The Daily Reporter articles from January 2007

The Daily Reporter archives from January 2007

WI State Supreme Court to hear Bayshore case.
January 2, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Bayshore Town Center and Milwaukee County will face off in front of the state Supreme Court Thursday regarding the interest on $14.4 million in condemnation awards stemming from Bayshore's expansion. The interest...

Waukesha-based Ruekert/Mielke opens second office in Kenosha.
January 2, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Most people's bodies expand as they age, and the same holds true for successful companies. Waukesha-based engineering firm Ruekert/Mielke celebrated its 60th anniversary this year by opening a second office in the...

TIF in Wisconsin use to increase, study finds.
January 3, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan A Center on Wisconsin Strategy study forecasts an increase in tax incremental financing in smaller communities and recommends they create formal guidelines for its use. The Public Policy Forum reported in 2005 that...

New Year's Eve fund-raiser in Sun Prairie a success.
January 3, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder New Year's Eve at the Prairie Athletic Club in Sun Prairie was certainly a boisterous affair. Kids indulged themselves with basketball, swimming, football drills, mini golf, hat making, face painting and runs...

Milwaukee chapter of IAPMO created.
January 3, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials will add a Milwaukee chapter in the near future. Matt Marciniak, who previously worked as a cross connection inspector for the city of Milwaukee,...

Algoma-based Algoma Hardwoods Inc. receives grant.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Algoma Hardwoods Inc. will receive a $35,000 grant from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce for labor training. Algoma Hardwoods, located in Algoma, was awarded a Customized Labor Training grant from the Wisconsin...

Minority firms in Madison receive loans.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Two minority-owned Madison businesses received loans from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Tuesday. Aristotle Ventures Inc. and iNOC LLC each received loans from the Minority Business...

Aurora Health Care unveils Summit hospital plans.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle After Aurora Health Care was cleared to build a hospital in the town of Summit, the company had to decide what the facility would look like. On Wednesday, Aurora unveiled plans for its $85 million Aurora Medical...

WI Gov. Doyle takes oath of office, begins second term.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Scott Bauer Gov. Jim Doyle, the first Democrat re-elected governor in 32 years, was sworn in Wednesday in the Capitol rotunda. Doyle defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Green, 53 percent to 45 percent, after a bitter campaign....

Marquette University in Milwaukee to offer new engineering program.
January 4, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Marquette University announced Tuesday that it will begin offering a new undergraduate degree program in construction engineering management in the 2008-2009 school year. A statement from the university said the...

Kahler Slater buys Performa Higher Education.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Milwaukee-based design firm Kahler Slater announced Thursday its acquisition of Performa Higher Education, a national consulting and design group specializing in work for small private colleges and universities. The new...

Ozaukee County creates Dept. of Public Works.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Sometimes one is better than two. The Ozaukee County Board voted Wednesday night to form a Department of Public Works, effectively consolidating the county's Highway and Facilities Management departments. The new...

Bentley World-Packaging acquires operating assets of Overseas Packing.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder The Milwaukee-based company Bentley World-Packaging Ltd. announced Wednesday that it had acquired the operating assets of Overseas Packing LLC with principal offices and facilities in Walton Hills, Ohio, and Pittsburgh,...

Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity to build in Harambee neighborhood.
January 5, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity knew its job was done in the Metcalfe Park neighborhood when Gorman & Co. moved in and bought the area's available housing lots from the city. The group did its first work in the central...

Architecture will be focus at new Milwaukee high school.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is no stranger to developing charter schools with Milwaukee Public Schools, but a new high school to open this fall will have a decidedly pointed focus. The small urban high...

President of Metropolitan Milwaukee Assn. of Commerce outlines M7's goals, accomplishments.
January 8, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Southeastern Wisconsin leaders that talked about regional cooperation for years are starting to actually work as a team under the umbrella of the Milwaukee 7 council. The group, funded by area companies and...

WI State Rep. Scott Newcomer's neighbors sue lawmaker.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan State Rep. Scott Newcomer's neighbors are suing him for allegedly digging up their property when he built his new home on Nagawicka Lake last year. The neighbors, couple Jeffrey Snopek and Pamela Reetz, filed a...

Duck Pond in Madison improvements considered.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder All baseball fans know that winter can be a fruitful time for their favorite organization. High-priced free agents are on the market, young players can foster their talents in winter leagues, and the onset of spring...

KRM commuter rail line from Milwaukee to Illinois gets push.
January 9, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Local civic and business leaders heard another push Monday for the development of a commuter rail system from Milwaukee to Illinois. National rail proponent Eugene Skoropowski was the keynote speaker at a Greater...

