Green Bay News

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — A march commemorating the historic “Bloody Sunday” demonstration was set to begin Monday afternoon after several speakers at the 50th anniversary commemoration pushed visitors to fight to restore the Voting Rights Act.

As thousands marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on Sunday, some of the demonstrators who were attacked by law enforcement there 50 years ago said they fear the country is becoming a place where widespread minority voter suppression is once again tolerated.

The U.S Supreme Court in 2013 eliminated section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, which required states with histories of minority voter suppression to get permission from the Justice Department before changing voting laws.

“It’s a slap in the face, an insult to all who have given their lives for righteousness sake,” Willie White Harris, 70, of Selma, said after crossing the bridge once again Sunday. He was part of the 1965 march and said revisiting the bridge was bittersweet. “The struggle is just beginning really. We’ve got a long, long way to go. We’ve got to be vigilant.”

Crowds gather near the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Sunday, March 8, 2015, in Selma, Ala. This weekend marks the 50th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,’ a civil rights march in which protestors were beaten, trampled and tear-gassed by police at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, in Selma. (AP Photo/Bill Frakes)

The weeklong march retracing the steps demonstrators took in 1965 was expected to begin Monday in Selma, Alabama and culminate Friday with a rally at the state Capitol.

Police beat and tear-gassed marchers at the foot of the bridge in Selma on March 7, 1965, in an ugly spasm of violence that shocked the nation. The attack on demonstrators preceded the Selma-to-Montgomery march, which occurred two weeks later. Both helped build momentum for congressional approval of the Voting Rights Act later that year.

This week’s march is the end of a series of events that brought tens of thousands of visitors to the city of roughly 20,000 that became a focal point of the civil rights movement after Bloody Sunday.

Those who gathered Sunday heard speeches from leaders including President Barack Obama and Georgia Rep. John Lewis — an Alabama native who was among the demonstrators attacked by law enforcement on the 1965 march.

Both gave rousing speeches on the work left to be done to achieve equality and Obama also touched on improvements in American race relations. The president mentioned recent high profile clashes between citizens and law enforcement on the circumstances leading to fatal police shootings and law enforcement tactics toward minorities.

“We just need to open our eyes, and ears, and hearts, to know that this nation’s racial history still casts its long shadow upon us,” Obama said. “We know the march is not yet over, the race is not yet won, and that reaching that blessed destination where we are judged by the content of our character requires admitting as much.”

The president also addressed notions that the prejudice that characterized the civil rights era exists in more insidious forms today and little or nothing has changed since then.

“Ask the female CEO who once might have been assigned to the secretarial pool if nothing’s changed. Ask your gay friend if it’s easier to be out and proud in America now than it was 30 years ago. To deny this progress — our progress — would be to rob us of our own agency, our responsibility to do what we can to make America better,” he said.

The anniversary included a tribute to the late President Lyndon Johnson, who signed the Voting Rights Act into law. Luci Baines Johnson accepted an award at a unity breakfast event on behalf of her father, saying it meant so much to see him honored.

“You remember how deeply Daddy cared about social justice and how hard he worked to make it happen,” she told a crowd Sunday morning.

Many visited Selma with the goal of inspiring a younger generation to continue demanding equality and warning them of what they risk losing by becoming complacent.

William Baldwin, 69, of Montgomery, Alabama brought his two grandsons, ages 11 and 15, to the bridge Sunday to gain a firsthand understanding of the historic march he took part in a half century earlier.

“They’re going to take this struggle on and we have to understand the price that was paid for them to have what they have now,” said Baldwin, who was wearing an anniversary celebration t-shirt and a baseball cap with President Barack Obama’s name embroidered in it. “It wasn’t granted to them, it was earned by blood, sweat and tears.”

 

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – A carpenter has been fired for freeing a raccoon that had been trapped by exterminators at the San Francisco construction site where he worked.

Todd Sutton tells the San Francisco Chronicle that he came to work one morning in late February and saw the animal inside a trap.

