The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 (MLDA) was passed by the United States Congress and was later signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on July 17, 1984. The act would punish any state that allowed persons under 21 years to purchase alcoholic beverages by reducing its annual federal highway apportionment by 10 percent. The law was later amended, lowering the penalty to 8 percent from fiscal year 2012 and beyond.  

Despite its name, this act did not outlaw the consumption of alcoholic beverages by those under 21 years of age, just their purchase or public possession. However, Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, New Hampshire, and West Virginia, extended the law into an outright ban. The minimum purchase and drinking ages is a state law, and most states still permit "underage" consumption of alcohol in some circumstances. In some states, no restriction on private consumption is made, while in other states, consumption is only allowed in specific locations, in the presence of consenting and supervising family members, as in the states of Colorado, Maryland, Montana, New York, Texas, Oregon, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.  

Some states even allow persons under 21 years of age to drink alcohol in public places, such as in Ohio, Texas, Massachusetts and Louisiana as long as the parent or guardian consents to it and is the one that buys the alcohol and is at least 21 years old. The act also does not seek to criminalize alcohol consumption during religious occasions (e.g., communion wines, Kiddush). 

The act was expressly upheld as constitutional in 1987 by the United States Supreme Court in South Dakota v. Dole. 

Application on college campuses 

College campuses across the nation continue to struggle with issues of underage drinking, despite the nationwide MLDA of 21. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) took special interest in this issue, and compiled a list of recommendations for colleges to implement in order to combat underage drinking on campus. However, few schools have actually implemented these recommendations, and according to a recent study, most of the intervention programs currently in place on college campuses have proven ineffective. Underage drinking is nearly impossible to prevent on college campuses because access to alcoholic beverages is extremely easy.  

Though it is not the only factor that contributes to student drinking, liquor's contraband status seems to imbue it with mystique. As a result, use and abuse of liquor is seen as sophisticated and is expected.  

Of the colleges surveyed, 98% offered alcohol education programs to their students. Only 50% of surveyed colleges offered intervention programs, 33% coordinated efforts with the surrounding community to monitor illegal alcohol sales, 15% confirmed that surrounding establishments offered responsible beverage service training, and 7% restricted the number of alcohol outlets within the community. Special services for "problem drinkers" were available at 67% of the surveyed schools; 22% of the schools referred problem drinkers to off-campus resources, and 11% offered no intervention program whatsoever. 34% of the surveyed schools were located in communities that actively instituted compliance checks, but 60% of these checks occurred without university involvement. One-fifth of surveyed schools were altogether unaware of the NIAAA's recommendations.  

Many factors may explain colleges' failure to implement the NIAAA's recommendations to control underage drinking on campus: a lack of university funding, a lack of time, a perceived lack of authority or jurisdiction within the community, or even a lack of interest on the part of the university, many universities even see the program as a waste of resources. Whatever the reasons may be, a multitude of options are available should colleges choose to institute programs to decrease instances of underage drinking on campus. These options include, but are not limited to, alcohol education programs, social norms campaigns, substance-free housing, individual interventions, parental notification policies, disciplinary procedures for alcohol-related violations, and amnesty policies to protect the health and safety of students.  

National Hot Dog Day in July celebrates a summertime staple on a bun. Enjoy one piping hot and add some relish and mustard to go! One thing we want to know - is it a sandwich or not?  

#NationalHotDogDay 

Celebrated every year during National Hot Dog Month, this day pays homage to the frankfurter, the footlong or wienie, wiener, wienerwurst or even red hot. They taste just as great no matter what we call it. 

We make them a variety of ways. They're portable and easy to make. While many of us prefer them grilled or toasted over a fire, we also boil, pan-fry, and rotisserie-cook them. The list of toppings are numerous - from the basic ketchup, mustard or relish to onions, mayonnaise, cheese, bacon, chili and sauerkraut - the list keeps growing. Adults and children alike love them, too.  

