FREE WHITEWATER

Business, City, Government Spending, Health, Local Government, Waste Digesters, WGTB, WHEN GREEN TURNS BROWN

Fifteen Months Later, at the School Board

by  • 

WGTB logo PNG 112x89 Post 7 in a series.

3.16.15 Wastewater & Waste Importation Presentation to Whitewater Unified School District from John Adams on Vimeo.

Jump ahead almost fifteen months, from 12.3.13 to 3.16.15, and City Manager Clapper and Wastewater Superintendent Reel are at the Whitewater Unified School District. Months later, and millions in spending requests, but still lots of questions.

(Every question in this series has a unique number, assigned chronologically based on when it was asked.  All the questions from When Green Turns Brown can be found in the Question Bin.  Today’s questions begin with No. 34.) 

34.  City Manager Clapper contends that “the water that actually goes [back] into the watershed is cleaner than the water in the [Whitewater] creek.” A few obvious questions: (a) how clean is the water that’s returned now, (b) how would an additional level of imported waste affect the water returned to the creek?

35.  Do any by-products of waste processing now enter Whitewater’s ecosystem apart from discharge immediately from the treatment plant? 

36.  If they do, then what are those by-products, in what amounts?

37.  If Whitewater’s municipal officials contend that no by-products enter Whitewater’s ecosystem except from immediate discharge from the treatment plant, then on what do they base that confidence?

38.  Wastewater Superintendent Tim Reel (Reel) wants to make sure he is “utilizing the digester capabilities that we had [have] at the facility.”  Generally, how does Reel evaluate the value of any given capacity, that is, by what economic measure does he assess the merit of one course of action over another? 

39.  Reel contends that “and really, the digester complex really does mimic our own digestion system, only in much larger volumes.”  Why does Reel think that human digestion, following his analogy, is a clean process? 

40.  Reel states that one of Whitewater’s digesters is unused, and another at limited capacity.  Why are the digesters so much larger than Whitewater’s present needs? (One knows, and Reel must know, but it’s a logical question.)

41.  Does Reel think that his planned importation of waste into Whitewater’s digesters would be equivalent to prior local uses?  Can he show a composition of waste then-and-now comparison?

42.  How much importation by volume does Reel contemplate?  How does he know?

43.  How much in tipping fees [from other cities depositing their waste into Whitewater] does Reel contemplate?  How does he know?

44.  Reel estimates $2,000,000 in cost for digester upgrades.  How much of that amount is for importation?   

45.  About 15 months ago, Reel contended the digester was a standalone project.  Does he still think so?  Why or why not?

46.  When City Manager Clapper (Clapper) says “green is in,” what does he mean by that?  Does he mean clean, or renewable, or both? 

47.  Does City Manager Clapper believe that waste importation is clean?  Does he think it’s as clean as solar power, for example?  If he does, then why does he think so?  If he thinks there’s a difference, then how much of a difference?

48.  How much energy does Clapper think he’ll produce? 

49.  Clapper contends that the by-product sludge from the waste digester is really a “green product that could be used as fertilizer.”  If he thinks so, then would he put that sludge on his lawn, or on a school lawn?

50.  If Clapper would place the sludge on his lawn, then why has he not yet done so? 

51.   If Clapper wouldn’t place the sludge on his lawn, then why not?

52.  What federal and state regulations, if any, limit the deposit of sludge near residences?

53.  If there are federal and state regulations that limit the deposit of sludge near residences, then why does Clapper think they’ve been enacted?

54. What scientific and industry standards, if any, limit the deposit of sludge near residences?

55.  If there are scientific and industry standards that limit the deposit of sludge near residences, then why does Clapper think they’ve been established?

56.  Does Clapper believe that he can produce enough power to “give back to the grid”?

57.  If he does, then why hasn’t he considered how existing utilities would react, as WE Energies has reacted (negatively) elsewhere?

58.  If he doesn’t think Whitewater can produce enough electricity, then how is this a meaningful power-generating program at all?

59.  If this isn’t a meaningful power-generating program, then isn’t it truly a waste disposal program, using Whitewater as a vast depository for other cities’ unwanted waste?

Original School Board Presentation, 3.16.15
Full Presentation Video https://vimeo.com/122470431

WHEN GREEN TURNS BROWN: Mondays @ 10 AM, here on FREE WHITEWATER.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 5.12.13

by  • 

Good morning, Whitewater.

Tuesday in town will be cloudy with a high of fifty-five. Sunrise is 5:34 and sunset 8:07, for 14h 33m 30s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 38.4% of its visible disk illuminated.

