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Connecticut and Maine restaurants take home honors at the 33rd annual James Beard Awards – The Boston Globe

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Connecticut and Maine restaurants take home honors at the 33rd annual James Beard Awards – The Boston Globe


The James Beard Foundation held its 33rd annual awards ceremony on Monday, June 10, in Chicago. Several area restaurants and chefs were finalists, and a trio of New England spots earned accolades.

Portland, Maine, is on the rise as a bakery destination with two James Beard honors. Atsuko Fujimoto from Norimoto Bakery won the Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker award.

Fujimoto thanked the bakery’s six employees — “a golden team,” she said — and reflected on her improbable success: She came to Maine from Tokyo at age 30 without any kitchen experience.

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Also in Portland, ZU Bakery won the Outstanding Bakery award.

“It is a mysterious business, this making of bread, and once you are hooked by the miracle of yeast, you will be a bread maker for life,” said owner Barak Olins, quoting James Beard.

Fried smelts at The Shipwright’s Daughter in Mystic, Connecticut.Bread and Butter Photography/Lisa Nichols/Hearst CT Media

Meanwhile, Mystic Pizza is no longer the best-known restaurant in Mystic, Conn. David Standridge from The Shipwright’s Daughter was named Best Chef: Northeast. His restaurant, focusing on locally sourced seafood, opened at the height of the pandemic, in June 2020.

Standridge credited his young kids for his success.

“When they came along is when my perspective as a chef shifted from doing what’s best for me to doing what’s best for the community and next generation, to leave this world a little better than I found it,” he said.

Norimoto Bakery’s focaccia made with seaweed for Seaweed Week.

Senegalese restaurant Dakar Nola edged out Dorchester’s Comfort Kitchen in the Best New Restaurant category. Erika Whitaker and Kelly Whitaker from ID EST Hospitality Group in Boulder, Colo., won in the Outstanding Restaurateur category. Chris Viaud from Ansanm, Greenleaf, and Pavilion in Milford and Wolfeboro, N.H., was also a nominee.

Langbaan in Portland, Ore., was named Outstanding Restaurant. Michael Rafidi from Albi in Washington, D.C., was named Outstanding Chef.

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Kara Baskin can be reached at kara.baskin@globe.com. Follow her @kcbaskin.





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5 Connecticut towns to receive $2M each for infrastructure upgrades

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5 Connecticut towns to receive M each for infrastructure upgrades


HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — Five Connecticut towns will collectively receive $10 million in grants for infrastructure upgrades, according to a Monday announcement by Gov. Ned Lamont.

The Connecticut Department of Housing (DOH) is awarding $10.7 million to Coventry, Guilford, Ledyard, Mansfield and Thomaston to modernize and rehabilitate housing for low- and moderate-income residents, the announcement said.

The funds are being released through the DOH’s Community Development Block Grant’s small cities program, with funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. To be eligible, a municipality must have fewer than 50,000 residents.

Cost Breakdown

Coventry: $2 million

Town of Coventry plans to use funds to upgrade, with a focus on making Orchard Hill Estates compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

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Guilford: $2 million

The Town of Guilford plans to use funds to design and build future affordable housing projects, consisting of up to 16 rental units and 8 homes.

Ledyard: $2 million

The Town of Canton requested funding for the first phase of affordable housing for people in Ledyard and the surrounding area. Habitat for Humanity of Eastern Connecticut is in the pre-development phase of the Colby Drive and plans to create 38 units.

Mansfield: $2.2 million

Funding will be used for upgrades to Wright’s Village, including roof replacements and sidewalk repairs.

Thomaston: $2.5 million

Funds will be used to make Green Manor ADA-compliant, including the installation of a new emergency call aid system.


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Watch News 8 on WTNH.com or the free WTNH News 8 streaming app on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and select Samsung Smart TVs.



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Do you work or volunteer for CT’s emergency medical services? We want to hear from you.

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Do you work or volunteer for CT’s emergency medical services? We want to hear from you.


ProPublica and The Connecticut Mirror, two nonprofit newsrooms, are examining the state’s emergency medical services and what it takes to provide lifesaving care across the state. If you work or volunteer for emergency medical services in Connecticut, we need your help. 

We know that the state’s emergency medical services have been strained for years, but that doesn’t stop paramedics, emergency medical technicians and emergency medical responders from working around the clock to serve community members in crisis. We have data on ambulance response times, but we know it doesn’t tell a full story about what is happening behind the scenes.  

