A tour of the Lake/Harbor
August 5, 2013 7 Comments
Got a call Saturday night a man I know well lets call him Mr. S, called from The pig in panic mode he had rode his bike here from The Twin Cities (He enjoys bike riding around the county and selling the Photos he takes) got all the way to the Uptown then fled in panic to some place he thought safe to call me and get recused.
Got him brought him to the house and after catching up Saturday night we thought to take a look at the Racine Harbor and all the neat things to see/Do downtown Racine.
What did we find? Well
1) Nothing open other then the Bars Mr. S like I Mr. S does not drink. We could have missed an open store but I think not.
2) Other then the folks at the Jail to visit we counted 4 in the Downtown area 4. Yes Downtown Racine is booming
3) Went to the Lake Front and river edge walked around. My guess is that the County owned Marina is at 75% full. That’s good WE also talked to a few boaters from out of State they all told us the same thing. They buy the food/Booze they need BEFORE they come to Racine and in any event do not shop for that in the Downtown because, THERE IS NO PLACE TO BUY IT!
They go without or get a pal with a car to drive them to say PIck and Save Many of the Boaters had stories of the rude behavior of shop owners. Mr. S was shocked I advised that they write Email to the County Executive not that JIm can make folks less rude but so he knows what Folks who are coming to Racine are facing, IMHO they are seen as Sheep to be fleeced/Raped by Some Shop Owners (They have to be open first)
Mr S was sad as I was with this 
How much are we paying for the Marina and the Boaters cant pick up the trash? How hard is that? Must we pay someone to wipe their ass too?
A few of the Boaters we talked to were as upset as we were but told us that as they saw it if a boater tossed trash in the Lake nothing would happen.
I took him back here via the back road along the Root River and we got to see this
Not going in the water soon
Sad fate of boats (I have more Photos) is this the end fate of all the Boats in Racine
Mr. S left last night before dark so he could he hop reach Union Grove and camp in safety.
He was not shocked to hear about the Street lights coming down of Dickert’s trip to France .
Mr. S did say that parts of Freetown did look worse when he was there during the Civil War
Racine in Ruins a Muckrakers Dream 
“The USA cannot come to terms with the salient facts staring us in the face: that we can’t run things as we’ve set them up to run. We refuse to take the obvious actions to set things up differently. Instead, we’ve tried to offset the accelerating losses of running our unrunnable stuff with accounting fraud, aimed at pretending that everything still works. But the accounting fraud has only accelerated the gathering disorder in the banking system. That disorder has infected our currency and the infection is spreading to all currencies. What a surprise that the first pandemic to strike an overstressed global immune system was not bird flu after all, but a sickness of money.”
http://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/the-dreadful-summer-wind/
How long can the City of Racine continue to run on debt money and hide the truth that Downtown, Uptown, Douglass Ave. and State St. have failed. The debt will grow so large that it will consume everything and lead to default.
How long will Jim Ladwig remain in denial that there is money to be made in boating and a Marina? It should have never been built – it is unsustainable and NO private group wants it – because it can’t pay for itself and the infrastructure is too expensive to maintain!
The Marina will consume more and more and add to the County Debt Service until the residents of the County get tired of having services cut to subsidize the Marina and demand the County abandon an unsustainable financial burden!
IF there was ANY common sense in the City of Racine – or the County – the Main Street Bridge would have been dismantled long ago. There is absolutely NO reason to maintain that draw bridge and the personnel to operate it. It is financially STUPID and adds no value to the Community what so ever. The State Street Bridge should have become a “fixed bridge” – thus eliminating for the upkeep of the machinery needed to lift it – along with the expense of the Operator and maintenance. I bet that the Main St. Bridge would be dismantled for FREE – or perhaps even a small profit – for the value of the scrap metal and lift equipment.
This would then give VALUE to the NOW worthless Belle Harbor Marina and force tall ship owners to rent from State St. docks on out. There are MORE THAN ENOUGH EMPTY SPACES in the various Marinas from there on out.
Let the small motorboats dock East of the State ST. Bridge.
What’s the difference between Jim Ladwig and John Dickert? NOT MUCH!
Both are in the hands of “local developers” and are misusing tax money to prop up FAILED businesses while driving out responsible businesses and residents.
Jim Ladwig and John Dickert are partners in crime – abusing and misusing taxing authority to drive out the productive businesses and prop up cronies, friends, and family! Racine County is headed towards DEFAULT!
Sewage May Spur Growth Of Harmful Algal Blooms
Feb. 28, 2000 — SANTA CRUZ, CA, February 28, 2000 – In nature, there’s no accounting for taste. New research shows that a common type of marine algae may prefer urea, an organic nitrogen compound found in urine and in agricultural and urban runoff, over inorganic fare such as ammonium and nitrate that occurs naturally in the ocean. When excess nutrients cross their paths, these single-celled organisms, called dinoflagellates, can grow into potentially toxic blankets of algae commonly known as red tides.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/02/000227142140.htm
YEP – all that Green Algae bloom is off of Boater POOP and PEE dumped into the Harbor!
Thanks to Jim Ladwig and the County Board for allowing the Harbor to be polluted with Human Sewage and attempting to cover for it!
It would be interesting to revisit the propaganda of the early 80’s and see what was being said about this harbor project and what a boon it would be to the local economy. A comparison of the propaganda to the actual economic performance of the project would almost certainly offer a stark contrast and a sickening disappointment.
This is not a new or unique problem. All over the “third world,” throughout the 20th century. and increasingly in the “developed countries” over the last few decades, large projects have been marketed as easy pathways to economic growth and stability. Those marketing these plans are fully aware of their risk, and even hope and work for their failure. Failure assures indebtedness, and vulnerability to those who will then appear on the scene to offer assistance through the purchase of community assets such as water treatment plants, parks and even public buildings and schools. The citizens are then left with depreciating and costly investments (such as the harbor project) and hit with rising prices on basic commodities like drinking water. They often refuse to believe that some of their fellow human beings would actually plot to do this sort of thing.
The World Bank in the 90’s was all about tourism for Africa sadly the idea did not work.
However the consultants got paid
Enjoy…. Your Waterborne Diseases!
Courtesy of Jim, John, Tom and Mrs. Monte Osterman-Jerger!
Waterborne diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganisms that most commonly are transmitted in contaminated fresh water. Infection commonly results during bathing, washing, drinking, in the preparation of food, or the consumption of food thus infected. Various forms of waterborne diarrheal disease probably are the most prominent
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterborne_diseases
HEY!~ Racine has advanced to a THIRD WORLD STATUS COUNTRY!