Racine's coronavirus order has gotten a brief reprieve after the Court of Appeals issued a ruling Friday that reinstates the ordinance governing how businesses can reopen.
That means for the busy Fourth of July weekend Racine bars and restaurants can allow 50% capacity as long as social distancing protocols are in place and gyms can allow 25% capacity.
Two days after Racine County Circuit Judge Jon Fredrickson threw out the city's coronavirus ordinance, which he called the strictest in the country, the city requested an emergency stay. That was granted by the Court of Appeals while Racine officials put together a formal appeal of Fredrickson's decision.
When the state Supreme Court in May tossed out a statewide stay-at-home order issued by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, Republican lawmakers said local officials could put their own rules in place to handle the illness.
Several communities quickly imposed their own orders, many of them mirroring the ones written by the Evers administration.
Racine’s public health administrator, Dottie-Kay Bowersox, issued a coronavirus order the day the Supreme Court issued its opinion. Soon afterward, David Yandel, the owner of Harbor Park CrossFit, filed a lawsuit.
Fredrickson in June blocked the city’s order, saying Bowersox was exhibiting “despotic power.”
In response, the City Council passed an ordinance codifying the restrictions on how businesses must operate and explicitly giving Bowersox the ability to order businesses to close.
The move did not go over well with the judge. He quickly blocked the revived order, calling it a “direct attack” on his initial ruling.
And on Wednesday, following a two-hour hearing the day before, Fredrickson threw out the city's ordinance, which he said violated the state constitution because it interfered with the right to assemble.
Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus cases are surging in many states and positive cases continue to mount in Wisconsin. Fredrickson wrote that Racine could adopt a new plan to deal with the illness, provided that it was written more narrowly.
The appeal of Fredrickson's ruling to the Court of Appeals could take months and in the meantime Racine's coronavirus ordinance will remain in place.
Another Racine resident died of coronavirus this week, bringing the total number of deaths to 26. In Racine County, almost 2,200 confirmed cases of COVID have been reported and 64 have died in the county.
Florida-based startup firm Space Perspective plans to use the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak to serve as one of the launch sites for the vehicle, called the Spaceship Neptune
The balloon rides will be manned by a flight crew. (Facebook/Space Perspective)
A company wants to use an advanced balloon to fly customers from Earth’s surface in Alaska to the highest reaches of the planet’s atmosphere.
Florida-based startup firm Space Perspective plans to use the Pacific Spaceport Complex in Kodiak to serve as one of the launch sites for the vehicle, called the Spaceship Neptune, The Anchorage Daily News reported on Sunday.
The balloon rides will be manned by a flight crew taking eight passengers in a pressurized capsule suspended beneath a hydrogen balloon the size of a football stadium.
Each passenger could pay an estimated $125,000 for a six-hour journey.
Mark Lester, CEO of Alaska Aerospace Corp., said the high-altitude rides will be available from Kodiak in a few years and will support Alaska tourism.
“You will have people from around the world who want to come to Alaska and see the Northern Lights from the edge of space,” Lester said.
Alaska Aerospace and Space Perspective will test and refine spaceport operations and secure spaceflight licenses from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Space Perspective plans to complete an unmanned test flight from the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida next year.
Passengers will begin with a two-hour ascent to about 19 miles (31 kilometers) above Earth. They will then be able to post on social media about the experience or send data.
“Neptune then makes a two-hour descent under the balloon and splashes down, where a ship retrieves the passengers,” along with the capsule and balloon, Alaska Aerospace said.
Capsule recovery would occur in the waters around Kodiak Island and the Aleutian Island chain, depending upon the seasonal wind patterns.
The balloon design is derived from technology NASA has used for decades to fly large research telescopes, Space Perspective said.
Fourth of July events in America will be few and far between as cities and states have called off big celebrations and fireworks displays, but for U.S. embassies all over the world ... it's party on.
TMZ did some digging, and we've learned at least 5 embassies have dropped some serious cash to celebrate July 4 ... despite renewed COVID-19 shutdowns here in the states.
According to federal procurement docs ... the U.S. Embassy in Madrid spent $67,551 on "mapping services for 4th of July celebration," while Hong Kong has an expense of nearly $50k for "Independence Day reception 2020."
The Hanoi embassy paid $35,496 on a venue rental, while Bangkok dropped $31,356 on a July 4 party ... and Uruguay shelled out $12,871 toward fireworks and permits.
Some U.S. Embassies are going a different route by throwing virtual parties due to the pandemic ... including Berlin, Mexico City and Managua.
As you may know, cities across the country -- from Boston and Chicago to Seattle and L.A. -- have canceled Fourth of July events and fireworks shows to keep crowds from gathering as coronavirus cases are rising again.
However, as we told you, that was not the case for President Trump's highly touted celebration Friday at Mount Rushmore, which cost upwards of $600k ... but probably a lot more.
RACINE — The Safer Racine ordinance is back in effect in the City of Racine. A Wisconsin Court of Appeals ordered Friday afternoon that the ordinance can remain in effect, at least for the time being, while the city’s appeal is argued in court. Judge Paul Reilly is the presiding judge in the case. "It will be enforced," Mayor Cory Mason said when he announced the appeals court's decision just before 3 p.m. Friday. “The appeals court has put a stay in place, putting the Safer Racine ordinance back in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus here in our community … Going into the Fourth of July weekend, we still do have these local restrictions in place. They are critically important to protect public health.” The ordinance had been overturned locally on Wednesday when Racine County Circuit Court Judge Jon Fredrickson ruled that the Safer Racine ordinance "is unconstitutionally vague and overbroad, and is unenforceable as drafted.” The Safer Racine ordinance may still be overturned by the appeals
Fredrickson
court, but the court is allowing it to remain in place while the court case progresses. Among the rules in place, now that the appeals court has ordered its stay allowing Safer Racine to be legally enforceable, are:
Restaurants and bars being limited to 50% of max capacity
Retailers being required to follow additional guidelines laid out by the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation regarding cleaning procedures and social distancing
Gyms and other fitness facilities being limited to 25% of their max capacity or a maximum of 10 people inside at any time
Fireworks may soon be hard to find on shelves in the United States, thanks to sizzling sales fueled by bored Americans emerging from coronavirus lockdowns.
Owners of fireworks companies and industry leaders told CNN stocks are rapidly diminishing after demand for sparklers and firecrackers has more than doubled this year as people sought a way to sonically bust out of quarantine.
“People were coming outdoors for the first time and they wanted something to do,” Phantom Fireworks CEO Bruce Zoldan said. “And the entertainment is consumer fireworks.”
Zoldan, who owns one of the country’s largest fireworks companies, said he was initially debating whether to file bankruptcy since he didn’t think he’d be able to move his merchandise amid the pandemic.
But his 1.2 million-square-foot distribution center that was packed just four weeks ago is now depleted, Zoldan said.
Another owner of a fireworks company in Indiana said he’s had the busiest season of his 30-plus-year career, prompting him to hire additional staff.
“We’ve been working harder, longer hours and probably twice a week for the past two or three weeks,” Robert Tomsich of Lightning Family Fireworks in Gary told the Chicago Tribune Tuesday. “We’ve been scrambling.”
And once stocks are depleted, it’ll be difficult to restock. Imports from China, where more than 90% of the world’s fireworks are manufactured, have plummeted as the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered many factories there.
As a result, Chinese exports dropped to near zero in January — and the United States imported 35% fewer fireworks in the first four months of 2020 compared to the same period a year ago, CNN reports.
“I think by July 5th, there probably will not be very many fireworks available in the United States until China can start producing again and shipping here,” Zoldan said.
Julie Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Associations, told CNN there are typically 16,000 July Fourth fireworks shows across the US each year.
However, with mass cancellations of Independence Day shows — as well as weddings and sporting events — she said “we’re probably looking at about 10% max going forward.”
This sudden drop in demand for professional fireworks sent the demand for bottle rockets, sparklers and other consumer fireworks soaring. Demand for consumer fireworks rose at least 115% compared to 2019, CNN reports.
China’s production of fireworks generally increases during the winter months, but that may not be possible this year due to the closed factories.
“It’s a really bizarre situation that we have one segment of the industry that’s going to have a record-breaking year, and the other side of the industry is potentially crippled forever,” Heckman told CNN.
Spend a lot of time outdoors this Fourth of July weekend and it could feel like roasting on a barbecue grill along with hamburgers and hot dogs.
A heat wave is settling in over southern Wisconsin with heat indexes — that's a combination of temperature and humidity — that will make it feel like it's in the low to mid-90s, according to the National Weather Service.
High temperatures in the metro Milwaukee area, away from the lakefront, are forecast around 90 on Saturday and Sunday. Combined with dew points in the mid 60s — which means uncomfortable, sticky weather — and it could mean air conditioners will work overtime.
