Latest news with #Camilleri
The Star
23-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
Dining at Culina Bistro KL, with fine wine from a famous estate
Culina Bistro Kuala Lumpur recently hosted a one-night-only wine pairing dinner featuring Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite. The historic estate is recognised as one of Bordeaux's First Growths, a distinction reserved for the region's top five wine producers. A pioneer in expanding beyond traditional French terroirs, the maison established its presence in Chile in 1988 and Argentina in 1999. Located at Shoppes at Four Seasons Place Kuala Lumpur, Culina Bistro is a modern eatery that is part of the Culina in KL group of outlets, which comprises a market, bakery, wine bar, and bistro. Culina Bistro is a modern eatery that is part of the Culina in KL group of outlets. The recent dinner was part of the Culina Series – a collection of curated culinary experiences and masterclasses – and was hosted by the maison's brand ambassador Pierre-Antoine Ballan, as well as Culina's associate director of wine business development, Mathias Camilleri. Before the dinner, I spoke to Camilleri about his pairing process, and he said that while wine pairings can be very subjective, for him, the most important component to consider in a pairing is the sauce. 'When I do a pairing, I will always ask the chef if I can try the sauce, because it is the bridge between the protein and your wine, and the essence of the dish,' he said. The Culina event was hosted by the maison's brand ambassador Pierre-Antoine Ballan (left) and Camilleri. 'So, when I do a pairing, I think, 'does the sauce is lack something? Is it too strong? Is it too rich?'' he explained. 'If so, as the sommelier, you can make a choice of wine that will bring it down a little. Or if there is an element in the sauce that is really important, you can choose a wine that will enhance it instead.' It was a principle that held true during the dinner, especially with the main dishes. At Culina, Camilleri daringly paired the Ocean Trout Acqua Pazza with the excellent Los Vascos Le Dix 2018 from Colchagua Valley, Chile. The first main was Ocean Trout Acqua Pazza, a savoury bowl of umami-filled flavours that Camilleri daringly paired with the excellent Los Vascos Le Dix 2018 from Colchagua Valley, Chile, a full supple red wine with notes of berries and plums, and a maritime saltiness in the background that really brought out that seafood goodness in the dish. ../../backup/files/images/thumbs/600/2025/07/23/ Another unique one was the second main – MiGyeongSan Hanwoo Striploin. This was paired with not one, but two Argentinian wines from Bodegas Caro – Caro 2019 and Petit Caro 2021, with each wine giving different flavour sensations and experiences when paired with the decadent Hanwoo beef. The second main at the Culina dinner was paired with not one, but two Argentinian wines from Bodegas Caro. At the start, we had a pair of canapes – Fried Sushi (nori-cured ocean trout, yuzu kyosho aioli, rice cake), and Beef Skewer (MiGyeongSan outside round, ponzu) accompanied by William Fèvre Chablis 2022. We then moved on to the William Fèvre Chablis 1er Cru Montmains 2017, which Camilleri wanted to pair with a dish that would enhance the sea compounds of the Chablis. Scallop Crudo Hence, it was served together with the appetiser, Scallop Crudo, which was full of seafood umami, and brought out the maritime influences of the wine's terroir. Desserts also took a dual savoury and sweet route - led by a Cheese Board of aged cheddar, brie, blue cheese, gouda, nuts, dried fruits, followed by Poached Plums (port, thyme, mascarpone). Both were paired with a Château Duhart Milon, Moulin de Duhart, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France 2020, which provided a sensual, satisfying end to the evening.
