The Daily Reporter articles from June 2007

The Daily Reporter archives from June 2007

Mechanical Service Contractors of America pitches in to help Project Home Again in Wisconsin.
June 1, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Is there anything sadder than a child gone missing? But as tough as it is to think about, all efforts must be made to locate missing, abducted or runaway children, and since 1998, the Mechanical Service Contractors...

Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority nears black-homeownership target.
June 1, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Rita McCain-Walker, who teaches the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority's Homebuyer Education Classes, said her work sometimes goes beyond the financial and into personal counseling. After all,...

Gov. Doyle's oil plan advances.
June 1, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Kitty Rhoades didn't understate the importance of the Joint Finance Committee's executive session Thursday. Rep. Rhoades, R-Hudson, the committee's co-chairwoman, said at the beginning of the committee's process...

Wisconsin Joint Finance rejects Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee funding plan.
June 1, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder A motion by Sen. John Lehman, D-Racine, to provide the southeastern Wisconsin Regional Transit Authority the authority to sponsor and operate the proposed Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail service, levy a vehicle...

Claussen wins American Institute of Architects Wisconsin Golden Award.
June 4, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The protege is now the mentor. Cherie Claussen, principal and regional office director for HGA Architects and Engineers, Milwaukee, was once an aspiring architect looking for guidance. She found it in the form of...

Students from Bay View High School in Milwaukee build house.
June 4, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Mark Bajurny, who helped start a construction training program at Bay View High School 17 years ago, was explaining the classes to Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. They were standing next to the kitchen in a house that...

Changing with the Times in Milwaukee.
June 5, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle When Larry Widen bought the Times Cinema in January, he promised to make it a multi-use venue. One look at the theater's upcoming schedule and it's clear that Widen has followed through on that pledge. The Times...

Highway 51 between Cherokee Marsh and DeForest timeline reinstated.(Chronology)
June 5, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Jeff Miller, for one, was pretty happy about Thursday's decidedly contentious Joint Finance Committee session. After Gov. Doyle's oil assessment proposal passed through as designed and KRM funding was also voted...

Madison's Willy Street Co-op to open second store.
June 6, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder It may not come as much of a surprise, but the co-op business isn't quite as cutthroat as others. Madison's Willy Street Co-op will open a second location in January in the Metropolitan Place II condominium complex....

West Allis holds planning meetings.
June 6, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The residents of West Allis will have their say in how the city plans for the next five to 10 years. Mayor Jeannette Bell will hold the third of three open meetings, Wednesday night at City Hall, designed to...

Southeastern Wis. Regional Planning Commission delays housing study.
June 6, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission has delayed a regional housing study because its planners are too busy working on Smart Growth plans for the counties surrounding Milwaukee. The proposed housing...

Group says global warming's impact already being felt in Wisconsin.
June 7, 2007... Byline: Daily Reporter Staff After the release of "An Inconvenient Truth" and its accompanying media ubiquity, most people are well aware of the disastrous global warming effects forecast by scientists. Ocean levels rise causing coastal...

Top Job.
June 7, 2007... MILWAUKEE/Biodiesel plant PROJECT: Build biodiesel production facility near the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage DistrictEs Jones Island wastewater treatment plant. DEVELOPER: North American Biodisel LLC DESIGN/BUILD FIRM:...

Mod Lofts project puts Milwaukee Dept. of City Development, alderman at odds.
June 7, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The question is whether Milwaukee developer Vetter Denk Properties LLC called the Department of City Development to ask for public funding to pay for parking on its $7.2 million Mod Lofts apartment project. Andrea...

Task force told Wisconsin's global warming impact.
June 7, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Sometimes you have to know where you've been to know where you're going. The Governor's Task Force on Global Warming held its second meeting in Madison Wednesday and, while it eventually established preliminary...

Group says global warming impact's already being felt in Wisconsin.
June 7, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle After the release of An Inconvenient Truth and its accompanying media ubiquity, most people are well aware of the disastrous global warming effects forecast by scientists. Ocean levels rise causing coastal flooding,...

KBS Construction donates $1M to help fund new soccer facility for Marquette University.
June 8, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Marquette University is launching a campaign to fund and build a new soccer stadium in Milwaukee after receiving a $1 million gift from KBS Construction Inc. "Two of my greatest loves are Marquette and soccer," KBS...

Suffice to say, the Middleton City Council doesn't have an itchy trigger finger.
June 8, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Suffice to say, the Middleton City Council doesn't have an itchy trigger finger. The council took up the matter of Madison-based developer Terrence Wall's $280 million, 25-acre Tribeca Village proposal Tuesday night...

Report: Milwaukee should finance development cautiously.
June 8, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan A city-funded study of Milwaukee's downtown came with warnings that public subsidies should be used carefully, lest they flood the housing and office market. However, it also said that condominiums are currently the...

Report: Milwaukee should finance development cautiously.
June 8, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan A city-funded study of Milwaukee's downtown came with warnings that public subsidies should be used carefully, lest they flood the housing and office market. However, it also said that condominiums are currently the...

