"Police: Man Used Stick to Hit Child Because Their Shoes Came Untied"

From Racine County Eye:

By Heather Asiyanbi in Police and fire · June 17, 2016 · No comments 

"Racine police say a 31-year-old man is facing a felony child abuse charge because he beat a 5-year-old child with a stick when the child’s shoes kept coming untied.

"Kevin Mayfield, of Racine, was charged Thursday in Racine County Circuit Court with one felony count of physical abuse of a child. If convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison and/or up to $100,000 in fines.

"According the criminal complaint, officers were called Wednesday to a local child care center for a report of possible child abuse. When police arrived, they spoke to a 5-year-old child who said Mayfield 'whooped' them with a stick because their shoes kept coming untied.

"Officers say the child had visible welts measuring up to 5-inches long and some as an inch wide on their hands, arms, back, and buttocks. The abuse is suspected to have occurred on or about June 14 at the child’s home.

"Mayfield remains in the Racine County Jail on a $2,000 cash bond as well as a $3,000 signature bond and is ordered to not have any contact with the child or with any minor children. He was also ordered to surrender a sample of his DNA. Mayfield will next be in court June 23 for his preliminary hearing."


What a tough guy.

Happy Father's Day

"Get real people. Black humor matters."

http://hopelesslysane.blogspot.com/2016/06/i-wonder.html

"Paul McCartney On The Beatles' Breakup and What Lead To It (1990)"

Cone Head

Open Blog - Weekend

Have a good one.

Racine County District Attorney Rich Chiapete SHOULD seek re-election

http://journaltimes.com/news/local/racine-county-district-attorney-rich-chiapete-won-t-seek-re/article_419a2b28-3bae-54e6-b85f-82aa062ed658.html

Fuck 'em, Rich.  Who the hell is going to take your place and do as good of a job?

Run, Rich, run!

Four for Fridays! Anyways

1)  What's your favorite soda pop?

2)  Toilet paper roll - over the front or hanging from the back?

3)  Who's your favorite president?

4)  Will the Packers take the Super Bowl this season?

Bonus question:

5)  Are you voting OrbsCorbs, Of Course for president?

Have a great day.

Four for Fridays!

I am so sorry I will not be able to post any questions today. I am on my way to pick up the Grandkids in Oshkosh. I have to do this early so I can be back in time to pick up Drew from work and get through all the stupid construction in Milwaukee. If I get back early I will post questions but I am not promising it.

"City of Racine Residents Are Stunned To Discover That 2016 Property Tax Rates Under Mayor John Dickert Exceed Those of City of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel by Almost Double!"

From News The JT Can't Use:

3 Hours Ago by Paul Revere

"While the news media has been quick to report on the massive property tax increases enacted by City of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, they have failed to point out that those large increases bring the total property tax rate to only about HALF of what many Cities in South East Wisconsin charge. Is it any wonder that the productive People of Illinois aren’t flocking to residential properties in Racine and SE Wisconsin? An entire region of Wisconsin’s Rust Belt  which is quickly morphing into Detroit West with corrupt and criminal politicians who are looting the tax base, levying outrageously high property taxes, suffering from high rates of crime (which is often under-reported), curtailed services and large sections of failing infrastructure populated by illegal immigrants, the unemployed, those who depend upon public assistance, and recent Third World EB-5 Immigrants."

Read more: https://newsthejtcantuse.wordpress.com/2016/06/17/city-of-racine-residents-are-stunned-to-discover-that-2016-property-tax-rates-under-mayor-john-dickert-exceed-those-of-city-of-chicago-mayor-rahm-emanuel-by-almost-double/

Charlie's Latest Gift

I paid back the money to an old internet friend that she had lent me over the years.  Her delightful response?

In the last shot, on the far right, is the cat tree I bought Chalie recently.  As I was doing so, my friend was doing the same.  So Charlie ended up with two new cat trees.  Yay.  The one on the right is on a table and is only four feet tall.  It came assembled with everything except the top perch had to be attached. 

The one from my friend took almost four hours to assemble (1 hour work, 3 hours swearing).  It's seven feet tall and Charlie can easily reach the ceiling from the top perch.  He and I are very happy with this gift.  Thank you, Ms. N.

Not a fan..

Content warning -
Rambling therapeutic rant of sorts ahead....

I enjoy a good holiday. Recently, I've sought out fun holidays that you don't hear about until it's too late. Some are fun, some are for a cause, some are just weird. Some I can really get into - for instance, next week, the 22nd is national Chocolate Eclair Day. Definitely celebrating that one!

Then there are the established ones, and the one coming up always feels like a punch in the gut to me.
Fathers Day..... Not a fan.
I'm happy for those that had good fathers or at least tolerable ones, ones that were there in some fashion. Kids that had happy childhoods and fathers they could count on.
I realize that I'm not the only 'fatherless' kid out there. Some don't even know who their fathers are. Some come not only from broken but completely shattered homes. Some of us, grew up exposed to abuse, others, neglect, or even abandonment. For those of us, Father's day sucks.

