Will We Have Any Trees Left?

Wisconsin has been infested with the Emerald Ash Borer, and they have been found all around the state, including right here in Milwaukee County.

Now there is a threat to the oak trees as well:

The Wisconsin Department of Natural says a deadly tree disease has been discovered for the first time in Oneida County.

According to the DNR, a tree infected with oak wilt was discovered about four miles southeast of Eagle River and three miles west of the Chequamegon-Nicolet Forestin July.

Oak wilt causes red oaks, black oaks and northern pin oaks to die within two or three months.

The disease is caused by a fungus that plugs and kills the water conducting vessels in the outermost wood of the trees.

The disease has also been found in southeastern Langlade County and eastern Florence County.

The DNR discourages moving oak firewood from April through July to prevent the disease from spreading.

The Great Potato Famine of '10?

Earlier this month, Jason Haas noted that the state was experiencing a devastating infection of a fungus attacking tomato plants. In the comments section, I pointed out that this same fungus was jumping to potatoes.

Yesterday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel finally caught up to the story and pointed out that this fungus, which was also responsible for the great potato famine in Ireland has now jumped to potato plants in at least two counties.

Hopefully, the farmers and the government, if needed, are ready to deal with this infestation and minimize the damage to such an important product to Wisconsin.

If It Ain't The Fauna, It's The Flora

Sheesh, what a world. First, it was killer otters. Now, we have giant man-eating plants (emphasis mine):

Natural history explorer Stewart McPherson and botanist Alastair Robinson scaled the mountain and confirmed that the plant was indeed a new species. They have named it Nepenthes attenboroughii after British natural history broadcaster David Attenborough. See photos of the plant .

Pitcher plants are tube-shaped leaf plants that trap their prey when insects and other small creatures fall in and become trapped. "The plant is among the largest of all carnivorous plant species and produces spectacular traps as large as other species, which catch not only insects, but also rodents as large as rats," McPherson told the BBC.

I blame Obamacare!

Don't Let The Butterflies Flutter By

I've written several times about the proposed plan to sell the last of the natural area of the county grounds to a private developer that is supposedly associated with UW-Milwaukee (but really isn't) in order for them to allegedly build a school of engineering campus, but for some reason also needs a hotel and a restaurant.

Oh, I know Scott Walker has been pushing hard for this to happen. But Scott Walker also had promised not to allow this land to be developed for anything but a state forest. Unfortunately, we already know all too well that Walker's word is good for nothing.

I also know that County Board Supervisor Luigi Schmitt is for this plan, as are the folks at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. But thanks to a reader of Cog Dis, this story was brought to my attention. The story is of the Butterfly Lady, Barb Agnew, who was already fighting to preserve the Monarch Trail for a long time. But here is what I found interesting (emphasis mine):

Agnew's is a renegade venture. She's a squatter, really, with no formal approvals from the county. She's garnered support from a few key officials, including Parks Director Sue Black and county Supervisor Jim "Luigi" Schmitt. Even the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District and the state Department of Transportation have drafted plans that skirt key features of the trail, at least for now.

But early drawings for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Engineering School show buildings, walkways and manicured grass in its place.

Apparently fickleness is contagious. Also interesting is the last part of the article:

One area that could end up being contested is a small section of the development zone where an Eagle Scout planted the endangered milkweed, plants Price grew from seeds.

Price and Agnew deny encroaching intentionally on the development zone in an effort to create something too controversial to destroy.

Still, he said, "It would take a certain amount of hubris for anybody to bulldoze an endangered species planted by an Eagle Scout."

Whatever the outcome, it will likely be a postscript in the coming documentary "The Butterfly Trees," by filmmaker Kay Milam, who shot footage last year of Agnew plucking a caterpillar from a milkweed plant with a "gargantuan bulldozer in the background."

The only other people really in support of destroying the natural wonder are the people that stand to gain the most wealth from it and Patrick McIlheran, the MJS' lead cheerleader for all thing avaricious. In fact, last week, PaddyMac wrote not just one, but two, snarky pieces on his company-sponsored blog.

In the first posting, he apparently thought that he was making a rational argument by saying that it's hard to ride the bus to the east side, where the main campus is. He adds to inanity by saying that most people drive anyway.

Heh. Most students I know commute by mass transit. Not many can afford a car, the gas, the ever-increasing insurance, and to pay for the scarce parking. Secondly, if commuting around the east side by bus is too hard, what in the world makes him think that schlepping across the county and back is any better? If transportation was really an issue, it would make much more sense to put it on campus, adjoining the campus (like the soon to be closed Columbia Hospital) or near the campus (like the Park East Corridor).

Paddy's second post is just as lame, if not more so. His argument is that there is already enough park space in the surrounding area, and that the butterflies should just pick up their tree and their milkweed and they move to the Park East corridor. I do believe the gentle reader is cognizant enough to see how foolish that line of thinking is.

My friend James Rowen feels that this might be a done deal, having been settled in a smoky backroom a long time ago. Likewise, David Reid feels that it is over because the County Board sees only the dollar signs from the sale and will sell out the butterflies to try to ease the Walker-induced alleged deficit.

Unfortunately, both of these learned scholars are at least partially correct. Walker's modus operandi is to set up back room deals and try to ram them through the board. And after seven long, grueling years of having to fight Walker's myopic approach to leadership, they are becoming increasing wear of making the hard decisions, of being set up as Walker's patsies, and getting blamed for all of Walker's mistakes.

But that doesn't mean it wouldn't still be wrong to do this. Just like with the proposal to move the mental health hospital, to privatize the airport, or not to staff the income maintenance program the way he should, this plan of Walker's has the stench of economic and environmental disaster all over it.

But don't just take my word for it. A good rule of thumb is to look to the people that would have to actually deal with the ramifications and get their input. That would mean the faculty of UW-Milwaukee, who are definitely not in favor of the move to Tosa:

The survey polled 298 members of UWM’s staff, 16 of whom work in the College of Engineering and Applied Science. The majority of the responses were neutral category, but faculty responded most negatively to questions regarding the proposed campus in Wauwatosa.

More than 28 percent said the Wauwatosa campus would negatively affect research, 43 percent said commuting to the remote campus would be difficult, and 39 percent said education for graduate students would be hurt if the engineering college is split between two campuses.

Not only are the faculty against it, but the whole plan could fall through:

William Holahan, chairman of the UW-Milwaukee Economics Department and professor of economics said UW-Milwaukee’s long-range plans show plenty of opportunity to expand the university’s current campus. He said the university should not move ahead with buying the Milwaukee County Grounds land until more research is done.

“The planning process goes on for another year,” he said, “and it’s amazing we would be making commitments when it might not survive that year of planning.”

I wonder if the County Board has even heard of this yet. I do know that some County Board Supervisors have expressed concern that this could be some sort of bait and switch scheme for the developers to build the hotel and restaurant, and then sell the land for a huge profit. This could be seen as confirmation of that suspicion.

Knowing how the County Board works, I don't expect them to just make it easy on all of us and just vote the thing down overwhelmingly. But I do sincerely hope that they will at least agree to table it for another month at least. They should take the time to fully investigate the proposal. I think that they would find some very alarming things and that they would be glad that they didn't just rubber stamp it.

Help Barb, Izzy, me and the others get this point across by contacting your County Supervisor. Or better yet, contact them all. You can find their contact information by following this link.

Today's Butterfly Post...

...is over here.

The Committee Of No Economic or Community Development

Needless to say, I was more than disappointed to learn of the news that the so-called County Board Economic and Community Development Committee foolishly voted to recommend all but giving away the county grounds to a private developer.

In a nutshell, this committee has ignored its obligation to the community and ignored the promise that the board had made to preserve the county grounds, in order for it to sell this land at a very low rate to a private developer that claims ties to UWM, but really is not of UWM. Not only did they do this, but they did it in such a haphazard, sloppy way, that there are no guarantees that the developer will do what they are saying they would do.

Supervisor Toni Clark issued a press release proudly announcing this fiasco. In said release, she wrote:

“This is a great opportunity for our academic and medical institutions to generate world-class research,” said Supervisor Clark, Chairperson of the Committee. “The Milwaukee County community will be better served through this type of partnership than if a private developer had taken over this property.”

Except that even I, and the gentle reader, had already known that this was a private developer that was taking over the land. The Board also knew it. One of the friends of the Monarchs produced a letter from the UW Board of Regents openly stating that this developer group was not under the authority of the UW system.

Clark goes on to write:

The Committee approved a key amendment to the purchase agreement that calls for the creation of a replacement butterfly habitat. The butterfly landscaping plan will be developed by UWM, County Parks staff, Milwaukee Public Museum curatorial staff and the Friends of the Monarch Trail. “We had a spirited discussion with members of the public and representatives from UWM at today’s meeting, and I am pleased that we were able to come to an agreement that allows us to move forward while respecting the Monarch Trail,” Supervisor Clark added.

A landscaping plan? What does that even mean? A two foot by two foot plot of grass with a plastic butterfly yard decoration stuck in it? That is a meaningless term. I might have felt better if the language was for a conservation easement or a wildlife easement, which has a legal definition, and could be enforced.

And if that bit of legal laziness wasn't bad enough, the committee members were also informed that the agreement has already been broken. If the gentle reader will recall, I did a post yesterday with pictures of my young friend Izzy and her mom hugging a sycamore tree. I've been informed that there was an agreement that no work would be done within 200 feet of the area where this tree stands. It has now been reported to me, and to the board, that trees have been felled less than a 100 feet of this area. If they're breaking promises now, why would anyone believe that they will keep their word later?

But wait, there's more. This deal is really starting to have a weasel musk stink to it.

Remember, Scott Walker promised that he would not allow any development for this land, except for it to be a state forest. Obviously Walker broke this promise and has been pushing for this deal, originally with even cheaper rates for the private developer.

But if one looks at all of UWM's legal papers regarding this deal, there is a common name of Bruce T. Block. Mr. Block, by all I have heard, is a very capable and knowledgeable attorney that specializes in real estate deals. Mr. Block is also on the Board of Directors at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren law firm. This is the same law firm that has ties to the the pension scandal, and will be surely brought up in the Mercer lawsuit. This is also the same law firm that was the previous, and now, again, the current employer of Rick Graber, former head of the RPW and a big Walker supporter.

Now, I am not saying that this necessarily means any wrongdoing or other type of shenanigans have occurred or are occurring, but the connection is very interesting, in my humble opinion.

I have also heard that once the zoo interchange reconstruction is completed in a few years, land value in that area is going to triple. Since the committee didn't see fit to put concrete language that would lock UWM and its supposed land developer to do what they said they were going to do, what would keep them from flipping the property in a few years?

SIDE NOTE I: James Rowen has more on how goofy this whole thing is.

SIDE NOTE II: Showing their consistency in being inconsistent, the editorial board at the local paper notes that they think this is a good thing on their blog. Ironically, on the same day, they post a complaint that there is not not enough minorities in the suburban fire departments, totally ignoring the fact that the engineering school they are touting also has a dearth of minorities.

SIDE NOTE III: Kudos go out to Supervisors Lipscomb and West for voting no to this piece of garbage. Kudos also go out to Supervisor Weishan, who recognizing this was a bad deal, still tried to make the best of it by introducing a resolution that $2 million from the sale of this land go for tuition for women and minorities to attend the school of engineering, with a matching amount from UWM. Unfortunately, UWM is too greedy to agree and too many board members took the path of least resistance and made the lazy choice by voting it down.

So, where do we go from here?

Well, this isn't necessarily a done deal yet. It still has to go in front of the full board on May 21.

I will not lie to you, gentle reader. I do not know if there is enough supervisors on the board that still care enough about their community and their constituents to vote this thing down. Unfortunately, it appears that there are many supervisors that only see the dollar signs and are thinking of the major budgetary deficit that Walker has driven the county into. They would rather be lazy and take the easy way out by caving in to Walker and his cronies than to make some hard decisions, advocate for the county and offer up more reasonable solutions, like putting the new campus near Columbia Hospital or in the Park East corridor.

But what we can do is continue to call the supervisors. Continue to send the letters and the emails. And don't do this just for your supervisor, but try to contact all of them. (Well, maybe not Cesarz or Rice. They are too far in Walker's camp to make rational decisions. But you could try anyway.)

Tell them how priceless this land is, what it means to you and to the community as a whole. Tell them how essential this land is to not only the Monarchs, but for the other animals that live there or make it part of their migration. And how important it is to the people that go there to learn more about the world around them, or just to soak in and be refreshed by the beauty of the land.

Ask them to look at other, more attractive options, like the Park East area. That would be a win-win deal. It would give UWM a lot of ground near hospitals, near other schools, and near their own campus. It would meet all their needs. And it would allow something constructive to be done with the Park East area, which Walker's people have been unable to come up with on their own.

And if they still refuse to stand up and do their jobs, then demand that they put in language into the deal that will guarantee and force UWM and their private land developer buddies have to protect the Monarch Trail. Demand that they will build a school there, and keep it there, not just to build a resort hotel and a restaurant. Also demand that UWM must maintain the land and not just sell it in a few years for a massive profit. Tell them that the County and UWM should put forth tuition contributions so that there can be people in these programs that might not have otherwise have had the chance to go into these fields.

And then get your family and friends to do the same. If we all do this, they will have to hear us.

Reminder: Save The County Grounds Monday

I've told you about Izzy and the Monarchs at the county grounds. That section of the county grounds is a valuable and irreplaceable part of the Monarch Butterflies' immigration route, where they stop to breed and have their offspring carry on the pattern of their migration.

Unfortunately (and not surprisingly) Scott Walker wants to break yet another promise, to preserve the land, and sell it off to a private developer who is supposedly going to build an engineering campus for UWM. The faculty at UWM doesn't want it there. The people, including the kids that go there to learn, don't want it there. But none of that matters to Walker, who is looking to score some more financial and political favors in his doomed race for governor.

To make matters worse, the county board appears poised to break their promise to also preserve the land.

There is a meeting of the county board's economic and community development committee tomorrow. It is at 9 a.m in from 201-B at the county courthouse. Please, if you are at all able, get down there and let the committee know that they would be making a terrible mistake in caving into Walker's intentions.

There is so much to lose and nothing to gain by them selling off this land, which won't even be used for what they are saying it will be used for.

Below are a couple of pictures of Izzy and her mom, gaining inspiration for tomorrow, and practicing some good old-fashioned tree hugging.





Please, go and tell the board, or call them and email them if can't make it, and tell them:

Don't let Izzy and her Monarchs down.

Danaus Plexippus Issue Gains International Attention

I received an email today from a faithful reader alerting me to the fact that the proposed plan to bulldoze the Monarch Trail for a school that will be underutilized, if used at all, is gaining national attention.

There is a group called Monarch Watch, which was organized by Chip Taylor at the University of Kansas. They have what they call D-Plex (Danaus Plexippus is the Latin name for the Monarch) which is an electronic mailing and discussion group on the Internet. It has 500 subscribers from 11 countries.

The email also indicates that Taylor has already sent a letter out to the pertinent parties expressing his concern that they would do away with this critical monarch and migratory bird habitat. Taylor also encouraged all of the other subscribers to also send in letters to advocate for Walker to finally keep a promise and to preserve this land.

I've also been asked, in another email, to ask you gentle reader to not only call or write to your County Board Supervisor, but if you are available and able, to come down to the county courthouse on Monday morning to tell the board's economic and community development committee. The session begins at 9 a.m. and is held in room 201-B.

Go See For Yourself

Upon my request, one of my Monarch butterfly-loving friends, got me a copy of some upcoming events at the county grounds - you know, the area that Scott Walker, UWM Chancellor Carlos Santiago and certain County Board members want to pave over so that at they can build a hotel and restaurant, but call it a engineering school. So here goes:

SIERRA CLUB FAMILY OUTINGS

Look for Spring Birds in Migration / Talk to Tadpoles / Travel the Butterfly Trail
All Ages Welcome Experience the fun of discovery with children. Explore hidden treasures within our city. Bring your kids and/or grandkids to Milwaukee County Grounds for short-but-sweet nature walks. Get to know other families who value the preservation of our local fields, woods and ponds; and those who share the desire to pass them on to our children.

May 2nd: Follow the monarch butterfly trail on the Milw. Co. Grounds. See where they roost en route from Mexico. Learn why it's important to preserve a supportive habitat and how you can promote butterflies in your own backyard. Meet at the Co. Parks building, 9480 Watertown Plank Rd.

May 9th: Spot out the tad poles at the County Grounds' ponds. Learn about the metamorphosis of the bull frog and listen for them to croak. Feed some nearby dried berries to the fish.

Heads up: Wear your galoshes! Meet across the street from Wis. Lutheran College at 89th and Wisconsin Ave.

May 16th: Watch in wonder as the cedar waxwings fuel up on fruited shrubs. Look for other birds as they migrate from Central or South America to as far north as Canada. Meet at Wil-O-Way Underwood Recreation Ctr, 10602 Underwood Pkwy, S/W of Hansen golf course. For map click here.

Meet: at 10am on the dates and at the different locations listed above.

Walks are short: (a block to a half mile), and the event will last about an hour.

Dress: comfortably with sturdy shoes or boots and weather-conscious apparel.

Cost: Like the best things in life, these family nature walks are free.

Volunteers: needed to assist with welcoming, guided walks, hand-outs/stamps/snacks.

Pre-register: contact Dianne Dagelen: diannedagelen@yahoo.com; 414-771-1505.

Support your local environment. www.greatwatersgroup.org

Go see for yourself what all the hubbub is about, and then go call your County Board Supervisor and tell them to stop this idiocy.

More Izzy And The Monarchs

A reader notified me that I am not the only that has been in support of the Izzy, "Butterfly" Barb Agnew, Friends of the Monarch Trail, and, of course, the Monarchs themselves.

Phil Cianciola, of 620TMJ's Greenhouse Show, has also posted on his blog his support for this very worthwhile cause:

You may not know it, but there is some big-time wheeling and dealing taking place between Milwaukee County and UWM for some very important natural area out on the county grounds.

It's the home of the migration of the butterflies, and it is a pretty amazing story. We are lucky to have such a special slice of nature in our backyard.

I for one am with "Butterfly" Barb Agnew, who has spearheaded the fight to keep this sacred place as it is, and not cave in to what I am sure is big $$ for a UWM expansion...nothing against UWM, heck, I'm a grad. But when it comes to swallowing up more and more of Mother Nature, enough is enough.

Mr. Cianciola also has a link to this news story done by George Mallet of TMJ4:

Izzy Boudnik floated about the Zoofari Conference Center looking very much like the Monarch butterfly she hoped to emulate. The 9-year-old had fashioned colorful wings and fastened them to her back before attending a meeting of the Milwaukee County Board Committee on Economic and Community Development.

The board was holding a public hearing on the proposed sale of a portion of the Milwaukee County Grounds to the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee for an engineering campus.

Little Izzy wanted the board to know about her beloved butterflies.

“The butterflies migrate here,” she said sincerely. “This is their place for food. This is the place where they rest.”

The group, Friends of the Monarch Trail, is urging the county to create a conservancy to maintain control of the land before any deal goes through with UWM.

It does baffle the mind when the TV and the radio station have people that get it, but the paper's editorial board is again clueless.

Unfortunately, County Executive Scott Walker wants to ignore the agreement and his own promise to keep the land in its natural state and is just looking to get some more political favors to bolster his already failing campaign. To make matters worse, there are some members of the County Board that are either too timid or too lazy or too something to do the right thing and would rather just take the path of least resistance instead of the path of the least harm.

Again, I urge you to call your County Board Supervisor and tell them that this nonsense has to be stopped and stopped now. I, for one, am sick of Walker ruining what's left of Milwaukee County for his own political aspirations.

Izzy And The Monarchs

Last week, I wrote a post about how the Milwaukee County Board appears set to proceed with the foolish plan of razing the County Grounds for UWM's Innovation Park, which should be really put downtown, close to the rest of the campus.

In said post, one of the commenters, Izzy's Mom, stated that her daughter has been very active in trying to get the word out about how important it is to preserve this land. I got in contact with Izzy's Mom and offered this site for her daughter's letter. Izzy and her mom were quick to take me up on that.

Izzy is a nine-year-old little girl who is very deeply invested in preserving this land after having had opportunities to observe one of the miracles of nature. The following is the letter that Izzy had prepared and sent to the paper. The letter is unedited:

To Whom It May Concern,

My name is Izzy and I am nine years old. I am here to tell you all about The Monarch Trail and the fight to save the Milwaukee County Grounds.

From what I understand, UWM wants to build on the Milwaukee County Grounds, AKA The Monarch Trail. So once again Barb Agnew and her crew are here to save the day for The Monarch Trail.

First of all, I think that everyone sees this medium sized field, that is pretty blank right now and thinks: “What is this place and why is it important?” But in a few weeks that “blank field” will turn into a ground not just for the monarchs, but also for the bluebirds, foxes, snakes and other animals. They will come to lay their eggs and in 2 weeks they will become caterpillars about to embark on an amazing journey, first to Canada, then Mexico.

Second, think about this. How many Monarch sanctuaries are there in Wisconsin? 1? 2? 3? Even if there are many, what if they are all in one area of Wisconsin?

Here's another way to think about it. You are a Monarch. You know that there is one place you could go to that is near. You fly there, but instead of milkweed you find noisy machines. You see them cut down stalk after stalk of milkweed, the food you need. But because of those noisy machines, there is none left. You know there is another place to go but it is far away. Without milkweed you have no energy, no energy means to milkweed. Without food, you starve to death. Think about it. Either way, you would of died because there is probably no milkweed because nobody knows about it. And because of UWM building, they will only see the destruction of a species, not happy beautiful butterflies. I hope you understand what we mean and the basic message: “DONT BUILD ON THE MONARCH HABITAT!”

Izzy and the Monarchs

It is inspiring to see one so young be so involved and invested in the world around her. At the same time, it is sad that a nine-year-old girl shows more insight, more intelligence and more wisdom that the County Executive, UWM Chancellor Carlos Santiago and some County Board members put together.

Along the same lines, it has also come to my attention that all the information is not in yet. From my inbox, an email that has gone out to at least one County Board Supervisor:

As the UWM Foundation and Real Estate Foundation get closer to purchasing the Milwaukee County Grounds my issue has been that we cannot lose another open, green public place to development. It truly is not sound public policy to sell off Milwaukee’s assets in order to cover this year’s budget.

After reading the editorial by Professor Petering in Sundays Journal, It became more apparent that not all of the issues have been properly addressed. I know that the City of Milwaukee is strongly against moving portions of UWM to Tosa but the Faculty and Staff are in the process of doing a survey to gather the input about this location and most are adamant that it not be severed from the other aspects of Engineering.

I have also not heard the reasons that other properties within the research park are not utilized first, why would they ruin the northeast quadrant first? These other parcels already have infrastructure and the project would develop faster and be inherently “green”.

And as Carlos Santiago pursues these wonderful goals for UWM, the success of the Engineering research portion is based on collaboration of mutual interests, Not location.

Can we allow the faculty to speak and be heard on this and re-visit the value of putting the Engineering project in downtown Milwaukee? Location-by-donor may not be what is best for Milwaukee and Milwaukee County. This all needs to be considered.

[Name redacted]

In other words, the County Board is again being asked to make a decision without having all the facts placed in front of them. Given Scott Walker's history, the Board should be painfully aware that they can't trust anything he presents to them with out checking it out thoroughly.

Finally, I also have a copy of a notice being put out by themonarchtrail.org:

THE HISTORY OF THE PRESERVATION OF THE MILWAUKEE COUNTY GROUNDS

The Grounds were whittled down to what remains of the Northeast Quadrant, thus the preservation efforts started --

1. A State Park was envisioned by the citizens and the County Board but was vetoed by then County Executive Tom Ament.
2. A compromise was drawn allowing some natural space for the public and some for development.
3. The UWM Foundation's proposal to purchase the land is a much larger footprint than stated in the compromise.
4. Without permanent preservation this remnant will be eaten away, taking our last unique urban habitat from the following: Owls, Foxes, King Fishers, Whip-poor-Wills, Bobolinks, Bluebirds, Meadowlarks and the migrating Monarch Butterflies and Us

OUR OPEN SPACE, OUR EDUCATION AND OUR PEACE OF MIND!

Remember that the vote is set for Monday, May 11th at 9 am. Please contact your County Board Supervisor and ask him or her to enforce this compromise, to protect our natural preserves and to provide an unique and cost free learning environment for our children.

Quadgraphics Shows Up Milwaukee County

From the Business Journal:

Quad/Graphics Inc. has donated a conservation easement on its 325-acre Camp/Quad parcel in the town of Erin to Tall Pines Conservancy, a nonprofit land trust dedicated to preserving natural areas in and adjoining northwestern Waukesha County.

“When we purchased the land in 1997 we always intended for it to remain in its pristine condition,” Quad/Graphics president and CEO Joel Quadracci said. “Designating Camp/Quad as a conservancy is an ironclad way to ensure the land can never be developed commercially, residentially or otherwise and that it will continue to serve as an environmental showpiece and education center for generations to come.”

Scott Walker, and certain members of the County Board, could learn a lot from QG about keeping their promises of a similar nature to protect nature, instead of selling the last of the county grounds for a school that doesn't belong there.

La Familia Is Safe

I have relatives in Italy, near the area of the devastating earthquake. Although I haven't talked to them directly yet, it appears that they are all OK at this time.

My heart goes out to the ones that aren't and their families.

Here are some photos of the area and the devastation.

UPDATE: I just spoke to my aunt Livia in Fabriano, Italia . La familia was far enough away (it turns out they are some 70 miles from the epicenter) that they felt it rattle the windows and some of the flatware, but it caused no serious damage.

She did say, however, that the economy is really struggling there. They live in a small town and she said that she hadn't seen these many people without work since she was a little girl, during the Great Depression.

Of Hurricane Ike and Ruined Birthdays

Tomorrow is my wife's birthday. My birthday was last month, and our anniversary is next month. Due to the proximity of all of these prestigious dates, and money being tight and getting every tighter, we had long ago decided to buy one gift for the both of us, instead of spending more money on many separate gifts.

This year, we agreed on a new HDTV and table for it.

To give her a little bit of a surprise, I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning pulling out the old TV and entertainment center and building and setting up the new TV and stand. When she got up and saw all the work had been done, the look on her face made the lack of sleep worth it.

Then Hurricane Ike ruined her birthday despite my best efforts.

The main plant of the company she works for is based in Houston, which of course was pulverized by Hurricane Ike. Due to the evacuation and the fact that they are still without electricity, and food and water being scarce, the main plant was and is still closed down.

My wife was told this morning that her plant will close down at the end of the week, and she will be laid off indefinitely, until the main plant is up and running and can start sending things up her again. She said that the amount of work that will be available locally isn't enough to pay to keep her plant open.

Good thing I was already planning on making her favorite dinner tomorrow anyway.