Thursday, May 16, 2013
As predicted, traffic is backed up into Racine County because of work being done on I-94 near Rawson Avenue.
**Updated at 5:57 p.m. May 18 Patch reader Mike Hembrook said he had been stuck between the airport spur and College Avenue for over an hour. "Just a crawl and people are cutting everyone off, plus broke down cars every 100 feet," he said. **Updated 9:55 a.m. May 18 As predicted, traffic jams are reaching into Racine County because I-94 is shut down at Rawson Avenue. Cameras from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation are showing lines of vehicles snaking north into Milwaukee County from the 7-Mile Road exit. Local law enforcement is warning drivers that back-ups could extend as far south as Highway 20. Oak Creek residents should expect some heavy traffic congestion on local roads this weekend. Interstate 94 shut down at Rawson Ave. at…
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Some Wisconsin legislators are hoping to prevent any government restrictions on the size of your soda. What about your own restrictions? If any?
If the state Joint Finance Committee gets its way, the Big Gulp will have the freedom to remain, well, … Big. WISN 12 News reports the panel, which includes local representatives Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) and Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend), placed a provision in the budget bill that would prevent any city or county from limiting the size of a food or drink being sold. The infamous New York City ban on sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces is being challenged in court, but if successful it would dramatically slash the 7-11 Big Gulp (128 ounces) and the McDonald’s Supersize (40 ounces) among others, according to Mother Jones. Setting aside the notion for a moment of how much control government should exert over such a matter, how…
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Controversies over the $648 million reserve fund and the $600,000 Palermo's Pizza deal are bedeviling University of Wisconsin leaders.
It’s hard not to feel a bit sorry for Rebecca Blank, incoming chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Sure, the acting U.S. commerce secretary, set to start in July, will make $500,000 a year — plus benefits and perks, including a university residence and car, money for travel and entertainment, and an unpaid academic appointment for her husband. But she’ll be stepping into a host of controversies, drawing flak from all directions. As one UW-Madison student quipped, “Blank is not starting off with a blank slate.” There’ll be ongoing fallout from some legislators’ volcanic eruptions over revelations that the UW System has a $648 million reserve fund. Though this is in line with other state systems, Wisconsin politicians are “…
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Attention online shoppers: You might have to pony up more cash for those online shopping sprees, if federal sales tax legislation becomes law.
Online shoppers, who enjoyed avoiding paying sales tax for their out-of-state purchases, probably won't be happy if a bill pending in Congress becomes law. The Marketplace Fairness Act, which passed 69-27 in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, allows states the authority, and option, of collecting taxes on Internet and catalog sales. The act does not create a new tax. But it does allow states the option of collecting the taxes, which they are already owed. However, the legislation does exempt small businesses that make less than $1 million from collecting the tax. U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) voted for the bill, but Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) did not. “Today, I joined a bipartisan majority of the U.S. Senate in support of the Marketplace Fairness …
Friday, May 3, 2013
Wisconsin's drunk driving-related incidents are the highest in the United States and state Legislators have crafted six bills to confront the issue, but they carries a hefty price tag.
Some state Republican Legislators want to toughen the laws for habitual drunk drivers and first-time drunk drivers if they cause an injury or killed someone, but the price tag for those laws could cost taxpayers up to $236 million, according to a story in the Wisconsin State Journal. Rep. Jim Ott (R-Mequon) and Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) have introduced six bills to the Senate and House. The bills would: Because of the jail time provisions, the state expects to have to build 17 facilities that would each house 300 people. "A fiscal estimate from the state Department of Corrections put the cost of the bill regarding third and subsequent offenses at between $169 million and $204 million annually. Other agencies also weighed in, …
Thursday, May 2, 2013
But border security should be the priority, the Republican senator and Tea Party favorite said during an interview with Patch, adding immigration reform should be tackled in bite-sized pieces, not on a comprehensive basis.
U.S. Ron Johnson says he is open to the idea of a pathway to citizenship, or some sort of legal status system, so the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country "can come out of the shadows." However, the Tea Party-backed Republican said Thursday that Congress should tackle immigration reform on a piecemeal basis — instead of passing a comprehensive plan. The debate over immigration reform has heated up in recent days, with protests staged Wednesday in cities across the country, including Milwaukee, as part of May Day celebrations. The demonstrations served as a message aimed at Congress, showing there's support for a path to citizenship, according to the New York Times. In an interview with Patch on Thursday in Bayside, Johnson …
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan plans to hold bilingual town hall meeting in June to take up the issue, saying he wants to fix the immigration system because it's broken, not for any political reasons.
Declaring that the nation's current immigration policy "doesn't work for anyone," U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan said Wednesday he is planning a bilingual town hall meeting in Racine in June to focus on the issue. While this wouldn't be his first bilingual meeting, Ryan's decision to focus on immigration comes at a same time the Republican Party is launching an effort to lure more Hispanic voters. In November, just 27 percent of Hispanics nationwide voted for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and running mate Ryan — and the GOP is trying to improve those numbers. It also comes as Congressional Republicans are divided on how to deal with the controversial issue. Some Republicans, like Ryan, want to make it possible for illegal immigrants …
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, former running mate of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, says that with the election behind him, he's happy to "get back to work" and fight for what he believes in.
Despite taking his lumps in the November election, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan said Tuesday that he has a "moral obligation" to continue fighting for what he believes in. "What do you do when you get knocked down?" he asked "You get back up. You pick yourself up, and go back and fight for what you think is right, what you believe in." Speaking at a town hall meeting in Oak Creek, the former Republican vice presidential candidate joked about the outcome of the race. "Let's just say the election didn't go the way I wanted it to go," he told the crowd of about 180. Still, Ryan said, he will continue to push for immigration reform, a revamp of the tax system, energy legislation and more. In an interview with Patch after the 90-minute listening session…
The bodies of the poor and indigent people buried near Froedtert Hospital will be moved at the expense of $1.5 million to $2 million.
If there's no rest for the weary, there certainly won't be any rest for up to 1,300 poor people buried in unmarked graves near Froedtert Hospital. A paupers' cemetery will be moved to make room for Froedtert's expansion, but the move will cost Milwaukee County taxpayers up to $2 million, according to Patch's media partners at WISN 12 News. A state hearing examiner ruled that the county will either have to pay for the graves' removal upfront or Froedtert could subtract the cost from its lease payment to the county, the Journal Sentinel reported. Froedtert Hospital's plans for a new 480,000-square-foot building to house expanded surgical, inpatient and outpatient care is proposed to stand atop what is now a cemetery containing the remains of…
Monday, April 29, 2013
Documentary "Citizen Koch" and book by Journal Sentinel reporters have differing takes on 2011 battle between unions and Gov. Scott Walker.
As the dust settles on the epic battles over union rights for public workers in Wisconsin, two new major works aim to put these events into perspective. The first is “Citizen Koch,” a documentary by award-winning filmmakers Carl Deal and Tia Lessin. It aired at the Sundance Film Festival in January and the Wisconsin Film Festival this month. The second is “More Than They Bargained For,” a book by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters Jason Stein and Patrick Marley, published by the University of Wisconsin Press. Both recount how newly elected Gov. Scott Walker in February 2011 “dropped the bomb” (his words) regarding his plan to largely end the collective bargaining rights of most state and local public employees. “Citizen Koch” frames …
a quiet conservative
6:09 pm on Saturday, May 18, 2013
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