8 O'Clock Buzz

On June 20, Wisconsin governor Tony Evers signed a compromise bill that dedicates 20% of state sales tax revenues to county and municipal governments.  Local governments can only use the money to pay for law enforcement, fire protection, emergency medical services, emergency response communications, public works and transportation.  Other provisions in the bill allow the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County to enact local sales taxes, but that authorization comes with some serious strings attached: tax revenues are banned from funding streetcars, the City and County cannot reduce police staffing levels and police resource officers are mandated in Milwaukee schools.  Last October, Jerry Deschane, Executive Director of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities joined this program to urge the state to share its wealth.  Jerry Deschane joins us in the studio to discuss how well the state did. 

 

Image Courtesy ArtisticOperations for Pixabay

 

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In light of the Israeli military’s recent violent raid on the Genin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, Jennifer Loewenstein, a journalist with years of experience in the Middle East, joins host Tony Castañeda and the Thursday Morning 8 O’Clock Buzz. Loewenstein talks about Israel’s use of helicopter gunships against Genin’s civilian population, the recent approval of over 4,000 new settlements in the West Bank and how these two acts of aggression are related. She also provides listeners with resources for further reading on this complex, decades-old conflict.

Photo courtesy of hosnysalah on Pixabay.

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It’s been a year since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe, eliminating the federal constitutional right to abortion. Lili Luxe, Madison’s Equality Evangelist, joined Thursday 8 O’Clock Buzz host Tony Castañeda to let folks know about a Pro-Choice rally occurring this Saturday, June 24 on the Capitol Grounds from 1-4. An anti-abortion group is planning an rally concurrently so here are some non-confrontational ways you can participate and help drown out their hate:

Bring art. Make art. Be art.

SIGNS ARE WELCOME AND ENCOURAGED.

Join the “T*pless Evangelist” and use your skin to protest. Your body can make a striking statement to those who wish to control it.

— Bring some friends and take up space on the Capitol lawn. Pack a picnic and enjoy yourself and your community.

— Are you a musician? Grab a space at the top of State Street and make some noise! “Street musicians who do not use public electricity are not required to be licensed.”

— Come to the Farmer’s Market and stay for the afternoon. It would be a shame to give up those coveted parking spaces downtown.

— It’s going to be a hot day and you may prefer to stay cool, so maybe take a drive around the Square and HONK!

Based on previous counterprotests, we are purposefully choosing non-confrontational actions so that no one is hurt or faces legal consequences. If you decide to interact or ignore official boundaries, you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK. We feel there are many ways to make our presence felt without facing repercussions or injury, but we support your choice to engage how you wish.

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There are lots of “how-to” books about childbirth and child rearing, but very few about aging. Which is why Dr. Rosanne Leipzig, Professor and Vice Chair emeritus, Brookdale Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Med, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York wrote her book “Honest Aging: An Insider’s Guide to the Second Half of Life“. She talks about the ins and outs of getting older, and her guide to navigating age.

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Jan talks with Michael Li, Senior Counsel, Democracy Program, at the Brennan Center for Justice about the recent U. S. Supreme Court ruling which determined that the Alabama legislature’s drawing of voting districts violated section 2 of the voting rights act and disenfranchised the state’s 26% Black population. Li talks about some of the other three dozen claims of illegal redistricting in the country.

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Today on the Tuesday 8:00 Buzz with Tara Wilhelmi, a special commentary show reflecting on Juneteenth here in Madison with event organizers Shyelle Aikens, Ashley Mooseberry, and Willie Wright, talking about celebrations present, past and future.

Listen in Madison at 89.9FM or online anywhere at wortfm.org. Support your community radio with a donation online at wortfm.org!

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Eighty six years ago, the Chicago Police Department shot 40 striking workers at the Republic Steel plant on the south side. Then the Paramount film company buried the newsreel footage. Documentarian Greg Mitchell talks about the streaming release of his latest film, “Memorial Day Massacre: Workers Die, Film Buried.”

 

Image by Pawel Grzegorz from Pixabay 

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Today is Juneteenth, but not everybody is observing the day American slaves finally learned they were free. Greg Jones of the Madison NAACP tells us why UW Health should observe the holiday.

 

Image by Silas Camargo Silão from Pixabay

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How much is a clean watershed worth? Quite a lot, according to a new study from the UW Department of Agriculture and Applied Economics. We’ll talk with researcher Daniel Phaneuf.

Image by Sakon Shima from Pixabay

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Matt Rothschild, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign talks about the recent indictment of the former president with host Tony Castañeda of the Thursday edition of the 8 O’Clock Buzz. Matt ponders whether the disgraced politician may have finally been dealt a losing hand from which he’ll fold, although he cautions that Trump will surely play the delaying card in the hopes of drawing a pardon from a stacked deck after the next presidential election. Unfortunately for the former POTUS there are two other hands to be played as he may be facing charges in the near future of election tampering in Georgia, and inciting violence in the attack on the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Will he finally be trumped or will jokers be wild? Time to ante up.

Image by Bernd Hildebrandt from Pixabay

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