Friday, April 5, 2013
A woman, who has lived with multiple sclerosis, asked lawmakers for additional funding so that people with disabilities have a better chance to live in a community rather than an institution.
A Brookfield woman who has lived with multiple sclerosis for the past 35 years asked lawmakers for additional funding for long-term health care and public transportation. Roxan Perez said that her condition has taken her from not walking at all to being institutionalized for periods of time, which is why budget cuts to long-term care and transit are a huge concern for her and her peers. Perez spoke at the Joint Finance Committee hearing on the state budget held Thursday at Greendale High School. The hearing was the first of four being held around the state to give residents the chance to have their say on Gov. Scott Walker’s 2013-15 budget. After the hearings, the committee will vote on any changes before sending their version on to the …
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Trace-A-Matic is a 2013 Business Friends of Education Winner, according to State Superintendent Tony Evers.
A Brookfield company already acknowledged by Gov. Scott Walker for its growth is now being recognized by State Superintendent Tony Evers for an educational partnership. Trace-A-Matic is receiving one of nine 2013 Business Friends of Education awards from the state. The awards “recognize projects that collaborate in educating students and providing critical career readiness skills,” according to a release. The company, which specializes in integrated precision machining, has developed partnerships with Elmbrook School District and Waukesha County Technical College, according to the announcement of the award. Bryan Orbst, the company’s human resources corporate recruiter, organizes and works at career fairs, speaks at the Manufacturing …
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker never formed a panel to consider pardon applications, which now number more than 1,400 since he took office. Is this the right move?
An Associated Press examination revealed that Gov. Scott Walker has declined to consider any of the 1,400 pardon applications he’s received since taking office. This move is neither unprecedented nor partisan. Haley Barbour, former Republican governor of Mississippi, granted more than 200 pardons before leaving office in 2012, according to ABC News. Meanwhile, the same AP story reported that Illinois Democrat Rod Blagojevich had not acted on more than 2,500 such cases before finding himself in need of a pardon. Pardons are not always get-out-of-jail passes for violent criminals. They can also clear the record of a non-violent criminal to allow them to drive, hunt with a gun or find work. They do not erase a conviction. Do you agree with …
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Gov. Scott Walker is coming out with a book that chronicles the controversy over his 2011 budget reforms. The book already has a title, but that didn't stop people from taking to Twitter with their own suggestions.
Gov. Scott Walker’s book, which will be titled “Unintimidated: A Governor’s Story and a Nation’s Challenge,” is set to hit the bookstores shelves sometime late in 2013. Sentinel imprint of Penguin Group announced Tuesday that it has acquired the rights to the book. The book chronicles Walker’s budget reforms in 2011, which sparked massive protests and counter protests. During the budget-making process, Walker sought to erase a $3.6 billion deficit by eliminating their ability to collectively bargain and asked unions to pay more for their insurance and pensions. At one point, almost 100,000 people protested Walker’s budget and a number of Democrats left the state to protest his proposal. "This book tells the dramatic story of how one brave …
Saturday, March 16, 2013
With a couple of key moves in recent few days, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker sends clear signal that he is interested in making a presidential run.
Editor's note: This story was updated at 4:50 p.m. Saturday to include CPAC straw poll results. Coming off Mitt Romney's defeat in November, Republicans are looking for a strong candidate who will give the party a chance at taking back the White House in 2016. Could Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker be their man? Even before the November presidential election, there has been speculation that Walker — along with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and others — would go after the GOP nomination in 2016. And in an interview with Politico on Friday, Walker did little to quell that speculation. “Would I ever be (interested)?" Walker told the political web site. "Possibly. I guess the only …
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen had asked appeals court to stay a rule by a Dane County judge that said parts of the collective-bargaining law are unconstitutional.
A Wisconsin appeals court Tuesday refused to put a hold on a judge's decision repealing major parts of Act 10, the law that ended collective bargaining for most public workers. Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen in September had asked the 4th District Court of Appeals to stay the ruling by Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas that portions of the law were unconsitutional. Van Hollen wanted to stay the decision while the case was being appealed. Colas refused in October to do so, and the state appeals court on Tuesday upheld that decision, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. The appeals court said it saw "no basis to set aside the circuit court's decision that a stay was not warranted," the State Journal reported. Today’s ruling likely …
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
An exception that has allowed Brookfield to pay down its debt could go away if Gov. Scott Walker's 2013-15 state budget proposals remain intact.
City officials anticipate having to cover a $787,000 budget shortfall in 2014 if Gov. Scott Walker's proposed state budget is passed as written, which could mean higher or new fees for Brookfield residents. Director of Finance Robert Scott said the city is limited in what it can levy because new construction growth has been declining, and a change in how debt service is factored would account for more than $150,000 of the shortfall. "State law limits what the city can levy to support its general operations, and that is based on the new growth in the city," Scott said. "Brookfield is largely built out, and our new growth of late has been less than a half a percent." Scott said the forecasted deficit between what the city can take in from …
Monday, March 4, 2013
The Elmbrook School Board is preparing for a deficit after Gov. Scott Walker unveiled his version of the 2013-15 proposed state budget.
Gov. Scott Walker's two-year budget plan could result in a $2.3 million deficit next year for the Elmbrook School District, reported Brookfield Now. The proposed $68 billion budget would combine tax cuts with increased spending on transportation infrastructure and private education. Walker said he would offset the tax cuts and spending increases by shifting some funds away from public schools and healthcare, freezing local government aid and selling some assets, reported Reuters. Elmbrook board members said Tuesday they are planning to lobby state lawmakers on behalf of the district, Brookfield Now reported.
The days of claiming the alternative minimum tax credit, historic rehabilitation tax credit and the working family tax credit may be over as State Assembly Republicans look at possibly cutting them.
If you were among the 790 families that claimed the working family tax credit or the 418 who claimed the historic rehabilitation tax credit, the 2012 tax year may be your last to do so. State Assembly Republicans are talking about nixing 50 tax credit programs -- including the alternative minimum tax, working family tax credit and historic rehabilitation tax credit -- that don't get used much by Wisconsin income taxpayers. The manufacturer's tax credit would remain untouched. If a proposal passes into law, the legislation would ultimately lower the tax rate, according to a story by the Journal Sentinel. Rep. Dale Kooyenga (R-Brookfield) told the Journal Sentinel that he's trying to simplify the tax code because it is "horrendous" and …
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Report released Sunday by Obama administration details more than a dozen areas in which federal aid would be cut — primarily in education and health care.
Wisconsin would see more than $27 million in federal funds cut from a myriad of programs if Congress fails to act this week to avoid the sequester, the Obama administration said Sunday. In a move designed to pressure Republicans into accepting new revenues as part of a deal to prevent the sequester from taking effect on Friday, the White House released reports that outlined how those cuts would impact individual states, The Huffington Post reported. In Wisconsin, most of the $27.4 million in looming cuts would affect education programs, the report said. For example, the state would lose $8.5 million in funding for primary and secondary education, putting around 120 teacher and teacher aide jobs at risk. Wisconsin also would lose about $10.…
A E FRIEDMAN
10:25 pm on Friday, April 26, 2013
My sentiments, exactly. more ›