The Daily Reporter articles from September 2006

The Daily Reporter archives from September 2006

Architect designs home to provide accessibility for four disabled family members.
September 1, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle It's one thing to design a home to accommodate someone with a disability. It is another to design one that provides adequate accessibility for four disabled people. That is the situation Jake and Debbie D'Amico...

Wisconsin transit systems pool resources for ad campaign.
September 1, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The state and six southeastern Wisconsin public transit systems are looking for an advertising firm to continue their 10-year effort to promote riding the bus. The program uses federal Congestion Mitigation and Air...

Wisconsin Public Service Corporation wants to build natural gas facilities.
September 1, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin Thursday agreed to consider an application by the Wisconsin Public Service Corporation to construct natural gas facilities in the villages of Suamico and Howard. "This is...

Waukesha County Executive's proposed budget cuts 2007 capital spending.
September 5, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder When Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas took office last fall, he vowed to make county government more efficient. If Vrakas' proposed budget for the county's 2007-2011 capital projects passes, it will have to be....

Collaboration is discussion topic for Wisconsin Technology Council.
September 5, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The Wisconsin Technology Council is betting that the mayors of Milwaukee and Madison, by collaborating on economic development, can get their private-sector counterparts to follow suit. "There's really no need for...

Madison budget includes Water Utility upgrades.
September 5, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Madison's drinking water supply has been slated for some considerable upgrades. Mayor Dave Cieslewicz announced Thursday that his 2007 capital budget proposal includes a substantial increase in efforts to protect...

Biotech company moves to Fitchburg.
September 7, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder A lot has been made of Dane County's rapid growth in recent years, and the trend doesn't seem to be slowing. Even the life sciences community can't resist the county's charms. Cue Biotech, an Evanston, Ill.-based...

Former library in Milwaukee converted into housing, retail.
September 7, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan New Covenant Housing Corp. is moving forward with its plan to convert the Finney Library on Milwaukee's North Avenue into a food court and build 24 housing units in a connected building. The more than $5 million...

Germantown group fights for less costly sewer project.
September 7, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle It's nice to have options. But at the same time, having options can create difficult decisions. The village of Germantown is considering two methods of financing a $1.5 million to $1.8 million sewer project for...

Jobs Creation Act creating havoc for couple in Jefferson County.
September 8, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Imagine building a house and walking into it, only to find a desk that's not yours planted in the middle of the living room, and the desk's owner coming and using it as he pleases. That's pretty much the situation...

Lincoln High in Wisconsin Rapids gets Project Lead The Way dollars.
September 8, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Two state agencies combined to provide more than $12,000 in support funding for a Project Lead The Way engineering program in Wisconsin Rapids. Wisconsin's Department of Workforce Development and Department of...

United Community Center in Milwaukee to buy, sell house to first-time buyer.
September 8, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The United Community Center smelled a good opportunity when the Milwaukee Police Department stopped using a building in its neighborhood. The group doesn't acquire or rehabilitate properties for housing, but it wants...

Murphy Oil USA Inc. ordered to pay $10M+.
September 12, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder While some amount of accountability is nice, oil companies haven't cleared themselves from the state's crosshairs yet. Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager announced a judgment against gasoline retailer Murphy Oil...

Future City Competition is on at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
September 12, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Sometimes it's easy to forget, but for better or worse, children are the future. Considering the extensive advances in technology made in the last 30 years alone and that are sure to continue, it's a fact...

Oshkosh-based C.R. Meyer becomes first VPP member of OSHA.
September 12, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan C.R. Meyer on Friday will become the first contractor in the country to get statewide certification in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Voluntary Protection Program for construction. "We wanted to...

Gov. Doyle unveils MBE initiative.
September 14, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Gov. Jim Doyle Wednesday rolled out a new minority business development plan that includes loans for startup and expanding businesses and streamlining the state certification process. "Anybody who steps back and says...

Paul Davis sets out to restore America.
September 14, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Comerino and Maria Ramirez found just the right answer to their significant home repair needs. A free one. The Milwaukee residents will receive free interior and exterior repairs to their home this Saturday, as...

Miron Construction Co. plans annual Quarry Quest event.
September 14, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder It's all green lights (and even predicted good weather) for Neenah-based Miron Construction Co. Inc.'s annual Quarry Quest event, to be held in Neenah on Saturday. The family outing and fund-raiser benefits various...

Wisconsin Fresh Start programs are funded.
September 15, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The state on Thursday announced $739,100 in grants for 24 community organizations statewide and another $200,000 for two Wisconsin Fresh Start home building programs in Milwaukee. "Projects like these are lights of...

U.S. Rep. from Wisconsin introduces Farm Bill.
September 15, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Time is increasingly of the essence in becoming self sufficient in terms of renewable energy. With that in mind, U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., introduced the first major agriculture bill prior to next year's...

Voters approve sewer work in Columbus.
September 15, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Facing possible pollution fines from the state, the city of Columbus passed two referendums Tuesday to fix its deteriorated sewer system. Because leaks to the city's sewer system have caused yearly backups and the...

WI Gov. Doyle directs WisDOT to work on Zoo Interchange.
September 18, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Gov. Doyle announced Friday that he had directed the Department of Transportation to begin construction on the Zoo Interchange in Milwaukee County by 2012, four years earlier than the project was originally slated to...

$70M ethanol plant proposed for Dover, Wisconsin.
September 19, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle The town of Dover wants an ethanol plant that the neighboring village of Union Grove does not. It will be up to Racine County to play Solomon and determine which municipality gets its druthers, and cutting the plant...

Wisconsin's military bases asked to play role in local development decisions.
September 19, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee is considering inviting representatives from major military installations in the city to have a nonvoting seat on the Plan Commission. The move would put Milwaukee in line with a state law signed in August...

