The Daily Reporter articles from December 2005

The Daily Reporter archives from December 2005

DRS Power & Control to expand.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee aldermen hailed a proposed $1.7 million tax incremental financing district proposal for DRS Power & Control Technologies' expansion as "TIFing" done right. "That's what TIFs were created for," said Milwaukee...

Dairyland Power Cooperative buys share of Weston plant.
December 1, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder One year after announcing a transaction that would land it a 30 percent share in the Weston 4 power plant, the Dairyland Power Cooperative sealed the deal Tuesday. The regulatory financial checks and approvals came...

Landowners want sewer service from city of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan The owners of 264 acres of abutting farmland asked the city of Oconomowoc to give them sewers so the land can be developed into housing. City Operations Manager Tom Steinbach said no developer has come forward with...

WI Chapter of Nat. Assn. of Industrial and Office Properties holds first-ever market update.
December 2, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder It's going to be all about setting an example at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee on Dec. 7. That's when the Wisconsin Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties will host its first-ever...

Milwaukee Dept. of City Development Manager John Hyslop retires.
December 5, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan For the past 27 years, John Hyslop has been the calm center in the contentious business of developing Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Department of City Development manager of planning administration was the tempering force...

Commentary: A child needs hope before anything else.
December 5, 2005... Byline: Candace Doyle Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett gets it. At a panel discussion on education and its impact on the Milwaukee area's economic health, he zeroed in on the problem our school system faces: Hope, or more correctly, a lack...

Proponents for Wisconsin's gas tax rally at the state Capitol in Madison.
December 6, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder Proponents for Wisconsin's gas tax came out swinging at the state Capitol in Madison Monday on the day before the Senate was to vote to repeal gas tax indexing. An array of representatives from the state's...

Owner of Milwaukee-based Holland Construction LLC does not show up for court.
December 6, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Mark Holland, owner of Milwaukee-based Holland Construction LLC, didn't show up for court Monday morning. The state has at least six tax liens filed against Holland, and he owes money to numerous construction trade...

Wiscosin Senate poised to vote on gas tax.
December 7, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder Senators arriving for session Tuesday morning were greeted at chamber doors by 120 members of Local 139 of the International Union of Operating Engineers, who urged them not to repeal gas tax indexing. "We've got a...

Disadvantaged business enterprise goals to remain the same in 2006.
December 7, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan The Milwaukee County Board is considering a plan to keep its 2006 disadvantaged business enterprise goals the same as this year's. "The people working in that department have been working very hard to get the numbers...

Wisconsin Senate ends automatic annual increases in gas tax.
December 8, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder The state Senate approved ending automatic annual increases in the state's gas tax Tuesday, but not without making some provisions first. In addition to providing a "lockbox" amendment in the legislation to keep...

Settlement reached over Milwaukee sewer overflows.
December 8, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan A leading culprit identified of the May 2004 sewer overflows around Milwaukee is also a main action item for communities settling with the state attorney general. As part of a deal the 28 communities connected to the...

Platteville plans major expansion.
December 9, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder The open road leads to Platteville and developers are jumping on it. As construction crews clear their equipment from the newly opened four-lane Highway 151 in southwestern Wisconsin, plans are filling the pipeline...

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, attorney general settlement will cost taxpayers.
December 9, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan The settlement between the state attorney general and 28 Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District communities will force elected officials to overcome their fears. They, or at least many of them, must ask voters for...

With a new year comes a new calendar.
December 9, 2005... Byline: Candace Doyle Another calendar page is about to turn, literally and figuratively. Yes, 2006 is just weeks away - and so is the debut of our editorial calendars. Both The Daily Reporter and Wisconsin Builder, our monthly...

Great Lakes Charter Annex in Milwaukee rules expected to be approved.
December 12, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan The expected signing of the Great Lakes Charter Annex in Milwaukee Tuesday will kick off the next phase of the debate over regulating water diversions. "These are more protective standards than currently exist in...

