The Daily Reporter articles from June 2004

The Daily Reporter archives from June 2004

Commentary: Fall-protection training: What are you doing about it?
June 1, 2004... Byline: Dan Burazin In general, contractors and their employees will work safely on the job. They know how to perform their particular trade, as well as how to perform it safely. Usually in these cases, it's the workers' common sense that...

Carpenters, Cement Finishers ink pacts.
June 2, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell The expiration dates on several building trade union contracts came due over the holiday weekend, and now some crafts are back at work while others aren't. Facing a May 31 deadline, many Milwaukee-area unions,...

Consensus on apprenticeship requirement near.
June 2, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan The state committee formed to find a way to rework the long-neglected apprenticeship requirement on state-supported projects is growing closer to consensus, but there's a lot open for debate. "The whole idea was to...

Commentary: Real economic growth, more jobs, modest inflation.
June 2, 2004... Byline: Donald Croysdale Our national economy is roaring ahead. Two consecutive reports were headlined "Economy grows faster than expected" and "Consumer spending up solidly" in The Daily Reporter. But aside from this paper, a few business...

Wisconsin Health Dept. proposes controversial changes to asbestos rules.
June 3, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell For the first time in more than a decade, the state health department is set to make changes to asbestos training and certification requirements and increase fees for those licenses. The long span of years,...

Milwaukee leaders consider toll roads.
June 4, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Organizers of a one-day summit on the state of Wisconsin's declining transportation finance picture have drawn a wide array of sponsors and speakers, including nationally renowned experts. "I think it's timely, I...

Commentary: Business success = Provide vision and leadership.
June 4, 2004... Byline: Tom Bentley The importance of owners and managers providing vision and leadership to a corporate team is our topic this month. The theme is part of a series featuring eight key management strategies that will lead a company to...

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District accelerates projects.
June 7, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Spurred by the possibility of lawsuits after dumping 4.6 billion gallons of untreated sewage, the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District is speeding up several major relief projects. "These projects were going...

Milwaukee-based R.A. Smith branches out.
June 7, 2004... Byline: Brendan O' Brien Motivated to fulfill the needs of a major client and to take advantage of a city's changing landscape, a local engineering and surveying firm recently established an office in the Pittsburgh area. National...

Holding individuals liable for corporate misdeeds.
June 7, 2004... Byline: John Finerty A number of federal statutes, including the Clean Water Act, impose individual criminal liability on management level employees for violating federal law. Individuals may also face criminal punishment for lying to a...

PSC: Learn from blackout mistakes.
June 8, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan The state Public Service Commission's investigation of last August's East Coast blackout agreed with previous assessments: It was caused by utility and transmission companies' negligence of standard industry practices....

Public Service Commission drafting strategic energy plan.
June 9, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell The state's energy strategy through 2010 hinges greatly on the construction industry's ability to put new plants and power lines in place, according to state regulators. The state Public Service Commission is...

Pressed Steel Tank considers move.
June 9, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan West Allis' four-year effort to redevelop the Pressed Steel Tank site seems close to fruition as the company pursues a new home in Milwaukee and the city is set to choose a developer for the property. In 2000, the...

Commentary: Another regulation runs amok.
June 9, 2004... Byline: Donald Croysdale Perhaps almost axiomatic, another government regulation is being tinkered with, and it's swirling out of control. Over the past several weeks, attempts by state regulators to revise the asbestos-certification and...

Milwaukee's image is changing, Mayor Barrett says.
June 10, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan At the Business of Growing Milwaukee forum Wednesday, the developers of the city's three biggest budding projects envisioned a Milwaukee experiencing the growing pains of shedding its industrial heritage. "The...

Commentary: New development is not causing sewerage district's woes.
June 10, 2004... Byline: Matt Moroney Lake Michigan is one of Wisconsin's most critical resources. It holds commercial, environmental and aesthetic value, and dumping almost half a billion gallons of untreated sewage into it is naturally going to be met...

No compromise in sight on Milwaukee's community benefits ordinance legislation.
June 11, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan The fifth and newest version of Milwaukee's community benefits ordinance didn't change the opinions of the groups who have debated the policy for the past year and a half. The Good Jobs and Livable Neighborhoods...

Milwaukee-area Bricklayers union votes down contract.
June 11, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell The Milwaukee-area Bricklayers union voted down a new contract Wednesday night, but workers have not gone back on strike. Bricklayers and Allied Craft Workers Local 8 rejected a new four-year contract with the...

Panel reviews Milwaukee Metro Sewerage District's options.
June 14, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's committee to review the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District is studying three projects to improve water quality - sewer separations, storm-sewer repairs and treatment services at release...

Waukesha chamber opposes Aurora Health Care plan.
June 14, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell A proposed $85 million hospital in the Pabst Farms development came under fire last week from the Waukesha County Chamber of Commerce. The chamber issued a resolution on Thursday stating that Aurora Health Care,...

Milwaukee County exec. suggests separation of combined sewers.
June 15, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker is suggesting the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District separate its combined sewers in an effort to turn local discussion toward solutions rather than problems. "It doesn't...

Project-labor agreement to be enforced in power plant project.
June 15, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell As the largest construction project in Wisconsin history, the proposed construction of We Energies' coal-fired plants in Oak Creek will put 1,200 workers on contractors' payroll. Those workers will be union,...

Milwaukee Common Council votes down community benefits ordinance.
June 16, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan The Milwaukee Common Council Tuesday voted down the long-debated community benefits ordinance, killing the idea of mandating prevailing wages and hiring programs on Park East projects. However, aldermen and advocates...

The Marcus Corp. Foundation establishing prize to lure designers to Milwaukee.
June 16, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Intent on catching rising architectural stars on their way up, the Marcus Corp. Foundation is establishing a $100,000 prize to lure the brightest young designers to Milwaukee. The first Marcus Prize will be...

Grafton health-care facility on hold.
June 16, 2004... Byline: Brendan O' Brien Developers have retreated on a plan to build a health-care facility on a 28-acre parcel on the edge of the village of Grafton. Officials of Summit Smith Health Care Facilities and Welman Architects both of...

Commentary: Does regional cooperation mean higher taxes?
June 16, 2004... Byline: Donald Croysdale During the mayoral debates, one difference between now Mayor Tom Barrett and former Acting Mayor Marvin Pratt was the aggressiveness toward a regional or metropolitan-style government. Barrett, more so than Pratt,...

GE Medical Systems lines up public funding for its new $85 million headquarters.
June 17, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan GE Medical Systems is lining up public funding support from Milwaukee County and Wauwatosa for the new $85 million headquarters it plans to build in the Milwaukee County Research Park. "We definitely think that the...

Deadline for Wisconsin's prevailing-wage survey nears.
June 17, 2004... Byline: John Mielke Wisconsin's annual prevailing-wage survey was mailed out to more than 17,000 contractors on May 11. The survey covers work performed between June 1 to May 31 of 2000. Completed surveys must be postmarked by July 31. ...

Developer considers lawsuit after losing bid to redevelop U of Wisc. building.
June 18, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell A losing developer might sue the state after the Building Commission Wednesday unanimously approved a rival's proposal to redevelop an old building on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus. Following the...

Shoreline-development process streamlined.
June 18, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee County is organizing a board to include the Department of Natural Resources and city of Milwaukee to judge development proposals for the Lake Michigan shoreline. "It gives them (developers) the sense that...

Fontana to test legislation that requires a referendum for public works projects.
June 21, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Fontana village leaders who want to spend nearly $2 million to build a new sewage lift station will need to sway the support of their citizens - a majority of them, in fact. In April, Fontana voters approved a...

Rain leads to delays for construction projects around Wisconsin.
June 22, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Following two months of nearly nonstop downpours, the weather has been transformed from idle conversation topic to a subject of increasing concern for the construction industry. Projects around the state are...

OSHA revising crane and derrick rules.
June 22, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan A panel revising the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's crane and derrick rules is poised to complete the new standard next month, but must still find agreement on mandatory operator certification. A...

Developer to build mixed-use complex in Germantown.
June 23, 2004... Byline: Brendan O' Brien Hoping to attract seniors with easy-access apartments and senior-lifestyle amenities, a Hartford developer plans to build a mixed-use complex in the village of Germantown. John Barnes, of Barnes Construc-tion,...

Commentary: Metropolitan government may be coming to Milwaukee.
June 23, 2004... Byline: Donald Croysdale Metropolitan government may be coming to Milwaukee faster than anyone cares to admit. Over the past few weeks, there has been a succession of regional, or metropolitan-type, issues discussed. Sewerage fixes led the...

Future of transportation funding is subject of summit.
June 23, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan Tuesday's summit on the future of transportation funding focused on finding ways to get drivers to willingly pay new fees that would replace governments' dwindling gas tax revenue. "We are here today because a...

North Leg contract bid opening set.
June 24, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan The Marquette Interchange project is going according to plan as the Department of Transportation prepares to close bids for the $80 million to $100 million North Leg contract next month. "The interesting thing about...

Second half of Marquette Interchange project still without funding.
June 24, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Still in its construction infancy, the $810 million Marquette Interchange project is on schedule and within budget, but state leaders have yet to identify how they'll pay for the second half of the job. In the...

Commentary: Industry needs to speak out on Chapter 30 rules.
June 24, 2004... Byline: Matt Moroney Back in February, in this column I commented how eerie it was that the Jobs Creation Act became effective with little fanfare. I speculated that there would be quiet celebrations in the minds and offices of engineers,...

Brown Deer wants single-family development.
June 25, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan Brown Deer is pursuing a 21-acre single-family housing development that would be built next to a tax incremental financing district it plans to establish in October. In January, the village purchased the last large...

Sheet Metal Workers strike.
June 25, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Nearly a month after their contracts expired, labor and management in the Milwaukee-area mechanical building trades appear to be heading toward reconciliation. On Thursday, workers in the Steamfitters, Sheet...

Madison mayor wants city to adopt green-building standards for all municipal projects.
June 28, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Chicago Mayor Richard Daley made waves recently when he declared that he wanted his city to become the most environmentally friendly city in the nation. To that end, Daley is mandating that all new public...

Wisconsin contractors fare well.
June 28, 2004... Byline: Dick Snow The annual Engineering News Record listing of "Top 400" contractors in the United States by dollar volume in 2003 listed 13 Wisconsin contractors recently: * Michels Pipeline, 97th * Oscar Boldt, 98th *...

Milwaukee Metro Sewerage District panel explores options.
June 29, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee-area regional planners and Department of Natural Resources agents say officials must deal with broken sanitary lines and laterals if they want to prevent future sewer overflows. "There's really a need for...

Commentary: Will you live through the workday?
June 29, 2004... Byline: Dan Burazin When one thinks about the day he or she will leave this world behind, do they ever think that it will occur while working? Of course not. When we leave our homes to go to work, we never think that we won't come back. We...

Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission up for recertification.
June 30, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission will undergo in fall its routine three-year certification review to ensure it is satisfying federal mandates. During the review's public hearings, the commission...

Lisbon residents sue Halquist Stone.
June 30, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell More than two dozen homeowners in the town of Lisbon are suing the owner of a limestone quarry, arguing that the operation has contaminated drinking water and lowered property values. The civil suit, filed last...

Commentary: Construction Employers Legislative Council improves climate for construction industry.
June 30, 2004... Byline: Donald Croysdale The Construction Employers Legislative Council is one of construction's better kept secrets. While its efforts have been largely behind the scenes, its low-key approach has assisted in significant legislative...