FREE WHITEWATER

Author Archive for JOHN ADAMS

Adventure, Daily Bread, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.30.23: Rails-to-Trails — Top 10 Trails in Wisconsin

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 79. Sunrise is 5:44 AM and sunset 8:17 PM for 14h 32m 36s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 92.9% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1932, Walt Disney‘s Flowers and Trees premieres as the first cartoon short to use Technicolor and the first Academy Award-winning cartoon short.

Top 10 Trails in Wisconsin Sneak Peek:

With more than 101 rail-trails spanning nearly 2,000 miles, 25,000 miles of snowmobiling routes and a national scenic trail that traverses 1,000 miles of glaciated terrain, Wisconsin is clearly a place where the outdoors reign supreme—perhaps as well regarded as the state’s cheese and beer industries? (But you’ll certainly find an abundance of both along Wisconsin’s extensive trail networks!)

Here are just 10 of our favorite Badger State trails—encapsulating some of the best sites and experiences Wisconsin has to offer.

Read Full Feature Blog: https://www.railstotrails.org/trailbl…

Elroy-Sparta State Trail: https://www.traillink.com/trail/elroy…

Oak Leaf Trail: https://www.traillink.com/trail-maps/…

Fox River State Trail: https://www.traillink.com/trail/fox-r…

Ozaukee Interurban Trail: https://www.traillink.com/trail/ozauk…

Eisenbahn State Trail: https://www.traillink.com/trail/eisen…

Heart of Vilas County Bike Trail System: https://biketheheart.org/

Capital City State Trail: https://www.traillink.com/trail/capit…

Ahnapee State Park Trail: https://www.traillink.com/trail/ahnap…

Tuscobia State Trail: https://www.traillink.com/trail/tusco…

Ice Age National Scenic Trail: https://www.iceagetrail.org/ice-age-t…

See also from FREE WHITEWATER on 5.7.23 Rail Trails.

93-Year-Old Summits Yosemite’s Half Dome With Family:

Daily Bread, Sports

Daily Bread for 7.29.23: Making the FIFA World Cup Trophy

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Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 83. Sunrise is 5:43 AM and sunset 8:18 PM for 14h 34m 45s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 85.9% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1958, President Eisenhower signs into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

How They Make the FIFA World Cup Trophy: 

Ancient Roman ship carrying hundreds of jars discovered off Italian coast:

City, Daily Bread, Emergency Services, Fire Dept

Daily Bread for 7.28.23: Paramedic Certification is an Example of Reponsible Government

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Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 93. Sunrise is 5:42 AM and sunset 8:19 PM for 14h 36m 52s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 77.4% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1934, Two killed, 40 hurt in Kohler riot; National Guard occupies town: 

On this day, the “model industrial village” of Kohler became an armed camp of National Guard cavalrymen after deadly strike-related rioting. The July 27th violence, which killed two Sheboygan men and injured 40 others, prompted the summoning of 250 Guardsmen to join the 200 special deputy village marshals already present.

After striking workers became agitated and began to destroy company property, deputies turned to tear gas, rifles, and shotguns to quell the stone-throwing crowd, resulting in the deaths and injuries. Owner Walter Kohler blamed Communists and outside agitators for the violence, while union leaders blamed Kohler exclusively. Workers at the Kohler plant were demanding better hours, higher wages, and recognition of the American Federation of Labor as their collective bargaining agent.

Not settled until 1941, the strike marked the beginning of what was to become a prolonged struggle between the Kohler Company and organized labor in Wisconsin; a second Kohler strike lasted from 1954 to 1965.

On Wednesday, 7.26.23, the City of Whitewater’s Fire & Emergency Services Department issued the following press release about receiving paramedic certification:

Fire and EMS Department obtains Paramedic Certification

Whitewater, Wis. July 26, 2023 – The City of Whitewater Fire and Emergency Medical Department has obtained its Paramedic service license.

The City of Whitewater is excited to announce that effective today, our Whitewater Fire & Emergency Medical Services (FEMS) Department has obtained its Paramedic service license. This significant achievement has been a result of countless hours of hard work and dedication from a team of committed individuals. The City of Whitewater wants to extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone involved in making this long-awaited process a reality. City of Whitewater wants to personally thank EMS Chief, Jason Dean. This is a direct result of his leadership and dedication.

