FREE WHITEWATER

Daily Bread, Politics, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 5.27.25: On Recent Wisconsin Political Speculations

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Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 69. Sunrise is 5:21 and sunset is 8:23, for 15 hours, 02 minutes of daytime. The moon is new with 0.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Finance Committee meets at 5 PM. The Whitewater Unified School District’s Policy Review Committee meets at 6:40 PM. The Whitewater School Board then meets in open session at 7 PM, to enter closed session and return to open session later in the evening.

Photograph by Don Ramey Logan, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link

On this day in 1937,  in California, the Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic, creating a vital link between San Francisco and Marin County, California.

There’s all sorts of speculation about who’s running for what in Wisconsin. Molly Back and Daniel Bice at the Journal Sentinel offer Which Democrats will run for governor if Tony Evers doesn’t and answers to other questions. Let’s address some of their speculations:

Q: If Gov. Evers declines to run for a third term, who are the likely Democratic front-runners?

Molly: Here are the Democrats I hear floated when this question comes up: Attorney General Josh Kaul, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski, and soon-to-be-former Democratic Party of Wisconsin chairman Ben Wikler.

Evers running again is as close to a certainty as there is.

Q: Is U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson running again in 2028?

Molly: Johnson is now in his third term (one term longer than he initially promised to stay in D.C.) and is now 70. Whether he seeks a fourth term is a good question, and I don’t think we’ll have an answer until closer to 2027.

Dan: Remember when Johnson was just a “citizen legislator,” emphasizing the fact that he was a businessman and political outsider? Things have changed. Johnson sold his business and is now a D.C. insider. Washington will do that to you. But is he ready to give up his podcast interviews and Fox News airtime for a quiet retirement in Oshkosh? Who will listen to his conspiracy theories then? 

Johnson is a crackpot and a liar (he broke his pledge not to run for a third term). There’s no predicting his actions except to know that he’s a crackpot and a liar. (And holy cow, if Johnson retires, it won’t be to Oshkosh: Johnson travels along a Washington, D.C. to Florida axis.)

Q: Scott Walker is on TV a LOT. Is he running for office again?

Dan: Here’s what you need to know — his poll numbers are not good from what I hear, and he’s making more money than he ever has. In 2023, he pulled in $840,521 as president of the Young America’s Foundation, according to its financial filings. (So much for his brown bag lunches.) It’s also a job without a downside. If the number of conservative youngsters increases, then great. But if it doesn’t, what did you expect? He can blame the liberals for running the universities, the entertainment industry and the media.

So the answer is no, not anytime soon. He’s too busy counting his cash and his media appearances.

Well, that’s right: Walker isn’t running, and would lose any major race if he did run. The WISGOP isn’t Walker’s party anymore; it’s Trump’s. It’s also well-known, not scuttlebutt, what Walker makes at YAF. (There’s no ‘from what I hear’ inside knowledge required.)

See Molly Beck and Daniel Bice, Which Democrats will run for governor if Tony Evers doesn’t and answers to other questions, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 27, 2025.

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano shoots lava fountain into air in latest eruption:

Video from the U.S. Geological Survey showed Kilauea volcano spewing lava more than 800 feet into the air in its latest eruption on Hawaii’s Big Island.

America, Daily Bread, History, Military

Daily Bread for 5.26.25: Memorial Day

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Good morning.

Memorial Day in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 66. Sunrise is 5:22 and sunset is 8:22, for 15 hours, 00 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 0.6 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Memorial Day Parade will begin at 10:30 AM at 426 North Street and end at the Old Armory on 146 North Street.

On this day in 1969, Apollo 10 returns to Earth after a successful eight-day test of all the components needed for the forthcoming first crewed Moon landing.

Chaya Tong reports on an Arlington National Cemetery ceremony eight decades on:

More than 80 years after he died in the attack on Pearl Harbor, John Connolly was finally laid to rest – not as an unknown in a mass grave, but as a naval officer in Arlington National Cemetery.

When the Navy first called to tell his daughter, Virginia Harbison, that her father’s remains had been identified, she hung up. At 91, living in assisted care in Texas, she could hardly believe it. It was her son, Bill Ingram, who called her back to share the news again. She was silent for so long that he had to ask if she was all right. “Bill,” she said, “I hadn’t thought about that for 60 years.”

She has lived the full life her father never had the chance to. In March, Ingram pushed his mother in her wheelchair to her father’s gravesite for the burial.

