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Civil Rights

• Apr 13, 2005 Doyle Promises Veto as Senate Sends Him Voter ID Bill Voters in Wisconsin would face the nation's strictest requirements in proving their identities before they could cast ballots under a bill approved Wednesday by the state Senate. The 21-12 vote sent the bill to Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat who said he would veto the measure he claims would...    more   
• Apr 13, 2005 Voter I.D. Bill Passes But Faces Likely Veto The State Senate passed the photo I.D. bill Wednesday and it's now heading for the Governor's desk. The bill passed on a bi-partisan 21-12 vote in the Senate, but not before some heated debate. "The photo I.D. bill before us will in effect discourage people from voting," says Sen. Judith Robson...    more   
• Apr 9, 2005 Senate Democratic Leader Defends Judicial Nominee Filibusters The Senate's Democratic leader says it's something even kids know -- "you can't change the rules just to get your way." Harry Reid is criticizing Republicans for threatening to overhaul Senate rules to ban filibusters of President Bush's judicial nominees. Democrats have used filibusters to block...    more   
• Apr 7, 2005 Better SAFE than Sorry Patriot Act The most underreported political story of recent years has been that of the grass-roots revolt against the Patriot Act. In an unprecedented show of opposition to the Bush administration's assaults on basic liberties, five states and 372 counties, cities, villages and towns have passed...    more   
• Apr 6, 2005 Democrats Launch Ads Blasting Voter ID Bill Democrats unveiled an ad campaign Tuesday accusing Republicans of trying to disenfranchise the poor and elderly in Wisconsin with a bill requiring voters to show identification before casting ballots. The Democratic Party of Wisconsin said it will begin running radio ads in Milwaukee later this...    more   
• Apr 6, 2005 Dems Raise the Alarm About a GOP Voting Threat Democrats kicked off a new website (protectmyvote.org) on election day, while beginning a run of radio ads -- all aimed at what the party calls education about the threat from the Republicans' voter photo ID bill. That legislation is now making some progress at the state Capitol. Democratic party...    more   
• Apr 5, 2005 DPW Launches Effort to Protect Citizens' Right to Vote The Democratic Party of Wisconsin today launched a significant effort to inform Wisconsin citizens about the increasing threat to their right to vote from Republicans in the Legislature. The Party is launching a new website, www.protectmyvote.org, that features new radio ads on the Voter ID...    more   
• Apr 5, 2005 U.S. Sen. Feingold: Statement on The Security and Freedom Enhancement (SAFE) Act of 2005 I am very pleased to join my colleagues in the reintroduction of the SAFE Act. Senator Craig and Senator Durbin, thank you for your commitment to these important issues. When I decided to vote against the USA PATRIOT Act in October 2001, I never could have imagined that as we embark on the...    more   
• Apr 5, 2005 Let Felons Who Are Free Have Their Vote The law that says felons can't vote goes way back to the dawn of Wisconsin statehood, and you know how wise everyone was back then. In those days, felons were lumped in with other groups who apparently couldn't be trusted to pick our leaders. Women, for instance. And most non-whites. And...    more   
• Apr 3, 2005 Editorial: Election Reform a Must Gov. Jim Doyle's election reform proposals represent a major step forward, though there may be room for improvement. The governor's proposal, unveiled Friday, would make it harder for felons to vote, increase early voting options, require beefed-up training for poll workers and mandatory training...    more   
• Apr 2, 2005 Doyle Unveils Election Fixes Although Gov. Jim Doyle unveiled an election reform plan Friday filled with some pieces most everyone can agree on, such as safeguards against ineligible felons voting, the most intense debate ahead will be over what is not in the package. Doyle's plan was embraced quickly by Democrats and can be...    more   
• Apr 2, 2005 Governor Doyle Proposes Plan to Keep Felons From Voting Governor Doyle today unveiled proposals designed to keep felons serving time from voting and prevent other forms of voter fraud. His plan does not include a bill backed by Republicans that would require voters to present photo I-D before voting. Doyle said his plan includes distributing to voting...    more   
• Apr 2, 2005 Doyle Proposes Election Reforms Last November 75% of eligible voters cast a ballot in Wisconsin. But that was overshadowed by the number of election day problems. Friday, Governor Doyle laid out a list of reforms he says will ensure election are effective and efficient. "These reforms work to encourage not discourage...    more   
• Apr 1, 2005 Governor's Proposals Aim to Prevent Election Fraud Gov. Jim Doyle unveiled a package of proposals Friday designed to keep ineligible felons from voting and prevent other forms of voter fraud, but not including a bill backed by Republicans that would require photo identification to vote. Doyle's proposals are aimed at improving operations at the...    more   
• Apr 1, 2005 Governor's Proposals Aim To Prevent Election Fraud Gov. Jim Doyle unveiled a package of proposals Friday designed to keep ineligible felons from voting and prevent other forms of voter fraud, but not including a bill backed by Republicans that would require photo identification to vote. Doyle's proposals are aimed at improving operations at...    more   
• Mar 28, 2005 Schiavo Case Tests Priorities Of GOP A week after their unprecedented intervention in the Terri Schiavo case, Republican congressional leaders find themselves in a moral and political thicket, having advanced the cause as a right-to-life issue -- only to confront polls showing that the public does not see it that way. "How deep is...    more   
• Mar 27, 2005 Statement from Senator Lena Taylor on GOP Voter ID Restrictions "The Republican Party of Wisconsin is using exaggerated claims, misinformation and outright lies in an attempt to scare residents into believing that our elections are somehow fraudulent. The GOP accusations disguise their hidden agenda, and are an insult to the citizens who volunteer their time...    more   
• Mar 26, 2005 There Shouldn't be a Law Against Good Citizenship Finally someone has identified a voting problem we can do something about. Even though the media have gone berserk since the presidential election trying to justify inflammatory Republican Party claims of vote fraud in Milwaukee, they have failed to identify a single fraudulent vote.    more   
• Mar 25, 2005 Gov. Bush Is Rebuffed in Schiavo Case Florida Gov. Jeb Bush again raised the possibility of the state's intervention in the frantic battle over Terri Schiavo, asserting Wednesday that the state may have authority to take custody of the brain-damaged woman even though the federal courts have refused to resume her tube-feeding. But a...    more   
• Mar 22, 2005 Analysts: GOP May Be Out of Step With Public Congressional Republicans and President Bush have seized upon the Terri Schiavo case with such fervor that they may find themselves out in front of an American public that is divided over right-to-die issues and deeply leery of government intrusion into family affairs, according to analysts and...    more   
• Mar 22, 2005 Sensenbrenner Led Charge to Take on Schiavo Case Jim Sensenbrenner, pivotal in the congressional debate over Terri Schiavo - a brain-damaged woman whose feeding tube was removed Friday - was rewarded for his efforts. Just before 1 a.m. Monday, House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) handed over to Sensenbrenner the gavel the speaker used in the...    more   
• Mar 22, 2005 Congress Went Too Far The case of Terri Schiavo, as we said in an editorial nearly a year and a half ago, was heart-wrenching and ethically trying from the beginning, and it certainly hasn't gotten any less morally murky since then. We don't claim to have the answers. But too many members of Congress apparently think...    more   
• Feb 25, 2005 Republicans Reveal Plans to Eliminate Same Day Registration After losing the last five presidential elections in Wisconsin and only holding one of eight statewide offices, Republicans have finally come up with their road to victory: Make sure less people vote. In a stunning admission yesterday, Rick Graber, the Chair of the Republican Party of...    more   



Crime and Justice

• Apr 21, 2006 Lawmakers seek probe of possible price gouging by oil companies Washington - Congressional leaders made plans Friday to ask President Bush to order investigations into possible price gouging by oil companies as crude oil prices hit new highs on world markets and average gasoline prices blew through the $3-a-gallon mark. House Speaker Dennis Hastert...    more   
• Apr 19, 2006 Obey says it's time for Rumsfeld to go Attacking Iran is out…but so should Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. That from Congressman Dave Obey Wednesday. Danielle Kaeding reports. Obey spoke to UW-Superior students about the possibility of the Bush administration taking action against Iran. “Anybody who thinks that we have the...    more   
• Apr 13, 2006 Doyle creates ID theft office, State division will assist victims, push for harsher penalties Fitchburg - Gov. Jim Doyle on Thursday launched an effort to help victims of identity theft fight back and will push lawmakers to create stiffer penalties for those who commit such crimes. In a news conference, Doyle said a newly created state office will help victims find information about...    more   
• Apr 6, 2006 Doyle signs sex offender bill allowing life term Madison - Gov. Jim Doyle signed a bill Thursday that could send two-time sex offenders to prison for life. The bill (AB 708) gives judges the authority to send criminals to prison for life if they have been twice convicted of first-degree sexual assault. The previous maximum penalty for a...    more   
• Mar 31, 2006 Ex-DeLay aide pleads guilty to fraud WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A former senior aide to Rep. Tom DeLay pleaded guilty Friday in federal court to fraud conspiracy, saying he joined a scheme with lobbyist Jack Abramoff and others to enrich themselves and illegally influence members of Congress. In a deal with federal prosecutors, Tony...    more   
• Mar 29, 2006 Abramoff gets 5 years, 10 months in fraud case. Lobbyist in Washington's latest corruption scandal sentenced in Miami MIAMI - Disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff was sentenced Wednesday to five years and 10 months in prison for fraud related to the 2000 purchase of the SunCruz Casinos gambling fleet. The sentence was the minimum under his plea agreement in the case. Abramoff arrived in court several...    more   
• Mar 28, 2006 Mr. President, meet your censurer. The high political stakes of the NSA domestic surveillance program WASHINGTON - As Sen. Russ Feingold urges the Senate to censure President Bush, the alleged misdeed that moved the Wisconsin Democrat to propose censure continues: the Bush administration keeps conducting surveillance of calls by suspected al Qaida operatives to and from people in the U.S....    more   
• Mar 21, 2006 Jensen leaves door open He quits office but won't rule out public service role Madison - In a resignation letter Tuesday, state Rep. Scott R. Jensen (R-Town of Brookfield) says he might never again hold elective office after convictions for felony misconduct, but he won't "give up on the dream of public service." The resignation was effective at the end of Tuesday, which...    more   
• Mar 19, 2006 Feingold defends his effort to censure president U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold says he has received thousands of communications from Wisconsin constituents over the past week, with a large majority supporting a resolution he introduced in the U.S. Senate to censure President George W. Bush. And while he's not surprised that Minnesota Democratic...    more   
