Green Bay News

NORTHEAST WISCONSIN – Your all-access pass to the Badgers in the NCAA tournament continues. The men’s basketball team is already in Indianapolis.

Fans in Wisconsin are also gearing up for the Final Four, and excitement is building for Saturday night’s showdown.

In Neenah, Bucky Badger made a special appearance, pumping up students for this weekend’s game.

The unexpected visit stunned Horace Mann middle schoolers.

“We had no clue he was going to come, so it kind of surprised us and gets us pumped for March Madness big game coming up,” said Horace Mann student Ella Schroeder.

With the help of staff members, students organized a tip off celebration of the Badgers trip to the Final Four.

“I play basketball and I’m really into the March Madness so I wanted to get our school involved with it,” said Schroeder.

Bucky even helped cheer them on.

Other Wisconsin fans are looking to get their hands on anything red.

“Shirts probably, since I have the night off, if I can find like any jammy, comfy pants,” said Nissa Norton of Sturgeon Bay as she browsed the racks at The Jersey Store in Ashwaubenon.

“You have to represent the teams that you support,” said Norton.

The Jersey Store is experiencing the effects of the Badgers tournament run.

“Anything Badgers is what’s popular, so it doesn’t matter if it’s the Motion W or Bucky Badger or Final Four. Whatever they can get their hands on that’s what they’re buying,” said store manager Tracie Bryfczynski.

The hottest selling Final Four item at the Jersey Store is the “Bracketology” T-shirt. The back shows all the teams the Badgers have played thoughout the tournament.

“Sales have been crazy off the hook and we’re excited about that,” said Bryfczynski.

As the road to the national championship continues, excitement is also brewing at Badger State Brewing Company in Green Bay.

“It’s kind of a fun way for us to say, ‘Hey thank you, and you know go Badgers,'” said president and founder Andrew Fabry.

The Amber Ale “On Wisconsin” is back for the big game, ready to quench fans’ thirst.

“I think we’ll go through a lot, and if they win I think we might just have to open up for the game next week to keep that superstition thing in check,” Fabry said.

Back inside the Horace Mann school gym, students excitedly jumped around with Bucky.

“We lost last year, so I think we’re gonna win this year,” said Schroeder.

The Final Four frenzy continues to build across the area, as do hopes for a big W.

“They’re the only team I have right in my bracket,” said Horace Mann student Payton Mc Clowery.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Online court records show Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate James Daley’s daughter has been a fugitive since 2008.

The state filed a warrant for Maureen Daley’s arrest in June 2008 after she failed to appear on charges of operating while intoxicated. The warrant is still outstanding.

Daley in a statement said the issue should not impact the campaign and that he hopes people will pray for those who struggle with dependency. He did not say where his daughter is.

“I have seen the unfortunate side of dependency and the heavy burden it places on society, families and individuals as both the presiding judge on the Rock County OWI court and first-hand as a father,” Daley said in a statement. “These challenges are a private matter and have no place within the context of a campaign.”

The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s rules on judicial duty say judges have a responsibility to notify authorities about judges and lawyers who violate rules of professional conduct. They don’t address whether judges have a responsibility to notify authorities of fugitives’ whereabouts if they know them.

Daley also said he believes his opponent, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, brought up the outstanding warrant to influence Tuesday’s election.

“Today we’ve learned what depths Ann Walsh Bradley and her allies will go to protect her seat on the bench,” Daley said.

Bradley spokesman Kory Kozlokski said the campaign was not involved.

“Our campaign has not responded to this story out of respect for what we consider to be a private family matter,” Kozloski said in a statement.

 

SUAMICO – The spawning run for northern pike is underway in the Green Bay area.

Biologists are closely watching the progress, but dry conditions are making it difficult for some fish to make it to the wetlands.

Dozens of Northern Pike thrashed in a fyke net in this Suamico wetland Thursday morning.

UW-Green Bay graduate student Rachel Van Dam is studying spawning success rates in the area.

She and her crew processed 33 fish trapped in the net from the day before.

The wetland is part of a restoration project near the west shore of Green Bay.

“This year, the water is a lot lower, since we didn’t have very much run-off, and we haven’t had much precipitation since everything thawed,” said Van Dam.

Van Dam says the season started about two weeks ago.

“The eggs only take one to two weeks to hatch. Usually two weeks out in the field here. So if the water levels stayed up for two weeks, then that would be great,” she said.

About 10 miles away, in the Village of Bellevue, low levels on Willow Creek gave Brown County pike managers a chance to discover something new.

“We’re finding fish from eight inches, to 40 inches. It’s been a very pleasant surprise,” said Mike Mushinski, Brown County West Shore Pike Project Manager.

Mushinski says his crew nets about 40 fish a day.

“Northern Pike don’t seem to hone back to their home spawning habitat. They are nomadic in a way. They range widely,” he said.

“A lot of these northern pike are trying to use these tributaries in the city to spawn. It’s important that we move forward to remove impediments for those fish, provide spawning habitats for them, because they are drawn to these conditions in the city here,” said Mushinski.

Meanwhile, Van Dam and her crew placed yellow flags at the Suamico site, indicating signs of spawning northern.

“And hopefully, I’ll be able to make some recommendations on what to build in the future, as more of these are planned. More of these restorations,” said Van Dam.

Giving the fish a helping hand in good years, and bad.

Experts say overall, the spawning run will likely produce fewer pike than in previous years.

They say the season could stretch to the middle of May.

MOUNTAIN – A woman died after crashing into a vehicle with her motorcycle Thursday in Mountain.

Emergency responders were called to the crash at 12:20 p.m. on State Highway 32/64 near Weller Road.

Officials say a 59-year-old woman from Green Bay was traveling southbound on her motorcycle and crossed the center line, striking a northbound vehicle.

The vehicle was driven by a 50-year-old woman from Black Creek.

The motorcyclist died from her injuries from the crash and the driver of the vehicle and her 53-year-old passenger were not injured.

The crash is under investigation.

INDIANAPOLIS — Frank the Tank takes credit for Captain America.

Nigel Burgundy is not at the Final Four this year for Wisconsin. But his alter ego, forward Nigel Hayes, is – and he’s brought with him a newfound obsession for stenography.

Welcome to fun-loving Wisconsin, which has a cast of characters that sounds as if it is straight out of a Will Ferrell movie.

But once coach Bo Ryan whistles practice into session, it’s all business for the Badgers.

“Believe me, when they get on the practice court, they’re looking at film, they’re playing in the games,” Ryan said before practice Thursday. “They understand what competition is about.”

The chemistry has developed over two seasons into one of the best teams in the country. Wisconsin has returned to the national semifinals with largely the same roster, led by player of the year candidate Frank Kaminsky.

Once shy before the cameras, Kaminsky has blossomed, somewhat reluctantly, into a media darling for a deadpan delivery and the way he pokes fun at himself.

It’s a good thing that Kaminsky has gotten more comfortable in front of the cameras this year given all the attention that he has received for his inside-out play.

Personally, I like doing the fun stuff,” Kaminsky said this week at a news conference in Madison. “Sitting up here in front of you guys gets boring, so whenever we get out and get an opportunity to do something that’s fun and there is something that we actually get out of it, it’s a lot of fun!”

The student section serenaded Kaminsky with “Frank the Tank” chants, a mantra that the 7-footer has embraced.

It sounds simple, but Ryan encourages his team to enjoy the moment; to have fun; and to be themselves.

“You can either try to stifle certain things or you can feed the certain things, you can enjoy certain things,” Ryan said. “But the fun that our guys have is all about their relationships and the things that they’re interested in, the things they’re competitive about. They have more fun with the bragging rights of video games.”

And needling each other, too.

Kaminsky assigned guard Josh Gasser the nickname of “Captain America.” The fifth-year senior dives for loose balls, takes charges and generally plays as if he’s wearing a suit of armor.

“Credit Frank for the ‘Captain America,'” cracked Kaminsky, referring to himself in the third person.

Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan and Kentucky head coach John Calipari have some fun after a CBS Sports interview for their NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball semifinal game Thursday, April 2, 2015, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

If Kaminsky is the lead jokester, Hayes is his sophomore apprentice.

Hayes was the sixth man a year ago. He walked around the locker room during NCAA Tournament media availabilities with a camera and microphone to conduct his own mock interviews as “Nigel Burgundy.” That name was play off the mustachioed, bumbling reporter that Ferrell played in the comedy “Anchorman.”

Now Hayes is a starter, part of the versatile, inside-out trio that also includes Sam Dekker. He’s always been funny, teammates and coaches say. It’s just now that people are noticing it more as he’s playing a bigger role on the team.

“When I was asked about our guys, the camaraderie, the fun they have, Nigel is one of the leaders in there,” Ryan said.

Hayes had one of the most viral moments of the tournament for – of all things – a fledgling interest in transcription. To keep one stenographer at the news conference on alert, Hayes started an answer to one question with the words “cattywampus, onomatopoeia and antidisestablishmentarianism.”

The big-word buzz apparently generated interest in stenographer classes at a Madison-area school, and “cattywampus” T-shirts are selling out.

“The fact that a shirt is being made and sold and has sold out is pretty egregious given the fact that – I don’t deserve any royalties or anything like that, I’m an athletic student of the NCAA – but I guess it’s been a good thing,” an expressionless Hayes said earlier this week.

“The stenography world and faithful appreciate it,” Hayes joked. “How ironic, seeing that it wouldn’t be a shirt without me saying those things. … Just glad to be part of the hoopla, I guess.”

Winning makes it even more fun. At 35-3, Wisconsin has set a school record for wins.

Former Duke player Grant Hill, who will serve as a TV analyst for the Final Four, called Kaminsky and teammates “goofballs.”

“There’s a real togetherness, real sense of brotherhood with that team.” Hill said Thursday. “I mean, you could make the argument that every team has that, but Wisconsin, they were very playful, silly at times with one another, and it’s refreshing – it’s refreshing to see.”

A FOX 11 Investigates story could lead to a change in state law. It has to do with the FoodShare program.

Last fall, FOX 11 Investigates found that some people are racking up thousands and thousands of dollars in FoodShare benefits they’re not using.

• Click here to watch Robert’s original report.

We obtained documents that showed balances as high as $12,000 even $14,000. It’s all legal. But some people had a big problem with the big balances.

“They should be cut off. Obviously they can pay for their own and have means of taking care of them themselves. The state doesn’t need to care of them,” Jessica Campbell told us back in November.

“That’s wrong if they’re not using it. It’s a clear thing of abuse of the system,” said Mario Metoxen in our original report.

We also showed State Rep. Andre Jacque (R-De Pere) what we found.

“It’s just stunning. It’s not something that should happen,” Jacque told us then.

Now, Jacque is taking action.

“Really, your story gave us a great starting point for where we could look at,” he said in an interview with FOX 11 Investigates.

Jacque is circulating a bill that would put limits on how long people can bank their benefits.

• Click here to read the bill.

“This bill is about program integrity and preserving the program for those who do need it,” Jacque said.

Under the bill, a person would lose their benefits if they don’t use their account for six months. The recipient would be able to get the benefits back if they reapplied to the program or made a request to the state.

Benefits would be expunged from the account if they are not used within one year. The state had already done that in practice, but the bill would put that practice into law.

“This is supposed to be a need-based program. And if those benefits are going unused, certainly, in the large amounts you had shown me last year, really creates concerns that the program isn’t functioning as it was intended,” Jacque said.

Jacque says so far, 10 other legislators have signed on to the bill. He plans to introduce it later this month.

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) – An undergraduate student at Duke University has admitted to hanging a noose in a tree and is no longer on campus, university officials said Thursday.

At a news conference Thursday afternoon, school spokesman Michael Schoenfeld said the school would not release the name of the student who admitted to hanging the noose, found early Wednesday in a plaza area at the heart of the campus.

This photo provided by Henry Washington shows a rope noose hung from a tree Wednesday, April 1, 2015, in Durham, N.C. Duke University officials are trying to determine who hung the noose, what the president of the elite Southern school described as a vicious symbol in a region where lynchings were once used to terrorize black residents. (AP Photo/Henry Washington)

The student was identified with information provided by other students and will be subject to Duke’s student conduct process and that an investigation is continuing to find out if others were involved, Schoenfeld said.

Schoenfeld said the school believes federal education laws protecting information about students and their grades prevent the school from describing his or her gender, race or whether the student had been in trouble in the past.

The school also is working with state and federal officials about potential criminal violations.

Officials say the noose was found about 2 a.m. Wednesday in the plaza outside the Bryan Center, the student commons building. Black Student Alliance vice president Henry Washington said he and about 14 other students saw the noose hanging overnight after being alerted via Twitter. On Thursday, he praised the reaction of fellow students and administrators at the school.

“I appreciate that immediate action was taken both by the student community to identify a person and by the faculty to ensure that disciplinary action is taken,” he said.

Duke Student Affairs Vice President Larry Moneta said the student would face judgment under the school’s code of conduct, which includes penalties ranging from probation to expulsion. He said it was “too soon to make any comment” about whether the student had expressed remorse for the noose episode.

“This is all part of what the investigation will yield and the opportunity for the student to speak to the basis for the behavior,” Moneta said.

At a gathering Wednesday in front of the university’s Gothic chapel building, Duke President Richard Brodhead told a crowd of several thousand that their presence was a rejection of what the noose symbolizes in a region where lynchings were once used to terrorize black residents. And he said that while administrators and campus police investigate who displayed the noose and why, it is up to each individual to reject racism.

“One person put up that noose, but this is the multitude of people who got together to say that’s not the Duke we want,” he told the crowd. “That’s not the Duke we’re here for, and that’s not the Duke we’re here to create.”

Some famous faces are helping promote the 2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.

The PGA released a promotional video Thursday for the tournament to be held in August. It features Gov. Scott Walker; Green Bay Packers greats Brett Favre, Charles Woodson and Sterling Sharpe; golf legend Jack Nicklaus and several current tour pros.

This will be the championship’s third visit to Whistling Straits, near Kohler. Defending champion Rory Mcllroy and more than 150 of the world’s best golfers are set to compete for the Wanamaker Trophy Aug. 10-16.

Information advocate Larry Klayman began years ago, trying to see Hillary Clinton’s emails he thinks will prove she leaked Israeli war plans to a reporter.

“If you believe what Mrs. Clinton says, then you believe that bears don’t live in the woods,” Klayman said.

Now, in light of her personal server situation, he pleaded with three judges to intervene & fast.

“The servers of Mrs. Clinton, even though she’s brazenly admitted she’s wiped everything clean should be taken into custody and give them to a forensic expert to see if any of those emails can be retrieved,” said Klayman.

Clinton’s lawyer says it’s pointless, that “no emails reside on the server or on any backup systems.”

Adding she’s got nothing to hide and in fact: “to be clear, she remains ready to appear at a hearing open to the American public.”

Something many on Capitol Hill are anxious to see. Specifically, as they continue to investigate the attacks in Benghazi.

But as the 2016 race starts to take shape, what does it all mean?

“The polls are going to be fickle. And so, there are going to be times when people are up and times when people are down,” said Senator Ted Cruz

Clinton has taken a hit in those polls, dropping 9 points since June in perceived honesty. Though overall, she still dominates. 72% of democrats think she’ll be their nominee, 54% of all surveyed pick her over potential opponent Jeb Bush.

Klayman though insists his fight isn’t about politics, just the truth and now this court will decide how deep the government should dig to find it, “I was very forceful with these judges because these judges need to understand they’re the last form of protection for the American people.”

 

 

 

ASHWAUBENON – If, during your spring cleaning, you find any extra tools you don’t need, Greater Green Bay Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore will be glad to take them.

The ReStore is holding its annual spring tool drive during April. Donations are collected during regular business hours at the store at 2965 Ramada Way. The tools are then sold at the store to help raise money for the construction of Habitat for Humanity homes. Donations may be tax-deductible.

Cash donations are also accepted.

Churches, school groups, businesses and other organizations are also invited to hold their own tool drives for the ReStore. Call (920) 338-1650 for more information.

NEW YORK (AP) — Over the next four decades, Islam is expected to grow faster than any other major religion worldwide, with the Muslim population nearly matching Christians in both number and share of the global population, according to projections released Thursday.

Christians will remain the largest religious group, increasing to 2.92 billion adherents by 2050 if current demographic trends continue. But Muslims will reach 2.76 billion, making each faith group about 30 percent of the world population, analysts from the Pew Research Center said.

The projections in the report, “The Future of World Religions,” are based on birth and death rates, immigration patterns and rates of religious conversions, among other information found in censuses, demographic surveys and additional reports that asked people to identify what faith they follow.

Much of the growth of both Christianity and Islam will occur in Africa. But Muslims will also grow to comprise 10 percent of Europe’s population and will outnumber Jews in the U.S. by mid-century.

India is expected to retain a Hindu majority, but the country will surpass Indonesia as the nation with the world’s largest Muslim population. As a group, Muslims are younger and have more children than members of other faiths, driving their global growth, researchers said.

The report is the latest to measure how Christianity in developing countries is far outpacing the growth of the faith in the West. By 2050, 4 in 10 Christians are expected to be located in Africa. And Christians will no longer be a majority in the United Kingdom, France and Australia.

Atheists, agnostics and people who don’t identify with a religion will increase in much of Europe and North America, but globally will drop from about 16 percent to 13 percent of the population. Within the U.S., people with no religious affiliation are projected to become more than a quarter of the population, while the share of Christians is expected to decrease from more than three-quarters to two-thirds.

The number of Buddhists will remain about the same, but because of overall global population growth, will comprise a smaller share of the world’s population. Hindus will grow to reach 1.4 billion people. Worldwide, the number of Jews is expected to grow by about 16 percent to 16.1 million.

 

COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM-TV) – A Georgia waitress is being honored for her honesty.

She found an envelope full of cash at the restaurant she works at, and she quickly did the right thing.

 

An autonomous vehicle has completed a 3,400-mile U.S. road trip with almost no intervention from drivers.

Auto supplier Delphi Corp. says the Audi Q5 fitted with radar, cameras and laser sensors drove itself 99 percent of the time from San Francisco to New York.

Drivers intervened once when traffic was weaving around in a construction zone, and again when the car didn’t want to move into a busy left lane. But for the most part, it easily navigated bridges, traffic circles and open highways.

Delphi’s chief technology officer Jeff Owens says that among other things, engineers learned that vehicle cameras need to be able to read a larger variety of lane markings.

Owens says the data collected on the trip will be used to improve future autonomous driving systems.

GREEN BAY – Water main flushing is about to start in Green Bay.

The Green Bay Water Utility says it plans to begin flushing on Monday. Crews plan to start near the intersections of 9th and Fisk streets, and Bader St. and Newberry Ave.

Water customers should receive a notice in the mail about two weeks before flushing begins in their area. Signs will also be placed in neighborhoods before and during flushing. The utility also plans to update its progress on its website, Facebook and Twitter pages.

During flushing, people in the area may see discolored water and lower water pressure. The discoloration might stain laundry. The lower pressure could impact the fighting of any fires in the area. People are asked to avoid using water during the flushing. Those who need to use water are asked to run cold water to remove any particles from the system, which could take as long as five or ten minutes.

Flushing takes between five minutes and two hours in an area; the average is about 28 minutes, the water utility says.

