Two different worlds: The 2 most recent GOP Florida primary polls

Source:  Real Clear Politics

What they're saying in Florida:
Failed Donald Trump tower thrust into campaign for Presidency.  (Miami Herald, 3/12/2016)

The collapse of the celebrated Trump International Hotel & Tower in Fort Lauderdale four years ago cost buyers millions in lost deposits, sparked more than a dozen lawsuits, and has now emerged as a campaign issue that threatens to follow the GOP frontrunner Donald Trump through the presidential race.  

Recent state polls:
Rubio takes a dive in latest Illinois primary poll.  (3/12/2016)
The GOP Florida primary gets interesting all of a sudden.  (3/11/2016)
Three more Florida primary polls released today; not much change.  (3/10/2016)
Illinois GOP primary preview: Populous state, underpolled.  (3/10/2016)
North Carolina primary preview: Kasich threatens to overtake Rubio for 3rd place.  (3/10/2016)
A day later, it still looks like Trumpland in Florida; Rubio in slow fade.  (3/10/2016)
In Ohio, Governor Kasich has to setlle for 2nd place.  (2/23/2016)
None of the GOP candidates is catching fire in North Carolina.  (2/23/2016)
Increasingly fewer Wisconsin GOP voters heed what Scott Walker sez.  (1/31/2016)
Ted Cruz leaps ahead of Donald Trump in latest California poll.  (1/6/2016)
Chris Christie no favorite son in New Jersey; Donald Trump rules for now.  (11/18/2015)
As the polls churn in Arizona: Trump and Fiorina = big losers; Carson and Rubio = big winners.  (11/11/2015)

In the case of this car owner, duct tape is just enough

5 copies in LINKcat

Driver's side

Passenger's side

Photos by Retiring Guy

Rubio takes a dive in latest Illinois primary poll

Source:  Real Clear Politics

Recent state polls:
The GOP Florida primary gets interesting all of a sudden.  (3/11/2016)
Three more Florida primary polls released today; not much change.  (3/10/2016)
Illinois GOP primary preview: Populous state, underpolled.  (3/10/2016)
North Carolina primary preview: Kasich threatens to overtake Rubio for 3rd place.  (3/10/2016)
A day later, it still looks like Trumpland in Florida; Rubio in slow fade.  (3/10/2016)
In Ohio, Governor Kasich has to setlle for 2nd place.  (2/23/2016)
None of the GOP candidates is catching fire in North Carolina.  (2/23/2016)
Increasingly fewer Wisconsin GOP voters heed what Scott Walker sez.  (1/31/2016)
Ted Cruz leaps ahead of Donald Trump in latest California poll.  (1/6/2016)
Chris Christie no favorite son in New Jersey; Donald Trump rules for now.  (11/18/2015)
As the polls churn in Arizona: Trump and Fiorina = big losers; Carson and Rubio = big winners.  (11/11/2015)

The present state of Westgate

Based on the number of cars in the parking lot, you'd think this 56-year-old shopping center, a recipient of numerous face lifts, is still thriving.

That's certainly not the case, however, as the rest of these photos clearly show.

But first, a little background.

Westgate Shopping Center, originally an 'open-air' as opposed to enclosed facility, opened in 1960 on what was then the far-west side of Madison.

The retail mix was typical of this type of development:  grocery store (Piggly Wiggly), drug store (Rennebohm), department store (Manchester), national chains (J. C. Penney, Montgomery Ward) variety store (Kresge's), specialty shops.

Source:  1961 Madison City Directory

(before the name change to Whitney Way)

Ten years later, Westgate remained healthy, having retained its major tenants in spite of the 1962 opening of the nearby Hilldale Shopping Center.

Source:  1970 Madison City Directory

(highlights added; 

black highlight indicates business across Whitney Way from shopping center)

Much of the impetus for this retail growth can be attributed to Madison's booming population growth during the 1960s, when it added more than 45,000 residents.  (Some of it due to annexation, no doubt.)

But trouble lay on the immediate horizon -- less than 2 miles to the west, to be more specific.  West Towne Mall, the Madison-area's first enclosed shopping center, opened for business on October 15, 1970.

West Towne's first entry in a Madison city directory (1971) indicates that the Manchester Department Store was among the first tenants to abandon Westgate.

Source:  Madison City Directory (1971)

And indeed, by 1975, the word "vacant" is found among Westgate's listings, representing empty storefronts.

Source:  1975 Madison City Directory

Major tenants who have left the shopping center since 1970 include J. C. Penney, Sears, Kresge's, and Richman Brothers.  (Note that the names has been changed to Westgate Mall shopping center.)

The 1980 Madison City Directory's listings for Westgate seem to indicate a shopping center on the mend, but in reality it was continuing to follow a long path of slow decline.

In 2012, the southernmost portion of the original shopping center was razed to make way for a standalone Hy-Vee, bringing a grocery store to this location for the first time in more than 30 years.

What follows is a series of photos that illustrate the present state of Westgate

Just to the left of where I stood to take the 1st photo in this post sits this forlorn wagon, which serves as an apt metaphor for the present state of Westgate.

Not to mention the sun-dappled but empty corridor.

And a lone mallwalker.  (The most frequently encountered traffic during my 30-minute visit.)

Speaking of lonely.  What does this person do all day?

Beginning in the late 1970s, the shopping center was home to the Westgate Cinema for nearly 30 years.

Westgate Cinema to close in December.  (Madison.com, 11/7/2008)

Milwaukee-based Marcus Theatres leased the space and operated Westgate during those three decades, but the four-screen theater struggled to get the most popular art and independent films after the much-heralded opening of the Sundance Cinemas in the Hilldale Mall in May 2007.

CJ's Restaurant, the top dining choice for seniors according to a late 1980s Diner's Scorecard in the Wisconsin State Journal, operated inside the arched openings from the mid-1980s until early 1996.

The Friends of Sequoya Branch Library now hold their book sales here.

But not on the day I was there.

Sounds like something of a done deal to me, Cathy Sandeen

Resume source:  LinkedIn

Changes inevitable, says Extension chancellor: 'We need to do something'. (Portage Daily Register, 3/7/2016)

The multi-county regions that have been proposed for most of Wisconsin’s 72 counties (excluding metropolitan counties such as Dane and Milwaukee) will, in all likelihood, become a reality as they have been proposed, Sandeen said. That means that, for administrative purposes, the Extensions of Columbia, Dodge, Sauk and Fond du Lac counties will be in one region, with at least some Extension educators shared among the counties.  [emphasis added]

It will be unfortunate if the Planning Work Groups' assessments and recommendations are nothing more than nEXT Generation Project window dressing.

Related posts:
UW Colleges and Extension Chancellor Cathy Sandeen eggs the Wisconsin Idea.  (2/12/2016)
UPDATED with link to 94 pages of drafting errors: A Timeline of the Attempted Gutting of the Wisconsin Idea, . (5/9/2015)
Scott Walker turns the Wisconsin Idea upside down.  (2/22/2015)

Scott Walker's Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications gives notice

Resume source:  LinkedIn

Scott Walker's communication director leaving for private sector.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 3/11/2016)

Wisconsin Supreme Court justices run to the conservative radio arms of Charlie Sykes when the heat is on

As quoted in Bradley on Friday called the story an "offensive piece of garbage" in an interview with conservative radio host Charlie Sykes.  (Capital Times, 3/12/2016)

Bradley on Friday called the story an "offensive piece of garbage" in an interview with conservative radio host Charlie Sykes.

As quoted in Patience Roggensack said there's no doubt she is chief justice.  (Milwaukee Journal  Sentinel, 5/5/2015)

The justice told conservative WTMJ-AM (620) radio host Charlie Sykes that she had been meeting with top court staff and planned to allow them and other justices to have more input than they have in the past.

Related posts:
In his interview with Scott Walker, Charlie Sykes neglects to ask the obvious follow-up question, "What other 'things like that'?".  (7/10/2015)
Charlie Sykes, king of disingenuousness.  (10/1/2012)

Rebecca Bradley: Angry then, angry now

November 11, 1992

March 11, 2016

As quoted in Emotions run high after Rebecca Bradley's tumultuous week.  (Capital Times, 3/12/2016)

Rebecca, you should direct your anger at your good buddy Scott Walker, who decided you didn't need to be vetted for any of your 3 nominations.

Vote on April 5

Other Rebecca Bradley temperament posts:
Dear Chris, All of us lose if Rebecca Bradley is elected to a 10-year term on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.  (3/11/2016)
Dear Rebecca Bradley, First of all, you are not serving the people of Wisconsin; you are serving your corporate masters.  (3/11/2016)
When Rebecca Bradley wasn't having very healthy heterosexual sex in a loving marital relationship.  (3/11/2016)
Dear Rebecca Bradley, What are your current thoughts on the feminist movement?  (3/9/2016)
Dear Christian Schneider, I hope you can read lips.  (3/8/2016)
Dear Scott Walker, Rebecca Bradley, your 3-time appointee, wrote at least 3 columns.  (3/7/2016)
Dear Rebecca Bradley, Please tell us how these comments faded from your worldview.  (3/7/2016)

A fuller list of related posts is found here.

The GOP Florida primary gets interesting all of a sudden

Source:  Real Clear Politics

Recent state polls:
Three more Florida primary polls released today; not much change.  (3/10/2016)
Illinois GOP primary preview: Populous state, underpolled.  (3/10/2016)
North Carolina primary preview: Kasich threatens to overtake Rubio for 3rd place.  (3/10/2016)
A day later, it still looks like Trumpland in Florida; Rubio in slow fade.  (3/10/2016)
In Ohio, Governor Kasich has to setlle for 2nd place.  (2/23/2016)
None of the GOP candidates is catching fire in North Carolina.  (2/23/2016)
Increasingly fewer Wisconsin GOP voters heed what Scott Walker sez.  (1/31/2016)
Ted Cruz leaps ahead of Donald Trump in latest California poll.  (1/6/2016)
Chris Christie no favorite son in New Jersey; Donald Trump rules for now.  (11/18/2015)
As the polls churn in Arizona: Trump and Fiorina = big losers; Carson and Rubio = big winners.  (11/11/2015)

Investing in a sustainable plan of development for the Dane County Alliant Energy Center

Not sustainable.

Partial source:  AEC Feasibility Study

Planning for sustainability.

Source:  Dane County Resolution 444

Beyond CES 2016: The Brita Infinity Pitcher

This smart water pitcher orders its own filters: Amazon and Brita unveil the ‘Infinity Pitcher’.  (GeekWire, 2/29/2016)

The Brita Infinity Pitcher, announced today, joins a wave of devices and home appliances that now use Amazon Dash Replenishment to trigger an automatic re-order of essential supplies and components that will be delivered directly to consumers’ homes. 

Overall, the early reviews are lukewarm, at best.

From a 5-star "The future is here, and it quenches my thirst" to a 1-star "What use is the tech if the pitcher leaks?"

Bottom line:  For me, any device that automatically connects me with Amazon is a non-starter.

Other Beyond CES posts: 
Meet the smartwatch of the day, the Garmin Vivoactive HR.  (2/21/2016)
Can the LG Rolling Bot locate a hairball hidden under the bed?  (2/21/2016)

Link to most recent CES 2016 post (with links to the rest of the series).

Related reading:
Lightly Buttered, With Angst.  (The New York Times, 6/13/2000)

Dear Chris, All of us lose if Rebecca Bradley is elected to a 10-year term on the Wisconsin Supreme Court

Get me rewrite!

Wisconsin State Journal, 3/10/2016

Other Rebecca Bradley temperament posts:
Dear Rebecca Bradley, First of all, you are not serving the people of Wisconsin; you are serving your corporate masters.  (3/11/2016)
When Rebecca Bradley wasn't having very healthy heterosexual sex in a loving marital relationship.  (3/11/2016)
Dear Rebecca Bradley, What are your current thoughts on the feminist movement?  (3/9/2016)
Dear Christian Schneider, I hope you can read lips.  (3/8/2016)
Dear Scott Walker, Rebecca Bradley, your 3-time appointee, wrote at least 3 columns.  (3/7/2016)
Dear Rebecca Bradley, Please tell us how these comments faded from your worldview.  (3/7/2016)

A fuller list of related posts is found here.

Dear Rebecca Bradley, First of all, you are not serving the people of Wisconsin; you are serving your corporate masters

As quoted in Rebecca Bradley on controversial past writings: “I have apologized, and it’s time to move on”.  (Fox6NOW, 3/9/2016)

Wisconsin Radio Network, 3/4/2016

In a move her opponent called “appalling,” Justice Rebecca Bradley left the court on February 24, during oral arguments in a pending case, so she could speak at a Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce event taking place just a few blocks from the Capitol.

Photo by Retiring Guy

Other Rebecca Bradley temperament posts:
When Rebecca Bradley wasn't having very healthy heterosexual sex in a loving marital relationship.  (3/11/2016)
Dear Rebecca Bradley, What are your current thoughts on the feminist movement?  (3/9/2016)
Dear Christian Schneider, I hope you can read lips.  (3/8/2016)
Dear Scott Walker, Rebecca Bradley, your 3-time appointee, wrote at least 3 columns.  (3/7/2016)
Dear Rebecca Bradley, Please tell us how these comments faded from your worldview.  (3/7/2016)

A fuller list of related posts is found here.

Ron Johnson hokey-pokey time: And that's what it's all about

As quoted in GOP Senator: Of Course We'd Consider SCOTUS Nom If Obama Were Republican!  (TPM, 3/10/2016)

RoJo's spokesman now in damage-control mode.

Echoes of 1964 in this year's GOP Presidential contest

Transcription of shorter version (listen to full 4:20 version)

I certainly don't feel guilty about being a Republican.  I've always been a Republican.  My father is, his father was.  The whole family is a Republican family.

I voted for Dwight Eisenhower for the first time I ever voted: I voted for Nixon the last time.

But when it comes to Senator Goldwater, now it seems we're up against a very different kind of a man.  This man scares me.

Now maybe I'm wrong.  A friend of mine just said to me, "Listen,  just because a man sounds a little irresponsible during a campaign doesn't mean he's going to act irresponsibly."

You know that theory, the White House makes the man.  I don't buy that.

Sometimes, I wish I'd been at that convention in San Francisco.  I mean I wish I'd been a delegate, I really do.  Because I would have fought, you know?  And I wouldn't have worried so much about party unity because if you unite behind a man you don't believe in, it's a lie.

I mean, when the head of the Ku Klux Klan, when all these weird groups come out in favor of the candidate of my party, either they're not Republicans or I'm not.

I've thought about just not voting in this election, just staying home, but you can't do that, because that's saying you don't care who wins, and I do care.

I think my party made a bad mistake in San Francisco, and I'm going to have to vote against that mistake on the third of November.

1964 Presidential election

Source: The American Presidency Project

When Rebecca Bradley wasn't having very healthy heterosexual sex in a loving marital relationship

Bradley extramarital affair, role in child placement surface. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 3/10/2016)

Do as I say, not as I screw. "At one time I had a romantic relationship with (Bednall), which we both believed might result in marriage. We broke off that relationship in November 2002, although we have continued to date on a nonexclusive basis since that time," wrote Bradley, who was divorced in 2004.  [The emphasis, of course, is added.]

Other Rebecca Bradley temperament posts:
Dear Rebecca Bradley, What are your current thoughts on the feminist movement?  (3/9/2016)
Dear Christian Schneider, I hope you can read lips.  (3/8/2016)
Dear Scott Walker, Rebecca Bradley, your 3-time appointee, wrote at least 3 columns.  (3/7/2016)
Dear Rebecca Bradley, Please tell us how these comments faded from your worldview.  (3/7/2016)

A fuller list of related posts is found here.

The hyper-hypocritical Scott Walker: Hunters are ethical, voters are not

As quoted on hunter backtags in Deer, elk and bear hunters no longer need 'nuisance' back tags.  (Wisconsin State Journal, 3/9/2016)

As quoted on voter ID in Walker defends voter ID law in debate.  (Politico, 10/11/2014)

Wouldn't it be just as easy to say.....

"I believe the vast majority of Wisconsin voters are ethical, and requiring voter ID is not going to change their ethics."

Related posts:
It's not an oversight; just part of the Republican plan to disenfranchise voters.  (2/1/2016)
Republican candidates for President want voting to be a privilege, not a right.  (8/6/2015)
Apparently, it's OK to plagiarize a Voter ID law.  (10/17/2014)
The Republicans' voter ID, "common sense" echo chamber.  (10/13/2014)
CORRECTION: Leaders of Legislature's budget panel OK voter ID spending.  (10/6/2014)
GOP reaches out to Blacks and Hispanics while making it harder for them to vote.  (10/3/2014) What are the odds? Joint Finance provides funding for Voter ID campaign.  (10/1/2014)
In the news: Wisconsin Voter ID law and absentee ballots.  (9/18/2014)
Wisconsin Republican legislative leaders cry like a baby.  (9/17/2014)
Reality sandwiched between two slices of Leah Vukmir white bread.  (9/15/2014)
Scott Walker on Voter ID: It's going just according to plan.  (8/2/2014)
Meet Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Patience Roggensack, who authored majority opinions in voter ID cases.  (8/1/2014)
So as a result, you want your government to make it harder for you to vote? (5/22/2014)
The cat's got Fitzgerald's tongue.  (5/14/2014)
I can see how these pie graphs from a 2005 report might have informed the discussion for voter ID proponents.  (5/11/2014)
When it comes to diversity, all they want to do is talk.  (5/4/2014)
We're still awaiting a statement from Governor Walker.  (4/29/2014)
Voter suppression: Rep. Tom Larson uses the City of Milwaukee as the bogeyman.  (3/31/2014)
Sen. Mary Lazich shows her true colors.  (3/18/2014)
And the hypocrisy just keeps on coming: Republicans can't even give lip service to their "principles".  (2/14/2014)
Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald sez "no" to 40 of his Assembly colleagues.  (12/30/2013)
Your Wisconsin Republican Assembly hard at work promoting Governor Walker's jobs agenda (and GOP principles).  (11/15/2013)
Mary Lazich: Caught in the act of undermining confidence in the voting process.  (11/4/2013)
Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) still drinking the Kool-Aid.  (11/12/2012)

Related reading:
New G.O.P. Bid to Limit Voting in Swing States. (The New York Times, 3/29/2014)
ALEC Exposed:  Democracy, Voter Rights, and Federal Power.  (Center for Media and Democracy, 9/28/2012)
Right-Wing Operatives Take Up ALEC's Voter Suppression Agenda.  (Center for Media and Democracy's PR Watch, 4/19/2012)
Voter Suppression 101.  (Center for American Progress. 4/4/2012)

Meet Wisconsin's new governor, Rebecca Kleefisch

As seen on Feedly, although this is the actual Dead State headline.

Nonetheless, something to think about -- shiveringly.

Three more Florida primary polls released today; not much change

Source:  Real Clear Politics

Recent state polls:
Illinois GOP primary preview: Populous state, underpolled.  (3/10/2016)
North Carolina primary preview: Kasich threatens to overtake Rubio for 3rd place.  (3/10/2016)
A day later, it still looks like Trumpland in Florida; Rubio in slow fade.  (3/10/2016)
In Ohio, Governor Kasich has to setlle for 2nd place.  (2/23/2016)
None of the GOP candidates is catching fire in North Carolina.  (2/23/2016)
Increasingly fewer Wisconsin GOP voters heed what Scott Walker sez.  (1/31/2016)
Ted Cruz leaps ahead of Donald Trump in latest California poll.  (1/6/2016)
Chris Christie no favorite son in New Jersey; Donald Trump rules for now.  (11/18/2015)
As the polls churn in Arizona: Trump and Fiorina = big losers; Carson and Rubio = big winners.  (11/11/2015)

Illinois GOP primary preview: Populous state, underpolled

Illinois' 69 delegates are 'winner-take-most'.

Source:  Real Clear Politics

What they're saying in Illinois:
Editorial:  Marco Rubio for the GOP, but no endorsement for either Democrat.  (Chicago Tribune, 3/9/2016)

The boots themselves provide 2 inches of uplift.  No candidate in this cycle has ridden more ups and downs than Marco Rubio. With so much attention paid to quirks — his debate repetitions, his perspiration, even his choice of boots — many Republicans seem not to have noticed his fundamental GOP message of opportunity and uplift.

Recent state polls:
North Carolina primary preview: Kasich threatens to overtake Rubio for 3rd place.  (3/10/2016)
A day later, it still looks like Trumpland in Florida; Rubio in slow fade.  (3/10/2016)
In Ohio, Governor Kasich has to setlle for 2nd place.  (2/23/2016)
None of the GOP candidates is catching fire in North Carolina.  (2/23/2016)
Increasingly fewer Wisconsin GOP voters heed what Scott Walker sez.  (1/31/2016)
Ted Cruz leaps ahead of Donald Trump in latest California poll.  (1/6/2016)
Chris Christie no favorite son in New Jersey; Donald Trump rules for now.  (11/18/2015)
As the polls churn in Arizona: Trump and Fiorina = big losers; Carson and Rubio = big winners.  (11/11/2015)

North Carolina primary preview: Kasich threatens to overtake Rubio for 3rd place

North Carolina's 72 delegates will be awarded proportionally.

Source:  Real Clear Politics

What they're saying in North Carolina:

As quoted in Donald Trump worries NC GOP leaders; 'turning off a lot of people'.  (Charlotte Observer, 3/35/2016)

Recent state polls:
A day later, it still looks like Trumpland in Florida; Rubio in slow fade.  (3/10/2016)
In Ohio, Governor Kasich has to setlle for 2nd place.  (2/23/2016)
None of the GOP candidates is catching fire in North Carolina.  (2/23/2016)
Increasingly fewer Wisconsin GOP voters heed what Scott Walker sez.  (1/31/2016)
Ted Cruz leaps ahead of Donald Trump in latest California poll.  (1/6/2016)
Chris Christie no favorite son in New Jersey; Donald Trump rules for now.  (11/18/2015)
As the polls churn in Arizona: Trump and Fiorina = big losers; Carson and Rubio = big winners.  (11/11/2015)