Friday, August 21, 2020
State Elections Commission votes to keep Kanye West off Wisconsin ballot in November
From JSOnline:
The state Elections Commission voted Thursday to keep rapper Kanye West off Wisconsin's presidential ballot in November — rebuffing supporters of President Donald Trump who have been pushing West's spoiler campaign.
On a 5-1 vote, the bipartisan commission ruled that West's team failed to file its nomination by the deadline of 5 p.m. Aug. 4. The panel is made up of three Republicans and three Democrats.
The commissioners rejected the argument made by West's attorney that the rapper's team actually had until 5:01 p.m. to file.
West is running on the Birthday Party ticket with vice presidential candidate Michelle Tidball.
"I regret it's the case," said Commissioner Dean Knudson, a former GOP state lawmaker appointed by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester. "I do not feel they filed timely."
All three Democrats and two Republicans voted to keep West off the Wisconsin ballot.
Only Robert Spindell, a Milwaukee Republican, favored putting the rapper-turned-politician on the ballot. Spindell was appointed by Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald.
Man acquitted of robbing Wells Fargo in 2015 charged with 2018 Johnson Bank robbery
From The Journal Times.com:
 |
| Jaquan L. Smith |
RACINE — A $50,0000 cash bond was set Tuesday for the 27-year-old man accused of robbing Johnson Bank on June 25, 2018. The same man was acquitted in 2015 of robbing Wells Fargo Bank in Racine the previous summer.
Jaquan L. Smith, 27, was charged July 24, 2018, with felony robbery of a financial institution as a repeat offender. A warrant for his arrest was issued the next day.
Smith’s most recent address was listed as the Westville Correctional Facility in Westville, Indiana, before he became an inmate at the Racine County Jail on Monday.
In Wisconsin, Smith was previously convicted in 2009 of felony burglary of a building or dwelling and possession of marijuana.
In Indiana in 2017, he was found guilty of two counts of robbery, as well as battery by means of a deadly weapon in 2016.
Smith made his first appearance in Racine County Circuit County on Tuesday, via Zoom.
According to online records, Smith remained in Racine County Jail as of Wednesday afternoon.
A preliminary hearing in the case is set for 9 a.m. on Aug. 27.
Four for Fridays
Here are your questions:
1) What food(s) do you love?
2) What food(s) do you hate?
3) Are you complying with all of the COVID-19 restrictions?
4) Are UFOs really alien spaceships?
Have a great week.
1) What food(s) do you love?
2) What food(s) do you hate?
3) Are you complying with all of the COVID-19 restrictions?
4) Are UFOs really alien spaceships?
Have a great week.
Thursday, August 20, 2020
Several people alleged to have helped man flee after Kenosha Police officer shot
From The Journal Times.com:
DENEEN SMITH Lee Newspapers
DENEEN SMITH Lee Newspapers
Several people who helped a man flee Kenosha after allegedly shooting a police officer are facing charges for providing aid, including a woman from Racine.
Jonathan Massey, 29, is being held on $1 million bond, charged with attempted first-degree intentional homicide in the Aug. 8 shooting of Kenosha Police Officer Justin Pruett.
Massey is alleged to have shot Pruett after the officer stopped to speak to him because he matched the description of a suspect in an entry to vehicle complaint. Pruett was shot in the abdomen and is recovering.
According to the criminal complaint, in an encounter partially captured on squad video, Massey is alleged to have shot Pruett in the abdomen after the officer deployed a Taser. Pruett then returned fire, striking Massey as he fled.
Massey was arrested by U.S. Marshals Aug. 12 in Gary, Ind.
According to court documents, several people were with Massey when the shooting occurred, and several helped him flee to Indiana.
Travinna Williams, 30, of Kenosha, is alleged to have driven Massey to a gas station in Harvey, Ill. where he was picked up by a man in a pickup truck. She was charged with harboring a felon and is being held on $50,000 bond.
According to the criminal complaint against Williams, a witness told police that she received a phone call at about 5:20 a.m. Aug. 8 from a woman known as “Sis,” who was later identified as Williams. Sis told the witness “Jonathan’s in some (expletive). We’re coming to get you.” About 25 minutes later, Williams arrived at the witness’ residence in a Jeep, Massey was in the back seat of the vehicle.
The witness said Massey used her phone to make 10 phone calls to a person later identified by police as a man who lives in Gary. Another man was also a passenger in the vehicle.
According to the complaint, Williams stopped at a hospital in Illinois and tried to get Massey to go inside for treatment of his gunshot wound. He refused. They then stopped at a drug store where Williams bought water and bandaging materials.
Three women — Ebony Hughes, 27, and Shydaria Role, 23, both of Kenosha, and Desiree Brown, 26, of Racine — were each charged Tuesday with aiding a felon for their roles in allegedly helping Massey after the shooting. Brown and Hughes are alleged to have been among the people who witnessed the shooting.
According to statements in court, additional charges may be pending against others who allegedly aided Massey when he fled the area.
UW-Parkside staffer tests positive for COVID-19; Parkside community urged to monitor for symptoms
From The Journal Times.com:
Lee Newspapers
Lee Newspapers
A case of COVID-19 has been confirmed at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, the Kenosha County Division of Health and UW-Parkside announced jointly Wednesday.
One staff member tested positive and is presently in isolation, per Wisconsin Department of Health Services and Kenosha County Division of Health recommendations.
The county Division of Health is working with the University to assist in identifying and reaching close contacts of this individual, who will also be required to quarantine for 14 days from the last date of exposure.
Close contacts include those who:
Had direct physical contact with an infected individual (e.g.: a hug or handshake).
Were within six feet of a COVID-19-positive individual for more than 15 minutes.
Had contact with respiratory secretions from an infected individual (e.g.: were coughed/sneezed on, had contact with dirty tissue, or shared a drinking glass, food or towels or other personal items.
Those who do not receive a phone call from the Division of Health were likely not in contact with the COVID-19-positive individual and are therefore not considered to be in a higher-risk group.
“UW-Parkside has prioritized ensuring the health and safety of the campus community while delivering our academic mission,” said Dr. Renee Kirby, director of Student Health, Counseling and Disability Services.
“As we transition between the summer and fall terms, most faculty and staff are still working remotely. UW-Parkside requires all members of the learning community to wear face coverings in campus facilities; maintain appropriate social distancing; and wash their hands frequently. The University plans to maintain a dashboard of COVID-19 test results performed on campus and of positive COVID-19 cases reported by members of the UW-Parkside learning community.”
Every member of the UW-Parkside learning community is urged to monitor for any COVID-19 symptoms, including but not limited to: Fever, cough, shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell, fatigue, headaches, etc. Employees who become symptomatic should call their health care provider and students should contact the Student Health Center.
City faces about $5 million deficit in 2021; warns cuts will be made
 |
| Corrupt, lying swindler |
 |
| Corrupt, lying shyster |
From The Journal Times.com:
Christina Lieffring
RACINE — Year after year, the City of Racine has kicked off the budget process having to figure out how to fill the gap between its growing expenses and flat-lined revenues.
And year after year, the city’s administration and City Council have used a variety of “tools” to fill that gap, including the controversial changes to the city employee and retirees’ health plans last fall, raising fees for some services, removing services from the tax levy and billing for them separately and using balance reserves.
This year Kathleen Fischer, interim City Administrator and Assistant Finance Director, warned the council that, “this year is very, very different.”
“There are not a lot of tools left in the toolbox,” she said.
Fischer estimated the city is facing a $4.5 to $5.5 million shortfall. One potential solution, which the City Council approved on Tuesday, was to ask taxpayers whether they’d support a referendum for an additional $3.5 million to help cover the cost of retirees’ healthcare.