• Mar 17, 2006 McCabe says Jensen conviction doesn't end Capitol clean up A political watchdog says a lot more has to happen to clean up Wisconsin politics in the wake of the Capitol corruption scandal. Scott Jensen's conviction may have closed one chapter in the ongoing saga of cleaning up what happens under the dome, but Mike McCabe with the Wisconsin Democracy...    more   
• Mar 15, 2006 Schultz to leave GOP job, party official says MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A state Republican Party fundraiser convicted of illegally raising money for the GOP while a state employee will leave her post, a party official said Tuesday. Rick Wiley, executive director of the state GOP, said the party and Sherry Schultz "have mutually agreed to part...    more   
• Mar 8, 2006 Prosecutors say Jensen lied Prosecutors on Tuesday pointed to several instances in which they say former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen lied when investigators interviewed him in 2001 about possible illegal campaign activity at the Capitol. But Jensen, testifying on his own behalf Tuesday, said investigators...    more   
• Mar 6, 2006 Jensen's Job, Paycheck Safe For Weeks A state official has told 27 News Republican lawmaker Scott Jensen will be able to remain in office and draw a paycheck, even if Jensen is convicted of a felony crime in his misconduct trial. Legislative Reference Bureau Analyst Dan Ritsche told 27 News, if Jensen (R-Town of Brookfield) is...    more   
• Mar 5, 2006 Jensen trial may hurt the GOP Chuck Chvala? He's yesterday's news. Brian Burke? Never heard of him. But Scott Jensen: Isn't he the guy who put all those state employees to work on campaigns? He and all his Republican friends? As the trial of the former Assembly speaker heads into its third week, with its daily...    more   
• Mar 4, 2006 Jensen v. Jensen This little zinger by the prosecution in the Scott Jensen trial certainly poses a dilemma for Scooter, whose defense begins on Monday. Jensen has argued in the past that doing political campaign work was just part of the job of being a state legislator, an inseparable part of his duties. Every...    more   
• Mar 1, 2006 Jensen aide testifies in misconduct trial Madison - Six of seven staffers for former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen spent some time stuffing envelopes with campaign and fund-raising material, one of those aides testified today. Brian Dake, who continues to work for the Town of Brookfield Republican, said he and others spent 30 minutes...    more   
• Mar 1, 2006 Jensen held money meetings Lobbyist details GOP solicitations Madison - Former Assembly Speaker Scott R. Jensen (R-Town of Brookfield) and other GOP leaders summoned lobbyists to a May 20, 1999, meeting to ask them to arrange $58,000 in campaign contributions from their clients to Republican campaign groups, according to evidence introduced Tuesday in...    more   
• Feb 28, 2006 Ex-worker says Jensen oversaw all details of campaign work MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Rep. Scott Jensen oversaw every detail of Assembly Republicans' election campaigns, including recruiting candidates, distributing funds and helping write TV commercials, a former director of the taxpayer-funded Assembly Republican Caucus testified Monday. Jason...    more   
• Feb 27, 2006 Witness: Jensen told me to do campaign work Madison A former Assembly Republican Caucus worker testified this morning that he worked full-time on the unsuccessful November 1996 campaign of state Rep. Jeff Stone (R-Greendale) in the weeks before the election, after being pulled off a La Crosse-area race that party leaders concluded could...    more   
• Feb 27, 2006 Tom Sheehan: Inside the caucus scandal MADISON — Reporters covering the caucus scandal have always had to be careful to draw a distinction between legislative staff caucuses and political party caucuses. Turns out the distinction may have been overstated, based on court documents filed in defense of state Rep. Scott Jensen,...    more   
• Feb 27, 2006 Former Caucus Director Details Involvement in Candidate Recruitment As former caucus director Ray Carey testified on Friday, Kratochwill said part of the ARC director job was to act as director of the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee. Kratochwill said beginning in 2000, he was very involved in candidate recruitment for the fall election. Some weeks he...    more   
• Feb 27, 2006 Former GOP employee testifies about campaign work on state time MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Employees of Assembly Republicans were told to take steps to shield their work on campaign materials from others, including locking the doors to their office while stuffing mailings for GOP candidates, a former worker testified Thursday in the misconduct trial of a state...    more   
• Feb 27, 2006 Jury is told of caucus capers Man who campaigned on state time says he learned from Jensen Madison - The former director of the Assembly Republican Caucus told jurors Friday that he learned how to do his job - which included campaigning on state time - from Scott Jensen, the former Assembly speaker accused of directing aides to campaign on the taxpayer's dime. Before Jensen was...    more   
• Feb 27, 2006 Jensen trial: Jensen knew, witness says Links former speaker to caucus activities Prosecutors opened the second week of the Capitol corruption trial today by producing direct evidence linking former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, R-Waukesha, to use of state-paid staff and state resources for political campaigns. Former Assembly Republican Caucus director Jason Kratochwill,...    more   
• Feb 24, 2006 Mark Green comes up in caucus trial In The past two days, the names of gubernatorial candidate Mark Green and two of his staffers have surfaced in the official misconduct trial of former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, adding fuel to the already heated debate over ethics in the governor's race. Former Assembly Republican Caucus...    more   
• Feb 24, 2006 Caucus workers describe coverup Ex-staffers testify about elaborate measures Madison - Assembly Republican Caucus workers took elaborate steps to avoid being caught producing campaign materials on state time, witnesses in the criminal trial of former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen (R-Town of Brookfield) testified Thursday. Former caucus staff members Rhonda Baker and...    more   
• Feb 24, 2006 What price to save Jensen? Trial's dirty laundry has GOP furious In his bid to clear his own name and salvage his political career, former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, R-Waukesha, is apparently ready to sacrifice the two Republican candidates for governor. During Jensen's corruption case this week, former legislative staffers have implicated aides to both...    more   
• Feb 24, 2006 Even Republican Colleague Mocks Mark Green’s Denials: ‘To Say You Didn’t Know What Was Going On – That’s a Big Stretch’ MADISON – In light of revelations today about the illegal activity of Mark Green and members of his staff in the caucus scandal, Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Joe Wineke today called on Green to come clean about his participation in and knowledge of illegal campaigning on state time that...    more   
• Feb 23, 2006 Caucus web snares Green, Walker staffers The Xoff Files The plot thickens, the web gets a little more tangled, and Mark Green and Scott Walker go to new lengths to avoid talking to reporters. We're talking, of course, about the caucus scandal, a subject on which Green and Walker have both taken "See no evil, hear no evil" approaches and claim they...    more   
• Feb 22, 2006 The trial of state Rep. Jensen, former aide begins A prosecutor in the official misconduct trial against state Rep. Scott Jensen said Tuesday the case boils down to this: "It's about duty. It's about money. It's about deception." Assistant Attorney General Roy Korte told the 15 newly impaneled Dane County jurors that Jensen, the former...    more   
• Feb 21, 2006 Baldwin: Get rid of Bush Some federal lawmakers are pushing for the president's impeachment. A couple dozen US Representatives have signed on to a bill that demands an investigation into whether there's enough reason to impeach President George W. Bush or at the very least, force his resignation. Madison Democrat Tammy...    more   
• Feb 21, 2006 Jensen trial evidence will go back to 1988 Prosecutors will be able to present evidence that partisan political work was rampant in the Assembly Republican Caucus when former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, R-Waukesha, ran the operation as caucus director in 1988, Dane County Circuit Judge Steven Ebert ruled today. Ebert's ruling came...    more   
• Feb 21, 2006 Greater Wisconsin Campaign: Radio Campaign Urges Green to Open His Eyes to Scandals The Greater Wisconsin Committee, an issues advocacy group, has launched a statewide radio campaign asking Congressman Mark Green to open his eyes and take note of ethical scandals plaguing government in both Washington and Madison during his time in office. “The corruption and scandals, and...    more   
• Feb 17, 2006 Gov. Doyle allocates more funding to combat meth crisis in Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle issued a dose of extra funding to fight methamphetamine abuse and its chilling effects in northwestern Wisconsin Thursday. According to a release, Assembly Bill 213 allocated a $250,000 grant to fight drug abuse in twelve northwestern Wisconsin counties and the St. Croix tribal...    more   
• Feb 3, 2006 Dems block bill that would reign in A.G. Senate Democrats block a final vote, on a bill opposed by Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager. Democratic Minority Leader, Judy Robson of Beloit, says calling the legislation (SB 425)the "fairness in litigation act" doesn't disguise the fact that the bill would be unfair to consumers. She says...    more   
• Feb 2, 2006 Dems delay 'unfair' lawsuit bill opposed by AG Senate Democrats delayed action today on a Republican bill that Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager says would cripple her ability to protect the people of Wisconsin. Sen. Dave Zien, R-Eau Claire, the author of Senate Bill 425, said it is necessary to shield Wisconsin citizens and businesses from...    more   
• Feb 1, 2006 AG asks governor to join Calpine bankruptcy case Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager asked the governor Tuesday for permission to hire outside attorneys to represent the state in a Calpine Corporation's bankruptcy proceedings. San Jose-based Calpine, which supplies electricity in 21 states and has steam and gas-fired plants nationwide, filed...    more   
• Feb 1, 2006 WI's AG Concerned About Calpine Bankruptcy Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager asked the governor Tuesday for permission to hire outside attorneys to represent the state in a Calpine Corporation's bankruptcy proceedings. San Jose-based Calpine, which supplies electricity in 21 states and has steam and gas-fired plants nationwide, filed...    more   
• Jan 31, 2006 Kohl, Feingold vote against Alito Wisconsin's two Democratic senators voted against confirming Samuel Alito (ah-LEE'-toh) to the Supreme Court today. The conservative judge took only four votes from Democrats in the Senate. Just one Republican voted against him in the 58-to-42 vote approving his nomination. Senators Herb Kohl and...    more   
• Jan 30, 2006 Senate continues debate; heads toward filibuster vote Liberal Democrats in the Senate are making a last-ditch effort to block the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito. The resumption of debate came just a few hours before a key vote that both Republicans and Democrats say Alito will win. Edward Kennedy told his colleagues he fears Alito's...    more   
• Jan 29, 2006 Senators Ask For Limits On Free Trips For Judges Three senators on Friday proposed new limits on expense-paid trips for federal judges and a system to let the public know about potential courthouse conflicts. Judges would be barred from taking free trips to seminars sponsored by special interests, although they could participate if their courts...    more   
