The Daily Reporter articles from October 2005

The Daily Reporter archives from October 2005

Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation fears impact of hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
October 3, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan The Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation fears hurricanes Katrina and Rita will have a deep impact on the state's agricultural market. Bill Bruins, the federation's president, said the storms have made the nation's energy...

Study by union contractor association shows apprentices cost less to train than college students.
October 3, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder In an effort to bolster apprenticeships, a union contractor association released a study saying apprentices accumulate less debt and cost taxpayers less to train than college students. "The economy is big and...

Commentary: FEMA could learn from engineers.
October 3, 2005... Byline: Randy Crump I am an engineer and proud of it. While I am not a Professional Engineer, I was honored a few years ago to join others the world over in taking an oath called The Obligation of an Engineer. It reads, "I am an...

Sun Prairie ponders school overcrowding.
October 4, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder When a plan to build two new high schools was voted down last month, the Sun Prairie Area School District was faced with a sizeable challenge: how to quickly manage the current high school's overcrowding problem. ...

WI Builders Association signs with WI Dept. of Natural Resources to start Green Tier program.
October 5, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder The Wisconsin Builders Association Development Council signed with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Monday to cooperate under the state's Green Tier program. The charter is the result of lengthy...

Officials discuss water supply during forum in Waukesha.
October 6, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder Though it was held under the banner of "Water Supply in Southeastern Wisconsin," the predominant focus of the public forum held Wednesday was the city of Waukesha. "Water is essential to the health of Waukesha, the...

Steamfitters spread warmth in Madison.
October 7, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder Volunteers from the Steamfitters Local 601 and the Madison Area Mechanical & Sheet Metal Contractors Association will team up Saturday for the 18th annual "Heat's On" project. The event, originally organized in 1987...

Camp Randall Stadium at University of Wisconsin-Madison may have home field advantage.
October 10, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder The University of Wisconsin-Madison began coming up with concepts for a revitalized Camp Randall Stadium as far back as 1990. In 1999, a design team was brought in to put the wheels in motion. The original goals of...

Cutler: Milwaukee could learn from Cleveland's success.
October 11, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan The Greater Milwaukee Committee is hoping southeastern Wisconsin can learn something from Cleveland. The two cities are close in population - 2.2 million in Cleveland compared to Milwau-kee's 1.5 million - with median...

WI Employment Transportation Assistance Program gets state funding.
October 11, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder The Wisconsin Employment Transportation Assistance Program got a two-year, $9.7 million boost Friday. Gov. Jim Doyle announced his plan to continue WETAP, which integrates local, state and federal funding sources...

Mayor of Madison backs $1 purchase deal for Overture Center.
October 12, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder It would only cost Madison $1 to buy Overture Center, and Mayor Dave Cieslewicz says it's worth the investment. At a Board of Estimates meeting Monday night, Cieslewicz broke a tie vote that paves the way for that...

Hurricane refugee finds help, home in Milwaukee.
October 12, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Emanuel Mathieu remembers the day he left his home behind. He saw Hurricane Betsy splash nine feet of water into New Orleans in 1965 and watched Hurricane Camille blow through four years later. So when he ventured...

Madison mayor unveils budget.
October 13, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder After joking that he liked doing nothing better than balancing city budgets, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz told the media gathered at City Hall Tuesday that the 2006 executive budget was the most challenging he has...

1000 Friends of Wisconsin push for parking lot's sale.
October 14, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder The eastern parking lot of the Hill Farms state Department of Transportation building could be a better used piece of land, says Steve Hiniker. At a press conference Thursday at the parking lot in question,...

Waukesha County Executive candidates debate the issues.
October 14, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Both Waukesha County Executive candidates Wednesday said the solution to the area's water problem lies in cooperation with its eastern neighbors. Dan Vrakas and Jim Dwyer were given several questions about the...

Wisconsin Dell's resort plans $150M expansion.
October 17, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder As part of celebrations for the resort's 10th anniversary, the Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort in Wisconsin Dells announced plans for a $150 million expansion. The expansion will see development of a new lodge and...

Robert G. Brownell, former CEO of Bielinski in hospital, misses hearing in Milwaukee.
October 17, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan The U.S. Attorney's office in Milwaukee expects to have signed plea agreements with three of four defendants by next week in the illegal campaign contribution case involving Bielinski Brothers Inc. One of the four,...

Commentary: Be sure to read the fine print.
October 17, 2005... Byline: Candace Doyle I always read the fine print. While a headline screams for your attention, the fine print is like a whisper - you're automatically drawn to it. And, I've found, that's often where a story lies. For instance,...