The builders had hired professional trappers to have the critter – which was blamed for damage at the $610 million project – removed and euthanized.

But the 49-year-old carpenter says he put the animal in his truck and released it in a nearby grassy area, after getting guidance from animal control officers.

His employer told the newspaper the move amounted to theft, because Sutton took something from the site that didn’t belong to him.

Sutton has hired an attorney.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – And what everyone’s been waiting to see – CEO Tim Cook unveils the Apple Watch.

Scheduled to hit the market in April, industry watchers are eager to see if Apple’s version will be the tipping point for the sluggish smartwatch market. There was similar skepticism when Apple released the iPad in 2010, yet the company has successfully sold millions and its popularity has shaken up the PC market.

The stakes are high for a company that just dislodged AT&T as one of the 30 stocks comprising the venerable Dow Jones industrial average. The watch is the first brand-new device Apple has launched without Steve Jobs.

Cook is directing Apple’s big event Monday in San Francisco, unveiling a shiny, skinny and silent MacBook weighing in at just two pounds that the company says is the world’s most energy efficient laptop. Apple also has unveiled a new deal between Apple TV and HBO, touted growth in iPhone sales and Apple Pay adoption, and announced a set of tools called ResearchKit to help hospitals and research centers develop apps for patients.

It cut the price of Apple TV by $30 to $69 and is partnering with HBO to offer its stand-alone streaming service, HBO Go, on Apple devices in time for the “Game of Thrones” premiere April 12. It will cost $14.99 monthly. Cook said 2,500 banks are now signed up with Apple Pay, which is available in 700,000 retail locations nationwide.

Below is a live blog of the event. All times PDT.

10:55 a.m.

Cook unveils what everyone’s been waiting for today – the watch. Begins by talking about the watch’s time capabilities, including choices of finish and watch faces. And a series of features available called “glances.”

10:50 a.m.

The starting price of the new MacBook laptop is $1,299 and comes with 256 gigabytes of storage. For $1,599, you get a faster processor and twice the storage. The MacBook will start shipping April 10.

Apple also refreshed its current lineup of MacBook Air and Pro products.

10:45 a.m.

Cook says Apple took what it learned from designing iPhones and iPads and “challenged ourselves to reinvent the notebook.” Apple says the keyboard is more responsive, and the screen uses 30 percent less energy to offer the same brightness.

Apple is dropping many of the connection ports, such as USB, in favor of wireless technology. But when something needs to be connected, Apple is offering a single port that can be used for power charging, display output and accessories. It uses an emerging technology called USB-C.

Apple has been known to drop older technologies as new products come along. The MacBook Air got rid of a DVD drive long before others did, for instance.

10:40 a.m.

Tim Cook unveils new MacBook, the thinnest and lightest version of its laptop in silver, space gray and gold finishes. Just 2 pounds and 24 percent skinnier than the MacBook Air. (Apple is dropping Air from the name and is calling this simply the MacBook.) Keys are bigger and backlit with LEDs; screen has 12-inch Retina display, currently available only in the higher-end, heavier MacBook Pro line. Force Touch trackpad allows for clicks, fast-forwarding, and more depending on how hard you press.

Also – it’s silent. No fan.

10:25 a.m.

Jeff Williams, Apple’s senior vice president of operations, addresses the role of Apple products in medical research. The company is creating a set of tools called ResearchKit to help hospitals and research centers develop apps for iPhone users to participate in studies. Apple says it’s working with leading researchers to develop apps for studies on diabetes, asthma, Parkinson’s disease, breast cancer, cardiovascular disease and other ailments. The Parkinson’s app, for instance, will monitor patients as they walk 20 steps to detect the progression of the diseases, which affects motor systems.

Apple says it won’t see any of the data to ensure privacy. ResearchKit, which will be open source, will be available next month. The first five apps are available today.

10:15 a.m.

Cook says its Apple Pay mobile-payment service has expanded to 2,500 banks since launching in October with six credit-card issuing banks in the U.S.. The number of merchants accepting Apple Pay has tripled to nearly 700,000 across the U.S. That’s still a small fraction of all the retail outlets out there.

