Tuesday, September 25, 2012
The League of Wisconsin Municipalities sent a letter to Gov. Scott Walker Tuesday requesting a portion of the projected state budget surplus be returned to provide property tax relief.
Now that the state’s finances are projected to be back in the black under Gov. Scott Walker, organizations are lining up to receive their cut after sharing the sacrifice. The League of Wisconsin Municipalities sent a letter to the governor Tuesday requesting a portion of the projected surplus be returned to provide property tax relief. Municipalities took a $100 million hit in the current state budget to alleviate the state’s fiscal problems. However, the state announced that tax revenues are projected to come in $126.6 million higher than anticipated. The League of Municipalities contends the state’s recovery wouldn’t have occurred without investment in economic development and infrastructure at the local level. “(Gov. Walker) recently …
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
To avoid confusion on whether or not Act 10 is in effect, J.B. Van Hollen is asking the court for a stay while the case is being appealed.
As expected, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen Tuesday filed a motion to stay the latest decision about Act 10, the collective bargaining law. Last Friday, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Juan Colas ruled that parts of Act 10 are unconstitutional because the law violates the guarantee of freedom of speech and citizens' freedom of association. Colas also determined that Act 10 does not offer equal protection under the law because it creates a separate class of state workers. In his motion to the Dane County Circuit Court, Van Hollen outlines his belief that the decision will be overturned on appeal. Until the appellate court rules, Van Hollen believes a stay is appropriate to avoid any confusion for municipalities and school districts that …
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
State Sen. John Lehman says its time to explore and possibly implement a plan that funds public schools more fairly.
Just last week, the Senate Education and Corrections Committee met to hear testimony from education leaders and perform a checkup on the state of education following the first year of major cuts. The conclusions from the committee were that the cuts were in fact real and they hurt. There was overarching, bipartisan agreement that we need to fix a flawed public education funding formula. For many years now, legislators and education leaders have agreed that the school funding formula needs to be revamped. Because of the extreme cuts in the last biennium it is all the more imperative that we no longer put off this task. School districts are required to balance their budgets and they took drastic steps to absorb the cuts, but not without …
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
In comments that were broadcast nationwide, governor talks about the recall election and how ultimately "the hard-working taxpayers won."
Below is the text of the speech that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker delivered Tuesday at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, FL. Thank you and good evening. On June 5th, voters in Wisconsin were asked to choose between going backwards to the days of double-digit tax increases, billion dollar budget deficits and record job losses, or moving forward with reforms that lowered the tax burden, balanced the budget and helped small businesses create more jobs. On June 5th, voters in my swing state were asked to decide if they wanted elected officials who measure success by how many people are dependent on the government, or if they wanted leaders who believe success is measured by how many people are not dependent on the government, because…
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Gov. Scott Walker wants election discussions to be about the future, not "ignorant" comments about rape and pregnancy.
Gov. Scott Walker said Tuesday that Republican Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin should drop out of the race after Akin made controversial comments about rape and pregnancy. "Yes, he should step down. Those comments were ignorant at best and outrageous," Walker said during a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Sturtevant. Akin on Monday said he opposes abortion even in cases of rape because he, added, victims of "legitimate" rape can shut down their body's ability to get pregnant. Walker joins a growing number of Republicans calling for Akin to get out of the race. Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson on Monday took to social media to denounce Akin's comments. On Twitter, Johnson called Akin's statements, “reprehensible and inexcusable." While …
Monday, August 20, 2012
Outboard motor manufacturer BRP US, Inc. is expected to finish adding 458 jobs by the end of this year because of a recent expansion.
Gov. Scott Walker's office announced Monday that he will visit BRP US, Inc. in Sturtevant Tuesday after the company expanded their facility to add 458 jobs over three years. BRP - formally known as Bombardier Products - makes outboard motors and moved to Sturtevant from Waukegan, IL, about 10 years ago. The Evinrude division remained in Waukegan but the company decided to consolidate its locations, resulting in the expansion. According to Village Clerk/Interim Administrator Mary Cole, some of the jobs are relocated and some are brand new positions. The company started adding the new jobs in 2010 and is expected to fill the rest by the end of 2012.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
In first Patch survey of influential Wisconsin Democrats, it's clear most would prefer Senate candidate Tammy Baldwin face someone other than the former governor in the November election.
When it comes to the Republican primary for Wisconsin's open U.S. Senate seat, the state's Democratic political insiders see the race as a two-man contest between former Gov. Tommy Thompson and businessman Eric Hovde. But when asked whom Democrat Tammy Baldwin would have the best chance of defeating in the general election, these influential Democrats made it clear that Thompson would be her toughest opponent. In Patch's first "Blue Wisconsin" Survey of Democratic influencers throughout the state, 47 percent of the respondents said they thought Hovde would win Tuesday's primary election, while 45 percent said Thompson had the best shot. However, when surveyed on which Republican would give Baldwin the best chance to win in November, only …
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Governor Scott Walker's uses his weekly radio address to talk about the drought and Wisconsin farmers.
The state has partnered with the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association to produce and distribute brief radio address once a week. Audio files and a written transcript of this radio address can be accessed on http://www.wi-broadcasters.org and http://walker.wi.gov/Weekly-Radio-Addresses. To download an mp3 file you can visit, right click the radio address link and click “save link as.” Transcript below: Hi, this is Scott Walker. Dry conditions and extreme heat continue this week. Take caution to stay out of the heat and look out for family, friends and neighbors—particularly senior citizens and people on medications. A list of places to cool off can be found by visiting www.ready.wi.gov; or, in most areas, by calling 211. The heat and …
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Gov. Scott Walker announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has deemed a cluster of counties natural disaster areas due to the drought. Financial assistance programs are open to farmers hit hardest by the conditions.
Wisconsin farmers have been doing their best to navigate the parched drought-laden landscape that has stricken a large portion of the state. However, Gov. Scott Walker and the federal government are providing an oasis of sorts for those affected by dry conditions. Last week, Walker declared a drought emergency for the entire state and requested federal disaster relief for 23 of the most deeply affected counties a day later. Walker on Wednesday announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture followed up and deemed those 23 counties natural disaster areas. The designation allows farmers to apply for low-interest emergency loans. Waukesha, Milwaukee, Racine, Ozaukee, and Kenosha counties are on the list. The Wisconsin Housing and Economic …
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Farms in 23 counties — including Waukesha, Racine, Milwaukee and Ozaukee — can apply for emergency loans in Wisconsin to stay afloat during the record-breaking droughts.
With a drought raging throughout Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker on Thursday requested federal disaster relief for 23 counties across the state. The action comes a day after Walker declared a drought emergency for all 72 counties, citing a “risk of major economic losses, especially in agriculture.” Under Thursday’s new designation, farmers could apply for emergency loans through the federal Farm Service Agency to aid in their struggles against the ongoing dry conditions. "Agriculture is the backbone of Wisconsin's economy. The extreme drought conditions across much of the state had a major effect on our farming community," said Walker in a statement. "The recent rainfall in some areas is not nearly enough to make up for the weeks of dry …
Craig
1:21 am on Saturday, September 29, 2012
I got me a 21 HP tractor to cut my 1/4 acre lot and blow the snow in front of my 1960's ranch home. I got a trailer up nort der hey on da lake too. But hey, I don't pass judgement on anyone- unless they got less teef than I do. more ›