Good morning, Whitewater.

We’ll have a wintry mix, with high winds, in Whitewater today, with a high of thirty-four.  Sunrise is 6:48 AM and sunset 7:13 PM, for 12h 24m 42s of daytime.

Whitewater’s CDA is scheduled to meet today at 5 PM.

On this day in 1989, Alaska suffers a tanker spill:

The worst oil spill in U.S. territory begins when the supertanker Exxon Valdez, owned and operated by the Exxon Corporation, runs aground on a reef in Prince William Sound in southern Alaska. An estimated 11 million gallons of oil eventually spilled into the water. Attempts to contain the massive spill were unsuccessful, and wind and currents spread the oil more than 100 miles from its source, eventually polluting more than 700 miles of coastline. Hundreds of thousands of birds and animals were adversely affected by the environmental disaster.

It was later revealed that Joseph Hazelwood, the captain of the Valdez, was drinking at the time of the accident and allowed an uncertified officer to steer the massive vessel. In March 1990, Hazelwood was convicted of misdemeanor negligence, fined $50,000, and ordered to perform 1,000 hours of community service. In July 1992, an Alaska court overturned Hazelwood’s conviction, citing a federal statute that grants freedom from prosecution to those who report an oil spill….

In Wisconsin history, it’s the birthday of a magician connected to Appleton:

Harry Houdini Born
On this date magician Harry Houdini was born in Budapest, though he later claimed to have been born on April 6, 1874, in Appleton, Wisconsin. At the age of 13 he left Appleton, where his family had emigrated, for New York City, and began his career as an escape artist and magician. [Source: History Museum at the Castle]

Good morning, Whitewater.

Midweek in town will be rainy with a high of thirty-six.  Sunrise is 6:50 AM and sunset 7:11 PM for 12h 21m 47s of daytime.  We’ve a full moon today.

On this day in 1839, O.K. makes its way into a major newspaper, advancing in our vernacular:

On this day in 1839, the initials “O.K.” are first published in The Boston Morning Post. Meant as an abbreviation for “oll correct,” a popular slang misspelling of “all correct” at the time, OK steadily made its way into the everyday speech of Americans.

During the late 1830s, it was a favorite practice among younger, educated circles to misspell words intentionally, then abbreviate them and use them as slang when talking to one another. Just as teenagers today have their own slang based on distortions of common words, such as “kewl” for “cool” or “DZ” for “these,” the “in crowd” of the 1830s had a whole host of slang terms they abbreviated. Popular abbreviations included “KY” for “No use” (“know yuse”), “KG” for “No go” (“Know go”), and “OW” for all right (“oll wright”).

Of all the abbreviations used during that time, OK was propelled into the limelight when it was printed in the Boston Morning Post as part of a joke. Its popularity exploded when it was picked up by contemporary politicians. When the incumbent president Martin Van Buren was up for reelection, his Democratic supporters organized a band of thugs to influence voters. This group was formally called the “O.K. Club,” which referred both to Van Buren’s nickname “Old Kinderhook” (based on his hometown of Kinderhook, New York), and to the term recently made popular in the papers….

On this day in 1865, Union soldiers from Wisconsin conclude successfully the North Carolin campaign:

1865 – Wis. Troops End Hostilities in N.C.
On this date, the 21st Wisconsin Infantry, made up mostly of soldiers from the Oshkosh area, finished fighting their way through the South during Sherman’s March to the Sea and reached Goldsboro, N.C., where the campaign in the Carolinas ended. Its veterans reunited 40 years later in Manitowoc. [Source: 21st Wisconsin Infantry homepage]

Good morning, Whitewater.

Tuesday in town will be cloudy with a high of fifty-eight. Sunrise is 6:51 AM and sunset 7:10 PM, for 12h 18m 51s of daytime. We’ve a fill moon today, with 99.1% of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Urban Forestry Commission meets today at 4:30 PM, and the CDA Ad Hoc Committee on Grocery at 6 PM.

