FREE WHITEWATER

Blogging, City, Daily Bread, Law, Laws/Regulations

Daily Bread for 8.3.26: Selected Items

by  • 

Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 80. Sunrise is 5:48 and sunset is 8:13 for 14 hours 25 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waning gibbous with 77.3 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1958, the world’s first nuclear submarine, the USS Nautilus, becomes the first vessel to complete a submerged transit of the geographical North Pole.

A few remarks and observations, as a new month (and soon a new season) begins:

Method. Perhaps it’s true that some of what’s discussed and what’s written is ill-considered and scattershot. This publication, by contrast, approaches major questions in a deliberate and thus methodical way. Years ago, this libertarian blogger and lawyer published his approach for readers, but it has been my method from the very beginning. See Steps for Blogging on a Policy or Proposal (2014) and Revisiting ‘Steps for Blogging on a Policy or Proposal’ (2026).

Conflict Avoidance. It’s simply false to contend that this blogger has sought controversy. Criticism here responds to prior controversies; those controversies have originated elsewhere. One is responsible for what one writes but not for others’ actions that made writing necessary.

When. A topic sometimes grows to become a major question. When it first seems likely that a topic will become a major question, there is often time for preparation weeks or months in advance.

Misunderstanding News Reporting. There’s a misguided notion that officials should avoid bad press. Of this misguided view, as espoused by a longtime resident, former school board member, and former Community Development Authority member, see Yesteryear’s Familiar Tune. No, and no again. Officials should avoid bad decisions. If these bad decisions lead to unfavorable press coverage, then those officials have only themselves to blame. In major public policy matters, the public has a right to know. Officials who find that right to know uncomfortable should retreat to private life.

Bluebook. The Bluebook is a widely used guide for legal citation, originally crafted by a few American law schools, and now used by many. Since this website was not intended as a publication of my profession, I have typically avoided Bluebook citations, as they are overly elaborate for general discussions. (Readers may have noticed that sometimes this publication comes closer to a Bluebook style, let’s call it Bluebook Lite, as I have been evaluating a suitable citation style for another publication.) In any event, Wisconsin courts have their own, agreeably simplified citation style.

Where. Not every topic is purely local; some are probably suitable for a different site and focus. I’m still working out those assignments. Examples: it seems probable that data centers, Flock Safety cameras, and immigration will not be decided locally. Statewide and national policy will sweep away local decisions. While there are reasons to act locally, the ultimate disposition of these matters, whatever it may be, will not come from Whitewater.

Expectations. In my own way of thinking, I enter every series with the perspective of a dark horse underdog. My own view dovetails, ironically, with the views of those on the other side of debates in which I am sometimes engaged: as I have always considered myself an underdog, those on the other side of these questions have invariably considered themselves prohibitive favorites. Always has been; probably always will be. These differing perspectives suit me either way.

_____

Upcoming posts (in no decided order): Voting Locations in the City, a New Ethics Ordinance, and a Whitewater Comparative Analysis.

Daily Bread, Elections, Law, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 8.2.26: Wisconsin Partisan Primary Voters Cannot Effectively Ticket-Split

by  • 

Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 78. Sunrise is 5:47 and sunset is 8:14 for 14 hours 27 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waning gibbous with 84.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1790, the federal government conducts the first United States census.

Wisconsin’s primary for statewide offices is a little over a week away, on August 11. While some voters may be thinking about voting for candidates from more than one party, Wisconsin law does not allow ticket-splitting among different parties’ candidates in a partisan primary:

In Wisconsin’s partisan primaries, like the one happening Aug. 11, voters must choose a party section and only vote for candidates within that column.

On a partisan primary ballot, voters must first select which party’s primary they want to vote in.

Instructions on Aug. 11 ballot templates explain that if voters mark a party at the start of the ballot, votes cast in any other party won’t be counted. 

If voters don’t make a party selection, then vote for candidates in more than one party, none of their votes will be counted.

State law requires polling places to prominently display these rules for partisan primaries.

So, if Republican voters want to strategically vote for a Democrat they think would lose to Tom Tiffany in the governor’s race Nov. 3, they forgo participating in GOP primaries for lieutenant governor, secretary of state and some state Legislature and congressional seats.

Hope Karnopp, Can you ‘cross over’ vote in multiple parties in a Wisconsin primary?, Wisconsin Watch, July 29, 2026.

These ticket-splitting rules apply to the partisan primary; voters in a Wisconsin general election would have their votes counted if they chose from among candidates of different parties (e.g., one party’s candidate for governor, another party’s candidate for a state legislative office).

Concern about casting votes across party lines, however, has diminished as both major parties have a clear gubernatorial favorite. Even thinking of crossing over to vote for candidates from more than one party is less likely, tactically, where there is one leading candidate for each major party.

_____

Upcoming posts (in no decided order): Voting Locations in the City, a New Ethics Ordinance, and a Whitewater Comparative Analysis.

Japan quake survivors take shelter in hospital with pets:

When a powerful earthquake hit Kumamoto in Japan, Tomoko Takaoka’s Chihuahua ‘Ku’ and Chihuahua-poodle mix ‘Sheri’ needed a temporary home. Social media led her to an animal hospital that welcomes evacuees and their pets.

Animals, Daily Bread, Nature, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 8.1.26: Friendly Neighborhood Spiders

by  • 

Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be rainy with a high of 72. Sunrise is 5:46 and sunset is 8:15 for 14 hours 29 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waning gibbous with 91 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1774, British scientist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen gas, corroborating the prior discovery of this element by German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.

Friendly neighborhood spiders:

_____

Upcoming posts (in no decided order): Voting Locations in the City, a New Ethics Ordinance, and a Whitewater Comparative Analysis.

What’s Up for August 2026— Skywatching Tips from NASA:

A solar eclipse, one of the year’s best meteor showers, Venus at its brightest in the evening sky, and a partial lunar eclipse to close out the month. On August 12, a total solar eclipse crosses northern Russia, Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain, and a small corner of Portugal. In parts of the United States, from Alaska to North Carolina, the eclipse will be partial. Use certified eclipse glasses or a safe solar viewer whenever any part of the Sun is visible. Later that night, the Perseid meteor shower peaks under the dark skies of the New Moon. Around August 14 through 16, Venus shines low in the west after sunset, and on August 27-28, a partial lunar eclipse is visible from much of the Americas and parts of Europe and Africa.

Daily Bread, Economy

Daily Bread for 7.31.26: Low National Economic Growth

by  • 

Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will see afternoon showers with a high of 79. Sunrise is 5:45 and sunset is 8:16 for 14 hours 33 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waning gibbous with 96.3 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1964, Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes:

The photographs returned from the probe found that the Moon was most likely “very craggy and rocky with debris everywhere.” After speaking to the media, NASA officials were peppered with the obvious question – did the Moon have a surface solid enough that humans could safely land on it? Geologist Gerard Kuiper replied that judging by the images, it seemed likely that at least some of the Moon was smooth enough to land a spacecraft on. However, the actual hardness of the surface couldn’t be determined with certainty until a soft landing was made. Nonetheless, Ranger 7’s images did seem to suggest that it was solid enough.

While the Trump administration has promised 5 to 6 percent economic growth, the latest result is… a far lower percentage:

Gross domestic product, a broad measure of goods and services, increased just 1.5% for the April-through-June period, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis numbers adjusted for seasonality and inflation.

Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a growth rate of 1.8%, following the 2.1% increase in the first quarter.

A separate report showed that the personal consumption expenditures price index, which is the Federal Reserve’s primary forecasting gauge, fell a seasonally adjusted 0.1% for the month, putting the annual inflation rate at 3.7%. The readings were in line with forecasts.

Excluding food and energy, core PCE posted a monthly increase of 0.1% and an annual level of 3.3%, against respective forecasts for 0.2% and 3.3%.

While the Fed technically uses the headline PCE number as its gauge for setting policy, most officials consider core inflation as a better indicator of longer-run trends.

See Jeff Cox, U.S. economy slowed to 1.5% growth rate in Q2; June core inflation at 3.3%, CNBC, July 30, 2026.

There is all kinds of big talk — as with Trump university, Trump steaks, whatever else — but small performance.