The utility says flushing removes settled particles in underground mains; improves the performance of the water system; enhances overall water quality; improves water pressure; makes water flow more efficiently, helping with fire protection; and improves operations for the utility.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Perennial candidate Gatewood Galbraith died in 2012, but that might not stop his name from appearing on the 2015 ballot for Kentucky governor.

No, he’s not running from beyond the grave.

Terrill Wayne Newman, 68, of Pulaski County legally changed his name on Tuesday to Gatewood Galbraith before filing paperwork Wednesday to run as an independent for the state’s highest office.

The Secretary of State’s office says independent candidates must obtain 5,000 signatures from registered voters by Aug. 11 to get their names on the general election ballot.

Newman told the Lexington Herald-Leader (http://bit.ly/1xDIDcm ) he doesn’t expect to be elected but, “I sure do hope this warms Gatewood’s grave.”

Galbraith ran for governor five times and gained a following for his wit and his stances on legalizing hemp and marijuana.

Newman said he’ll run on a similar platform, but will focus on his namesake.

“I mostly will be talking about the great Gatewood Galbraith,” he said.

Newman says he and Galbraith were “not friends per se,” but they shared mutual friends and knew each other on a first-name basis.

Dea Riley, who was Gatewood Galbraith’s running mate in 2011, said she thinks Galbraith would find Newman’s name change amusing.

“I can hear him now: ‘I’ll tell the IRS to send him the tax bill,'” Riley said.

But she also said Newman “has very big shoes to fill” with his new name and she hopes he will honor it.

“To have Gatewood’s name and message prostituted, for the sake to garner political office, is a personal affront to me in that I was not only his running mate but equally his friend and confidant,” Riley said.

 

Submitted April 2, 2015, by K Menting, who writes:

“Pacon Corporations showing off their BADGER SPIRIT!

Location: Appleton”

LEXINGTON – People in Wisconsin aren’t the only ones celebrating the final four this weekend.

The Kentucky basketball team is getting support from its youngest fans.

The University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington is decking out newborns in Wildcats gear.

Each newborn receives a Wildcats onesie.

Nurse Erin Shaw says the gifts have been huge hits with parents, “We wanted to do something special for the babies. Make sure that they got going as cats fans. A lot of people aren’t expecting it, and they really like it. They put the baby right in it.”

One new mother says she immediately put her daughter in the new basketball gear, saying she hopes it’s a good luck charm.

Watch live as President Obama speaks from the White House.

MANITOWOC – Police were concerned about “a potential threat to members of the Wisconsin State Patrol and (Trooper Trevor) Casper family due to possible radical group affiliated with the suspect” who shot Casper when they approached a man who was at the cemetery for Casper’s funeral Monday, according to the criminal complaint. When that man, Michael Mangan, resisted officers’ efforts to get him to leave the scene, Mangan was arrested.

Mangan, 56, made an initial appearance Thursday on counts of felony resisting an officer causing injury, and misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct, obstructing an officer and disrupting a funeral. A signature bond was set. Mangan returns to court Monday.

Michael Mangan (Photo courtesy Manitowoc Co. Sheriff’s Office)

According to the criminal complaint:

Mangan was seen walking through the SS. Peter & Paul Cemetery, carrying a bag with a cylindrical object which police thought could be a weapon.

When approached, Mangan contended he had a right to be at the public cemetery. Police determined object to be pipe insulation. Officers informed him it was closed for the funeral. After an officer placed his hand on Mangan’s back to guide him away from the scene, Mangan became more combative. Eventually, he was placed in a squad car.

“It was clear that the items Michael was carrying with him were not meant to be used or placed on any burial plots. It was clear that Michael’s intentions were disrupt the burial ceremony and to bring attention to himself,” according to the police report quoted in the complaint.

Although the criminal complaint does offer specifics about the “possible radical group,” shooting suspect Steven Snyder was part of a group of skinheads who attacked black and Hispanic people nearly 20 years ago, court records show. The documents say he had several “White Power” tattoos.