It’s Eugene Shepard’s birthday:

On this date Eugene Shepard was born near Green Bay. Although he made his career in the lumbering business near Rhinelander, he was best known for his story-telling and practical jokes. He told many tales of Paul Bunyan, the mythical lumberjack, and drew pictures of the giant at work that became famous. Shepard also started a new legend about a prehistoric monster that roamed the woods of Wisconsin – the hodag. Shepard built the mythical monster out of wood and bull’s horns. He fooled everyone into believing it was alive, allowing it to be viewed only inside a dark tent. The beast was displayed at the Wausau and Antigo county fairs before Shepard admitted it was all a hoax. [Source: Badger saints and sinners, by Fred L. Holmes, p.459-474]

Good morning, Whitewater.

Monday in town will be partly cloudy with a high of forty-eight. Sunrise is 6:53 AM and sunset 7:09 PM, for 12h 15m 55s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 96.4% of its visible disk illuminated.

There will be a meeting at 6 PM of Whitewater’s No Fault Sewer Backup Insurance Committee.

On this day in 1963, Alcatraz closes:

Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay closes down and transfers its last prisoners. At its peak period of use in 1950s, “The Rock, or “America’s Devil Island” housed over 200 inmates at the maximum-security facility. Alcatraz remains an icon of American prisons for its harsh conditions and record for being inescapable.

The twelve-acre rocky island, one and a half miles from San Francisco, featured the most advanced security of the time. Some of the first metal detectors were used at Alcatraz. Strict rules were enforced against the unfortunate inmates who had to do time at Alcatraz. Nearly complete silence was mandated at all times.

Alcatraz was first explored by Juan Manuel de Ayala in 1775, who called it Isla de los Alcatraces (Pelicans) because of all the birds that lived there. It was sold in 1849 to the U.S. government. The first lighthouse in California was on Alcatraz. It became a Civil War fort and then a military prison in 1907.

The end of its prison days did not end the Alcatraz saga. In March 1964, a group of Sioux claimed that the island belonged to them due to a 100-year-old treaty. Their claims were ignored until November 1969 when a group of eighty-nine Native Americans representing the American Indian Movement (AIM) occupied the island. They stayed there until 1971 when AIM was finally forced off the island by federal authorities.

The following year, Alcatraz was added to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It is now open for tourism.

A Google a Day asks a science question:

The founder of the annual medical science awards that are often called “America’s Nobels” is also considered the founder of what field?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Sunday in town will be partly cloudy with a high of forty-five.  Sunrise is 6:55 AM and sunset 7:08 PM, for 12h 13m 01s of daytime.  The moon is a waxing gibbous with 91.8% of its visible disk illuminated.

It’s the first day of spring, and Google has a doodle to mark the day:

On this day in 1778, France receives a delegation from America:

Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane and Arthur Lee present themselves to France’s King Louis XVI as official representatives of the United States on this day in 1778. Louis XVI was skeptical of the fledgling republic, but his dislike of the British eventually overcame these concerns and France officially recognized the United States in February 1778.

On this day in 1854, the Republican Party is founded:

1854 – Republican Party Founded

On this date Free Soilers and Whigs outraged by the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, met in Ripon to consider forming a new political party. The meeting’s organizer, Alvan E. Bovay, proposed the name “Republican” which had been suggested by New York editor Horace Greeley. You can see eyewitness accounts of the meeting, early Republican campaign documents, and other original sources on our page devoted to Wisconsin and the Republican Party. Though other places have claimed themselves as the birthplace of the Republican Party, this was the earliest meeting held for the purpose and the first to use the term Republican. [Source: History of Wisconsin, II: 218-219]

Good morning, Whitewater.

Saturday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of forty-one. Sunrise is 6:57 AM and sunset is 7:07 PM, 12h 10m 05s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 85.9% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1979, a new channel launches:

C-SPAN was launched on March 19, 1979,^[10] in time for the first televised session made available by the House of Representatives, beginning with a speech by then-Tennessee representative Al Gore.^[11][12] Upon its debut, only 3.5 million homes were wired for C-SPAN,^[13] and the network had just three employees.^[14] The second C-SPAN channel, C-SPAN2, followed on June 2, 1986 when the U.S. Senate permitted itself to be televised.^[15][16] C-SPAN3, the most recent expansion channel, began full-time operations on January 22, 2001,^[17] and shows other public policy and government-related live events on weekdays along with weekend historical programming.^[5] C-SPAN3 is the successor of a digital channel called C-SPAN Extra, which was launched in the Washington D.C. area in 1997, and televised live and recorded political events from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday.^[17][18]