It’s worth noting that while that the federal administration’s tendency is to blame someone or something from the past for present poor performance (Biden, extraterrestrials, sunspots) yet the Trump administration made its promises knowing about those conditions from the past. Indeed, that was supposed to be the whole selling point: that they’d make improvements over those past leaders or events.

Yet again — another exaggerated claim.

If someone promised you sixty dollars, would you think that a mere fifteen fulfilled his pledge?

_____

Upcoming posts (in no decided order): A Whitewater Comparative Analysis and a New Ethics Ordinance.

Watch the Masterful Flight of Tree Swallows:

Tree Swallows are songbirds built for speed and agility—darting, gliding, and swooping after insects over fields, ponds, and wetlands. But these aerial acrobats have another side: they’re playful, competitive, and clever. In this episode of Wild Birds Revealed, nature photographers Tim and Russell Laman aim to slow down the swallows’ frenetic flight to understand how their wings give them such mastery over the air. Using super slow motion, still photos, and an innovative nest camera, they capture detailed views of the sleek adults and growing nestlings—including one youngster’s first flight. Filmed on location by Tim and Russell Laman in Massachusetts, for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Wild Birds Revealed – a series exploring the hidden lives of familiar birds.

Business, CDA, City, Daily Bread, Development, Economy, Grocery, Old CDA, Special Interests

Daily Bread for 7.30.26: Development’s Past, Development’s Present, and the Local Grocery Cooperative

by  • 

Good morning.

Thursday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 87. Sunrise is 5:44 and sunset is 8:17 for 14 hours 33 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waning gibbous with 99 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 2003, in Mexico, the last ‘old-style’ Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the assembly line.

And so, and so: there’s an announcement on Facebook from Whitewater’s grocery cooperative, Whitewater Grocery Co., about a meeting to consider that organization’s future. I am not a member of that cooperative, and I’ll leave its members to consider their future. It’s enough to know that Whitewater’s options are broader than when the cooperative began, and have been for a few years.

One should consider our market for markets, so to speak, in two periods: 2016 to 2024, and 2024 to the present.

2016 to 2024. Whitewater once had a Daniels Sentry grocery, but that location closed at the end of 2015. That closure left Whitewater in 2016 without a large, standalone grocery. (Whitewater in 2015 also had a smaller grocery, Tienda y Taqueria La Preferida, and has since added a second small grocery, Guanajuato Produce. While these smaller groceries are not designed to provide a comprehensive selection of items, their particular selection is of great benefit to consumers in the city. We are better off for their presence.)

For years, the old Community Development Authority tried (fumbled, truly) and produced no replacement grocery for this city. No replacement is synonymous with nothing, utterly nothing. Some of the members of that old CDA were mere poseurs, with big talk that brought small results. (When I would write about ‘development men’ back then, it was with derision, because they didn’t know what the fork they were doing. Inheriting a student-rental business is a poor substitute for reading and considering development thoroughly. And look, and look — these tired gentlemen want to accuse others. Yet the most meaningful accusation is that they, themselves, failed then and again in public policy outside their core business.)

2024 to the present. Under a new municipal administration, with a team that does, in fact, understand development, we soon saw an ALDI open in the city in 2024. See Corey Moen, ALDI Opens First Store in Whitewater, FOX 47, September 5, 2024. Well done. (Predictably, the old CDA men tried to claim credit for this achievement. See FREE WHITEWATER, Six Points on a Supermarket in Whitewater, September 23, 2024.)

It’s also possible that Whitewater will soon have a second grocery on the east side of town. Whitewater should pursue this opportunity. See FREE WHITEWATER, A Sensible Step Toward More Grocery and Childcare Options, June 16, 2026. (There are obvious practical differences, including regulatory differences, between opening a grocery and opening a childcare facility. Needless to say, today’s post only addresses grocery stores.)

Where does that leave the cooperative? I’d say expanded options since 2024 leave a cooperative no longer necessary. (Expanded options: well done, city administration.) What the members of the Whitewater Grocery Co. decide, is however, sensibly out of everyone else’s hands.

_____

Upcoming posts (in no decided order): A Whitewater Comparative Analysis and a New Ethics Ordinance.