As we move forward, FEMS is diligently working on procuring the necessary supplies, obtaining a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) number, and acquiring the required medications to ensure our Paramedic service operates at its full potential. Presently, we have five licensed Paramedics who are in the process of submitting their Local Credentialing Agreements for approval through our Medical Control, under the leadership of Interim Lt. Crystal Griffin.

During the next 12 months, FEMS will be gradually transitioning to a fully operational Paramedic service. Our Paramedics will be informed about the specific skills they are authorized to perform as we equip them with the necessary equipment and supplies. Though the City aims to expedite this process, our top priority remains to effectively and accurately provide this elevated level of service for our department.

The City must commend the enthusiasm and dedication of our Paramedics and support team, who are excited to put their well-honed skills and expertise into practice. However, the City kindly ask for your understanding and patience during this time of transition, as their training and adaptation will require considerable effort and focus.

FEMS will be providing direct communication to our Paramedics regarding the next steps in this transformative journey. As a community, let us rally together in support of FEMS department, appreciating the invaluable services they provide to keep us safe and protected.

So, what is this?

It’s normal and responsible government. Not always easy to achieve, but always a worthy effort. 

See also In Support of Whitewater’s Fire & EMS Referendum and Whitewater’s Quicker Fire & EMS Responses. 

Watch as a record-breaking sandwich is made with 1,200 bologna slices: 

America, City, Daily Bread, Economy

Daily Bread for 7.27.23: National Economy Continues G.D.P. Growth

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Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 92. Sunrise is 5:41 AM and sunset 8:20 PM for 14h 38m 55s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 67.3% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1940, the animated short A Wild Hare is released, introducing the character of Bugs Bunny.

National economic growth is no assurance of Whitewater’s local prosperity (as it has not been, after all, this last decade), but national growth provides, at least, the prospect of local growth.

Indeed, in Whitewater, years of national growth did not produce local prosperity. Fumbling by Whitewater’s tiny landlord-banker-public-relations-lobbyist cohort kept Whitewater behind while America advanced. See Whitewater’s Still Waiting for That Boom and A Candid Admission from the Whitewater CDA. 

Still, there’s no likely scenario where Whitewater grows while America does not. And so, and so, it’s favorable locally that the U.S. Economy Grew at 2.4% Rate in Second Quarter: 

The economic recovery gained momentum in the spring as buoyant consumer spending and resurgent business investment helped, once again, to keep a recession at bay.

Gross domestic product, adjusted for inflation, rose at a 2.4 percent annual rate in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That was up from a 2 percent growth rate in the first three months of the year and far stronger than forecasters expected a few months ago.

Consumers led the way, as they have throughout the recovery from the severe but short-lived pandemic recession in 2020. Spending rose at a 1.6 percent rate, slower than in the first quarter but still solid. Much of that growth came from spending on services, as consumers shelled out for vacation travel, restaurant meals and Taylor Swift tickets.

Consumers didn’t carry all the weight, however. Business investment rebounded in the second quarter after slumping in the first three months of the year, and increased spending by state and local governments contributed to growth.

“If you’re looking for a working definition of ‘resilient,’ look no further than the American economy,” said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at RSM.

Ring of fire encircles Mediterranean amid record breaking heatwave: 

Daily Bread, Education, Marketing, Reasoning, University

Daily Bread for 7.26.23: Live by Clickbait Marketing, Perish by Clickbait Marketing

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Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will see morning thunderstorms with a high of 89. Sunrise is 5:40 AM and sunset 8:21 PM for 14h 40m 57s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 57.1% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1775, the office that would later become the United States Post Office Department is established by the Second Continental Congress. Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania takes office as Postmaster General.

iHeartRadio.com, being the top-notch scholary journal clickbait mill that it is, has a 2023 post linking to a 2020 peer-reviewed research paper dog-crap article on The Most Stressed City in Each State. The 2020 article lists Whitewater as the most stressed city in Wisconsin. 

The formula for clickbait articles like this is to create an appearance, however flimsy, of a serious method: select a grab bag of measurements, apportion those measurements equally or even without any disclosure of apportionment, and then rank communities by them. Abracadabra!: a list of communities from most to least stressed. Using figures from six to ten years ago, the result somehow claims that Whitewater — of all places in the state — is the most stressed. 