Waukesha's water woes: Taking a closer look.
October 18, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan People on both sides of the line separating Milwaukee County from Waukesha County have screwed up southeastern Wisconsin's water resources. Similarly, people on both sides of the line ignored the problems surrounding...

Wisconsin's energy supply discussed.
October 18, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder Representatives from energy companies and groups across the state convened in Madison Monday to discuss numerous aspects of the state's energy supply and address concerns for future. The Customers First! Coalition...

Milwaukee bank executive defends home loans to undocumented immigrants.
October 19, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Mitchell Bank CEO James Maloney told the Rotary Club of Milwaukee that, like it or not, undocumented immigrants are here to stay. "The fact of the matter is that if you think the 12 million people are going to be...

Daniel Libeskind, 9/11 Memorial Foundations architect to make presentation in Milwaukee on Nov. 7.
October 19, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder In February 2003, Daniel Libeskind was named master plan architect for a project described by many as one of the most important in the country. His Memorial Foundations design was selected as a fitting tribute to...

Former Bielinski Brothers Inc. CEO pleads guilty to fraud.
October 20, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Former Bielinski Brothers Inc. CEO Robert Brownell Wednesday pleaded guilty in the case involving a conspiracy to defraud his employers and said he wanted to make things right. "I was placed in a position of trust,...

CEO of D.F. Tomasini Contractors dies at 75.(Obituary)
October 20, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder Services will be held Friday at St. Gabriel Catholic Church, Hubertus, for Donald F. Tomasini, who died Monday after a long battle with lung cancer. He was 75. Visitation will be held at Schmidt & Bartlett Funeral...

Wisconsin's energy report released.
October 21, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder Gov. Jim Doyle's Energy Efficiency and Renewables Task Force's draft report to the Public Service Commission highlights means of conserving energy and promotes better coordination between the PSC and the Department of...

Wisc. Center District's 2006 capital budget cut.
October 21, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan The Wisconsin Center District's 2006 budget continues the district's practice of delaying capital projects to balance its increasingly lopsided books. Franklyn Gimbel, chairman of the WCD board of directors, cut short...

Sheboygan: The final frontier?
October 24, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder For years, the United States has based space travel in Florida and Texas. Sen. Joe Liebham, R-Sheboygan, wants Wisconsin to be thrown in the mix. "A lot of people don't realize that from a latitude and longitude...

Milwaulee-based Kahler Slater Architects, Aurora Health Care embroiled in legal battle.
October 24, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Frequent collaborators Kahler Slater Architects and Aurora Health Care are suing each other over the design contract for the St. Luke's Medical Center Cardiac Center and Patient Tower. Kahler Slater's Milwaukee office...

U.S. Army's base realignment plan could mean Fort McCoy loses one project but gains another.
October 25, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan The U.S. Army's base realignment plan could mean Fort McCoy is losing one construction project but gaining another. The Army Corps of Engineers originally planned to build a $10 million to $13 million Noncommissoned...

Northern Wisconsin Regional Council of Carpenters opens Madison training center.
October 25, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder The Northern Wisconsin Regional Council of Carpenters celebrated the opening of its new training center in Madison Friday. The $3.2 million facility took nearly 10 months to complete and covers 26,000 square feet....

Milwaukee wants Emerging Business Enterprise program studied.
October 26, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett on Tuesday announced the city would hire a consultant to study the city's Emerging Business Enterprise program and recommend improvements. "As far as specific changes, we really don't know...

Madison contractors told to embrace technology.
October 26, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder Builders who want to survive must "innovate or evaporate," said Ric Jackson, executive director of FIAtech of Austin, Texas. Jackson was among the speakers at the 14h Annual Division of State Facilities Consultants...

WI attorney general to file suit against Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District.
October 27, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager announced Tuesday that her office will file a civil environmental lawsuit against the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Thursday. The lawsuit, which charges the MMSD with...

WI Dept. of Transportation project opposed.
October 27, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee officials and residents of the city's 13th District drew a line in the sand Wednesday: The Department of Transportation will not tear down houses to build freeways. Whether they will manage to enforce the...

Roundabouts are catching on in Wisconsin.
October 28, 2005... Byline: Sean Ryan Forget about suicide circles. Forget about the Griswold family stuck in a London traffic circle with Chevy Chase repeating, "Hey look kids, there's Big Ben, and there's Parliament." The idea of replacing square signal...

Associated General Contractors of America reports material prices are on the rise.
October 31, 2005... Byline: Paul Snyder The prices of construction materials are up, and Ken Simonson says they might not be going down anytime soon. Simonson, the chief economist with the Associated General Contractors of America, released a financial...