The Daily Reporter articles from January 2004

The Daily Reporter archives from January 2004

Wisconsin senator pledges to work on achieving state's minority business development goals.
January 2, 2004... Byline: Dan Burazin State Sen. Spencer Coggs pledged a heightened effort toward minority business development in the wake of a newspaper report that Wisconsin historically has not met its contracting goal. "I will continue to work with...

Wisconsin senator proposes legislative review, audit of state's energy conservation program.
January 2, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell A state senator wants the Legislature to have more control over the state's energy conservation program for building projects. Sen. Robert Cowles, R-Green Bay, said he was astounded to learn that the Department...

New mayor takes the reins in Milwaukee.
January 5, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan John Norquist on Friday gave Milwaukee's top office to Marvin Pratt, who opened his three-month tenure with an upbeat message of cooperation and unity. "I see a city that is a prosperous, thriving community for all...

Minnesota considers toll roads to pay for projects.
January 5, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell With public resources dwindling and congestion on the rise, the state of Minnesota is looking to privatize segments of the Twin Cities freeway network. Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, last week rolled out a plan...

Gov. Doyle states goals for new year.
January 6, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Starting his second year in office this week, Gov. Jim Doyle on Monday laid out some of his goals for 2004 during a stop at the Madison headquarters of design firm Mead & Hunt. "My vision for Wisconsin is that we...

Milwaukee construction groups endorsing mayoral candidates.
January 6, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee's biggest construction groups are slowly lining up behind their favored mayoral candidates, with contractor associations backing David Clarke and trade unions supporting Tom Barrett. Out of a deep pool of 11...

Construction industry mixed on Gov. Doyle's first year.
January 7, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Gov. Jim Doyle on Tuesday finished his first year as Wisconsin governor, and industry observers said it was 365 days of mixed results for construction. In some ways, the most notable feature of Doyle's tenure so...

Waukesha County invested in Milwaukee mayoral race.
January 7, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan Waukesha County won't sit the Milwaukee mayoral race out just because it is outside of city limits. "We do not necessarily separate ourselves from Milwaukee, and we know that Milwaukee's success is Waukesha's...

Commentary: Substitute for retainage proposed.
January 7, 2004... Byline: Donald Croysdale Who among us has not, for the briefest time, sought out a healthier diet to slim down a bit? Last year's Atkins has morphed into South Beach as the low-carb answer to slimming down. These diets suggest replacing...

Wisconsin drug-testing bill debated.
January 8, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Despite agreement on the value of drug-testing programs for construction, proponents of a state bill to require worker testing on public projects are struggling for industry consensus. State lawmakers who heard...

Commentary: Jobs Creation Act is Step 1.
January 8, 2004... Byline: Jerry DeSchane The Wisconsin Legislature is about one week away from acting on one of the most important regulatory reform bills in a generation. Senate Majority Leader Mary Panzer and Assembly Speaker John Gard reached an...

Commentary: Dressing for Wisconsin's winter.
January 8, 2004... Byline: Don Moen January through March in Wisconsin is great for winter's outdoor activities, but working outside in the cold snowy, weather at times is unbearable without the proper clothing. Proper clothing in cold weather means...

Challenges to Elm Road generation station consolidated into one court case.
January 9, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan A Milwaukee County Circuit Court Wednesday consolidated the four challenges to the Elm Road generation station approval into one case and decided the Dane County courts should hear it. The Public Service Commission of...

The Daily Reporter names new publisher.
January 9, 2004... Byline: Daily Reporter Staff The new year brings new leadership to the Daily Reporter Publishing Co. Associate Publisher Ann Richmond took over the top spot this month, capping a dozen years of service in a variety of roles at The...

Milwaukee Common Council approves a community benefits plan for Park East.
January 12, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan A Milwaukee Common Council subcommittee Thursday approved a plan to require prevailing wages, affordable housing and hiring programs on Park East projects that receive city funding. "You're either for community...

Acting mayor of Milwaukee chooses new Dept. of City Development commissioner.
January 13, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan As Milwaukee Department of City Development commissioner, Patricia Algiers would try to sustain the downtown's growth spurt while shifting more focus to developing its other neighborhoods. "I think DCD has been doing...

Supreme Court ruling hailed as victory for builders.
January 13, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Building contractors scored a key legal victory last week when the state Supreme Court upheld the use of liability insurance to cover construction defects. By a 3-2 margin, with two justices not participating in...

Commentary: Difference between Americans with Disabilities Act and Wisc. Fair Employment Act.
January 13, 2004... Byline: Charles Palmer The Americans with Disabilities Act provides protection to qualified individuals with disabilities. To be qualified, a disabled individual must be able to perform the essential functions of his or her job. Under the...

Four construction execs charged in bid-rigging scheme.
January 14, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan Four executives from Streu Construction Company and Vinton Construction Company were arrested Tuesday for allegedly rigging Wisconsin Department of Transportation bids and stealing information from James Cape and Son Co....

Milwaukee Dept. of City Development's new commissioner gets warm reception.
January 14, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee Department of City Development Commissioner Appointee Patricia Algiers' message of stability and praise for past practices received a warm reception at her confirmation hearing Tuesday. "I found the...

Commentary: Jobs, productivity or both?
January 14, 2004... Byline: Donald Croysdale In just four weeks, the two presidential candidates will be known, and the two key issues seem to be jobs and national security. It will be hard to distinguish what is fact and what is simply repeated over and over...

Federal bid-rigging allegations send shockwaves through Wisc. construction industry.
January 15, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Federal bid-rigging allegations announced Tuesday sent waves through the industry this week, with contractors and associations pledging to restore confidence in public construction. "It's going to be a very...

$55 million hospital planned in Polk.
January 15, 2004... Byline: Jim Cryns The town of Polk is getting a new 185,000-square-foot hospital that will incorporate a state-of-the-art philosophy from its foundation to the precise and uniform location of its life-saving equipment. "The current...

Commentary: Washington County oversteps bounds with open space plan.
January 15, 2004... Byline: Matt Moroney Washington County has recently released a preliminary draft of its park and open space plan for public comment. While the Metropolitan Builders Association generally supports efforts to preserve recreation and open...

WisDOT suspends Streu, Vinton from bidding.
January 16, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan The Wisconsin Department of Transportation indefinitely suspended two construction companies, Streu and Vinton, Thursday from bidding on future projects following their alleged bid rigging. On Tuesday, the U.S....

Sun Prairie plans $23 million in school projects.
January 16, 2004... Byline: Brendan O' Brien In the midst of an anticipated continued surge in enrollment and a recent boom in area development and population, the Sun Prairie School District will ask voters Feb. 17 to foot the bill for major construction...

Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation delays awarding projects.
January 19, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell and Sean Ryan The fallout from last week's announcement of an alleged bid-rigging ring has forced the state Department of Transportation to delay awarding projects this month. On Friday, WisDOT read bids for four...

Project-labor agreement planned on casino expansion.
January 20, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Construction unions in the Madison area and the Ho-Chunk Nation announced an intention to use a project-labor agreement for any expansion of the tribe's DeJope bingo facility. The Building and Construction Trades...

Chairman of Miller Park district board resigns.
January 20, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan Robert Trunzo resigned Friday from his job as chairman of the Miller Park district board, a spot he held since its creation in 1995. "I want to commend the many outstanding citizens who gave countless hours to serve...

Two restaurants planned for neighborhood.
January 20, 2004... Byline: Brendan O' Brien Karl Kopp is the latest business owner to ante up and put his stake into the rejuvenation of Milwaukee's Martin Luther King Drive neighborhood. Kopp, owner of Kopp's Frozen Custard Stands and Elsa's on the...

Vinton Construction awarded sewer project.
January 21, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan Sheboygan awarded Vinton Construction Co. a $718,900 sewer project Tuesday after considering the ramifications of last week's bid-rigging allegations and deciding there was no relation. "We certainly had to consider...

