Good morning.

It’s a day of strong thunderstorms ahead for Whitewater, with a high temperature of eighty degrees.

There’s a regular school board meeting tonight, beginning ?in closed session at 6 p.m., with an open session at beginning at 7 p.m., and a possible resumption of the closed session later tonight. ?The agenda as written offers no mention of an open session announcement tonight about internal candidates for district administrator.

Tomorrow’s currently scheduled special meeting lists closed session interviews, if any, and a possible announcement thereafter.

Correction, 6.28.11: interviews are an open process.

It’s not absurd to seek an internal candidate, but Whitewater’s approach — both exemplar and self-parody of a closed process — has little more than an even chance of producing a good candidate. ?See,?Whitewater Schools? Coin Flip.

The Wisconsin Historical Society recalls today as a birthday:

1837 – The Milwaukee Sentinel Founded
On this date the?Milwaukee Sentinel, the oldest newspaper in the state, was founded as a weekly publication by?Solomon Juneau, who also was Milwaukee’s first mayor. [Source:?History Just Ahead:?A Guide to Wisconsin’s Historical Markers edited by Sarah Davis McBride, p. 19]

That’s an inauspicious beginning that’s turned out well, as the paper has long since rejected the combination of politician and publisher, and embraced an independence lacking at its founding.

Good morning.

It’s a day of light rains for Whitewater, with a high temperature in the lower sixties.

A century ago, June 23rd marked a day of aviation triumph for Wisconsin:

1911 – First Home-Built Airplane Flies
On this date Wausau native John Schwister became a pioneer in Wisconsin aviation by flying the state’s first home-built airplane. The plane, named the “Minnesota-Badger,” was constructed of wooden ribs covered with light cotton material. Powered by an early-model aircraft engine, the “Minnesota-Badger” flew several hundred feet and reached a maximum altitude of 20 feet. [Source: Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame]

Good morning.

For Whitewater today, it’s a day of showers with a high temperature in the low seventies.

The Wisconsin Historical Society writes that today, in 1943, was one of the more embarrassing moments in Wisconsin political history:

1943 – McCarthy Breaks Leg in Drunken Accident

On this date future senator Joseph McCarthy broke his leg during a drunken Marine Corps initiation ceremony, despite a press release and other claims that he was hurt in “military action.” Although nicknamed “Tail Gunner Joe”, McCarthy never was a tail gunner, but instead served at a desk as an intelligence officer. In 1951 he applied for medals, including the Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded to those who had flown at least 25 combat missions. The Marine Corps has records of only 11 combat flights McCarthy flew on, and those were described as local “milk run” flights. Many of McCarthy’s claims were disputed by political opponents as well as journalists.

McCarthy had this advantage, if consistency in such matters is an advantage: he was a lout from beginning to end, evident to anyone who looked his way. One cannot say he appeared to be one thing, but was truly something else; he was unsuited to represent others, from any angle or distance.

Good morning.

It’s a day of thunderstorms with a high temperature of about eighty ahead for Whitewater.

It’s a busy day of public meetings in the Whippet City. At 4 p.m., Whitewater’s Community Development Authority meets (see, Community Development Authority 6.21.11 agenda). At 4:15, Whitewater’s Urban Forestry Commission meets (see, Urban Forestry 6.21.11 agenda).

Later, at 6:30 p.m., Common Council will be in session (see, Common Council 6.21.11 agenda).

Good morning.

It’s a cloudy day forecast for Whitewater, with a high temperature of seventy-seven, and a chance of thunderstorms.

There’s a Park & Recreation Board meeting today in Whitewater, at 4 p.m.  The meeting agenda is available online.

Today is the anniversary of a labor controversy from 1911, as the Wisconsin Historical Society recalls:

On this date Italian working men, employed by Andrus Asphalt Company in Madison, went on strike and threatened to kill their foreman if they did not receive an increase in wages for laying pavement. The men demanded a 25-cent (a day) raise, from $1.75 to $2.00. To learn more about strikes and the labor movement visit our Birth of the Labor Movement page in Turning Points. [Source: Bishops to Bootleggers: A Biographical Guide to Resurrection Cemetery, pg. 184]