Racine Board of Health Considers Banning Smoking in Parks

The North Beach Oasis and city golf courses would be exempt from a proposal to ban smoking in city parks considered by the Board of Health on Tuesday.

Under the proposal, the Oasis is listed as a "city owned and leased food and recreational establishment at North Beach" and included as an "exception" to a change that would ban smoking in city parks, beaches, sports fields, and playgrounds. "Designated areas" on golf courses are also listed as an exception to the ordinance.

On a voice vote, the board decided Tuesday to table the proposal while it gathers more information.

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Analysis: Does Mayor Dickert have a union problem?

Interesting issues came up over lunch today. A handful of local tradesmen started riffing on Mayor John Dickert. Surprisingly, the traditional Democratic voters, didn't like what they saw in City Hall.

All, who asked not to reveal their names, had a gripe over the city's Neighborhood Stabilization Program. That's the one designed to use stimulus money to buy up foreclosed homes, refurbish them, sell them back to the public, and then use the sale to fix up another home. The program was a good idea led by a mayor with a real estate background and positioned to address one of the city's big problems: a lack of quality affordable housing.

But the program has led to problems, and, if you listen to the contractors, possibly lawsuits. People are upset that the mayor brought in a bunch of union contractors for a press conference in front of Milwaukee TV cameras, but never followed through on jobs for the unions. Other contractors feel excluded by unnecessary rules, unclear guidelines, changing requirements and bickering between among city employees.

The NSP also came under fire for contractors failing to follow lead guidelines (a story we broke last fall), and it indirectly led to the dismissal of housing technician Bill Bielefeldt, who may be planning a lawsuit of his own.

Lastly, the program essentially is placing the city in competition against its own residents in the real estate market. While hundreds of local residents are trying, unsuccessfully, to sell their homes, the city is selling remodeled houses at affordable prices. That'll make it that much harder for people who need or want to move to sell their homes.

Then there's the ill-fated West Racine project. Builder Tom Tousis intended to open a gas station, grocery store and restaurant on the site, but was denied by city officials who want a larger project at the corner to pay off debt taken out to demolish buildings on the site. The problem for Dickert, who didn't fight for the project, is Tousis had promised to use union labor on the job. The city's refusal to approve the project angered unions and made Dickert, fair or not, their main target this spring.

It's easy to respond that unions don't mean much anymore in Racine, that their power is reduced and local politicians can win without their support. That may be true, but unions bring two critical elements to any campaign. 1.) Money. 2.) Volunteers.

No doubt Dickert will be the best financed of the three candidates running for mayor - Alderman Eric Marcus and Alfonso Locke are the other two - but he may be looking at an enthusiasm gap. Unions backing Marcus -  and most are - could bring energy to Marcus' outsider bid to win City Hall. Dickert has the advantages of the incumbency - namely, everyone now calls him mayor - but his record isn't strong enough to bury opponents the way Gary Becker did when he was re-elected.

A few things to watch for in the coming weeks:

1. Money. How big is Dickert's advantage over his opponents? If it's major, he'll be in good shape. If opponents can bridge the gap, he'll be in trouble.

2. Endorsements. If the unions back Marcus as strongly as some think they will, it could be a real race.

3. Campaign confidence. Dickert breezed through his first mayoral election without specifics or details. After two years on the job, he'll be able to point to specific examples of what he's accomplished and how he'll expand on them over the next four years. How will Marcus, a relative newcomer to local politics, respond? Conversely, Dickert's opponents are going to hit him on his record. How does he take the heat?

4. The primary. General thought is Dickert and Marcus move through the Feb. 15 primary, but sometimes the insiders have it wrong. We're in a time of political change, and Locke may be the true outsider voters want. More importantly, it will be a public referendum on the incumbent. We'll know Feb. 15 if Dickert cruises to another term or is up for a fight.

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City Council to consider banning smoking in parks

The City Council, meeting as a committee Tuesday night, will consider banning smoking in city parks.

