The Daily Reporter articles from March 2007

The Daily Reporter archives from March 2007

Wisconsin high schools get solar panels.
March 1, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Solar power is coming to seven northeast Wisconsin high schools in the next two years. The schools will have solar-electric systems installed on their rooftops and employ a three-week curriculum package that...

Milwaukee and Madison engineering departments gearing up for flooding.
March 1, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder When the snow emergency was lifted at 7 a.m. Tuesday, Madison was under a total of 15.3 inches - the largest accumulation of snow the city had seen since December 1990. And while city crews began working almost...

Davis, Barrett disagree on work-force development plan in Milwaukee.
March 2, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee Alderman Joe Davis said he was following his responsibility as an elected official when he wrote Mayor Tom Barrett a letter raising concerns about Barrett's work-force training plan. Davis said the letter...

Sheboygan spaceport plan coming down to earth.
March 2, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Forgive State Sen. Joe Leibham if his head is in the clouds. Or, rather, above them. Leibham, R-Sheboygan, is still awaiting both Gov. Jim Doyle's and the state Assembly's appointments to the Wisconsin Aerospace...

Interview with Mike Ryan: Soon to retire career with Wis. labor movement.
March 5, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Mike Ryan's checkout date is March 31. The 62-year-old president and business manager of the Laborer's District Council has already started packing up his office, but before riding off into retirement, he sat down...

Lisbon, state of Wisconsin settle environmental suit.
March 6, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The town of Lisbon agreed to a $25,000 fine to settle a lawsuit with the state for environmental infractions. The town was charged with unlawfully filling a wetland, destroying a stream that is a tributary to...

Monroe-based Bytec Resources Management Inc. convicted of falsifying records.
March 6, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced that Monroe-based Bytec Resources Management Inc. was convicted last week of misdemeanor counts of falsifying land-spreading records and filing false annual land-spreading...

Broadband tax credits available in Wisconsin.
March 6, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The state Department of Commerce is looking for communications companies who want a piece of the $7.5 million in tax breaks Wisconsin set aside to expand broadband service. "Broadband availability is a key ingredient...

Milwaukee Department of Public Works under fire following audit.
March 6, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan After reviewing a city report saying the Milwaukee Department of Public Works gave inaccurate budget estimates on the Canal Street reconstruction, three aldermen asked the department to make some changes. "As council...

CFOs leaving in droves.
March 6, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The stress of complying with Sarbanes-Oxley is creating an exodus of CFOs from publicly traded companies. And Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce President Jim Haney said companies are going to have to pay more to...

Condo boom in Milwaukee extends to suburbs.
March 6, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder One look around Milwaukee's surrounding cities and it's easy to notice a unifying theme - condominiums, and lots of them. Franklin, St. Francis and Cudahy, for instance, all already have a number of complexes up and...

Bradley Tech in Milwaukee facing cuts.
March 6, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Bradley Tech Principal Ed Kovochich said he's out of options: He must eliminate staff positions to balance the 2008 budget. Over the past five years, the school slashed funding for substitute teachers from $160,000...

Gov. Doyle's Milwaukee Initiative embraced.
March 7, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan All of the speakers at Tuesday's Senate committee hearing on the state budget in Milwaukee endorsed the governor's funding proposals for the city. But the prospect of opposition from legislators representing the 4.4...

Wis. woman nominated for National Assn. of Women in Construction's 2007 Crystal Achievement Award.
March 7, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle When Susan Jaske walked into her first class at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, she discovered the only other woman in class was her roommate. It was an intimidating moment for Jaske, now the chief operations...

High-cost road repairs out of reach for highway running between Verona, Madison.
March 7, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Seven years is a long time to be deemed a failure, and waiting another six years to turn things around is unacceptable, says Larry Saeger. But it also might be the way it has to be. The Verona city administrator is...

Well driller, Wisconsin settle suit.
March 8, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announced Monday that his office obtained a $3,300 judgment in a lawsuit against Bradley Webster, doing business as Brad Webster & Sons Drilling Inc., Poynette. The complaint, filed...

Madison Gas and Electric expanding green pricing program.
March 8, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Madison Gas and Electric announced Tuesday plans to more than triple the green pricing program it offers to customers. In response to growing concerns about global climate change, the company will offer more...