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

Instagram user Momentaryawe contends that his iPhone fell 400 feet to the ground while he was recording from a skyscraper, and that the phone kept recording all the way down. I don’t know if the recording is of a genuine fall, but it’s compelling to watch —

It’s reformer Florence Nightingale’s birthday:

Florence Nightingale, OM, RRC (…12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was a celebrated English social reformer and statistician, and the founder of modern nursing. She came to prominence while serving as a manager of nurses trained by her during the Crimean War, where she organised the tending to wounded soldiers.[1] She gave nursing a highly favourable reputation and became an icon of Victorian culture, especially in the persona of “The Lady with the Lamp” making rounds of wounded soldiers at night.[2]

Some recent commentators have asserted Nightingale’s achievements in the Crimean War were exaggerated by the media at the time, to satisfy the public’s need for a hero. Nevertheless, critics agree on the decisive importance of her followup achievements in professionalizing nursing roles for women. In 1860, Nightingale laid the foundation of professional nursing with the establishment of her nursing school at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. It was the first secular nursing school in the world, now part of King’s College London. The Nightingale Pledge taken by new nurses was named in her honour, and the annual International Nurses Day is celebrated around the world on her birthday. Her social reforms include improving healthcare for all sections of British society, advocating better hunger relief in India, helping to abolish prostitution laws that were over-harsh to women, and expanding the acceptable forms of female participation in the workforce.

Nightingale was a prodigious and versatile writer. In her lifetime, much of her published work was concerned with spreading medical knowledge. Some of her tracts were written in simple English so that they could easily be understood by those with poor literary skills. She also helped popularise the graphical presentation of statistical data. Much of her writing, including her extensive work on religion and mysticism, has only been published posthumously.

Here’s the Tuesday game in Puzzability‘s Prom Going series:

This Week’s Game — May 11-15
Prom Going
We’re having a senior moment this week. For each day, we started with a word or phrase, removed the four letters in PROM, and rearranged the remaining letters to get a new word or phrase. Both pieces are described in each day’s clue, with the longer one first.
Example:
Julie Kavner’s cartoon alter ego; quality of the taste of venison
Answer:
Marge Simpson; gaminess
What to Submit:
Submit both pieces, with the longer one first (as “Marge Simpson; gaminess” in the example), for your answer.
Tuesday, May 12
Shift, tab, or ctrl, for example; plastic surgery to remove crow’s feet

Art

Hand-Drawn Logos

by  • 

Hand Drawn Logos from Seb Lester on Vimeo.

Seb Lester works in Lewes, East Sussex, as a type designer, illustrator and artist.

He has created typefaces and type illustrations for some of the world’s biggest companies, publications and events, including the likes of Apple, Nike, Intel, The New York Times, The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and JD Salinger’s final reissue of The Catcher in the Rye. He is passionate about letterforms

See, Seb Lester Channel on Vimeo.

City, Health, Waste Digesters, WGTB, WHEN GREEN TURNS BROWN

Question Bin

by  • 

WGTB logo PNG 112x89 Post 6 in a series.

A list of questions, updated as new ones arise, from When Green Turns Brown. Find this post, and you’ll have found all the questions from the entire series as they’re added .

(Every question in this series has a unique number, assigned consecutively based on when it was asked. All the questions from When Green Turns Brown can be found here.)

From the 12.3.13 Digester Presentation (https://vimeo.com/126793651) and (https://www.freewhitewater.com/uploads/120313_Digester%20Importation%20Discussion.pdf):

1. Whitewater’s Wastewater Superintendent Tim Reel (Reel) mentions surveys [of agricultural interest] for a 2004 proposal for a public-private partnership digester proposal that “never came to fruition.” Does the City of Whitewater have those surveys? Why didn’t that plan come to fruition?

2. Reel mentions a 2010-2011 project with “Green Energy Partners” (known in Whitewater as Green Energy Holdings). Why does Reel say the project was from 2010-2011, when Council actually voted in closed session in June 2012 (with – by municipal accounts – about nine months of behind the scenes work prior)? Does Reel have the dates wrong, or were private conversations going on for a longer period?

3. Reel describes a proposal from Green Energy Partners, rather than Green Energy Holdings, a distinction that, to my knowledge, no one in city government has made. Did Reel always know that these projects from Northern Concrete Construction (NCC) used different names? Did then city manager Brunner and then asst. city manager Clapper also know that NCC used multiple business names in various target cities?

4. If either Reel or others knew that NCC used different names in different cities, “as they were known financially,” then what do they think those financial reasons are?

5. Reel mentions that GEH rented two suites at the Innovation Center. Why doesn’t he mention that the bills were unpaid, and that GEH stiffed the city for rent and furniture costs?

6. What does the selection of the defaulting GEH say about the actual business acumen of Messrs. Brunner, Clapper, Reel, and the Whitewater Community Development Authority?

