Good evening,
It’s a party cloudy night, with a low temperature that will be in the low sixties.
The results of the ninth stage of the Tour de France, following a rest day, seemed to make clear that the battle was down to two riders:
And in a sign of what to expect over the course of the next 12 days, Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank) earned himself the overall race lead following his mano-a-mano exploits with Alberto Contador (Astana) that began on the slopes of the Col de la Madeleine. There’s no doubt that the touch paper which was ignited today will result in an explosion for the maillot jaune once the race hits the Pyrenees.
One fact became glaringly obvious, however: this year’s Tour de France has become a battle between Schleck, winner of Sunday’s stage to Morzine-Avoriaz, and reigning champion Alberto Contador. There’s already two minutes between second-placed Contador and third-placed Samuel Sanchez, and each has the team to help them remain at the head of proceedings….
There’s sound reasoning in all this, but it’s still early. After all, at least one publication saw a different possibility, before the race began:
There’s more information now, by far, than there was just nine stages ago, but there’s still much that’s unknown.
Do desperate times call for desperate measures? One of the wealthiest school districts in Wisconsin, in Williams Bay, is looking to ask voters to support a referendum to “to exceed state revenue caps by $498,000 for the next two school years and by $890,000 for the school years after that.” See, Williams Bay School District sets referendum for September.
One could say that our difficult times call for even wealthy districts to fund operations by raising additional revenue — taxes — to keep going. Alternatively, it’s possible that some school boards, no matter how well off their districts, simply cannot imagine not asking residents for still more revenue.
I’ll end the day on a fine, reassuring note, of possibility. Here’s Duke Ellington, from a clip as he plays Take the A Train. Enjoy.