• Jan 28, 2006 Feingold will back filibuster attempt of Alito nomination Sen. Russ Feingold will support an attempt to use a filibuster to stop the confirmation of Judge Samuel Alito to serve on the Supreme Court, although he expects the move to fail. "I kind of doubt it, but it would be a good thing if we could stop this," Feingold said in a telephone interview...    more   
• Jan 27, 2006 Kerry Steps Up Here, here, for John Kerry. Finally, a Democrat willing to take a principled and courageous stance against Alito, and to do what needs to be done: and that’s to filibuster. Though New York Times reporter David Kirkpatrick, in an ostensible news story, mocked Kerry for “hobnobbing” in Davos,...    more   
• Jan 26, 2006 Cardinal View: Do not politicize serious indictment Attention Wisconsin: Perphaps media coverage has insinuated otherwise, but Gov. Jim Doyle was not indicted in a travel contract investigation this week. The revelation that state employee Georgia Thompson has been indicted for misapplication of state funds and fraud in her role as part of the...    more   
• Jan 26, 2006 John Nichols: Feingold's vote on Alito significant Not to be lost in the reporting on Tuesday's Senate Judiciary Committee vote to endorse the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to serve on the Supreme Court is the fact that U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., has voted for the first time in his Senate career against a Supreme Court nominee. More than...    more   
• Jan 25, 2006 Kohl, Feingold vote against Alito When Sen. Herb Kohl voted to confirm John Roberts as chief justice last year, he said, "I will vote my hopes and not my fears." When it came to Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito, Kohl's fears outweighed his hopes. "I fear that a Justice Alito will narrow our rights, limit our freedoms and...    more   
• Jan 24, 2006 Kohl, Feingold vote against Alito Wisconsin Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold voted Tuesday against Supreme Court hopeful Samuel Alito, arguing the nominee's views on abortion and executive power called into question his objectivity. All 10 Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted for Alito, while all eight Democrats...    more   
• Jan 24, 2006 Update: Kohl & Feingold Vote Against Alito Feingold says he has "grave concerns" about how Alito would rule on cases involving the Bill of Rights during wartime. He says he fears Alito will continue his trend of deferring to the executive branch at the expense of individual rights. Kohl says confirming Alito is a "gamble with our...    more   
• Jan 24, 2006 Senators Feingold & Kohl Concerned Over Alito's Nomination Confirmation for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito is in the hands of the Senate despite Wisconsin's two senators voting against his nomination. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Alito's nomination Tuesday by a 10-to-8 vote, along party lines. Senator Feingold says he has "grave concerns"...    more   
• Jan 24, 2006 Kohl, Feingold Vote Against Alito Nomination U.S. Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold, both D-Wis., voted against Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito during Tuesday's Senate Judiciary Committee vote. Kohl called a vote for the federal appeals court judge a "gamble" that he wasn't willing to make. The committee voted in favor of the nomination...    more   
• Jan 24, 2006 Herb Kohl To Vote Against Alito Sen. Herb Kohl said Tuesday he would vote against Samuel Alito, calling a vote for the Supreme Court nominee a "gamble" he wasn't willing to make. "I fear that a Justice Alito will narrow our rights, limit our freedoms and overturn decades of progress," said Kohl, D-Wis., in a statement before...    more   
• Jan 23, 2006 Feingold Unsure of Alito Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin) says he's undecided on Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. He says he does not know if Alito would be as objective as he should be. Feingold and Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin) are both on the Judiciary Committee that will begin voting on Alito's nomination....    more   
• Jan 20, 2006 Assembly veto override fails After a largely party-line vote Thursday, the Wisconsin State Assembly ultimately upheld Gov. Jim Doyle’s veto of medical malpractice caps. If overridden, the legislation — called Assembly Bill 766 — would have limited the maximum amount of non-economic damages that can be awarded in cases of...    more   
• Jan 20, 2006 Doyle's Malpractice Veto Stands Dr. Meetul Shah doesn't like what he's been reading and hearing from other doctors in Wisconsin. "When I moved here, 2 weeks before I started practice, the supreme court overturned the malpractice caps." Dr. Shah moved to Stoughton from the west coast last summer, in part, because of the state's...    more   
• Jan 17, 2006 John Nichols: GOP moderates right to oppose Alito Confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominees should always be about more than the abortion debate. And the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to serve on the high court touched on a broad variety of issues including the essential question of whether...    more   
• Jan 17, 2006 New law offers better protection for victims of abuse Loud voices and the sound of commotion can be heard on the other side of the door. When law enforcement knocks, a chaotic scene unfolds before them. Injured and agitated, both adults in the room are blaming each other for the violence. Since April 1, 1989, officers have been required to make an...    more   
• Jan 13, 2006 Feingold, Kohl skeptical of Alito's answers Senate Democrats Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold both said Thursday that they came away from Judge Samuel Alito's four days of testimony with concerns and unanswered questions about his nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. The two said they had not made a final decision about their vote, but Alito...    more   
• Jan 13, 2006 Impeachment Calls Grow Louder Last Saturday, I went to a town hall meeting on the Iraq War and impeachment in Madison, Wisconsin. This one was sponsored by Veterans for Peace. More than 150 other events around the country on January 7 were co-sponsored by Progressive Democrats of America and afterdowningstreet.org. In...    more   
• Jan 13, 2006 New law recognizes self-defense A new law in Wisconsin is intended to cut back on arrests of domestic violence victims whose actions were made in self-defense. Gov. Jim Doyle signed the law last week, and it's expected to go into effect April 1. Since 1989, police in Wisconsin have been mandated to arrest the primary aggressor...    more   
• Jan 13, 2006 Democrats Try to Slow Alito Confirmation Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court is gliding toward confirmation despite a week of hearings in which Democrats tried to hobble his prospects with withering questions on abortion, presidential power and ethics. Democrats argue that the former Reagan administration lawyer is likely to...    more   
• Jan 13, 2006 Democrats Try to Slow Alito Confirmation Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court is gliding toward confirmation despite a week of hearings in which Democrats tried to hobble his prospects with withering questions on abortion, presidential power and ethics. Democrats argue that the former Reagan administration lawyer is likely to...    more   
• Jan 13, 2006 Democrats Try to Slow Alito Confirmation Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court is gliding toward confirmation despite a week of hearings in which Democrats tried and failed to hobble his prospects with withering questions on abortion, presidential power and ethics. Democrats argue that the former Reagan administration lawyer is...    more   
• Jan 13, 2006 Feingold and Kohl say they're undecided on Alito Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold say they remain undecided on the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court, although both Wisconsin Democrats said they found some of his responses troubling after three rounds of questioning. "There were some things that I really was hoping to hear that...    more   
• Jan 12, 2006 Kohl, Feingold Press Alito On Life-And-Death Issues Wisconsin's U.S. Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold challenged Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito on life-and-death issues on Wednesday during his Senate confirmation hearings. Alito was asked by Kohl about abortion and by Feingold about the death penalty. Both senators are Democrats. Alito said...    more   
• Jan 12, 2006 Wisconsin Senators Question Alito Wisconsin Senators Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold challenged Samuel Alito on life and death issues Wednesday during his Senate confirmation hearings. The Supreme Court nominee was asked by Kohl about abortion and by Feingold about the death penalty. Both senators are Democrats. Alito said since the...    more   
• Jan 12, 2006 Kohl, Feingold press Alito on abortion, death penalty Wisconsin Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold challenged Samuel Alito on life-and-death issues Wednesday, with Kohl pressing the Supreme Court nominee on abortion and Feingold probing him on the death penalty. On the third day of Alito's confirmation hearings, Kohl asked Alito why he could not say...    more   
• Jan 12, 2006 Kohl Questions Alito Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat, noted Alito has expressed his support for other rulings, such as one person, one vote. Alito answered that he felt comfortable commenting on issues that are not the subject of litigation. But he says since Roe versus Wade is likely to come before the court, he felt it...    more   
• Jan 11, 2006 Feingold presses Alito on mutual fund case Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold pressed Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito today over his participation in a 2002 case involving a mutual fund company in which he had investments. Feingold questioned the explanations that Alito has given about the issue, which has been a source of contention in the...    more   
• Jan 11, 2006 Kohl, Feingold Pepper Alito With Questions U.S. Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold, both Wisconsin Democrats, questioned Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito during televised confirmation hearings on Tuesday. Kohl asked Alito about a 1985 job application in which Alito criticized a key decision of the Warren court. In the application for...    more   
• Jan 11, 2006 Kohl questions Alito on 1985 application Senator Russ Feingold questioned Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito today about ruling on a case involving a company that managed his investments. Alito, a federal appeals court judge, pledged in 1990 that he would recuse himself from cases involving Vanguard, but participated in a 2002 case...    more   
• Jan 11, 2006 Democrats Say Alito's Answers Inconsistent Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee said Wednesday they were troubled by what they see as inconsistencies in Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito's answers on issues ranging from voting rights to ethics to his membership in a conservative organization. On the third day of confirmation...    more   
• Jan 11, 2006 Kohl challenges Alito on memo; Feingold focuses on ethics Sen. Herb Kohl grilled Samuel Alito about his criticism of civil rights judicial rulings at the Supreme Court nominee's confirmation hearing Tuesday, while Sen. Russ Feingold challenged Alito about ruling on a case involving a company that managed his investments. Alito, a federal appeals court...    more   