7. When Reel says that this [waste importation] is a project “after-the-fact,” “separate,” “and standalone” of other wastewater projects, what does that say about the importance of the project? If it’s not integral, but in fact superfluous, what burden of proof should a waste importation project meet?

8. Reel mentions an 11.5.13 meeting (four actually) with stakeholders for the project. Who attended that meeting? Who invited them? Were notes taken?

9. Specifically, who was the liquid waste hauler at the 11.5.13 meeting? Who invited that hauler? Was that hauler previously known to anyone in the city or CDA?

10. Reel mentions a discussion of liquid waste stream volumes took place at the 11.5.13 meeting. Who mentioned that volume? What was that volume?

11. Reel says that digesters are becoming “more commonplace” because one reads as much in the newspapers. What data reliably show what Reel alleges, apart from an unspecific claim about newspapers?

12. Reels says Whitewater is a convenient location for potential waste haulers to dump waste. Which waste haulers, from where, and what kind of waste? Where do they dump now?

13. Reel mentions an agreement with Trane about an energy-savings performance contract. How did that project go?

14. Reel says a waste importation program would not require a rate increase (would have no net cost). Does he still contend as much?

15. At this time (12.3.13), Reel contends Trane would guarantee savings. Does he still contend that Trane, or any other vendor, would guarantee a result or pay the city in compensation for under-performance for waste importation?

16. What’s Trane’s relationship to the digester, or even the city, now?

17. Reel mentions Black & Veatch (B&V) as a possible subcontractor to Trane. Are they still involved? Reel invited B&V to participate. What’s Reel’s relationship, if any, to B&V? How did he learn about them?

18. Why does it seem to impress Reel that B&V would have someone connected to performance contacts?

19. What is the availability and diversity of outside waste to be imported to Whitewater?

20. Reel mentions that despite possible corporate guarantees, the City of Whitewater would be responsible for finding and securing waste to be imported to Whitewater. If Whitewater has to secure waste from other cities, and would be responsible for any failure to secure, how comprehensive is a corporate guarantee for energy performance?

21. Reel mentions other places that use digesters. Why does he think they are like Whitewater’s situation? Are they like Whitewater? Why doesn’t he show how they are alike, if they truly are?

22. What’s high-strength waste?

23. Why does Reel think engineering firms want a deal with Whitewater? He says it’s because they see viability in a project, but these firms don’t guarantee availability of supply.

24. City Manager Clapper mentions that corporations guarantee savings, but Reel says these corporations don’t secure supply. So why does Clapper think there’s a meaningful corporate guarantee if the city has a burden for supply?

25. City Manager Clapper mentions industrial strength waste. What does he think that would entail?

26. Reel admits that the city still has a volume of supply risk. So who in the city would be responsible for supply? Would that person have the resources to indemnify the city? That is, could Reel or Clapper personally indemnify Whitewater for failure to deliver so-called adequate amounts of waste. Would anyone at the CDA be able to do so?

27. Could Reel or Clapper personally indemnify Whitewater and all her residents for any health or environmental damage from waste imported into the city?

28. Reel says he has had conversations with waste haulers, and those haulers could guarantee a volume, but not as much as the contractors would like. How much less?

29. Who were the waste haulers to whom Reel spoke? How did he learn of them? What is his relationship to them? Did anyone in the city or CDA assist Reel in these contacts?

30. City Manager Clapper mentions the he would, along with Reel and “Chris” [Asst. City Mgr. Chris O’Donell], personally make contact with waste haulers. How did those discussions go?

31. To whom did Messrs. Clapper, Reel, and O’Donell subsequently speak about waste importing into Whitewater? How many meetings have they had, with whom, and were any notes or records made?

32. Councilmember Ken Kidd mentions that Reel has talked to him (Kidd) personally and he (Reel) is more excited in those situations than when the “cameras are rolling.” How many side conversations by 12.3.13 had Reel had with Council members? How many has he had since? How did he contact members of the Council, in what settings, and were any notes taken?

33. What does it say about Reel that by Councilmember Kidd’s account he, Reel, takes a different approach when not at a public meeting?

From the 3.16.15 Wastewater Presentation to the Whitewater Schools (https://vimeo.com/122470431).

34. City Manager Clapper contends that “the water that actually goes [back] into the watershed is cleaner than the water in the [Whitewater] creek.” A few obvious questions: (a) how clean is the water that’s returned now, (b) how would an additional level of imported waste affect the water returned to the creek?

35. Do any by-products of waste processing now enter Whitewater’s ecosystem apart from discharge immediately from the treatment plant?

36. If they do, then what are those by-products, in what amounts?

37. If Whitewater’s municipal officials contend that no by-products enter Whitewater’s ecosystem except from immediate discharge from the treatment plant, then on what do they base that confidence?