Trio forms Marquette Constructors.
January 21, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell The state's three largest bridge-building contractors are teaming up to snare portions of the $810 million reconstruction of the Marquette Interchange in Milwaukee. "When a job of this size comes out, we normally...

Commentary: Miller Park legal issues revisited.
January 21, 2004... Byline: Donald Croysdale Miller Park stills stands as the largest public-private construction project in this state's history. Part of what is unique about Miller Park is its dual ownership - 64 percent by the stadium park district and 36...

Milwaukee's Park East community benefits vote stalled.
January 22, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee's Park East community benefits ordinance was taken off Wednesday's Common Council agenda and sent back to the Steering and Rules Committee after two of its members reconsidered their votes. With the...

Bid-rigging restitution by construction firms could be costly.
January 22, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Penalties for the two construction firms implicated in an alleged bid-rigging scheme could ultimately exceed the standard sentencing guidelines. If convicted, Vinton Construction Co., Manitowoc, and Streu...

Gov. Doyle: Wisconsin's economy 'is coming back to life'.
January 23, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Gov. Jim Doyle laid out a broad array of policy initiatives Wednesday and called on lawmakers from both parties to join hands in boosting the state's economy. In his State of the State speech, Doyle, a Democrat,...

State Building Commission delays vote on U of Wisc.-Milwaukee project.
January 26, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Citing legal implications, the State Building Commission on Wednesday voted to delay approval of a $42 million public-private development at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. "We all think it's a great...

Commentary: Possibility of bid rigging scheme bad for entire industry.
January 26, 2004... Byline: Dick Snow Recent allegations of improper bidding activities have certainly cast a couple of clouds over the industry's integrity. It's axiomatic that long, arduous hours are expended, creating an honorable, fair system of...

WisDOT secretary: Firms' suspension creates contractor scarcity.
January 27, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell The suspension and possible debarment of contractors implicated in an alleged bid-rigging scheme has state officials worried about giving work to out-of-state companies. "It potentially could affect our...

Milwaukee County exec. outlines plan to lower taxes, create jobs.
January 28, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker's State of the County speech outlined a plan to continue lowering property taxes and administrative costs while doing more to create jobs. "It's a new day in Milwaukee...

New Berlin School District breaks ground on $10M project.
January 28, 2004... Byline: Brendan O' Brien The New Berlin School District recently broke ground on a $10 million, two-stage building project meant to alleviate the school's crowded classrooms and update the building's infrastructure. The first stage is...

Commentary: State of construction industry in 2004.
January 28, 2004... Byline: Donald Croysdale What's in store for construction in 2004? We've heard the State of the Union, the State of the State, the State of the County and the State of the City. It's healthy to review where we've been and set our sights...

Harley-Davidson museum raises concerns among Menomonee Valley businesses.
January 29, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan The proposal to build Harley-Davidson's museum in the Menomonee Valley has raised the question of whether the valley redevelopment, long slated for light industrial business, would also emphasize entertainment venues. ...

Condo tower is part of $90 million project in downtown Madison.
January 29, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell After a 12-year hiatus, developer Randy Alexander on Tuesday marched back into Madison to lead a $90 million project on land owned by Meriter Hospital in the city's downtown. "It's good to be back, and we're...

Commentary: Milwaukee mayor's economic plan promises new attitude.
January 29, 2004... Byline: Matt Moroney Last week, Milwaukee mayoral candidate David Clarke unveiled an ambitious, comprehensive economic development initiative titled "Blueprint for Building a Better Milwaukee." Putting forth such a bold and...

Seven-county transportation authority proposed to Milwaukee County Board.
January 30, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan The Milwaukee County Board is considering a resolution to take another look at creating a seven-county transportation authority to oversee transit and infrastructure programs and find new methods of funding them. ...

Snake to stay on state's threatened species list.
January 30, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Environmental regulators and home builders are searching for common ground after a state legislative committee declined to remove a snake from the state's threatened species list. "We're very happy the snake will...