The Daily Reporter articles from January 2009

The Daily Reporter archives from January 2009

Minority firm crashes after Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority project.
January 2, 2009... Byline: Dustin Block Howard Kingman pulls out his Ojibwa membership card to show his affiliation with the northern Michigan American Indian tribe. The photo ID shows a jovial face creased with a few wrinkles. He looks happy. Why...

Black water rises as recycling option: Wisconsin plumbing code change kicks in on March 1.
January 2, 2009... Byline: Dustin Block Changes in the state plumbing code might let people wash their cars with recycled toilet water by next summer. The changes are part of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce's new plumbing code that will go into...

Layoffs by Madison-based Erdman target more than 100 Wisconsin workers.
January 2, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Erdman Co. is laying off 108 Wisconsin workers because declining revenues and a tough financial market are delaying health care projects. The overall economy has had a pretty significant impact on health care, just as...

Marquette University moves on project despite donation lull.
January 2, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Donations for Marquette University's Discovery Learning Complex engineering school stalled around $60 million for the last year, but Marquette remains confident the project will get done. The university raised a...

Make-or-break work for today's mechanic.
January 5, 2009... Byline: Jessica Stephen It was about 10 degrees below zero -- one of those bone-chilling days that send a shiver down the spine upon hearing the forecast. Most people would stay inside. Ripon resident Rod Nachreiner, 39, is not one...

Wisconsin's shrinking road budget fuels gas tax talk.
January 5, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder Construction groups and some state lawmakers want to reinstate gas-tax indexing to generate money for Wisconsin's transportation system. One thing is certain: The transportation fund needs more revenue, said state...

Builder bets budget on Milwaukee stairway construction.
January 5, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Nuvo Construction Co. won't solve many problems if it builds a new staircase in a historic Milwaukee Soldiers Home hospital and knocks down an exterior wall in the process. The plans for a $2.28 million design/build...

Milwaukee-based Cornerstone Security: Securing profits site by site.
January 6, 2009... Byline: Dustin Block Gene Genal was dead. The owner of Cornerstone Security Group LLC, Milwaukee, was lying on the operating table when his heart stopped in the middle of quadruple bypass surgery. After doctors revived Genal, he went...

Neighbors resist Fitchburg apartments.
January 6, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder Joe McCormick's proposed apartment complex meets Fitchburg zoning standards but not the expectations of the project's neighbors. The Madison developer said he is not sure what more he should be expected to do...

Wisconsin predicts rough ride for construction.
January 6, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Jim Parks will not cower before the state Department of Revenue's 2009 Wisconsin Economic Outlook prediction that construction is in for a rough two years. The executive vice president and principal at Butler-based...

Madison mistake could cost developer.
January 6, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder Madison overlooked its shoreline development law, and the mistake might cost the city two years of planning if voters reject a referendum for the Garver Mill redevelopment. It's one of those things that comes into...

Oregon man becomes surveyor as second career.
January 7, 2009... Byline: Janine Anderson Eleven years ago Peter Tuftee worked with gang kids, tackling behavior modification in a therapy setting. The work was interesting, he said, but dealing with the court system and the children's families often...

Private inspectors watch prevailing wages in Wisconsin.
January 7, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Nonunion contractors do not like it that most prevailing wage investigations on public projects in Wisconsin fall to private inspectors. The unions that pay for the investigators through collective-bargaining...

Wisconsin Legislature tries to get out of jail construction.
January 7, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder There is nothing the state Legislature or any of its special committees can do to prevent jail construction, according to county sheriffs from around the state. If the population in this state continues to grow,...

Weak tax credits stifle developments in Wisconsin.
January 7, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Horizon Development Group Inc. abandoned three affordable-housing projects in 2008 because the bottom dropped out of the tax-credit market. We weren't able to find investment capital for them, said John Faust,...

Federal silence creates stimulus mystery for Wisconsin.
January 8, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder Wisconsin does not know the details or definitions of federal stimulus as the state keeps adding to the more than $13.7 billion it already requested from the incoming Obama administration. The plan, for now, is to...

Janesville pushes speedy highway expansion.
January 8, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder It will help if the state speeds up the expansion of Interstate 39/90, but Janesville leaders concede the city is still years away from a full recovery after the loss of General Motors Corp. In the interim, we have...

City of St. Francis waits for Cardinal Stritch project plans.
January 8, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Cardinal Stritch University is keeping its development at the Archbishop Cousins Catholic Center flexible to react to residents' concerns, but the resulting uncertainty is putting one of the project's neighbors in a tough...

