Practically a heat wave

Is it cold enough,
Miserable enough for
The Polar Bear plunge?

Simanek's choice

Will he, or won't he
Give hard time for threatening
A fictional girl?

Join the haiku club

Your turn to write one;
It's just 5, 7 and 5
And final kicker

How good must I be?

Best gifts this season
Are coming from City Hall:
Free rent and free land!

The American Way

Turkey and fixins'
Stuff us all, except for those
Who can't afford 'em.

Unanswered question

By the time Racine
OK's Tousis gas station,
Will cars still use gas?

A long time coming

Christmas comes early.
This year there's no lump of coal
For Sixth Street's merchants

Two mysteries solved?

Missing 10-year plan...
Oh, where could it be? Maybe
It's with Osama?

'Could do better'

Our schools' report card,
Once again, is terrible.
So, who will sign it?

Phew, all around

Tax rate a shocker
In Dickert's city budget?
Just rookie mistake

Suicide by budget

If his ten-year-plan
Includes raising the tax rate,
Then Dickert is toast.

What do they know?

HALO in the news:
All who vote on its funding
Have a place to sleep

Uh, whatever...

The year's best party!
There's nothing more exciting
Than a new sidewalk?

We know what we like!

Korean beer store?
No way! But welcome our new
Mechanical bull!

Hidden message?

'Kids, please stay in school,'
Obama says. 'Or grow up
a conservative.'

Hard to debate when...

At Ryan's sessions
Everyone brings opinions;
Not much listening

Selective hearing

Two Americas?
Ryan listening sessions
Already show three

Oh, those clowns

How rare! 'The circus'
doesn't refer to actions
of politicians

Positively amazing

Who would've thunk it:
So many turn negative
About positives.

Haikus are easy

Haikus are easy
But sometimes they don't make sense,
Refrigerator

--Rolf Nelson

How dare he?

No trial, but guilty!

Court of public opinion

Has ruled on Becker

How dare he?

Friedel's big score

A six-year contract!
Who does council think he is...
Yankees' next Babe Ruth?

KRMaybe?

Don't shout 'All Aboard'
Until you really mean it,
Doyle tells us, again.

There he goes again!

Four jobs in one year!
Can anyone remember
What to call Friedel?

Bonk!

I am curious
culinary art techniques?
sharing food for thought

--Peg Rousar-Thompson

Electronics shock

When Best Buy moves in
To Circuit City's old store
Will it ease the pain?

OPA!

My annual fix:
Greek dancing, music and food.
More honeypuffs, please.

Knew it all along!

Adirondack chairs
Give Downtown a Hamptons look.
We're sitting pretty!

Tripartite Haiku dedicated to BONK!

6th Street construction
Cannot stop the sparkle of
Another BONK! night


Light mariachi
Adds atmospheric mood to
Prodigious talents


Demske and Specht do
An incredible service
To Downtown Racine

-- Sarah Corso

Little shoes to fill

'Mayor John Dickert'
Has a nice ring to it, now.
Will it in ten years?

The day before doomsday

No smoking today.
Will they ban Pepsi, cake next?
It's a big leap, folks!

YWCA

Director laid-off,

Nine-months pregnant in new home:

Empowers Women?

Drip, drip, drip

A tax exemption
For Wright's buildings. If only
The roofs didn't leak!

There was one here...

Fewer parking spots
Downtown in the summertime?
Make room for buses!

The more things change

A new mayor wakes
To a sunrise revealing
The same old problems

Taxation chimera

Tax on rental cars?
Who'd have thunk it would pay for
KRM? No one

I'm baaaack!

Fourteen years as gov,
But Tommy still wants to hear
'We've missed you so much'

WKCE-EEEEEE!

Every year, the same:
Bad numbers, old excuses.
Will it ever change?

All you need to run

Say the magic words:
'My years of experience,'
Vs. 'Ten-year plan'

Reverse priority

Not making this up:
Judge says Becker's GPS
Protects him from us.

