders it completely toothless, even if it were enforced. The state isn't going to waste time and money constantly sending people out to narc on a Chelo's. I have no problems with trying to reduce pollution and waste, but it's pretty clear that this is not an effective way to go about it, and from what I've seen that sentiment is fairly common across the political spectrum.

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_j6slo32 wrote

I genuinely wonder if the reps that wrote and supported this have ever gone thru a drive-thru in their life.

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karnim t1_j6t3jd9 wrote

Honestly had they excused drive-thrus, and limited it to on-site dining there might have been some potential. But nobody going through a drive-thru is going to have their own straw. It just made things annoying.

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_j6tzbzr wrote

Just limiting it to in-person dining makes more sense. As it was writtne, following the law is just going to lead to agitated customers taking it out on employees for something they don't deserve.

I guess I see the argument that it'd be too little of an impact but anytime larger environmental concerns get shifted to straws, we've basically lost the plot.

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trabblepvd t1_j6xblx3 wrote

in-person also makes sense as a lot of to go drinks are in plastic cups or cups with a coating makign them non recyclable.

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_j6shqfh wrote

Straws were always the stupidest battleground to pick in the war against pollution, litter, and climate change but this law was especially fucking stupid.

The net effect has just been that Dunkin Donuts shifted towards those blue compostable straws they were already planning to switch to and they don't get the cheap headline of how they're trying to do their part. Everything else about it was a waste of time.

I'd call it the stupidest piece of legislation in state history, but we have an official state appetizer on the books, so that's always going be #1.

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doctor-rumack t1_j6sw2rm wrote

>but we have an official state appetizer on the books

Is that the Stuffy? Or clam cakes?

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_j6sxzaj wrote

If having an official state appetizer was a thing that states do, those would both be excellent choices for such a title as they're genuinely unique to the state/region and not something you can get an Wolfgang Puck Express in the Lincoln, Nebraska airport.

Unfortunately, it is not either of those dishes.

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doctor-rumack t1_j6t47o1 wrote

Ah, calamari.

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_j6t6bv7 wrote

i wasn't trying to be a dick by not saying it, but i still get annoyed thinking about it lol

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fishythepete t1_j6uyowo wrote

I get that it’s widely available, but Point Judith is the home of like 98% of calamari squid caught on the US. It’s also grown a lot in popularity because it was a cheap and fancy protein that could be marked way up.

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_j6v0siu wrote

The problem is: that isn’t true. Rhode Island accounts for 54% of squid harvested…..in the northeast United States. The ProJo ram with it because it’s the largest seafood haul from here by a large amount but California still exists.

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fishythepete t1_j6v38w1 wrote

I don’t think those numbers square up either, but I was definitely off.

For Longfin / Shortfin it looks like RI catches closer to 62% of the national total.

CA might fish a lot of market squid but it’s not going into Calamari.

https://dem.ri.gov/sites/g/files/xkgbur861/files/2022-08/AnnualRpt_2021.pdf

Longfin: In 2021, commercial landings totaled 23.4 million pounds, and were valued at $33.4 million, according to the NOAA Fisheries commercial fishing landings database.

Shortfin: In 2021, commercial landings of shortfin squid totaled 39 million pounds, and were valued at $19.6 million according to the NOAA Fisheries commercial fishing landings database.

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_j6v4qoh wrote

Even then, it’s not some local industry. It’s a thing that goes to China and back because of how labor intensive it is to cut it all up.

And that’s still skipping past that no other state has an official appetizer. Or that we’ve got multiple appetizers that are legitimately Kline of unique to here.

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fishythepete t1_j6vohhz wrote

>And that’s still skipping past that no other state has an official appetizer.

Yeah I spent so much time wondering if they could, I didn’t think if they should. You kind of got me here.

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_j6woamj wrote

It’s one thing if this type of bill is “a bunch of school kids learning how government works so they meet a state rep and draft a bill and get to testify about how the state dinosaur should be a Triceratops because they are cool” and then we go through the whole schoolhouse rock thing.

But, no children were involved in this process. At least not literal ones.

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DonnyBomeneddy t1_j6x7r3a wrote

I have to disagree, they're promoting the Squid industry, with that law.

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_j6xcnmu wrote

Except no. We don't catch more squid because of it. People don't eat more. It has no measurable impact. Hell even "local" calamari is mostly getting sent to China and back before it makes it to any restaurant or store.

If it were something only caught here? Maybe, I'd get it. I'd still say its stupid to have an official state appetizer when no other state does.

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Cinema_King t1_j6sohtm wrote

I remember seeing a sign at a drive thru saying you had to ask for a straw if you wanted one and the first thing I thought of was all those poor workers who were going to be yelled at by psychopaths for “forgetting” the straw in their bag.

Some of them had a clever way around it though. They wouldn’t hand you the straw but they’d hold it and wiggle it so you’d reach for it.

Some of those paper straws are awful though, I wonder why they didn’t switch to lids you could drink from like coffee cups?

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Proof-Variation7005 t1_j6t2yd8 wrote

paper straws are an abomination and i would rather personally have to kill an 80 year old sea turtle with my bare hands than ever use one of them again.

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trabblepvd t1_j6xbw0z wrote

pasta straws are better, but still rare. more places need to get them.

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CocaineSlippers t1_j6spji9 wrote

It was promptly forgotten, as it was possibly one of the most useless pieces of legislation ever pondered by a governing body.

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SuddenlySimple t1_j6txsi3 wrote

And the State Legislative has a link for us to oppose these stupid bills.

I'm not surprised at them thou as David Cicilline was the one causing the 1 hour argument over they should say the "Pledge of Allegiance" in Congress.

LOL

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samcar330 t1_j6u4xqc wrote

Useless law to pretend they care

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Swamp_yankee_ninja t1_j6v4o47 wrote

Nobody cares and nobody will… because the law was beyond stupid. Now I can walk into any Cumberland Farms and grab a drink and a straw and that’s that.

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Hot_Introduction_270 t1_j6wovxx wrote

People followed it for like a month and when you never heard anything about enforcement than people just went back to the status quo.

My favorite was a McDonalds in Lincoln that had a sign on the drive thru window saying straws upon request. The drive thru worker would point at the sign and already had the straw in their hand.

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SuddenlySimple t1_j6txeci wrote

Only Communists would have a "straw law". How did we let that pass?

Recycle...too hard?

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Desperate_Expert_952 t1_j6x9y4q wrote

Political pandering to a voter base. Obviously it didn’t work it was written by lawyers

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Indy_420 t1_j6w0taf wrote

Ah trying to ban straws, great job libs. lol then they gave us paper straws that melted with the drink. smh. what dumb laws will they pass to virtue signal next. This law is equivalent to banning anal sex behind closed doors in the 40s. again great job LIBs

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Billiam201 t1_j6wmnne wrote

Or maybe, and stay with me here, you pick up your beverage, and drink it like a grown-up.

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