What a blast: Milwaukee Alderman Davis wants car music controlled.
March 8, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The voters keep calling Milwaukee City Hall, complaining about the vulgarity, sleepless nights and rattling windows, but all efforts to stop the racket have failed. But Alderman Joe Davis thinks he's finally found the...

Nation's infrastructure needs unmet.
March 8, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder It's been one month now, and John Goetter has heard next to nothing. A select few local newspapers contacted him for interviews following the American Society of Civil Engineers' announcement in February that...

Connector panel likes Milwaukee Mayor Barrett's bus plan.
March 8, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Despite objections from Milwaukee County, the committee overseeing $91.5 million in federal transit funding agreed to look into Mayor Tom Barrett's idea to build a downtown tram and new bus routes. Barrett's plan...

Meetings set on Forest County Potawatomi Community's air-quality rules.
March 8, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has scheduled two public hearings in late March on proposed air-quality regulations for some lands on the Forest County Potawatomi Community reservation. One hearing will be...

Madison Mayor Dave Ciewslewicz, challenger Ray Allen face off at forum.
March 9, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder It's not often that political candidates get to ask their own questions at debates, so when given the opportunity Thursday, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz asked his challenger Ray Allen the first thing that came to mind....

'Well city' designation sought by Milwaukee.
March 9, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan It's no good having a reputation for drunkenness and gluttony, so an organization is trying to get Milwaukee designated as a "well city" by the Wellness Councils of America. "It just makes the whole area more...

Milwaukee's Bronzeville district not just a dream.
March 9, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Those driving down North Avenue in Milwaukee's Bronzeville district won't see any construction projects, but that doesn't mean the area's planned revitalization is turning stagnant. There's lots of stuff going on...

To encourage business growth, Florence offers commercial spot as grand prize in contest.
March 12, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Apart from McDonald's Dollar Menu, there's really not a whole lot to be had for just a buck these days. Well, outside of Florence County, that is. Up there, $1 can buy you a 30-foot-by-120-foot vacant lot in...

Teams from Wisconsin and five surrounding states participate in robotics competition in Milwaukee.
March 12, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Andrew Jackson's spring-loaded claw was in bad shape after the first match. The Marquette University High School team carried its robot back to the pit, where junior Eric Jonardi started patching up the claw with a...

Minnesota high school wins Milwaukee's robotics competition.
March 13, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The rookie team from Prior Lake High School in Minnesota took top honors at last weekend's robotics competition in Milwaukee after winning both finals matches. The Prior Lake crew was one of 52 teams from six states...

Lagina Plumbing moves into newly renovated headquarters in Milwaukee.
March 13, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Now it's just a matter of unpacking a few boxes. Lagina Plumbing has moved into its new headquarters at 3618 W. Pierce St. in Milwaukee to accommodate continued expansion of the company and is planning a May open...

Milwaukee County executive and board agree: No downtown circulator.
March 13, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Although they have their differences on transit issues, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and board Chairman Lee Holloway spoke out in unison against Mayor Tom Barrett's proposed downtown circulator. The two,...

Milwaukee County Zoo study reports $56.7M in visitor spending.
March 13, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee County Zoo Director Chuck Wikenhauser has a message for anyone who thinks the zoo is just kids' stuff. "So many times people think of the zoo as a nice recreational facility or cultural facility and wonder...

Wis. Gov. Jim Doyle's administration defends plan to tax Big Oil.
March 13, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Gov. Jim Doyle's administration is certain that it can make taxing oil company profits a viable revenue source for the state's transportation fund. It just is still having some trouble explaining how exactly. ...

Box City fundraiser for Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity: One chilly night in cardboard.
March 13, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Riverside University High School Senior Quentin Menal said spending a March evening sleeping in a box has helped him learn that homelessness is everybody's problem. "It opened up my eyes to learn that homelessness can...

La Crosse marketing firm's "pillow room" allows employees to nap.
March 14, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder God bless the Greeks. As if architecture, trial by jury, the Olympics and democracy weren't enough, now they've given us an airtight excuse for sleeping on the job. Results of a study conducted by Dimitrios...

Business robberies rise in Bay View.
March 14, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Bay View businesses never got to the third item on their agenda for Monday night -- attracting more shoppers -- because they were too busy talking about crime. "If there was no crime, there might be more shoppers in...