C-SPAN Radio began operations on October 9, 1997, covering similar events as the television networks and often simulcasting their programming.^[19] The station broadcasts on WCSP (90.1 FM) in Washington, D.C., is also available on XM Satellite Radio channel 120 and is streamed live at c-span.org.^[1] It was formerly available on Sirius Satellite Radio from 2002 to 2006.^[20]

Lamb semi-retired in March 2012, coinciding with the channel’s 33rd anniversary, and gave executive control of the network to his two lieutenants, Rob Kennedy and Susan Swain.^[21]

On this day in 1865, Wisconsinites fight at Goldsborough:

1865 – (Civil War) Battle of Goldsborough, North Carolina, Begins

The 21st, 22nd and 25th Wisconsin Infantry regiments took part in the battle at Goldsborough, North Carolina, during the Campaign of the Carolinas. Three Union armies totaling 100,000 men attacked the city in order to control its strategically important railroad lines.

Good morning, Whitewater.

Friday in town will be cloudy with a high of forty. Sunrise is 6:58 AM and sunset 7:06 PM, for 12h 07m 08s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 78.5% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1766, Parliament repeals the Stamp Act:

The Stamp Act was passed on March 22, 1765, leading to an uproar in the colonies over an issue that was to be a major cause of the Revolution: taxation without representation. Enacted in November 1765, the controversial act forced colonists to buy a British stamp for every official document they obtained. The stamp itself displayed an image of a Tudor rose framed by the word “America” and the French phrase Honi soit qui mal y pense–“Shame to him who thinks evil of it.”

The colonists, who had convened the Stamp Act Congress in October 1765 to vocalize their opposition to the impending enactment, greeted the arrival of the stamps with outrage and violence. Most Americans called for a boycott of British goods, and some organized attacks on the customhouses and homes of tax collectors. After months of protest, and an appeal by Benjamin Franklin before the British House of Commons, Parliament voted to repeal the Stamp Act in March 1766. However, the same day, Parliament passed the Declaratory Acts, asserting that the British government had free and total legislative power over the colonies.

On this day in 1953, a Major League team announces a move:

1953 – Braves Move to Milwaukee
On this date the Braves baseball team announced that they were moving from Boston to Milwaukee. [Source: The History Net]

JigZone ends the week with a puzzle of a plant:

Good morning, Whitewater.

Thursday in town will be partly cloudy and windy with a high of fifty. Sunrise is 7 AM and sunset 7:04 PM, for 12h 04m 13s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 68.3% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1776, Britain leaves Boston:

During the evening of March 4, American Brigadier General John Thomas, under orders from Washington, secretly led a force of 800 soldiers and 1,200 workers to Dorchester Heights and began fortifying the area. To cover the sound of the construction, American cannons, besieging Boston from another location, began a noisy bombardment of the outskirts of the city. By the morning, more than a dozen cannons from Fort Ticonderoga had been brought within the Dorchester Heights fortifications. British General Sir William Howe hoped to use the British ships in Boston Harbor to destroy the American position, but a storm set in, giving the Americans ample time to complete the fortifications and set up their artillery. Realizing their position was now indefensible, 11,000 British troops and some 1,000 Loyalists departed Boston by ship on March 17, sailing to the safety of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The bloodless liberation of Boston by the Patriots brought an end to a hated eight-year British occupation of the city, known for such infamous events as the “Boston Massacre,” in which five colonists were shot and killed by British soldiers. The British fleet had first entered Boston Harbor on October 2, 1768, carrying 1,000 soldiers. Having soldiers living among them in tents on Boston Common–a standing army in 18th-century parlance–infuriated Bostonians.

For the victory, General Washington, commander of the Continental Army, was presented with the first medal ever awarded by the Continental Congress.

On this day in 1941, Milwaukee’s airport gets its current name:

1941 – General Mitchell Field Named
On this date Milwaukee’s airport was named to honor the city’s famous air-power pioneer, General William Mitchell. [Source: History Just Ahead: A Guide to Wisconsin’s Historical Markers edited by Sarah Davis McBride]

Today’s puzzle from JigZone is of a ski run: