Wednesday, June 5th at 1:00 PM, there will be a showing of Past Lives @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin Community Building:
Drama/Romance
Rated PG-13
1 hour, 45 minutes (2023)
Language: Korean Subtitles: English
Did you ever have a very close boyfriend or girlfriend and became separated by a move…but still remembered them and thought of them, over the years..? In our monthly art film, two deeply connected Korean childhood friends are torn apart. 20 years later, they are reunited for one week to ponder the meaning of life, love and destiny. A pensive, thoughtful film which was nominated for Best Motion Picture, Screenplay and Actress.
Friday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 78. Sunrise is 5:18 and sunset 8:26 for 15h 08m 01s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 40.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1899, two salesmen, John H. Nicholson and Samuel E. Hill, crossed paths a second time, in Beaver Dam. The pair had first met eight months before in the Central Hotel in Boscobel and discussed the need for some way to provide Christian support to traveling businessmen. During this second meeting in Beaver Dam the two decided to “get right at it. Start the ball rolling and follow it up.” They invited their professional contacts to an organizational meeting to be held in Janesville on July 1, 1899, at which the organization was formally named and chartered. By 1948, the Gideons had distributed over 15 million bibles world-wide.
As the dust settles from the past year’s redistricting battles in Wisconsin, the state Legislature is undergoing a shakeup, with nearly half of all state lawmakers having announced they won’t run in their old districts.
All told, at least 61 members of the state Assembly and Senate won’t run again in their old districts. Of those, 41 are Republicans and 20 are Democrats.
In the Assembly alone, 40 representatives — more than a third of the chamber —have either filed to run for new seats in the Legislature or say they plan on it.
Another 16 state lawmakers, including eight Democrats and eight Republicans, have announced plans to leave the Legislature entirely.
This is all to the good — Wisconsin could use a new legislature.
Thursday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 71. Sunrise is 5:19 and sunset 8:25 for 15h 06m 45s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 51.2 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1860, two cars were drawn over the line known as the “River & Lake Shore Street Railway for the first time.” Four horses pulled the cars. The car track was laid in early May from East Water Street, north to Division Street. George H. Walker, Lemuel W. Weeks, Col. W.S. Johnson, and F.S. Blodgett were prominent among the builders of this street railway. A company was organized to sell $50,000 in stock subscriptions to pay for the service.
On this day in 1922, the Lincoln Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C..
A Mount Pleasant resident has filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission against Village President Dave DeGroot over the dumping of muck from his neighborhood pond on a village-owned property.
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Last fall, residents began seeing trucks dumping “black sludge” into the park. One neighbor, Kevin Rannow, followed the trucks back to their source, a pond in DeGroot’s subdivision, and traced a posted Department of Natural Resources permit to the village president.
DeGroot and the homeowners’ association in his neighborhood have been working to “revitalize” the pond near their homes and acquired the DNR permit to fill a small bit of wetland. The approval from the DNR notes that the homeowners association is “responsible for obtaining any other permit or approval that may be required before starting your project. These include but are limited to local zoning ordinances, shoreland zoning, floodplain zoning, DNR construction site stormwater (for land disturbances greater than an acre), and requirements by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.”
The contractor hired to complete the project began hauling the waste from the pond to the village property. The pond waste includes a small amount of harmful chemicals, including DDE — a substance that is formed when the banned pesticide DDT breaks down in the environment.
Village staff learned about the dumping and issued a cease and desist order against the contractor. The contractor appealed the decision to the village’s zoning board of appeals, which consists entirely of members appointed by DeGroot. At an appeal hearing, with no input allowed from the public, DeGroot testified in favor of overturning the decision to block the dumping.
This ilk uses government preferentially & selfishly as a personal tool to advance their interests. They are proud private men when that status suits them but willing manipulators of public institutions when that status profits them.
Wednesday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 68. Sunrise is 5:19 and sunset 8:25 for 15h 05m 25s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 63 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Lakes Advisory Committee meets at 4 PM.
