Good morning.
Wednesday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 68. Sunrise is 6:49 and sunset is 7:13 for 12 hours 24 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 47.6 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1965, civil rights activists led by Martin Luther King Jr. successfully complete their march from Selma to the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama.
Wisconsin had an opportunity this year to adopt legislation against lawsuits designed to limit public participation, but the Wisconsin Senate declined to consider the legislation. Lawsuits like this are called strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP) and are designed to limit discussion of public policy issues. Anti-SLAPP didn’t get a vote in the State Senate as WISGOP proponents of the legislation claim they were stymied by another WISGOP senator:
Rep. Jim Piwowarczyk (R-Hubertus), who coauthored the bill, said in an email to the Wisconsin Examiner that he was “very disappointed that one or two Republican senators would block a bill that would protect everyone’s First Amendment rights.” He said he identified a few senators opposed to allowing the bill to make it to the Senate floor, and made several attempts to contact them and address potential concerns.
“The vast majority of Republicans AND Democrats in the state Legislature supported this bill,” Piwowarczyk said.
[…]The state Senate and Assembly have both adjourned their final regular floor sessions of the year. Work in the Capitol will be minimal for the remainder of the year as lawmakers turn their attention to running for reelection.
Free Press Action [a free-speech advocacy group] said it would also be advocating for the bill next year.
“SLAPP lawsuits are designed to punish and silence, not to win. Even when dismissed, they can cost defendants tens of thousands of dollars and years in court. When anti-SLAPP laws are enacted, targeted victims can defeat these speech-chilling attacks,” Arin Anderson, the Wisconsin civic media campaign manager for Free Press Action, said in a statement. “Passing this broadly supported bill would send a clear message: Wisconsin stands up for free speech, open debate and the right of people to hold the powerful accountable.”
When lawmakers return in January 2027, the makeup of both the state Assembly and Senate could be quite different, with Republican leaders and other incumbents retiring and Democratic lawmakers eyeing majorities.
See Baylor Spears, Republican ‘anti-SLAPP’ legislation, opposed by legislator who targeted local paper, fails, Wisconsin Examiner, March 25, 2026.
Goodbye party held for giant pigeon statue on the High Line in New York City: