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Vol. 39 • No. 15 • Thurs., April 09, 2020 - Wed., April 15, 2020 • An NCON Publication Serving The Milwaukee Area • 75¢
Spring election continued on despite coronavirus
Polls were open across Wisconsin on Tuesday, April 7, 2020, an election day unlike any other. Some voters in Milwaukee were being told to expect to wait up to 2 1/2 hours to cast their ballots. Cities have consolidated the number of polling sites due to a shortage of workers willing to interact with the public due to the coronavirus. Lines at five polling locations snaked around the block. Some brought their own pens. Other brought their own wipes. Milwaukee normally has 180 polling places. "I was one of the people who applied three weeks ago for an absentee ballot, and it did not arrive. So I'm here, doing this," voter April McCaskill said. "Because I wanted to vote, I wouldn't miss it. I wouldn't have missed this. I want to vote. I'm a voter,” Rose Redmon said. There's only one polling location in Waukesha. Some voters wore masks and stood feet apart as they
Photo by Yvonne Kemp
lined up to cast their ballots. Poll workers around the state said they were fearful about catching and spreading the coronavirus as thousands turned out despite a stay-athome order. In addition to the presidential primary, thousands of local officials are on the ballot. There is also a state Supreme Court race. Results aren't planned to be released until next Monday. Gov. Tony Evers tried to stop in-person voting with an order Monday, April 6, 2020, but the state Supreme Court ruled it must go on.
"Although I remain deeply concerned about the public health implications of voting in-person today, I am overwhelmed by the bravery, resilience, and heroism of those who are defending our democracy by showing up to vote, working the polls, and reporting on this election," Evers said. "Thank you for giving our state something to be proud of today. Please stay as safe as possible, Wisconsin." Thousands of poll workers said they would not work, resulting in more than 2,000 National Guard troops being called on to fill in the gaps. As of midday Tuesday,
turnout had been robust. The executive director of the city of Milwaukee's election commission said poll workers are the true heroes of the state's decision to move forward with an election. Neil Albrecht, executive director of the city's election commission, said there were 80 to 100 poll workers at each site, including about 30 National Guard members. Workers were taking safety precautions. Albrecht called the wait times unfortunate. He also said the election has been filled with injustices. Among them, his office has gotten numerous calls from people who requested an absentee ballot but didn't get one. He said for those people, their only option was to vote in person. "The Election Commission is not allowed to reissue a ballot after the Friday deadline to apply for that ballot," a city spokeswoman said. (Continued on pg. 8)
Milwaukee's Black community hit hard by COVID-19 pandemic Deaths and confirmed cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus are spiking in Milwaukee’s black community, leading public health and civic leaders to sound the alarm that decades of social, political and economic disadvantages are creating a toxic stew that puts people’s lives at risk like no time before. “I wish I could say I was surprised or shocked by that,” said Joshua Garoon, an assistant professor at UW-Madison who studies the sociology of public health. “But it’s precisely, given the situation in Wisconsin, what I would expect to see. … All else is not equal, especially in a city like Milwaukee.” Fears about the virus striking inner city, poor neighborhoods harder than others was reverberating across the country, particularly in large urban areas such as New York , Detroit, New Orleans Chicago and Milwaukee. Milwaukee is Wisconsin’s largest city, with about 600,000 people, and is home to the state’s largest minority population. As of 2018, black people accounted for about 38 percent of the city’s population, with about 35 percent white and 20 percent
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Hispanic. The city is repeatedly ranked as one of the worst for black people in the country, based on income and employment disparities, a wide education gap and high levels of incarceration. As of Friday, April 13, 2020, about half of Wisconsin’s deaths and total cases — 411 out of 842 — were in Milwaukee. All eight people who have died from COVID-19 in Milwaukee County were black, and seven of the eight lived in the city. The eight deaths were five men and three women, ranging in age from 54 to 79. There were seven other deaths spread throughout
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the state. The majority of Milwaukee’s confirmed cases of the respiratory disease were concentrated in African American neighborhoods, city health leaders said Thursday. “The severity of this disease in the African American community is a crisis within a crisis,” Gov. Tony Evers said Friday. He said a team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were in Milwaukee gathering data. For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing
health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death. David Bowen, a state representative who is black and lives in one of Milwaukee’s African American communities, contracted COVID-19 earlier this month and has been recovering at home. He said it started with body aches and chills. “I literally could not get warm in my own home,” Bowen said Friday. “I walked around with a winter hat on for days trying to stay warm. Your body is fighting this fever.” One of those in Milwaukee who died, 69-year-old Lenard Wells, was a former Milwaukee police lieutenant and a mentor to Bowen and others in the black community. Bowen said he’s worried that black people are not taking the virus seriously because they’re not getting accurate information. He said families need more resources so they can afford to stay home and be safe. Even if they are presented with all the best information possible, it remains difficult for people in Milwaukee’s (Continued on pg. 8)
IN THIS ISSUE:
‘LEAN ON ME,’ ‘LOVELY DAY’ SINGER BILL WITHERS DIES AT 81 - PAGE 2
COVID-19 WARNING: STAY AWAY FROM PAYDAY LOAN STORES - PAGE 5
THE BLENDED FAMILY (WEEK 1) - PAGE 4
COVID-19 Update Statistics:
• 93 patients have died • At least 2,679 patients have tested positive for the coronavirus in Wisconsin since the outbreak began •1,387 patients in Milwaukee County -- 50 deaths • The state has no longer been updating the number of patients who have recovered. • At least 28,512 patients have tested negative. • 29 percent of patients have been hospitalized. •As of Tuesday, April 7, 2020, more than 383,000 Americans have tested positive for the coronavirus •At least 12,200 Americans have died from the coronavirus, as of Tuesday, April 7, 2020 •As of Tuesday, April 7, 2020, nearly 20,100 American patients have recovered www.milwaukeetimesnews.com