I enjoy celebrating my husband, who is a great dad to our girls. That part, yes, I enjoy and he is worth celebrating. His dad, who wholeheartedly stepped up and was a stand in dad to me, has been gone a decade already. That still breaks my heart. He was an amazing guy who I'm glad to have had there for me. My own 'father', I've been estranged from for over 35 years and have only seen him maybe 3 times in all those years. Fathers day is a reminder of the feeling of not being lovable, not being good enough, not being enough for him not to be a monster. Yes, he was evil, and it felt like I wasn't good enough for him not to be horrible to. All these years later and that feeling still plagues me. I hate when it gets to me, then I get very angry and unpleasant. Great legacy you left, dear ol' 'dad'...

To the fatherless out there who either don't know, didn't know or unfortunately did know your fathers, it's not your fault. Some dads are just bad, and some are beyond horrible. It's not our fault. Try to let go of the guilt of not feeling like you're good enough or unlovable. It takes a LOT of work and is a life long process. Shoot, I'm 50 and I still suck at it. Know you're good enough and worth loving, even if you never felt it growing up or at whatever stage of life you are in. Dads can be terribly damaging. I may be bumped, bruised and dented but I'm still standing. Find a way to shine. Don't let their horrible example take away who you are. I don't want to only shine, I want to sparkle, gosh darn it!

"Billy Joel - 'You May Be Right [About Voting For OrbsCorbs, Of Course!]'"

Vote OrbsCorbs, of course!

Birds!

I know that some postings are not going to be on the JTI's but I thought I would post some birds to share with everyone still. So here are some pictures.

          This is a picture of a  Eastern Towhee the picture was taken at Cliffside Park in Crestview Wi.

        This is a picture of a Savannah Sparrow the picture was taken at Cliffside Park in Crestview Wi.

This is a picture of a Eastern Meadowlark the picture was taken at Richard Bong State Recreational Area in Brighton Wi.

This is a picture of a Great Egret the picture was taken at Richard Bong State Recreational Area in Brighton Wi.

This is a picture of a Song Sparrow the picture was taken at Richard Bong State Recreational Area in Brighton Wi.

I hope everyone enjoys the pictures.

OrbsCorbs for President!

Vote for me and I'll set you free!

I've decided to use JTIrregulars.com as the platform from which I'll launch my campaign for the Presidency of the United States of America.
  

The only good government is less government!

I believe that all of our troops and equipment overseas and in other nations should be brought home immediately.  Foreign aid to everybody should end immediately.  Secure our borders immediately.

I like Ike!

If you want to do business overseas, you are free to do so.  However, under no circumstances will any of the US military be used to protect your interests abroad.  Hire mercenaries.  Or, if you can find them, the A-Team.

I'll gladly debate any other candidate on anything other than the issues.  I have issues.  You have issues.  We all have issues.  We all also have assholes, but you don't want to debate about that, do you?

Submit questions below, and in response, I'll lie like the best of them.

P.S.  Send me money.  Lots and lots of money.  It's tax deductible, I think.  I'm running against Trump and Hilary.  I can't run on empty, you know.  

"Former Employee Accuses Wahlen of Intimidation, Wrongful Termination"

From Racine County Eye:

By Heather Asiyanbi in Government · June 13, 2016 · No comments

"Former Mount Pleasant Payroll Coordinator Jillian Schumacher Monday in public comments before the village board accused Village Administrator Kurt Wahlen of firing her for being a whistleblower.

"Schumacher said she was fired unfairly and without any prior warning because she questioned financial processes that didn’t align with the personnel handbook or standard practices.

"'In short, I believe I was terminated for being a whistleblower and not blindly following policies I felt were unprofessional,' she continued.

"Specifically, Schumacher claims Wahlen fired her just four months after she had a positive review during which she was awarded another week of vacation and told she was on track to receive a raise. Schumacher worked for Mount Pleasant for 13 months.

"'In January of 2016 my vacation was increased to 3 weeks and I was on schedule for a raise. I had received no verbal or written warnings and no suspensions as outlined in the discipline section of the personnel manual. I had every reason to believe I was a competent and valued employee,' her comments to trustees read.

