Editorial cartoon 

Published: August 6, 2010
Tags: cartoon, Illinois, KRM, Rail, regional rail, Wisconsin
Comments: 1

Social Security has roots in Wisconsin

Published: August 6, 2010
Tags: Edwin Witte, Franklin Roosevelt, house, Pommer, Senate, Social Security, University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin

By Matt Pommer
Social Security marks its 75th anniversary this week, but it almost didn’t happen, according to the Wisconsin citizen who played a key role in its development.
Passage was doubtful in the Senate Finance Committee “in part because there was no popular demand for old age insurance, or very little, and still more because there [...]

Stillwater bridge review stuck in Washington

Published: July 15, 2010
Tags: bridge, Department of Transportation, federal grant, Hraychuck, Minnesota, replacement, Sierra Club, St. Croix River, Stillwater Lift Bridge, Wisconsin, WisDOT

By Tony Anderson
Special to The Daily Reporter
Construction costs increase and development money slips away every day a St. Croix River bridge replacement is delayed, according to a Wisconsin legislator who wants to see project plans.
“This is a very important project for both Minnesota and Wisconsin,” said state Rep. Ann Hraychuck, D-Balsam Lake, “and it’s an [...]

Illinois preference law rattles contractors along the border

Published: July 12, 2010
Tags: Camosy Construction, Illinois, law, preference, Public Construction, Rasch Construction & Engineering, residency requirement, unemployment, Wisconsin

By Tony Anderson
Special to The Daily Reporter
An Illinois law requiring the use of state residents on public projects has Wisconsin contractors gauging the potential damage to their bottom lines.
The amended law requires contractors use a work force of at least 90 percent Illinois residents when unemployment reaches 5 percent for two months in a row. [...]

Legislators rush to the finish line

Published: April 16, 2010
Tags: bill, Capitol, law, Legislature, lobbyist, Pommer, session, Wisconsin

By Matt Pommer
Never watch the making of sausages or laws, according to the old quip.
The admonition especially applies in the final days of the Wisconsin legislative session as legislators and the 751 licensed lobbyists worry about keeping their jobs for the 2011-2012 biennium.
“It’s sometimes called the ‘Capistrano syndrome,’” retired lobbyist Kirby Hendee once explained. “Like [...]

Partial veto power under fire in Wis.

Published: March 26, 2010
Tags: budget, constitution, Doyle, governor, partial veto, Tommy Thompson, veto, Wisconsin

By Matt Pommer
Wisconsin governors are the most powerful in the nation, thanks to a constitutional provision that lets them veto “in part” language in appropriation bills.
Pending in the Legislature is a constitutional amendment that would rebalance the powers of spending and lawmaking by requiring future governors veto a section of an appropriation bill in its [...]

Health care costs won’t go away

Published: February 12, 2010
Tags: health care, insurance, Medicaid, Medicare, Pommer, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance

By Matt Pommer
An estimated 1.1 million Wisconsin residents now get their health needs met through Medicaid, the state-federal program for the poor.
Enrollment growth has averaged 9.7 percent annually for the last 10 years. More than $6 billion is now spent on the program annually. The federal government pays about 58 percent of the Medicaid costs [...]

Roofers fed up with asbestos training

Published: February 9, 2010
Tags: asbestos, Beiriger, Christon, F.J.A. Christiansen Roofing, Greg Johnson, Kubica, roofing, safety, Shelley Bruce, shingle, training, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Department of Health Services
Comments: 1

By Sean Ryan
The only difference between a 40-hour asbestos course and an eight-hour class is the size of the bill, according to roofers who want the state to back off a new training requirement.
“There really isn’t a payback to all of the additional costs that go into asbestos service and training,” said Greg Johnson, vice [...]

Eminent domain cases on the rise

Published: February 3, 2010
Tags: Bauer & Bach LLC, Department of Transportation, eminent domain, Highway 100, Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, Reidenbach & Sajdak SC, roadwork, South 27th Street, stimulus, Wesolowski, Whistling Straits Golf Course, Wisconsin
Comments: 1

By Jack Zemlicka
Dolan Media Newswires
It seems impossible to drive anywhere in Wisconsin without encountering roadwork.
Federal stimulus money has accelerated several highway and city street projects in the state, and the work beyond those orange barrels is expected to create more green for condemnation lawyers.
“It’s kind of exploding,” said attorney Brian C. Sajdak, of Wesolowski, Reidenbach [...]

Bill to license ironworkers draws fire (UPDATE)

Published: January 22, 2010
Tags: Assembly Committee on Labor, Associated Builders & Contractors of Wisconsin Inc., iron workers, Iron Workers Local 8, ironworkers, Jorgensen, journeyman, master, Mielke, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, safety, state licensure, Teska, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Department of Commerce

By Paul Snyder
Backers of a bill requiring ironworkers to be licensed in Wisconsin say safety is at the core of their effort. But they lack evidence showing that the ironworkers or the public would be safer with state licensure.
Nationally, data show accidents among ironworkers declined during a recent five-year period despite more people working in [...]