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Michigan Senator dings House GOP for skipping off to Washington to meet with Trump administration
Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, and Sens. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) and Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) on the Senate floor on Jan. 8, 2025, the Senate's first day of session for the year. | Kyle Davidson Several Republican members of the Michigan House of Representatives were in Washington, D.C. this week to meet with members of the Trump administration, which has one state Democratic senator questioning their priorities as the budget deadline looms. Speaking to reporters following the Senate session on Tuesday, state Sen. Darrin Camilleri said he was disappointed that his colleagues in the House were gone while Senate Democrats were still working. He also laid blame for the slow pace of the budget process at the feet of Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township). 'We're here on the floor working hard, not only still figuring out budget priorities and discussions, but we've been working on legislation while House Republicans are in D.C. kissing the ring of the president,' said Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Brownstown) in a scrum with reporters following Tuesday's Senate session. 'We have very different priorities, and that's very clear from the contrast this week.' Camilleri said the goal was to have the two chambers' budgets ready to go by July 1, and the state Senate rose to the occasion by passing its entire budget – including spending plans for schools and higher education – months ago. Meanwhile, the House has only pushed through its education budget. That's left their colleagues in the Senate unaware of their other budget priorities, stymying the negotiation process. 'The span between their budget proposal and ours is about as big as the [Mackinac Bridge],' he said. 'For us to see where they put their priorities, it's only been about increasing costs. They increased costs for retirement. They've increased costs for school operations … [and] university operations.' Camilleri added that proposed GOP cuts to universal free school meals and preschool will raise costs on families. The senator said it was troublesome that several members of the House Republican Caucus were in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to meet with President Donald Trump's administration to talk about the congressional budget bill – and not hashing out their own budget at home. 'The thing I don't understand is what they're hoping to learn out of D.C.,' Camilleri said. 'The budget bill that they passed out of D.C. only makes our jobs harder. It cuts funding to critical services like Medicaid. It puts on the chopping block additional funds that we would rely on to figure out our state budget. I don't know what they're going to get out of that trip, but they are wasting an entire week doing so.' That said, Camilleri, chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on PreK-12, has met with his counterpart in state Rep. Tim Kelly (R-Saginaw Township), chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on School Aid and Department of Education. It was an informal breakfast that served as a means to get to know each other better, but Camilleri said if the public school budget negotiations were up to him and Kelly, they could likely have a deal done before July 1. Camilleri then said that bolstered his belief that Hall was the problem in the process. 'If he were to let [House Appropriations Committee Chair Rep. Ann Bollin] or Tim Kelly do their jobs, I think we could actually get to a deal,' he said. 'I know that [Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Sen. Sarah Anthony] and Chair Bollin have developed a really good relationship the last couple months. Chair Kelly and myself had a great first meeting. I think that there could be some progress here, but because [Hall] has been micromanaging this process from day one, I don't know how we can get a deal if he's not letting his members do their jobs.' It's not all doom and gloom, though. Camilleri said there were areas of common ground between the two chambers. He said Hall wants more money funding schools, which the Senate agrees with. The devil is in the details in how that's done. House Republicans passed a public schools budget with many of its past categorical spending on programs like school meals placed into per-pupil funding. Camilleri said the Senate wasn't opposed to wrapping some of those programs up, it was simply a matter of doing that the right way. Many of the programs that were rolled up into the foundation allowance are things Democrats in the House and Senate care deeply about, Camilleri said, and they fought hard in past budgets when they held all stations of state government to make sure they were funded appropriately. 'Their proposal guts most of them,' he said. 'Are there some things I think we could find ways to just put into a per-pupil allotment? Perhaps. … But gutting the programs like at-risk [student] funding or free school meals, that's just not somewhere where we're going to go.' Camilleri said it wasn't out of the question for the two chambers to start negotiating by July 1, but he wasn't sure how the entire budget process could be completed by then. It also wasn't out of the question for the Senate to work through the summer on the budget with their House counterparts, but Camilleri said that if the parties can't get something tangible done by July, he wasn't sure how productive it would be to slog away in August. 'We can come back in September and try again in the fall,' he said. 'But my hope is that if they can get to a target [of] negotiation by July 1, maybe that's the first step of this process. … I'm being optimistic.' Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) confirmed with reporters after Tuesday's Senate session that she and Hall were meeting on Wednesday to start discussing budget plans. 'I certainly hope that's the main topic,' Brinks said. 'It's June 17. They have still not passed [a full] budget, so I am very eager to make progress there. It's high time that we have those conversations. I am very pleased that he has finally accepted the opportunity to meet and I'm very hopeful that these will be productive conversations.'