State of Wisconsin, paint supplier settle charges.
January 10, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Some painters have been paying too much for supplies at Sherwin-Williams or Mautz Paint retail stores across the state. However, even more have been paying too little. Both stores are operated by Sherwin-Williams,...

Group provides free home repairs in the greater Milwaukee area.
January 10, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Lynnea Katz-Petted knows a thing or two about a busy day at the office. Granted, the executive director of Rebuilding Together Greater Milwaukee is always guaranteed at least one a year, when volunteers from all over...

City of Milwaukee begins creating TIF rules.
January 10, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Faced with the increasing use of tax incremental financing statewide, Milwaukee aldermen on Tuesday started the task of creating the city's first set of formal rules to guide its use. Your sophistication is light...

Milwaukee County Circuit Court orders Cudahy's Iceport to be razed.
January 10, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Cudahy's Iceport is on thin...well, you know. The city of Cudahy and Mequon-based developer Sportsites LLC have been battling in court over what to do with the three-year-old steel structure that was meant to...

Manitowoc Crane acquires Carrydeck line from Sturgeon Bay company.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The Manitowoc Company Inc. announced Monday that its Manitowoc Crane Group has acquired the Carrydeck line of mobile industrial cranes from privately held Marine Travelift Inc. of Sturgeon Bay. The addition of Carrydeck...

Milwaukee receives lead-abatement grant.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The city of Milwaukee Health Department will receive a $3.9 million federal grant to remove lead from area homes and businesses. The money was awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to the...

Abbotsford sued over TIF district.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Eight municipalities in Clark and Marathon counties have sued the city of Abbotsford, which they allege over-collected on two tax-incremental-financing districts for more than a decade. The towns of Colby, Frankfort,...

Franklin-based Icon Development to build in Tosa.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Wauwatosa's mayor and planning staff are optimistic about Icon Development's $130 million proposal's ability to help the city put higher-density buildings where manufacturing facilities once stood. I'm very excited about...

Groups tout homeownership in Wisconsin.
January 11, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Prospective homebuyers were given a clear message in Madison Wednesday -- buy now. The prices right now are the best that you're ever going to see again, said Chad Wuebben, the immediate past-president of the Madison...

Verona, Marinette County receive grants.
January 12, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The Wisconsin Department of Commerce awarded a pair of municipalities public facility grants this week. The city of Verona received a $497,073 Community Development Block Grant-Public Facilities to upgrade utility...

Habitat opens ReStore in Milwaukee.
January 12, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Jeri Kavanaugh admits she's not the savviest with a price gun. I probably price things too low, she said. Someone came in here the other day and found a connector that he said was $150 somewhere else. It was $15 here....

Wind Point Lighthouse in Racine wins national contest for free windows from Jeld-Wen Inc.
January 12, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Who says popularity doesn't matter? Thanks to a bevy of online votes, the Wind Point Lighthouse in Racine won a national contest for free windows from Jeld-Wen Inc., an international window and door manufacturer...

Wisconsin Public Service Corp. to refurbish turbine.
January 12, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Wisconsin Public Service Corp. began a six-month project Monday to refurbish a turbine in its De Pere Energy Center. WPSC, a subsidiary of WPS Resources Corp., is undergoing the maintenance based on the turbine...

Davis honored by Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of WI.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin gave Milwaukee Alderman Joe Davis its 2006 Government Advocate of the Year Award. The group's announcement of the award praised Davis' tireless efforts to promote job...

Milwaukee business leaders oppose Midwest takeover.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Local businesspeople opposed to AirTran's acquisition of Midwest Airlines say the move would hurt the business climate. It's a very important regional asset, said Julia Taylor, president of the Greater Milwaukee...

Construction Career Academy in WI gets closer look.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Griffith Reed didn't mince words explaining why he prefers the Construction Career Academy to the average high school curriculum. The books are more interesting than regular interesting books, and we don't talk...

Principal of tech school in Milwaukee says school won't lose supporters.
January 15, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Bradley Tech Principal Ed Kovochich said he's confident the school's supporters wouldn't lose faith despite reports of recent a student brawl there. We're getting the job done 99.9 percent of the time, said...

Goss to head up WI Transportation Builders Assn.
January 16, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Pat Goss assumed his new role as the executive director for the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association Monday, succeeding Patrick Stevens, who left his post to pursue other opportunities. WTBA President Jim...

