Here & Now

Here & Now for July 23, 2021

Announcer:

The following program is a PBS Wisconsin original production.

Frederica Freyberg:

Fireworks over Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee Tuesday night, as tens of thousands of fans party in the “Deer District” after the Bucks win the NBA championship and bring an economic bounce to the city. Unfortunately, those crowds concern state health officials who are once again sounding the alarm over unvaccinated people in Wisconsin and their increasing risk from COVID-19.

Julie Willems Van Dijk:

Over the past two weeks, we have seen Wisconsin hospitalizations rise from 74 people with COVID hospitalized across the state to 143 reported yesterday, almost double the patients. Nearly all of these patients could have avoided this fate if they had been vaccinated. So why didn’t they? Many of them received incorrect information about vaccines via social media or friends or family members who are also informed by errant sources.

Frederica Freyberg:

I’m Frederica Freyberg. Tonight on “Here & Now,” the Delta variant is taking advantage of those who are not yet vaccinated, which is half the state’s population. Dr. Michael Osterholm gives us his take. And the Milwaukee Bucks win their first NBA championship in 50 years. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley tells us just how many bucks the Bucks are bringing in. And Wisconsin is in its preseason for the 2022 elections. We preview the candidates for U.S. Senate and hear from a Republican candidate for state attorney general. It’s “Here & Now” for July 23.

Announcer:

Funding for “Here & Now” is provided by the Focus Fund for Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.

Frederica Freyberg:

Our first guest has said we are literally sitting on the edge of what could be a major crisis. He’s talking about the latest threat from COVID-19. Epidemiologist Dr. Michael Osterholm is a national expert and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. He joins us now from Minneapolis and thanks very much for being here.

Michael Osterholm:

Thanks for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:

So the last time we spoke with you in March of this year you said we’re doing everything but turning over our credit cards to this virus. We’re giving it every opportunity to be transmitted and that was before the Delta variant became the dominant strain in the U.S. What about what is happening now and where do you see this going?

Michael Osterholm:

My comments back then were referring to the variants in general. And the fact that really since November of last year when we recognized that these variants, these mutated viruses actually had tremendous impact on how infectious the virus could be, whether it caused more severe illness or whether it even had the ability to evade the immune protection of the vaccine or natural infection immunity. What’s happened since then is we have just seen additional variants spin out that have been even more concerning. This particular variant, Delta, is one of the most infectious respiratory viruses any of us have ever seen. It is now 40% to 60% more infectious than the original Alpha strain which appeared last March and April. And that means that at this point this thing is going to a place where none of us had imagined early on in the pandemic. We saw an average case transmitting to 1.5, 1.8 other people, which meant that the outbreak grew. Well, now this is transmitting to between six to eight people per on average case. And so the case numbers are growing very, very quickly. And this is a big challenge for us.

Frederica Freyberg:

How dangerous is this situation then for the unvaccinated?

Michael Osterholm:

Well, I think you’ve really hit a very important note here in the sense that if you look at the world, first of all know that the pandemic is raging on and it really is in some ways only really still getting started. Of the 6.4 billion people in the low and middle-income countries, less than 2% have had any access to vaccine and there’s still a lot of people yet to get infected. So this pandemic is still unfolding in the rest of the world. Here in the United States we’ve done a much better job with our vaccination programs, but there still are 100 million Americans, let me repeat that, 100 million Americans that have not been vaccinated and they surely serve as you might say the human wood for this coronavirus forest fire to burn. So this is what we’re concerned about over the course of the next upcoming weeks. At this point, all of the 50 states and the District of Columbia are seeing case numbers increases and for some of the states where this Delta variant really has taken off first, the case numbers are increasing quite dramatically.

Frederica Freyberg:

There’s a small percentage of people who are vaccinated getting so-called breakthrough infections. Should this be a concern?

