Monday, July 1, 2024

Remember "Places Rated Almanac"? Here's how cities stacked up in 1981.

 


#321 Rockford, Retiring Guy's dad's hometown, was in a deep  recession at the time.

New York Times, 8/30/1982

Then and Now: Pratt & Whitney manufacturing plant in East Hartford Connecticut

 
Then:  Advertisement in the April 1940 edition of The Architectural Forum.
 


Now (as seen via Google Maps)



(highlight added)

Related reading:

Today in 1940, nearly 3000 people came to East Hartford to go on a three-quarter mile walking tour of a brand new two-million-dollar factory expansion at the Pratt and Whitney Aircraft company. The 280,000 square foot expansion, for which planning had begun the previous February and ground had been broken and construction started only four months before, represented a sudden and dramatic turnaround in the fortunes of the innovative aviation pioneer. 
At the end of 1938, the situation at Pratt and Whitney could best have been described as bleak. Despite the company’s leadership in air-cooled aircraft engine technology, years of cutbacks in defense spending by the US government had drastically affected the entire aviation industry, whose total assets were then barely equal to one of the country’s big national breweries. By the end of the year, Pratt and Whitney had reduced its payroll to fewer than 3000 workers, and only had enough orders booked to keep the East Hartford plant running until May 1st.


U.S. Supreme Court Gone Wild! Conservative majority shows us their tits and, oh, what an hideous sight it is!

 
New York Times headlines:  top, middle, bottom



GET ME REWRITE: Ottawa County Commission's clown show leadership fractures county GOP

 
Headline:  mlive, 6/21/2024
"Ottawa Impact … (has) a very narrow ideology and (refuses) to play well with others. Those of us who fail to prostrate ourselves before them are called liberal Democrats masquerading as Republicans. … OI is fracturing the Republican party with their antics and making us all look bad."

Related posts:
June 2024

May 2024

April 2024

March 2024.  

February 2024 
Chris Vander Sys challenges Ottawa Impact whackjob Gretchen Cosby for seat on Michigan's Ottawa County Board.  (2/21)

January 2024

2023

CNN! CNN! CNN! CNN! Fading cable news network desperately tries to regain its relevancy

 
BIG FAIL
CNN plastered everywhere you look

Arrows added to screenshot

AlterNet, 7/1/2024
But the absolute worst performance of the night came from CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, who gave Trump a complete pass on all those whoppers. 
When Trump claimed that “every reasonable anchor” has debunked the story that there was a riot by violent white supremacists in Charlottesville, anchor Jake Tapper said only, “Thank you, President Trump” and moved on. 
The moderators gave the same response when Trump said that the federal government was behind his felony convictions in the New York hush money trial — a state-level prosecution in state court that had no connection to the Biden administration or federal prosecutors. 
They gave the same response to Trump’s preposterous claim that “everybody wanted” Roe v. Wade overturned and that before it was overturned, Democrats were allowing “after-birth” abortions.
 

Then and Now: MAGA clean-up in Manitowoc, Wisconsin


2018


2024



Wisconsin 2024 elections: Democrat Dennis Nitzel challenges Republican incumbent Rob Swearingen in 34th Assembly District

 
Rob Swearingen (R-Rhinelander) has represented the 34th district (and, more  enthusiastically, the Wisconsin Tavern League)  since January 2013.  He is being challenged by Democrat Dennis Nitzel, who seems to be running a low-impact campaign.

WisPolitics rates the 30th district as 61.2% Republican.


Maps:  Wikipedia
Slate of candidates:   Wisconsin Elections Commission


The new Senate and Assembly maps:
AD 1.  (4/17/2024)
AD 2. (4/28/2024)
AD 3.  (5/5/2024)
AD 4. (4/29/2024)
AD 5.  (6/4/2024)
AD 6.  (6/4/2024)
AD 7.  (4/30/2024)
AD 8.  (6/7/2024)

AD 11.  (4/29/2024)
AD 12.  (5/11/2024)
AD 13.  (6/13/2024)
AD 15.  (5/2/2023)
AD 19.  (6/25/2024)
AD 20.  (6/28/2024)

AD 21.  (5/18/2024)
AD 22.  (4/27/2024)
AD 23.  (6/23/2024)
AD 24.  (4/27/2024)
AD 25.  (6/20/2024)
AD 26.  (6/16/2024)
AD 27.  (6/22/2024)
AD 28.  (5/7/2024)
AD 29.  (6/29/2024)
AD 30.  (6/30/2024)

AD 31.  (4/24/2024)
AD 32  (4/26/2024)
AD 33.  (6/1/2024)
AD 35.  (5/4/2024)
AD 36.  (6/4/2024)
AD 37.  (4/24/2024)
AD 38.  (4/24/2024)
AD 39.  (4/24/2024)
AD 40.  (6/3/2024)

AD 42.  (5/1/2024)
AD 43.  (6/1/2024)
AD 46.  (5/31/2024)
AD 47.  (5/31/2024)
AD 48.  (5/31/2024)
AD 50.  (6/2/2024)

AD 51.  (4/17/2024)
AD 52.  (5/10/2024)
AD 53.  (2/25/2024)
AD 54.  (5/12/2024)
AD 55.  (5/12/2024)
AD 56.  (5/12/2024)
AD 57.  (6/3/2024)
SD 20.  (4/19/2024)
AD 58.  (6/14/2024)
AD 59.  (5/10/2024)
AD 60.  (5/10/2024)

AD 61.  (5/5/2024)
AD 62.  (4/19/2024)
AD 65.  (4/22/2024)
AD 66.  (4/20/2024)
AD 68.   (4/20/2024)

AD 73.  (5/9/2024)
AD 74.  (5/4/2024)
AD 75.  (4/23/2024)
AD 76.  (5/5/2024)
AD 77.  (4/26/2024)
AD 78.  (4/26/2024)
AD 79.  (4/26/2024)
AD 80.  (4/30/2014)

AD 81.  (4/30/2024)
AD 82.  (4/25/2024)
AD 83.  (5/2/2024)
AD 85.  (5/14/2024)
AD 87.  (4/16/2024)
AD 89.  (4/29/2024)
AD 90.  (4/17/2024)

AD 92   (6/29/2024)
AD 93.  (5/6/2024)
AD 94.  (4/28/2024)
AD 97.  (4/25/2024)
AD 98.  (5/4/2024)
AD 99.  (4/25/2024)

Cruising Spring Harbor neighborhood in Madison Wisconsin west of University Avenue (part 1)

 
The majority of modest houses built in this development were constructed from 1951 to 1956.  Cape Cod and Ranch designs predominant.

Screenshots and video by Retiring Guy





This house got a boost in square footage.
















Neighborhood Description
One of Madison's largest and most populous neighborhoods, Spring Harbor spans the picturesque southwestern corner of Lake Mendota. Spring Harbor area has a little bit of everything that makes Madison great – abundant waterfront property, a variety of schools and public amenities, and several thriving commercial districts. Standing on the shoreline, the view across the water is of the forested University of Wisconsin campus, rather than the downtown, adding to the secluded appeal of Spring Harbor. The neighborhood covers more than 400 acres and is home to more than 1,200 households. Single-family homes and several condo developments makeup the housing stock. The Spring Harbor Neighborhood came of age during the 1950’s, as one-half of all homes were constructed during that decade. Currently, 91% of the neighborhood land is dedicated to housing, with a large mix in type, size, and style of units available. Our neighborhood has access to three major natural resources within its boundaries: 1) Lake Mendota; 2) Merrill Spring; and 3) Kettle Pond. Historic Madison, Inc. has designated four neighborhood sites as historically significant, including two areas containing Native American Effigy Mounds, the Hickory Hill House and the John R. Commons House.  [emphasis added]

Other cruising posts:
2024
July 2024

June 2024

April
Cruising the parking ramp of City Center (formerly Park Plaza) in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  (4/21)

March

February

January

2023
September-November
Cruising Vietnam War Veterans Memorial Highway in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.  (9/6)

July
Cruising from Warren Area High School to East Fifth and Redwood in Warren PA.  (7/27)

June
Cruising Riverside Cemetery, on the National Register of Historic Places, in Oshkosh Wisconsin.  (6/25)Cruising around the block at Waupun Correctional Institution, Wisconsin.  (6/17)

2022


Rural population loss: Pineville, West Virginia

 
The population of Pineville is down nearly 50% from its 1970 peak of 1,187   It has lost an estimated 6% of its residents since 2020.

Pineville, West Virginia
Population and photo:  Wikipedia


New York Times, 6/25/2024
West Virginia, one of the poorest states, has the nation’s highest rate of obesity, but people in Pineville can’t afford the weight-loss drugs they need. 


Related posts:
June 2024
Rural Pennsylvania population loss:  New Castle/Lawrence County.  (6/27)
Dear Jefferson Wisconsin skeptics, Your city's population has doubled since 1950, but it peaked in 2010.  (6/20/2024)
Dear Elk Grove Village officials, It's called 'plateauing'.  Your city's population has been treading water since 1980.   Best, Retiring Guy.  (6/18)
Dear Mount Prospect officials, It's called 'plateauing'.  Your city's population has been treading water since 1980.   Best, Retiring Guy.  (6/18)
Dear Arlington Heights officials, It's called 'plateauing'.  Your city's population has been treading water since 1990.   Best, Retiring Guy.  (6/17)
Dear Palatine officials, It's called 'plateauing'.  Your city's population has been trading water since 2000.   Best, Retiring Guy.  (6/17)
Why are some counties experiencing population increases?  They are now in the orbit of a metro area.  (Dallas County/Des Moines Iowa edition),  (6/14)

May 2024

April 2024