Study from the Energy Center of Wisconsin: Spend money to save energy.
December 12, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder Increasing state spending on energy conservation from $77 million to as much as $120 million is cost-effective, says the Energy Center of Wisconsin. The center released a study Thursday that recommended a maximum...

Madison Common Council holds public hearing on land-use plan.
December 13, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder The Madison Common Council will meet Tuesday night for a presentation and a public hearing on a 600-page new plan for the city. Laborious as that may sound, the key word for the 20-year comprehensive city plan is...

Long-time environmental activist and Madison alderman starts his own business.
December 13, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Brett Hulsey spent Monday morning gearing up for his first paying gig. The long-time environmental activist and Madison alderman is taking a swing at the great American Dream of starting his own business - Better...

Details delay bill on farm expansion for Wisconsin.
December 14, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder An act the Legislature passed in 2004 to help farms expand is still under scrutiny over its details. The chief problem is that the bill has none. Sen. Dan Kapanke, R-La Crosse, released a statement Monday...

True North Engineering owner's license revoked.
December 15, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan A year after his retirement and the closing of his business, the state revoked True North Engineering owner Dale Darwin's license to practice as an engineer in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation...

Milwaukee-based Eppstein Uhen Architects sues Franklin school.
December 16, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder Eppstein Uhen Architects has filed a lawsuit against the Indian Community School in Franklin arguing that its design fee should be higher. The Milwaukee-based firm contends that it should receive 11 percent of the...

State of Wisconcin invests in two venture capital funds.
December 16, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan The State of Wisconsin Investment Board wants to invest $50 million in two venture capital funds for startup biotechnology companies. The lack of capital for starting companies is one thing holding back the conversion...

Milwaukee County awards courthouse annex job without soliciting bids.
December 20, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee County gave the $5.2 million courthouse annex demolition project to Illinois-based Walsh Construction Co. without soliciting bids. The county spoke in private for months with the state Department of...

Senior director of McGraw/Hill Construction predicts Milwaukee growth to be moderate.
December 21, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Next year's construction market should look a lot like this year's, Cliff Brewis, senior director of McGraw/Hill Construction, predicted Tuesday. If anything rocks the boat for the construction industry, it'll be...

Milwaukee's Hartung Quarry could be converted into park, housing.
December 22, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee Alderman Jim Bohl said he's got ample neighborhood support for the plan to convert the Hartung Quarry landfill into a park and new housing. He said the constituent support might come in handy if the proposal...

City of Milwaukee schedules meeting to consider local alderman's resolution.
December 27, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan A neighborhood group around the Hartung Quarry landfill wants the city of Milwaukee to unleash its eminent domain powers. The city-owned landfill is completely surrounded by a classic suburban single-family...

American Subcontractors Assn. of Greater Milwaukee's Croysdale plans to retire.
December 28, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Don Croysdale announced the end of his career for the third time over the holidays. His first career had him pushing investment analysis data through room-filling 1960s computers. After a decade of that, he took a...

Wisconsin State Veterans Home Loans Program receives aid.
December 28, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder The Wisconsin Building Commission increased funding for veterans' home loans in the state thanks to fiscal agents keeping a close eye on Washington, D.C. The Department of Veterans Affairs was mindful of changes due...

Eminent domain ruling targeted by Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation.
December 29, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation is lending its support to proposed state legislation that would narrow the applicability of eminent domain. The federation listed the Kelo v. New London U.S. Supreme Court...

Groups sue Public Service Commission of Wisconsin over utility earnings.
December 29, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Two groups are taking the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to court to argue it should've ordered We Energies to return $52 million to ratepayers. The case centers on a 2000 PSC decision setting a cap on the...

Dane County officials applaud phosphorus ruling.
December 29, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder Dane County's top officials applauded the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding ordinances that restrict fertilizers containing phosphorus. The court upheld Madison's and Dane County's ordinances,...

TOP 10 Stories of 2005.
December 30, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder & Sean Ryan Hurricane Katrina packed a punch, and the state's construction industry felt the blow. The country's No. 1 news story, hands down, is also The Daily Reporter's choice as top story for the Wisconsin...