Black chamber targets union hiring, organized labor in Wisconsin says it's already heard the message.
January 8, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan The National Black Chamber of Commerce wants more minorities in construction unions, but organized labor in Wisconsin says it already has heard the message. Harry Alford, president and chief executive of the National...

Cementing her future: Milwaukee driver learns to mix well with contractors.
January 8, 2009... Byline: Susan Suleski When most people meet Lori Jacobs, they can't guess what she does for a living. The fashionable woman enjoys shopping and spending time with her three children and husband. But each morning, she dons a pair of...

Veterans project clashes with industrial zoning in Milwaukee.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Brian Read says Milwaukee should not let the Center for Veterans Issues build apartments on an industrial property neighboring his manufacturing operation. Read, president of Southwind Marine LLC, said the industrial...

Walker warns of stimulus money slop.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Brian Read says Milwaukee should not let the Center for Veterans Issues build apartments on an industrial property neighboring his manufacturing operation. Read, president of Southwind Marine LLC, said the industrial...

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker warns of stimulus money slop.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker demands accountability for any federal stimulus money Wisconsin uses, and state lawmakers say he needs to calm down. There's absolutely going to be legislative oversight as to...

Wausau ballpark needs late-game heroics.
January 9, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder Without help from a Mosinee painter, Wausau might scrape together enough money to upgrade its historic Athletic Park and keep Marathon County from closing the baseball field. The city recognizes it will have to put...

Attorneys trash WisDOT fee proposal.
January 12, 2009... Byline: Dustin Block The Wisconsin Department of Transportation wants to make it more difficult for property owners to contest the price the state agency offers when it acquires their land for public construction projects. WisDOT wants...

Madison inches closer to park project.
January 12, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder Technically, Madison might start construction of its Central Park this year, but a search for money and approvals leaves a wide gap between turning the first dirt and opening the front gates. We might have some...

La Crosse County could test market for jail money.
January 12, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder A shaky bond market offers La Crosse County a risky but rewarding shot at $19.5 million to pay for a jail expansion project, according to County Administrator Steve O'Malley. For the last few months, the (national...

Fly-by-night firms frazzle homebuilders in Wisconsin.
January 12, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Crooked homebuilders visit Wisconsin every year, undercut local contractors and leave them with a public-image mess. Builders groups, sheriff's departments, state government and the Better Business Bureau of Wisconsin...

Sheboygan spaceport lifts off in phases.
January 13, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder The Sheboygan spaceport project might get off the ground, but it still is light years away from reaching for the stars. Anything having to do with space travel at this point is still speculative, said Gary Dulmes,...

Energy-efficiency projects lack workers; Wisconsin puts out bid for recruitment, training firm.
January 13, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan The state funnels $65 million in public money every year into making homes more energy efficient, but contractors warn they are running low on workers to do the job. Compared to more traditional construction trades,...

Wisconsin banks tighten grip on construction cash.
January 14, 2009... Byline: Denise Lockwood Some banks are changing the rules when making construction loans, leaving developers with little choice but to pony up more cash to get projects off the ground. Rose Oswald Poels, senior vice president and...

Milwaukee hustles to meet sick-day deadline.
January 14, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan As the city of Milwaukee writes the rules for its sick-leave ordinance, businesses wonder if they will have enough time to prepare before the law takes effect Feb. 10. Milwaukee voters approved a sick-leave ordinance...

Vinton seeks reinstatement from Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation.
January 15, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Vinton Construction Co. and Streu Construction Co.'s five-year debarment from bidding on state projects is set to end Thursday, and Vinton wants to get back in the game. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation in...

Wisconsin road builders reject coalition road plan.
January 15, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder Road builders dispute an environmental coalition's claim that the best way to fix state highways is to repair what's there and avoid expansion. The Coalition for Wisconsin's Green Economy on Tuesday issued a...

Wisconsin cracks down on water violators.
January 15, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Fond du Lac should not have to pay a $35,000 fine for water quality violations, officials say, because the city this month will complete $32.5 million in projects to solve the problem. The Wisconsin Department of...

Madison hotel proposal worries project neighbors.
January 15, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder Madison's Bay Creek residents do not want a hole in the ground as the only tangible proof they will one day get a hotel in their neighborhood. If they must wait for a hotel proposal to turn into reality,...

Wisconsin gas tax index could go to state vote.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder The Wisconsin Legislature will debate reviving a gas tax index for the first time since the law was repealed in 2005. But state residents might cast the deciding vote. State Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee,...

Developers need support for wind on the water in Wisconsin.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan There are not enough power lines to support wind farms in Lake Michigan. That lack of transmission lines to carry power from offshore wind farms was one issue within the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin's Wind...

Oconomowoc-based Wolf Paving Co. says failure of air quality test was bad timing.
January 16, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan The day federal regulators tested air quality at Wolf Paving Co. Inc.'s asphalt plant was the same day a seal came loose on a big bag that collects emission dust, according to the company's president. Devin Wolf said...

Cudahy moves to foreclose on Iceport.
January 19, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Cudahy is accepting bids to tear down the rusty structural skeleton of the failed Iceport project, but there is question on who should pay for it. The city plans to sell the steel from the failed $25 million ice rink...

La Crosse opts for bonds to pay for jail.
January 19, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder The La Crosse County Board of Supervisors is gambling that an uncertain municipal bond market will be the best way to pay for its new $29.5 million jail expansion. A week after County Administrator Steve O'Malley...

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker opposes stimulus cash for hospital.
January 19, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker opposes the request by three county supervisors for $92.25 million in federal stimulus money to construct a new mental health complex. But time is running out on his preferred...

Madison zoning code redo seen as salve for hurt relationship.
January 19, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder Rewriting Madison's 43-year-old zoning code could eliminate some of its ambiguity, but whether it will improve the strained relationship between the city and developers remains to be seen. I don't think rewriting...

Master planning on tap for park land in Madison.
January 20, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder Madison's Board of Parks Commissioners wants to get a master plan in place for Olbrich Park before a referendum on redeveloping the 103-year-old Garver Mill goes out in April. The Olbrich Botanical Society, a...

Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation allowing recycled roofing shingles in asphalt mixes.
January 20, 2009... Byline: Dustin Block It is up to manufacturers and road builders to capitalize on Wisconsin's decision to allow recycled roofing shingles in asphalt mixes for state road projects. Prompted by rising oil prices, the Wisconsin Department...

Counties in Wisconsin prep for cuts to construction.
January 20, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder County construction projects will take a big hit in 2009 if the state balances its $5.4 billion deficit on the shoulders of local governments. We're going to have a shortfall at the county level, said Lois Schepp,...

Eau Claire gives supplier second shot at bid.
January 20, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Eau Claire is rebidding a pavement supply contract because one of the two companies that always bids for the work failed to submit a proposal. For more than two decades, Eau Claire received two annual bids -- one...

Interchange challenges development: WisDOT seeks ideas for land beneath bridges.
January 20, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan The state wants ideas for its land beneath downtown Milwaukee's Marquette Interchange bridges, but property restrictions will challenge any new development. The state owns nine parcels between St. Paul Avenue and...

Economy cripples stealers' market in Wisconsin.
January 21, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder Construction and utility companies can thank the struggling economy more than recent state law changes for a big drop in copper and scrap-metal thefts, according to Wisconsin detectives. It fell right off the radar...

Halquist Stone Co.'s proposed quarry in Pewaukee faces long odds.
January 21, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder Pewaukee rejected Halquist Stone Co. Inc.'s idea for a quarry on land the city bought for a park, so the company turned to Waukesha County with the same request. Pewaukee City Planner Harlan Clinkenbeard said it...

Milwaukee housing groups collaborate for foreclosure cash.
January 21, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Nonprofits that traditionally battle for grant money to fix and sell foreclosed homes are teaming up so they can get as much as they can from a shrinking pot of cash. Housing organizations are finding niches -- such...

Downtown Madison development trends leave families behind.
January 21, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder As downtown Madison develops, some question if there is room for middle-class families between the high-end condos and the student housing. While some say housing can be diversified, others say the demand is too...

Commentary: The road to the inauguration.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Dustin Block My wife and I drove 1,662 miles from Racine to Washington, D.C., on many roads holding the promise of federally stimulated reconstruction to see Barack Obama sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. The...

Janesville-based Angus Young lays off one-third of work force.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder Janesville-based Angus Young Architects is one of the most recent victims of the construction slowdown. It announced Wednesday that nine of its 25 employees had been laid off. Principal Jeff Hazekamp said the cuts...

Superior adopts PLA option for city projects.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Superior's decision to allow project-labor-agreements on city construction drew boos from opponents who argue elected officials should serve the entire community rather than just unions. According to the resolution...

Judge pulls out of Milwaukee's sick-leave lawsuit.
January 22, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Hopes for a court order preventing Milwaukee's sick-leave law from taking effect Feb. 10 could be dashed after Judge John DiMotto recused himself from the case Tuesday. That led to a cancellation of a Feb. 6 court...

Ethanol production stays steady after fire in Monroe.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder The Badger State Ethanol plant in Monroe will not need to reduce production while repairing damage caused by a fire because a drop in demand already curbed output. Our maximum capacity is about 56 million gallons...

Woodman's Food Markets postpones Sun Prairie project.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder Sun Prairie's development holding pattern continued as the city learned it will wait at least two more years for Woodman's Food Markets to build a grocery store on the city's west side. No one really knows why this...

State of Wisconsin stumbles toward 2025 energy goal.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder Wisconsin still has 16 years to meet its 2025 alternative energy development goals, yet business and utility groups say the state had better pick up the pace. Charlie Higley, executive director of the Citizens...

Milwaukee sick-day suit loses more judges.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Two judges left the Milwaukee sick-leave lawsuit after the original judge, John DiMotto, recused himself Tuesday. Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Elsa Lamelas was taken off the case Wednesday after lawsuit...

Wisconsin contractor group challenges city's safety rule.
January 23, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan The Wisconsin Underground Contractors Association says Oconomowoc will limit competition by disqualifying contractors from bidding based on their safety records. Oconomowoc will use a builder's experience modification...

Wisconsin tax credit proposal targets historic rehabs.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder Wisconsin will struggle to attract developers and money for historic rehabilitation projects until the state offers more tax credits, according to preservationists. State Sen. Julie Lassa, D-Stevens Point, recently...

Wisconsin wind farm debate cranks up in state Legislature.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder A Madison environmental group wants the state, rather than local governments, to oversee wind farm placement after a five-year push for seven turbines in Manitowoc County failed. There should be legislation in the...

Developer lowers offer for Milwaukee County land.
January 26, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee County should reject HSA Commercial Real Estates' $10,000 offer for a two-month option to buy county land in downtown Milwaukee, said County Supervisor Theo Lipscomb. In 2008, the county gave HSA, Chicago,...

Critics question Gov. Doyle's spending oversight office.
January 27, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder One of Wisconsin's first steps toward transparency in spending federal stimulus money drew complaints that the state is clouding the process. We're talking about a lot of money, said Jay Heck, executive director of...

Wisconsin's local governments want access to more stimulus money.
January 27, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan Municipalities are worried the proposed federal stimulus bill will force them to compete with state highway projects for road money. History shows that we are losers in that situation, said Tom Cochran, chief...

Racine and Kenosha target I-94 work force.
January 27, 2009... Byline: Dustin Block The struggling economy might make it harder to hire women and minority workers for the Interstate 94 expansion through Racine and Kenosha counties. The Racine/Kenosha Labor Development Committee wants to use the...

Wisconsin sets date for new asbestos law.
January 28, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan The state's new certification and training rules for asbestos removal will raise costs and could hurt contractors that make a living on small projects. This could knock many of the smaller contractors right out of...

State keeps working on Milwaukee-Madison railroad.
January 28, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder Wisconsin does not have enough money to pay for the estimated $500 million Milwaukee-Madison high-speed rail line, but the state might kick off the project anyway. I keep going back to the fact that this is a...

Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee sales tax faces fresh opposition.
January 28, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan A new sales tax in southeastern Wisconsin will pay for the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee Commuter Link if the idea can overcome opposition in the state Legislature and Racine County. State Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine, said...

Supersize bid shuts down pipe project in Caledonia.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan The Caledonia Sewer & Water Utility District rejected RJ Underground Inc.'s bid to bore beneath the Root River for a sewer pipe after the company asked for three times more than its estimate. The project required a...

Lawmaker in Wisconsin pushes oversight of stimulus money.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder The leaders of the state's new Office of Recovery and Reinvestment say they will have nothing to do with distributing federal stimulus money, but some lawmakers are not taking their word for it. We're in completely...

Madison-based Henshue Construction Inc. shutting down.
January 29, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder Madison-based Henshue Construction Inc. will go out of business March 30. I'm looking for employment now, too, said Gary Henshue, the company's president and chief executive. We did everything we could to survive,...

William Beaudoin and Sons Inc. of Brookfield is going out of business.
January 30, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan William Beaudoin and Sons Inc., Brookfield, filed for receivership Jan. 21 and will close its doors. The company's receiver, John Wirth, of Milwaukee-based Mallery & Zimmerman SC, said Beaudoin is not operating now...

Ethanol production tempts Niagara leaders.
January 30, 2009... Byline: Paul Snyder Niagara wants to strike a balance between the pressure of putting 320 people back to work and the uncertainty of promoting production of an alternative fuel that is still in its infancy. Those people lost their jobs...

Snow blocks energy-saving traffic signals in Wisconsin.
January 30, 2009... Byline: Sean Ryan After converting 420 traffic signals to LEDs, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation discovered snow cakes onto the lights and does not melt. The old light bulbs in the signals burned hot enough to melt snow, but...