The Parks and Rec Board approved an ordinance on Jan. 12 to ban smoking in city parks and beaches. The ordinance now goes to the council's Committee of the Whole for consideration.

The committee meets at 6 p.m. on Tuesday night. Here's the agenda.

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Labor Day: Many savored summer's end at beach

Labor Day 2008 was the perfect official end to summer here in Racine.

Hundreds heard the call and ended up at North Beach, for swimming, sand and sun. Some came by boat, and anchored off shore, music systems serenading all within earshot. Still more hoofed it across the beach, carrying umbrellas, towels, digging tools. Others got no further than the Oasis' patio, where the music was hot and the beverages and ice cream cold.

It was a day to savor.

Un regalo de Jalisco y Zapotlanejo *

Paco Padilla, center, and some bandmates

* A gift from Zapotlanejo, our sister city

The state of Jalisco, Mexico, and the city of Zapotlanejo, Racine's newest sister city, gave us a gift last night -- a rousing performance of modern Mexican music and dance.

Performing in Monument Square were Paco Padilla, his band of eight musicians and four dancers. The group is visiting here -- this was their first performance in Wisconsin -- and before they return home to Guadalajara next Monday they will perform in Chicago, Melrose Park and Aurora, Illinois, and Indiana.

Betty Franco sings

Padilla has been performing for more than 30 years, and has been all over the world, including France, Italy, Germany, Europe and Latin America. He's a songwriter as well as a performer, telling stories through his music that touched the mostly Hispanic audience who needed no translation.

"We represent the new way of Mexican music," Padilla said, and his band was the furthest thing from what the term usually brings to mind here -- Mariachi bands, for example. "Mariachi music is for the countryside," Padilla said. "Now, we're mostly born in and grow up in big cities, that's the new Mexico, and that's our music."

Miguel Angel dances

Zapotlanejo officially became Racine's sixth sister city on July 3, when Racine Mayor Gary Becker and Zapotlanejo’s municipal president, Hector Alvarez Contreras, signed the "twinning" agreements. The next day they marched together in the city's FourthFest parade.

Racine's five other sister cities are: Oiso, Japan; Montelimar, France; Aalborg, Denmark; Forteleza, Brazil; and Bluefields, Nicaragua.

Death wants a dance...

Bloggers give Becker an earful about crime

Mayor Becker and the bloggers, at JavaVino

If Mayor Gary Becker thought nasty, critical, anonymous bloggers would be civil and friendly in person -- well, he's been disabused of that quaint notion.

About 20 bloggers took up the mayor on his invitation to meet face-to-face at JavaVino downtown on Saturday morning. But they were no less insistent in person -- although at times they left the mayor alone to argue among themselves.

As it is on the blogs, the subject on everyone's mind appears to be crime. Whenever the mayor does anything these days -- the Uptown mosaic mural comes to mind -- the bloggers are quick to denigrate with comments like Anonymous', "Thank God. Crime in this city will finally stop because of this beautiful art!!" The mayor invited bloggers to meet because of comments posted on the JT's website in reaction to a story about the community meeting he hosted at the Martin Luther King Center earlier this week. "How do you go from a community meeting to 'this is a cover-up on crime,' " he wondered.

In person they were somewhat less sarcastic, but no less frustrated. One after another at the JavaVino meeting they said things like:

"People in this town are very, very upset. You know what the cops tell me: 'Hide.' Well, I'm sick of hiding!"

And: "You have to take the fear out of the neighborhoods."

A number of exchanges between blogger and mayor showed a pent-up anger at the police. These residents say they constantly call the police for help, and are blown off.

One woman told him: "The cops are sick of us" who call to report drug dealers. "They don't to hear it. You can see men smoking crack at 11th and College, that whole area. The police are really sick of hearing from people who keep calling them."
BECKER: "The cops should not be dismissing you."
WOMAN: "They busted someone for having a wrench in his car."
BECKER: "I don't believe this happened. Give me the details. I don't believe this is going on."
WOMAN: "This is what happened. It happens every day."

Another man said, "I'm sorry, but it's a mess. Telling us otherwise will not make a difference when I hear gunshots tonight. Once the sun goes down, I don't come out."
BECKER: "Where do you live."
MAN: "On Main Street. I got ticketed for disorderly conduct when they couldn't find the guy I reported. They ticketed me! You've got to go sit on East Park at 3 in the morning..."
BECKER: "I drive through those neighborhoods."
MAN: "You don't live there, sir. We're sick of it, sir."


Another woman -- after decrying the fact that only whites were at the session with the mayor, said: "I see many kids arrested just for being black."
BECKER: "I would argue that on the whole the police don't hassle blacks."
WOMAN: I know it's true. If four kids are on the corner, it's the three blacks who get hassled."
BECKER: "I disagree.... I would say the cops in Racine have a good relationship with the black community. If you go to Milwaukee, cops and the community are not communicating." He illustrated with two fists coming at each other.

He also pointed out that police have executed 130 search warrants this year. But one man complained: "It's obvious to me: I see drug deals going down. If it's obvious to me, it's got to be obvious to the professionals. The drug dealers are on the corner."
BECKER: "I wish we had the right to just shake them down (search them)."
MAN: "You could have a couple of squad cars drive them off."
BECKER: "They'll just move around."
MAN: "Then move with them."

At one point Becker noted that some of those present wanted much stricter police enforcement, but others were concerned about police hassling minorities. "She's telling me we're too tough on these guys. You're telling me we're not tough enough."
WOMAN: "We have to do something, take ownership of the program, not just talk."
An agitated man argued loudly, with profanity: "I'm not going to take my life in my hands. My God, where do you live?"
BECKER: "Settle down."
ANOTHER MAN, to one in a striped shirt: "You've got the stripes, you gotta referee this."
The first man continued swearing and finally stormed out of the coffee shop.
THIRD MAN: "I hope he's not a gun owner."
FOURTH MAN: "I hear his frustration. I get it."
WOMAN: "We need to solve this, get involved with our neighbors. We don't need to be vigilantes."
BECKER: "We've got to have balance."

Drugs and violence dominated the session. The two aldermen present, Greg Helding and Jim Kaplan, added perspectives of their own. Kaplan told of a constituent who brought him a baggie full of spent shells she picked up around her house. "I told her, 'Take them to the police,' but she said, 'We're afraid if we do, they'll be shooting at us the next time." So Kaplan took the bullet casings to the police and filed the complaint himself. Helding offered an analogy about drug sales: "You know all the coffee shops downtown? Well, if we all stopped drinking coffee, they'd close. Same with the drug dealers."

At one point, the mayor was asked, "Do you spend too much time and money on Downtown?" He responded, "We spend very little." Referring to all the events downtown, like First Fridays and Party on the Pavement, put on by merchants and the Downtown Racine Corporation, he said, "We don't do anything except drop off barricades -- and we charge them for that."

The mayor talked about stepped up city inspections -- "Five inspectors work in the ugly neighborhoods, the bad ... and they're on call in the good neighborhoods." -- about the half-dozen bars that have been closed down due to violence, about efforts to tear down boarded up and abandoned houses ("I hate boarded up houses," he said.), and the city's program for helping people buy their own homes. Of one major landlord, said to be trying to sell a large bloc of rental units, "The fear is that he will sell out to someone from out of town, and we'll have nobody here to go after." Becker would much prefer the units to be sold to individual homeowners. Regarding substandard dwelling units, he said: "We will be as aggressive as the law allows us to be."

A teacher said, "Crime is just a symptom. The problem is economic. We need more jobs in the city. Good, well-paying jobs is the solution." Becker said he had met with Dr. James Shaw, the current finalist to be Racine Unified superintendent. "I really hope Dr. Shaw, if he takes the job, can get things done. He really understands the achievement gap.... the community is dying for someone to come into that position and start making decisions."

The session ended after an hour, because Becker was taking his daughter and two of her friends to Chicago to see the Lollapalooza festival. But he also said he was meeting an artist in Chicago -- a potential resident for the Uptown arts district.

14 businesses cited for under-age tobacco sales

Are you under-age? Fear not, you can still buy cigarettes in Racine. You just have to know where to look.

Racine Police reported yesterday on three rounds of compliance checks they made between April and June, seeing whether clerks at 67 businesses would sell tobacco products to minors.

Investigators working with Focus in the Community and the City of Racine Health Department found 53 businesses in compliance with local ordinances and state law which prohibit the sale of tobacco to minors.

Fourteen were not in compliance. They could have their licenses revoked by the City of Racine License and Welfare Committee if there is a pattern of failure, but for now they were fined $550 for each violation -- whether for selling a pack of cigarettes or, in the case of one store, a single cigarette.

Here's a list of the 14 businesses that unlawfully sold tobacco products; four of them passed when rechecked during another visit:

Akash Food & Liquor 3945 Erie St (Passed on Re-check)
M + M Douglas Park 2101 Douglas Ave (Passed on Re-check)
MJ Food Mart 1347 Lathrop Ave
Magic Dollar Plus 1007 Washington Ave
Metro Petro 4301 Washington Ave.
Neighborhood Pantry 1511 W. 6th St. (Passed on Re-check)
Nick’s Supermarket 1407 Superior St.
Open Pantry Food Mart 2731 Durand Ave.
Sausage Kitchen 1706 Rapids Dr. (Passed on Re-check)
Super Mercado Jimenez 2210 16th St.
Taqueriz Arandas Restaurant 1501 Prospect St
Three Mile Citgo 600 3 Mile Rd.
Timers Beverage Center 3800 Northwestern Ave
Total 24 930 Washington Ave

The perfect ending to a picture-perfect Fourth

That's the old Coast Guard station in the foreground

While waiting for the fireworks, a time exposure of the harbor

Above all, parades are for kids

One small sidelight to the parade shouldn't be overlooked. As the first of a number of military contingents came up Main Street, Doug Wick -- owner of Common Scents, Pack 'n Ship, and Wick's Photo Studio on the corner of Third -- sprang into action.

He would have been hard to miss, dressed as he was in a red bandleader's jacket (admiral's? maitre d'?), with gaudy gold epaulets, a flag bowtie, red-white-and-blue dickey and blue slacks covered with large white stars. But then he pulled out 22 large American flags -- one for each year he's been in business on Main Street -- on 8-ft. tall flagpoles. And, with his portable microphone he directed an ad hoc color guard to stand on either side of the street with the flags to welcome the marching soldiers.

The soldiers saluted as they walked by, while the crowd rose and cheered them all.

But, of course, a Fourth of July parade, while stressing patriotic themes, really is no different from other parades to its key audience: kids. They react to the noise, the movement, the almost constant assault -- I mean that in a good way -- on the senses. And so it was with FourthFest.The biggest reaction I saw from a group of kids came for ... Tigger, who was riding atop a Realtor's float, if memory serves. There wasn't even any candy involved. So let's wrap up with a few more pictures -- of kids enjoying themselves during the parade.

Silly String, doncha know!

In Racine, celebrating the 4th starts early...

Our first big parade: June 22, 1917

And so it began... Racine's tradition of July 4th parades.

Above is a picture of perhaps Racine's first big parade, from 1917; not on July 4 of that year but rather on June 22. What were they celebrating as they marched down Washington Avenue? No idea, and neither did Sally Orth of the Racine Heritage Museum, who welcomed me Thursday night during First Friday, while a video loop of old celebrations played.

And, yes, we knew it was neither July 4 nor the Friday of First Friday ... but in Racine the celebration of Independence Day starts early and supercedes newer traditions like Downtown's art gallery walk. Even before the community paraded for the reasons we all know today, Sally explained, Racine celebrated for another: the parade below, from July 4, 1941, was the Goodwill Parade -- established to foster good will between the city's employers and employees. Whatever, right? (Headlining the show at the Venetian: I Wanted Wings, starring Ray Milland and Veronica Lake. "Story follows the training and personal lives of three recruits in the Army Air Corps --- a wealthy playboy, a college jock and an auto mechanic. Love interest is supplied by a female photographer and a sultry blonde." Sharing the double bill in those days of two features for one quarter: The Cowboy and the Blonde, starring George Montgomery and Mary Beth Hughes.)


Today, of course, it's patriotism front and center. Friday night was its usual blend of shopping, wandering into art galleries, and a variety of music on Monument Square and Main and Sixth Streets -- and in some of the stores as well. But this week's event carried an extra fashion dimension: flags everywhere... in window displays, in children's hands and on clothing. Below, some of the folks we spotted enjoying First Frid... um, July 3 in Downtown Racine.

Cheryl McCrary sang patriotic songs and hymns...

This visitor was dressed in flags, head to toe...

Brad Harring wore one of his patriotic shirts ...
(don't worry: he has another for tomorrow)

Annette Bottoni with red, white and blue-ornamented hair

140+ bands, floats and groups in July 4 Parade

You don't have to take USA Today's word for it, you can see Racine's Fourth Fest parade for yourself this Friday. We're confident it will live up to pre-billing as one of the best in the country.

This year's July 4 parade has 140 bands, marching groups and floats scheduled!

The parade will march a 2.6 mile route, from its starting point at Goold and Main Streets. Marchers will head down Main to 14th Street, then west to the Golden Rondelle.

The pre-parade will begin at 8:15 a.m., with the parade itself starting at 9 a.m. Don't forget, fireworks on the Lake Michigan shoreline, near North Beach, will begin about 9 p.m. to end Independence Day with the proper bang!

Fourth Fest president is Jim Deibler of Sew'n Save; Mr. Fourth Fest, selected each year by the parade committee in recognition of volunteer efforts to make the parade a success, is Mark Chaffee. Honorary parade marshal will be Brewers' bullpen catcher Marcus Hanel, a 1989 graduate of Horlick High School and a resident of Racine (with his wife and three young kids).

Theme for this year's parade is "A Day at the Circus.” In keeping with that, of course we need clowns. Here are five, including trainer Janis Kaser, retired Ringling Bros. Circus clown "Sneakers." Also pictured are Paige Macemon who wanted to be a clown, and had to have her mom, Heather Macemon, join to bring her to the workshop... and along came grandma, Shari Poulsen -- three generations. Then we have Sister Alice Rademacher, a nun who happened to have a costume her mother had made her quite some time ago that she wanted to put to good use.

Our 72nd annual Independence Day Parade is sponsored in part by Racine on the Lake, CNH, Johnson Bank, Twin Disc, SC Johnson, In-Sink-Erator, Time Warner Cable, Modine Manufacturing, Tommy’s Chicago Dogs, Norco Inc., Central States Mortgage, Bank of Elmwood, Purath-Strand Funeral Home, Racine Dental, Andis Company, Great Northern Corporation, Putzmeister, Ace Stamping, The Blood Center of Wisconsin, and Wal-Mart.

The fireworks along the Lake Michigan shoreline are sponsored by Frank Boucher Chevrolet, and a special ground-display of fireworks is sponsored by the Hispanic Business Professionals Association. Educators Credit Union is sponsoring the barrel campaign, where parade-goers can donate to help offset expenses.

After the break we've listed the complete parade marching order:

1 Fourth Fest President - Jim Deibler
2 Golly Giants Stilt Walkers
3 Agerholm-Gross Det. #346 Marine Corps League
4 Racine Concert Band
5 Mayor Becker & Mayor Hector Alveraz Conteras,
Zapotlanejo, Mexico
6 La Tapatia
7 Hispanic Business and Professional Asociation
8 Dignitaries from Sister City Zapotlanejo, Mexico
9 Miss Latina Racine Scholarship Corp.
10 Mr. Fourth Fest - Mark Chaffee
11 Honorary Parade Marshal - Marcus Hanel
11A Koos for Kids - Britany Michna
12 Racine Youth Sports
12A Alderman David Maack
12B Alderman Anderson
12C Alderman DeHahn
12D Alderman Mozel
12E County Executive Bill McReynolds
12F Jim Ladwig - Register of Deeds
13 Racine County Clerk of Courts, Rose Lee
13A Miss Racine Scholarship Pageant, Laura Kuzia
13B Dream Girls USA & Miss Junior Racine
14 Congressman Paul Ryan
15 State Senator John Lehman
16 State Representative Robert Turner
17 State Representative Cory Mason
18 WRJN - Don Rosen
19 Racine Scouts Drum & Bugle Corps.
20 VFW Post 1391
21 S.E. Wisconsin Red Cross
22 First Team Troopers Color Guard
23 Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 767
24 336 Firefighters U.S. Army Reserves
25 Boys of 76 Colorguard
26 American Legion Post 310 Bronze Float
27 Rainbow Corner Childcare
28 Otto Last - Model T Ford
29 Racine 4th Fest Calliope
30 Honorary Society 40/8 ET
31 The Baby Boomers Bikers
32 Care Bear Child Care
33 The Martial Arts Center Inc.
34 American Professional Driving School
35 Lighthouse Brigade of Racine
36 Boy Scouts of America, SE Wis. Council Inc.
37 Racine Studio of Performing Arts
38 Harbor Light Yacht Club
39 Blood Center of Wisconsin
40 Debbie Hahn - Miniature Horses
41 Knights of Columbus 697/Assembly 207
42 Prospect Heights Community Living
43 Modine
44 Atonement Lutheran Church
45 Old Timers Athletic Club
46 Donald Dinges - 1946 Tractor
47 Celtic Nation Pipe & Drums Band
48 R/K CAA Head Start
49 Racine P.H. Club of Zembo Temple #70
50 Wisconsin Wildcats Sport Organization
51 Roma Lodge
52 Vittoria Colonna- Italian Women
53 Horlick High School - pom-pons
54 Horlick High School Student Government
55 Horlick High School Cheerleaders
56 Wisconsin Lutheran School
57 McMynn Tower Apartment
58 City of Racine Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services Dept.
59 St. Patrick's Church
60 First Friends Animal Rescue, Inc.
61 Camp Anokijig
62 Milwaukee Alarm
63 Trinity Lutheran Church and School
64 Junior Lighthouse Brigade
65 Racine Chapter DeMolay
66 Job's Daughters International
67 Racine Bell City Lodge #18
68 Masters of Movement Arts
69 501st Legion- Midwest Garrison
70 Nerds on Site
71 Greg Mandala & Family
72 Leadership Racine Alumni Association
73 Alicia Villa Realty Inc.
74 Cancelled
75 American Diabetes Association
76 Wells Fargo Bank NA
77 Big Fish Bash
78 UW-Parkside Alumni Association
79 United Way of Racine County
80 Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-All Saints
81 Christ Church
82 Sturtevant Memorial Post VFW 9948
83 Church-Iglesia Canaan Temple de Restauration
84 It's All About Racine Radio Show - Mr. Racine Mark Eickhorst
85 American Legion First District
86 New Day Drum & Bugle Corps
87 U-Bake
88 Racine Area Soccer Association
89 Trinity Lutheran Church of Caledonia
90 New Star Discovery Contest
91 Jesus Alive Ministries Inc.
92 Johnson Family of Companies
93 The Ultimate Kid Fest Company, LLC
94 Park High School Pom-Pons
95 Park High School Cheerleaders
96 Racine Zoo
97 Racine Public Library
98 Hispanic Business Alliance
99 Penguin Players
100 Academy of Dance
101 Rocky Rococco Pizza & Pasta
102 Love Park Shrine Club Revolving Carousel
103 Racine Montessori School
104 Marie Oliver Realty
105 The Gospel Lighthouse
106 John Paul II Academy
107 Blue Star Mother's of Southeast Wisconsin
108 Boy Scout Troop 203 Drum & Bugle Corps
109 Racine Yacht Club Youth Sailors
110 Navy Club Ship 60 of Racine
111 Cancelled
112 Lincoln Lutheran
113 5th Street Yacht Club
114 Shadows of Life Band
115 Carthage College
116 Girl Scout Troop 5822
117 Caledonia Baseball/Softball
118 Gamma Alpha Omega Sorority Inc.
119 Designated Driver/Safe Ride
120 Southeast Gateway Group of the Sierra Club
121 Gentile Scion
122 Black Belt Karate Studio
123 Cancelled
124 Papa Murphy's
125 Cheryl McCrary & Heir-Born Praise Band
126 Century 21 Savaglio & Cape
127 Hunterz Bar & Grill
128 Racine Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution
129 The Junior League of Racine & Racine Kenosha Builders Assn.
130 Charles DeDyne
131 DeDyne Dance Group
132 Racine Raiders Football Club
133 Racine Gymnastics Center
134 Racine Moose Family Center #437
135 Racine Rotary West
136 Telstar Racing & Wayout Willard's Wild World of Motorsports
137 The World of Bridal Fashions "ANAHI"
138 Kilties Drum & Bugle Corps
139 Red Apple Elementary
140 Acme General Purpose Band

Where in the world are Racine's sister cities?

Five, going on six... (Click to enlarge.)

The answer to our simple question depends upon when you ask it. Today, Racine has five sister cities, but later this week we will have six.

Except for Oiso, Japan, our sister cities are clustered in the Americas and Northern Europe. The two in Europe are Montelimar, France, and Aalborg, Denmark. In South and Central America, we have Forteleza, Brazil, and Bluefields, Nicaragua.

And on Thursday we will forge a formal sister city relationship with Zapotlanejo, Mexico.

The JT tells us all about the Mexican delegation's upcoming visit HERE.

Once we have six sister cities, we will pull ahead of Kenosha, which either has four or five, depending on which of two online resources you believe, and we'll be tied with LaCrosse. But we're still lagging behing Madison, which has seven. A list of all Wisconsin's sister cities is HERE.

USA Today lists our parade among U.S.'s 10 Best

USA Today lists our Fourth of July parade as one of the ten best in the country. Here's what the largest circulation newspaper in the U.S. (2.25 million copies a day!) has to say about us:

Racine Fourth Fest Parade, Racine, Wis.

Located on the shores of Lake Michigan between Milwaukee and Chicago, Racine hosts one of the largest Fourth of July parades in the Midwest. "This 71-year-old parade began as a collaborative effort between corporations and labor unions to set aside 'one day of peace' between workers and management," Steve Schmader, president and CEO of the Interational Festivals & Events Association says. "With nearly 200 units — equestrian entries, clowns, jugglers, floats, bands, firetrucks, antique cars, dignitaries and more — Racine's parade has grown to become a huge community and family-oriented celebration."

Interested in a longer trip? HERE are the rest of USA Today's recommendations.

What a difference a day makes at Festival Hall

Jim Walczak with structure of Festival Hall's new clearspan

Update, 6/25: One day of uncertainty gave way to quick work this morning, as the framework of Festival Hall's new clearspan tent structure went up. Later today, the canvas covering will be put in place. Below, yesterday's original post.

Blame the poet Robert Burns, who warned us 200 years ago, "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft a-gley."

Or maybe it was just Murphy's Law -- "If anything can go wrong, it will." -- in action this morning at Festival Hall, where Civic Centre executive director Jim Walczak hoped to erect his new fabric-covered building this morning, to replace the old tent. (Our earlier story is HERE.)

Everything was in place: the new metal building frame, 66' wide by 115' long was laid out on the old ice rink. Men and equipment to erect it were ready; sparkling white canvas to cover it was alongside. And then Murphy and Burns took over.

The first holes drilled into the concrete to fasten the building's support posts produced cracks. It was clear to all that a new plan was needed.

After conferring, Walczak, Jerry Lopez, Festival Hall operations manager, and Kenny Francis, Mahaffey Tent's installation supervisor, decided to shift the location of the tent a few feet west. That simple move will shift the tent supports -- and those holes drilled into the concrete -- from an unstable concrete footing around the former ice rink and into the much more stable, six-inch thick concrete that makes up the ice rink itself. On the west side, the holes would also be moved away from the footings. Test borings worked without any cracking.

Problem solved? Not sure at this point. Al Kosterman, City Building Inspector, and Paul Beard, Department of Public Works overseer of the Civic Center, are examining the specifications of the Rawl expansion fittings -- think of the plastic expansion sleeve you drill into drywall to hold shelves and then scale it up a few hundred percent and make it out of stainless steel -- to make sure they will hold the permanent building supports safely.

One way or another, Walczak will get something installed over the ice rink today or tomorrow. He's got a wedding scheduled there on Saturday.

What now? Beard, Walczak, Francis, Kosterman and Lopez, l-r

By late afternoon, all was well. The city approved moving the tent and using the supplied bolts and expansion sleeves in the ice rink cement. Support posts were being installed, and the clear-span building itself was expected to be erected Wednesday.

Correction: We initially identified Paul Beard as Bill Miller, also of the Department of DPW.

OOPAH!

View from the top of the big yellow slide

Greek Fest is much more than great food, good music and carnival rides -- but you couldn't prove it by us.

We stopped out at the festival of the Kimissis Greek Orthodox Church this weekend for our annual "fix" of authentic Baklava and Saganaki (flaming cheese, to you). And lamb, chicken, shishkebob, falafel ... and let's not forget the honey puffs.

Cannot forget the honey puffs. Made right before your eyes. Six for $3 or just $5 for a Baker's Dozen. The problem with the larger order is that I'd eat them all, so I try to exert a little willpower up front, before biting down on my first honey puff. Yum!

Hundreds of volunteers cook for weeks to prepare for the annual fundraising event. And this year their efforts were well-rewarded, with mostly wonderful weather.

Here are some shots from Sunday, before the short afternoon rain. Any sticky fingerprints are not my fault; blame 'em on the honey puffs.

Tilt-a-Whirl is always a crowd-pleaser

They don't call it 'flaming cheese' for nothing...

Enough chicken for ya?

Making those delicious honey puffs

YUM!

I want to dance like the big kids

Floodwaters recede; now the work begins

The Root River's receding (track it HERE). Many streets that were under water Monday are now dry, or almost dry. The air is filled with the sound of generators and pumps.

Homeowners, allowed to return to their homes, meet in small groups to compare and commiserate. Water that was up to the first floor is now only knee high in some basements. One of the questions they ask each other: "Did you have flood insurance?" For many, the answer is "no." It cost too much, they say... $1,200 or so. Now, in retrospect, it seems like a good idea.

For many, the power still isn't on, so there's no electricity, clean water or toilets. The pumps are all running off generators, or gasoline. Police are still stationed around the hardest-hit neighborhoods, both to keep unwary drivers out of danger and also to prevent any looting attempts at vacant homes.

Here are a few pictures taken Tuesday afternoon, from some of the same areas we photographed Monday (See HERE.) Clearly, the water is down. It's most noticeable in the picture at the top of this post, from the intersection of Spring Street and Island Avenue. Yesterday, that retaining wall by the bridge was totally under water.