• Jan 10, 2006 Drug Money Dealt to Police Departments A bill signed into law last week could mean big weeks for local law enforcement agencies. Now, law enforcers will get a lot more than just a cache of drugs when they bust a dealer or manufacturer. "We get quite a bit of vehicles through drug seizures, a lot of currency," Brown County Chief Deputy...    more   
• Jan 10, 2006 Feingold, Kohl grill Alito on record Wisconsin Sens. Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl raised questions about Judge Samuel Alito's record Monday as the Senate Judiciary Committee began hearings on the Supreme Court nominee. Feingold said Alito, a federal appeals court judge, sometimes leans too much in favor of the executive branch and...    more   
• Jan 10, 2006 Senators Probe Alito's Record, Judgment Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito said Tuesday he would deal with the issue of abortion with an open mind, that no president is above the law and that his positions as a lawyer would not affect his analysis as a judge. In the second day of Senate hearings, Alito faced tough questions about his...    more   
• Jan 10, 2006 Feingold Won't Rule Out Bush Impeachment U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., hasn't used the "i" word, but he won't preclude impeachment proceedings against President George W. Bush over the administration's domestic surveillance program. Feingold was asked about the possibility of impeaching Bush during a campaign appearance with U.S....    more   
• Jan 10, 2006 Stacy Harbaugh: Checks, balances needed to contain Bush Dear Editor: I've been talking to friends lately and I think they share my feelings of total frustration with the leadership of our country. It seems like we can't keep up with the scandals and the abuse of power. There is campaign finance fraud on the state level. There are outrageous things...    more   
• Jan 10, 2006 Feingold, Kohl raise questions at Alito hearing Wisconsin Sens. Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl raised questions about Judge Samuel Alito's record Monday as the Senate Judiciary Committee began hearings on the Supreme Court nominee. Feingold said Alito, a federal appeals court judge, sometimes leans too much in favor of the executive branch and...    more   
• Jan 10, 2006 Feingold Suggests Impeachment Senator Russ Feingold hasn't used the "i" word, but he won't preclude impeachment proceedings against President Bush over the administration's domestic surveillance program. The Wisconsin Democrat was asked about the possibility of impeaching Bush during a campaign appearance with Senate...    more   
• Jan 10, 2006 Wisconsin Senators Want Answers Senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl raise questions about Judge Samuel Alito's record as the Senate Judiciary Committee continues hearings on the Supreme Court nominee. Feingold thinks Alito sometimes leans too much in favor of the executive branch and prosecutors. The Wisconsin Democrat says...    more   
• Jan 10, 2006 Wis. senators ask Alito to earn their support Wisconsin senators put Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito on notice Monday that he must prove he is a mainstream conservative who will stand up for Americans' rights. "We will need to examine whether, as your critics contend, you will consistently side against the individual or whether, as your...    more   
• Jan 10, 2006 Lines drawn at Alito hearing Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito offered senators a very brief and passing glimpse of his judicial philosophy Monday, declaring that judges "can't have any agenda" or "preferred outcome," must keep an open mind and must go where the law leads them. Alito's 11-minute opening statement, which...    more   
• Jan 10, 2006 Supreme Court Nominee Hearings Get A Wisconsin Twist U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold and Sen. Herb Kohl raised questions about Judge Samuel Alito's record on Monday as the Senate Judiciary Committee began hearings on the Supreme Court nominee. Both Wisconsin senators sit on the powerful Judiciary Committee. If nominated, Alito has the power to swing the...    more   
• Jan 9, 2006 Feingold raises concerns about Alito In his opening statement on the Supreme Court nomination of Samuel Alito, Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold voiced skepticism Monday about Alito’s views on presidential power. Feingold said Alito’s “instinct” as a federal appeals judge and before that a lawyer for the Reagan administration “sometimes...    more   
• Jan 9, 2006 Kohl Comments on Alito Hearing The United States Senate Judiciary Committee opened its hearing Monday on Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. Wisconsin senators Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold, both democrats, sit on that important committee. Senators were able to make opening statements during today's hearing. Sen. Kohl told Alito...    more   
• Jan 9, 2006 Democrats Vow Tough Questioning of Alito Democrats promised Samuel Alito tough questions on executive power, privacy rights and abortion as the Senate Judiciary Committee opened confirmation hearings Monday on President Bush's choice to become the nation's 110th Supreme Court justice. In a prelude to days of grilling, several Democrats...    more   
• Jan 9, 2006 Feingold won't rule out Bush impeachment Senator Russ Feingold hasn't used the "i" word, but he won't preclude impeachment proceedings against President Bush over the administration's domestic surveillance program. The Wisconsin Democrat was asked about the possibility of impeaching Bush during a campaign appearance with Senate...    more   
• Jan 9, 2006 Democrats Vow Tough Questioning of Alito Democrats promised Samuel Alito tough questions on executive power, privacy rights and abortion as the Senate Judiciary Committee opened confirmation hearings Monday on President Bush's choice to become the nation's 110th Supreme Court justice. In a prelude to days of grilling, several Democrats...    more   
• Jan 9, 2006 Feingold, Kohl raise questions at Alito hearing Senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl raised questions about Judge Samuel Alito's record today as the Senate Judiciary Committee began hearings on the Supreme Court nominee. Feingold thinks Alito sometimes leans too much in favor of the executive branch and prosecutors. The Wisconsin Democrat says...    more   
• Jan 8, 2006 Feingold, Kohl ready questions for Alito hearing Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold intend to question Judge Samuel Alito on a wide range of constitutional issues at the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing that begins Monday. Alito, nominated to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, can expect to be questioned...    more   
• Jan 8, 2006 Editorial: Nation demands honest answers The game that is a Supreme Court confirmation hearing gets under way Monday. Preening senators fire probing questions at the candidate, who racks up points the more he or she appears to answer without really doing so. The Senate Judiciary Committee should throw out the old playbook and insist on...    more   
• Jan 8, 2006 Tough hearing ahead for Alito Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold intend to question Judge Samuel Alito on a wide range of constitutional issues at the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing that begins Monday. Alito, nominated to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, can expect to be questioned...    more   
• Jan 7, 2006 Bill to clarify state's domestic abuse laws Arrest requirements in incidents of domestic abuse would be strengthened under a new Wisconsin law that protects victims from arrest when defending themselves, according to State Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau. Assembly Bill 436, which has been signed into law by Gov. Jim Doyle, clarifies the...    more   
• Jan 7, 2006 Doyle vetoes lead paint liability bill Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed a bill Friday that would have made it tougher for consumers to sue manufacturers of lead-based paints. At a news conference, Doyle said he vetoed the bill because families affected by lead paint should have some recourse against the companies that manufactured it....    more   
• Jan 7, 2006 Doyle wields veto on lead paint bill Anticipating a showdown in the Legislature but declaring, "I cannot sign a law that closes the doors of justice to children who have been poisoned," Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed a bill Friday that would have made it more difficult for families to sue lead paint companies. "Here in Wisconsin, the problem...    more   
• Jan 6, 2006 Senators Raise Concerns Over Alito Wisconsin Senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl say they are troubled by memos written by Samuel Alito on abortion rights and executive power. They plan to press the Supreme Court nominee during confirmation hearings next week. Last fall, Feingold and Kohl were two of only three Democrats on the...    more   
• Jan 5, 2006 Feingold, Kohl to question Alito on privacy, executive power Wisconsin Senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl say they are troubled by memos written by Samuel Alito on abortion rights and executive power. They plan to press the Supreme Court nominee during confirmation hearings next week. Last fall, Feingold and Kohl were two of only three Democrats on the...    more   
• Jan 5, 2006 Democrats Already Plan Delay For Alito Senate Democrats plan to delay the Judiciary Committee's vote on Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court for at least a week, slowing what could have been a quick confirmation process for President Bush's pick to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen...    more   
• Jan 5, 2006 Doyle signs law to help prevent arrest of domestic violence victims Governor Jim Doyle today signed a law that directs police to arrest the predominant aggressor in a dispute, not someone who has lashed out in self-defense. The bill fine tunes an act that took effect in April 1989 that made an arrest mandatory in domestic violence cases. Backers say the previous...    more   
• Jan 5, 2006 Democrats Already Plan Delay For Alito Samuel Alito faces a delay in his confirmation as an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. Senate aides say Democrats plan to force at least a one-week delay in the Judiciary Committee vote on his nomination. The committee's chairman, Sen. Arlen Specter, had hoped to hold a vote on the...    more   
• Jan 4, 2006 Democrats submit complaint against Newcomer The Democratic Party of Waukesha County is seeking a special prosecutor to investigate its allegations 33rd state Assembly District candidate Scott Newcomer engaged in voter fraud. Newcomer dismissed the complaint Monday as being "politically motivated," saying he checked with an attorney for the...    more   
• Jan 4, 2006 Democrats file complaint on Newcomer's residency Waukesha County Democrats are asking District Attorney Paul Bucher to investigate whether state Assembly candidate Scott Newcomer broke any laws when he voted in last month's primary election using a Delafield address. Rick Congdon, chairman of the county's Democratic Party, filed a formal...    more   
• Jan 4, 2006 Dems cry foul at Assembly candidate's voting address Democrats claim a Republican Assembly candidate may have broken the law by voting in last month's special election from a Delafield address, where he plans to build a house, rather than his home in Elm Grove, which is not in the same legislative district. The Democratic Party of Waukesha County...    more   
• Dec 27, 2005 State hunts down 205 sex offenders A team of former law enforcement officers who are hunting down sex offenders lost by the state have found 205 since they started three months ago. The five-member team is working with the state Department of Corrections and Office of Justice Assistance to boost the compliance rate among roughly...    more   
• Dec 27, 2005 John Nichols: Censuring Bush requires citizens' hel As President Bush and his aides scramble to explain new revelations regarding Bush's authorization of spying on the international telephone calls and e-mails of Americans, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee has begun a process that could lead to the censure, and perhaps the...    more   