38. Wastewater Superintendent Tim Reel (Reel) wants to make sure he is “utilizing the digester capabilities that we had [have] at the facility.” Generally, how does Reel evaluate the value of any given capacity, that is, by what economic measure does he assess the merit of one course of action over another?

39. Reel contends that “and really, the digester complex really does mimic our own digestion system, only in much larger volumes.” Why does Reel think that human digestion, following his analogy, is a clean process?

40. Reel states that one of Whitewater’s digesters is unused, and another at limited capacity. Why are the digesters so much larger than Whitewater’s present needs? (One knows, and Reel must know, but it’s a logical question.)

41. Does Reel think that his planned importation of waste into Whitewater’s digesters would be equivalent to prior local uses? Can he show a composition of waste then-and-now comparison?

42. How much importation by volume does Reel contemplate? How does he know?

43. How much in tipping fees [from other cities depositing their waste into Whitewater] does Reel contemplate? How does he know?

44. Reel estimates $2,000,000 in cost for digester upgrades. How much of that amount is for importation?

45. About 15 months ago, Reel contended the digester was a standalone project. Does he still think so? Why or why not?

46. When City Manager Clapper (Clapper) says “green is in,” what does he mean by that? Does he mean clean, or renewable, or both?

47. Does City Manager Clapper believe that waste importation is clean? Does he think it’s as clean as solar power, for example? If he does, then why does he think so? If he thinks there’s a difference, then how much of a difference?

48. How much energy does Clapper think he’ll produce?

49. Clapper contends that the by-product sludge from the waste digester is really a “green product that could be used as fertilizer.” If he thinks so, then would he put that sludge on his lawn, or on a school lawn?

50. If Clapper would place the sludge on his lawn, then why has he not yet done so?

51. If Clapper wouldn’t place the sludge on his lawn, then why not?

52. What federal and state regulations, if any, limit the deposit of sludge near residences?

53. If there are federal and state regulations that limit the deposit of sludge near residences, then why does Clapper think they’ve been enacted?

54. What scientific and industry standards, if any, limit the deposit of sludge near residences?

55. If there are scientific and industry standards that limit the deposit of sludge near residences, then why does Clapper think they’ve been established?

56. Does Clapper believe that he can produce enough power to “give back to the grid”?

57. If he does, then why hasn’t he considered how existing utilities would react, as WE Energies has reacted (negatively) elsewhere?

58. If he doesn’t think Whitewater can produce enough electricity, then how is this a meaningful power-generating program at all?

59. If this isn’t a meaningful power-generating program, then isn’t it truly a waste disposal program, using Whitewater as a vast depository for other cities’ unwanted waste?

Original School Board Presentation, 3.16.15
Full Presentation Video https://vimeo.com/122470431

From the 1.21.14 First Vendor Presentation to Common Council.

60. City Manager Clapper (Clapper) mentions that one of the vendors presenting, Trane, is working with Whitewater to evaluate energy efficiency as part of a separate project. What happened with Trane’s energy efficiency contract with Whitewater?

61. Wouldn’t how Whitewater’s energy efficiency contract with Trane progressed show (1) what Trane is like as a vendor and (2) how skillful city officials (particularly Clapper) are in evaluating and managing city projects?

62. Clapper mentions that city officials (full-time staff, presumably) and the vendors did not have time to draft an agreement before the 1.21.14 meeting, so the 1.21.14 meeting will be a presentation only (that is, there will be no request to vote on a contract). Does Clapper think that a presentation and vote on the same night without time for later reflection would have been a good practice, had the vendors and city staff produced timely a draft agreement?

63. If Clapper thinks that a presentation and vote on the same night would have been a good practice, then what does that say about the level of diligence his administration (full-time staff) should be required to meet? more >>

City, Health, Local Government, Waste Digesters, WGTB, WHEN GREEN TURNS BROWN

Parsing a Presentation (12.3.13)

by  • 

WGTB logo PNG 112x89 Post 5 in a series.

What happens when one looks closely, line by line, and sentence by sentence, at a municipal presentation? Last week, I gave an overview of a 12.3.13 presentation on a plan to use Whitewater’s digester to import waste from other cities into Whitewater. Today, I’ll go through that presentation closely, and list questions that anyone would reasonably ask upon hearing it. I’ll list those questions below, and also in a new post entitled Question Bin, where I will store questions that arise throughout this series. Like the Working Bibliography, and the Series Page, a Question Bin will be useful to keep track of information, and useful to craft formal inquires.

(Quick update: I have added a new entry to the Working Bibliography, of Whitewater City Manager Cameron Clapper’s 5.1.15 City Manager Update in which he mentions a presentation that will likely include waste importation into Whitewater.)

