The Daily Reporter articles from November 2004

The Daily Reporter archives from November 2004

Waukesha County officials protesting WisDOT's decision to rebuild I-94 section.
November 2, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan Elected officials in Waukesha County are protesting the Department of Transportation's decision to rebuild southern parts of Interstate 94 and the Mitchell Interchange before the Zoo Interchange. "It seems to me that...

Teamsters sign project-labor agreement but oppose casino.
November 2, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell As the campaigns for and against a proposed Kenosha casino project enter the final stage, one construction union supporting the job has taken an alternate route to the finish line. Wisconsin Teamsters Joint...

Bids on BioStar Initiative above budget.
November 3, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Spiking material prices are once again throwing a wrench into a high-profile state project. Last week, the Division of State Facilities opened bids for the $105 million Microbial Sciences building on the...

Commentary: Presidential election will change some things, but not everything.
November 3, 2004... Byline: Donald Croysdale It's Tuesday morning, I voted, but like most Americans, I really do not have a feel for who will lead our county for the next four years. We have, however, a brief moment to assess what will continue and what will...

Commentary: Election process needs reform.
November 4, 2004... Byline: Matt Moroney The election is over. We have a winner. We know who controls the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives. We have a firm idea of what direction the country will head for the next four years. We know...

Highland Gardens senior apartments opens in Milwaukee.
November 5, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan On Thursday, the Milwaukee Housing Authority cut the ribbon on the 114-unit Highland Gardens senior apartments, which is handicapped accessible and follows green-building principles. "It is Milwaukee's first green...

McFarland-based City Wide Insulation clashes with carpenters union.
November 5, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell A large insulation contractor is crying foul over the Carpenters union's tactics to organize the company, while the union maintains it is protecting workers' rights. In the last few years, City Wide Insulation of...

New biotech firm moves to Milwaukee County Research Park.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee-based Mason Wells last week sealed a deal it had been working on for nine months that will bring biotechnology company Zystor Therapeutics Inc. to the Milwaukee County Research Park. The new company is...

U of Wisconsin Board of Regents approves $133.9M construction project.
November 9, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell The University of Wisconsin last week took an important step toward beginning construction of one of the largest higher-education projects in its history. The UW System Board of Regents on Friday approved the...

Transportation groups unite to keep Wisc. lawmakers from raiding transportation funds.
November 10, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell A host of transportation groups have set aside any past differences to unite around a common theme: preventing lawmakers from drawing on transportation revenues to balance state books. On Tuesday, these groups...

Commentary: New reports show economy in good shape.
November 10, 2004... Byline: Donald Croysdale What a difference a week makes. In a matter of days, we went from "the worst economy since Herbert Hoover" to such explosive job growth that economists are stumbling over themselves to restate prior numbers. ...

Wisconsin forms Construction Center of Excellence.
November 11, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Expecting a boom in Milwaukee-area construction projects, Gov. Jim Doyle on Tuesday announced a program to provide free training and placement assistance for workers seeking jobs in the building trades. Doyle...

Majority of Milwaukee County Board sponsoring Park East development mandates.
November 11, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan A majority of the Milwaukee County Board is sponsoring a resolution requiring projects on county-owned Park East property to include prevailing wages, affordable-housing, green-building, and hiring and contracting...

Wisconsin Dept. of Transportation's Marquette Interchange project attracts national attention.
November 12, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell The Marquette Interchange project is far from complete, but already the state Department of Transportation is turning heads for its ability to include minority-owned and disadvantaged businesses in the project. ...

Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources continues updating outdated, inaccurate floodplain maps.
November 12, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, with almost double last year's federal funding support, is starting its second year of updating the state's outdated and inaccurate floodplain maps. "The flood maps are...

Milwaukee County Board approves Park East proposal.
November 16, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan The Milwaukee County Board's Park East Committee Monday approved the community benefits resolution unveiled last week, despite County Executive Scott Walker's call to not place mandates on the county's land. The...