• Dec 27, 2005 Impeachment Buzz What sense does it make that some of the same Washington media and political leaders who countenanced the Clinton impeachment over a semen-stained dress, somberly intoning about the "rule of law," consider impeaching Bush beyond the pale? No sense at all. The question about impeaching Bush has...    more   
• Dec 22, 2005 Editorial: Wisconsin and the death penalty Wisconsin's U.S. House representatives need to become leaders in the fight for abolition of the death penalty. Forty members of the House are sponsoring new legislation to abolish the federal death penalty But, as of now, the vast majority of this state's delegation is missing from the list of...    more   
• Dec 21, 2005 Obey Secures $200,000 in Federal Funds for Portage County Justiceworks Initiative Seventh District Congressman Dave Obey announced today that he has secured $200,000 in federal funds to help launch Portage County's justiceworks initiative. "People from across Portage County have put in a lot of hard work to design a comprehensive community justice program that should help...    more   
• Dec 17, 2005 Doyle signs justice reform bill Gov. Jim Doyle quietly signed legislation Friday designed to cut down the risks of wrongful conviction that was sparked by the case of a man who spent 18 years in prison for a rape he did not commit. Steven Avery's release in 2003 sparked calls for an overhaul of the justice system. But his link...    more   
• Dec 17, 2005 Bill signed to curb wrongful-conviction risk Gov. Jim Doyle signed legislation Friday designed to cut down the risks of wrongful conviction that was sparked by the case of a man who spent 18 years in prison for a rape he did not commit. Steven Avery's release in 2003 sparked calls for an overhaul of the justice system. But his link to the...    more   
• Dec 17, 2005 Doyle signs reforms suggested by Avery panel Without fanfare or ceremony, Gov. Jim Doyle on Friday signed a bill requiring law enforcement agencies to develop rules covering lineups and other witness identification procedures. The bill was prompted by the case of Steven Avery, who was wrongly held in prison for 18 years, only to be released...    more   
• Dec 14, 2005 Feingold refuses to rule out Alito filibuster Senator Russ Feingold says he won't rule out a filibuster of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. The Wisconsin Democrat says no one in his party is actively planning to use the tactic. But he says he's not going to take it off the table. Senators have been jousting lately over whether the...    more   
• Dec 12, 2005 Gun bill not likely to survive The assemblyman who cast a deciding vote last year against overriding the governor's veto of a bill allowing people to carry concealed weapons in public does not like the bill this time around, despite changes aimed at softening opposition. Rep. Gary Sherman's vote was controversial at the time,...    more   
• Dec 12, 2005 Helping children heal: Program reaches out to children who witness violence Chaz Holmon was looking for a challenge and a job that would allow him to grow when he accepted a position at the Women's Resource Center. "I was looking for a challenging job that would combine experience I already had with experience I wanted to improve on. I think what got my boss the most was...    more   
• Dec 11, 2005 Frist Prepared To Nuke Filibuster Over Alito Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Sunday he is prepared to strip Democrats of their to ability to filibuster if they try to stall Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court. "The answer is yes," Frist said when asked if he would act to change Senate procedures to restrict a Democratic...    more   
• Dec 11, 2005 Frist Prepared To Nuke Filibuster Over Alito Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist said Sunday he is prepared to strip Democrats of their to ability to filibuster if they try to stall Samuel Alito's nomination to the Supreme Court. "The answer is yes," Frist said when asked if he would act to change Senate procedures to restrict a Democratic...    more   
• Dec 10, 2005 County's senators oppose weapons bill It's probably not surprising that state Sen. Luther Olsen, R-Ripon, has received a few comments after being the only member of his party in the Senate to vote against the latest effort to overturn the state's 133-year ban on concealed weapons. "I've gotten a lot of calls from people thanking me...    more   
• Dec 6, 2005 EDITORIAL: Concealed carry still a bad idea For some reason, Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature are determined to authorize citizens to pack weapons. It's lunacy. The so-called “concealed carry” legislation is making its way through the process again, toward an almost certain veto from Gov. Jim Doyle. The Democrat executive axed a...    more   
• Dec 1, 2005 State database of sex offenders will now include addresses Starting today, registered sex offenders in Wisconsin will have not only their ZIP codes listed on a state Web site, but also their full home addresses. The move is part of a Governor Doyle initiative to prevent sex offenders from fading into anonymity or moving without notifying authorities as...    more   
• Nov 27, 2005 The justice system isn't always just The audience at the Wisconsin Historical Society auditorium had just finished watching an emotional 95- minute documentary, "After Innocence," that followed the lives of about a dozen men around the country who'd been convicted, then exonerated, for crimes they didn't commit. From the crowd of...    more   
• Nov 22, 2005 DeLay heads back to court Congressman Tom DeLay will be back in a Texas courtroom tomorrow. This time, the former majority leader will appear before a new judge who will decide whether DeLay should be tried on money laundering and criminal conspiracy charges. The new judge was appointed after DeLay's defense team...    more   
• Nov 19, 2005 Police to purchase recording systems The Sheboygan Falls Police Department will spend $14,000 on DVD recording systems that will be installed next month in its three marked squad cars, Police Chief Steve Riffel said. "They record stops and talks and things like that frontward, so it's everything in front of the car, as well as...    more   
• Nov 11, 2005 Kohl says Alito called Roe decision 'embedded' in society Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito told Sen. Herb Kohl that he acknowledged the importance of the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established abortion rights, Kohl said after their meeting Thursday. "He recognizes that it's embedded in our society, and he understood that it would be a...    more   
• Nov 11, 2005 Kohl meets with Supreme Court nominee Alito Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito told Sen. Herb Kohl that he acknowledged the importance of the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that established abortion rights, Kohl said after their meeting Thursday. "He recognizes that it's embedded in our society, and he understood that it would be a...    more   
• Nov 11, 2005 Kohl and Alito Chat Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin) says Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito is a very intelligent man and understands the role of a judge in society. The two met Thursday (November 10, 2005). Kohl says Alito told him not to view him as part of any political faction on the court. Also that he...    more   
• Nov 11, 2005 Alito might hesitate to overturn Roe vs. Wade, Kohl says Sen. Herb Kohl said he came away from his private meeting with Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito on Thursday with the sense that Alito believes the 1973 decision establishing the right to an abortion is embedded in American life, and that he would think "long and hard" about overturning it. At...    more   
• Nov 10, 2005 Alito's candor impresses Feingold Sen. Russ Feingold said he was impressed with Samuel Alito's candor on a number of issues, though he had concerns about others, when he met with the Supreme Court nominee Wednesday. "We had a really good, wide-ranging talk," Feingold, D-Wis., said in a telephone interview after the one-hour...    more   
• Nov 10, 2005 Alito's candor impresses Feingold Sen. Russ Feingold expressed mixed feelings about Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito after meeting with him privately for an hour Wednesday, saying he was surprised and encouraged by Alito's comments on some legal issues but discouraged by his comments on others. In an interview, Feingold said...    more   
• Nov 10, 2005 Feingold Meets with Alito Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold met with Samuel Alito and says he was impressed with the Supreme Court nominee's candor. Feingold says the two had a wide-ranging talk for an hour and was particularly impressed with their talk on Fourth Amendment safeguards against unreasonable searches. Feingold...    more   
• Nov 9, 2005 Wis. a step closer to concealed weapons A bill allowing Wisconsin citizens to carry concealed weapons is on the way to the Assembly after being passed by the Criminal Justice and Homeland Security Committee in a partisan vote Tuesday. Assembly Bill 763 would change current Wisconsin law by creating a licensing system permitting...    more   
• Nov 9, 2005 Health Board opposes gun bill With very little discussion but a unanimous voice vote, the Racine Board of Health decided on Tuesday to oppose the latest incarnation of a bill which would allow people to carry concealed weapons in Wisconsin. Also on Tuesday, a committee approved the bill, which now goes to the full Assembly...    more   
• Nov 7, 2005 Editorial: Cheney should testify Vice President Dick Cheney has had very little to say about the indictment of his former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice, and even less to say about aspects of the investigation that have touched on his own actions before and after the...    more   
• Nov 6, 2005 Bush Orders Staffers Into Ethics Class President George W. Bush, reacting to the indictment of a high-level White House aide in the CIA leak case, has ordered his staff to get a refresher on ethics rules. In a memo sent to all White House aides on Friday, the counsel's office said it will hold briefings next week on ethics, with a...    more   
• Nov 6, 2005 Leading Senate Democrat Says Alito Filibuster Unlikely A Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee said Sunday he believes Samuel Alito will get an up-or-down vote on his Supreme Court nomination. Appearing on ABC, Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., minimized the prospect that a Senate filibuster would derail President George W. Bush's choice to replace...    more   
• Nov 6, 2005 Leading Senate Democrat Says Alito Filibuster Unlikely A Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee said Sunday he believes Samuel Alito will get an up-or-down vote on his Supreme Court nomination. Appearing on ABC, Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., minimized the prospect that a Senate filibuster would derail President George W. Bush's choice to replace...    more   
• Nov 3, 2005 Kennedy praises Lautenschlager Political and environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager joined forces Wednesday at the Madison Concourse Hotel, denouncing government corruption and the destruction of the environment. Kennedy also backed Lautenschlager and her plans to run for...    more   
• Nov 3, 2005 Feingold: Both sides in rush to judge Alito Sen. Russ Feingold said Wednesday that both Republicans and Democrats were too quick to jump to conclusions about Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. "Both sides play this game to their own detriment, and to the detriment of the process," Feingold, D-Wis., said in an interview. "How can people...    more   
