Sweet treats await

as summer opens

Thursday, May 24, 2007 10:20 PM CDT

A chilly spring hasn't quite lost its grip on the southeastern corner of the state, but you wouldn't know it by this weekend's summery lineup. Burlington is going cocoa-loco with its annual ChocolateFest extravaganza today through Monday at the ChocolateFest grounds along Highway 36 and 83. It's food and sweets and bands and rides � a chocolate battle of the chefs and even a chocolate coronation. The signature sweet from Nestle this year is an enchanted chocolate castle and the theme is "Where you will live chocolate-ly ever-after." Sweet, hey? That's only the tip of the fun for Racine County, though. Over at Hammes Field at J.I.Case High School they're celebrating the 80th anniversary of Racine's pride, the Racine Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps, the oldest continually competitive drum and bugle corps in the nation. Several other top corps, including the Cavaliers, of Rosemont, Ill., will join the Scouts in their anniversary celebebration on Sunday. Admission is $20. Gates open at noon and the concert starts at 3 p.m. Another great Wisconsin summer is under way.

Memorial Day weekend brings family

gatherings and backyard barbecues and it also means a time to mark the dedication and sacrifice of the men and women who have served the country in its armed forces. Racine's Memorial Day Parade begins at 10 a.m. Monday at Washington Avenue in West Racine and will end with a memorial ceremony at Graceland Cemetery. Burlington's pre-parade starts at 8:30 a.m. Monday and will go from Wainright Avenue and Kane Street to the Veterans Memorial Building where a program will be held. Rochester's parade starts at 1:30 p.m. at the fire station on Highway FF. A wreath laying program at Pioneer Park follows the parade. Across the county there are memorial services and honor guard salutes slated at several cemeteries, including Southern Wisconsin Veterans Cemetery,. Union Grove, where a Memorial Day ceremony titled, "Land of the Free Because of the Brave," will be held at 11 a.m. Monday.

Glitzy, glamorous and full of fun,

Racine's young people paraded to Festival Hall last weekend for the Rotary Post Prom. From limos to motorcycles, fire trucks to military vehicles and jumbo tour buses, the city's students arrived from their respective high schools for the annual post-prom party that has become the show-stopping main event. The James Bond-themed party this year was once again, a marvelous night and Downtown Rotary gets a well-deserved tip of the hat.

As you make your summer travel plans,

or perhaps, given the staggering price at the pumps of $3.49 per gallon, your non-travel plans, we know you'll be pleased to hear that Congress rose to your motoring defense this week and passed legislation to outlaw gasoline price gouging. The law carries penalties of up to $150 million for companies and $2 million for individuals for those found guilty of taking "unfair advantage" or charging "unconscionably excessive" prices. Opponents say that language is vague and won't get any enforcement results from the FTC. They might have a point. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the FTC investigated gas price run-ups and uncovered 15 incidents that could have been gouging � or the higher prices could have been explained by other things. You might as well turn that engine off.

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