Local radio legend Gary Suhr dies

From The Journal Times.com:

• PETER JACKEL

Gary Suhr, then the news director for WRJN Radio, gives his midday newscast July 31, 1998, during his final regular broadcast at the studio at 4201 Victory Ave. Suhr, who worked for the station from 1962 until he retired completely in 2002, died Monday morning of natural causes. He was 86.

LIANA J. COOPER, Journal Times file photo

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Gary Suhr, a radio broadcaster for WRJN in Racine for 40 years, died Monday morning, his wife, Joan said.

Joan Suhr said her husband of nearly 62 years died of natural causes at Franciscan Villa in South Milwaukee. He has been a resident there since the summer of 2017.

Suhr, a Milwaukee native, was the voice of Racine sports from when he joined WRJN in 1962 until he retired completely from the station in 2002. He has retired as a newscaster in July 1998.

"Gary loved his work," Joan Suhr said. "He wanted to be a sportscaster from the time he was in high school and he really fulfilled his dream. He loved his job and he devoted a lot of time and energy into it.

"He loved every minute of it. I think he had a very satisfying career."

In addition to Joan, Suhr is survived by sons Jay, Eric, Rob and Brian. A fifth son, Jeffrey, died in February 2018.

Joan Suhr said a celebration of her husband's life will be held after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.

From: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/local-radio-legend-gary-suhr-dies/article_196f78a3-6c2e-5e4e-8caa-e5b946f091b6.html

Last Man Standing

From Racine County Corruption:

Tonight history was made !

Councilwoman Sandy Weidner was the lone Alderman at city hall proudly performing her elected duties for the last time as the rest of the council, mayor, city attorney and city clerk cowered at home and participated in the common council meeting on the 
internet via Facebook.

For twenty years Sandy has been a voice of reason, often being the lone voice in opposing special interest and white elephant projects 

Tonight was also Sandy Weidner's last council meeting being an alderman as she sat alone in empty City Hall Chambers conducting common council business

Ironically, the last man standing is a woman.

But if you know Sandy, that should come as no surprise

When it comes to rating elected officials in Racine County, 

none stand as strong, wise or classy as City of Racine 

Alderman Sandy Weidner.

Thank you for your 20 years of exemplary public service !

We salute you Sandy Weidner 

From: https://racinecountycorruption.blogspot.com/2020/04/last-man-standing-tonight-history-was.html

Open Blog - Tuesday

You're supposed to eat your takeout on a blanket at home.  

7 COVID-19 cases appear related to April 7 election, Milwaukee health commissioner says

From JSOnline:

Alison Dirr, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Voters in line to vote at Riverside High School in Milwaukee for voting on April 7, 2020, after courts ordered Wisconsin to move ahead with in-person voting in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. (Photo: MIKE DE SISTI / MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL)

Officials have identified seven people who appear to have contracted COVID-19 through activities related to the April 7 election, Milwaukee Health Commissioner Jeanette Kowalik said Monday.

By the end of this week, officials hope to have additional information on the cases that were reported between April 7 and Monday, she said.

That includes an answer to whether any of the seven cases resulted in death and whether the cases were concentrated at any of the city’s five in-person polling locations.

"There needs to be a little bit more analysis so we can connect the dots, that's why case investigation and contact tracing is so important," she said. 

Asked how to conduct contact tracing at polling sites when anyone present was surrounded by numerous strangers, Kowalik referenced doing broad notification for people who were present during a certain time frame.

"As you recall, there were people that were in line for a very long time to get their vote in, so if you figure out around a range of time when someone was there or in the polling sites or in the line, connect to someone who was an actual case, that's when we would do notifications," she said. 

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said about 3,500 voters came to each of the city's five voting sites and dozens of workers were there as well.

"This will tell you why we were so adamant about trying to not have this occur," he said, referring calls to cancel in-person voting. 

Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm said Monday the state’s health agency had not yet seen evidence linking new cases of the virus with the April 7 election. Palm also warned that if cases do exist, symptoms may not have appeared yet.

Tuesday will mark the 14th day since the election —  a time frame epidemiologists agree typically passes before symptoms of a virus infection appear.

The in-person election saw voters standing in line at the city's five polling places, many for hours on end.

Journal Sentinel reporter Molly Beck contributed to this story.

Contact Alison Dirr at 414-224-2383 or adirr@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlisonDirr.

From: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/milwaukee/2020/04/20/coronavirus-milwaukee-7-new-cases-may-tied-april-7-election/5168669002/

14 virtual 4/20 parties from online concerts to workshops to celebrate the marijuana holiday

Bernadette Luna, left and Torey Lane smoke a one ounce blunt during FlyHi 420 Festival at Civic Center Park on April 20, 2019, in Denver. (Seth McConnell, Special to The Denver Post)

The coronavirus pandemic may have canceled Denver’s annual FlyHi 420 Festival, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to celebrate the beloved stoner holiday. Physical distancing and stay-at-home orders have moved festivities online, where cannabis enthusiasts are encouraged to connect and commemorate the occasion virtually.

