Good morning.
Wednesday in Whitewater will be mostly cloudy with a high of 45. Sunrise is 7:23 AM and sunset 4:42 PM for 9h 18m 17s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 82.3% of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Police & Fire Commission meets at 7 PM.
On this day in 1964, Surgeon General of the United States Dr. Luther Terry, M.D., publishes the landmark report Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the United States saying that smoking may be hazardous to health, sparking national and worldwide anti-smoking efforts.
Shawn Johnson reports Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates discuss abortion, redistricting at Madison forum:
The four candidates running for a pivotal seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court laid out how they’d approach the job during a forum in Madison Monday, with some of the candidates sending strong signals about their views on issues like redistricting and abortion.
Waukesha County Judge Jennifer Dorow, former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Everett Mitchell and Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz are all seeking a 10-year term on the court to replace conservative Justice Patience Roggensack, who is retiring. Roggensack endorsed Dorow Monday.
The court currently has a 4-3 conservative majority, meaning the race could flip the ideological balance of the court. While the race is officially nonpartisan, Dorow and Kelly are supported by Republicans while Mitchell and Protasiewicz are backed by Democrats.
The forum comes a little more than a month before voters head to the polls in a Feb. 21 primary. The top two vote-getters will advance to the general election on April 4.
The statewide court race with an ideological tint (where candidates express definite & partisan views) will affect local elections that take on an ideological tint. If the high-court race should cause a tide in one direction or another, candidates locally who are identified ideologically will benefit (or lose) ground accordingly.
Of posts this week: Wisconsin’s Near-Death Experience (the 2022 elections), What Price for a Wisconsin Legacy? (an aspirational future), and today’s on the Wisconsin Supreme Court Race (the real future whether hopeful or regrettable). Local may not be local, as nonpartisan is not nonpartisan.
Drone footage shows vehicle inside huge sinkhole after torrential downpours in California: