The Daily Reporter articles from July 2003

The Daily Reporter archives from July 2003

Dane County Circuit Court judge dismisses lawsuit against Milwaukee utility.
July 1, 2003... Byline: Mark Kass A Dane County Circuit Court judge dismissed a lawsuit by the opponents of We Energies' plans to build three new coal-fired units in Oak Creek. Circuit Court Judge Moria Krueger ruled that the claim by S.C. Johnson &...

WI industry leaders urge legislators to comply with federal drunken driving mandate.
July 1, 2003... Byline: Jeremy Harrell State government is fast approaching a deadline to comply with a federal drunken driving mandate, and industry leaders on Monday urged lawmakers to act quickly. "It's important for the safety of Wisconsin, and...

Johnsonville Sausage LLC plans new Sheboygan Falls plant.
July 2, 2003... Byline: Mark Kass Bucking the state and national economic downturn, Johnsonville Sausage LLC is moving ahead with a new 70,000-square-foot, $34 million cooked sausage production plant in Sheboygan Falls. The new production plant, which...

Health care provisions are making labor-management negotiations harder.
July 2, 2003... Byline: Jeremy Harrell The rising cost of providing health care has begun to take a toll on labor-management contract negotiations, and the problem will likely only get worse. "It's definitely a pressure point for renegotiating...

Commentary: Dept. of Natural Resources is a loose cannon on deck, needs to be restrained.
July 2, 2003... Byline: Donald Croysdale The image of a loose cannon rolling to and fro on a swashbuckling pirates' ship is a picture we can envision. With the cannon loose, an accurate aim is nearly impossible. Well, Wisconsin has its own loose cannon,...

Commentary: A report from Iraq on the 4th of July.
July 3, 2003... Byline: Matt Moroney Every so often, something comes along that jolts us out of the confines of our own lives and reminds us how fortunate we are. I had one of these experiences the other day when I received an e-mail from Matthew Hall....

Wisc. Center District, two contractors could face sizeable fine from state.
July 3, 2003... Byline: Mark Kass The Wisconsin Center District and two construction firms working on the renovation of the Milwaukee Theatre in downtown Milwaukee could face a fine of $100,000 for allegedly violating the state's asbestos-management...

SEWRPC proposes 2 percent budget increase for 2004, no additional taxes needed.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Mark Kass The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission has proposed a 2004 budget that would increase by 2 percent but not require additional taxes from the seven-county area the agency serves. The $6.87 million...

Assembly Speaker blasts Dept. of Natural Resources on nonattainment issue.
July 8, 2003... Byline: Mark Kass The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has avoided the state's rulemaking process in recommending the ozone-nonattainment zone be expanded to Jefferson and Sheboygan counties, Assembly Speaker John Gard charged in...

Portions of Waukesha County jail project rebid.
July 8, 2003... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Waukesha County officials are preparing to rebid portions of the $28 million jail expansion project after the first round of proposals sent the job $2.5 million over budget. "We're close," said County Executive...

Interview with Rep. Dan Vrakas.
July 8, 2003... Byline: Mike Fabishak Rep. Dan Vrakas, R-Hartland, is a former small business owner who was elected to the Legislature in 1990. He has become recognized for his leadership on economic development legislation. Mike Fabishak of the...

Commentary: Improving your business sense.
July 9, 2003... Byline: Donald Croysdale This month marks the beginning of our chapter's 18th year serving subcontractors and the construction industry. Our area is fortunate having some of the finest construction associations in the nation. Over the...

We Energies, Bechtel Corp. sign interim contract.
July 9, 2003... Byline: Sean Ryan We Energies signed an interim contract with Bechtel Corp. near the end of 2002 for its proposed $4.2 billion Elm Road power plant in Oak Creek. "We have not finalized a contract with them yet," said We Energies'...

Dept. of Justice extends comment period.
July 9, 2003... Byline: Mark Kass The U.S. Department of Justice has extended the comment period until July 25 on its proposed $600 million consent decree with We Energies over alleged violations of the federal Clean Air Act to allow Wisconsin...

Madison's mayor questions $61 million road project.
July 10, 2003... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Madison's mayor has called on planners to re-evaluate the $61 million renovation of East Washington Avenue, a project scheduled to start next year. "All that was planned for was a transportation corridor and no...

Sen. George queries WisDOT on Marquette.
July 10, 2003... Byline: Sean Ryan Save undetermined details and time lines of the ongoing Marquette Interchange design re-evaluation that Gov. Jim Doyle requested, project officials have answers to the questions Sen. Gary George asked the transportation...

Milwaukee County's senior living options explored.
July 11, 2003... Byline: John Casper Jr. The baby boom generation isn't getting any younger. Seven years from now, there will be 100,000 Milwaukee County residents over the age of 65. In 2020, one out of every six Wisconsinites will reach the...

Commentary: Constructive Comments July 11, 2003.
July 11, 2003... Byline: Dick Snow Should you be pondering the current economic state of the construction industry in the area, rest assured it is much the same in other states -- slow to medium. This comes from a modest survey of executives from...

WisDOT recovers prevailing-wage dollars.
July 11, 2003... Byline: Jeremy Harrell In the first six months of 2003, the state Department of Transportation's efforts to police prevailing-wage laws have resulted in $300,000 in recovered pay. Marilyn Kuick, WisDOT's chief of labor compliance, said...

U.S. Energy Secretary: Coal needs to be energy option.
July 11, 2003... Byline: Mark Kass Clean coal-generated power has to be one of the nation's future energy options due to the fluctuating supply of natural gas and the resulting escalating prices, U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said Thursday. ...

Commentary: Madison mayor calls for re-evaluation of East Washington Ave. renovation.
July 11, 2003... Byline: Daily Reporter Staff Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz wants planners to re-evaluate the $61 million renovation of East Washington Avenue. The 4.5-mile project, set to begin next year, involves rebuilding the existing six-lane...

Request for regional planning commission audit delayed.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Mark Kass Despite a continued push from two state legislators and city of Milwaukee officials, the Legislature's Audit Committee is not likely to consider a request to approve an audit of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional...

Leaking pipe leads to lawsuit.
July 14, 2003... Byline: John Casper Jr. Shell Lake will pursue legal action against those responsible for installing a leaking plastic pipe that was supposed to drain the state's largest landlocked body of water, the City Council decided. The original...

Commentary: Reference checks: The great void.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Thomas Godar "Name, rank and serial number. That's all of the information I'll provide." While this might be an appropriate response for a prisoner during wartime, is this all that we can expect to give or get when we, as...

Asbestos-citation rule advances.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Ending months of wrangling, state legislators have given the Department of Natural Resources clearance to adopt an asbestos-citation rule. Lawmakers on environmental committees in both houses had 10 days to...

Business park planned on property.
July 15, 2003... Byline: Sean Ryan Officials redeveloping the Menomonee Valley are preparing to dump $3.9 million in federal grants into designing and engineering a business park on the CMC Heartland Partner's property around Canal Street. "Instead of...

Commentary: Wisconsin Focus on Energy earns its keep.
July 15, 2003... Byline: Sean Ryan A program that has earned its keep and is a net revenue maker for Wisconsin's taxpayers is the Wisconsin Focus on Energy. Money for the Focus on Energy program comes from the public benefit charge that every Wisconsin...

Waukesha Water Utility uses design/build approach to bidding.
July 15, 2003... Byline: Sean Ryan The Waukesha Water Utility decided to use the design/build approach to competitively bid its office-remodeling contract to shave design costs, raising the unanswered question of whether or not it is legal. "We just...

Carpenters endorse Barrett for mayor of Milwaukee.
July 16, 2003... Byline: Candy Doyle The Milwaukee and Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Council of Carpenters, representing more than 5,000 members, announced its endorsement of former Milwaukee Congressman Tom Barrett in the race for mayor of Milwaukee....

Milwaukee County supervisors hold hearing.
July 16, 2003... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee County supervisors entered the Power the Future debate Tuesday and found the Oak Creek proposal was more complicated and stormy than they originally expected. The Parks, Energy and Environment Committee held...

Best use of former city landfill debated.
July 16, 2003... Byline: Mark Kass Plans for up to a $35 million recreational or residential development on a former landfill on North 116th Street in Wauwatosa have stalled as city officials struggle to determine what would be the best use for the 18-acre...

Gov. Doyle: Don't expand nonattainment zone.
July 17, 2003... Byline: Mark Kass Gov. Jim Doyle has recommended that the Environmental Protection Agency not expand the state's ozone-nonattainment zone to include up to 10 additional counties. In a July 14 letter to the EPA, Doyle recommend that the...

Commentary: Can affordable housing happen with Smart Growth?
July 17, 2003... Byline: Matt Moroney Recently, Anthony Downs, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute in Washington, D.C., gave the keynote speech at a Brookings Symposium on the relationship between affordable housing and growth management. Downs...

East Washington Avenue design revised.
July 17, 2003... Byline: Sean Ryan State and city planners in Madison have agreed to redesign the East Washington Avenue reconstruction to increase green space and pedestrian safety without changing the project's scheduling or budget. "We're just...

Nine school projects eyed.
July 18, 2003... Byline: Mark Kass The Brown Deer School District is working on plans for several major construction projects, including the possible addition of an auditorium and field house complex to its high school near North 60th Street and West...

Commentary: Constructive Comments July 18, 2003.
July 18, 2003... Byline: Dick Snow Lull before the storm? For the construction industry, summer 2003 in Wisconsin is proceeding sloth-like. In essence, there's not a whole lot going on right now. Having said that, consider the following...

Portage leads area in development.
July 18, 2003... Byline: Seth Ansorge Herb Schultz still remembers when his neighbors raised chickens, milked cows or grew crops for a living. But these days, when Schultz, 70, looks out the windows of his farmstead on Portage's north side, he sees a...

Commentary: Containing the EPA's nonattainment zone.
July 18, 2003... Byline: Daily Reporter Staff Gov. Jim Doyle this week recommended that the Environmental Protection Agency not expand the state's nonattainment zone, which is comprised of 10 counties that do not meet federal air-quality standards. It...

Forest County Potawatomi Community follows OSHA's and Milwaukee's regulations when building casino.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Sean Ryan The Forest County Potawatomi Community doesn't need to follow federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations, Milwaukee's minority hiring goals or the city's building and zoning codes. But it does....

St. Joseph's Community Hospital of West Bend gets permit to extend sewer lines despite controversy.
July 21, 2003... Byline: John Casper Jr. Despite objections from the Washington County Board, the Department of National Resources gave the go-ahead to the village of Jackson's request to extend sewer and water lines from Washington County Fair Park to the...

Forest County Potawatomi Community delays casino expansion plans until compact lawsuit is decided.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Sean Ryan The Forest County Potawatomi Community's new gaming compact kicked open the doors to development opportunity, but the tribe is standing pat to consider its options and wait out a compact lawsuit. "Some people made it...

Milwaukee architect becomes first American Indian to gain license in Wisconsin.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Architect Karl Lusis was born and raised in Milwaukee, but his heart and sense of direction never strayed far from the Oneida reservation. On June 13, an auspicious day for him, Lusis, owner of Standing Stone...

Wisconsin state law requires reinstating disabled employees.
July 21, 2003... Byline: John Finerty Accidents that injure employees, both at work and off the job, are unfortunate facts of life. Consider, however, all of the different employment laws that govern how employers in the construction industry deal with an...

Wisc. Republicans at odds with governor over gaming compacts.
July 22, 2003... Byline: Candy Doyle Tom Krajewski uses the r-word to explain the Republican-controlled Legislature's opposition to expanded gaming compacts: resentment. "I think it's more complex than racism," the Potawatomi spokesman said. "It think...

Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa has host of commercial projects on tap.
July 22, 2003... Byline: Chris Thompson It's a good time to be a builder for the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The tribe, situated at the northernmost point of the state on the shores of Lake Superior in Bayfield County, has a host of...

Milwaukee Metro Sewerage District fires Earth Tech.
July 22, 2003... Byline: Jeremy Harrell The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District took decisive steps after a contractor inadvertently dumped thousands of gallons of sewage during a construction project. The district fired the project's engineer,...

Gov. Doyle's partial veto criticized.
July 23, 2003... Byline: Mark Kass State Sen. Cathy Stepp and state Rep. Bonnie Ladwig are criticizing Gov. Jim Doyle for his partial veto to the utility siting bill that they say will cost the town of Caledonia about $180,000. Doyle signed the utility...

Gov. Doyle mum on transportation vetoes.
July 23, 2003... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Critics and champions started lining up their responses this week to Gov. Jim Doyle's anticipated vetoes to the Republican-backed transportation budget. On one side, GOP lawmakers and industry officials are...

Commentary: Businesses must be cautious not to grow too quickly.
July 23, 2003... Byline: Donald Croysdale The most common way for a business to grow is, well to grow. Sales volume for the sake of sales volume, though, does not necessarily flow down to the bottom line. History is replete with examples of companies...

Moratorium placed on lakefront projects.
July 23, 2003... Byline: Sean Ryan A Milwaukee County task force has until December to draft new development criteria for any future project on Lake Michigan, which county officials expect will promote conservation over development. "You wouldn't...

Venture Electrical Contractors wins jail electrical contract.
July 24, 2003... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Waukesha County officials on Tuesday rejected a contractor's protest seeking to win back the electrical contract for the $28 million county jail expansion project. The County Board's Public Works Committee voted...

Michels Corp.: MMSD exaggerated sewage dump.
July 24, 2003... Byline: Jeremy Harrell One of the companies taking the heat for last week's sewage dump in Milwaukee has accused the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District of exaggerating the size of the problem. "I don't think all the facts are out...

Commentary: Health-plan bill is victory for small business.
July 24, 2003... Byline: Joe Rossman Associated Builders and Contractors congratulates the House of Representatives on passage of the Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2003 by a bipartisan vote of 262-162. "Today's House vote is a victory for the...

Milwaukee area real estate, construction execs. supporting Barrett's mayoral campaign.
July 25, 2003... Byline: Mark Kass Milwaukee area real estate, construction and architectural executives poured nearly $42,000 in late June into former Congressman Thomas Barrett's campaign to be the next mayor of Milwaukee.The total easily surpassed the...

Commentary: Dept. of Natural Resources sees through petty politics; allows sewer extension.
July 25, 2003... Byline: Daily Reporter Staff The Washington County Board tried to block the St. Joseph's Community Hospital project.Thank the state Department of Natural Resources for not allowing that to happen.The board, in a 15-14 vote, recommended...

Commentary: Constructive Comments July 25, 2003.
July 25, 2003... Byline: Dick Snow State construction economy downThere's no sugarcoating the fact that Wisconsin and Connecticut are leading the lower 48 states in construction unemployment, down 7 percent in June from the previous year.According to the...

Gov. Doyle cuts transportation another $145 million.
July 25, 2003... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Wielding his veto pen Thursday, Gov. Jim Doyle took a second bite out of the transportation fund and eliminated a proposal to institute a three-year statewide property-tax freeze."He basically balanced the budget on...

Oconomowoc eyes downtown redevelopment.
July 25, 2003... Byline: Mark Kass In an effort to spur redevelopment of its downtown and attract new retail and residential developments, the city of Oconomowoc has proposed a $18 million tax incremental financing district.The city could realize up to...

Commentary: What is a Social Security mismatch letter?
July 28, 2003... Byline: John Finerty The construction industry hires more seasonal and transient workers than most other industries. Maintaining accurate employment records is, therefore, a difficult but important task. Construction contractors should be...

Gov. Doyle wants scaled-back plan for Marquette Interchange.
July 28, 2003... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Soon after signing his first state budget bill Thursday, Gov. Jim Doyle announced plans to scale back the $890 million reconstruction of the Marquette Interchange in Milwaukee.In vetoing aspects of the transportation...

OSHA reduces Omega Demolition's fines.
July 29, 2003... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Federal safety regulators and the demolition company working on the Park East Freeway project in Milwaukee last week agreed to major reductions in proposed fines.The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on...

Ackerville Bridge decision appealed.
July 29, 2003... Byline: Sean Ryan The Highway J Citizens Group appealed the court ruling that transportation officials followed all environmental assessment procedures for the Ackerville Bridge project, continuing its drive to dismantle the completed...

Design of scaled-back interchange unveiled.
July 30, 2003... Byline: Sean Ryan Gov. Jim Doyle's administration trimmed $80 million from the Marquette Interchange reconstruction budget by narrowing the project's physical boundaries and making minor design changes."We have reduced some of the two-lane...

Planning and Design Institute president: Coal plant will hinder development.
July 31, 2003... Byline: Mark Kass Building the proposed We Energies' coal-fired plant expansion in Oak Creek could cost the region as much as $2.4 billion in new development tax base and as many as 17,000 new jobs over the next 30 years, a Milwaukee...

Commentary: Holding the line on property taxes.
July 31, 2003... Byline: Matt Moroney The hot issue on everybody's lips right now is the property-tax freeze. The 21st Assembly District race was decided on the issue because Rep.-elect Mark Honadel turned the property-tax freeze into the centerpiece of...

Bidding law won't be suspended for UW job.
July 31, 2003... Byline: Jeremy Harrell The State Building Commission on Wednesday rebuffed university efforts to suspend bidding statutes for a $16 million dormitory project in northern Wisconsin.The University of Wisconsin System sought to hire a...