Here are 14 parties where you can tune in and light up from home on Monday, April 20.

420 for a Cause

Local musicians, comedians and service-industry personnel have been financially devastated by event cancellations and restaurant closures due to the coronavirus. That’s why 420 for a Cause is focusing its efforts on raising money for organizations like the Colorado Restaurant Association and Colorado Comedy Relief Fund, which benefit those hit hard by the effects of the pandemic. And it’s bringing in A-list entertainment to do so. Expect live sets from bands including The Disco Biscuits, Thievery Corporation, Lotus and Motet, as well as comedians like Doug Benson, Beth Stelling, Jonah Ray and more.

The event starts at 1 p.m. at 420foracause.com and is scheduled to run 4 hours and 20 minutes (fittingly), with a countdown to 4:20 p.m. and a ceremonious “bud drop.”

4/20 Smoke-in with Snoop Dogg

It wouldn’t be a bonafide weed-smoking holiday without an appearance by Snoop Dogg. In honor of the digital debut of Dr. Dre’s critically acclaimed album The Chronic, available on streaming platform for the first time on April 20, DJ Snoopadelic will spin a set on cannabis publication Merry Jane’s Instagram. Tune in and get your groove on starting at 5:20 p.m.

420 YouTube Live

If podcasts are more your thing, join a live broadcast that brings together weed-focused programs I’m Too Effing High, Weed + Grub, and Great Moments in Weed History for an evening of thematic conversation, comedy, cooking demonstrations, and more fun. The event kicks off at 7 p.m. on I’m Too Effing High’s YouTube channel.

4/20 at The Coffee Joint

The Coffee Joint, a social consumption lounge in Denver, is known for regularly hosting workshops and networking events. Since it can’t host them in person right now, it’ll be moving some events online to celebrate the holiday. On April 18-20, the shop will be streaming live podcast recording sessions, games, painting lessons and giveaways on its Instagram and Facebook pages.

4/20 World Record

Meetups on video platform Zoom have quickly become a popular quarantine pastime. On April 20, California-based cannabis entrepreneur Tony Diepenbrock is hosting a virtual conference in hopes of setting the world record for the most people consuming cannabis on video chat. RSVP at 420worldrecord.com to be one of 1,000 people to receive a Zoom invitation. The smoke session takes place at 5:20 p.m. Colorado time. Diepenbrock is also accepting donations and selling T-shirts to benefit the Last Prisoner Project, a nonprofit focused on exonerating those serving jail time for nonviolent marijuana crimes.

4/20 Special from Nightmares on Wax

Several musicians have taken to social media during quarantine to broadcast live concerts. On April 20, Coloradans can start celebrating at 11 a.m. with a 4/20 special set from renowned DJ Nightmares on Wax, who will be performing from his iconic studio in Ibiza. Follow Nightmares on Wax on Instagram to get a notification when he goes live on IGTV.

Come and Toke It

Texas’ favorite stoner, Willie Nelson, is hosting a virtual variety show called Come and Toke It to cele-bake the holiday. Musical guests includes Toby Keith, Nathaniel Rateliff, Mickey Raphael, Shakey Graves, CAAMP and others who will be performing, toking and educating viewers on the value of cannabis. Willie is also inviting fans into his virtual smoke circle with the #passleft challenge. Before the event kicks off, record a video of yourself passing your preferred cannabis device to the left and post it to Instagram with the hashtags #passleft and #comeandtokeit, and tag @luckreuion and @williesreserveofficial. A compilation will air during the event broadcast, which starts at 3:20 p.m. on Luck Reunion’s Facebook page and Twitch account.

Read more: https://theknow.denverpost.com/2020/04/14/420-events-online-coronavirus/237417/

Drones from China company cause spying concerns, experts claim

By Barnini Chakraborty | Fox News

Drones being used around the country to enforce coronavirus lockdowns were donated by a company with ties to the Chinese government, raising concerns that the nation many blame for allowing the virus to become a pandemic has sneaked a powerful espionage tool into the skies above its economic rival.

Drones from Da Jiang Innovations (DJI) have gone to 43 law enforcement agencies in 22 states to help ensure social distancing rules. In New Jersey, for example, the Chinese-made drones are being used to spy on citizens where patrol cars can't reach.

"Should people be concerned? Yes. Everyone should always be concerned," Brett Velicovich, former Army intelligence worker and author of "Drone Warrior," told Fox News. "You can never trust China."