I’m sure there are people in Whitewater who are stressed, but a few measures of dubious weighting using stale data serve iHeartRadio and the article’s original author (Zippia, ‘The Career Expert’) only as a way to attract website clicks. 

Why would this libertarian blogger mention the re-publication of an article that anyone with a GED, high school, technical school, college, graduate, or professional education should see as nonsense?

Because, in 2019, UW-Whitewater relied on a clickbait article from a burglar alarm company to claim that the campus was the safest in Wisconsin. See The Marketing of Misinformation: UW-Whitewater’s Use of a Counterfeit ‘Campus Safety’ Study and UW-Whitewater’s Administration Covers Crap with Catsup.

At that time, the university made sure to flack this nonsense prominently on its website. 

For some of us, respect for a high school, college, graduate school, or professional school education requires us to honor the legacy of the men and women who taught us proper standards of reasoning and method. No one honors an academic institution by debasing academic standards. 

The use of dodgy studies for marketing seems initially clever and practical, until someone else later comes along and deprecates the same community with the very technique the earlier dodgy effort used.

Live by clickbait marketing then, perish by clickbait marketing now. 

Not so clever after all.

New York: Crane collapses onto Manhattan street after catching fire: 

Daily Bread, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.25.23: This Week, Wisconsin Will Have the Busiest Air Control Tower in the World

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Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 89. Sunrise is 5:39 AM and sunset 8:22 PM for 14h 42m 57s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 47% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1897, author Jack London embarks on a sailing trip to take part in the Klondike’s gold rush, from which he wrote his first successful stories

It’s fitting that the nation that invented the airplane has the most-attended airshow and convention on Earth. Joe Schulz reports ‘This is our Super Bowl’: Half a million visitors expected in Wisconsin for EAA AirVenture (‘The Experimental Aircraft Association celebrates 70 years of fostering enthusiasm for aviation’):

This week, the control tower at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh will be the busiest in the world, as it’s set to welcome 10,000 flyers for the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual AirVenture.

The event is billed as the world’s largest air show and fly-in convention, and is expected to draw over half a million visitors to the Fox Valley. The week-long festivities include daily air shows, pyrotechnics, feature films at a fly-in theater, forums, workshops, demonstrations and more.

Beyond celebrating aviation, AirVenture has grown to become a major economic development tool for Oshkosh and surrounding communities. A 2017 UW-Oshkosh study found the event’s economic impact was $170 million spread across Winnebago, Fond du Lac, Outagamie, Brown and Calumet counties. Adjusted for inflation, that number is now north of $200 million.

Intense lightning flashes illuminate night sky in Slovenia:

Daily Bread, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.24.23: Blue Angels Highlight 2023 Milwaukee Air Show

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Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 87. Sunrise is 5:38 AM and sunset 8:23 PM for 14h 44m 55s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 37% of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Urban Forestry Commission meets at 4:30 PM. 

On this day in 1974, the United States Supreme Court unanimously rules that President Nixon did not have the authority to withhold subpoenaed White House tapes and they order him to surrender the tapes to the Watergate special prosecutor.

Blue Angels hightlight the Milwaukee Air Show: 

Hundreds of Golden Retrievers Gather to Celebrate Breed: 

They gathered at Guisachan House, where the first goldens were bred in 1868 by Sir Dudley Marjoribanks. The Golden Retriever Club of Scotland hosts these events every five years to honor their roots.

Daily Bread, Military, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.23.23: The Thrilling World of a Wisconsin Fighter Pilot

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 83. Sunrise is 5:37 AM and sunset 8:24 PM for 14h 46m 49s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 27.7% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1972, the United States launches Landsat 1, the first Earth-resources satellite.

Wisconsin Life | The Thrilling World of a Fighter Pilot:

Grunt not roar: Berlin lion likely a wild boar | DW News:

Here in Berlin, police are saying a lion they’ve been searching for since Thursday night is probably not a lion at all. After re-evaluating this video that sparked the hunt, authorities now say it’s more likely… a wild boar!

The mayor of the small town just outside Berlin where over a hundred officers had been searching for the phantom feline – delivered the big news. 

Animals, Daily Bread, Weird Tales

Daily Bread for 7.22.23: Rabbits Overrun Florida Town

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Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 81. Sunrise is 5:36 AM and sunset 8:25 PM for 14h 48m 42s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 19.6% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1933,  aviator Wiley Post returns to Floyd Bennett Field in New York City, completing the first solo flight around the world in seven days, 18 hours, and 49 minutes.