On this day in 1848, Wisconsin becomes the 30th state to enter the Union with an area of 56,154 square miles, comprising 1/56 of the United States at the time.
A group of right-wing activists enraged by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos’ failure to appease their calls for a more aggressive response to claims of election fraud and their demand that he fire the chief state election official, has for the second time filed signatures to force a recall election against Vos.
The group tried to recall Vos earlier this year, submitting more than 10,000 signatures in support of the effort in March. However the effort failed because those 10,000 signatures did not all come from the proper district.
Which district the signatures should come from has caused some confusion among the recall petitioners and officials at the Wisconsin Elections Commission because the map under which Vos was elected have been declared unconstitutional, while the new map won’t go into effect until this fall’s elections. The recall group gathered signatures from the district Vos currently represents and the new district created under the new maps.
The group also gathered signatures from various other parts of the state, which were immediately declared invalid.
On Tuesday, the group announced it had gathered about 9,000 signatures. There must be 6,850 valid signatures submitted to force a recall election in the district.
“We are highly confident we have the sufficient number,” former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman said outside the WEC offices Tuesday afternoon.
Vos is the longest serving Assembly Speaker in state history. He’s served in the Legislature, representing a district outside of Racine, since 2005 and as the Speaker since 2013, presiding over the state Republican party’s decade-long stranglehold on legislative power.
However right-wing activists have turned against Vos in recent years, claiming that he has not sufficiently responded to their allegations that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.
Vos brought this on himself. He schemed with schemers who were as persistent but twice as nutty, only to have them turn on him. Dante could not have devised a poetic punishment more haunting than Vos’s fate: to be stalked forever by Michael Gableman.
Tuesday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 68. Sunrise is 5:20 and sunset 8:24 for 15h 04m 02s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 73.53 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
The Whitewater School Board goes into closed session shortly after 5 PM and returns to open session at 7 PM. Whitewater’s Finance Committee meets at 5 PM and the Whitewater Common Council at 6:30 PM.
A law that drew massive protests and made Wisconsin the center of a national fight over union rights is back in court on Tuesday, facing a new challenge from teachers and public workers brought after the state’s Supreme Court flipped to liberal control.
The 2011 law, known as Act 10, imposed a near-total ban on collective bargaining for most public employees. It has withstood numerous legal challenges and was the signature legislative achievement of former Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who used it to mount a presidential run.
The law catapulted Walker onto the national stage, sparked an unsuccessful recall campaign, and laid the groundwork for his failed 2016 presidential bid. It also led to a dramatic decrease in union membership across the state.
If the latest lawsuit succeeds, all public sector workers who lost their collective bargaining power would have it restored. They would be treated the same as the police, firefighter and other public safety unions who remain exempt.
No one should be surprised. From conservatives nationally in federal courts and the center-left statewide in Wisconsin courts, re-litigation has become the order of the day.
Memorial Day in Whitewater will see scattered showers with a high of 70. Sunrise is 5:20 and sunset 8:23 for 15h 02m 35s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 83 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Memorial Day Parade, weather permitting, will take place at 10:30 AM, beginning at the Hearthstone Parking Lot and proceeding along North Street to the Old Armory. Regardless of the weather, a ceremony will take place inside the Armory at 11 AM.
On this day in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic, creating a vital link between San Francisco and Marin County, California.
This Memorial Day, the National Guard Bureau honors and remembers those who paid the ultimate sacrifice in service to their nation:
Thousands of families are visiting Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, for the parade, history lessons, and tributes in the town known as the birthplace of Memorial Day:
Sunday in Whitewater will be rainy with a high of 68. Sunrise is 5:21 and sunset 8:22 for 15h 01m 06s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 90.4 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1998, the Supreme Court rules in New Jersey v. New York that Ellis Island, the historic gateway for millions of immigrants, is mainly in the state of New Jersey, not New York.
Saturday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 73. Sunrise is 5:22 and sunset 8:21 for 14h 59m 34s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 95.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
On this day in 1787, after a delay of 11 days, the Constitutional Convention formally convenes in Philadelphia after a quorum of seven states is secured.
