The Daily Reporter articles from February 2005

The Daily Reporter archives from February 2005

U of Wisconsin-Platteville may get new engineering building.
February 1, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell By 2007, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville could have a new $26.6 million engineering building, and Wisconsin students - and taxpayers - won't have paid a dime. The project is the product of Platteville's...

Metro Milwaukee Sewage District, city battle on.
February 1, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan A Supreme Court ruling Thursday sent the city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District to circuit court to argue who will pay for a broken pipe. The two have fought a legal battle for the past three...

Wisconsin Joint Finance Committee holds tax-freeze public hearing in Pewaukee.
February 2, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan The state Joint Finance Committee's tax-freeze public hearing in Pewaukee drew more than 150 people who argued it would either be disastrous or liberating. "Property taxes are growing too fast for too many families,...

Michael J. Fox lends celebrity to proposed research building in Madison.
February 2, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell A proposed $375 million research building in Madison is now a celebrity cause. Michael J. Fox, renowned actor with Parkinson's disease, lent his wattage Tuesday to the Institute for Discovery, a research building...

Milwaukee mayor delivers State of the City address.
February 3, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's State of the City address portrayed an area sprouting new developments that bring in jobs, money and a better city image. "Our new Milwaukee is a Milwaukee of opportunity for all," he...

Commentary: Water-supply issues need win-win solutions.
February 3, 2005... Byline: Matt Moroney In committees and commissions, town hall meetings and public forums, communities continue to debate how to address the concerns regarding the regions' water quality and quantity. I often hear the analogy that more...

County Board passes Park East Redevelopment Compact.
February 4, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan The County Board Thursday passed the Park East Redevelopment Compact, rejecting developers' and County Executive Scott Walker's arguments that it would stifle development. An hour later, Walker's office announced that...

Madison-based Capitol Indemnity Corp. exits the contract surety business in all states.
February 4, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell A big state player in the contract surety industry left the business on Tuesday. Capitol Indemnity Corp., Madison, decided to no longer issue new bid bonds, performance bonds and other lines of...

President Bush proposes cut to HUD grant program.
February 8, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Wisconsin cities both large and small will see a sizeable decrease in federal construction assistance under a budget plan President Bush introduced Monday. The $2.57 trillion spending plan holds overall...

Milwaukee alderman proposes stricter oversight of construction contracts.
February 8, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee Alderman Michael Murphy proposed stricter oversight of construction contracts after the Public Works Department inked a Park East contract without council clearance. Murphy's ordinance would require every...

OSHA budget gets slight boost.
February 8, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan President Bush's proposed Occupational Safety and Health Administration 2006 budget would eliminate its training-grant program, maintain enforcement levels and increase safety partnerships. "I'm not sure I'd...

Hospital CEO wants Wisconsin legislature to restrict new hospital construction.
February 9, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Legislators should call a "time out" on new hospital construction to stem rising health-care costs, said the CEO of a Fox Valley hospital. John Toussiant of ThedaCare, Appleton, floated the suggestion at the...

Appleton Common Council bars Vinton Construction from public work projects.
February 9, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Appleton's Common Council voted not to allow Vinton Construction Co. to bid on its 2005 public works projects. The 10-4 vote Thursday came after the Public Works Department approved Vinton's ability to bid, and the...

Gov. Doyle's transportation fund transfer criticized.
February 10, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Gov. Jim Doyle's transportation funding plan faces an uphill battle in the Legislature even though his proposal is the largest in state history. In his budget blueprint delivered Tuesday night, Doyle called for a...

Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz convenes meeting of city leaders.
February 11, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell With visions of streetcars dancing in his head, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is beckoning a nationwide group of likeminded city leaders to Racine this weekend. They are meeting at Wingspread, the Johnson...

Waukesha County officials want state to fund Zoo Interchange reconstruction.
February 15, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Sen. Ted Kanavas and Waukesha County Executive Dan Finley said Monday the state should include planning funds for the Zoo Interchange reconstruction in the next biennial budget. "It could quite literally be almost 18...

WisDOT deems Racine development co. not responsible and rejects bid.
February 15, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell The state Department of Transportation deemed James Cape & Sons Co., Racine, not responsible and rejected a company bid from November. WisDOT tossed out Cape's bid Wednesday on a project in Eau Claire and awarded...

Army Corps of Engineers may approve Elm Road power plant's water intake without review.
February 16, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is concerned the Army Corps of Engineers may approve the Elm Road power plant's water intake without adequate review. The corps is a couple months away from completing its initial...

Proposed Elm Road power plant debated again at Wisc. Dept. of Natural Resources meeting.
February 17, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan It was hard to tell the two sides at the Department of Natural Resource's Wednesday Elm Road hearing were talking about the same project. Supporters from local construction unions, Milwaukee-based P & H Mining...

Wisconsin General Assembly approves tax exemption.
February 17, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell The state Assembly on Tuesday fired the first volley in a health-care showdown with Gov. Jim Doyle by approving a tax exemption for health-savings accounts. The Republican-controlled Assembly signed off on the...

Milwaukee's 4th annual Metro Builder's Assn. conference focuses building science.
February 17, 2005... Byline: Matt Moroney The residential building industry is not the same industry it was a generation ago. Cutting-edge innovations and technologies are being constantly developed, and new home design and construction improves at a faster...

Burke takes charge at the Wisconsin Department of Commerce.
February 18, 2005... Byline: Candace Doyle To hear Mary Burke tell it, the position of Department of Commerce secretary just "fell in her lap." "To be here today, it is exciting," said Burke, who Gov. Jim Doyle appointed Jan. 24. "I'm not even a Democrat;...

City of Appleton votes to allow Manitowoc-based Vinton Construction to perform subcontractor work.
February 18, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell The Appleton City Council on Wednesday welcomed Vinton Construction Co. back to the city. The council's unanimous vote permits Vinton to perform subcontractor work on city projects, though the council last week...

Milwaukee's water supply: Are we tapped out?
February 21, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell The equation for water seems simple: Tap plus hand equals flow. The residents of the seven-county Milwaukee region are quickly learning, however, that it's not that easy. Fresh water supplies are starting to run...

Head of SE Wisc. Regional Planning Commission denies water-supply crisis.
February 21, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan There is no crisis. That's the first thing Robert Biebel, who is leading the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission's water-supply study, said about Waukesha County's situation. He is surrounded by city...

Commentary: Watching apartment structure being built on Marco Island, Florida.
February 21, 2005... Byline: Dick Snow It's really neat watching the world pass by on this rather large island off of Naples, Fla., during the month of February. Marco is below the frost line that cuts across the Florida peninsula west to east at Fort...

Study: Most of Wisconsin's southeastern region's land unused.
February 22, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Wisconsin's southeastern region has room to grow. A lot of room, it turns out, according to a new study. Nearly three-quarters of the area's acreage sits undeveloped, a finding that might shock people who assume...

Juneau Ave. Partners, Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission struggling with Pabst Brewery plans.
February 23, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan The Juneau Avenue Partners had a simple message for the Milwaukee Historic Preservation Commission - it couldn't afford to put Pabst Brewery back together again. "What we've had to consider in the cold light of...

1000 Friends of Wisconsin, builders unite to speed up wetland permits.
February 23, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Environmentalists and builders are forging a rare partnership to save developers loads of cash by speeding up state wetland permits. The cooperative tone is much different from a year ago, when conservation group...

Milwaukee mayor's Green Team to establish building standards.
February 24, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett charged his Green Team with drafting a set of green-building standards for city and city-subsidized projects by August. "I've asked our Milwaukee Green Team to seek opportunities to make...

Watertown Plank Road in Wauwatosa prepares for up-coming traffic congestion.
February 25, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Aggressive building plans, including those of GE Healthcare, are forcing area engineers and planners to look at how to handle traffic around Watertown Plank Road. The big question is how to split the bill to widen,...

Wisconsin legislators to reopen debate on hospital construction moratorium.
February 25, 2005... Byline: Jeremy Harrell State legislators are preparing to reopen the debate on shutting down hospital construction as rising health-care costs take the political center stage. The Senate Health Committee will hear testimony Tuesday...

Gov. Doyle discusses Great Lakes water diversion.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Gov. Jim Doyle never ran for the Legislature. Before elected governor in 2003, Doyle made the decisions in the Dane County district attorney's office and as the state attorney general. So it's odd to hear him talk...