La Crosse-based firm finds catnaps on the job help workers' productivity.
March 14, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder God bless the Greeks. As if architecture, trial by jury, the Olympics and democracy weren't enough, now they've given us an airtight excuse for sleeping on the job. Results of a study conducted by Dimitrios...

Wisconsin carpenters converge on Capitol.
March 15, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder More than 200 union carpenters from around the state came together in Madison Tuesday and Wednesday for the 2007 Wisconsin State Council of Carpenters Legislative Conference. The focus of the summit was to alert...

Proposed hotel high-rise could boost Milwaukee businesses.
March 15, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee officials are hoping the proposed $120 million hotel, condo and retail project on 4th Street and Wisconsin Avenue will beef up business at the Midwest Airlines Center and Grand Avenue mall. "One reason we've...

DA: Criminal charges in Falk blast unwarranted.
March 16, 2007... Milwaukee (AP) - A prosecutor found no evidence to warrant criminal charges in a factory explosion last December that killed three workers and injured dozens of others. There is no evidence of malicious or reckless conduct by any party to...

Milwaukee's North Point Lighthouse quarters getting restored.
March 19, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan In the basement of the North Point Lighthouse keeper's home, there's a crumbling mural of the house and tower with testaments of love floating in the sky. Val 'N Greg and Carl 'N Shelly painted their names in fluffy...

State of Wisconsin rebidding UW-Whitewater building project.
March 19, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Two wrongs never make a right, but sometimes they make a rebid. The state is rebidding the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater's College of Business and Economics project after finding an error in the low bid, and then...

Sued Milwaukee-based mechanical contractor defends propane work.
March 19, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Milwaukee-based mechanical contractor J.M. Brennan Inc. Thursday filed its response to the lawsuit launched by the families of three workers killed in the Dec. 6 propane explosion at the Falk Corp. plant. The...

Milwaukee aldermen: Inaccurate Canal Street estimates need investigation.
March 19, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Four Milwaukee aldermen are asking the mayor's office to look into the Department of Public Works' inaccurate cost estimates for the Canal Street project. "If an investigation supports a conclusion that DPW officials...

State of Wisconsin grants Pabst project $800K.
March 20, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Gov. Jim Doyle on Monday continued his newfound habit in 2007 of visiting Milwaukee to announce funding plans intended to beef up the city's economic development. This time, the governor handed an $800,000 check to...

Interview with Frank Busalacchi: Secretary of Idaho Department of Transportation.(Interview)
March 20, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Frank Busalacchi, secretary of the state Department of Transportation, is no stranger to a bit of adversity. During his time in office, he's come under intense scrutiny from both the media and Legislature from issues on...

Madison looking at central park.
March 20, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Joe Sensenbrenner wants a central park in Madison to mean what Millennium Park does to Chicago or Central Park does to New York. "I've got very high aspirations for it," he said. "It can bring visitors to town,...

Milwaukee County Zoo prepares for next major round of new construction.
March 21, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Bruce Beehler, deputy zoo director of animal management and health, pointed at the bars separating an employee from two female elephants and their four tusks. "If you put a bull elephant in there, he would bend those...

$133M allotted for University of Wisconsin building projects.
March 21, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder The University of Wisconsin System got a shot in the arm from Gov. Jim Doyle's capital budget proposal, which the State Building Commission approved Monday. Doyle included $133 million in the budget for campus...

Playing to a packed house in Milwaukee.
March 21, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan By 12:30 p.m., about 210 people had registered to testify to the state Joint Finance Committee in Milwaukee, but not even 50 had gotten their three minutes at the podium. There were multiple demonstrations outside the...

Projects that changed the landscape and culture of Wisconsin.
March 22, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan This isn't a list of the biggest, toughest or most expensive projects in state history, but every one of these projects changed the landscape and culture that Wisconsinites live in today. It includes milestones, like the...

Wisconsin Department of Commerce secretary tours state to tout governor's budget.
March 22, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Mary Burke has seen a lot of Wisconsin lately. As part of a series of trips around the state to tout the governor's budget proposal, the Department of Commerce secretary embarked on a day-long tour Wednesday that...

Milwaukee School of Engineering Story.
March 23, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan A foursome of Milwaukee School of Engineering students could be researching the next evolution in humanity's use of the cleansing power of ultra-violet light. People have used UV light to kill cooties in all their...

