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N.Y., Calif. governors make wager on Rangers-Kings Stanley Cup

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced an interstate wager with California Gov. Jerry Brown on the matchup between the New York Rangers and the Los Angeles Kings in the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals, which begin tonight.

If the Rangers win, Gov. Brown will send Gov. Cuomo “California: A History” by Kevin Starr and Lundberg Organic Brown Rice Cakes, Lightly Salted. If the Kings win, Gov. Cuomo will send Gov. Brown a Taste NY Gift Basket, featuring apples from Fishkill Farms and other products from local businesses across the Empire State. He will also send a commemorative hockey puck from the 2013 "Hat Trick" of three on-time budgets in a row.

"While 2014 is already a banner year for New York state hockey teams — with Union College and Clarkson University as national college champions — the true icing on the cake would be a triumphant return of the Stanley Cup to the Empire State," Gov. Cuomo said in a press release. "Both the Rangers and the Kings have put forward spectacular championship runs and hockey enthusiasts from the East Coast to the West Coast can surely look forward to a hard-fought series. However, given the tough, New York-resilient spirit with which the Rangers have advanced through the playoffs so far, I am wagering big on the Broadway Blueshirts with a Taste NY Basket of some of New York's finest products. Together with one of New York’s biggest Rangers fans, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, we look forward to receiving the proceeds of Governor Brown’s wager.”

“Ice hockey is a way of life in the Empire State, part of a winter tradition that has been battled on lakes, ponds and rinks from Lake Placid to Long Island to Lake Erie for generations," Silver added in the release. "In 1994, Governor Mario Cuomo and the New York Rangers delivered the Stanley Cup to New Yorkers. In 2014, Governor Andrew Cuomo and the Rangers will return the Cup to its rightful place, the great State of New York.”

The Taste NY Gift Basket will include apples from Fishkill Farms in Dutchess County, as well as the following items:

  • Original Anchor Bar Buffalo Wing Sauce, Erie County
  • Two award-winning ice wines: The 2011 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine from the Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in Orleans County and the 2012 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine from the Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards in Schuyler County
  • Lupo's Spiedie Marinade, key ingredient for Binghamton's famous Spiedie Sandwich, Broome County
  • Gianelli Hot Italian Sausage, Onondaga County
  • Sammy & Annie Food's Chicken Riggie Pasta Sauce Starter, Oneida County
  • Parker's Pure New York Maple Syrup, Parker Family Maple Farm, Clinton County
  • America's First Kettle Chip, Saratoga Chips, Saratoga County
  • Red velvet cupcakes from Make My Cake, Harlem, Manhattan
  • Oysters harvested off of Long Island's shore, Braun Seafood Co., Suffolk County

The first game of the best-of-seven 2014 Stanley Cup Finals will be played tonight at 8 p.m. EST, in Los Angeles.

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Fall Creek expands into raspberries and blackberries with acquisition

Fall Creek Farm & Nursery Inc., a world-leading blueberry genetics and nursery company, has acquired Berryplant, an Italy-based leader in raspberry and blackberry nursery production, and Berrytech, its dedicated breeding and intellectual property company.

The acquisition strengthens Fall Creek's genetics platform with the addition of raspberries and blackberries while maintaining its global leadership in blueberries and extending the company's ability to serve growers who operate across multiple berry categories.

Michael Lopez named Foster's VP of operations

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Grocery Outlet updates leadership

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Miller, a former key executive in the company’s purchasing organization, returns to lead the company’s integrated purchasing and merchandising organization, succeeding Matt Delly, who will depart the Grocery Outlet. 

Cambridge Farms’ Eastern Shore potato deal looks better than average

By
Chris Koger

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Soon after, Eastern Shore harvest will begin, and Easton, MA-based Cambridge Farms is forecasting a steady crop. Despite a lack of rain, the growers Cambridge Farms partners with have their crops under irrigation, although natural precipitation provides better ground saturation.

PRO*ACT Crop Update: Little relief for lettuce market

By
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Grocery Outlet's Laurie Weaver wins IPC Grand Prize drawing

Laurie Weaver of Grocery Outlet in Waynesville, NC, was recently surprised with a major prize after being randomly selected as a Grand Prize winner in the Idaho Potato Commission's 2026 Potato Lovers Month Display Contest.

Weaver's entry was among more than 2,100 submissions received from retailers across the United States during the annual promotion. As one of three randomly drawn Grand Prize winners, she received a television valued at $3,500.

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