“They fold the flag in this very tight, nice triangle, and then with white gloves, the commanding officer comes and takes it and kneels down and hands it to my mother,” said Ingram, who lives in San Francisco. “It was incredible.”

On Dec. 7, 1941 during the attack on Pearl Harbor, 429 service members aboard the USS Oklahoma died. Horrifyingly, men trapped below deck after the ship capsized could be heard tapping out “SOS” in Morse code as the air supply dwindled. Though 32 men were rescued, the rest were tragically not reached in time.

….

In 1944, the Navy re-commissioned one of their ships as the USS John Connolly. Though his story was a tragic one – an officer who never returned home whose remains were left unknown – history has granted him a second chance at closure. Over eight decades later, he got the hero’s burial he deserved.

See Chaya Tong, Eight decades after dying in Pearl Harbor attack, Georgia-born sailor gets Arlington farewell, Georgia Recorder, May 25, 2025.

Jupiter’s auroras captured by the James Webb Space Telescope:

Daily Bread, Education, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 5.25.25: A Wisconsin School That Excels at Math

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 67. Sunrise is 5:23 and sunset is 8:21, for 14 hours, 58 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 4.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1933, the Walt Disney Company cartoon Three Little Pigs premieres at Radio City Music Hall, featuring the hit song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?“

A Wisconsin school that excels at math:

See Corrinne Hess, This Wisconsin school excels at teaching math. Can its approach work statewide? (‘Nearly 80 percent of Winskill Elementary School students are advanced or meeting expectations in math, double state’s average’), Wisconsin Public Radio, May 22, 2025.

Kenya relocates endangered black rhinos in conservation bid:

Courts, Daily Bread, Elections, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 5.24.25: Chris Taylor Enters Wisconsin Supreme Court Race

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Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 66. Sunrise is 5:23 and sunset is 8:20, for 14 hours, 56 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 9.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1844, Samuel Morse sends the message “What hath God wrought” (a biblical quotation, Numbers 23:23) from a committee room in the United States Capitol to his assistant, Alfred Vail, in Baltimore, Maryland, to inaugurate a commercial telegraph line between Baltimore and Washington D.C.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court race now has two candidates, incumbent Rebecca Bradley and challenger Chris Taylor:

The next battle for Wisconsin’s Supreme Court is shaping up, with liberal state Appeals Court Judge Chris Taylor announcing Tuesday that she will challenge conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley.

While the race won’t tip the balance of power on the state’s highest court like the last two Supreme Court contests, it could potentially grow liberals’ current majority.

….

The announcements by Taylor and Bradley come after Wisconsin set yet another record for campaign spending on a judicial race. All told, more than $100 million went toward supporting the Crawford and Schimel campaigns according to WisPolitics, which is nearly double the previous record set in 2023. 

Liberals currently hold a 4-3 majority on the court, a split that will remain unchanged after Crawford takes office Aug. 1. A Bradley victory next year would keep that 4-3 margin intact. Should she lose, it would give liberals a 5-2 edge on the court.

See Rich Kramer, Liberal Judge Chris Taylor enters 2026 race for Wisconsin Supreme Court (‘Taylor is the first candidate to formally challenge conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley’), Wisconsin Public Radio, May 20, 2025.

Norwegian man wakes up to find grounded cargo ship narrowly missed his home:

Authorities say they received reports that the NCL Salten had run aground shortly before 6 a.m. Thursday. No injuries or oil spills were reported. Shipping company NCL said in a statement it was aware of police statements saying they had one suspect. The company said it was cooperating with the investigation.

Daily Bread, Faraway Places, Weird Tales

Daily Bread for 5.23.25: What Lurks Beneath the Oceans?

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Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 61. Sunrise is 5:24 and sunset is 8:19, for 14 hours, 55 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 17.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1934, American bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed by police and killed in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

What lurks beneath the oceans? These:

Explore underwater crime scenes, wine aging, memorial reefs, and mystical caves in this thrilling compilation of ocean exploration stories. Dive into the depths of the Mediterranean, Yucatan, and beyond, uncovering how the ocean transforms both life and death. These incredible tales reveal the secrets of the deep.

Several dead after small aircraft hits San Diego neighborhood:

An aircraft crashed in the Murphy Canyon neighbourhood near the Montgomery-Gibbs executive airport on Thursday morning, clipping one home and damaging several vehicles, San Diego police department said.