• Nov 3, 2005 Feingold faults both sides for early response to Alito Sen. Russ Feingold said Wednesday that both Republicans and Democrats were too quick to jump to conclusions about Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. "Both sides play this game to their own detriment, and to the detriment of the process," Feingold, D-Wis., said in an interview. "How can people...    more   
• Nov 1, 2005 State senators pledge full scrutiny of new nominee Reacting with the same caution they showed when Harriet Miers was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court, Wisconsin's two senators were guarded in their responses to the nomination Monday of Judge Samuel Alito. Sens. Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl, both Democrats, said in separate statements that they...    more   
• Nov 1, 2005 Senators Reserve Judgement on Alito Wisconsin's two senators are not committing themselves on President Bush's choice to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court. Democrats Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold released separate statements Monday saying they need to learn more about Samuel Alito's background, before they can comment. Both are...    more   
• Nov 1, 2005 Sens. Feingold, Kohl won’t rush to judge Bush’s nomination before hearings Wisconsin Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold were noncommittal Monday regarding the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Samuel Alito of the Philadelphia-based 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. “I am not going to get caught up in the rush to judgment by either side,” Feingold said in a telephone...    more   
• Oct 31, 2005 Feingold witholding judgement on Alito Sen. Russ Feingold's internal jury is still out on Judge Samuel Alito Jr. Some Washington, D.C., insiders are saying today that President Bush's nomination of the conservative Alito to the Supreme Court draws the lines for an ideological battle. But Feingold is waiting to examine Alito's record...    more   
• Oct 28, 2005 Prosecutor Seeks DeLay Associates' E-Mails Three indicted associates of Republican U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay are being asked to hand over to a Texas prosecutor all their e-mails from 2002 in an investigation into an alleged campaign finance scheme. DeLay, meanwhile, railed against Democrats in a letter Thursday accusing them of engaging in "the...    more   
• Oct 27, 2005 Bush Abandons Push for Miers Nomination Under withering attack from conservatives, President Bush abandoned his push to put loyalist Harriet Miers on the Supreme Court and promised a quick replacement Thursday. Democrats accused him of bowing to the "radical right wing of the Republican Party." The White House said Miers had withdrawn...    more   
• Oct 27, 2005 Bush Abandons Push for Miers Nomination Under withering attack from conservatives, President Bush abandoned his push to put loyalist Harriet Miers on the Supreme Court and promised a quick replacement Thursday. Democrats accused him of bowing to the "radical right wing of the Republican Party." The White House said Miers had withdrawn...    more   
• Oct 27, 2005 Senators react to Miers’ withdrawal The White House announced Thursday that Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers has submitted a letter to President Bush requesting that he withdraw her nomination. Miers informed Bush of her decision in a phone call Wednesday night and hand delivered the letter to Bush in the Oval office early...    more   
• Oct 26, 2005 Feingold says he remains concerned about Miers after meeting After meeting with Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers for about an hour Tuesday, Sen. Russ Feingold said he is still not convinced she has the qualifications for the job. "I remain concerned about whether she is qualified for the Supreme Court," Feingold said in a telephone interview after the...    more   
• Oct 26, 2005 Feingold not impressed with court nominee After meeting with Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers for about an hour Tuesday, Sen. Russ Feingold said he is still not convinced she has the qualifications for the job. "I remain concerned about whether she is qualified for the Supreme Court," Feingold said in a telephone interview after the...    more   
• Oct 26, 2005 Feingold Questions Miers After meeting with Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers for about an hour Tuesday, Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold says he's still not convinced she has the qualifications for the job. The Democratic senator says he could vote for her for district court, but he's concerned whether she's qualified...    more   
• Oct 26, 2005 Feingold gets few answers from Miers, Supreme Court nominee Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers failed to impress Sen. Russ Feingold during a closed-door meeting Tuesday. Feingold, who insists he is keeping an open mind on her nomination, indicated after the hour-long meeting that Miers was not as willing to discuss important topics that will come up when...    more   
• Oct 26, 2005 Miers meeting leaves Feingold feeling 'frustrated' After meeting privately for an hour with Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers on Tuesday, Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin expressed frustration with her responsiveness to questions on her legal thinking and work in the White House. "I don't feel like I got a whole lot of new...    more   
• Oct 25, 2005 Doyle signs extradition warrant Wisconsin's governor on Monday signed an extradition warrant giving authorities there the power to turn over an Illinois man accused of threatening to kill his sister just weeks before she, her husband and her parents were found dead in her suburban Chicago home. Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich has...    more   
• Oct 23, 2005 Schumer: Miers Lacks Votes to Be Confirmed A Democrat on the Senate committee that will consider Harriet Miers' nomination said Sunday that President Bush's Supreme Court choice lacks the votes now to be confirmed, saying there are too many questions about her qualifications. "If you held the vote today, she would not get a majority...    more   
• Oct 23, 2005 Schumer: Miers Lacks Votes to Be Confirmed A Democrat on the Senate committee that will consider Harriet Miers' nomination said Sunday that President Bush's Supreme Court choice lacks the votes now to be confirmed, saying there are too many questions about her qualifications. "If you held the vote today, she would not get a majority...    more   
• Oct 21, 2005 Kohl Meets Miers Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl says he hasn't made up his mind about her vote yet, but he may have made some progress Thursday (October 20, 2005) in a one-on-one meeting with Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers. Afterward, Kohl said the two talked about privacy issues and abortion, but the senator...    more   
• Oct 21, 2005 Kohl Meets With Supreme Court Nominee Senator Herb Kohl met one-on-one with Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers today. Afterward, Kohl said the two talked about privacy issues and abortion, but the senator wouldn't elaborate. Kohl says he hasn't made up his mind on how he'll vote on Miers. Kohl sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee,...    more   
• Oct 14, 2005 Retain state's ban on concealed guns To understand how dangerously foolhardy it would be for Wisconsin to adopt a law permitting people to carry concealed guns, consider what happened this spring in Minnesota, which adopted a similar law. According to second-degree murder charges, drunken 26-year-old Zachary Ourada was harassing...    more   
• Oct 13, 2005 Retain state’s ban on concealed guns To understand how dangerously foolhardy it would be for Wisconsin to adopt a law permitting people to carry concealed guns, consider what happened this spring in Minnesota, which adopted a similar law. According to second-degree murder charges, drunken 26-year-old Zachary Ourada was harassing...    more   
• Oct 8, 2005 Senate Dems Defend Miers on Top Court Nod Some Senate Democrats are jumping in the middle of a Republican fray to defend Harriet Miers from conservative criticism that she isn't qualified to serve on the Supreme Court. That doesn't mean Democrats will vote to approve President Bush's longtime confidante for the high court or give her an...    more   
• Oct 7, 2005 Feingold puzzled by president's Supreme Court nomination Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold, who supported the nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court, voiced serious questions Thursday about the qualifications and independence of President Bush's latest nominee, White House counsel Harriet Miers. A member of the Senate Judiciary Committee,...    more   
• Oct 7, 2005 Feingold Reacts to Mier Nomination Democratic Senator Russ Feingold has some reservations about the president's latest Supreme Court nominee, Harriet Miers. He says the president has picked someone whose objectivity and independence is questionable. Feingold says Miers is one of the president's closest confidantes and the ideal...    more   
• Oct 7, 2005 Feingold on Miers Senator Russ Feingold says he's a little iffy about the idea of Harriet Miers on the Supreme Court. Feingold says her objectivity and independence is questionable because she's so close to President Bush, but a lot of conservatives don't think she's right wing enough. Our other Senator Herb Kohl...    more   
• Oct 5, 2005 Conservatives Split Over Bush Nominee Some of President Bush's conservative supporters are unconvinced by his defense of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, creating dissension in a Republican Party that until now has reverently approved Bush's judicial candidates. Conservatives in some cases are expressing outright opposition, some...    more   
• Oct 4, 2005 Kohl, Feingold will wait to judge Miers Wisconsin's two Democratic senators reacted cautiously to President Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court Monday. Sens. Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl said they would need to study Miers' background before drawing any conclusions about her candidacy. Both senators sit on the...    more   
• Oct 4, 2005 Wisconsin's senators react to Bush's Supreme Court nominee Wisconsin's two Democratic senators reacted cautiously to President Bush's nomination of Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court Monday. Sens. Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl said they would need to study Miers' background before drawing any conclusions about her candidacy. Both senators sit on the...    more   
• Oct 4, 2005 Feingold, Kohl react to Miers' nomination to Supreme Court Wisconsin's two Democratic senators withheld judgment Monday on President Bush's nomination of White House Counsel Harriet Ellan Miers as an associate justice of the Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Bush made the early morning announcement shortly before leaving the...    more   
• Oct 3, 2005 Feingold, Kohl react to Miers’ nomination to Supreme Court Wisconsin’s two Democratic senators withheld judgment Monday on President Bush’s nomination of White House Counsel Harriet Ellan Miers as an associate justice of the Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. Bush made the early morning announcement shortly before leaving the...    more   
• Oct 3, 2005 UW's Althouse says Bush pick may be agreeable to Dems President Bush's latest Supreme Court nominee may make Democrats happier than conservatives, who may be unhappy with the choice. That's the view from UW Madison law professor, Ann Althouse. Chief White House counsel Harriet Miers has no judicial experience, but Althouse says Miers may actually be...    more   
• Sep 29, 2005 Gun foes ready for fight Opponents today pledged to step up their efforts to halt a bill that would allow Wisconsin residents to legally carry concealed handguns. "I think there will be more of an attempt to get in to talk to legislators and let them know that the vast majority of Wisconsinites don't support this," said...    more   