On May 31, 2012, a world record was set for the most expensive hot dog. The “California Capitol City Dawg” sold for $145.49 at Capitol Dawg in Sacramento, California.  The “California Capitol City Dawg” features: 

• A grilled 18″ all-beef, in natural casing frank from Chicago 

• Served on a fresh-baked herb and oil focaccia roll spread with white truffle butter, then grilled 

• Topped with whole grain mustard from France, garlic and herb mayonnaise 

• Sauteed chopped shallots, organic mixed baby greens, maple syrup 

• Marinated/fruitwood smoked uncured bacon from New Hampshire 

• Chopped tomatoes, sweetened dried cranberries, chopped tomato 

• Expensive moose cheese from Sweden 

• Basil olive oil/pear-cranberry-coconut balsamic vinaigrette and ground peppercorn 

Proceeds from the sale of each 3 lb. super dog donated to the Shriners Hospitals for Children 

HOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL HOT DOG DAY 

There are so many ways to celebrate the day! 

• Host a hot dog roast. 

• Share your favorite toppings. 

• Take a poll to find out which is most preferred - blackened hot dogs or just cooked through? 

• Explore the best hot dog eateries near you and give them a shout-out.  

• Challenge people to defend their position on this question: Is a hot dog a sandwich? 

• 7-Eleven sells the most grilled hot dogs in North America - 100 million annually. 

Net Discussion Questions:

·       Air conditioning: are you a fan? (no pun intended!)

·       What type of AC do you operate in your home?

o   Central / window / portable / other

·       Do you remember the MLDA and what effect did it have on you in 1984?

·       Are you a hot dog lover?

o   Is a hot dog a sandwich?

“It’s sort of hard to believe that it’s real,” said Cohen, 47, who lives in Boston.

By all accounts, this season has brought one of the most stunning displays of hydrangeas in many years, particularly for the macrophylla variety, also referred to as bigleaf. Commonly planted in gardens, the type is known for its prolific blooms and large mophead flowers in a variety of bright colors.

Long associated with the maritime climate of Cape Cod and the Islands, the flower has bloomed in spectacular fashion all across New England this year, inspiring awe and curiosity over their abundance.

For almost five decades, Mal Condon, who is known as the “Hydrangea Guy” or “Hydrangea Whisperer,” has spent hours toiling in the soil with the woody ornamental landscape shrub.

The curator of hydrangeas at the Heritage Museums and Gardens in Sandwich, which will take part in the 10th annual Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival beginning July 5, Condon, 86, said that “it’s a very good year” for the flower so far.

Why might that be? “It’s pretty simple,” said Condon, who lives in Yarmouth.

There are six major species of hydrangeas, but “all of the focus is on just one of them: hydrangea macrophylla,” which he said is both the least cold-hardy and most temperamental. Of the 25 million produced annually, approximately 85 percent of hydrangeas are macrophyllas, which are adored for their flowers, he said.

Whether the flower thrives is largely dependent upon the weather that winter, Condon said. Last year, for instance, hydrangeas suffered.

A polar vortex that February dropped the temperature on the Cape from 40 degrees in the afternoon to -5 degrees the next morning. Because macrophyllas cannot withstand such a sudden change, “all the stems were literally shattered,” he said.

Native to the coastal regions of Japan, macrophyllas set their flower buds in the autumn, which must survive the winter to be “the next summer’s flowers,” he said.

If it is cold, windy, and dry, the blooms become desiccated and die.

But this year, the weather was kind to hydrangeas.

“We have to have an easy winter, and we did this year,” Condon said.

In Boston, for instance, the lowest temperature was 14 degrees. As a result, nearly all the blooms that were established last summer, the second rainiest on record in Boston, made it through the winter and are now on full display.

Along with a lack of extreme cold in the winter, adequate moisture in the growing season is also crucial, said Michael Dosmann, keeper of the living collections at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston.

After last summer’s heavy rainfall, the plants were healthy heading into the fall, when the hydrangeas “set a lot of flower buds,” Dosmann said. “They had a nice, pampered winter. And then spring arose, and they came to grow, and all of a sudden, the flowers are starting to explode.”

Boston Globe 7/3/24