"But, last month, Schumacher told the board that Wahlen called her into his office and asked if she wanted to quit or be terminated. She elected termination and said she believes Wahlen fired her because:

• Pay for staff is arbitrary negotiated by the Village Administrator on a personal basis rather than as a uniform employee policy. Pay for similar positions vary without regard to experience or job description.
• Raises are arbitrarily awarded or withheld and do not follow village personnel handbook guidelines.
• Some salaried staff are allotted comp. time while others are not. The result is that some staff are paid when absent and others have to use vacation time.
• Village fees were waived by staff for certain residents but charged to others – without oversight or board approval.
• Fees and bills were not routinely deposited and at times were allowed to collect in a box if staff was absent. In early 2016, during property tax season, as much as $2 million dollars or more sat in the village office without deposit – vulnerable to fraud or neglect.
• Two village employees – Jo Gleason and Dianne Flannery – were paid well over the $8.57/hour wage for poll workers on election day; Gleason was allotted her regular rate of nearly $18/hour.

"When she brought her concerns to Wahlen, Schumacher said he threatened to 'dock' her pay. A few weeks later, he fired her.

"Board members were clearly surprised by Schumacher’s comments. After the meeting, Village President Jerry Garski said he takes the allegations seriously.

"'This was surprising … it’s the first we’ve heard of these issues, and we will look into them,' he said after the board meeting.

"He did not offer any additional comment.

"Wahlen was not at the meeting because he is on vacation this week. Racine County Eye did send him an email to his village email address and will update this story if we reach him for comment. His contract with the village expired on May 13, and negotiations for a new one have not begun, according to sources close to the village.

"To listen to Schumacher’s comments, click the link below:"



 Jillian Schumacher Payroll Coordinator from Rees Roberts on Vimeo. 

Read more: http://racinecountyeye.com/former-employee-accuses-wahlen-intimidation-wrongful-termination/ 

Related: https://kurtwahlenexposed.wordpress.com/2016/06/14/mtp-village-administrator-kurt-wahlen-is-accused-of-intimidation-wrongful-termination/

JT Irregulars

I put in eight years of blood, sweat,and tears.  And some laughs.  I'd gladly put in another eight, but it's not to be.  I feel like I've lost a family member or put down a beloved pet.

Happy Birthday!

                                                                Happy Birthday Drew!

Open Blog - Weekend

Have a marvelous weekend!

Four for Fridays!

I am so sorry about Four for Fridays last week everyone. I had an early doctor appointment and a lot of errands to run. I know that is no excuse to not getting the questions out for everyone I am sorry. Here are the questions for this week.

1) Is everyone ready for the warm and humid weather coming this weekend?

2) Have you ever gone camping?

3) Do you ever get to the point that you never know what to make for dinner?

4) Do you think that some people go way overboard for their weddings?

I hope everyone has a great weekend and stay indoors were it is nice and cool this weekend!

1984

Astronomy

"For Ron Miscavige, life after Scientology hitting high notes"

Ron Miscavige has written a tell-all memoir about his son David who heads the Church of Scientology - Rob Quinn

From JSOnline:

By Bruce Vielmetti of the Journal Sentinel

"For a man who devoted half his long life to the Church of Scientology, quit, wrote a book highly critical of its leader — his son — and now suffers the church's wrath, Ron Miscavige comes off as a pretty happy, upbeat guy.

"The 80-year-old West Allis resident sat down this week to talk about his memoir, 'Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige and Me,' which almost immediately landed on The New York Times bestseller list and put the first-time author on major network news shows after it was published last month by St. Martin's Press.

"It also thrust him into the crosshairs of the church, which calls the book a lie and launched a website portraying Miscavige as a wife-beater, ungrateful son and huckster trying to make a buck off his famous son.
Plus, he assumes he's still under constant surveillance, but doesn't seem to care.

"'You don't ever beat a bully by running away,' he said.

"His main hope for the book, he said, is that it might lead to an end of the church's policy of "disconnection," in which all members stop contact with anyone who leaves. He remains cut off by two daughters still in the church.

"Though there's little Scientology presence or history in Milwaukee, the area became part of the story when West Allis police arrested a private investigator who had been getting paid $10,000 a week to shadow Miscavige's every move since he left the church in 2012.

"He and his second wife of nearly 25 years had come to Wisconsin to be near her parents. The private eye had fake IDs, multiple license plates, a GPS tracking device, guns and a silencer.

"The Florida-based investigator told West Allis police that once when he thought Miscavige was having a heart attack in a parking lot and called it in, David Miscavige himself told him not to intervene. 'If he dies, he dies,' the younger Miscavige said, according to the investigator.

"The investigator was arrested in 2013, but the story didn't break until 2015. Scientology denied the investigator's claims.

"Miscavige says now that he was in fact clutching at his chest on the day in question, but only to find his cellphone, which had fallen from a pocket as he loaded groceries into his car. He wrote that when he later learned of this son's instruction, he was stunned, and the anecdote leads off the book."

Read more:  http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/for-ron-miscavige-life-after-scientology-hitting-high-notes-b99739824z1-382443111.html

Open Blog - Friday

Learn cursive you little shits!