Town in Virginia celebrates its 101st pony swim:

Business, City, Daily Bread, Special Interests, Tariffs, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.29.26: What’s Worse Than Tariffs that Burden Domestic Manufacturers? Tariffs that Send Domestic Manufacturers to China

by  • 

Good morning.

Wednesday in Whitewater will be sunny with a high of 83. Sunrise is 5:43 and sunset is 8:18 for 14 hours 35 minutes of daylight. The moon is full today with all of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1957, the International Atomic Energy Agency is established.

A quick scheduling note: absent some unforeseen news, I’ll post tomorrow about groceries and municipal development.

No matter how enjoyable, how delightful, a trip to a faraway place, it’s always a moment of personal happiness to return to Whitewater. It’s sunny today, and yet even if it were stormy and gray, today would still be sunny for me.

Yesterday’s post addressed the burden of tariffs and trade wars on Wisconsin’s manufacturers. Far from making domestic manufacturing stronger, tariffs make it weaker. What could be worse, from the point of view of a tariff man (like the man who makes his home at Mar-a-Lago)?1 Tariffs and trade wars that drive domestic manufacturing to China would be worse:

On a dusty piece of land south of Bangkok, a flashlight factory stands full of promise. Workers hunch over tables gluing components. But only half the land has been built. Parts of the factory stand empty, waiting for future production lines.

The factory is owned by a Chinese manufacturer that makes flashlights for American customers. When President Trump’s tariffs on China hit 145 percent last year, companies embarked on a panicked search for cheaper alternatives in countries like Vietnam and Thailand, including this facility.

But since then, U.S. tariffs on China have come down sharply, leaving the leaders of some of those same companies with second thoughts.

“Have we pulled back to China? Yes, we have,” said Phil Laster, the chief operations officer of Alliance Consumer Group, a Texas-based company that sells flashlights made in the Thai factory to U.S. customers. Mr. Laster had encouraged the Chinese manufacturer, Ningbo Bright Electric, to build a factory outside China to make his products, but he is hitting the brakes on the strategy now that U.S. duties on Chinese goods are more comparable to those on products from Thailand.

See Alexandra Stevenson and Ana Swanson, Trump’s Tariffs Are Sending Some Companies Back to China (‘For some U.S. brands seeking a location for their factories, the economic logic is once again pointing to China’), New York Times, July 29, 2026.

Yesterday’s news: Tariffs are not returning manufacturing to America — they are undermining the manufacturing that’s here now. Today’s follow-up: Tariffs are not returning manufacturing to America — they are sending manufacturing to China.

The local gentlemen, among them landlords and lobbyists, who backed a candidate who loves national tariffs also want to tell you what’s best for the city’s economy.

Their candidate’s national policy is a laughable burden on the American economy; their local policy is self-interest dressed in whatever gaudy fast fashion they find lying in the trash.

_____

  1. If America had no trade conflicts with the world, then oil, other commodities, and manufactures could flow freely between nations, each supplying what it produces most cheaply and efficiently. ↩︎

_____

Upcoming posts (in no decided order): Development and Groceries, a Whitewater Comparative Analysis and a New Ethics Ordinance.

Take a look at JetZero’s Z4, world’s first commercial all-wing airplane:

Are all-wing airplanes the future of commercial flying? JetZero CEO Tom O’Leary thinks so as the company unveils plans for the Z4, the world’s first commercial all-wing airplane.

Business, Daily Bread, Tariffs, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.28.26: Another Federal Blow to Wisconsin’s Manufacturers

by  • 

Good morning.

Tuesday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 83. Sunrise is 5:42 and sunset is 8:20 for 14 hours 38 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 99 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Finance Committee meets at 5 PM and the Aquatic Center Committee at 5:30 PM.

On this day in 1965, President Johnson announces his order to increase the number of United States troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000.

The theory of the Trump administration was that tariffs would reduce foreign imports and spur domestic manufacturing in replacement. It’s less a theory than voodoo. Tariffs have many downsides, including making it harder for our state’s manufacturers to sell to Canada, Wisconsin’s biggest trading partner:

In 2024, Wisconsin had a trade surplus with Canada, exporting roughly $8.5 billion worth of goods while importing $6.3 billion, according to reports from the Wisconsin Policy Forum.