Protest equation

Passionate speakers,
Attentive audience...but
Are any minds changed?

Now, the gloves are off

Jody's woman's touch
Makes a mayoral race that's
Ready to rumble!

Or 15 rounds...

Mayoral forum
Not really what Racine needs;
How 'bout a debate?

911 CYA

Baby dies in cell
Mom's jailers show no remorse
Somebody must act.

If their lips are moving...

Plache on the spot:
Does she keep her promise, or
Get back in the game?

Candidate mailings

One candidate's plea
Mailed five times to one address
Donations to burn

Hard to pick just one?

Eleven. Count 'em!
Something for everyone in
Our mayoral field

LGBT spells progress

Racine gains a new,
And color-blind, self-image
Of diversity

Geographically challenged

Asking Paul Ryan
For a 'map' out of this mess
Ignores who brung us

Campaign conundrum

Big piles of money
To win a city office
Few of us would want

Mother Nature's tricks

This weekend's snowstorm
Is making us nostalgic
For global warming

Your time is up!

Do sound-byte forums
Help us choose the candidate
With staying power?

Where Angels tread

It woulda been great,
But put away headlines with
'Twofer,' 'dynasty'

GO REBELS, ANGELS!!

Two chances at State!
Racine hoop stars already
Making us all proud

Pennies on the dollar

All this angst about
AIG's bonus millions
Obscures the real haul

Ballot etiquette

So, Kim's vote was wrong:
Voiding someone else's vote
Sounds like Florida!

Where'd I put that?

$300 million
Vanishes, but the wealthy
Don't seem to notice.

Election harvest

Our crowded ballot
Promises one sure outcome:
Too many lawn signs!

A real plea deal

Now, Madoff gets his.
But when will the rest of us
Get back what is ours?

Campaign season

Eat, drink, be merry!
Candidates wine and dine us,
Then the tables turn.

Foot in mouth, forever

Can you take it back
In this archived, wired age?
Not a chance, Jody

Hey, sign my petition?

Is there anyone
Left in Racine who hasn't
Filed for mayor yet?

The Harding exception

Blogs help candidates
Get their message to voters.
Sometimes that can help.

Who's on first...

Is this government
Or just the city's version
Of musical chairs?

City Hall fantasy

A new library
Heads our stimulus wish list?
Don't make book on it!

Let's ask the Chief

Police impound lot
Gets the cash and draws the thieves.
So, where are the cops?

Splendid Saturday

So much going on:
Art, music, theatre, cookies!
This is MY Racine

Perfect pitch

When Council listens
It's a sure sign we're nearing
Election season

No contest

Tough choice for Council:
Stick with their own (wrong) vote, or
Move the election!

West Racine office pool

Four years, one plan,

But all the neighbors say no.

What will Council do?

Good neighbors

A park, or The Pig!
Just keep the low-income out
Where NIMBY's in charge

Pick me, pick me!

Sunset for Becker
Gives every alderman hope
For his own sunrise

Washed away

Becker's legacy:
Art district, Downtown's rebirth
Who will remember?

A Day to Remember

As we told our kids
Of JFK, they'll tell theirs
Where they were today.

Blogger Blogarrhea

Looking around at
So many angry people,
Let's hope they find peace.

Dont forget the 'D'

Voices of virtue?

County GOP is smug:

"Thank God, he's not ours."

The Next Generation

Council at Warp Speed!
Starfleet picks Becker's bones clean
No waiting for Spock

The Parent Trap

A father must think:
How'd I feel if some guy trolled

For my young daughter?

Why is this?

Presumption of guilt
Is everyone's first instinct
When mayors go bad.

Vanishing buildings

Phew! It's just J-Wax
Creating a buffer zone
We thought aliens...

Story
Story

Hey, Kid: Stop growin'

'Buy new,' Congress says,
As new law threatens to close
Our second-hand stores


Story

LGBT leeway

One issue, three votes:
It's easy for alderman
To have it both ways!

Reality check

Billions and trillions
Dominate the news. Buddy,
Can you spare a dime?