• Sep 23, 2005 Kohl, Feingold vote in support of Roberts Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold voted Thursday to approve the nomination of Judge John Roberts to serve as the 17th chief justice of the United States. The two Wisconsin senators and Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy were the only Democrats joining with the Senate Judiciary Committee’s 10 Republicans...    more   
• Sep 23, 2005 Kohl, Feingold vote to approve Roberts Wisconsin Sens. Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl voted to approve the nomination of John Roberts as chief justice of the Supreme Court on Thursday, with both senators saying they were reassured by the nominee's commitment to upholding precedent. "This has not been an easy decision, but I believe it is...    more   
• Sep 22, 2005 Doyle Unveils New Plan To Track Sex Offenders There's a new aggressive plan to keep track of sex offenders in Wisconsin. Under a new plan unveiled by Gov. Jim Doyle, the state's 200 worst sex offenders will be tracked by global positioning systems. Also, teams of retired police officers will track 1,300 sex offenders who are not registered....    more   
• Sep 22, 2005 Feingold, Kohl back Roberts Wisconsin's two Democratic senators - both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee - backed confirming John Roberts as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court as the full committee voted 13-5 to recommend the nominee to the Senate. Sens. Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl each acknowledged they had...    more   
• Sep 22, 2005 Kohl, Feingold to vote to confirm Roberts Wisconsin Sens. Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl said Thursday they would vote to confirm John Roberts as chief justice, with both senators saying they were reassured by the nominee's commitment to upholding precedent. "This has not been an easy decision, but I believe it is the correct one," said...    more   
• Sep 22, 2005 Kohl, Feingold support Roberts nomination Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold planned to vote today in favor of the nomination of Judge John G. Roberts Jr. to serve as the 17th chief justice of the United States. "I have enormous respect for Judge Roberts’ legal talents - they are undeniable,'' Kohl said. "It is for this reason - his...    more   
• Sep 21, 2005 Doyle announces team to find lost sex offenders A team of retired detectives will try to hunt down more than 1,300 sex offenders whose whereabouts have been lost by the state, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Tuesday. The state will also use satellite monitoring to track 200 of the most dangerous child sex predators in Wisconsin, the governor said....    more   
• Sep 21, 2005 State team to track lost sex offenders A team of retired detectives will try to hunt down more than 1,300 sex offenders whose whereabouts have been lost by the state, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Tuesday. The state also will use satellite monitoring to track 200 of the most dangerous child sex predators in Wisconsin, the governor said....    more   
• Sep 19, 2005 Kohl, Feingold sound Roberts on key issues Chief justice nominee Judge John Roberts responded to questions on topics ranging from abortion to privacy, civil rights and women’s rights during the four-day confirmation hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee. U.S. Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold, both Democratic members of the committee,...    more   
• Sep 19, 2005 Senators Feingold, Kohl keep silent on Roberts confirmation A four-day hearing on the nomination of Judge John Roberts to serve as chief justice of the United States ended Thursday with Wisconsin’s two senators not answering the ultimate question — how they will vote. Roberts’ refusal to talk about how he might rule on future cases or comment on many...    more   
• Sep 16, 2005 WI Senators Talk About John Roberts Wisconsin's two Senators are undecided on the confirmation of John Roberts as US Supreme Court Justice. Democratic Senators Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will vote next week on the nomination before the full Senate takes a vote. Kohl says he still...    more   
• Sep 13, 2005 Senators will not go easy on Roberts Wisconsin’s two senators joined Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats in laying out plans Monday to vigorously question chief justice nominee John G. Roberts Jr. during his confirmation hearings. Republicans, confident that President Bush’s choice will win approval by the full Senate later this...    more   
• Sep 13, 2005 Nominee Roberts Facing Tough Questions From Kohl, Feingold Wisconsin’s two senators joined Senate Judiciary Committee Demo-crats in laying out plans Monday to vigorously question chief justice nominee John G. Roberts Jr. during his confirmation hearings. Republicans, confident that President Bush’s choice will win approval by the full Senate later this...    more   
• Sep 7, 2005 Kohl, Feingold Say Stakes Raised On Roberts Wisconsin Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold said Tuesday that Supreme Court nominee John Roberts will face even higher scrutiny now that the president has nominated him to be chief justice. Both senators serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will start Roberts' confirmation hearing next...    more   
• Sep 7, 2005 Kohl, Feingold Say Stakes Raised On Roberts Wisconsin Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold said Tuesday that Supreme Court nominee John Roberts will face even higher scrutiny now that the president has nominated him to be chief justice. Both senators serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will start Roberts’ confirmation hearing next...    more   
• Sep 7, 2005 Senators: Judicial Stakes Raised Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold said Tuesday that President Bush’s decision to nominate Judge John G. Roberts Jr. as chief justice of the United States raises the stakes for his upcoming confirmation hearing. “This is the No. 1 law enforcement individual in the United States if he becomes chief...    more   
• Sep 7, 2005 Nomination Raises Stakes On Roberts, Wisconsin Senators Say Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold said Tuesday that President Bush’s decision to nominate Judge John Roberts Jr. for chief justice of the United States raises the stakes for his upcoming confirmation hearing. “This is the number one law enforcement individual in the United States if he becomes...    more   
• Sep 5, 2005 Doyle Recalls Chief Justice As True To Badger Roots Gov. Jim Doyle argued three cases before Chief Justice William Rehnquist and the U.S. Supreme Court, and remembered the jurist as an influential and long-serving justice who also stayed close to his home state. Doyle on Sunday ordered the lowering to half-staff of U.S. and Wisconsin flags at all...    more...  
• Sep 5, 2005 Feingold, Kohl Praise Rehnquist Wisconsin’s two U.S. senators praised Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist for the dignity he brought to the nation’s highest court. U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold said Rehnquist served the nation with integrity. “I have great respect for this son of Wisconsin’s long and distinguished tenure on the bench...    more   
• Sep 5, 2005 Governor Orders State Flags At Half Staff Gov. Jim Doyle has ordered state buildings to lower all flags to half staff in honor of Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Rehnquist died last night at age 80. He was a native of Wisconsin. Doyle called him one of the most influential justices of the last century. As attorney general, Doyle argued...    more   
• Sep 5, 2005 WI Mourns Loss of Chief Justice William Rehnquist Rehnquist died Saturday night after a long battle with thyroid cancer. He served on the high court for 33 years, 19 as chief justice. Flags are flying at half–staff in Wisconsin to honor Shorewood native Chief Justice Rehnquist. Governor Jim Doyle made the order for all state buildings. Rehnquist...    more   
• Sep 4, 2005 A Conservative In Law And In Temperament On Jan. 30, 1952, a 27-year-old law school graduate named William Hubbs Rehnquist left his parents' home in Shorewood in a 1941 Studebaker Champion, heading for Washington, D.C. He drove through a snowstorm in West Virginia and Maryland along the way, writing later, "It's hard to believe that...    more   
• Sep 4, 2005 Once Again, A Nomination That's Too Conservative After spending the last month reading countless briefs and memos written by John G. Roberts Jr., it is clear that he would very likely change the law dramatically in key areas such as privacy rights, separation of church and state, and racial justice. Democrats need to oppose Roberts for the same...    more   
• Aug 25, 2005 Senators Want Answers From Nominee Two senators said Wednesday they want John Roberts to explain why he continued to judge a lawsuit against the Bush administration while being interviewed to be a Supreme Court justice. “It is clear that you have long understood the ethical issues raised by continuing to work on a case in which a...    more   
• Aug 25, 2005 Feingold Grills Court Nominee Roberts U.S. Sens. Russ Feingold and Chuck Schumer sent a letter Wednesday to Supreme Court nominee John Roberts Jr., questioning his "continued participation" in a controversial Guantanamo Bay detainee case during his interview process for the high court vacancy. As members of the Senate Judiciary...    more   
• Aug 25, 2005 Feingold to Roberts: Why Did You Stay On Case? Two Democratic senators said Wednesday they want Supreme Court nominee John Roberts to explain before his confirmation hearings why he continued to judge a lawsuit against the Bush administration while being interviewed to be a justice. “It is clear that you have long understood the ethical...    more   
• Aug 24, 2005 Barrett To Boost Strength Of Police Department In the midst of a violent summer, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said Tuesday he will move up the start of a police recruit class to get more officers on the streets about a month sooner. The move, which will cost about $210,000, means the 60-member class will start Nov. 7 instead of Dec. 5. The new...    more   
• Aug 22, 2005 Prices Fuel Gas Drive-Offs Rocketing gas prices appear to be fueling a corresponding increase in at least one category of Janesville crime-gas drive-offs. In July, police were notified of 31 motorists filling up at Janesville gas stations but not paying. That's more than twice as many incidents as any other month since...    more   
• Aug 18, 2005 Bill Would Require Police To Tape Interrogations The state would require police departments to record interrogations of juveniles and encourage them to do the same with adult suspects under legislation lawmakers and the governor announced Wednesday. New London Police Chief Kevin Wilkinson said police departments have been expecting and...    more   
• Aug 18, 2005 Bill Calls For Justice System Reform A strand of hair collected from a 1985 crime scene has led to a proposal for wide-ranging reform of the state's criminal justice system. The root of the hair, which police saved for nearly two decades, contained DNA evidence that ultimately exonerated Steven Avery, a Manitowoc County man who was...    more   
• Aug 18, 2005 Bill Would Help Avoid Wrongful Convictions, Lawmakers Say The state would require police departments to record interrogations of juveniles and encourage them to do the same with adult suspects under legislation lawmakers and the governor announced Wednesday. The legislation recommended by a task force of criminal justice experts also would encourage...    more   
• Aug 17, 2005 Doyle Keeps Cash For Racine In Budget Gov. Jim Doyle wasted little time defusing what was sure to be one of the biggest criticisms he would hear Tuesday in Racine about his budget vetoes by handing over $100,000 in gang diversion money to Mayor Gary Becker. At a news conference with North Beach and Lake Michigan as a backdrop, Doyle...    more...  