That year, Canada was the largest buyer of Wisconsin goods of any country, and ranked as the state’s second biggest source of imported goods, the policy forum found.

“Wisconsin’s biggest exports tend to be heavy machinery (or) electrical machinery, the big expensive stuff that really drives good paying jobs,” said Tyler Byrnes, a senior research associate at Wisconsin Policy Forum. “If there was something that disrupted access to that market, that could potentially have serious consequences for Wisconsin’s economy.”

Sam Rikkers, chief operating officer for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., said the agency views Canada as Wisconsin’s “single most important trading relationship,” and he’s concerned the new tariffs could further strain business ties and discourage future investment in the state.

Over the last year and a half, he said trade and political tensions have created uncertainty for manufacturers, farmers and exporters. 

Since returning to office, President Donald Trump has imposed an array of tariffs on Canada, and has spoken about turning the nation’s neighbor to the north into the 51st state. 

See Joe Schulz, Wisconsin economic development leaders worried about new Trump tariffs on Canada, Wisconsin Public Radio, July 24, 2026.

Tariffs are not returning manufacturing to America — they are undermining the manufacturing that’s here now.

Upcoming posts (in no decided order): A Whitewater Comparative Analysis and a New Ethics Ordinance.

Driver dressed as Spider-Man helps man in wheelchair cross road:

Traffic cameras captured the moment a driver dressed as Spider-Man helped a wheelchair user safely cross a busy road in Arkansas. In the footage, a person who was on his way back from a superhero-themed event is seen jumping out of his vehicle to help the struggling pedestrian.

Daily Bread, Gubernatorial Race 2026, Newspapers, Wisconsin, WisDems

Daily Bread for 7.27.26: The National Press Covers the Wisconsin Gubernatorial Race Better than the Journal Sentinel

by  • 

Good morning.

Monday in Whitewater will see thunderstorms with a high of 91. Sunrise is 5:41 and sunset is 8:21 for 14 hours 40 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 96.1 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

The Whitewater School Board meets at 6 PM.

On this day in 1940, the animated short A Wild Hare is released, introducing Bugs Bunny.

This libertarian blogger has more than one reason to disagree with gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong, and yet I find myself mostly unconcerned about day-to-day developments in the Democrats’ August primary. These are volatile times, in every part of the country, and each day brings events that are predictably unpredictable.

At the Journal Sentinel, the coverage emphasizes a few national Democrats’ anxieties:

“The Dem race for governor in WI feels like a slow-rolling car headed for a cliff,” David Axelrod, who was Barack Obama’s chief political strategist and directs the Institute of Politics at the University of Chicago, said in a July 23 post on X.

“If Dems there don’t figure it out, they’ll endanger a potential House pickup opportunity and risk installing as governor an election-denying, Freedom Caucus member just in time for the ’28 election,” Axelrod said, referring to U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden’s reelection bid to represent the state’s Third Congressional District and Tiffany.”

See Molly Beck and Jessie Opoien, Upheaval in the Wisconsin governor’s race stokes angst for Democrats, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 27, 2026.

Coverage from a national reporter, accustomed to seeing the unexpected and unpredictable from across the country, offers local assessments:

Even a former Democratic governor of Wisconsin, Jim Doyle, said in an interview that he had been impressed by the strength of Ms. Hong’s campaign and believed that she could win in November.

“I was a pretty centrist candidate, and I think that that generally is how you win in Wisconsin,” he said. “But that may be old-time thinking.”

[…]

Across the state, Democratic county chairs said that they are hoping that the eventual nominee will have a compelling pitch to voters based on affordability and what they see as the damage inflicted by the Trump administration. Voters are worried about gas prices, housing costs and an unsteady job market — and looking to the next governor to find solutions, Democrats said.

“People are making a choice between health care and putting gas in their cars,” said Brenda Vinall-Mogel, the chair of the Burnett County Democrats.

See Julie Bosman, Democratic Socialist Rises in Crowded, Chaotic Field for Wisconsin Governor (‘Democrats must decide what brand to put forward: an establishment name or a candidate on the left who has garnered excitement’), July 27, 2026.