M.A. Mortenson Company's Milwaukee office and WasteCap Wisconsin join forces.
September 19, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Saving money and helping the environment simultaneously on a construction project are the kinds of selling points that could tip any builder. So the fact that M.A. Mortenson Company's Milwaukee office has struck up...

Two workers from Black Rivers Falls injured when overpass collapses.
September 20, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Two workers from Black Rivers Falls-based Lunda Construction Co. were injured Monday during removal of the former Highway 29 overpass in Rib Mountain when the bridge collapsed. Jason P. Kundinger, 35, of Auburndale and...

MBA sues Jackson over plan to have developers install broadband.
September 20, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Many people use the Internet daily, some spending more time on-line than watching television. But is the Internet - or, more accurately, a high-speed connection to the Internet - a reasonable requirement for new...

Milwaukee gentrification is 'double-edged sword'.
September 20, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Before unanimously endorsing a project to build up to 75 new houses in a blighted neighborhood, Milwaukee aldermen branched into a wider discussion of how to combat gentrification. The influx of new housing projects and...

Metropolitan Builders Association sues Jackson over plan to have developers install broadband.
September 20, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Many people use the Internet daily, some spending more time on-line than watching television. But is the Internet - or, more accurately, a high-speed connection to the Internet - a reasonable requirement for new...

Milwaukee gentrification is 'double-edged sword'.
September 20, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Before unanimously endorsing a project to build up to 75 new houses in a blighted neighborhood, Milwaukee aldermen branched into a wider discussion of how to combat gentrification. The influx of new housing projects and...

Two injured when overpass collapses.
September 20, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Two workers from Black Rivers Falls-based Lunda Construction Co. were injured Monday during removal of the former Highway 29 overpass in Rib Mountain when the bridge collapsed. Jason P. Kundinger, 35, of Auburndale and...

Madison unveils performance benchmarks plan.
September 21, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz unveiled the performance benchmarks Monday that will be used as part of his Madison Measures program. The mayor developed the program to help city leaders frame policy discussions, make...

County parks in need of costly repairs.
September 21, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle The problem has been identified, but solutions will be much harder to find. The Milwaukee County Parks Department informed the county's Committee on Parks, Energy and Environment at its Tuesday meeting that almost $148...

Drinking water standards to be upheld.
September 21, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Ready or not, the Department of Natural Resources will hold 42 municipalities to the Dec. 8 deadline to comply with drinking water standards and rejected Waukesha's request for an extension. It's been six years since the...

Wingra School in Madison, Wisconsin, to be preserved.
September 22, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Wingra School has occupied the former Dudgeon School building in Madison for 34 years. Now it's lined up for at least another 10. A group of anonymous donors unveiled a plan Monday night that would give the school up to...

2035 plan for southeastern Wisconsin presents positive economic outlook.
September 22, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Local governments in the seven-county southeastern Wisconsin region are individually reviewing the land-use plan projecting and driving development for the next 30 years. The plan uses demographic and economic...

Wisconsin's Claude Allouez Bridge being replaced.
September 22, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Even bridges must retire in their golden years. In July, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation began constructing a replacement for the 74-year-old Claude Allouez Bridge that crosses the Fox River in downtown De...

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker proposes increased fees for buses.
September 26, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker Monday outlined a bus system budget that would maintain bus routes by increasing fees on weekly and student bus passes. "What we heard frequently from people who ride the bus right...

Reopening of State Street in Madison celebrated.
September 26, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder State Street is now just one construction phase away from enjoying a completely revitalized state. Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., joined Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and other local leaders on State Street Monday...

Tomah-based Gerke Excavating Inc.case back in district court.
September 26, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Gerke Excavating Inc. of Tomah figured it was dumping dredged stumps, roots and sand-based fill into an inconsequential drainage ditch for a job back in 2001. But that ditch happened to be one of several connectors...

Wisconsin's rail service said to be off track.
September 27, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle "A problem ignored will only get bigger." Those words were uttered by Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Secretary Rod Nilsestuen in regard to the current state of rail shipping costs and...

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's budget makes affordable housing a priority.
September 27, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's 2007 budget proposal includes $38.8 million for new tax incremental financing districts and pledges to contribute TIF dollars to affordable housing. "I don't expect this to be the final word...

New real estate business in Madison is Enlightening.
September 27, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder Al Gore, for one, would be proud. After all, all it took was a viewing of his recent movie, An Inconvenient Truth, to give Brent Sainsbury and Jenny Persha an idea: an environmentally conscious real estate group....

DaimlerChrysler considering Kenosha plant.
September 28, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle A technological innovation could lead to a major massive development in the Kenosha area. DaimlerChrysler AG is considering constructing a $500 million facility at its Kenosha engine plant that will manufacture a new...

New Huber Center in Dane County's budget.
September 28, 2006... Byline: Paul Snyder The Dane County sheriff's office is in line for a new facility and helpful financial boost. Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk announced some of the 2007 county budget recommendations Tuesday, which include an $11...

Milwaukee-based DRS receives $12M grant.
September 28, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle A pair of Milwaukee institutions could receive $13 million in federal money next year to develop products for the United States military. Milwaukee-based DRS Power and Control Technologies Inc. was granted $12 million...

We Energies refund request approved.
September 29, 2006... Byline: Sean Ryan The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin Thursday approved We Energies' request to issue $32 million in customer refunds now, rather than at the end of the year. The vote means the average We Energies residential...

Associated General Contractor's chief economist optimistic about construction.
September 29, 2006... Byline: Joe Grundle Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, visited Milwaukee's Italian Community Center on Thursday to speak at a seminar hosted by Brookfield health care facility developer Hammes...