The other, Fischer told the council, is that she has asked all city department heads to work out what a 5% budget cut could mean for their department and what a 10% budget cut could mean for their department. Making the books balance next year is going to require some reorganization and realignment of departments, employees and services. It’s also highly probable it will require some cuts.
"Why does this keep happening?" Because Butterball and his cronies piss away our tax dollars much more quickly than they can collect them. (When will Butterball pay his fair share in property taxes?) Cronies like Shyster Letteney throw away our tax dollars on high-priced, out-of-town attorneys to cover their crimes. (When will Letteney bathe?) These pigs oink away our tax dollars and then cry "poor." Stop living like kings, you swine.
Racine Unified still planning remote start to the school year
From The Journal Times.com:
Lee Newspapers
Lee Newspapers
RACINE — Racine Unified is not reconsidering its decision to start the school year remotely, Stacy Tapp, the district's chief of communication and community engagement, said on Wednesday.
This comes after Kenosha Unified's school board voted Tuesday night to reverse its July 28 decision to start the year virtually. Kenosha Unified changed course, now giving students the option to attend virtually or in-person, after hearing parent complaints about the burden of an exclusively virtual plan.
Issues mentioned included maintaining employment while having to stay home and supervise their children's learning.
Kenosha Unified is set to start classes Sept. 14. Racine Unified will begin Sept. 1.
DPI issues guidance on when schools should consider closing due to COVID
From The Journal Times.com:
Adam Rogan
“We
are trying to not be too prescriptive so we don’t have a one-size
fits all, because we know that schools and districts can vary,”
Traci DeSalvo, acting director for the Department of Health Services’
Bureau of Communicable Diseases, said during a virtual press
conference Wednesday. Still, DeSalvo
noted that it is very likely for some outbreaks within schools to
occur,
as has been seen in numerous other schools across
the country that have already shut down because of the coronavirus
spreading quickly after reopening.
Adam Rogan
 |
Students line up outside Waller Elementary, 195 Gardner Ave., in Burlington on Monday, the first day of in-person school being back in session in more than five months.
|
MADISON
— In a new handbook, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
has laid out the situations in which single classrooms, schools and
entire school districts should consider shutting down because of
COVID-19.
The
state so far has generally allowed its more than 440 public school
districts and private schools decide for themselves how they plan to
continue educating Wisconsin’s youth amid the novel coronavirus
pandemic. This plan, of allowing localities to make their own
decision, is in
line with what most states are doing.
Most
school districts plan to have some form of socially distanced
in-person education to start the year. The
Burlington Area School District, for example, is already back to
school.
But Racine Unified is one of several more urban school districts
starting the year completely virtually.
But
DPI’s handbook — “Guidelines
for the Prevention, Investigation, and Control of COVID-19 Outbreaks
in K-12 Schools in Wisconsin,” which was published this month —
gives guidance about when canceling in-person education should be
considered.
 |
| DeSalvo |
According
to the handbook, DPI suggests that “school and district
administrators should consider temporary classroom, school or
districtwide closures” if any of the following situations arises
“outbreak mitigation measures” are implemented and are still
“ineffectual at halting” an outbreak within a
school/classroom/district.
Beyond
that, DPI has specific guidelines for when a closure should be at
least considered for solitary classrooms or “student cohort,” for
an entire school, or for a whole school district.
Racine retirees' health benefits to be on Nov. 3 ballot
From The Journal Times.com:
Christina Lieffring
Christina Lieffring
RACINE — In addition to weighing in on the next President of the United State and U.S. Representative for Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District, Racine residents will be asked this fall whether they’d accept a 6.49% increase on the tax levy to cover the cost of healthcare benefits for city retirees.
For 2020, the city collected a total of $53,820,230 in property taxes. Because the city had zero net new construction in 2020 the most it would be able to raise its levy is 0.15% or $80,730.35.
Going into 2021, interim City Administrator Kathleen Fischer estimated the city is facing a $4.5 to $5.5 million budget shortfall. The referendum would ask taxpayers whether they are willing to contribute an additional $3.5 million to the 2021 levy and then an additional $1 million each year thereafter.