Questions from the 12.3.13 presentation:

1. Whitewater’s Wastewater Superintendent Tim Reel (Reel) mentions surveys [of agricultural interest] for a 2004 proposal for a public-private partnership digester proposal that “never came to fruition.” Does the City of Whitewater have those surveys? Why didn’t that plan come to fruition?

2. Reel mentions a 2010-2011 project with “Green Energy Partners” (known in Whitewater as Green Energy Holdings). Why does Reel say the project was from 2010-2011, when Council actually voted in closed session in June 2012 (with – by municipal accounts – about nine months of behind the scenes work prior)? Does Reel have the dates wrong, or were private conversations going on for a longer period?

3. Reel describes a proposal from Green Energy Partners, rather than Green Energy Holdings, a distinction that, to my knowledge, no one in city government has made. Did Reel always know that these projects from Northern Concrete Construction (NCC) used different names? Did then city manager Brunner and then asst. city manager Clapper also know that NCC used multiple business names in various target cities?

4. If either Reel or others knew that NCC used different names in different cities, “as they were known financially,” then what do they think those financial reasons are?

5. Reel mentions that GEH rented two suites at the Innovation Center. Why doesn’t he mention that the bills were unpaid, and that GEH stiffed the city for rent and furniture costs?

6. What does the selection of the defaulting GEH say about the actual business acumen of Messrs. Brunner, Clapper, Reel, and the Whitewater Community Development Authority?

7. When Reel says that this [waste importation] is a project “after-the-fact,” “separate,” “and standalone” of other wastewater projects, what does that say about the importance of the project? If it’s not integral, but in fact superfluous, what burden of proof should a waste importation project meet?

8. Reel mentions an 11.5.13 meeting (four actually) with stakeholders for the project. Who attended that meeting? Who invited them? Were notes taken?

9. Specifically, who was the liquid waste hauler at the 11.5.13 meeting? Who invited that hauler? Was that hauler previously known to anyone in the city or CDA?

10. Reel mentions a discussion of liquid waste stream volumes took place at the 11.5.13 meeting. Who mentioned that volume? What was that volume?

11. Reel says that digesters are becoming “more commonplace” because one reads as much in the newspapers. What data reliably show what Reel alleges, apart from an unspecific claim about newspapers?

12. Reels says Whitewater is a convenient location for potential waste haulers to dump waste. Which waste haulers, from where, and what kind of waste? Where do they dump now?

13. Reel mentions an agreement with Trane about an energy-savings performance contract. How did that project go?

14. Reel says a waste importation program would not require a rate increase (would have no net cost). Does he still contend as much?

15. At this time (12.3.13), Reel contends Trane would guarantee savings. Does he still contend that Trane, or any other vendor, would guarantee a result or pay the city in compensation for under-performance for waste importation?

16. What’s Trane’s relationship to the digester, or even the city, now?

17. Reel mentions Black & Veatch (B&V) as a possible subcontractor to Trane. Are they still involved? Reel invited B&V to participate. What’s Reel’s relationship, if any, to B&V? How did he learn about them?

18. Why does it seem to impress Reel that B&V would have someone connected to performance contacts?

19. What is the availability and diversity of outside waste to be imported to Whitewater?

20. Reel mentions that despite possible corporate guarantees, the City of Whitewater would be responsible for finding and securing waste to be imported to Whitewater. If Whitewater has to secure waste from other cities, and would be responsible for any failure to secure, how comprehensive is a corporate guarantee for energy performance?

21. Reel mentions other places that use digesters. Why does he think they are like Whitewater’s situation? Are they like Whitewater? Why doesn’t he show how they are alike, if they truly are?

22. What’s high-strength waste?

23. Why does Reel think engineering firms want a deal with Whitewater? He says it’s because they see viability in a project, but these firms don’t guarantee availability of supply.

24. City Manager Clapper mentions that corporations guarantee savings, but Reel says these corporations don’t secure supply. So why does Clapper think there’s a meaningful corporate guarantee if the city has a burden for supply?

25. City Manager Clapper mentions industrial strength waste. What does he think that would entail?

26. Reel admits that the city still has a volume of supply risk. So who in the city would be responsible for supply? Would that person have the resources to indemnify the city? That is, could Reel or Clapper personally indemnify Whitewater for failure to deliver so-called adequate amounts of waste. Would anyone at the CDA be able to do so?

27. Could Reel or Clapper personally indemnify Whitewater and all her residents for any health or environmental damage from waste imported into the city?

28. Reel says he has had conversations with waste haulers, and those haulers could guarantee a volume, but not as much as the contractors would like. How much less?

29. Who were the waste haulers to whom Reel spoke? How did he learn of them? What is his relationship to them? Did anyone in the city or CDA assist Reel in these contacts?