Click image to enlarge
All this warmth comes courtesy of a ridge in the upper atmosphere that's funneling in heat from the south, said Kevin Wagner, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in Sullivan.
"The pattern will just be sitting over us and will continue to bring in warmer, humid air this weekend and into next week," Wagner said Friday afternoon.
Temperatures in southeastern Wisconsin are expected to reach the low 90s through most of next week, too. However, since the air is relatively dry, rain and storms are not forecast to dampen any Independence Day weekend festivities.
Which means it would have been great weather to watch Fourth of July parades and fireworks displays. That'll have to wait until next year.
Temperatures are not likely to break any records, especially since the record high for July 4 in Milwaukee and Madison was 102 degrees set in 2012. The coldest Fourth of July on record in Milwaukee was a brisk 45 degrees set in 1963; Madison's coolest was 44 set in 1972.
The average high temperature for this time of year in Milwaukee is 78 and 81 in Madison.
RACINE COUNTY — Despite the pandemic, Racine County is still celebrating Independence Day. Following is a guide to what’s happening across the county today.
In Racine
9-9:04 a.m.: Churches ring their bells in what 4th Fest of Greater Racine is calling “Let Freedom Ring.”
10 a.m.: Watch last year’s big 4th Fest parade on WVTV (My 24).
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: 4th Fest neighborhood parade winds its way through the north side and south side of Racine and then heads west to Festival Foods, 5740 Washington Ave., Mount Pleasant, which is the major sponsor for the parade.
The parade route is not being published to keep crowds from gathering.
Traditionally, 4th Fest’s calliope, an organ that plays festive circus-type music, is always the last float in the parade. This year the calliope will be at the front of the parade, so that when people hear it they will know the parade is in their neighborhood.
The parade will also feature World War II and Vietnam veterans to be honored, and the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.
After making its stop at Festival Foods, the parade will head on to Caledonia-Mount Pleasant Memorial Park in Franksville at about 2:30 p.m. and plans to be at Crawford Park in Caledonia at about 3:30 p.m.
The fest is also hosting a community-wide house decorating contest for anyone east of Interstate 94. Judges and sponsors were set to view the houses on Friday and to announce winners sometime during the holiday weekend.
"The parade route is not being published to keep crowds from gathering."
What's the point of a parade? It's to be seen and enjoyed by people. Keeping the parade route secret destroys the purpose of the parade. Won't traffic find it fun when this parade suddenly appears.
MADISON - The coronavirus is accelerating again in Wisconsin with 20% of the state's total cases having been reported in the last two weeks, state public health officials announced Thursday.
The majority of people who have contracted the virus are now under the age of 40, according to the the most recent Department of Health Services data.
Gov. Tony Evers in a statement urged Wisconsin residents, especially younger people who are driving the increase, to stay home for the Fourth of July weekend.
“We know this is a time people like to celebrate with friends, but COVID-19 is still spreading in our state, and we need everyone to take the necessary precautions,” Evers said.
The state recorded 539 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. Those new cases are 4.2% of total tests processed since Wednesday, a rate that has held relatively steady in the last few days after a high of 7% positive tests on Sunday, which was the highest since late May.
The state reported seven more deaths Thursday, bringing the total to 793.
And half of the 29,739 total positive cases in the state have been identified over the past five weeks — a surge that comes after weeks of decline.
(CNN)A global study has found strong evidence that a new form of the coronavirus has spread from Europe to the US. The new mutation makes the virus more likely to infect people but does not seem to make them any sicker than earlier variations of the virus, an international team of researchers reported Thursday.
"It is now the dominant form infecting people," Erica Ollmann Saphire of the La Jolla Institute for Immunology and the Coronavirus Immunotherapy Consortium, who worked on the study, told CNN.
"This is now the virus."
The study, published in the journal Cell, builds on some earlier work the team did that was released on a preprint server earlier in the year. Shared information on genetic sequences had indicated that a certain mutant version of the virus was taking over.
Now the team has not only checked more genetic sequences, but they have also run experiments involving people, animals and cells in lab dishes that show the mutated version is more common and that it's more infectious than other versions.
"We do know that the new virus is fitter. It doesn't look at first glance as if it is worse," Saphire said.
The mutation affects the spike protein -- the structure the virus uses to get into the cells it infects. Now the researchers are checking to see whether this affects whether the virus can be controlled by a vaccine. Current vaccines being tested mostly target the spike protein, but they were made using older strains of the virus.