The company denies any ulterior motives, but others, including drone experts, lawmakers and watchdog groups, say it's a slippery slope and that the bad outweighs the good in this case.

Adam Lisberg, a spokesman for DJI Technology, disagrees.

"Some people are trying to score ideological points by discouraging the use of important equipment and tools that save lives and protect American first responders," he told Fox News on Monday.

Headquartered in Shenzhen, China's version of Silicon Valley, DJI is the world's largest and best-known drone maker.

Read more: https://www.foxnews.com/world/china-dji-spying-americans

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Trump revs up for a state-by-state fight over coronavirus shutdowns

From POLITICO:

People participate in a "Liberate Minnesota" protest on Friday to oppose stay-at-home orders. | Evan Frost/Minnesota Public Radio via AP

By NANCY COOK

04/20/2020 04:30 AM EDT

President Donald Trump is preparing for a long battle with America’s governors to save himself from the political fallout from coronavirus.

Over the next two weeks at the urging of the Trump administration, the map of the U.S. will start to resemble a patchwork quilt, with some states open for business while others remain locked down because of the spread of the virus.

Trump has said the onus for reopening states lies with their leaders, but he has simultaneously tried to pressure governors into restarting businesses and relaxing health guidelines as soon as possible.

Senior administration officials and Trump advisers say the level of hostility between the president and governors will probably only increase in the coming days, in part because Trump sees so much political opportunity in stoking those divisions during his reelection campaign. Governors have become his latest political foil, along with China and the World Health Organization, and he’s trying to bully and scapegoat them amid his administration’s response to the pandemic.

“People’s initial reaction is always to look to the president, but as time goes on and it becomes clear other states are doing other things, that blame and credit will shift to the governors, considering they are the ones making the calls,” one Trump political adviser said.

Small protests over the weekend in Texas, North Carolina, Michigan and New Hampshire only highlighted the frustration of some Americans about the shuttering of huge swaths of the economy. Trump aides and advisers are closely monitoring those protests because they think the demonstrations give momentum to the president’s argument to reopen the economy as soon as possible — not to mention a potential source of energy heading into the fall election .



Read and see more: https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/20/trump-revs-up-state-fight-coronavirus-shutdowns-195443

Tavern League of Wisconsin says bars, restaurants should reopen May 1 with 'important steps' to protect from coronavirus

From JSOnline:

Jim Owczarski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

In response to Gov. Tony Evers extending his stay-at-home order through May 26, Tavern League of Wisconsin president Chris Marsicano sent a statement late Sunday night calling for a “soft reopening” of the state’s taverns, restaurants and supper clubs on May 1.

The Tavern League, which includes 5,000 members, believes measures used by open, essential businesses could be applied to the hospitality industry.

Marsicano outlined nine guidelines the hospitality could follow to facilitate a soft reopening “while taking the important steps to protect the safety of employees and customers.”

Those items were:

• Requiring all employees to wear masks and gloves
• Practice social distancing of 6 feet 
• All tables 6 feet apart
• No tables of more than 6 people
• Reduce on-premise capacity by 50%
• Outdoor eating and drinking with 6 feet distancing permitted
• No salad bars or self-serve buffets
• Eliminate paper menus
• Eliminate all table condiments

From: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2020/04/20/wisconsin-bars-restaurants-should-open-may-1-tavern-league-says/5163567002/

I'm sure that the Tavern League is filled with medical experts who know more about COVID-19 than the state's experts.  I'm also sure that as people get drunker and drunker, they will abide by the rules of social distancing.  

What horseshit.  

However, the Tavern League owns the state legislature, so I wouldn't be surprised to see this implemented.

Pro-gun activists using Facebook groups to push anti-quarantine protests in Wisconsin and around the country

From JSOnline:

Isaac Stanley-Becker and Tony Romm, The Washington Post

A trio of far-right, pro-gun provocateurs is behind some of the largest Facebook groups calling for anti-quarantine protests across the country, offering the latest illustration that some seemingly organic demonstrations are being engineered by a network of conservative activists.

The Facebook groups target Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, and they appear to be the work of Ben Dorr, the political director of a group called Minnesota Gun Rights, and his siblings Christopher and Aaron. By Sunday, the groups had more than 200,000 members combined, and they continued to expand quickly, days after President Donald Trump endorsed such protests by suggesting citizens should "liberate" their states.

The online activity implies that opposition to the restrictions is more widespread than polling suggests. Nearly 70% of Republicans said they supported a national stay-home order, according to a recent Quinnipiac poll. Ninety-five percent of Democrats backed such a measure in the survey.

The Facebook groups have become digital hubs for the same sort of misinformation spouted in recent days at state capitols — from comparing the virus to the flu to questioning the intentions of scientists working on a vaccine.