10:12 a.m.

Cook announces a price cut for Apple TV to $69, from $99. He says 25 million units have been sold so far.

The availability of HBO as a stand-alone service comes as more people turn to the Internet to watch television. HBO previously was available on Apple devices, but only with a cable or satellite subscription.

10:10 a.m.

Cook shows a trailer from the upcoming season of “Game of Thrones.”

10:05 a.m.

Cook walks on stage to talk about Apple’s retail stores and offer an update on Apple TV. He’s joined by HBO CEO Richard Plepler to announce that Apple will be the exclusive partner of HBO’s upcoming stand-alone subscription service, HBO Now.

There will be a new HBO Now channel on Apple TV. It will be possible to get it on iPhones and iPads, too. The service will cost $14.99 a month and will be available in early April – in time for the season premiere of “Game of Thrones.”

10 a.m.

The event begins with a video of an Apple store in West Lake, China. Customers holding Apple products cheer as employees count down to the opening of the store in January.

9:55 a.m.

Journalists, industry analysts and Apple guests fill the auditorium of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco for the start of the event.

MADISON (AP) – Madison Police Chief Mike Koval has taken to his blog to express his sorrow over the fatal shooting of an unarmed 19-year-old man.

Tony Robinson, who is black, was shot by an officer Friday night. Police say the officer was responding to a call of a man jumping in and out of traffic and a reported battery, and that he was assaulted by Robinson when he forced his way into Robinson’s home.

In a post Monday on his official blog, Koval says his principle in police work has always been that “the police are the public and the public are the police.”

Koval says he hopes Robinson’s family and friends can someday forgive the shooting. He says his police department anxiously awaits the results of an outside investigation.

• Click here to read the full blog post

MADISON (AP) – Protesters jammed the Wisconsin Capitol Monday to demonstrate against a white police officer who killed a unarmed black man.

Scores of protesters, including many area high school students who skipped class, stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the rotunda as well as on the first and second floors.

They chanted “Stand up, fight back, no more black men under attack” and “indict, convict, send those killer cops to jail – the whole damn system is guilty as hell.”

Madison Officer Matt Kenny shot 19-year-old Tony Robinson on Friday. Kenny was responding to a call of a man jumping in and out of traffic after assaulting someone. Kenny broke into the apartment where Robinson had gone – police said he heard a disturbance inside – and shot Robinson during a confrontation.

The girls state basketball tournament tips off Thursday at the Resch Center where 20 teams spread over five divisions will pursue a gold ball to finish their season.

Locally, only two teams are in the tournament, as Xavier makes its first WIAA state appearance in Division 3, while St. Mary’s Springs makes it second straight state appearance in Division 4.

Xavier (23-4) tips off Friday at about 10:45 a.m. against Hayward (24-2) in a semifinal and the Hawks enter the tournament on a roll. Xavier has won 13 straight games, including last Saturday’s thrilling 52-47 overtime win over Valders in the sectional final.

The Hawks finished in second place in the Eastern Valley Conference at 13-3 and are led by seniors Erin Powers (14 ppg.) and Peyton Ufi (12. 1 ppg.).

Xavier was tested in its bracket, arguably the toughest in Division 3, winning by scores of 54-18, 49-43, 52-50, 58-40 and 52-47 (overtime).

Girls State Basketball Brackets

The other half of the Division 3 field has defending state champ Kettle Moraine Lutheran (20-6) playing Whitewater (26-0).

Meanwhile, Springs (24-2) is 24-0 this season vs. teams not named Kettle Moraine Lutheran. The Ledgers’ only two losses came in the Flyway Conference to the Chargers and have quite a hurdle in front of them in the state semifinal.

Thursday at 6:35 p.m. Springs plays Cuba City (26-0), which has won a state record 10 state titles, including last season when the Cubans beat Algoma.

Springs is led by Kelli Schrauth, who led the Flyway with 17.1 ppg. and was second at 8.2 rpg. Also, Melanie Schneider adds 10.9 ppg.