I’d recommend both stories in full, if only to reveal the stronger perspective of the national reporting on our gubernatorial primary.

There are, doubtless, anxieties among some Democrats. Where, however, in our time does one not encounter members of both parties with worries, anxieties, and concerns?

Upcoming posts (in no decided order): A Whitewater Comparative Analysis and a New Ethics Ordinance.

So, how do quantum computers work?:

Quantum computing is entering a new era. The pace of development has quickened and there’s a growing hope that machines capable of solving intractable problems could be built in the next ten years. But how can a quantum device solve problems a conventional machine cannot? And what even is a quantum computer?

City, Daily Bread, Economics, Economy, Lobbyists, Local Government, Special Interests, Tariffs, Taxes/Taxation, Trump, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.26.26: Tariffs’ High Cost to Ordinary Wisconsinites

by  • 

Good morning.

Sunday in Whitewater will be mostly cloudy with a high of 90. Sunrise is 5:40 and sunset is 8:23 for 14 hours 43 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 91.7 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1996, the remains of a prehistoric man are discovered near Kennewick, Washington. Such remains come to be known as the Kennewick Man.

In this country, there’s an ongoing debate about whether Americans are experiencing an affordability crisis. While Trump doubts there is an affordability crisis, the sentiments of millions of Americans suggest Trump’s insistence otherwise is both false and, as is typical from him, self-serving.

A new, thorough economic analysis confirms yet again that the tariffs so much a centerpiece of Trump’s economic policies have been expensive for Wisconsin:

“President Donald Trump’s tariffs in 2025 have cost the average Wisconsin household $1,095 and caused the loss of 3,910 manufacturing jobs statewide, according to a new report.

The report also found the tariffs had a particularly strong impact on the Midwest due to its focus on manufacturing and agriculture, with small businesses and lower-income families bearing the highest costs. But Wisconsin households fared better than the average Midwest and U.S. households, which lost $2,044 and $1,320, respectively, to the tariffs Trump imposed in 2025.”

[…]

Lower-income and middle-class families were impacted more by Trump’s tariffs than their richer counterparts because they spend more of their income on goods like groceries and household essentials, the report said. Meanwhile, wealthier families spend proportionally more on services, whose costs are less impacted by the tariffs.

See Jaeha Jang, New report reveals cost of Trump tariffs on Wisconsin households, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 24, 2026.

The small faction of landlords in Whitewater who manipulated local economic policy over the last generation sometimes present themselves, especially in these recent years, as champions of ordinary taxpayers. An evergreen reminder: each time they have done so, as with Trump, it has been a self-serving mendacity.

Upcoming posts (in no decided order): A Whitewater Comparative Analysis and a New Ethics Ordinance.

Trump dons ‘TRUMP 2028’ hat, jokes about ‘fourth term’:

Conservation, Daily Bread, Nature, Wisconsin

Daily Bread for 7.25.26: Surrounded by Nature

by  • 

Good morning.

Saturday in Whitewater will be partly sunny with a high of 80. Sunrise is 5:39 and sunset is 8:23 for 14 hours 44 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 85.8 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1897, author Jack London embarks on a sailing trip to take part in the Klondike Gold Rush, from which he wrote his first successful stories.

We talk about our natural surroundings, and immersion into that experience is to be surrounded by nature:

This summer Wisconsin will open its first certified forest bathing trail. 

Located just south of Eagle River in Vilas County, the quarter-mile Tara Lila trail will offer self-guided mindfulness activities as people immerse themselves in nature.

But the practice of forest bathing has nothing to do with getting clean. 

[…]

The practice originated in the 1980s in Japan, where it is known as Shinrin-yoku. It has become a vital part of Japanese preventative healthcare, according to Japan’s national tourism organization.  

Walters says the practice strengthens the immune system, lowers blood pressure and restores energy levels. 

The global organization Walters works for helps certify forest bathing trails across the globe. There are only 51 worldwide including the one in Vilas County.