Clark Dietz buys WI-based Lang Associates Inc.
January 16, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle A major engineering firm in northern Wisconsin wasted no time fulfilling its New Year's resolution, completing its sale to Chicago-based Clark Dietz Inc. on Jan. 1. Clark Dietz acquired Lang Associates Inc., which...

Amtrak's Hiawatha train service has record year.
January 17, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle 2006 was a record-breaking year for Amtrak's Hiawatha train service. An estimated 588,036 passengers boarded the train last year, up 8.2 percent from the 544,358 trips made during 2005. The Hiawatha runs from...

Nomination for Mayor's Urban Design Awards sought in Milwaukee.
January 17, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett wants nominations for the 10th Mayor's Urban Design Awards, which this year features new categories for green building and building conversion projects. Each year, we want to recognize the...

Operating engineers offer transportation funding fix for Wisconsin.
January 17, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle A road-builders union has proposed measures to cure the state's $700 million annual shortfall in transportation funding, but the pills might be hard for some to swallow. On Tuesday, the International Union of...

City of Milwaukee officials, Pabst Brewery project begins.
January 17, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The city of Milwaukee officials and Joseph Zilber of Brewery Project LLC acknowledged the risk of their plan to redevelop the Pabst Brewery, but both predicted success in their partnership. This is a very high-risk...

Regional Transit Authority voice isn't singular, Milwaukee supervisors say.
January 18, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee County Board supervisors on Wednesday raised concerns over whether they and other legislative bodies in Racine and Kenosha have a voice on the Regional Transit Authority. "The county executive does not speak...

Cherokee Park development plan OK'd by the Madison City Council.
January 19, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder The Madison City Council Tuesday approved a blueprint for developing Cherokee Park, which includes the largest open-space purchase in city history. Now it's up to the county and state to see the deal through to...

Southeast Wisconsin's Regional Workforce Alliance receives training dollars.
January 19, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Southeast Wisconsin's Regional Workforce Alliance will receive up to $5 million from the U.S. Department of Labor for work-force development efforts. The RWA is the work-force development arm of Milwaukee 7, a...

Ground's broken in Milwaukee on Staybridge Suites Hotel.
January 19, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Thursday's groundbreaking for the $20 million Staybridge Suites Hotel in Milwaukee turned into a pep rally before the champagne was poured, with Mayor Tom Barrett declaring a renaissance for the second time this...

Racine airport project funded.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Gov. Jim Doyle approved a $260,000 land reimbursement project at the John H. Batten Airport in Racine, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation announced Wednesday. The Federal Aviation Administration is footing...

START offers apprenticeship training to underserved in Madison.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder It's been a busy couple of weeks at Centro Hispano headquarters in Madison. Workers have been consistently coming and going as some major remodeling is under way to create office and classroom space -- with all labor...

A new generation of homes in Minnesota.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Bielinksi Homes is working on new housing designs in 2007 as business from the baby boomers fades and Generation X becomes its main target. Like Chief Operations Officer Paul Bielinski said, Gen Xers are becoming...

Interview with Minn. Builders Assn.'s Moroney.
January 22, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Will sales of existing homes rise or drop? New homes? The sales of existing homes will probably rise slightly from their current levels. We see in general the housing market picking up in '07. A lot of that belief is...

Decker abandons hospital moratorium idea in Wisconsin.
January 23, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder There's always been a familiar ring to the start of a legislative session for one particular state senator. Since 2002, Sen. Russ Decker, D-Weston, has been pursuing means of leveraging rising health care costs...

Ten neighborhoods in Milwaukee receive renovation funds.
January 23, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett on Friday announced the 10 neighborhoods that would receive money for renovations and area improvements from the city's Targeted Investment Neighborhood fund. The TIN program is a powerful...

Local labor union files complaint against Milwaukee-based American State Equipment Co.
January 23, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139 is claiming American State Equipment Co. gave three employees raises and implied that there could be layoffs to coerce workers to vote against organizing. The...

Engineering lab in Janesville planned.
January 23, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Last year, the two-year University of Wisconsin-Rock County added a four-year electrical engineering program. This year, thanks to area businesses, the program will add a new laboratory building. The UW-Rock County...

Wisconsin DNR urged to cut coal plants' emissions.
January 24, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder A coalition of sport fishing, health and environmental groups delivered a petition to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Monday asking the agency to amend regulations to make deeper and earlier cuts in...

Bricks from Madison-based Champion Environmental Services to be shipped to rebuild Katrina damage.
January 24, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Champion Environmental Services will ship 1.5 million bricks from the Pressed Steel Tank facility in West Allis down south to help rebuild the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. The Madison-based company has been...

Allen hires Plumbers Union rep for Wisconsin governor campaign.
January 24, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Ray Allen wants to bring a pro-development attitude back to Madison. And not just to the city, but to the entire area, because we're not in this alone, he said. But to do that you have to create an environment, and our...

Milwaukee water rates to increase.
January 24, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan With water sales dropping by 4.5 billion gallons over the past four years, the Milwaukee Water Works is asking to increase its rates to ensure it has enough money to pay for system improvements. The rate increase would...

Ashland-based HWC Enterprises received redevelopment grant.
January 25, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle A city of Ashland developer will receive a $50,000 state grant for the remediation and redevelopment of an industrial brownfield site. HWC Enterprises intends to renovate the work facility and also perform an...

Waukesha-based ATC study favors overhead lines.
January 25, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder The American Transmission Company has its eye on the Beltline Highway in Madison, but it's not looking underground. The ATC announced Tuesday that it won't be proposing burying portions of the proposed Rockdale-West...

KRM line would boost housing market in southeast Wisconsin, expert says.
January 25, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Commuter rail could spark a stagnant residential building market in southeast Wisconsin. So claimed Shelly Poticha at a Southeastern Wisconsin Coalition for Transit NOW program held Wednesday at the Milwaukee Athletic...

Wisconsin representative returns from Habitat for Humanity trip to Tanzania.
January 26, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder When people talk about going south for the winter, usually just a few state borders are implied. One state representative jumped the equator. Steve Wieckert, R-Appleton, returned to Wisconsin this week from a month-long...

30th Street Industrial Corridor in Milwaukee to be revitalized.
January 26, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Celebrating the moment as a turning point between industrial decline and neighborhood revitalization, three Milwaukee-area governments partnered on Thursday to plan the future of the 30th Street Industrial Corridor. It's...

Fighting at Milwaukee City Hall.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Last week, cardboard gravestones hanging in the Milwaukee City Hall rotunda said 100 deaths, and two black banners declared Not one more dime, and Bring them home. The posters, set up for the Veterans for Peace's Iraq war...

Dedicated funding for Milwaukee County Transit System pushed.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The president of the Milwaukee County Transit System Friday told state legislators that the busing system will collapse unless they approve a new dedicated funding source. The bottom line is the only way this system is...

New Stillwater Bridge may finally be built from Houlton to Stillwater.
January 29, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The states of Wisconsin and Minnesota are trying to secure enough federal funding to finally build a new bridge over the St. Croix River from Houlton to Stillwater. The Stillwater Bridge is more than 70 years old and...

Merrill Lynch to buy First Republic Bank.
January 30, 2007... New York (AP) - Merrill Lynch & Co., the investment banker that operates the nationEs biggest brokerage, said Monday it will buy San Francisco-based wealth manager First Republic Bank for $1.8 billion in cash and stock. With of assets...

Menomonee Falls-based Novum Structures opens San Francisco office.
January 30, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Menomonee Falls-based Novum Structures announced Friday the opening of a western regional office in San Francisco, citing an expanding construction market and large community of architects and contractors on the West...

Quarry Quest raises $75,000 in Neenah last year.
January 30, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Quarry Quest, a children's charity fund-raiser sponsored by several construction organizations, raised more than $75,000 in 2006. The event was held at Michels Materials' limestone quarry in Neenah on Sept. 16. The...

Milwaukee-based Ollman Construction Co. purchases truss plant.
January 30, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Midwest Building Systems will add roof and floor trusses to its manufacturing operation following the purchase of the Edward Hines Lumber Co. truss plant in Jackson. MBS is a subsidiary of Ollman Construction Co. that...

Madison streetcar idea to go to referendum.
January 30, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder With criticism of a proposed streetcar system for Madison on the rise and a mayoral election drawing ever nearer, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz wants to put the issue in the votersE hands. Cieslewicz announced that he...

Wisconsin Supreme Court rules in favor of sub.
January 31, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle A Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling Thursday reaffirmed that the burden of proof in determining employee status for workers' compensation premiums falls on insurance companies. In Acuity Mutual Insurance Company v. Miguel...

Former president and co-founder of West Allis-based Poblocki Sign Company LLC dies at 88.(Obituary)
January 31, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Funeral services will be held in Sarasota, Fla. for Edward Poblocki, the former president and co-founder of West Allis-based Poblocki Sign Company LLC, who passed away Jan. 20 at the age of 88. Poblocki's father, Ben,...