City, Film

Film: Wednesday, May 27th, 1:00 PM @ Seniors in the Park, A Complete Unknown

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Tuesday, May 27th at 1:00 PM, there will be a showing of A Complete Unknown @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin Community Building:

 

19 year old Minnesota musician Bob Dylan‘s (Timothée Chalamet) meteoric rise as a folk singer from bars, to concert halls, to top of the charts. His mystique captures the attention of icons like Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, and Johnny Cash. Nominated for eight Oscars; winner for Best Actor (Chalamet) and Screen Actors Guild Award (SAG-AFTRA).

One can find more information about A Complete Unknown at the Internet Movie Database.

Daily Bread, Education, School District

Daily Bread for 5.22.25: The Whitewater Unified School District’s Superintendent Candidates

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Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 57. Sunrise is 5:25 and sunset is 8:18, for 14 hours, 53 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 28.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Candidates for the district’s superintendent position will hold meet-and-greet sessions from 5:30 to 8:05 PM:

On this day in 1762,  Trevi Fountain is officially completed and inaugurated in Rome.

The Whitewater Unified School District issued a press release on 5.15.25 with a brief professional summary for each of its superintendent candidates:

Lost hikers were airlifted to safety from a forest:

The Placer County Sheriff’s Office rescued lost hikers from a forest in Northern California after they ran out of food.

City, Daily Bread, Open Government, Police, School District

City of Whitewater Renews Proposal and Encourages School District to Negotiate

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Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be rainy with a high of 50. Sunrise is 5:26 and sunset is 8:17, for 14 hours, 51 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 37.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Parks and Recreation Board meets at 5:30 PM.

On this day in 1881, the American Red Cross is established by Clara Barton in Dansville, New York.

At its regular session last night, the Whitewater Common Council approved a counterproposal to the Whitewater Unified School District for a school resource officer. The council sensibly declined to submit a request-for-proposal of the type the district has crafted. The video segment of the council discussion appears above, and a few remarks on the discussion appear below.

Action of the Common Council: The council approved unanimously a motion (1) to decline a formal proposal to the district’s RFP request and to re-offer the April 15th council-approved a 120-day contract extension, (2) to include in reply to the district an outline of other steps the parties could take and contractual provisions they could make to reach an agreement. See Video @ 16:31.

This is a reasonable response of the kind that takes place in negotiations between either public or private organizations across the state. In fact, it’s an agreeable, cooperative counter-proposal. No one familiar with negotiations could reasonably see this otherwise.

Discussion. This discussion took place in open session, but might have also taken place in open session and a closed session with a return to open session afterwards. Either way (open only or open-closed-back-to-open), all of this was a matter-of-fact discussion toward a legal agreement between two local public institutions. Even if there had been a closed session, one could always return to open session and announce that no action would be taken.

There are some clear-cut issues (more on that next), but the discussion among these council members does not justify the concern that the temperature needed to be lowered. This entire discussion was conducted, as it should have been, dispassionately and at a low temperature, so to speak.

The RFP from the district. There’s a key portion of this matter that I’ve yet to discuss, but that officials from the city, police department, and the city’s counsel spotted (and were sure to spot, as it’s so plain). Video @ 1:23 and Video @ 2:45.

It’s right there in view: the district’s RFP is not, in fact, anything like a conventional request-for-proposal — it’s an adhesion contract masquerading as a request-for-proposal. (Adhesion contracts are boilerplate agreements used between parties of unequal bargaining power where the stronger party expects acceptance on a take-it-or-leave-it basis.) These are equal parties; anyone wanting to keep the temperature low would avoid sending the other party a hurry-up-sign-on-the-dotted-line deal.

Give and take negotiations between equal parties don’t involve adhesion contracts.

The right community solution may take time, but is plain to see. It’s the same one advocated at FREE WHITEWATER throughout: discussions between the parties should strive to achieve an agreement between Whitewater’s schools and the city’s police department as promptly as possible.

At least Whitewater doesn’t (yet) have this problem — Colorado police chase a loose pet kangaroo:

Chasing a loose kangaroo is getting to be part of the job for police in a southwestern Colorado town. Irwin, the pet kangaroo, got loose last fall, and police were able to lure him with a bag similar to a mother kangaroo’s pouch. On Monday, Irwin got loose again. (AP Video: Thomas Peipert).

City, Open Government, Police, School District

Status of a School Resource Officer for Whitewater’s Schools

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Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be rainy with a high of 52. Sunrise is 5:27 and sunset is 8:16, for 14 hours, 49 minutes of daytime. The moon is in its third quarter with 50.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Common Council meets at 6 PM. (Please note the new start time.)

On this day in 1873, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a U.S. patent for blue jeans with copper rivets.