Thursday’s court appearance was the third try, as Mangan refused to appear twice earlier this week.

Fox 11’s Bill Miston is following the story and will have more on Fox 11 News at Five.

TUSTIN, Calif. (AP) — Gary Whitlock watched water run to a sidewalk as gardeners hosed down a bed of marigolds outside an Orange County office building and questioned whether California’s latest attempt to curb water use would be any more successful than previous efforts in the drought-stricken state.

“You see people that just run water all the time, people that are watering their lawns, parks that are not using recycled water,” Whitlock said. “This has been going on for years, and everybody that I talk to says, ‘Oh, well, you know, it’s going to rain, El Nino’s coming.”

Whitlock’s observation came after Gov. Jerry Brown ordered sweeping, unprecedented measures on Wednesday to save water in California as he stood in a brown meadow that’s normally blanketed in snow.

Surveyors that day found the lowest water level in the Sierra Nevada snowpack in 65 years of record-keeping, signaling the fourth consecutive year of vanishing snow that California depends on to melt into rivers and replenish reservoirs.

“We’re in a new era; the idea of your nice little green grass getting water every day, that’s going to be a thing of the past,” Brown said.

The governor’s order requires cities and towns to cut water use by 25 percent. So far in the current drought, many Californians have not made changes to their daily routines to save water or taken a hit in their wallets because of it.

Early last year, Brown called for a 20 percent voluntary cutback, but the state achieved just half of that.

In recent years, cities have developed storage capacity and supplies to soften the blow of future dry years — a move that has insulated residents from the severity of the current drought.

In 1977, Brown asked for a voluntary 25 percent cut in water use during his first term as governor.

Nearly 40 years later, he warns that drought might be the new normal as he ramps up efforts to adapt. His executive order on Wednesday directed officials to impose statewide mandatory water restrictions and expand programs intended to reshape how Californians use water.

Cemeteries, golf courses and business headquarters must significantly cut back on watering the large landscapes. Local governments will tear out 50 million square feet of lawns and instead use drought-tolerant plants. And customers will get money for replacing old water-sucking appliances with efficient ones under a temporary rebate program.

The initiatives are part of the goal to reduce water use by 25 percent compared to levels in 2013 — the year before Brown declared a drought emergency.

The order also directs local agencies to charge extra for high water use.

Water officials vowed to crack down on waste and illegal water diversion, acknowledging there has been spotty enforcement of existing rules limiting outdoor water use.

The order also prohibits new homes and developments from using drinkable water for irrigation if the structures lack water-efficient drip systems. In addition, the watering of decorative grasses on public street medians is banned.

“We have to pull together and save water in every way we can,” Brown said.

Critics of the Democratic governor said his order does not go far enough to address agriculture — the biggest water user in California.

The order contains no water reduction target for farmers. Instead, it requires many agricultural water suppliers to submit detailed drought management plans that include how much water they have and what they’re doing to scale back.

After a drought in the previous decade, state officials acknowledged that some suppliers did not submit similar required plans. Mark Cowin, director of the Department of Water Resources, said the state will provide money to make sure the plans are written and might penalize those who do not comply.

The state is not aiming to go after water-guzzling crops such as almonds and rice the same way Brown has condemned lawns.

Dave Kranz, a spokesman for the California Farm Bureau Federation, said farmers have already suffered deep cutbacks in water supply during the current drought. Farmers have let hundreds of thousands of acres go fallow and laid off thousands of workers as the state and federal government slashed water deliveries from reservoirs.

Officials said Wednesday the statewide snowpack is equivalent to 5 percent of the historical average for April 1 and the lowest for that date since the state began record-keeping in 1950.

“It is such an unprecedented lack of snow, it is way, way below records,” said Frank Gehrke, chief of snow surveys for the California Department of Water Resources.

___

Associated Press writer Juliet Williams in Sacramento, California, and Ellen Knickmeyer in San Francisco and contributed to this report.