The study, published in the journal Cell, confirms earlier work suggesting the mutation had made the new variant of virus more common. The researchers call the new mutation G614, and they show that it has almost completely replaced the first version to spread in Europe and the US, one called D614.
(CNN)A Southern California man who tested positive for coronavirus after attending a party expressed his fear and regret a day before he died.
Thomas Macias, 51, went to a barbecue last month near his community in Lake Elsinore, about 70 miles from Los Angeles.
Shortly after the party, he started feeling sick. On June 20, he posted a poignant message on Facebook to warn his loved ones about the risks of the virus, his family said.
"I went out a couple of weeks ago ... because of my stupidity I put my mom and sisters and my family's health in jeopardy," he wrote. "This has been a very painful experience. This is no joke. If you have to go out, wear a mask, and practice social distancing. ... Hopefully with God's help, I'll be able to survive this."
There's a partial penumbral eclipse on tap for the US on the night of July 4 and morning of July 5.
Look for a slight darkening of part of the moon on July 4 and 5.
NASA
Those celebrating Independence Day in the US this year may get to enjoy a bonus celestial show. A "buck moon" lunar eclipse is set for the night of July 4 and the morning of July 5, depending on where you're located.
The eclipse will be visible across most of North and South America as well as parts of southwestern Europe and Africa. This NASA map shows visibility for the globe. Time and Date can help you pinpoint the best viewing window for your specific location.
This visibility map shows where in the world you can catch the penumbral eclipse on July 4 and 5.
F. Espenak/NASA
A penumbral eclipse is the chilled-out cousin to a total lunar eclipse. Total eclipses can plunge the moon into a cloak of red. The moon this weekend will only catch part of the Earth's outer shadow, known as the penumbra, so you'll be looking for a very subtle change as a bite of the moon turns a little darker than normal.
The July full moon is known as the "buck moon," a name traced to the Maine Farmer's Almanac in reference to male deer growing out their antlers.
The eclipse won't be as dramatic as the fireworks expected across the US on July 4. As NASA said in a June skywatching update, "the slight reduction in the moon's brightness will be difficult to notice with the human eye." That doesn't mean you shouldn't try. With clear skies, you will be still be treated to a lovely full moon.
Canadian Sports Centre host Dan O'Toole says his 1-month-old daughter is missing in heartbreaking post shared to Instagram
Canadian Sports Centre host Dan O'Toolesays his 1-month-old daughter Oakland O'Toole is missing.
He shared the devastating news to his Instagram in a statement, alongside a photo of the newborn. "My baby Oakland. I'm praying that whoever has you, is holding you. That whoever has taken you from me, is protecting you. That however has you, lets you come back into my arms," he wrote. "I love you Oakland. I can't wait to one day hold you again. My heart is broken. I am broken."
The father-of-three continued, "To be clear, Oakland is alive, we think. But we don't know. I have a one month old child, and I don't know where she is."
He later added that his "amazing" ex-wife Corrie O'Toolehad "NOTHING to do with this" and requested that people "leave her alone."
Comments on the Instagram post were turned off but on Twitter many were expressing their hope Oakland will be returned to her parents safely.
RACINE — During the past few weeks, police departments across the nation have experienced an increase in calls for service involving the use of illegal fireworks. Such activity is not uncommon leading up to Independence Day celebrations; however, the cancellation of officially sanctioned fireworks shows in many communities has resulted in an unusually high and extremely unsafe surge in the use of illegal fireworks. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission:
On average, 180 people require emergency room treatment each day due to fireworks-related injuries around the July 4th holiday.
Fireworks were involved with an estimated 10,000 injuries treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments during 2019.
Wisconsin State Statute 167.10 provides an outline to determine which fireworks are legal and which are illegal. The general is, any firework that explodes or leaves the ground is prohibited in the City of Racine. Generally allowed devices (subject to content) are:
Cone fountains
Cylinder fountains
Small smoke bombs
Snakes (containing no mercury)
Sparklers less than 36-inches long
Prohibited devices include, but are not limited to:
Aerial salutes
Firecrackers
Roman candles
Skyrockets
Wheels
City police urge residents to keep in mind the following safety tips:
An adult should always be present while children are using fireworks.
Never point or throw fireworks at people.
Wear eye protection when lighting fireworks.
Never experiment or make your own fireworks.
Light only one firework at a time.
Never attempt to re-light a “dud” firework.
Always have water available (bucket or hose).
The safest way to prevent injuries is to leave fireworks displays to trained professionals.