Sometimes, despite one’s hopes, a decision goes from bad to worse. Whitewater finds herself in an unnecessary conflict over the Whitewater Unified School District’s decision to pursue an out-of-community school resource officer. Instead of working for a resolution within the community, the school district continues along an impractical course.

This post updates the controversy in three parts: (1) events previously, (2) events subsequent to FREE WHITEWATER‘s last post on the subject from 5.6.25, and (3) where matters stand presently.

Previously: In the spring, a dispute arose from the Whitewater Unified School District about the long-standing arrangement with the Whitewater Police Department for a school resource officer. At the time, one sensible option was a contract extension of the existing agreement until various concerns could be addressed. See Discussion of Whitewater’s School Resource Officer Merits a 120-Day Contract Extension, FREE WHITEWATER, 4.30.25.

Events moved quickly, and the City of Whitewater then proposed an amended contract. See More on a Whitewater School Resource Officer, FREE WHITEWATER, 5.1.25.

Either an extension or an amended contract were good options for Whitewater.

On 5.6.25, in the early afternoon, a joint press release from the Whitewater School Board president and the Whitewater Common Council president offered hope that a resolution would be forthcoming. See Update on School Resource Officer Discussions Between the Whitewater School District and the City of Whitewater, FREE WHITEWATER, 5.6.25.

Subsequently (after my 5.6 post): The Whitewater Common Council met on the evening of 5.6, and Whitewater’s police chief presented on his perspective for a school resource officer. See Whitewater Common Council Video, 5.6.25, YouTube @ 51.21.

City officials and school board members then met on 5.16, only for city officials to report that the meeting revealed that (1) the school board did not even discuss the City of Whitewater’s proposed contract extension, (2) the school board did not see a letter from Whitewater Police Chief Meyer about the SRO position, (3) the district rushed ahead with a request-for-proposal for an SRO without informing city officials, and (4) city representatives learned at that 5.16.25 meeting that an unnamed private entity had already received the request-for-proposal and intended to respond, even before the RFP was published with an issue date of 5.19.25.

The 5.16 meeting between district and city officials also revealed that the school board discussed purported grievances concerning the program at a 4.28.25 closed session of the board, but apparently only related the full list of concerns at the 5.16.25 meeting. If the grievances were genuinely serious, then the district administration should have conveyed all of them sooner. See Whitewater Common Council Packet, Section on School Resource Officer, 5.20.25.

Presently:

Of fundamentals: This is not an issue merely of left, center, or right. It’s a transcending issue of open government and practical public safety.

Of responsibility: The City of Whitewater and the Whitewater Unified School District are not equally responsible for this impasse. It is the WUSD that has walked away from a long-standing partnership. These are not simply two quarreling parties; this is not simply a battle of press releases.

Of public issues, public employees, at public expense: There are no private parties here (unless the WUSD presumes to hire a security guard to protect Whitewater’s school children). We are all members of the same community (unless the WUSD presumes that an outside agency would serve better than our own local police force).

This is not a matter for a mere 15 of 15,000 residents in the city; it is not a matter for a mere 22 of 22,000 residents across the entire district. It’s a matter for all of us.

In any event, the students, parents, and residents of this district are owed an open accounting of the conduct of their public schools. If this is too hard for some, then they should return to (or remain in) private life.

Of wandering: This district is now in the position of a group of hikers, where one leads the others into becoming lost in the woods. Rather than find their way back with a map and compass, or staying put until help arrives, they wander only farther off the path, and farther from home.

Of solutions: The City of Whitewater has a sound, defensible position. The most important question in any dispute is whether one is sound in one’s views. If so, then the primary justification for defending a position has been met. While everyone should hope for a resolution, it’s sensible for the city to explore calmly and thoroughly all its options, including legal recourse.

The Whitewater Unified School District, through its board, should abandon an outside request-for-proposal, and negotiate with the city and her police force for a new contract before the current contract’s expiration on 6.30.25. Alternatively, the district’s board should approve an extension of the existing contract until a new district administration can consider matters.

The Whitewater School Board would do well by this community to work with Whitewater’s police force, come to a resolution, and thereafter concentrate on the important work of students’ education. Our district should be looking forward to students’ and teachers’ work under a new superintendent. That important work will happen here, in this community. It serves no positive purpose for students or families to be distracted and diverted from that educational mission. A departing district employee should not be their focus.

Our board’s obligations are to Whitewater’s students, Whitewater’s parents, and Whitewater’s residents. We, here, are their neighbors, friends, and constituents.