30. City Manager Clapper mentions the he would, along with Reel and “Chris” [Asst. City Mgr. Chris O’Donell], personally make contact with waste haulers. How did those discussions go?

31. To whom did Messrs. Clapper, Reel, and O’Donell subsequently speak about waste importing into Whitewater? How many meetings have they had, with whom, and were any notes or records made?

32. Councilmember Ken Kidd mentions that Reel has talked to him (Kidd) personally and he (Reel) is more excited in those situations than when the “cameras are rolling.” How many side conversations by 12.3.13 had Reel had with Council members? How many has he had since? How did he contact members of the Council, in what settings, and were any notes taken?

33. What does it say about Reel that by Councilmember Kidd’s account he, Reel, takes a different approach when not at a public meeting?

Original Council Common Presentation, 12.3.13
Agenda http://www.whitewater-wi.gov/images/stories/agendas/common_council/2013/Complete_Packet_2013-1203d.pdf
Minutes http://www.whitewater-wi.gov/images/stories/minutes/common_council/2013/2013-1203.pdf
Full Council Video https://vimeo.com/81042136

WHEN GREEN TURNS BROWN: Mondays @ 10 AM, here on FREE WHITEWATER.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, 5.12.15: Fifteen Months Later, at the School Board. (I’ll add another post in WGTB this week, jumping ahead in the story by fifteen months to discuss a more recent municipal presentation on waste importation.)

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 5.11.15

by  • 

Good morning, Whitewater.

Monday in the Whippet City will be cloudy, with morning thunderstorms, and a high of sixty-eight. Sunrise is 5:35 and sunset 8:06, for 14h 31m 20s of daytime. The moon is in its third quarter with 49.6% of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Planning Commission meets tonight at 6:30 PM.

On this day in 1934, dust from a storm that began two days earlier in the Great Plains reached all the way to the East Coast:

The Dust Bowl, also known as the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the US and Canadian prairies during the 1930s; severe drought and a failure to apply dryland farming methods to prevent wind erosion (the Aeolian processes) caused the phenomenon. The drought came in three waves, 1934, 1936, and 1939–40, but some regions of the high plains experienced drought conditions for as many as eight years.[1] With insufficient understanding of the ecology of the plains, farmers had conducted extensive deep plowing of the virgin topsoil of the Great Plains during the previous decade; this had displaced the native, deep-rootedgrasses that normally trapped soil and moisture even during periods of drought and high winds. The rapid mechanization of farm equipment, especially small gasoline tractors, and widespread use of the combine harvester contributed to farmers’ decisions to convert arid grassland (much of which received no more than 10 inches (250 mm) of precipitation per year) to cultivated cropland.[2]

During the drought of the 1930s, the unanchored soil turned to dust, which the prevailing winds blew away in huge clouds that sometimes blackened the sky. These choking billows of dust – named “black blizzards” or “black rollers” – traveled cross country, reaching as far as such East Coast cities as New York City and Washington, D.C. On the Plains, they often reduced visibility to 1 metre (3.3 ft) or less. Associated Press reporter Robert E. Geiger happened to be inBoise City, Oklahoma, to witness the “Black Sunday” black blizzards of April 14, 1935; Edward Stanley, Kansas City news editor of the Associated Press coined the term “Dust Bowl” while rewriting Geiger’s news story.[3][4] While the term “the Dust Bowl” was originally a reference to the geographical area affected by the dust, today it is usually used to refer to the event, as in “It was during the Dust Bowl”. The meaning of the term “bowl” – a hollow container – in this context is however still not quite clear.

The drought and erosion of the Dust Bowl affected 100,000,000 acres (400,000 km2) that centered on the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma and touched adjacent sections of New Mexico, Colorado, and Kansas.[5]

….Beginning on May 9, 1934, a strong, two-day dust storm removed massive amounts of Great Plains topsoil in one of the worst such storms of the Dust Bowl.[17] The dust clouds blew all the way to Chicago, where they deposited 12 million pounds of dust.[18] Two days later, the same storm reached cities to the east, such as Cleveland, Buffalo, Boston, New York City, and Washington, D.C.[19] That winter (1934–1935), red snow fell on New England.

Puzzability begins a weekly new series entitled, Prom Going:

This Week’s Game — May 11-15
Prom Going
We’re having a senior moment this week. For each day, we started with a word or phrase, removed the four letters in PROM, and rearranged the remaining letters to get a new word or phrase. Both pieces are described in each day’s clue, with the longer one first.
Example:
Julie Kavner’s cartoon alter ego; quality of the taste of venison
Answer:
Marge Simpson; gaminess
What to Submit:
Submit both pieces, with the longer one first (as “Marge Simpson; gaminess” in the example), for your answer.
Monday, May 11
Samsung Galaxy, for example; capital named for the goddess of wisdom

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 5.10.15

by  • 

Good morning, Whitewater.