Public health experts say stay-home orders are necessary to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has killed more than 35,000 people in the United States. The Trump administration last week outlined three phases for states to reopen safely — guidelines contradicted by the president when he urged citizens to rise up against the rules that heed the recommendations of his own public-health advisers.

"If people feel that way, you're allowed to protest," Trump said Sunday. "Some governors have gone too far, some of the things that happened are maybe not so appropriate."

Read more: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2020/04/19/wisconsin-anti-quarantine-protests-pushed-facebook-activists/5163425002/

Open Blog - Monday

Maybe if you're a sponge.

The Fatal Glass Of Beer (1933) W.C. FIELDS

Trump blasts governors for ‘unreasonable’ coronavirus lockdowns

From New York Post:

President Trump signaled his support of escalating protests against coronavirus restrictions — accusing certain states of being “unreasonable” with lockdowns that are too strict.

“I really believe that they’re being unreasonable,” Trump said at a White House briefing Saturday, a day after tweeting for Minnesota, Michigan and Virginia to be “liberated.”

“There are a lot of protests out there. And I just think that some of the governors have gotten carried away,” he said.

Trump criticized Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for being too strict in her state’s lockdown, and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam for gun-control measures that have nothing to do with the coronavirus.
Several such demonstrations have already taken place across the country in recent days, including in California, Michigan, Ohio and New Jersey.

Enlarge Image

Donald TrumpSarah Silbiger/Getty Images

Trump spoke hours after protests took place in Texas, Maryland, Indiana, Nevada and Wisconsin against ongoing stay-at-home restrictions enacted to fight the spread of the coronavirus.

From: https://nypost.com/2020/04/19/trump-blasts-governors-for-unreasonable-coronavirus-lockdowns/

Coronavirus Curbs Pot Legalization Efforts

Smoking weed and coronavirus: Even occasional use raises risk of Covid-19 complications

(CNN)If you're smoking weed to ease your stress during the coronavirus pandemic, experts say it's time to think twice.

Smoking marijuana, even occasionally, can increase your risk for more severe complications from Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Coronavirus symptoms: 10 key indicators and what to do

"What happens to your airways when you smoke cannabis is that it causes some degree of inflammation, very similar to bronchitis, very similar to the type of inflammation that cigarette smoking can cause," said pulmonologist Dr. Albert Rizzo, chief medical officer for the American Lung Association. "Now you have some airway inflammation and you get an infection on top of it. So, yes, your chance of getting more complications is there."

Hey wait, you might say, I've only just started and I'm not smoking much -- so what's the harm?

The problem, said Dr. Mitchell Glass, a pulmonologist and spokesperson for the American Lung Association, is that the last thing you want during a pandemic is to make it more difficult for a doctor to diagnose your symptoms.

"Covid-19 is a pulmonary disease," Glass said. "Do you really want to have a confounding variable if you need to see a doctor or a healthcare worker by saying, 'Oh, and by the way, I'm not a regular user of cannabis, but I decided to use cannabis to calm myself down.'

"You don't want to do anything that's going to confound the ability of healthcare workers to make a rapid, accurate assessment of what's going on with you," he added.

Read and see more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/10/health/smoking-weed-coronavirus-wellness/index.html

Did Shakespears smoke cannabis?

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Speaker Pelosi rips Trump as ‘weak leader,’ tells ‘Fox News Sunday’ he’s failed on coronavirus response

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave President Trump an ‘F’ for what she called “weak” leadership during the coronavirus pandemic and promised that despite recent snags, Congress will "soon" reach an agreement for adding $250 billion to replenish a program that provides forgivable loans to small businesses.

Pelosi, in her first “Fox News Sunday” interview since 2017, accused Trump of ignoring scientific evidence in formulating a plan for the nation to recover from the pandemic that has shut down most of the economy.

“Leaders -- leaders take responsibility. So I said he’s a weak leader. He doesn’t take responsibility. He places blame -- blame on others,” Pelosi said. “And that might have been OK before, but we cannot continue down a path that is, again I’ll come back to science, science, science, evidence, data on how we should go forward.”

Trump announced his plan last week, and Pelosi remained critical of the president even though Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the plan’s first phase, if carried out properly, could provide enough testing for it to work.

When asked if she believes Fauci, Pelosi said she does, but pointed to what she called a “failure” to perform sufficient testing thus far as evidence that the administration has already come up short.

“But we’re way late on it and that is a failure. The president gets an F, a failure on the testing,” Pelosi said. “But Fauci -- Dr. Fauci’s right. If it is done properly, it hasn’t been and I -- I think when he puts in the ‘if it’s done’ is an admission that it hasn’t been done.”

Read and see more: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/speaker-pelosi-rips-trump-as-weak-leader-tells-fox-news-sunday-hes-failed-on-coronavirus-response

Growing protests in US call for lifting state lockdowns

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