Michael Osterholm:

Breakthrough infections were anticipated right from the very beginning. When we told you that the vaccines might be 90% to 95% effective early on, that meant that of course there would be a small percentage of people who, once vaccinated, when exposed to the virus would actually still get infected and potentially even ill. Now, the good news is is that for most of these, it’s very mild illness and it’s not a significant challenge. So the vaccine is still reducing the severity of the disease, whether you need to be hospitalized and even dying. There are a few, primarily the elderly population, where even having been vaccinated they still get quite ill and can die. But I think the message is to get across right now is that if you look at what’s happening with hospitalizations, 97% of the cases in this country among COVID patients are currently among the unvaccinated. 99% of the deaths are occurring among unvaccinated COVID patients. So if there was ever a compelling reason, now is the time. Please get vaccinated. If not for yourself, for your loved ones, for the people you might transmit the virus to. They could become a very seriously-ill individual.

Frederica Freyberg:

Does this kind of half measure of vaccinations like the 50% who have been vaccinated in Wisconsin make us more susceptible to ever-more variants?

Michael Osterholm:

The United States’ contribution to the variants surely cannot be denied, but it pales in comparison to the rest of the world. Remember I mentioned that 6.4 billion people who have basically no access to vaccine in most of the world. That’s where we’re going to see the vast majority of transmission occur. If you look at the Delta variant, it arose in India. I think that’s where we’re going to continue to see these new variants come spinning out of. The question is is this it? Is Delta the worse one? Will they only get to be milder after this? We have no way of knowing that. It’s hard for us to imagine getting something worse than Delta, but in fact we could see that over time, that that is the case.

Frederica Freyberg:

Meanwhile, you saw the 100,000 people attending the Milwaukee Bucks game six in Milwaukee. Not to rain on that parade, but are you as concerned as Wisconsin public health officials are about that gathering in terms of being a spreader event?

Michael Osterholm:

I’m absolutely concerned. Any of these events like this right now, where people don’t realize that the Delta variant is around, where we see the transmission of this virus in settings just like that, there was a large festival in Massachusetts two weeks ago that has resulted now in many thousands of cases from having been at an outdoor festival, largely. So, yeah, we’re very concerned about it. And particularly because most people have the sense this is over with. They think the pandemic is done. And it’s not. We might be done with the virus. We might be trying to run out the clock. But the virus is not done with us. And all I can say is if you are not vaccinated with this virus, it will find you eventually.

Frederica Freyberg:

We leave it there. Dr. Michael Osterholm, thank you. Thank you for your work.

Michael Osterholm:

Thank you.

Frederica Freyberg:

One thing is for sure, the crowds outside the Fiserv Forum for game six showed just how much Wisconsin is bursting with pride over the Milwaukee Bucks’ NBA championship win.

[Cheers and applause]

And the celebration played on into the week, including with a Bucks victory parade through downtown Milwaukee. In the lead, Bucks players themselves and public officials, like the governor, mayor and Milwaukee County executive David Crowley. Just how much do the champs and their organization mean to Milwaukee and, by extension, the state? We asked David Crowley, who joins us now. Thanks very much for being here and congratulations.

David Crowley:

Thank you so much. This is an awesome opportunity. As you can probably tell by my voice, it was a great parade.

Frederica Freyberg:

Lots of cheering. What was going through your head as you marched through or rode through the streets in the Bucks’ victory parade late this week?

David Crowley:

I think this meant a lot for Wisconsinites, Milwaukeeans, this whole region. I’ve always been a lifelong fan of Milwaukee Bucks. To be a part of this parade was just phenomenal. It was the first time ever we actually won a championship right in our own backyard. Even when you think about the Brewers years ago, as well as the Bucks years ago but to see so many people out and really come out to support this team, support this city was just an amazing opportunity.

Frederica Freyberg:

So seeing the crowds for the games and the after-party, was it like, yes, the investment, which was broadly $250 million in public financing to keep the Bucks in Milwaukee and construct the arena, it paid off. The investment paid off. Is that what you were thinking?

David Crowley:

Oh, absolutely. I remember being part of the Legislature as an aide when the Fiserv Forum legislation was going through the process. And I think it has paid off. Thank you to Herb Kohl for making sure that the Bucks stay here, the owners for their commitment to this region. But this has been a huge economic boost for a lot of different individuals, especially for those within the “Deer District” in downtown Milwaukee, to see thousands of people coming into this city, coming to this region, spending their money, just let you know that this is something new for us. And we should get used to being on the national stage. Having the Bucks right now as the world champions, seeing this great run so far with the Brewers, this is something we have to get used to. So we see the economic impact and it’s been great to see so many folks spending their dollars, patronizing our community, especially with the past two years that we have seen.