Sunday in Whitewater will be cloudy, with an even chance of rain, and a high of sixty-four. Sunrise is 5:36 and sunset 8:05, for 14h 29m 07s. The moon is a waning gibbous with 60.3% of its visible disk illuminated.

Friday’s FW poll asked if readers thought more, less, or the same about the Patriots after a report found that the some within that organization likely deflated footballs for a competitive advantage in the Super Bowl. Most respondents (74.07%) said they thought less of the Patriots, about a fifth (22.22%) thought the same, and a small amount (3.7%) thought more of them. (Current expectation seems to be that Tom Brady will be suspended this week.)

On this day in 1869, a ceremony marks the creation of a transcontinental railroad:

Completing the last link in the Transcontinental Railroad with a spike of gold was the brainchild of David Hewes, a San Francisco financier and contractor.[3] The spike had been manufactured earlier that year especially for the event by the William T. Garratt Foundry in San Francisco. Two of the sides were engraved with the names of the railroad officers and directors.[3] A special tie of polished California laurel was chosen to complete the line where the spike would be driven.[3]The ceremony was originally to be held on May 8, 1869 (the date actually engraved on the spike), but it was postponed two days because of bad weather and a labor dispute that delayed the arrival of the Union Pacific side of the rail line.[3

On May 10, in anticipation of the ceremony, Union Pacific No. 119 and Central Pacific No. 60 (better known as the Jupiter) locomotives were drawn up face-to-face on Promontory Summit.[4] It is unknown how many people attended the event; estimates run from as low as 500 to as many as 3,000; government and railroad officials and track workers were present to witness the event.[3]

Before the last spike was driven, three other commemorative spikes, presented on behalf of the other three members of the Central Pacific’s Big Four who did not attend the ceremony, had been driven in the pre-bored laurel tie:

  • a second, lower-quality gold spike, supplied by the San Francisco News Letter was made of $200 worth of gold and inscribed: With this spike the San Francisco News Letter offers its homage to the great work which has joined the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
  • a silver spike, supplied by the State of Nevada; forged, rather than cast, of 25 troy ounces (780 g) of unpolished silver.
  • a blended iron, silver and gold spike, supplied by the Arizona Territory, engraved: Ribbed with iron clad in silver and crowned with gold Arizona presents her offering to the enterprise that has banded a continent and dictated a pathway to commerce. (Source: Deseret Morning News, Salt Lake City, April 24, 2007)

On this day in 1865, Wisconsinites help capture the fleeing president of the Confederacy:

1865 – (Civil War) Confederacy President Jefferson Davis Captured
The 1st Wisconsin Cavalry was one of the first units sent to search for Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy, after the surrender of General Robert E. Lee. A Michigan unit, also sent to find Davis, accidentally attacked the cavalry before dawn. A few hours later, both units captured the Confederate president in Irwinville, Georgia.

Daily Bread

Daily Bread for 5.9.15

by  • 

Good morning, Whitewater.

Saturday in town will be cloudy with a high of seventy-two.  Sunrise is 5:37 and sunset 20:04, for 14h 26m 52s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 70.4% of its visible disk illuminated.

It’s the birthday of a famous Egyptologist:

Howard Carter (9 May 1874 – 2 March 1939) was an English archaeologist and Egyptologist who became world famous after discovering the intact tomb of 14th century BC pharaoh Tutankhamun (colloquially known as “King Tut” and “the boy king”) in November 1922….

In 1907, after three hard years for Carter, Lord Carnarvon employed him to supervise Carnarvon’s Egyptian excavations in the Valley of the Kings.[6] The intention of Gaston Maspero, who introduced the two, was to ensure that Howard Carter imposed modern archaeological methods and systems of recording.[7][8]

Carnarvon financed Carter’s work in the Valley of the Kings to 1914, but until 1917 excavations and study were interrupted by the First World War. Following the end of the First World War, Carter aggressively resumed his work.

After several years of finding little, Lord Carnarvon became dissatisfied with the lack of results, and in 1922 informed Carter that he had one more season of funding to search the Valley of the Kings and find the tomb.[9]

On 4 November 1922, Howard Carter’s excavation group found steps which Carter hoped led to Tutankhamun‘s tomb (subsequently designated KV62) (the tomb that would be considered the best preserved and most intact pharaonic tomb ever found in the Valley of the Kings).

