Saturday, June 20, 2015

A sunset that brings to mind a certain song from the 80s




Hours of operation have not been updated on library's website



All public libraries closed indefinitely in Santa Cruz county.  (Tucson News Now, 6/19/2015)

City 'n' county fussin' 'n' fightin'
Nogales Mayor John Doyle, who says it was a council decision to close them, says its a miscommunication.

But he lays the blame at the feet of Santa Cruz County, which he believes has been shopping for another library service provider in Patagonia. 

County officials admit those talks have been going on, so it's likely there is some validity to the city's concerns.

 Map sourceMedia Matters for America

6 states have fewer counties than Arizona(15):
  • 14:  Massachusetts, Vermont
  • 10:  New Hampshire
  •   8:  Connecticut
  •   5:  Rhode Island
  •   3:  Delaware

100 Years of Frank Sinatra: "I've Got the World on a String"


"I've Got the World on a String", written in 1932 by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler, the 1953 Sinatra version arranged by Nelson Riddle, was a moderate hit, reaching #14 on Billboard's most-played list.  Riddle was the arranger on 22 Sinatra albums released from 1953 to 1968, the two musicians establishing an impressive track record with Swing Easy (1954), Songs for Young Lovers (1954), In the Wee Small Hours (1955), and Songs for Swingin' Lovers (1956).



Looks like someone might be wondering what that string is tied to.


"What's that on the chimney, Daddy?"

Other Frank Sinatra 100 posts:
"Our Love".  (2/14/2015)
"I'll Never Smile Again".  (2/15/2015)
"Fools Rush In".  (2/16/2015)
"Dolores".  (2/17/2015)
"Oh Look At Me Now".  (2/18/2015)
"This Love of Mine".  (2/20/2015)
"There Are Such Things."  (2/24/2015)
"Night and Day".  (2/26/2015)
"The Night We Called It a Day".  (2/27/2015)
Paramount Theater, December 30, 1942.  (3/2/2015)
Reveille with Beverly.  (3/4/2015)
"You'll Never Know".  (3/7/2015)
Higher and Higher.  (3/8/2015)
"People Will Say We're in Love".  (3/10/2015)
The Shining Future.  (3/17/2015)
"I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night".  (3/19/2015)
Step Lively.  (3/20/2015) .
"Saturday Night (is the Loneliest Night of the Week)".  (3/21/2015)
"You'll Never Walk Alone".  (3/23/2015)
"Oh What It Seemed to Be".  (3/24/2015)
Anchors Aweigh.  (3/26/2015)
"Day by Day".  3/27/2015)
Till the Clouds Roll By.  (3/29/2015)
"Always".  (3/30/2015)
It Happened in Brooklyn.  (3/31/2015)
"I've Got a Crush on You".  (4/3/2015)
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas".  (4/5/2015)
"It Only Happens When I Dance With You".  (4/7/2015)
The Miracle of the Bells.  (4/9/2015)
The birth of Tina.  (4/11/2015)
The Kissing Bandit.  (4/16/2015)
"Some Enchanted Evening."  (4/19/2015)
Take Me Out to the Ball Game.  (4/22/2015)
"The Huckle Buck."  (4/24/2015)
On the Town.  (4/28/2015)
A blowup in Houston.  (4/30/2015)
1st television appearance.  (5/3/2015)
"The Frank Sinatra Show".  (5/5/2015)
"I'm a Fool to Want You".  (5/7/2015)
"Mama Will Bark".  (5/10/2015)
Double Dynamite.  (5/13/2015)
Frank and Ava get married.  (5/15/2015)
Meet Danny Wilson.  (5/19/2015)
"I Could Write a Book".  (5/24/2015)
His Final Recording for Columbia Records, "Why Try to Change Me Now?"  (5/28/2015)
A new musical era with Capital Records.  (6/2/2015)
Filming begins on From Here to Eternity.   (6/15/2015)

4:24 p.m. Friday WEDC News Dump



Walker's jobs agency says 27 awards worth $124 million made without a formal staff review.  (Star Tribune, 6/19/2015)
An internal review released Friday showed that WEDC gave out 27 award contracts to 24 companies between July 2011 and June 2013 without staff review, which WEDC said was not required at the time. Those were discovered during a review of 371 awards WEDC made in its first two years of operation.

A sampling from the WEDC news release.  
That review uncovered 26 awards that were made without a formal Staff Review by our underwriting department – all of which took place in the first 15 months of WEDC’s existence. 

While those awards did not have formal Staff Reviews, they did undergo scrutiny and review by WEDC staff and management throughout the approval process.

First of all, let's take a look at the phrase "all of which took place in the first 15 months of WEDC’s existence."

Considering WEDC's revolving door, this lame explanation could almost be construed as blaming Jim Doyle

The second paragraph has me shaking my head like a bobble head doll.   What gets scrutinized?  When is a review not a review?  Oy!  My head hurts.

Where's the









Related posts:
The stink of WEDC follows Brenda Hicks-Sorensen to Nebraska.  (6/16/2015) 
Scott Walker tries to run, but there's no place to hide.  (5/26/2015)
No matter how you slice it, Alberta, it's still stinky cheese.  (5/23/2015)
Joint Finance Republicans to Scott Walker:  "You're Fired!".  (5/21/2015)
Chairman of the Board of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation -- Nice work if you can get it.  (5/20/2015)
It's story time.  (5/18/2015)
From the pay-to-play archives: The William Minihan-Scott Walker connection.  (5/17/2015) 
What's wrong with this Scott Walker headline?  (5/16/2015)
Chairman of the Board Scott Walker's BIG, BOLD idea.  (5/8/2015) 
Based on WEDC's previous track record, this is what came to mind when I saw first saw this headline.  (4/2/2015)
Apparently, being the CFO of WEDC is not much of a resume-builder.  (3/13/2015)
WEDC's revolving door.  (9/12/2014)
Here's how the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation is "Reinventing Economic Development".  (8/24/2014) 
Company looks to expand its business geographic focus?  (8/14/2014)
Scott Walker and the horrible, terrible, no good, very transparent day.  (7/28/2014)
Kestrel Aircraft: All these incentives, but no construction, no jobs.  (7/13/2014)
The Eaton Corporation/WEDC timeline of shame.  (7/10/2014)
Wisconsin featured in report on privatized state economic development agencies.  (10/25/2013)
Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation pledge: Following the money.  (7/23/2013)
Incompetence rewarded.  (5/9/2013)
And while we're at it, let's take a look at WEDC 's core values. (5/9/2013)
WEDC Public Information Officer Resigns After 1 Month on the Job.  (5/9/2013)
Plenty of time for messaging but none for fixing what ails WEDC.  (5/9/2013)
Previous WEDC audits?  What previous audits?  (5/8/2013)
Are you seeing a trend yet?  (5/8/2013)
Echoes.  (5/7/2013)
Get me rewrite.  (5/4/2013)
Legislative Audit Bureau Report on Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation: The "Cliff Notes" Version.  (5/3/2013
"Tales of woe never end at WEDC."  (4/25/2013)
Enterprise Florida and

Intraparty Feuding: Wisconsin's Joint Committee on Finance has not met in 22 days (and counting)


No change yet on this webpage. 


War of Words: JFC Co-Chairs Publicly Spar Over Transportation Revenue, Projects.  (Right Wisconsin, 6/18/2015)

According to a report from WisPolitics, Darling said Assembly leaders were looking to delay the Zoo Interchange project in hopes that it would buy leverage and support for new revenue (a gas tax hike and registration fees).

"I think that's going to blow up because people are going to be upset because they're going to think we can't govern, they're going to think we're wasting money and they're going to think we're not being responsible," said Darling in WisPolitics.

This, predictably, did not sit well with Assembly leaders who have publicly opposed a gas tax hike. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Joint Finance Committee Co-Chair John Nygren issued a terse statement asking Darling to walk back her accusation.

Related posts:
Leadership missing in action: Wisconsin's Joint Committee on Finance has not met in 21 days (and counting).  (6/19/2015) 
A lesson in leadership: Wisconsin's Joint Committee on Finance has not met in 20 days (and counting).  (6/18/2015)

Well, the music is silent.....




Silent Discos Let You Dance to Your Own Beat.  (6/17/2015)
It was a silent disco, a phenomenon that has taken off at music festivals (Coachella, Bonnaroo), bars and weddings as a way to party without running afoul of noise ordinances and curfews — or in the case of universities, studying students (U.C.L.A. recently held one in the library rotunda in the run-up to finals).

This is clubbing for people who don’t want to be subjected to the will of one D.J. for the evening and, because the wearer controls the volume, clubbing for people who don’t want ringing ears and sore throats the next morning.

Any large gathering of people is still going to generate a lot of noise, although the absence of a high-decibel noise assault is certainly a plus in my book.

Related advertisement:
What is silent disco all about anyway?

Related article:
I Am Not the Coachella Silent Disco's Target Audience.  (LA Weekly, 4/19/2015)
But it's when I replug and the DJ screams, "I want to hear all y'all make some motherfucking noooooooise!" I'm done. The irony. Oh, the irony.

Jeb Bush does his version of Scott Walker's 250,000 jobs target


Economists on Bush’s Promise: Close to 0 Percent Chance of 4 Percent Growth.  (The New York Times, 6/17/2015)

 Source:  The World Bank

From the Times article:
Over the last 40 years, the American economy has grown at an average of 2.8 percent per year. That’s slower than the 3.7 percent average from 1948 to 1975, but the future looks even gloomier because that 2.8 figure relied on two favorable trends that are now over: women entering the work force, and baby boomers reaching their prime earning years.

Scott Walker taking a dive in Florida Republican presidential primary polling


From 22% in February to 9% this month.


The behinders in the 6/4-6/15 Quinnipiac poll:
  • 4% - Rick Perry
  • 3% - Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, Donald Trumpi
  • 2% - Carly Fiorina
  • 1% - Bobby Jindal, John Kasich, Rick Santorum

Related posts:
Candidates struggle to reach double-digit percentage levels in latest New Hampshire Republican presidential primary poll.  (6/15/2015)
Has anyone else noticed that Scott Walker peaked 2 months ago in New Hampshire? (6/14/2015)
Scott Walker is already yesterday's news in North Carolina.  (6/4/2015)
Same as it ever was, pretty much, in latest Fox News poll.  (6/3/2015)
The latest CNN/ORC Republican presidential primary poll likes the Florida boys.  (6/2/2015) 
5-way tie in latest Quinnipiac Republican presidential primary poll.  (5/28/2015)
Republican presidential candidates find little elbow room in latest Fox News poll.  (5/16/2015)
Latest Public Policy Polling (PPP) numbers keep Republican candidates in a jumble.  (5/14/2015)
Digging through the latest Arizona Republican presidential poll, we learn that Scott Walker is the perferred candidate of older, 'very conservative' voters.  (5/11/2015)
The leading Republican candidates for President have already peaked in New Hampshire.  (5/10/2015)
The Florida Boys leave Scott Walker in "show" position in latest Republican presidential horse race poll.  (5/5/2015)
Two more Iowa Republican presidential polls to add to the line graph.  (4/28/2015)
Jeb Bush experiences some serious slippage in New Hampshire.  (4/17/2015)
Home-state voters show waning enthusiasm for a Lindsey Graham presidential campaign.  (4/16/2015)
Big spikes for Scott Walker, Donald Trump in most recent New Hampshire poll.  (4/13/2015)
Tracking the Florida Republican presidential primary polls, January-March 2015.  (4/4/2015)
Ohio Republican presidential primary poll: Ohio Governor Kasich leads the pack.  (4/3/2015)
Tracking the national Republican presidential primary polls.  (4/3/2015)
Republican presidential primary polls: The current top 5 preferences.  (4/2/2015)
New Hampshire Republican Presidential primary voters are having trouble making up their minds.  (3/31/2015)
Another day, another New Hampshire Presidential primary poll.  (3/28/2015)
Bush, Rubio not exactly wowing the home-state voters.  (3/27/2014)
Scott Walker tied for 2nd with 'Dunno' in latest CNN/ORC poll. (3/19/2015)
Bush-Walker-Dunno in a 3-way tie for Connecticut Presidential primary preferences.  (3/15/2015)
Don't know/no answer/somebody else/won't vote leads latest Quinnipiac Republican Presidential primary poll.  (3/6/2015)
Bush-Walker-Unsure are 1-2-3 in latest Florida Republican Presidential primary poll.  (3/3/2015)
Bush-Walker-Unsure are 1-2-3 in latest South Carolina Republican Presidential primary poll.  (3/3/2015)
It's Walker, Bush, Unsure in 1st Nevada Presidential primary poll of the year.  (3/2/2015)
Quinnipiac poll: Scott Walker is the Tea Party favorite among likely caucus-goers in Iowa.  (2/26/2015)
Texas Poll: Scott Walker takes it to a couple of Texans on their home turf.  (2/25/2015)
Someone else/no one, Ben Carson have best 1-2 punch in Public Policy poll.  (2/24/2015)
'Undecided' leads, Scott Walker 2nd, in year's first California Republican Presidential primary poll.  (2/20/2015)
On the merry-go-round: Mike Huckabee takes the lead in the latest Republican Presidential preference poll.  (2/18/2015)
Give it up: "Favorite Son" Lindsey Graham ekes out an anemic 17% in South Carolina poll.  (2/17/2015)
New Hampshire: Jeb Bush holds slim lead among crowded GOP pack in NBC News/Marist poll.  (2/17/2015)
Mike Huckabee retakes Iowa lead, Walker falls to 3rd in NBC News/Marist poll.  (2/17/2015)

Have to admit I had never heard of bandleader James Last and his 'happy sound' until reading this New York Times obituary


James Last, Bandleader Known for ‘Happy Sound,’ Dies at 86.  (The New York Times, 6/12/2015)
Primarily an arranger, Mr. Last purveyed a style he called “happy sound,” characterized by jaunty brass; lush, swirling strings; a pulsating beat; and the homogenization of his musical sources into the aural equivalent of comfort food. The result won him hordes of enthusiasts and a thicket of detractors.
Among Mr. Last’s best-known original compositions is “The Lonely Shepherd”...



3 of his albums appeared on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart:
  • Music From Across the Way
    • February 19, 1972, debut
    • peaked at #160
    • charted for 5 weeks
  • Well Kept Secret
    • August 16, 1975, debut
    • peaked at #172
    • charted for 3 weeks 
  • Seduction
    • June 28, 1980, debut
    • peaked at #148
    • charted for 8 weeks

Susen Johnson Gebhardt (1946-2015) Warren Area High School Class of 1964



1964 Dragon yearbook

The variant spelling 'Susen' does not register on the popular baby names lists of the Social Security Administration.

1967 Warren City Directory

This song reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 shortly after the class of 1964 graduated.  (Audio and video out of sync.)



Other members of the class of 1964:
Delores Brady Geer (1/25/2015)
Judith McCool Madigan.  (1/26/2015)
Julia Barhight Verdot.  (9/5/2014)
Charles Lyon.  (1/12/2014)

No Friend to the Environment: Republican Representative Dave Reichert, Washington's 8th Congressional District


Lt. Frank Drebin goes to Washington.

Photo sourceU.S. Congress
Italicized text sourceIssaquah-Sammamish Reporter

Rep. Reichert was re-elected to a 6th term in 2014 with 63% of the vote.

43% lifetime score (14% in 2014) from the League of Conservation Voters.  (That's quite a drop!)


No Friend to the Environment dishonor roll.
Alabama Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives.   (Their anti-environmentalism can be summed up in one world:  coal.  Which is odd, since Alabama contributes a mere 1.9% of U.S. production, good enough for an overall ranking of 13.  The state's peak year of production:  1990)  
Alaska Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
  • At-large District.  Don Young (R).   Ridiculed environmentalists as a “self-centered bunch of waffle-stomping, Harvard-graduating, intellectual idiots.....not Americans, never have been Americans, never will be Americans.” 
 Arizona Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
Arkansas Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
California Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
Colorado Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
No House Republicans hail from Connecticut and Delaware. 
Florida Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
Georgia Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
 Idaho Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
 Illinois Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
 Indiana Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
 Iowa Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
Kansas Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
Kentucky Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
Louisiana Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
Maine Congressional delegation:  U.S. House of Representatives
Maryland Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
No House Republicans in Massachusetts delegation.
Michigan Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
Minnesota Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
Mississippi Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
Missouri Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives 
Montana Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
Nebraska Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
Nevada Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
New Hampshire Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
 New Jersey Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
New Mexico Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
New York Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
 North Carolina Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
North Dakota Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
 Ohio Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
 Oklahoma Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
 Oregon Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
  Pennsylvania Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
South Carolina Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
South Dakota Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
Tennessee Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
Texas Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
Utah Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
Virginia Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives
Washington Congressional delegation:   U.S. House of Representatives