Monday—December
20, 2004
Silver Spoons and Restaurants
The Gastronomy Awards Society of Estonia, a not-for-profit group
committed to the betterment of the dining experience in Estonia, has
released its nominees for the 2004 Silver Spoon Awards:
Best gourmet restaurant:
Pegasus
Stenhus
Ö
Best national restaurant:
Sisalik
Sushi House
Villa Thai
Best Café:
Café Anglais
Le Bonaparte café
Crepp
Best family/child-friendly restaurant:
Georg Ots SPA
Kalwi Manor
Villa Thai
Restaurants were evaluated on 50 criteria by anonymous judges over a
period of two months. Restaurants in Tallinn, Tartu, Parnu, Rakvere, and
Saaremaa were considered. Judges were chosen on the basis of their
knowledge of food culture. PriceWaterhouseCoopers (yes, we believe that is
one word) will handle the ballot counting and announce the final results
in January 2005.
City Paper readers are encouraged to visit these restaurants and send
their comments to citypaper@citypaper.ee.
For more information on the Gastronomy Awards Society visit www.silverspoon.ee
Friday—December
3, 2004
Negligence the cheaper option!
On Thursday in Riga, a chunk of ice fell from a rooftop killing an 82-year-old woman on Caka Street. The police have not yet decided whether to open a criminal case. Riga City Council officials are sympathetic but claim not much can be done. Their logic: clearing snow off rooftops costs more than the applicable penalties.
Latvians sue Swedes
The Latvian company, Laval un partneri, will halt construction work in Sweden and file a lawsuit against the trade union of Swedish workers. The Swedish trade union earlier demanded that salaries of the workers from Latvia be raised to levels closer to those of Swedish construction workers.
Adamkus once more into the breech
Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, one of the mediators attempting to resolve the political crisis in Ukraine, may soon return to Kiev. This will be his third trip to Ukraine in the past two weeks. President Adamkus has characterized his role in the process as "…elevating Lithuania to a new international level and recognition." In interviews, Adamkus has given credit for success to Poland's President Kwasniewski
Kalvitis new Latvian PM
75 Saeima deputies voted for the government of Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis (People's Party), giving a new government the largest support ever in Latvian history. "This may become the best government in the history of Latvia, but it is up to us if it will be so…" Kalvitis said.
Conspiracy theorists' delight: Swede claims ferry Estonia carried secret weapons
Lennart Henriksson, a retired former Swedish customs official, says he was told on two occasions to let vehicles arriving from Tallinn pass the border without inspection. The Swedish television program,
Uppdrag granskning, theorized Tuesday that Swedish defense forces worked in cooperation with Ericsson to transport military equipment of Russian origin from Tallinn to Stockholm under extreme security. The television show has tapes of phone calls between Henriksson and his boss, Stig
Sandelin, where Sandelin admits shipments were brought in at the order of the defense forces.
Lars Borgnäs, editor of the television program, said it is not confirmed whether weapons were aboard the night of the Estonia tragedy. "If that were ascertained, it could give a new turn to the events," he told
Helsingin Sanomat.
Estonian experts said it is unlikely that the crew of the Estonia would have been aware of secret cargo.
Thursday—December
2, 2004
Bank of Latvia to deadbeats: please pay up!
The Central Bank of Latvia's list of credit institutions' dishonest clients grew longer in November. The list includes 18,454 people and 21,833 uncollected loans.
New bumpersticker: Proud to be Lithuanian
56.4 percent of Lithuanians are proud to be citizens of Lithuania. A minority of six percent said they were not at all proud of their citizenship. The research firm qualified that older people are more likely to be proud of their citizenship than youth. The survey included 1,058 Lithuanians ages 16 to 74.
Oil spill grounds birds
Estonian environmentalists found hundreds of oil-covered birds covered on a 20-kilometer coastal strip North West Estonia. Experts say this indicates a major oil spill somewhere, but the source has not been found. The birds were long-tailed ducks, birds of the open sea, and therefore, experts conclude, the pollution may not be in Estonian waters. Weather conditions have not permitted the search planes to fly low enough to spot the possible source. Environmentalists are attempting to catch birds and will send them to a wild animal shelter in the Estonian town of
Nigula.
