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 …
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 current work includes building dock walls to support equipment access for construction of bridge foundations and installing steel sheet panels to provide docking facilities for barges.
Work on the St. Croix Crossing has begun, MnDOT announced Monday, with crews building a construction staging area on the Minnesota banks of the St. Croix River. The current work includes: Work scheduled for early May: Noticeably missing from MnDOT’s list of current work, and work scheduled for early May, is the road work on Highway 36. Last week, C.S. McCrossan filed a federal lawsuit against the MnDOT alleging that the department and its commissioner illegally rejected its bid to construct the approach work for the St. Croix River Crossing. The federal lawsuit alleges that MnDOT improperly applied federal rules with respect to hiring disadvantaged business enterprises (DBE). C.S. McCrossan is seeking an “immediate injunction to halt …
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 …
Video of the April 22, 2013, City of Hudson Common Council meeting is provided by The River Channel: Hudson/North Hudson Community Access Television.
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Monday, April 29
Video is provided by The River Channel: Hudson/North Hudson Community Access Television. CITY OF HUDSON COMMON COUNCIL AGENDA (7 p.m. April 22, 2013) I. Call to order and Pledge of Allegiance. II. Clerk’s roll call. III. Comments and suggestions from citizens present. IV. Consent agenda items. (Items marked with “C”) V. Consideration of previous meeting minutes. (Regular meeting minutes of 4/8/13 and annualOrganizational Meeting minutes of 4/16/13.) “C” VI. REPORTS OF STANDING COMMITTEES: A. PLAN COMMISSION B. FINANCE COMMITTEE (4/22/13 – 6:45 p.m.) 1. Claims. “C” 2. Applications for Operator’s Licenses. “C” 3. Consider additional Room Tax funds or other contributions toward annual …
Saturday, April 27, 2013
A quick look at the top headlines from last week around the Twin Cities east metro area.
Below is a collection of stories from east metro Patch sites: Oakdale, Woodbury, Stillwater and Hudson. Construction of Trinity Academy's $1.3 Million Expansion to Start Late-Spring The $1.3 million dollar expansion and renovation will add more than 12,000 square feet to the building, including five classrooms, a new science lab and art room, and space for private music lessons. River Crest Elementary Principal Travis Barringer Resigns One factor in Barringer's decision to leave the Hudson School District "is the negativity and unjust public criticism directed at administrators throughout my three years in Hudson,” he wrote in a letter to the Hudson Board of Education. One Person Transported After Townhouse Fire on Tall Grass Street The …
Thursday, April 25, 2013
A lawsuit filed by unions representing Madison teachers and city of Milwaukee employees over the state's collective bargaining law may be headed to the State Supreme Court.
A state appeals court is urging the Wisconsin State Supreme Court to take on an Act 10 lawsuit filed by two unions, which challenged the constitutionality of the collective bargaining limitations Gov. Scot Walker imposed on almost all public unions in 2010. The Supreme Court could take the case without waiting for an Appeals Court decision, but whether is does so is at the high court's discretion. If the Supreme Court doesn’t take the case, then the Appeals Court would need to take it. A certification filed by a panel of three judges from the 4th District Court of Appeals, asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take the case because “a number of public unions have filed suits against municipalities over Act 10 provisions, which have left …
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Speculation aside, Larry Sabato, a well-known political scientist lays out his argument for Gov. Scott Walker being a top-tier candidate for Republican nomination for president in 2016.
The signs that Gov. Scott Walker is laying the groundwork for a possible presidential run are clear, but still speculative. And that speculation may be intensifying as Larry Sabato, a well-known political scientist, has declared Walker a top-tier candidate for Republican nominee for president in 2016 — right up there with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. Walker is writing a book about his governorship, which may become a resume of sorts and is planning to address conservatives in Iowa at the invitation of Gov. Terry Branstad in May. He also was one of the key speakers at the Conservative Political Action Conference in March. And, according to Politico, “he wouldn’t commit to serving throughout a second four-…
Monday, April 22, 2013
The lawsuit seeks an “immediate injunction to halt further work while the courts determine if the department acted properly in awarding the bid to a company with a lower technical score and price tag that was $6 million greater than the McCrossan bid.”
C.S. McCrossan filed a federal lawsuit against the Minnesota Department of Transportation on Monday in U.S. District Court alleging that MnDOT and its commissioner illegally rejected its bid to construct the approach work for the St. Croix River Crossing. C.S. McCrossan is seeking an “immediate injunction to halt further work while the courts determine if the department acted properly in awarding the bid to a company with a lower technical score and price tag that was $6 million greater than the McCrossan bid,” according to a news release the company issued Monday afternoon. The federal lawsuit alleges that MnDOT improperly applied federal rules with respect to hiring disadvantaged business enterprises (DBE). “We are in no way debating the…
Lika Phipps
11:12 pm on Saturday, May 18, 2013
Drinking is a privilege. So is driving. If you can't be responsible, they get taken away, because obviously some people aren't responsible enough, so they have to be treated like children. If you want to get trunk off of your tuches, do it at home and stay there. No one wants to deal with obnoxious people who think they're Benny Parsons and end up doing too much damage than what it's worth. more ›