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee engineering campus backed.
June 11, 2007... Byline: Daily Reporter Staff Report Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, Board Chairman Lee Holloway and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Foundation pledged their support for UWM Chancellor's Carlos Santiago's plan to build a $143...

De Pere-based Performa lands port job.
June 11, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan There are a few things contractors can talk about when they're working for the Department of Homeland Security, and a lot of things they can't. Employees must get security clearance from the feds, and they must use a...

St. Raphael's in Madison to be replaced.
June 12, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Sunday was a lovely day for a walk in Madison. The site of pedestrians milling about downtown and along the paths that surround Lake Mendota and Lake Monona was certainly nothing new, but the site of the Most Rev....

Now-defunct Waupun-based construction firm's former employees receive back wages.
June 12, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The state has settled a lawsuit over unpaid employee back wages against now-defunct Westra Construction Inc. out of court, the Department of Justice announced Friday. The 48 former employees named in the settlement...

Rivianna condo project in Milwaukee to undergo changes.
June 12, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The developer of the proposed $100 million Rivianna condo in Milwaukee is tweaking the 16-story building's design to address concerns raised by area residents. "We need to make sure that whatever we do, that those...

Madison-based Perscitus Biosciences receives loan from Wis. Department of Commerce.
June 12, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Gov. Jim Doyle announced Thursday that Perscitus Biosciences LLC, Madison, received a $250,000 loan from the Department of Commerce. "Wisconsin is America's leader in biotechnology," Doyle said in a statement. "My...

Highway 141 project in Green Bay gets federal funds.
June 12, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Congressman Steve Kagen, D-Wis., announced that the $2.5 million project in Green Bay to improve about 3 miles of Highway 141 would get some significant federal help. The project is located between Interstate 43 and...

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District's bond rate is upgraded.
June 13, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District plans to save $5.5 million over the next 10 years on interest payments after its bond rating was upgraded to AAA. The bond rating agencies--Fitch Ratings, Moody's Investors...

Proposed Deer Creek Inn in New Berlin plan stalled.
June 13, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The proposed Deer Creek Inn and Conference Center in New Berlin has another hurdle to jump before construction can begin this fall. Janacek Investments Inc., which operates and manages the adjacent Deer Creek Run...

Wis. Joint Finance Committee approves $875,000 for Green Bay Bike Trail.
June 14, 2007... Byline: Lindsey Huster The Joint Committee on Finance voted to earmark $875,800 in funding for a bicycle trail in Green Bay. The motion passed unanimously, 16-0. The motion allows Green Bay to acquire 25 acres of property from the...

Report projects transit system deficit in Milwaukee County.
June 14, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan With Milwaukee County bus passenger revenues falling $1.9 million below budget projections, officials are looking to fill the anticipated deficit without cutting services or increasing fees. A June 5 report (1.3MB...

American Transmission Company: Above-ground lines through Dane County is best option.
June 14, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder The American Transmission Company is fully aware why an underground option is not the best for a proposed 345 kV line to run through Dane County. It just wants to make sure the public knows why too. The ATC held a...

Three injured when scaffolding collapses in Stoughton, Wisconsin.
June 15, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Three construction workers sustained minor injuries Wednesday in Stoughton when scaffolding they were working on collapsed. The workers were doing some exterior work on the new 62,000-square-foot Stoughton Wellness...

What in heaven's name is going on in Lake Mills, Wisconsin?
June 15, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle For sale: 3,888 square feet. $399,900. The possibilities are endless for this beautiful historic church. Commercial space with residential space in lower level. So reads an online ad for the former Masonic Temple at...

Deficit of Milwaukee County economic development arm widens.
June 15, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Things got edgy at the Milwaukee County Board Thursday morning as supervisors grilled staff members over increasing deficits at the Economic and Community Development Division. At 11 the night before, county budgeting...

Two condo towers going up in Madison, Wisconsin.
June 15, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder The Hilldale Shopping Center is growing up fast. Literally. With work on the first phase of redevelopment pretty much spoken for, attention is turning quickly to the second phase of work that will include the...

4th District Court of Appeals: Subcontractors must be paid first.
June 18, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The first shall be last. That Biblical axiom would be a good description of Thursday's 4th District Court of Appeals ruling on a case involving prime contractors paying themselves before their subcontractors. ...

Wisconsin senator takes second shot at raising $7M for new facility at Madison's Truax Field.
June 18, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl is taking a second shot at raising $7 million for a new Air National Guard fire and crash rescue facility at Madison's Truax Field. A spokesperson for the Air National Guard's 115th Fighter...

U.S. Senate taking up fuel efficiency standards.
June 19, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder David Friedman says the U.S. Senate has an easy question to answer this week. "Are they going to cut our dependency on foreign oil?" he asked. Friedman, a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists, will be...

Goup makes push for wind power in Wisconsin.
June 19, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Symbolism can be a powerful thing. By planting 374 pinwheels in Milwaukee's Brewers Hill neighborhood Monday morning, environmental advocacy organization Wisconsin Environment hoped to draw attention to the power of...