Sky News AU
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
‘Unpredictable' Trump to potentially get involved in Iran-Israel war
Politics Professor Joseph Camilleri says the situation between Iran and Israel is 'a bit grim'. 'It's unpredictable, but one thing is clear as of now: nothing good will come of it,' Professor Camilleri told Sky News Australia. 'The best we could possibly hope for is a ceasefire in the not-so-distant future.' Professor Camilleri stressed that this Israel-Iran war will not only affect those two countries, but the entire Middle East if a ceasefire does not occur.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan Senators try again for legislation to keep out hazardous waste
Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) during a meeting of the Senate Energy and Environment Committee on June 5, 2025. | Kyle Davidson Members of the Michigan Senate are once again weighing efforts to deter out-of-state companies from dumping hazardous waste in the state while updating standards for managing landfills and potentially harmful materials. Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) on Thursday laid out a renewed proposal for revamping the state's approach to hazardous waste management before his colleagues on the Senate Energy and Environment Committee. During his testimony, Camilleri noted the bills are a response to recent attempts to ship hazardous waste from the East Palestine train derailment, as well as radioactive material from the Manhattan Project, into disposal sites within his district. 'I've had countless conversations with residents and local municipal leaders who are horrified about that potentially harmful material being transported to their communities on their roads and disposed of in their backyard,' Camilleri said. 'Frankly, it is ridiculous that these facilities are located in these dense population centers in the first place.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX If passed, Camilleri's Senate Bill 246 would require the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to create a hazardous and radioactive waste management plan and issue a moratorium on licensing new hazardous waste storage and disposal facilities or expansions of existing facilities. It would also place stricter siting requirements on hazardous waste facilities to keep them away from large population centers and cap the amount of hazardous waste disposed of within Michigan by tying it to the amount of waste the state produces. While federal law prevents Michigan from banning trash from other states, Camilleri said his policy is a creative effort to try and skirt federal regulations on commerce between states by preferencing Michigan's waste, and allowing other states to send their waste on top of that. 'It's not a perfect solution to that out of state problem, but it's our version of trying our best to take care of home first,' Camilleri said. Additionally, Senate Bill 246 increases the fees for disposing of hazardous waste from $10 a ton to $25 a ton, radioactive waste from $5 per ton to $12.50 per ton, with a portion of the increased fees going towards redevelopment. Another percentage would go toward a new community surcharge reimbursement fund, and another piece would go toward a grant fund to support communities that host hazardous waste disposal facilities. Camilleri's proposal would also increase the waste tipping fee, or the charge to dump in Michigan landfills, from 36 cents a ton, to $1.20. In her budget proposals for the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 fiscal years, Whitmer asked lawmakers to increase the state's tipping fee to $5 in order to combat out-of-state dumping and increase revenue for environmental remediation, brownfield redevelopment, local waste management assistance and grants and recycling initiatives. Alongside Senate Bill 246, Camilleri's Senate Bill 247 targets a liquid waste injection well in Romulus, creating a $100 per ton tipping fee for the waste that goes into those wells. 'The city of Romulus is, right now, on the hook for all types of public safety,' Camilleri said. 'In the event of a disaster with this type of well, they will be the ones forced to pay for additional equipment, additional public safety, including fire and EMS. … This type of fee would help offset some of those costs.' During the meeting, local officials from Romulus and nearby Van Buren Township and Canton Township shared their support for the bills. They cited concerns about out-of-state dumping, and the public health and environmental threats that could come from storing more waste at facilities like the Wayne Disposal Inc. Hazardous Waste Landfill in Van Buren Township. Canton Township Supervisor Anne Marie Graham-Hudak noted that the landfill is three miles south of Canton and sits next to two schools in a residential neighborhood. It's also surrounded by environmental justice communities, she said, neighborhoods where people of color and low-income individuals are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards. Kevin Krause, the director of community safety and development for the city of Romulus, said the city is inadequately prepared to respond to an emergency at the Romulus injection well, not only from the perspective of the local fire department, but from the regional and county level, as well. 'We are under-resourced, under-trained and underprepared at this particular location,' Krause said. Should there be an issue with the injection well, the response will fall solely on the shoulders of local firefighters to mitigate any threat to the environment and population, while agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan EGLE would only be able to provide administrative support. Supporting Senate Bill 247 would give the city the ability to develop proper pre-response plans, raise awareness, and incorporate surrounding departments and regional hazardous materials teams into their planning, Krause said.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Michigan lawmakers talk education reform, funding & local control at Mackinac Policy Conference