See Mackenzie Krumme, Wisconsin’s first certified ‘forest bathing’ trail opens in Vilas County (‘People can immerse themselves in nature on the quarter-mile Tara Lila trail’), Wisconsin Public Radio, July 21, 2026.

The terms used to describe the experience, whether in Japanese or any other language, matter less than the experience itself.

Upcoming posts (in no decided order): A Whitewater Comparative Analysis and a New Ethics Ordinance.

Grasslands, often overlooked:

North America’s grasslands, one of the world’s most important and diverse ecosystems, are disappearing before our eyes. Across the continent, trees like eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana), pinyon (Pinus edulis), juniper (Juniperus spp.), and honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) are overtaking prairie and sagebrush ecosystems, pushing out native wildlife and impacting ranchers, recreationists, water resources, and communities. As they establish and grow, these woody species transform productive rangelands and wildlife habitat into dense forests that fuel wildfires, reduce water supplies, diminish forage production, and threaten human health and local economies. Fortunately, there are solutions. Advanced spatial technologies provide landowners and land managers with detailed information on where conservation efforts can have the greatest impact. Preventing trees from invading intact grass and shrublands, acting at the first signs of expansion, and using practices like prescribed fire help protect and restore healthy grassland and sagebrush ecosystems. Partnerships that include growing coalitions of landowners working alongside local, state, provincial, Tribal, and federal agencies are creating a sense of hope and demonstrating that collaborative conservation can make a real difference. Because most of North America’s grasslands are privately owned, working across boundaries and leveraging the best available science are critical to conserving these landscapes for future generations of people and wildlife. Learn more about how the USDA-NRCS Working Lands for Wildlife partnership is helping lead these efforts at wlfw.org/landscapes/great-plains.

Daily Bread, Economy, Tariffs, Trump

Daily Bread for 7.24.26: A Bad Economic Outlook Gets Worse

by  • 

Good morning.

Friday in Whitewater will be mostly sunny with a high of 79. Sunrise is 5:38 and sunset is 8:24 for 14 hours 46 minutes of daylight. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 78.3 percent of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1935, the Dust Bowl heat wave reaches its peak, sending temperatures to 109 °F in Chicago and 104 °F in Milwaukee.

A troubled economic outlook will soon be made worse:

Tariffs could exacerbate the affordability crunch, a chief concern for voters heading into the midterm elections. The Section 301 duties, which cover 99.4 percent of U.S. imports, are expected to raise the effective tariff rate paid by U.S. importers, according to the Yale Budget Lab, and sap the spending power of households and companies.

Exemptions on imports of certain foods, fuel and fertilizer could ease the burden somewhat. But the new tariffs, plus the return of $100-a-barrel oil (more on that below), risk reigniting inflation fears.

That could put central banks in a bind. The Fed meets next week and is expected to keep interest rates on hold. But traders now see a September hike as highly probable, a move that would most likely rankle Trump.

The bond market looks spooked. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, a rate that underpins most commercial loans, topped 4.7 percent on Thursday. That’s helped push the 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate to its highest level of the year, a move that could chill the housing market.

The new tariffs are raising uncertainty for businesses. Trump is expected to unveil new duties on countries in Europe and Asia in the coming months, arguing that they are necessary to combat unfair trade practices.

War was already weakening the global economy. Now, a new tariff barrage “will pile on the misery,” Olu Sonola, the head of U.S. economics at Fitch Ratings, told The Times.

See Andrew Ross Sorkin, Bernhard Warner, Sarah Kessler, Michael J. de la Merced, Brian O’Keefe, Ian Mount, Vivienne Walt, and Nancy Scola, Trump’s Renewed Trade War Risks Dealing a Fresh Economic Blow (‘Households and businesses were already contending with an affordability crunch. A new round of tariffs could inflict more pain’), New York Times, July 24, 2026.

If Trump is looking for an even more destructive economic policy, he’ll be reduced to sticking his finger in an electrical socket.

Upcoming posts (in no decided order): A Whitewater Comparative Analysis and a New Ethics Ordinance.

Spanish wildfires force elderly and animals to evacuate in Madrid region:

Spain’s government declared a national emergency on Friday after multiple wildfires forced the evacuation of some 10,000 people in the central region of Madrid.