Wis. Gov. Doyle: Republicans 'pay lip service' to bio industry.
June 20, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder While Gov. Jim Doyle said Tuesday that the Legislature's efforts to further the state's energy independence should not be about Democrats versus Republicans, he also offered a bit of criticism to the latter party. ...

Bandy's sentencing in U.S. Eastern District of Wisconsin Court delayed.
June 20, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The sentencing for Andrew Bandy, who pleaded guilty in February to committing bank fraud in a scheme involving him skimming money from Mallory Properties, was delayed for a third time Friday. Bandy was indicted in...

Wisconsin Legislature: Consensus on biofuels bills unreachable.
June 21, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Wednesday's public hearing in Madison by the Assembly Committee on Biofuels and Sustainable Energy might best be summed up in one offhanded comment by one of the committee members. "Anything that we can do to make...

Milwaukee city and county officials propose redevelopment ideas for 440th Airlift Wing property.
June 21, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan A redevelopment plan for the 100-acre former home of the 440th Airlift Wing property near General Mitchell International Airport is scheduled to be complete in September. Planners held their first public meeting on...

Wisconsin Supreme Court rules in favor of condo builder.
June 21, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle A stream does not necessarily divide a property into two lots when both sides of the stream are owned by one entity, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. In deciding FAS LLC v. Town of Bass Lake, the court also found...

Milwaukee County Board supports express bus plan.
June 22, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The Milwaukee County Board, venting frustrations over a lack of progress on transit projects, voted 14-4 to support a bus rapid transit plan. The proposal is to run express buses from downtown Milwaukee towards...

Inflation sucking up Wisconsin's road funds.
June 22, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder The Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association offices in Madison were a little empty Thursday morning. With the Senate expected to start looking at the proposed 2007-09 state budget on Tuesday, more than a few...

Construction of Wisconsin's Elm Road Generation Station at halfway point.
June 25, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan It was quiet in the valley of the power plant. The fog was thick, so the 1,900 workers on the site of We Energies' Elm Road Generation Station were holding back on some jobs to respect the weather. Lake Michigan was...

First remote-controlled biogas system unveiled in Waterloo.
June 26, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder The Crave Brothers Farm and Farmstead Cheese Factory in Waterloo isn't exactly the prettiest smelling place in Wisconsin, but it's still setting a good example for other Wisconsin farms to follow. Gov. Jim Doyle...

Stevens to head up Wis. Builders Assn. Development Council.
June 26, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder The Wisconsin Builders Association announced that Pat Stevens was hired to serve as the director of the WBA Development Council. "Pat's addition to the WBA Development Council is a tremendous boost for that segment...

Milwaukee's redevelopment authority delays approval for Moderne project.
June 26, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee's redevelopment authority delayed a vote on the Moderne project's proposed 30-story height to get more details about a new zoning process that would bypass the Common Council. "Maybe we all have to sit down...

Madison chosen for bioenergy research center.
June 27, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The U.S. Department of Energy announced Tuesday that Madison will be the location for one of three Bioenergy Research Centers receiving $375 million in federal funding. The other two centers will be located in Oak...

Forward Wisconsin entices Chicago companies.
June 27, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Summer vacationers aren't the only thing Wisconsin is trying to attract from south of the border. Forward Wisconsin, a public-private economic development organization that markets the state's business climate, went...

Madison embraces small business opportunities.
June 27, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Tides might slowly be turning, says Norman Davis, but small businesses in Madison might also do well to strike while the iron is hot. Seven projects out for bid from the city's Department of Engineering right now...

Milwaukee-based Mandel Group sells luxury apartment project.
June 28, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The Mandel Group Inc. is selling its 200-unit Georgetown Square luxury apartment project, which has been in the works since 2000, to Wimmer Brothers. Mandel, based in Milwaukee, held onto the Brookfield project for...

Is the University of Wisconsin overbuilding?
June 28, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle NO Josh Wescott says pricy modern facilities are necessary for UW schools to compete with other states, as today's students expect all the comforts of home at college. "We hear the stories about students...

Wisconsin Court of Appeals dismisses Sierra Club suit.
June 29, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The Wisconsin Court of Appeals on Thursday dismissed a 2006 lawsuit the Sierra Club filed challenging state permits for the Weston 4 power plant near Wausau. However, the appeals court invited the Sierra Club to...

Fox River PCB-cleanup plan modified by EPA and Wis. Dept. of Natural Resources.
June 29, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Cleaning up the Fox River will feature a two-pronged attack. On Thursday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources modified a plan to clean up...

Wisconsin Public Service Commission joins national energy efficiency effort.
June 29, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The state Public Service Commission has joined a nationwide plan to promote energy efficiency. Along with several other Midwest states, the PSC agreed to implement a National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency,...

Dane County regional transit authority gains ground.
June 29, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Passenger rail in Dane County hasn't been more than just a lot of talk over the past several years. "It's the Dane County way," County Executive Kathleen Falk said with a laugh. "Politics is a blood sport out here,...