Habitat for Humanity, Wisconsin team up to deconstruct former Army ammo plant.
November 16, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell The classified ad would read something like this: Builder and buyer wanted for yards of vintage wood pulled from northern Wisconsin. Just how much wood remains to be seen, but Habitat for Humanity of Dane County...

Milwaukee's Finney Library converted into housing, retail.
November 17, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee aldermen Tuesday praised the more than $6 million project to convert Finney Library into housing and retail as a fine example of neighborhood development. "It seeks to bring small retail shops into the area...

Wisconsin-based Marquette Constructors awarded West Leg contract.
November 18, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan Marquette Constructors LLC, a trio of Wisconsin-based road builders, outbid Chicago-based Walsh Construction on the Marquette Interchange West Leg contract Wednesday, marking their first low bid on the project. "For...

Madison Gas & Electric's cogeneration project hits 86% recycling rate.
November 18, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Even before Madison Gas & Electric Co.'s cogeneration power plant on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus fires up, the company and its waste consultant have found a large measure of success. Through 13...

'Purchase of development rights' agreements not wanted in Wisconsin.
November 18, 2004... Byline: Matt Moroney Newspaper columns and television and radio commentary on the Nov. 2 election have focused on the presidential elections, the Republican pickups at the federal and state levels and what it all means. However, there were...

Commentary: Employees get more choice in health benefits.
November 18, 2004... Byline: Donald Croysdale For many employees, November is renewal time for employee benefit options. More and more employers are providing their employees with choices. Which health plan and how do you want to share the costs? Some offer a...

Wisconsin State Building Commission approves four major construction projects.
November 19, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell The State Building Commission loosened its purse strings Wednesday and approved a slew of top-dollar construction projects. The four biggest jobs will pump nearly $375 million into the state's higher-education...

OSHA inspections down, citations up.
November 19, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan In 2004, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspected fewer workplaces, both in construction and in total, than in the previous year and recorded 3.8 percent more violations overall. "We exceeded our...

Milwaukee Co. Board of Supervisors' COIN workforce program a success with contractors.
November 22, 2004... Byline: Randy Crump A few years ago, I co-led my church's effort to start a day-care center in Milwaukee's central city. Like churches and taverns, there may be a day care on nearly every block in the heart of Milwaukee - but none of them...

Madison's State Street area receives proposal for attractive way to ease the city's parking woes.
November 22, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Only one developer answered Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's call to propose an attractive way to ease the city's parking woes in its busy downtown commercial district. Curt Brink submitted the lone plan this week...

Wisconsin congressional delegation secures millions for construction projects.
November 23, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Members of the Wisconsin congressional delegation on Saturday secured millions of dollars for construction projects statewide as lawmakers wrapped up its work in 2004. In a rare weekend session, Congress met to...

Milwaukee approves 2005 budget.
November 24, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan Before sustaining Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's 2005 city budget vetoes and holding property taxes in check, the Common Council debated whether the freeze would give the city any political capital in Madison. The...

Wisconsin revises building codes.
November 24, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell The state Department of Commerce is set to enforce a change in state building codes requiring sprinklers in some instances when a building's use changes. The rule change is part of a package Commerce developed as...

Commentary: Proposed lien law revision benefits Wisconsin builders.
November 24, 2004... Byline: Donald Croysdale We all have our favorite oxymorons, those phrases that seem to be self-contradictory. Jumbo shrimp, accurate estimate, taped live, government organization, personal computer and one of my favorites, legal brief. So...

Builders ready to begin Milwaukee's Pier Wisconsin project.
November 29, 2004... Byline: Sean Ryan Builders on Milwaukee's Pier Wisconsin job are ready to stop digging and start building. Their focus is the project's circular underwater aquarium and rectangular Discovery World Museum. The $45 million project will...

Wisconsin creates new biz network for entrepreneurs.
November 30, 2004... Byline: Jeremy Harrell Gov. Jim Doyle's administration and the state's higher education systems have formed a new business network that could pump $500 million into Wisconsin's economy in the next year. "This network will promote...