Minority pavers call for cash upfront

Editorial cartoon

Published: May 4, 2012
Tags: bid preference, cartoon, D. Wilson Consulting Group, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin, Jose Perez, Maria Monreal-Cameron, minority, minority contractors, minority preference, preference

Group sues Milwaukee over minority-preference ordinance (UPDATE)

Published: May 1, 2012
Tags: bid preference, D. Wilson Consulting Group, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin, Jose Perez, Maria Monreal-Cameron, minority, minority contractors, minority preference, Paul Benson, preference

The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin is suing Milwaukee to kill an ordinance that sets race-based preferences and goals for city construction contracts.

New rules on transit projects in Minn. take effect Friday

Published: October 21, 2010
Tags: AGC, Associated General Contractors of Minnesota, DBE, disadvantaged-business enterprise, Highway Division, Holte Contracting, Minnesota Department of Transportation, minority, Office of Civil Rights
Comments: 1

By Brian Johnson Dolan Media Newswires Minneapolis — The Minnesota Department of Transportation is preparing to enforce new contracting provisions aimed at boosting participation of minority- and female-owned companies on federally assisted MnDOT projects. Under the new provisions, which take effect Friday, the apparent low bidder faces firm deadlines and more paperwork related to adding [...]

Minority builders await MMSD protest outcome

Published: May 11, 2010
Tags: Dakota Intertek, Emerald Park Landfill, GNG Enterprises, Graffin, Joel Kennedy Constructing, Jones Island, Kastens, Meade Electric, Michael McCabe, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, minority, Minority Business Enterprise, MMSD, Noble Walton, Ormiston, pipeline, sewer treatment plant

By Sean Ryan A pipeline project award that could generate jobs for Wisconsin minority contractors is held up in a dispute over the low bidder’s minority- and women-owned business participation. The 25-month project to build a Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District pipeline from Muskego to Milwaukee offers a lot of work to minority-owned companies such as [...]

State apprenticeships pass federal muster

Published: January 27, 2010
Tags: apprentice, Berth, Blackman, DWD, joint apprenticeship committee, Jones, minority, participation, U.S. Department of Labor, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership/Big Step
Comments: 1

By Sean Ryan Those fighting for more minorities in construction apprenticeships are split over whether it will take a heavy or a helping hand to get the job done. Paul Blackman, who last year complained to the U.S. Department of Labor about minority participation in Wisconsin construction apprenticeship programs, said he prefers a stricter approach. [...]

Feds approve SEWRPC certification

Published: December 2, 2009
Tags: affordable housing, FHWA, low-income, minority, recertification, recertify, SEWRPC, Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission

By Sean Ryan The Federal Highway Administration on Wednesday recertified the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission. But, when approving the certification for SEWRPC, the federal agency told the planning commission to continue efforts to get low-income and minority people involved in planning efforts. It also told the commission to create better systems to get the [...]

Letter: Committed to apprenticeship diversity

To the editor: We in the Department of Workforce Development take issue with a number of the points in your recent article on Wisconsin’s apprenticeship program. For the record, we completely support the need for racial diversity in construction apprenticeships, and since 2002, we have made progress in increasing the representation of minorities in the [...]

State’s 5 percent preference for minority builders could help others

Published: November 2, 2009
Tags: bid, Burkhart Construction, Burkhart Construction Corp., Department of Administration, minority, minority-owned company, Nuvo Construction, preference, Ristow, Schneider Excavating, The Wisconsin Department of Administration, Waukesha
Comments: 1

By Sean Ryan sean.ryan@dailyreporter.com Steve Ristow was the low bidder on a state project and lost the job because Wisconsin offers a preference for minority-owned companies. Ristow said he expects that defeat to pay off for him. The bid preference helps minority-owned companies get contracts so they can grow, said Ristow, president and owner of [...]

Bank boom adds 10,000 full-service branches

Published: August 18, 2009
Tags: banks, branches, check cashing, inner-city, minority, neighborhoods

Frank Bass and Linda Stewart AP Writers Dallas — Banks expanded at a breathtaking pace over the past five years, adding more than 10,000 full-service branches, but barely 1 in 10 were in inner-city, minority neighborhoods, another sign the financial spending spree skipped over substantial parts of the country. The discrepancy means millions of people [...]