Springs has been impressive in the postseason winning four games by scores of: 51-25, 50-30, 56-47 and 56-34.

The other half of the Division 4 bracket is: Fall Creek (24-2) vs. Marathon (25-1).

The five championship games are on Saturday, starting at 11:05 p.m. with Division 5.

Follow Doug Ritchay on Twitter @dougritchay

BAYFIELD COUNTY – The popular ice caves in the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore are set to close for the season.

Access to the ice caves will end at 7 p.m. Monday, lakeshore superintendent Bob Krumenaker announced. Krumenaker says strong winds and warm temperatures in the forecast are leading to the caves being shut down. With ice beginning to melt, he says the risk of ice formations falling on someone is too great.

The caves have been open for nine days so far this year. Around 36,000 people visited the caves; 17,000 of those went to the caves over the past weekend.

Last year was the first time the caves were open in five years. Accessible for two months, the caves drew 138,000 visitors in 2014.

NEW YORK (AP) – New York Mayor Bill de Blasio is set to rally Wisconsin Democrats as they look ahead to the 2016 elections.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin announced Monday that de Blasio is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the party’s Founders Day gala. It will be in Milwaukee on April 25.

De Blasio has been building a profile as a national progressive voice since he took office last year. He gave a speech at the United Nations on climate change and spoke about progressive values at a conference of the United Kingdom’s Labour Party.

In Wisconsin, he’ll get a Democratic spotlight in the home state of Gov. Scott Walker, who’s viewed as a top potential GOP presidential contender in 2016.

WAUPACA – Sheriff’s officials have identified the toddler killed in a Friday crash in the town of Fremont.

Chayse M. Hoch, 3, of Waupaca, was pronounced dead at the hospital after the crash. The driver, Traci J. Hoch, 53, of rural Fremont, was also hospitalized.

The crash happened around 1:45 p.m. on Hwy. U, just north of the Waupaca/Waushara ccounty line.

MADISON (AP) – Students at Madison East High School left class to stage a public demonstration over the death of a young man killed by a police officer.

Dozens of students marched down East Washington toward the state Capitol Monday morning, some chanting “We are Tony Robinson. Black lives matter.” Traffic was detoured as the students walked down the otherwise busy street with banners and signs. At least two police squads escorted the students during their march.

Others chanted “No justice. No peace. No racist police.”

The 19-year-old black man was fatally shot by a white Madison police officer Friday. The shooting prompted some to draw comparisons to recent high-profile deaths of black men across the country by police.

MADISON (AP) – Court documents indicate the unarmed black man who died at the hands of a white Wisconsin police officer suffered from attention deficit disorder and anxiety.

Madison Police Officer Matt Kenny shot 19-year-old Tony Robinson on Friday. Kenny was responding to a call that Robinson had been jumping in and out of traffic and had been responsible for a battery. The officer forced his way into an apartment where Robinson had gone and shot him during a confrontation.

Robinson pleaded guilty in an armed robbery last year. Documents in that case show Robinson suffered from ADHD, anxiety and depression. The documents said he tended to be anti-social and impulsive and was a risk-taker.

A phone call to Robinson’s mother and grandmother’s home seeking comment on the documents rang unanswered Monday.

MADISON (AP) – Gov. Scott Walker is commenting on the weekend slaying of a 19-year-old man in Madison by a police officer.

Through his spokeswoman, Laurel Patrick, Walker said his “thoughts and prayers are with all those involved.”

Walker, a likely presidential candidate, noted that “an overwhelming majority of police officers follow procedures and do a good job of protecting and serving the public.”

Tony Robinson died Friday after he was shot by Officer Matt Kenny at an apartment. The death of the unarmed black teen sparked demonstrations in Madison and drew comparisons to recent high-profile killings of black men by police across the country.

GLEN FLORA (AP) – The death of a Rusk County man who apparently was shot by a stray bullet is under investigation.