Frederica Freyberg:

Do you know how much spin-off economic effect there has been from the Bucks and their presence? I mean, is there like a dollar amount that people like yourself and others in the city talk about?

David Crowley:

You know, after reading some of the reports, you know, anywhere between $2 to $3 million were being spent right here in our own backyard during those home finals games. Even when you think about those away games, we still had tens of thousands of people at the “Deer District” patronizing local restaurants, patronizing local businesses. And so we see a lot of money being spent. But now it’s about how do we make sure that those dollars are being spent here locally, we can capture those dollars right here. I’m really excited about the opportunity it brings when we talk about the local option sales tax for us to be able to invest those dollars that are being spent here locally.

Frederica Freyberg:

Aside from the economics of it, does rallying around the team create unity among people, unity that we really need about now?

David Crowley:

You know, when you think about, you know, our mission and vision here in Milwaukee County is that we believe we can become the healthiest county by achieving racial equity. When you think about sports, right here in Milwaukee, in the most diverse county throughout the whole state, you see all types of people, no matter their age, no matter what they look like, no matter who they love. They were at that Bucks arena. So I got to give a great thanks again to all sports fans because it’s one of the most diverse places you can go right here in our own backyard. We did see a rallying cry. We’ve seen people coming together from all walks of life, from all across this region to come celebrate, to come support our Milwaukee Bucks. So it was a great thing to see. And hopefully we can continue to have this type of morale boost for many years to come.

Frederica Freyberg:

Now, I know that as part of the state financing package, Milwaukee County has to forego something like $4 million a year in shared revenue from the state and there are certainly some people who would say that money could be going to needed services unrelated to professional basketball. What is your response to that?

David Crowley:

Well, you know, we could be using these dollars. There were different changes in the legislation that required us to give the $4 million in our shared revenue back. But at the end of the day, this is about giving us some tools, giving local governments the options to raise different types of revenues. And this is what the local option sales tax can do for us. But I will say that it has also given us an opportunity as well to really bring more people together. But we do need those dollars. But that’s why we’re going to the state Legislature, building relationships with folks on both sides of the aisle on why we need the local option sales tax. At the end of the day, even with that $4 million it’s not going to solve all of our problems. So between now and 2027, in the next six years, we’re facing about a $150 million budget gap. To put that in perspective, our Milwaukee County transit system budget this year is $150 million alone. Even if we talk about the $4 million we still need the additional revenues to make sure our buses are running to get people to work, to make sure we have great parks people can enjoy. Also to make sure we can invest locally in our young people, in our seniors as well as everything else that makes us great.

Frederica Freyberg:

All right. We need to leave it there. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. Thank you very much. Go, Bucks.

David Crowley:

Thank you so much for having me. Go, Bucks. Bucks in six.

Frederica Freyberg:

There is this, though. U.S. cities like Milwaukee saw a boost in funding this year from the American Rescue Plan, a federal pandemic-related bill passed in March. Milwaukee’s slice of the pie will be roughly $400 million over the next few years. Reporter Will Kenneally has details on how that funding is expected to be spent.

Will Kenneally:

2020 was a hard year but Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett sees a silver lining.

Tom Barrett:

This is a once in a generation chance to address challenges this city faces and I’m eager to move forward.

Will Kenneally:

Milwaukee is set to receive a total of nearly $400 million over the next two years as part of the American Rescue Plan. Barrett released his plan this month for how to spend the initial $93 million of that money. He wants it to go toward needs in the city, including housing, jobs and public safety. Funding would go to low-income housing projects, rental assistance and a loan program to help homeowners make repairs. The money would also go to help fund job training, with a priority on getting people to work, cleaning up the city’s lead problem.

Tom Barrett:

This will include high-quality work experiences with connections to employers in in-demand fields. Lead abatement, without a doubt, is one of the major issues we face as a community.

Will Kenneally:

The first outlay would also include street improvements to help prevent reckless driving and funds to help the Milwaukee Police crackdown on it.