As before, indeed, more than ever: discussions between the parties should strive to achieve an agreement between Whitewater’s schools and the city’s police department as promptly as possible.

Daily Bread, Nature, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 5.19.25: Wisconsin’s State Parks 125 Years On

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Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be mostly cloudy and windy with a high of 57. Sunrise is 5:28 and sunset is 8:15, for 14 hours, 47 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 60.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Library Board meets at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1780,  New England’s Dark Day, an unusual darkening of the day sky, was observed over the New England states and parts of Canada:

In Connecticut, a member of the Governor’s Council (renamed the Connecticut State Senate in 1818), Abraham Davenport, became most famous for his response to his colleagues’ fears that it was the Day of Judgment:

“I am against adjournment. The day of judgment is either approaching, or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for an adjournment; if it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that candles may be brought.”

Wisconsin’s park system is now 125 years old:

Today, Wisconsin’s 50 state parks — not including 15 state forests and 44 state trails — comprise nearly 156,000 acres and are enjoyed annually by about 20 million campers, hikers, anglers and others.
Not one Wisconsin State Park is like any of the others. And like the variety of landscape and wildlife found in each, the parks differ in size, popularity, staffing and ability to maintain their amenities and natural resources.

….

Smaller parks have become particularly reliant on the volunteer fundraising and sweat equity provided by park-specific friends groups.

Members of these groups staff nature centers, remove invasives, restore equipment, run programs and organize fundraising efforts.

“Most of the parks can’t afford to have a full-time naturalist, so they depend heavily on friends members to give guided nature hikes,” Buchholz said. “We really couldn’t run the state parks without them.”

Belmont Mound State Park near Platteville is operated in cooperation with a local Lions Club, said Michael Degenhardt, state property supervisor for the park — as well as Yellowstone Lake State Park and Cadiz Springs State Recreation Area.

“A new friends group started up (at Belmont Mound) a few years ago, too, and there’s a lot of enthusiasm,” he said. “They’re finishing up a playground project.”

See Joel Patenaude, Much loved and underfunded, Wisconsin State Parks celebrates 125 years (‘Revenue sharing and volunteers manage to keep the 50 state parks open’), Wisconsin Public Radio, May 19, 2025.

The World’s Most Famous Language Police:

Bad Ideas, Daily Bread, Economics, Economy, Tariffs, Taxes/Taxation

Daily Bread for 5.18.25: Let Them Eat Tariffs

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Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be mostly cloudy with a high of 61. Sunrise is 5:28 and sunset is 8:14, for 14 hours, 45 minutes of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 70 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1863, Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant begin the Siege of Vicksburg during the Vicksburg campaign in order to take full control of the Mississippi River.

We have heard from this federal administration, falsely, that foreign countries pay the cost of Trump’s tariffs. By Trump’s account, April 2nd was supposed to be a ‘Liberation Day’ (“one of the most important days in American history”).

On May 17th, only forty-five days later, Trump warns Walmart: Don’t raise prices due to my tariffs but do eat the costs from those taxes:

As Trump has jacked up import taxes, he has tried to assure a skeptical public that foreign producers would pay for those taxes and that retailers and automakers would absorb the additional expenses. Most economic analyses are deeply skeptical of those claims and have warned that the trade penalties would worsen inflation. Walmart warned on Thursday that everything from bananas to children’s car seats could increase in price.

Trump, in his Truth Social post, lashed out at the retailer, which employs 1.6 million people in the United States. He said the company, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, should sacrifice its profits for the sake of his economic agenda that he says will eventually lead to more domestic jobs in manufacturing.

….

In April, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon was among the retail executives who met with Trump at the White House to discuss tariffs. But the Trump administration went forward despite warnings and has attacked other companies such as Amazon and Apple that are struggling with the disruptions to their supply chains.

Walmart chief financial officer John David Rainey said he thinks $350 car seats made in China will soon cost an additional $100, a 29% price increase.

“We’re wired to keep prices low, but there’s a limit to what we can bear, or any retailer for that matter,” he told The Associated Press on Thursday after the company reported strong first-quarter sales.

See Josh Boak, Trump warns Walmart: Don’t raise prices due to my tariffs but do eat the costs from those taxes, Associated Press, May 17, 2025.

If foreign countries truly paid the cost of tariffs, there wouldn’t be costs Americans needed to eat.

Turns out “one of the most important days in American history” was a blunder of historic magnitude.

Spider monkey rescued after bizarre drug bust:

A spider monkey named Violeta has a temporary home at the Oakland Zoo after authorities found her while executing a drug-related search warrant.