1. Devil’s Lake State Park – A hiker’s paradise with stunning bluffs. 2. Apostle Islands National Lakeshore – Kayak through mesmerizing sea caves. 3. Door County – Scenic lighthouses and charming coastal towns. 4. Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest – Endless trails amidst lush landscapes. 5. Horicon Marsh – A birdwatcher’s dream and a marshland of wonder. 6. Pattison State Park – Witness the power of Wisconsin’s highest waterfall. 7. Ice Age National Scenic Trail – Trace the path of glaciers over rolling hills. 8. Wisconsin Dells – Natural sandstone formations meet thrilling waterparks. 9. Rib Mountain State Park – Year-round fun with awe-inspiring views. 10. Perrot State Park – Canoe and hike where rivers and bluffs converge.
Friday in Whitewater will be cloudy with afternoon rain and a high of 77. Sunrise is 5:22 and sunset 8:20 for 14h 57m 58s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 98.9 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.
There’s more information at a WPR interview between Lisa Stern, Chief of Railroads and Harbors at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, and WPR host Rob Ferrett:
Rob Ferrett: Take us on a tour. What are the basics of the Borealis route?
Lisa Stern: The Borealis route will complement the existing Empire Builder. It’s going to leave from both Chicago and the Twin Cities — St. Paul, actually — around 11 to 11:30 in the morning, and then arrive at their destinations between 6:30 and 7. So it’s a very convenient time frame.
It’ll be running through Wisconsin through the middle of the day. It will also provide a much more reliable schedule eastbound. I think a lot of people have been using the Empire Builder. And if you have, you know that sometimes that trip from Seattle back to Chicago has significant delays. But with this route, it will be just between the Twin Cities and Chicago and it will be a much more reliable schedule.
RF: What do you know about demand for this new route? You’ve built it, will the passengers come and ride the rails?
LS: The passengers are already coming. This started on Tuesday, and we have very high levels of train tickets being sold already. For this weekend, we were looking at 70 percent of the train already being sold out (as of) earlier this week. So there is a demand there.
When we were looking at the service to start with, and evaluating the Empire Builder, 60 percent of the people who got on in Wisconsin got off within this route. So there was already a demand.
Given the choice between driving to Minnesota and riding a train, I’d take a train most of the time. These stations on the route are not close to Whitewater, but driving to one would still offer advantages over a longer drive to the Twin Cities.
It’s so hot in Mexico that howler monkeys are dropping dead from trees. At least 83 of the midsized primates, who are known for their roaring vocal calls, were found dead in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco. Others were rescued by residents, including five that were rushed to a local veterinarian who fought to save them. (AP/Luis Sánchez) Read more here: http://apne.ws/bAQVkXg
Tuesday, May 28th at 1:00 PM, there will be a showing of The Taste of Things @ Seniors in the Park, in the Starin Community Building:
Romance/Period Drama/Culinary Arts
Rated PG-13
2 hours, 15 minutes (2023)
The story of an esteemed cook and the fine gourmet she has been working for over the last 20 years. Food is a gift of love here, and romance courses through this delightful film. AARP Movies for Grownups nominations for Best Actress (Juliette Binoche) and Best Foreign Film. Language: French; shown with English subtitles.
Thursday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 76. Sunrise is 5:23 and sunset 8:19 for 14h 56m 20s of daytime. The moon is full with 100 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Board of Zoning Appeals meets at 6 PM.
On this day in 1854, the Milwaukee and Mississippi railroad reached Madison, connecting the city with Milwaukee. When the cars pulled into the depot, thousands of people gathered to witness the ceremonial arrival of the first train, and an enormous picnic was held on the Capitol grounds for all the passengers who’d made the seven-hour trip from Milwaukee to inaugurate the line.
“With the temperatures this week and rain showers today and tomorrow, that’s really going to help things,” [Director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Insect Diagnostics Lab PJ] Liesch said. “Once the emergence gets going in full swing, we’re probably going to be seeing tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands or even millions of these emerging in relatively small areas in Lake Geneva and other spots in the state.”