"'Dear Refugees: This Is How To Interact With Our Women' - Austrian Politician Releases Scandalous Video"

by Tyler Durden - Jun 7, 2016 5:43 PM

"In their ongoing attempts to assimilate and integrate the several hundred thousand recent middle-eastern refugees, both Germany and Austria have resorted to what some have dubbed childish measures, creating pamphlets and websites explaining what is permitted, either in public, by the swimming pool, or even what is proper and improper during sex (along with a basic sex education course). Not surprisingly, these have failed to work, as today's report of 69,000 crimes committed by German refugees in just the first quarter has demonstrated.

"Which is perhaps why an Austrian politician from the right-wing Freedom Party, Armin Sippel, has taken these steps to their absurd extreme and released a provocative, and according to many, scandalous video in which he 'explains' to asylum seekers, using a blonde mannequin and posters in Arabic, that European women generally don’t like being groped in public by strangers.



"The video sparked a lot of negative comments and a series of video responses, forcing Sippel to take the video down due to 'extremely aggressive personal attacks,' reports the Local.  'A debate on this unpleasant topic of sexual assaults is essential, but should be good mannered,' Sippel said on Facebook. Soon, however, the video reemerged on YouTube uploaded by others.

"Sippel appears on the screen and addresses the viewers: 'Dear … Asylum Seekers.' Then a blonde mannequin dressed in an open blouse and a low-cut skirt comes into shot.

"The politician asks migrants not to look at women provocatively, whistle or harass them. Sippel physically demonstrates on the mannequin that groping women, 'grabbing a woman by the butt or bosom' is unacceptable.  At the end of the video, Sippel shows a sign reading: 'Keep your fingers off our women'.

"As a reminder, the anti-immigration and Euroskeptic party nearly won the presidential post in a recent poll with candidate Norbert Hofer, who was even ahead of the Green Party candidate Alexander van der Bellen while ballots were being counted.

"The FPO says the making of the video was spurred by a string of sex harassment scandals in neighboring Germany involving asylum seekers.

"Only a month ago, a German education center was reportedly hired by the German government to teach migrants how to approach and get acquainted with local women at specially organized classes. Bayerischer Rundfunk television filmed one of the classes teaching migrants how to get along better with women. The majority of comments on the video were negative."



Read more: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-07/dear-refugees-how-interact-our-women-austrian-politician-releases-scandalous-video


And keep your fingers off of our men, children, and sheep, too.

Barge in our Basement

It's a full-size Buick, but I don't know what year.  1960's something.  The fluid leaking out is red, which means it's transmission fluid.  Could be a gasket, could be a hole in the pan, could be some missing or broken bolts.  The trunk is large enough to sublet to a refugee family.  Seriously, whenever I get near this car, I'm impressed again with how huge it is and it's difficult for me to believe that I lived in a time when almost all cars were that huge.  My dad's 1958 DeSoto had outlandish fins, but almost all cars had fins back then.

I betcha this baby drinks gasoline by the bucketload.

Top 10 Media Thursdays

Open Blog - Thursday

I usually 'throw-back' a few pots of coffee a day.

What Wonderful Memories Part 2

Today would have been my mom-in-love's birthday.

Sadly, she passed away at the end of October.

She was truly one of the most amazing people I have ever met, EVER. She was a treasure and I count it an honor to have been able to have her in my life. 

From early on, she always told me that she loved me and no matter if we were meant to be forever or not, she would always love me.

There were days that the future hubby would annoy me, I would just go visit with his mom and hang out. He was quite the car guy back then and half the time, didn't even realize I was there...

We spend so much time together and grew close quite easily. 

Her smile was infectious. Her love was stronger and deeper than I'd ever seen before. I knew that no matter what, she would be in my life and that she loved me. 

Mom volunteered daily, at various nursing homes and care facilities, playing the piano for residents. She would go wherever they would have her, just to play for people to make them smile. This brought her incredible joy. She was loved by so many people everywhere. I was very fortunate to be part of this amazing ladies life and to know she loved me as if I were her own. 

This birthday, she spends with her hubby, who we lost 10 years ago tomorrow. I miss them so much, but have learned much from them. 

Treasure the people in your life, they won't be here forever.

Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Dear Madame Zoltar

Hello my lovers and haters!  How are you?  Although our temperatures have been a bit on the cool side lately, I'm not complaining.  Even when it rains cats and dogs, I take great solace in the fact that at least it's not s-word.  It's not unheard of in May. but it's a rare occurrence.  I remember one.  Everything had melted away by the following day.  Hopefully, we'll be s-word free for the rest of the season.  I would suggest Poor Richard's Almanac, but that's like throwing darts at a board, especially since Mother Nature has gone insane from all the pollutants that we've rammed down her throat.

Well, the weather being topsy-turvy might as well match the rest of the world.  Black is white and white is black, maybe  I'm so encouraged when I see passers-by who return my smile.  The vast majority don't.  It seems as if people are hurt or angry, or both.  I swear I used to get a better return just 10, or even 5, years ago.   I'm not counting the people who are head bowed, fully absorbed by the "toy" in their hands.  Maybe it's just me, but I don't feel as comfortable out in the world as I once did.  Just the other day, I was in line at the Post Office and I watched a man come in and set a box underneath a counter, next to a woman who was writing something.  The man left.  I looked at the box.  I'm sorry, but I thought of the possibility of terrorism.

I asked the man in line behind me if he had seen the man put down the box and leave.  The woman standing next to the box overheard me and said (in a beautiful Jamaican accent), "The box belongs to a friend of mine.  I'm watching it for him while he gets more."  Better safe than sorry, I say.  But has the war on terrorism made our nation paranoid and/or hyper-vigilant?  I so long for the simpler, friendlier times of my youth.  Today, the same things that allow people to make friends globally, also allows terrorists to carry out their murders.  I'm sorry, but I have no solution for terrorism, abroad or at home.  I never expected my adulthood to be spent at war.  Why don't the "vast majority" of Muslims do something to police their own radicals?

Why, indeed.  War has plagued mankind for as long as we can remember, from battling tribes to nuclear confrontation.  For some reason, some of us can't live in peace with others.  I suggest that a few nations be ceded to the hawks amongst us so they can live and kill in peace.  The rest of us can live in the "Peace Nations," where we get along with each other and try to help each other.  My Lord, please, if only it was that easy.

Mr. OrbsCorbs insisted that I publish this: Steve Batie, of "HouseWorks" fame, has retired: http://journalstar.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/houseworks-it-s-been-a-pleasure-for-years/article_de5fb6db-1aba-5037-95a1-8bb23755a96e.html  Mr. OrbsCorbs asks that there be public mourning and gnashing of teeth.

Thank you all my dears and honeybees for reading my blog this week.  Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to look me over.  I love each and every one of my visitors.

How do you "gnash" teeth?  Ask madamezoltar@jtirregulars.com

I'm so glad that we're finally seeing spring.  Everything is blooming everywhere.  There are explosions of color all over the place.  Enjoy your coming week.  Smile.  Smile.  Smile.  

Things to Ponder

Why do motorcycle enthusiasts who insist upon installing "straight pipes" for the loudest possible exhaust, then install stereos with the power of a Marshall amp to overcome the noise of their own exhaust?

Open Blog - Wednesday

The same to everyone.

"The U.S. States With The Highest Tax Burdens In 2016"

by Tyler Durden - Jun 6, 2016 10:40 PM

"Across the United States, some residents have to pay far more state and local tax than others. The amount you pay depends heavily on the state you reside in with New Yorkers suffering under the heaviest tax burden according to website Wallethub.

"As Statista details,  the tax burden measures the percentage of a person’s income which goes towards state and local tax, different to the tax rate, which depends heavily on income and personal circumstances.

You will find more statistics at Statista

"People in New York pay 13.12 percent of their income towards state and local tax, the highest rate nationwide.

"Its neighbours Vermont (11.13 percent), Connecticut (10.91 percent) and New Jersey (10.38 percent) also have some of the highest tax burdens in the country."

 

Read more:  http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-06-06/us-states-highest-tax-burdens-2016

Birds!

I am so sorry I have not been posting anything on here lately I have been really busy with Doctor appointments and Drew with migration last month. I finally got caught up with my wildflowers today so now I will be able to start posting more on here for everyone to enjoy. Here are some pictures from up north.

         This is a picture of a Common Loon the picture was taken at Whitefish Lake in Three Lakes Wi.

This is a picture of a Osprey this picture was taken on Hwy 55 in Lily Wi. It was raining so the Osprey is really wet in the picture.

               This is a picture of a Pileated Woodpecker this picture was taken on Hwy DD in Pickerel Wi.

This is a picture of a Snapping Turtle this picture was taken on Hwy DD by Bog Brook in Pickerel Wi. I know this is not a picture of a bird but the turtle is laying her eggs.

This is a picture of a Yellow Headed Blackbird this picture was taken at MACC Wildlife Refuge in Black Creek Wi.

I hope everyone enjoys the pictures we really enjoy going out and taking the pictures to share with everyone.

"Tavern League Asking for Extended Downtown Parking"

From Racine County Eye:

By Heather Asiyanbi in Government · June 6, 2016 · No comments

"The Racine Common Council Tuesday will consider assigning to a committee a request to extend the deadline for overnight parking downtown by an hour, from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m.

"Implementing the change could make a big difference in the safety of both patrons and bar staff, according to the Racine Tavern League.

"Currently, alternate parking restrictions go into effect at 2 a.m.; drivers must park on the odd side of the street on oddly numbered days and on the even side of the street on even numbered days except on weekends during warm weather and every day between Nov. 1 and March 1 of every year.

"If the matter is assigned to the Public Works and Services Committee, it could appear on the June 14 agenda. That committee meets at 5:30 p.m. on second and fourth Tuesdays of the month in Room 303 at City Hall, 730 Washington Avenue."

Read more:  http://racinecountyeye.com/tavern-league-asking-for-extended-downtown-parking/

"Caledonia residents displeased with switch to regional land-use plan"

From The Journal Times.com:

MARK FELDMANN mark.feldmann@journaltimes.com  18 hrs ago  11

"CALEDONIA — Future development in the village will be guided by a large, metropolitan plan created largely by outsiders, much to the chagrin of some village residents who created a localized land-use strategy 10 years ago.

"The Caledonia Plan Commission last week heard from nearly a dozen residents who wanted the village to keep a neighborhood-specific land use plan devised by residents from 2003 to 2006.

"Instead, the village will use a plan created by Southeast Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, dubbed the 2035 plan.

"SEWRPC is the official metropolitan planning organization and regional planning commission for seven counties in southeastern Wisconsin, including Racine and Kenosha.

"The commission was created in 1960 to provide basic information and planning services to solve problems which transcend local units of government, according to the SEWRPC website.

"The two plans vary in some areas, and residents told the village Plan Commission they want the 2006 plan, which formulated specific land uses and green space requirements for individual neighborhoods, to take precedent.

"'I think it’s a little disturbing that the work we did gets put aside,' said Susan Greenfield, a former Caledonia town chairman who worked on the 2006 plan.

"Greenfield suggested forming a citizen group to review the two plans. 'I think you should hear what we thought should be there,' Greenfield said. 'This is our village. I think the recommendations we made back then were good ones.'"

Read more:  http://journaltimes.com/news/local/caledonia-residents-displeased-with-switch-to-regional-land-use-plan/article_f25c400f-c122-5166-aeb6-664faed87283.html

Open Blog - Tuesday

Labrīt!

Barnes & Noble Teen Book Festival

Related:  http://stores.barnesandnoble.com/store/2037?view=

Related: http://racineuncovered.org/2016/06/june-11th-frank-romano-speaks-with-teens-how-to-become-a-writer/

"Move Over: Slow Traffic to the Right is DOT Law of the Month"

From Racine County Eye:

By Heather Asiyanbi in Community, Government · June 5, 2016 · No comments 

"Drivers on Wisconsin’s divided highways be aware: you could get a ticket and lost points if you drive too slow in the left lane instead of using the right lane.

"Racine Neighborhood Watch posted on their Facebook page Saturday a reminder that not obeying this law could cost motorists up to $213.10 and four demerit points on their license.

"With gas prices at their lowest points in 10 years, AAA is predicting a busy summer, according to a story in their online newsroom, with nearly 56 percent of American drivers saying they plan on taking a road trip this year.

"'This year’s summer driving season is expected to be characterized by higher-than-normal gasoline demand,' the story reads. 'More than half of Americans say low gas prices are the reason they will travel this summer.'

"WIth the increased traffic, paying attention to and obeying this law just makes good sense. Neighborhood Watch lists pointers from Wisconsin State Patrol about staying safe while traveling state roadways:

"• If you’re not passing another vehicle, use the right lane as much as possible.
• If you’re in the right lane, allow other drivers to merge from the left lane into the right lane so that faster traffic can pass in the left lane. In addition, provide space for vehicles to merge into the right lane when they are entering a roadway from an on-ramp.
• If you’re in the left lane, don’t tailgate or try to make a slower vehicle ahead of you move to the right lane. Be patient and courteous"

Read more: http://racinecountyeye.com/move-slow-traffic-right-dot-law-month/.


"Be patient and courteous"  ROFLMAO!

"As California's End of Life act goes into effect, some doctors question where to draw the line"

From Los Angeles Times:

By Soumya Karlamangla

June 6, 2016 3:00 AM

"As a new law goes into effect in California allowing terminally ill patients to take medicines to kill themselves, physicians are contemplating whether they would ever write a prescription for death.

"For Dr. Neil Wenger, an internal medicine doctor and director of the UCLA Health Ethics Center, physician-assisted dying blurs what had once been a clear distinction for physicians.

"'We have always, up till now, been able to say we will never hasten a death,' Wenger said. 'Suddenly, that bright line is not so bright.'

"He added that the Hippocratic Oath doesn’t just say that doctors shouldn’t harm patients but specifically forbids providing poison to kill someone. 

"Wenger’s stance is common among doctors in California: He accepts that physician-aided death is now legal -- in fact, he’s in charge of implementing the new law at UCLA -- but remains unlikely to participate himself, saying it goes against his oath to save lives.

"Though both advocates and opponents of doctor-aided death call California’s legalization a big step -- either forward or backward – for medical care, experts predict that it would probably be a marginalized practice within the healthcare system, with few patients asking for lethal medications and few doctors furnishing them. 