Madison approves $75K to recruit construction workers.
March 23, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder George Twigg says Madison isn't just a place for high-end businesses. The spokesman for Mayor Dave Cieslewicz echoed his boss's enthusiasm over the city's Common Council meeting Tuesday, which saw the council pass...

Sheboygan, Wisconsin emphasizes lakefront development in its future vision of commerce.
March 26, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Cities and villages across the state are trying to return their rundown but historic downtowns to a state of past glory. The thinking is clear: It is better to use existing infrastructure for a commercial center...

Wisconsin's Public Service Commission denies independent transmission line study.
March 26, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Request denied. Just one month after the city of Madison and Dane County filed a joint request to the Public Service Commission for an independent study on the need for transmission line projects throughout the...

South side of Wis. should benefit from Dan Ryan v. Marquette.
March 27, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle With Marquette Interchange reconstruction midway through its third year, driver frustration over closed ramps and crowded side streets might be growing. But before laying on the horn, remember that it could be...

Worker's death under investigation by Milwaukee officials.
March 27, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder The Milwaukee district attorney's office and the Milwaukee office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating an accident that took place on site at Potawatomi Bingo Casino Thursday that...

Report: Wisconsin taxpayers pay for roadwork.
March 27, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder A penny saved may be a penny earned, but a dollar spent on highway expansions is still another dollar spent by state taxpayers. 1000 Friends of Wisconsin released a report Thursday showing how Wisconsin taxpayers...

Deep tunnel project in Milwaukee to begin next month.
March 28, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The crews will dig through 70 feet of the soft stuff until they hit the limestone bedrock. Then they'll start blasting. The controlled blasts will hollow out a burrow in the limestone underneath North 30th Street and...

Continuing education in Wis. backed by construction organizations, state.
March 28, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Twenty-four words can make a big difference. That's the final word count on a bill that would allow the Examining Board of Architects, Landscape Architects, Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors to establish...

Uptown Brass Center's a go again in Kenosha.
March 28, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The Uptown Brass Center project in Kenosha got off to a solid start before suffering a nightmarish middle when the lead developer dropped out midway through construction. Now, both city officials and private...

Milwaukee Water Works plans $24M worth or projects.
March 29, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Considering the consequences, Milwaukee Water Works Superintendent Carrie Lewis said it's worth $23.8 million. If southeastern Wisconsin experienced a power outage like the one that put 50 million people in the dark...

Wisconsin Builders Association's Deschane bids adieu.
March 29, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder Working on Capitol Square in Madison has its advantages - not least of all being right in the center of government action. For 14 years, Jerry Deschane has worked with the Wisconsin Builders Association, but Monday...

Waukesha creates 8th redevelopment district.
March 29, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Now that the city of Waukesha has brought life back to its historic downtown commercial district, it is moving on to surrounding downtown neighborhoods. On March 6, the Common Council approved the city's eighth...

'Greenest' condo in Milwaukee planned.
March 30, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle Pragmatic Construction will break ground in May on Milwaukee's first structure built with aerated autoclaved concrete. That, along with other environmentally friendly features, will make the Milwaukee green...

Milwaukee County economic development division has $3M deficit.
March 30, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan While discussing a $3 million deficit in Milwaukee County's Economic and Community Development Division, County Board supervisors zeroed in on its lack of an in-house accountant. They also didn't shy away from using...

Wieckert bill would help cultural facilities in Wisconsin.
March 30, 2007... Byline: Paul Snyder State Rep. Steve Wieckert is hoping the third time's a charm for one particular bill on his desk. Wieckert, R-Appleton, is again behind legislation that would allow the Wisconsin Health and Educational Facilities...

Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District bidder wants out of tunneling business.
March 30, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan Insituform Technologies Inc., the parent company of Affholder Inc., announced Thursday morning that it is getting out of the tunneling business. It was a surprise to both Affholder and the Milwaukee Metropolitan...

Ethanol plant in the village of Necedah gets help from state.
March 30, 2007... Byline: Joe Grundle The village of Necedah received $200,000 Wednesday from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce to support the construction of an ethanol plant. Castle Rock Inc. is building a $103 million ethanol plant that is...

Fall River gets gets grant from state of Wisconsin.
March 30, 2007... Byline: Sean Ryan The state is giving $51,000 to the village of Fall River to update its water utilities to better accommodate a Badger Custom Pallet facility being built there. "We need to continue our investments to upgrade...