Here’s where else the cicadas are expected to emerge in the coming weeks.
Where will 17-year cicadas emerge in Wisconsin?
The Lake Geneva area will be the best place in Wisconsin to see the 17-year cicadas due to their well-established record there, especially along the northern side of the lake, Liesch wrote in his blog.
Other cicada hotspots include areas of Green County and Rock County, including Janesville and Beloit. Additionally, the insects are expected to be prevalent in southwestern Wisconsin’s Driftless Area counties: Iowa, Sauk, Richland, Crawford and Grant.
Wednesday in Whitewater be windy with a high of 71. Sunrise is 5:24 and sunset 8:18 for 14h 54m 38s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 98.9 percent of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Community Involvement and Cable TV Commission meets at 3:30 PM.
On this day in 1968, “Milwaukee Bucks” is selected as the franchise name after 14,000 fans participated in a team-naming contest. 45 people suggested the name, one of whom, R.D. Trebilcox, won a car for his efforts.
On this day in 1849, Abraham Lincoln is issued a patent for an invention to lift boats, making him the only U.S. president to ever hold a patent. On this day in 1906, the Wright brothers are granted U.S. patent number 821,393 for their “Flying-Machine.”
I’ve posted before about Jane Jacobs, the late journalist & activist on urban planning. (Jacobs had a libertarian period in her writing but later drifted away from that outlook.) While most of her work was about urban life, many of her observations have broader applicability.
Laurence writes of Jacobs’s grasp of cycling’s positive role within a community:
In 1956, when car ownership and the suburban development that this enabled were just being embraced as American cultural ideals, pioneering urbanist Jane Jacobs wrote that the U.S. was becoming “an unprecedented nation of centaurs. … Our automobile population is rising about as fast as our human population and promises to continue for another generation.” She continued, “the car is not only a monstrous land-eater itself: it abets that other insatiable land-eater—endless, strung-out suburbanization.”
Anticipating more than a half-century of suburban sprawl, Jacobs was an early critic of car-dependency and its impacts on the built environment and land use in general. But more than that, Jacobs’s analogy of drivers as centaurs has become all but real today. In Greek mythology, as iconically depicted on the friezes of the Parthenon, centaurs were vicious half-men, half-animals at war with mankind. As Jacobs observed, the car could turn a man half-vehicle and less than fully human in his relationship with others. “Road rage” is perhaps the most familiar of car-induced pathologies.
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Although Jane generally wasn’t comfortable in front of a camera, some of the most relaxed photos show her with her Raleigh bicycle. She clearly enjoyed the freedoms and joys of the bike. No surprise, bicycling was part of her childhood in Scranton, Pennsylvania, but unlike the typical American who gave up the bike at age 16 when they acquired a driver’s license, Jane didn’t. She never learned to drive. Although her father, a physician, was an early adopter of the automobile and purchased his first one in 1910, when Jane married Robert Jacobs at her Scranton family home in 1944, the couple rode off on their bicycles for a cycling honeymoon in upstate New York. According to their eldest son, Jim, born four years later, both Jane and Bob were “avid” cyclists. One of the many things they had in common was the bike. Before meeting Jane, Bob had done a number of bike tours in the 1930s, traveling between youth hostels; he made one cycling trip to Mexico while he was an art student to see the murals of Diego Rivera and another in 1936, to Holland, Belgium, and Germany, to see the Bauhaus, while he was an architecture student, a trip on which he acquired a German NSU (NeckarSulm) bike that he brought home.
This libertarian blogger isn’t opposed to cars (not at all). There is, however, a useful reminder for us (residents of a small town) in her observations: there is more than one way to get around (and bike travel is inexpensive). How one gets around may begin with individual choice but affects development as much as development affects individual choice. One might design a city to encourage or discourage cycling, but it’s just as possible that, over time, a choice for cycling will compel changes in design.