"'For most of us this may be a once or twice in a lifetime, or in a career, situation,' said Dr. Jay Lee, head of the California Academy of Family Physicians.

"When the End of Life Option Act goes into effect Thursday, California will become the fifth state in the nation to allow patients with less than six months to live to request end-of-life drugs from their doctors. 

"The law is intended to help terminally ill patients avoid suffering. When he signed the bill into law in October, Gov. Jerry Brown wrote that he believed it would be a comfort to have this option if he were 'dying in prolonged and excruciating pain.'

"More than three-fourths of Californians were in favor of such a law, including 82% of Democrats and 67% of Republicans, according to a poll conducted last year by the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley.

"But doctors tend to be more wary. Neither the American Medical Assn. nor the California Medical Assn. support such legislation.

"Physicians have no obligations under California’s law; they don’t have to prescribe such medications if asked or refer patients to colleagues who will. They don’t even have to discuss aid-in-dying if a patient approaches them about it.

"But leaders of physicians groups say they want doctors to be able to talk about the treatment so they can properly address patients’ concerns and questions.

"For the last several months, these organizations have been holding webinars and training sessions and providing educational materials about the law. The California Academy of Family Physicians launched a podcast in April about end-of-life care options.

"Lee said they want doctors to be better at talking about all treatment options around death, as well as physician-aided death specifically. 

"'Not everyone feels entirely comfortable yet, because it’s been, kind of, in the medical community, a taboo topic,' Lee said.

"Some doctors object to the idea that a patient’s pain could be so great that they would choose to die. It’s unlikely for pain to not be controlled with palliative care or other treatments, they say.

"Wenger said that sometimes a patient feels so much pain that they need to be sedated to a point of unresponsiveness. But he’s only seen one or two patients like that in his more than 20-year career, he said. 

"In Oregon, only 25% of those who died from lethal medication said they were worried about pain control, according to data from the state’s public health department. 

"More common reasons for choosing aid-in-dying were loss of autonomy (92%), being less able to engage in activities that made life enjoyable (90%) and burdening family or caregivers (41%)."

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-aid-in-dying-doctors-20160606-snap-story.html



"Some doctors object to the idea that a patient’s pain could be so great that they would choose to die. It’s unlikely for pain to not be controlled with palliative care or other treatments, they say."  So, because they don't like the idea, it doesn't happen. 

From the comments on The Journal Times site on a story entitled: "Heroin deaths continue locally in Racine County":

 

Pegsie Jun 5, 2016 11:14am 

My concern about any so-called ‘...comprehensive solution to the opioid epidemic’is with the bureaucrats who lump seniors who deal with 24/7 pain together with drug addicts. That broad brush approach may be simple for bureaucrats to implement but it causes massive problems for patients and doctors. Doctors now fear the loss of their license if they prescribe even nominal opioid amounts to the elderly to control 24/7 pain when nothing else has proven to work. I am not talking about one-off pain med needs. I am talking about pain management for degenerative diseases where it has been proven that nothing else works. Many elderly tried PT, exercise, Chinese herbs, acupuncture, yoga and more. These are the people I am talking about. Bureucrats and legislators would be best served by talking first hand with elderly constituents who live with debilitating 24/7 chronic pain to try to understand this critical issue.
Today’s opioid epidemic means the elderly are discriminated against via broad-brushed laws that toss them into the same bucket with teen age heroin and meth addicts without consideration for underlying causes of 24/7 pain, e.g., degenerative osteo and rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, spinal degeneration. If you experience 24/7 pain, you are automatically labeled a drug abuser, an addict, no different from a meth head! It is now YOUR FAULT that you experience pain. YOU are a terrible person because you have pain. YOU are to be vilified, accused, judged, AND YOUR PAIN WILL NOW BE IGNORED!!!!! Those responsible for helping you, i.e., doctors, throw their hands up in the air and claim there is nothing they can do to help. In other words, maybe the elderly should just go into some corner somewhere and die. Please, don’t tell me I am over simplifying anything here. I’m just speaking facts.

Don't let the pendulum swing too far yet again but this time in the opposite direction. We let it swing too far on the use of opioids. Some patients and some doctors abused it. We now know through that experience that it not only did not work, it caused this epidemic, increased addictions and deaths. But, let’s also analyze the data to prove who died. Were the deaths among elderly who were under doctor care? Were the deaths among kids trying to get a high? Were they among known addicts? The news media carefully avoids any data to prove which age groups are most affected. Why is that when we know -- or should know -- data are critical to reaching intelligent decisions?
Here is a doctor’s comment about the critical need for data analysis from the 3.16.2016 edition of Med Page Today:

“Sadly, Opioid Addiction has become the medical news of the day. Unfortunately, much of the conversation has been based on a giant lie, half truths, and misinformation which makes trying to solve a real problem that much more difficult.