Marc Levine:

You’re talking about an infusion of funds equal to about 25% of the annual budget of the city. Now, that’s not going to change everything overnight. It’s not going to solve all the problems in the city. But that’s a pretty substantial amount of money.

Will Kenneally:

UW-Milwaukee Economist Marc Levine says the funds are targeted to some of the hard-hit parts of the city.

Marc Levine:

Certainly the economic effects of the pandemic were most strongly felt in the housing and the employment areas. You had tremendous — with businesses closing, you had a tremendous decline in employment.

Will Kenneally:

Levine says most importantly is how the funds are spent.

Tom Barrett:

Every program funded in my plan has been viewed from a racial equity lens.

Marc Levine:

That’s a very important aspect of this and that’s particularly seen in the area of home ownership, right, where Milwaukee has the second lowest rate of Black homeownership in the country. Only 27% of African-Americans in Milwaukee own their own homes compared to 68, 70% of whites.

Will Kenneally:

Levine says this racial disparity was exacerbated during the pandemic and was also seen in unemployment numbers. Chytania Brown heads the group Employ Milwaukee.

Chytania Brown:

This recovery must be equitable as the mayor has mentioned with a vision that ensures systematic transformation, it fosters community revitalization and provides individuals from all backgrounds with career and educational opportunities. We see this as an historic opportunity to make impactful, long-term change in our community.

Will Kenneally:

Members of the Common Council say they will take the time between now and September to study the mayor’s plan. Reporting for “Here & Now,” I’m Will Kenneally in Milwaukee.

Frederica Freyberg:

Shifting to the 2022 election preseason, Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate this week in Milwaukee.

Mandela Barnes:

I’m running for the Senate to provide opportunity, to fight for hard-working people just like my parents and so many other people across this entire great state.

Frederica Freyberg:

34-year-old Mandela Barnes is the first Black person to serve as lieutenant governor in Wisconsin. Voters will select his replacement in the August 2022 Democratic primary. The winner of that race will be on the ticket with Governor Tony Evers in the general election. As to the loss of his running mate to the crowded field of Democrats running for U.S. Senate against the Republican incumbent, Evers released a statement saying, in part, “We’re lucky to have strong Democratic candidates who are running to send him packing and I look forward to supporting Wisconsin Democrats’ choice to take on Ron Johnson in 2022.” Other announced Democratic candidates for the Senate seat include State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, State Senator Chris Larson, Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson, Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry, Wausau physician Gillian Battino, former state Senate candidate Adam Murphy, Milwaukee attorney Peter Peckarsky and Milwaukee Alder Chantia Lewis. Incumbent Senator Ron Johnson has not yet announced he will run for re-election, but in response to the latest entrance into the race, the National Republican Senatorial Committee said this. “While Wisconsin Democrats trip over themselves to prove who’s more liberal, Senator Ron Johnson continues to work hard to bring common sense to Washington and fight for the people of Wisconsin.”

Another statewide race on the docket in 2022 is for Wisconsin attorney general. Two Republican candidates will face off in the primary set in the spring of next year, including UW-Madison political science professor Ryan Owens. After completing his undergrad and law degree at UW-Madison, Owens got his Ph.D. in political science at Washington University in St. Louis. He went on to be an assistant professor at Harvard University. He then went on to work in the legal office of former Governor Tommy Thompson. Last week we heard from the Democratic incumbent. We will hear from both Republican candidates on our program. Tonight it’s Ryan Owens and he joins us from Washington and, professor, thanks very much for being here.

Ryan Owens:

Happy to be here. Thanks.

Frederica Freyberg:

So our first question is why should voters elect you as Wisconsin attorney general?

Ryan Owens:

Well, for me, as I take a look at what’s going on in Washington– in Wisconsin right now, excuse me. I’m in Washington. But as I look at what’s going on in Wisconsin right now I see a tremendous leadership deficit. I think our leaders over the last year and a half have showed us basically failures on numerous levels. So what I’m doing is going around asking people in the state of Wisconsin are you freer today than you were two years ago? Are you safer than you were two years ago? And are you more prosperous today than you were two years ago? I think the vast majority of people that I’ve spoken to, almost all of them, have said that they’re not. I think we can tie the answers that they give to bad policies by this administration.

