8 O'Clock Buzz

Maybe you’ve been curious about international music, especially Balkan music, and the beat sets your toe tapping — this is your chance to get the rest of your body moving to the beat and music. The Madison Folk Dance group is renewing their Folk Ball on January 27th and 28th, 2023. Organizer Michael Kuharski came into the WORT studios to talk about the program and urge interested people to come — to watch, or try some group dances in a no-pressure gathering. Visit the event’s website for a full schedule of the two-day event. No reservations (or costumes) required, just a desire for fun.

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Did you know that over 75% of wetlands in Wisconsin are on private land? And that one-half of the original wetlands in Wisconsin have been lost to agriculture and development? With goals of “protection, restoration, and enjoyment of wetlands and associated ecosystems through science-based programs, education, and advocacy”, the Wisconsin Wetlands Association works with landowners and community groups to preserve these. Katie Beilfuss, Outreach Programs Director, shares more information on the groups activities.

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Today on the Tuesday 8:00 Buzz with 1neofmani (Breyon Somerville), Tara’s out sick and both guests can’t make the show, so it’s an hour of full power freestyle discussion with 1neofmani on legalizing cannabis, CBD and community!

More on Quality CBD: https://qualitycbd.org/

More on 1neofmani: https://www.facebook.com/1neofmaniOnline and LessWork Local Lifestyle: https://www.facebook.com/WithLessWork 

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

Photo by Jon Miner

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WORT 89.9FM Madison · Milwaukee Challenges 2020 Census Count

In 2020, the task of counting every person in the United States proved even more difficult than usual.  As of April 1, 2020, much of the nation was in the early onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which complicated contacting residents and severely limited staff and volunteers available.  To make matters worse, e-mails recently obtained by the Brennan Center reveal that former President Donald Trump repeatedly attempted to subvert the U.S. census counts for his own political ends.  The census count, originally scheduled to be complete in April, 2021, was delayed until August, when the Trump Administration abruptly ordered the count stopped, over the objections of Census Bureau civil servants.  Two years after the formal count, many cities across the United States believe the flawed process severely under-counted the population, particularly for minority, homeless and transitory populations less likely to fill out a census form.  On December 20, Mayor Cavalier Johnson announced the City of Milwaukee’ formal challenge to the 2020 census results, claiming the 2020 census under-counted the city’s population by almost 17,000 people.  Sharon Robinson is the Director of the City of Milwaukee Department of Administration.

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In the aftermath of Luis Inácio Lula da Silva’s (“Lula”) presidential win in Brazil, supporters of ousted president Jair Bolsonaro stormed government buildings in the capital, Brasilia on January 8. Join 8 O’Clock Buzz host Tony Castañeda for a conversation with UW-Madison Political Science Ph.D. candidate Ned Littlefield, who is in Brazil, as he explains the challenges facing the country as Lula grapples with how to react to these protestors’ violent provocations. Public sentiment is clearly against the protests, yet given the polarized electorate, prosecution and imprisonment of the people behind the attempted coup is not a certainty. It remains to be seen if Bolsonaro, currently residing in Florida, could be forced to leave the US and how his connection to Donald Trump and Steve Bannon may have helped him rally his supporters.

Photo courtesy of Kurious on Unsplash.

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Boomers retiring

Young graduates exiting

A workforce shortage

If someone was asked to write a haiku on the current workforce situation in Dane County, and in most of Wisconsin, this could very well be it. Dale Knapp, Director of research and analytics for the Wisconsin Counties Association, shared his views on the workforce and housing shortages in the region on the Thursday addition of the 8 O’clock Buzz. A combination of the Boomer generation retiring and staying in their homes, young college graduates migrating to larger cities on the coasts, and a lack of affordable housing are challenges that must be addressed in Dane and other Wisconsin counties if they are to reverse the net migration out.

Photo courtesy of Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

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Arcatao, El Salvador, was the first of Madison’s sister-cities, with the relationship formed in 1986 following death squads and torture of residents, in large supported by the U. S. government. The Madison-Arcatao Sister City Project advocates for cutting off military aid to El Salvador and a strong relationship between the two cities. Joan Laurion, from the project talks about the relationship, an informal reconnecting event on Saturday, and plans for a trip to Arcatao from June 10-17th.

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Jan Miyasaki talks with Gloria Hawkins from the MLK Coalition about the events celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and his principles of non-violence starting this weekend and continuing through Monday. WORT will cover much of Monday’s events with live streams — see the live on-air coverage schedule here.

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Today on the Tuesday 8 O’Clock Buzz, hosts Tara Wilhelmi and Breyon Sommerville discuss and take calls about the recent news that One City Schools is suspending classes for its ninth and tenth graders, forcing them and their parents to find a new school. Then, they’re joined by Maurice Clark, Sr, owner of auto detailing store Pearl of Envy. And later, they speak with DJ and investment advisor Martinez White about events coming up at 300 Progress Drive.

In their last session, the Wisconsin Legislature voted to approve four amendments to the state constitution.  The amendments would change cash bail to make it harder for legal defendants to get out of jail, curb voter eligibility, limit the use of private money to help fund elections, and limit the Governor’s authority to allocate federal funds by making it subject to approval from the Legislature. 

If approved a second time in the upcoming 2023 legislative session, the amendments will go to the public for a final referendum vote — a vote that could be as soon as the spring election on April 4, 2023. The League of Women Voters of Dane County has come out in opposition to all four measures. Today on the show, three guests join us to talk about how the proposals would impact the community, in advance of an online seminar Monday night about the measures. 

Our guests are Dustin Brown, a senior attorney with the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School; Jerome Dillard, Executive Director and co-founder of  EXPO (Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing); and Sue Jennik, Program Director and Board member of the League of Women Voters Dane County who also heads up the Legislative Committee for the League of Women Voters Wisconsin.

Photo courtesy Daderot, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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