If you work or volunteer for a Connecticut ambulance corps, a fire department, a law enforcement agency or an emergency room, we want to hear your experience and understand what resources you need to do this lifesaving work. 

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What has changed about emergency medical services since you started? If your ambulance corps needs more staff, what are the challenges to hiring or retaining new people? What do you wish Connecticut residents or lawmakers knew about the state of EMS?

Your input is crucial and will help guide our reporting. We want to understand the issue in all its complexity — from training limitations to worker housing needs to budget cuts, and what that means for your vital work every day. 

You can fill out our brief form to share your experience. Our reporters read through every response and may follow up with you. You can also email CT Mirror reporter Jenna Carlesso and ProPublica reporter Cassandra Garibay at ctemergency@propublica.org if you have any questions or concerns. 

Don’t work for emergency medical services in Connecticut but know someone who does? You can also help by sending this form to them. 

If you have called 911 for a medical emergency, we also want to hear from you. Please fill out our patient experience form.

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This <a target=”_blank” href=”https://ctmirror.org/2026/06/22/connecticut-emergency-medical-services-callout/”>article</a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https://ctmirror.org”>CT Mirror</a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.<img src=”https://ctmirror.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/cropped-CTMirror_bug_rgb-180×180.jpg” style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”>

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Florida High School State Bronze Medalist Dajah German Verbals To Connecticut For Fall 2027

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Florida High School State Bronze Medalist Dajah German Verbals To Connecticut For Fall 2027


Fitter and Faster Swim Camps is the proud sponsor of SwimSwam’s College Recruiting Channel and all commitment news. For many, swimming in college is a lifelong dream that is pursued with dedication and determination. Fitter and Faster is proud to honor these athletes and those who supported them on their journey.  

Florida high school state bronze medalist Dajah German has announced her verbal commitment to swim and study at the University of Connecticut beginning in the fall of 2027. She publicized the news on SwimCloud, writing:

I am so excited to announce my verbal commitment to continue my academic and athletic career at the University of Connecticut! I’m incredibly grateful for everyone who has supported me throughout this journey, my family, coaches, teammates, and friends who have pushed me to be my best throughout the years. And a very special thank you to Coach Chris and Coach Nicole for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. I’m so excited for what’s ahead. GO HUSKIES!

A rising senior at Fort Lauderdale High School in Florida, German trains year-round with Swim Fort Lauderdale and primarily specializes in the sprint and middle-distance freestyle events.

German has improved each year of her high school career, most recently dropping from 23.78, 51.39, and 1:50.56 in the 50/100/200 free to 23.54, 51.35, and 1:49.69 during the 2025-26 short course season.

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German’s top meet of the season was the Florida Senior Championships in March, where she recorded her current PBs in both the 50 and 200 free. She finished second in the 500 free (4:55.94) and 1650 free (17:02.78), third in both the 50 free and 200 free, and fifth in the 100 free (51.43). She set her current 100 free PB at a smaller holiday meet in December. In the 500 free, she clocked a season-best 4:55.21 at the Speedo Cup in January, with her lifetime best of 4:53.19 coming at the 2025 Florida Senior Championships.

German has qualified for the FHSAA (Florida High School Athletic Association) State Championships for the past three years, with her top performance coming at the 2025 iteration in November. She placed third in the 50 free (23.96), fifth in the 500 free (5:01.12), and helped Fort Lauderdale to fourth place in both the 200 free relay (24.64 leadoff) and 400 free relay (53.08 anchor).

Top SCY Times:

  • 50 Freestyle: 23.54
  • 100 Freestyle: 51.35
  • 200 Freestyle: 1:49.69
  • 500 Freestyle: 4:53.19

A Division I Mid-Major program, Connecticut competes in the Big East, with the women’s team placing second out of seven teams at this past season’s conference championships. German’s current lifetime bests would have placed third in the 200 free, fourth in the 500 free, eighth in the 50 free, and ninth in the 100 free, setting her up as an immediate contributor with two full seasons of training still ahead before her first conference meet.

German joins Anna Mumford, Lyla Devlin, Lena Brown, and Louisa Holda in committing to the Huskies’ class of 2031 so far.

If you have a commitment to report, please send an email with a photo (landscape, or horizontal, looks best) and a quote to [email protected].

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