Frederica Freyberg:

I want to get to some of that in more detail, but if you could just give us a thumbnail of your platform.

Ryan Owens:

Take a look at safety, for example. In Madison, Wisconsin, crime is up, homicides are up 100% than they were a year ago. In Milwaukee they’re up 85% higher than they were. And in Green Bay they are doubled from what they were two years ago. This is a tremendous problem and I think it’s tied directly to the attorney general’s leadership.

Frederica Freyberg:

Also you believe the sitting AG did not do enough during last summer’s protests. What should he have done?

Ryan Owens:

Well, honestly, that’s one of the major reasons why I got into this, was just to see the leadership deficit there, when we had protestors tearing down statues in Madison. Decapitating them and dumping them in the lakes. Our leadership did nothing about it. Kenosha, when it was burning, literally on fire, and our sheriffs were asking the attorney general for assistance, you know, he told them I can’t do that because it will look like I’m taking sides.

Frederica Freyberg:

Where do you stand on police reform?

Ryan Owens:

I think the vast majority of our law enforcement officers in this state wake up every morning thinking how they can help out, how they can be good stewards of the public’s trust. I don’t like a narrative developing that says they are all racist or somehow opposed to a certain sector of the population.

Frederica Freyberg:

Speaking with Josh Kaul last week, he stated his top priority has been public safety. He has experience prosecuting violent criminals. How do you see your work as a legal scholar translating to the job of being the state’s top cop?

Ryan Owens:

Sure. This is about principles, not position. I think we need to have people with the right principles in this office. The attorney general in his past was a prosecutor and I don’t think that’s gotten us very far. He has failed to do the hard work, to work with law enforcement on the ground. The other thing that people need to know about this position is yes, it is substantially criminal, but there is also a substantial amount of civil work. Who is going to defend Wisconsin’s interest at the federal level right now? Josh Kaul is not doing that. I will. We need someone who will ride herd over the administrative branch in the state of Wisconsin. That is a very, very important position for the attorney general.

Frederica Freyberg:

I want to get to this. You believe that government’s response, public health’s response to the pandemic represents, “government overreach and undue restrictions.” But as the nation now grapples with the Delta variant, do you believe that individual freedoms extend to the right to potentially infect other people with a potentially deadly virus?

Ryan Owens:

Well, I think that what we saw over the last year and a half was tremendous overreach at multiple dimensions. And I think that’s a problem. Certainly here in Wisconsin if you take a look at what this attorney general did not do, he did not check the governor’s office when the governor was seeking unconstitutional [inaudible] restrictions on people. Our state Supreme Court struck that down. The attorney general was silent on the matter. He ought to have stood up for our rights and liberties but he failed to do that. I think we need to have an attorney general who will say if you believe in the science, put your money where your mouth is and don’t bow to leftwing interests. I think we need to have an attorney general that will tell the governor if you want to do what you’re talking about doing, you have to show us where you have the authority to do that and it has to pass the test. This attorney general allowed the governor to proceed with powers that were unconstitutional and did nothing to check them.

Frederica Freyberg:

What about that question, though? Do you believe that individual freedoms extend to the right to potentially infect other people with a potentially deadly virus by not being vaccinated or not masking?

Ryan Owens:

I think we’ve got to have an attorney general involved in those communications to figure out what’s legal and what’s not and make sure that we proceed in an adult version here that recognizes our freedoms, our safety and our prosperity without going knee-jerk at locking everything down.

Frederica Freyberg:

We leave it there. Ryan Owens, thanks very much for joining us.

Ryan Owens:

Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.

Frederica Freyberg:

To see our interview last week with Democratic incumbent candidate Josh Kaul and for original reporting on COVID-19, visit our website at PBSwisconsin.org/news. And that is our program for tonight. Be sure to tune in next week when we look at the expiration of the federal moratorium on evictions and what it means for people in Wisconsin. I’m Frederica Freyberg. Have a good weekend.

Announcer:

Funding for “Here & Now” is provided by the Focus Fund for Journalism and Friends of PBS Wisconsin.