The additional funds would only cover a portion of retiree healthcare expenses. In 2020, the city will spend $21 million on healthcare for 750 retirees and 450 active employees, not including the water and wastewater utilities. The active employees accounted for about $11.5 million of that total and the retirees accounted for about $9.5 million.
McMayor Butterball should do the right thing and pay his fair share of property taxes. C'mon, Butterball, let a real estate professional reassess your property's value instead of having a crony do it. Oink, oink.
Racine Zoo's beloved bear has died
From The Journal Times.com:
For The Journal Times
For The Journal Times
RACINE — It is with heavy hearts that the Racine Zoo shared the passing of Nora, its female Andean bear, on Saturday, Aug. 15.
Earlier in the week, it was discovered that Nora had gingival squamous cell carcinoma, an aggressive cancer in her mouth, leading to pain and difficulty eating. After consulting with Andean bear experts and veterinary oncologists, it was concluded that surgery and chemical therapies were not options for Nora, and the decision was made for humane euthanasia. With a life expectancy of only 20 years in the wild, Nora far exceeded expectations, living to 28 years of age.
Nora was born at Lincoln Park Zoo on Jan. 24, 1992. Nora made connections with guests across the country. She moved to Beardsley Zoo in Connecticut and Cleveland Metroparks Zoo in Ohio before moving to the Racine Zoo to retire in 2016. Nora made fans and friends wherever she went.
In her four years at the Racine Zoo, guests reached out constantly and would make the journey from around the country to visit her again. Her gentle nature and charismatic personality inspired lifelong connections with guests and keepers alike.
Wednesday, August 19, 2020
Marcus Renaissance Theatre in Sturtevant to reopen Friday with new, old movies
From The Journal Times.com:
From the Things to do in and around Racine County series
STURTEVANT — Marcus Renaissance Theater, 10411 Washington Ave., is reopening Friday, Aug. 21, with these safety protocols in place:
- Associates undergo a wellness check prior to their shift, wear face masks, plus gloves when appropriate
- Expect an increased frequency of cleaning, especially high-touch surfaces
- Social distancing is practiced
- Plexiglass is located in areas where transactions will take place
- Hand sanitizer is available throughout the facility
Prior to arrival, patrons are asked to follow these safety guidelines:
- Prepare to social distance
- Face masks are required except when eating or drinking
Nine other Marcus Theatres in Wisconsin will be reopening Friday, including the Movie Tavern Brookfield Square and South Shore Cinema in Oak Creek, which will also have drive-in movie options. Another seven theaters are set to open the following Friday.
Tickets
Patrons can purchase tickets in advance on the Marcus Theatres App or website, marcustheatres.com. Before arriving at the theater, they can place concessions/food orders using the mobile app or website.
Movies
These movies will be featured beginning Friday:
- “Unhinged”
- “Cut Throat City”
- “Inception 10th Anniversary”
- “Words on Bathroom Walls”
- “Playing with Fire”
- “Sonic the Hedgehog”
- “Shrek”
- “Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back”
- “Jumanji: The Next Level”
Racine Humane Society Drive-Thru Fundraiser at McDonald's
From Mount Pleasant - Sturtevant Patch:
This post was contributed by a community member.
Event Details
When: Thursday, Aug 27th, 2020 - 5:00pm
On August 27 (Thursday) from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m., McDonald's of Mount Pleasant - Washington & Sunnyslope, 6630 Washington Ave., will donate 20% of all sales collected during the fundraiser time to the new Racine Campus of the Wisconsin Humane Society. The fundraiser is available in drive-thru or for carryout orders at the inside counter. The new WHS facility is located at 8900 16th St. in Mount Pleasant.
Postmaster General DeJoy Suspends Changes To Postal Service To Avoid Any Impact On Election Mail
I mailed a check to a creditor in Carol Stream, Illinois on August 2. They didn't receive it until August 13. WTF?
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