State Sens. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) and Ed McBroom (R-Vulcan) discuss Michigan's education system during the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference. May 28, 2025 | Photo by Kyle Davidson Gathering in Mackinac Island's Grand Hotel on Wednesday, State Sens. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) and Ed McBroom (R-Vulcan) joined Skillman Foundation President and CEO Angelique Power to discuss areas for improvement in Michigan's education system. The discussion was one of the forums scheduled during the Detroit Regional Chamber's Mackinac Policy Conference. McBroom and Camilleri, both former educators, opened the panel by recounting the pathway that brought them to begin teaching, before answering some pre-recorded questions from Michigan students about education policy and how they engage with education on the ground. Jia Patel, a senior at Grand Blanc High School, asked the lawmakers how they interact with and listen to youth voices in their policymaking process. Camilleri said one of his guiding philosophies as a lawmaker is to stay connected to the kids. 'I go to my classrooms all the time, all across my district. I listen to students, listen to educators, and I've never really left…I may not be teaching in front of the kids anymore, but I miss them all the time and I talk to them,' he said. Additionally, Camilleri said he works to bring youth into the campaign and political world through internships, telling attendees it's something that would have benefitted him as a young adult. Alongside raising five teenagers, McBroom said he also visits schools within his district but noted those invitations have come slower since the pandemic. He also helps conduct mock interviews with student teachers for Northern Michigan University's teachers education program. McBroom touched on Patel's effort to bring forth legislation allowing youth to serve on school boards, calling it an excellent opportunity and noting his school had put students on the board while he was in eighth grade. Alongside youth engagement, McBroom and Camilleri touched on funding for schools, with McBroom arguing the state's shift to merit core curriculum in the mid 2000s, which requires students to earn a specific number of credits in subject areas including English, math, science and social studies, had strangled the state's career technical education, as funding for many classrooms hinged on their enrollment from the year prior. However, in his 13 years in the Legislature, McBroom said there have been a lot of efforts to provide more resources to career technical centers and work with labor unions to teach skilled trades. The state has also worked to close the funding gap between students, noting that the gap had almost been closed since efforts began in 1994. Camilleri pointed to the Opportunity Index Formula used in recent years which shifts school funding to the schools with greater need and higher levels of poverty. 'I wanna be clear, it's not just urban schools, right? These are rural school districts across the state that have transportation funding issues and special education funding issues and all kinds of other challenges too, and this puts them through that lens as well,' Camilleri said, noting that lawmakers had paired this lens of historic levels of school funding with the Senate's latest education budget allocating another $250 million into the formula, for a total of $1.3 billion in funding. Shifting to another question from University of Michigan student Brandon Hofmeister, Camilleri and McBroom discussed ways to ensure Michigan students have the tools they need to pursue a post-high school education. McBroom again looked to Michigan's merit curriculum, noting that prior to those changes, the only requirements were a year of physical education and a semester of government, with the remaining curriculum left up to a local school district. 'Unfortunately, the Legislature, in my opinion, overstepped by a long way, by creating this huge 'here's the classwork everybody should accomplish' and directed so many students away from the skilled trades,' McBroom said, calling merit curriculum the turning point in going down a 'bad one-size-fits-all path.' Instead, lawmakers should be setting overarching goals for graduation, literacy skills and job attainment rather than telling students they have to take specific courses, McBroom said. Whether a school focused on the arts or the sciences should be decided by the local school board and the community in collaboration with parents and students, McBroom said. As Michigan's literacy rates have decreased across the past two decades, leaving the state at 41st in the nation for education, Power asked both lawmakers what needs to change in Michigan to improve the state's educational outcomes. While Lansing could do more on credentialing of superintendents and principals to ensure quality staff are administering schools, McBroom called for lawmakers to empower locals more, giving them more opportunity and more freedom with clear directives of what to accomplish. 'We also need to stop changing the rules so often…. we need less turmoil from Lansing, more good guidance,' McBroom said, emphasizing that local communities know their needs best. He also argued that changes to the state Board of Education are necessary, pointing to the current process of allowing political parties to nominate candidates for the board without holding a primary. Camilleri offered a different approach, arguing there are too many school districts in Michigan. While lawmakers can get local by allowing them to set goal posts, total local control is not in the state's best interest, he said. 'We gotta get, again, these guiding posts of where we all want to be and in order to meet better standardized testing and be prepared for college and career, all of these things have to be with a vision in mind. And we as stakeholders in Lansing and policy makers in Lansing, we need to be empowered and feel comfortable with setting that direction and do so in a collaborative way,' Camilleri said. 'I'm not saying 'no local control', but when you have 1,600 people, plus boards, plus superintendents, all these different people in the room, it makes it challenging,' Camilleri said, with McBroom agreeing. Camilleri and McBroom also offered their perspectives on moving forward amid federal disruptions and efforts to eliminate the federal department of education. While it's possible to move forward, it will require willing leaders on both sides of the aisle, Camilleri said, noting that the state Senate had already advanced its own education budget. However, Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) has avoided committing to passing a budget before the July 1 legislative deadline, which carries no mandate, arguing the Legislature's responsibility is to pass a budget before the fiscal year ends on Oct. 1. 'I hope that we can still meet that deadline. Well, we are in uncharted territory. I mean, I don't have a good answer on that front, because we still do have the chaos out of [Washington] D.C. where we don't have a final budget from them. What are they attempting to cut? And then, how does that have the impact on our budgets here at the local level,' Camilleri said, arguing the state does not have to cut funding to schools due to a surplus in the school aid fund. McBroom offered a more optimistic assessment, arguing the situation was something lawmakers navigated before, with lawmakers previously working under a split-legislature in 2010. 'We've had chaos from the feds before. We've had cuts before in times of bad finances and bad decisions. So I don't really see this as uncharted, whereas it's just different than it was for the past 15 years in Michigan,' he said. 'Whether the feds are doing a good job or not, we should always be trying to labor for something better, to do a better job. If the feds are going to give us these dollars that used to come through the Department of Ed and block grants, let's make sure that we work together to make sure they get to where we need them to be,' McBroom said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