He wired Lord Carnarvon to come, and on 26 November 1922, with Carnarvon, Carnarvon’s daughter and others in attendance, Carter made the “tiny breach in the top left hand corner” of the doorway (with a chisel his grandmother had given him for his 17th birthday.) He was able to peer in by the light of a candle and see that many of the gold and ebony treasures were still in place. He did not yet know whether it was “a tomb or merely a cache”, but he did see a promising sealed doorway between two sentinel statues. When Carnarvon asked “Can you see anything?”, Carter replied with the famous words: “Yes, wonderful things!”[10]

The next several months were spent cataloging the contents of the antechamber under the “often stressful” supervision of Pierre Lacau, director general of the Department of Antiquities of Egypt.[11] On 16 February 1923, Carter opened the sealed doorway, and found that it did indeed lead to a burial chamber, and he got his first glimpse of the sarcophagus of Tutankhamun. All of these discoveries were eagerly covered by the world’s press, but most of their representatives were kept in their hotels; only H. V. Morton was allowed on the scene, and his vivid descriptions helped to cement Carter’s reputation with the British public.

Carter’s own notes and photographic evidence indicate that he, Lord Carnarvon and Lady Evelyn Herbert entered the burial chamber shortly after the tomb’s discovery and before the official opening.[12]

On 5.9.1950, sports come to the Milwaukee Arena:

On this date, in the first sporting event at the new Milwaukee Arena, Rocky Graziano scored a fourth-round TKO over Vinnie Cidone in a middleweight fight that drew 12,813 fans. The new Milwaukee Arena actually opened on April 9, 1950, but with a civic celebration rather than a sports event. [Source: Milwaukee Journal]

Assault Awareness & Prevention, Government Spending, Official Misconduct, University

Budget Problems as a Mask for Internal Problems

by  • 

There are significant shortfalls for K-12 funding and state funding for the UW System.

These shortfalls involve hundreds of millions, and that alters the landscape at public institutions (at some more than others).

Still, It won’t be true, because it cannot be true, that every problem one might encounter will be the consequence of fiscal policy. 

Many good events, and many bad ones, will happen apart from a reduction from one budget to another. 

In the case of properly addressing sexual assaults on campus, for example, it’s simply not true that a UW System school’s revenue last year, or next year, will be material in determining whether fair procedures are adopted and consistently executed. 

There is no fiscal reason whatever that any UW System school should find itself less able next year than it was last year to address properly campus assaults. 

It’s very possible that some schools will fail to address these crimes, and fail to respond to the victims of these crimes properly. 

If they should fail, they will not have their budgets to blame, but instead any mistakes will more likely be from their poor priorities, misguided values, or utter laziness.  More troubling, truly: these would be poor priorities, misguided values, or utter laziness in the face of others’ serious injuries. 

One may yet hear, though, that the budget was somehow to blame.  No, and no again: leaders are responsible for proper priorities and allocations, and lack of money has not been our only problem these several years.

Budget problems must not become a mask for serious, unethical, internal problems. 

On this point, there is no reason to give ground, anytime, to anyone.  

Cats

Friday Catblogging: Purring, Meowing

by  • 

At New York Magazine‘s Science of Us blog, Melissa Dahl writes about what cats’ purring and meowing probably means.

On Purring:

The one thing you probably think you understand about how cats communicate — purring means they’re happy! — isn’t exactly right. Cats do indeed purr when they’re happy, but that’s not the most accurate translation of the sound’s meaning, Cromwell-Davis explained. “You can have cats that are happy and content purring, but also a cat that’s injured or sick will purr,” she said.

Instead, purring means something more like, don’t go anywhere, please. It’s more likely a solicitation for care, in other words, than purely an expression of contentedness. “They haven’t got a good way of asking for help — it’s not in their language — so they do the next best thing, they do the purring thing,” said John Bradshaw, a University of Bristol anthrozoologist and the author of Cat Sense: How the New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet. “The meaning is not exactly right, but it’s the closest they can get to it.”

On Meowing:

Cats and their humans develop a secret language of meows. Cats don’t really meow to communicate with other cats, Bradshaw said, which in itself is a pretty surprising little cat-fact. But in his observations of feral cats, he said, “you get a meow about once every hundred hours. They’re very silent.” And yet domesticated cats, as you know if you’ve got one, will often meow their little heads off, all day (and sometimes night!) long. “People think of it as an absolutely classic cat behavior … but it’s something they’ve learned to do to get our attention,” Bradshaw said. “It’s really something they’ve adopted as a way of communicating with humans.”

As such, there’s not exactly a universal cat language when it comes to meows. Rather, as Bradshaw writes in his book, “a secret code of meows … develops between each cat and its owner, unique to that cat alone and meaning little to outsiders.” This was demonstrated in a 2003 study by Cornell researchers, documented in Bradshaw’s book, in which they recorded meows from 12 cats in five everyday scenarios. They then played those recordings to pet owners, and found that only the owners could correctly decipher the scenario in which the meow was recorded.

For more about felines, see Dahl’s Your Cat Is Trying to Talk to You.