First we have to understand that the vast majority of overdoses are the result of use of heroin, methadone, and the illegal use of prescription opioids. The number of deaths from the legal use of prescription opioids under the care of a legitimate doctor - as opposed to the pill mills - is relatively uncommon.

Unfortunately, much of the news coverage lumps the legal use of prescription opioids in with non legal use and illegal opioids giving an entirely false impression of the problem. As a result, and given the changes in regulations, being in pain has effectively become criminalized and Doctors are now forced to act as parole officers.

The real problem is actually concentrated in the broader use of illegal drugs. In other words it is not medical problem but an illegal drug and crime problem.

This is a problem that will not be fixed until people start treating it for the problem it really is instead of lying about the facts.” End Med Page Today quote.*This comment on the article “FDA science advisors talk strategy on Opioids” was written by “ZB” at this link. Comments are on the right side of the article: http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/FDAGeneral/56502.

Let’s learn from MAJOR errors of our past that were based on ignorance and no small amount of marketing by pharmaceutical firms. Let’s be smart this time, let’s be selective, let’s be definitive, let’s use data and be intelligent about any laws that deal with pain management for the elderly. Also, let’s focus on the underlying causes of addiction and put programs in place to address the causes.

Pain management does not warrant broad brush solutions or ignorant assumptions. The link below cites the personal encounter with chronic pain by Philip Pizzo, postgraduate medical student, that dramatically changed his limited view of chronic pain. As he puts it: “Previously, I had sometimes wondered whether the chronic pain that patients reported was as incapacitating as they claimed. I now know that it can become debilitating. It can take over one's life, sap one's energy, and negate or neutralize joy and well-being.” Read his New England Journal of Medicine article here: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1306467.

The elderly in chronic pain are not intent on getting high. They need and seek effective pain management that allows them to live their lives in comfort, to remain productive members of society, and to enjoy their family and friends. No bureaucrat or legislator should allow any bill to lump the elderly together with addicts or kids seeking a high in search of a ‘...comprehensive solution to the opioid epidemic.’

Things to Ponder

Open Blog - Monday

Where's my glasses? Oh, it's the hangover? My God.

"New business looks to beautify empty storefronts"

From The Journal Times.com:

MICHAEL BURKE mburke@journaltimes.com  11 hrs ago  5

"RACINE — Empty storefronts bother Marty Sturino. A lot.

"So he decided to do something about them.

"Last week, Sturino and his business partner, Ed Jenkins, unveiled a new look for three large storefront windows at 427 Main St., the former Main Marine & Ski.

"Passersby may think they’re looking into a new Downtown phone store. But the reality is this: The windows are filled with a large, high-definition, 3-D graphic depicting a store inside what is actually vacant, available commercial space.

"This year Sturino and Jenkins, both retired SC Johnson executives, formed the company they are now launching: Storefronts Matter. Their business offers large, high-definition graphics that are stuck onto commercial windows to make empty spaces appear to house real businesses. The one at 427 Main St. is their demonstration project.

"'Empty storefronts are an eyesore for the community, wasted space with no utility and do little to interest potential renters/buyers,' Storefront Matters states.

"'Our storefronts improve the cityscape for residents, summer visitors and tourists by creating interest in otherwise ugly properties; provide information about the building; and create exciting promotional and advertising space for large companies, schools and civic organizations,' Sturino and Jenkins write.

"The graphics are created by a small Dublin, Ireland, graphic arts company called Virtual-Shopfronts; they’re sent to Storefronts Matter as large computer files and are printed here on vinyl sheets. The sticky sheets are applied professionally to the insides of windows.

"Virtual-Shopfronts offers more than 25 basic graphic creations including restaurants, shoe stores, men’s and women’s clothing stores, coffee shops and a health food store, Sturino and Jenkins said.

"However, Jenkins said, 'If you need something, they will create it.' The graphic artists can also move the positions of people within a graphic or change the color scheme, as Sturino and Jenkins had them do with their Main Street phone store.

"The building owner chose a phone store because that is what the company would like to attract to that space, Sturino explained.

"The demonstration space is adjacent to the Downtown Racine Corp. office at 425 Main St., and DRC Executive Director Devin Sutherland is thrilled by what Storefronts Matter is doing in a Downtown space.

"'Storefronts Matter is one of the most exciting business startups we have worked with,' he said. 'The concept of not only trying to enhance the aesthetics of a business district, but using this new approach to business attraction is very unique and innovative. The scalability of this is huge, and the applications for this product are endless.'"

Read more:  http://journaltimes.com/business/local/new-business-looks-to-beautify-empty-storefronts/article_e415eb59-ac02-588c-b1d2-8d4b8fb2fbd8.html

Related:  http://www.virtual-shopfronts.com/