Lauren McCarthy reports ‘Leave No Bunny Behind’: A Florida Town Works to Rescue Dozens of Rabbits (‘After a former resident abandoned a pair of pet rabbits that bred dozens more, residents on a small island in Wilton Manors, Fla., have begun efforts to save and re-home the growing colony’):

Residents of a suburb outside Fort Lauderdale, Fla., don’t quite know what to do about their new neighbors: dozens of domesticated rabbits, and counting.

An estimated 75 rabbits have made their home on Jenada Isles, a small community of about 80 households within the suburb of Wilton Manors, after a former resident moved away a couple of years ago and left behind a pair of pet lionhead rabbits that bred. Officials and residents are weighing solutions that would spare the rabbits from getting euthanized and still keep them out of lawns, roads and the Florida heat.

One resident concerned about the rabbits’ safety showed up to a community meeting in May with three pet rabbits in a stroller, according to the city, which was unable to identify the man.

Jenada Isles is technically an island within the suburb, surrounded by canals, which has contained the rabbit colony and allowed them to multiply in a small space.

….

In an emailed statement, Chief Blocker said, “The safety of this rabbit population is of utmost importance to the city.”

“Any decision to involve ourselves will be certain to see these rabbits placed into the hands of people with a passion to provide the necessary care and love for these rabbits,” he added.

On Friday, Chief Blocker emailed a status update to the residents of Jenada Isles that said that discussions with a rescue organization would continue and that next steps included identifying prospective funding and receiving approval from Wilton Manors and a written agreement for the services provided.

“If anyone has interest in fostering rabbits, please let us know and we will place you on a list,” he wrote.

Anecdotally, it seems as though a disproportionate number of weird tales, unfortunate events, or wrongful acts originate in Florida. 

Can 2 exoplanets share the same orbit? New discovery shows strong evidence:

Daily Bread, Economy, Employment, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.21.23: Wisconsin jobs numbers reach record high while unemployment nears record lows

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Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 81. Sunrise is 5:36 AM and sunset 8:26 PM for 14h 50m 32s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 13.1% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1969, after the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to step onto the Moon’s surface six hours and 39 minutes later, on July 21 at 02:56 UTC.

Did you think there was no good news to mention? If so, then you were mistaken. Sarah Lehr reports the Number of jobs in Wisconsin reaches record high as unemployment hovers near record lows (‘The nation’s economy has been seeing job gains for more than 2 years’): 

Wisconsin’s labor force is continuing its post-pandemic expansion, the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows.

The total of number of nonfarm-related jobs across Wisconsin grew to more than 3 million as of June 2023.

That’s a record high and an increase of about 52,900 jobs compared to a year prior, according to an analysis of the preliminary numbers by Wisconsin’s Department of Workforce Development. Since May, the state added 6,900 nonfarm jobs, the estimate shows. 

“Businesses continue to hire and those that do get laid off aren’t laid off for very long, so it’s pretty strong jobs market still here in Wisconsin,” Dennis Winters, DWD’s chief economist, said Thursday.

The state is bigger than the city, and many jobs in the state have wages higher than those in the city. And yet, and yet, it is better for the city that Wisconsin does well than that Wisconsin does poorly. 

Employment trends are moving favorably overall, and that’s a reason for sober-minded optimism. 

Dogs in Japanese Offices Aim to Keep Owners Happy: 

City, Film

Film: Tuesday, July 25th, 1:00 PM @ Seniors in the Park, Colossus: The Forbin Project

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Tuesday, July 25th at 1:00 PM, there will be a showing of Colossus: The Forbin Project @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin Community Building:

Science Fiction/Thriller

PG-13

1 hour, 41 minutes. (1970)

It’s been said that science fiction anticipates the future and reality. Equate that with AI or artificial intelligence. In this well-regarded classic film, an Elon-Musk type electronics genius builds a super computer with a mind of its own. Or so he thinks, until he learns, so have the Soviets. When the two artificial intelligences begin to communicate with each other, machines’ world domination over humans beings is imminent. Stars Eric Braeden, Susan Clark and William Schallert. 

One can find more information about Colossus: The Forbin Project at the Internet Movie Database.