Officials say 60-year-old Patrick McFarlane died after he was hit by a bullet near his Glen Flora residence on Saturday afternoon.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources warden Mark Little says the person who fired the shot was in a group hunting coyotes in the area. Little tells the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram the person who fired the shot is from the La Crosse area. Little says McFarlane was not among the hunters and just happened to be in the line of fire outside his residence.

The DNR and the Rusk County Sheriff’s Department are investigating.

Photos submitted to ReportIt, March 8-15, 2015.

The St. Norbert College men’s hockey team – the defending national champions – did not get a bid to the 2015 NCAA Division 3 playoffs, the NCAA announced Monday.

SNC finished second in the regular season and second in the NCHA playoffs to Adrian College, but was considered a contender for one of the three at-large bids to the tournament. Instead, those went to Hobart, Trinity and Oswego State. UW-Stevens Point landed the Pool B bid.

It is the first time since the 2008-09 season that the Green Knights did not make the NCAA field.

The NCAA playoff pairings are:

Opening Round – Saturday, March 14
Oswego State @ Hobart
Trinity @ Nichols
Plymouth State @ Norwich

Quarterfinals – Saturday, March 21
Hobart/Oswego State @ Adrian
Nichols/Trinity @ Plattsburgh State
Hamline @ UW-Stevens Point
Plymouth State/Norwich @ Amherst

Frozen Four – March 27-28
Ridder Arena, Minneapolis

MADISON (AP) – Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin are pushing a bill that would prohibit the Department of Natural Resources from enforcing new national regulations limiting pollution from wood-fired heaters.

Federal data from 2011, the latest available, show Wisconsin was second in the country in fine particle emissions from wood stoves, furnaces and heaters with 32,375 tons.

The bill’s chief author, Rep. David Craig, said in a memo seeking co-sponsors the limits will increase costs for consumers.

A DNR fiscal estimate, however, notes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would likely enforce the limits in Wisconsin if the DNR doesn’t.

The Assembly Environmental and Forestry Committee held a public hearing on the bill on Feb. 19. A spokeswoman for Speaker Robin Vos says he’s still reviewing the legislation.

MADISON (AP) – The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to roll out a tool to reduce opiate overprescribing ahead of the completion of a probe into its hospital in Tomah.

Carolyn Clancy, interim secretary for health for the Department of Veterans Affairs, announced Monday that the VA will launch a computer tool that would allow doctors to better monitor their patients’ opiate prescriptions.

The VA is investigating reports of overprescribing and retaliatory behavior at Tomah.

The hospital came under scrutiny in January amid reports of overprescribing practices that led to the overdose death of a 35-year-old Marine in the hospital’s inpatient care unit.

BROWN DEER (AP) – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has signed a right-to-work bill into law.

The governor signed the bill at a ceremony Monday morning at Badger Meter in Brown Deer. He was joined by company officials and supporters of the proposal, including Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald.

The new law, which takes effect immediately, makes Wisconsin the 25th state to ban contracts that force all workers to pay union dues.

Supporters say the law will attract more business to the state. Opponents say the bill will lead to fewer jobs and lower wages.

Two people protested the bill outside Badger Meter.

Appleton – Salon CTI in Appleton gave Jess a Monday Morning Makeover.

Check out her new look!

OSHKOSH – An Oshkosh credit union is changing its name.

CitizensFirst Credit Union says its board of directors has approved a name change to Verve, a Credit Union.

“Our research was showing name confusion with other area financials, so we knew it was time to choose one to reflect the passionate, innovative work that sets us apart,” CitizensFirst president/CEO Kevin J. Ralofsky said in a news release. “We believe this new name speaks to our commitment to serving the community and our members. Our groundbreaking merger with Lakeview and Best Advantage created the perfect opportunity to rebrand, and we now move forward with a name that stands for the enthusiasm, energy, passion and drive that we put to work every day along with a pursuit to improve technologies to support our services.”

CitizensFirst recently announced a merger with two other Fox Valley creid unions, Lakeview and Best Advantage, last year, and with La Crosse-based Community Credit Union this year.

Company leaders say signs will change to say Verve, a Credit Union, this week.