According to Google’s 2020 Year in Search, the most common queries of the year sought answers to the question of why. From washing hands to cutting hair to baking bread, many of our searches also asked how to. Other inquiries sought to understand what and when. From NBA stars and Hollywood celebrities to civil rights leaders, United States Supreme Court justices, and victims of tragic loss, the names of the people with whom we share this increasingly fragile planet also topped our searches.
Read moreEx Libris Juris: Blogging with the Best in 2020
Texas Bar Today, a publication of the State Bar of Texas, selects their Top Ten Blog Posts on a weekly basis. Ex Libris Juris, the official blog of the Harris County Law Library, was featured eleven times in 2020 on this top ten list. Select “Read More” to see them all!
Read moreTexas Forever: The 175th Anniversary of the Annexation of Texas
Today, we celebrate the 175th anniversary of the Annexation of Texas, a.k.a. the day the Republic of Texas became number twenty-eight of these United States.
Read moreEggnog Legalese: What are You Drinking?
Tomorrow, December 24, is National Eggnog Day. While the origins of both the drink and its name are unclear, eggnog enjoys some popularity in the United States during the fall and winter seasons—although, some love it and some love to hate it.
In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a regulation and guidance on the composition of eggnog. For instance, 21 C.F.R. §131.170 stipulates that eggnog contains specified: (1) dairy ingredients, (2) egg yolk-containing ingredients, and (3) nutritive carbohydrate sweeteners. The guidance further states that: “Eggnog is a milk product consisting of a mixture of milk or milk products of at least 6.0 percent butterfat, at least 1.0 percent egg yolk solids, sweetener, and flavoring. Emulsifier and not over 0.5 percent stabilizer may be added.” It also differentiates “eggnog” from “eggnog flavored milk,” which has lower allowances for butterfat and the other ingredients.
Interestingly, 21 C.F.R. §131.170(e)(4) only allows for “[c]olor additives that do not impart a color simulating that of egg yolk, milkfat, or butterfat.” In addition, the FDA guidance indicates that adulterated foods are not in compliance with the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and plainly states that: “The addition of yellow color may serve to adulterate the products under 403(b) of the Act since the use of such color would make the article appear to contain more egg yolk than it actually contains.” [For a lively take on the blatant occurrence of this “adulteration,” see Patrick Di Justo’s article here.]
In related news, Texas and some other states prohibit the sale of alcohol on Christmas day, so if you like some spike in your eggnog, plan ahead accordingly.
Further Reading
A Brief History of Eggnog - Mental Floss
Eggnog - Wikipedia
The City of Houston is Taking Steps to Bridge the Digital Divide
The “digital divide” refers to “the economic, educational, and social inequalities between those who have computers and online access and those who do not.” This divide can affect access to justice (for self-represented litigants in civil courts), education, employment opportunities, and more.
In May 2019, the Pew Research Center stated the following with regard to lower-income Americans: “Roughly three-in-ten adults with household incomes below $30,000 a year (29%) don’t own a smartphone. More than four-in-ten don’t have home broadband services (44%) or a traditional computer (46%). And a majority of lower-income Americans are not tablet owners.” As a result, “many lower-income Americans are relying more on smartphones” for internet access. Further, in August 2019, the Pew Research Center found that about “25% of Hispanics and 23% of blacks are ‘smartphone only’ internet users – meaning they lack traditional home broadband service but do own a smartphone. By comparison, 12% of whites fall into this category.”
As of October 2019, the Texas Comptroller reported that “[m]ore than 2 million Texas households don’t have high-speed internet.” In addition, the nonprofit group Common Sense found in 2020 that “34% or 1.8 million K-12 public school students in Texas do not have adequate access to the internet at home, and that 25% of Texas’ kids do not have an adequate device at home like a laptop or a computer.”
Locally, Comcast has partnered with the City of Houston on two initiatives designed to help bridge this digital divide. First, the Houston City Council “approved a $624,960 program to provide internet vouchers to low-income Houstonians,” which provided “approximately 5,000 vouchers to qualifying applicants” in December 2020. The vouchers were to “ensure qualifying applicants can continue to stay connected to the internet for education, work, and personal health reasons for one calendar year.” The second initiative involves WiFi-connected “Lift Zones” in nine City of Houston Community Centers. These “Lift Zones” are intended to offer “robust WiFi hotspots in safe spaces designed to help students get online, participate in distance learning and do their homework.” This program provides free WiFi in the designated community centers for the next three years.
Finally, even if you are not covered by these initiatives, our blog post from October 6, 2020 discusses a map of free WiFi spots in Texas, which allows you to enter your address and search for free public WiFi within a specified distance.