• Aug 14, 2005 Concealed Weapons Bill Triggers Resistance Opposition is mounting against a state concealed weapons bill that has yet to be introduced in the Legislature. Area law enforcement officials met in Green Bay on Monday and denounced the Personal Protection Act, which would give adults with no felony record or violent misdemeanors the right to...    more   
• Aug 3, 2005 Kohl Visits State Crime Lab in Wausau For six years now, US Senator Herb Kohl has been earmarking federal money for the fight against methamphetamine here in Wisconsin. Now he's had a chance to see where some of that money has gone. Senator Kohl is touring with Wausau crime lab. Where grant money has been used to pay salaries and...    more   
• Jul 28, 2005 Feingold Meets With Roberts Sen. Russ Feingold met with Supreme Court nominee John Roberts on Wednesday, calling him "accomplished and affable" but reserving judgment on whether to vote for his nomination. Feingold, D-Wis., sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will hold hearings on Roberts' nomination later this...    more   
• Jul 28, 2005 Feingold, Schumer Reassured by Roberts' Talk of Stability Nearly 30 years after they attended Harvard Law School together, Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold and Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. sat down Wednesday for one of the many private sessions Roberts is holding with senators in both parties. "It was a very good meeting. He was a very easy...    more   
• Jul 24, 2005 White House Won't Release all of Judge Roberts' Documents The Bush administration is making it clear there won't be a blanket release of all memos and documents drafted by John Roberts when he served in two previous Republican administrations. Democrats are urging the documents be released "in their entirety," as the Senate prepares for confirmation...    more   
• Jul 22, 2005 Kohl Meets With Roberts, But Won't Decide Until Hearings Supreme Court nominee John Roberts paid a 45-minute visit Thursday to Sen. Herb Kohl, but the Wisconsin Democrat said he will not make a decision on whether to vote for his nomination until after Senate Judiciary Committee hearings later this summer. "I'm not going to let myself get pushed in one...    more   
• Jul 22, 2005 Sen. Kohl Meets With Supreme Court Nominee Supreme Court nominee John Roberts paid a 45-minute visit Thursday to Sen. Herb Kohl, but the Wisconsin Democrat said he will not make a decision until after Senate Judiciary Committee hearings later this summer. "I'm not going to let myself get pushed in one direction or another until our...    more   
• Jul 22, 2005 Kohl Meets High Court Nominee Sen. Herb Kohl called Supreme Court nominee John Roberts Jr. "bright" and "knowledgeable" after meeting him Wednesday. But despite the warm words, the Wisconsin Democrat wants to carefully examine Roberts' legal record before deciding whether to support him. Former Tennessee Republican Sen. Fred...    more   
• Jul 21, 2005 State's Senators Ready to Meet, Scrutinize Nominee Sen. Herb Kohl of Wisconsin will sit down today with Judge John G. Roberts Jr., the president's nominee for the Supreme Court, an aide to the senator said. Kohl, a centrist Democrat, is the state's senior senator and a member of the Judiciary Committee, which vets the nominee. The senator's...    more   
• Jul 21, 2005 Kohl Assembles Task Force, Will Meet Roberts Thursday Sen. Herb Kohl said Wednesday he assembled a task force to provide him with input on the appointment of Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts. Kohl, a Wisconsin Democrat who serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is scheduled to meet with Roberts on Thursday. The task force is made up of 11...    more   
• Jul 20, 2005 Feingold, Kohl: We'll Be Fair on Roberts Two of Wisconsin's top politicians, who also happen to be members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, withheld early judgment of President Bush's Supreme Court nominee, vowing to fairly consider John G. Roberts Jr. during confirmation hearings. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., said Tuesday he is instead...    more   
• Jul 20, 2005 Kohl, Feingold Promise to Review Nominee Carefully Two years ago, Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold voted to approve John G. Roberts Jr. for a seat on the federal appeals court in the nation's capital. On Tuesday, though, minutes after President Bush used the White House as a stage to introduce to America his choice for the Supreme Court, the...    more   
• Jul 20, 2005 Kohl, Feingold Say They'll Closely Review Nominee Wisconsin Sens. Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold say they look forward to the confirmation hearings for President Bush's nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court, federal Appeals Court Judge John G. Roberts Jr. Bush announced Tuesday night he had selected Roberts to succeed the retiring Justice Sandra Day...    more   
• Jul 19, 2005 Corrections Chief Says GOP Budget Could Force Prison-Closing The state Department of Corrections could be forced to close a prison or cut hundreds of jobs to meet a Republican provision in the state budget, Corrections Secretary Matt Frank said Monday. The GOP-controlled state Senate inserted the provision in all-night deliberations before passing the...    more   
• Jul 19, 2005 Corrections Chief Says GOP Budget Could Force Prison-Closing The state Department of Corrections could be forced to close a prison or cut hundreds of jobs to meet a Republican provision in the state budget, Corrections Secretary Matt Frank said Monday. The GOP-controlled state Senate inserted the provision in all-night deliberations before passing the...    more   
• Jul 19, 2005 Budget Plan May Close Prison The state Department of Corrections could be forced to close a prison or cut hundreds of jobs to meet a Republican provision in the state budget, Corrections Secretary Matt Frank said Monday. The GOP-controlled state Senate inserted the provision in all-night deliberations before passing the...    more   
• Jul 17, 2005 Next Court Choice Should Respect the Middle Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor will be remembered by all Americans for her service as the first woman on the high court. As important as is this historic first, her legacy will be as a moderate, thoughtful and open-minded jurist who did her best to apply the law as she found it. For...    more   
• Jul 9, 2005 Supreme Duty for 2 Senators When Herb Kohl's phone rang the other day, White House counsel Harriet Miers was on the line, sounding out the Senate Democrat about the pending Supreme Court vacancy. "She said, 'Where are you coming from? What's important to you?' " Kohl said in an interview. For both Kohl and Wisconsin...    more   
• Jul 3, 2005 High Court Seat Will Go Through Wisconsin Whoever President Bush nominates to replace Sandra Day O’Connor on the Supreme Court of the United States, both Wisconsin senators will be among the first to publicly question the candidate. As members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that has jurisdiction over judicial nominations, Democratic...    more   
• Jul 2, 2005 Sex Assault Prevention Unit to Form in Walworth County Walworth County became the focal point in the state's effort to reduce sexual assault crimes after it received a $132,300 grant this week from the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance. On Monday, Gov. Jim Doyle announced that the grant was awarded to Walworth County for the establishment of a...    more   
• Jun 22, 2005 Ombudsman Begins Child Welfare Review For the first time, advocates for abused and neglected children and their families in Milwaukee County have someone outside the child welfare system to turn to for help. Announced last year as a key piece of Gov. Jim Doyle's KidsFirst agenda, the Office of the Milwaukee Ombudsman for Child...    more   
• Jun 19, 2005 Prison Costs Lock Up State Budget Dollars With prison spending gobbling up a growing slice of Wisconsin’s budget, a rising chorus of state and local leaders and reformers are pushing for alternatives to prison sentences, such as drug courts that emphasize treatment for nonviolent offenders.    more   
• Jun 19, 2005 Advocates Cite Minnesota as Example Drug defendant Denise Francisco carried a smile on her face late last month while walking out of a downtown Minneapolis courtroom. Never mind the fact that she had to leave because her young granddaughter was getting wily and couldn’t sit still before Francisco’s case was called.    more   
• Jun 16, 2005 Democrats in Congress Oppose Weak Settlement of Lawsuit Against Tobacco Industry Fearing cigarette makers may get off the hook too easily, congressional Democrats are voicing opposition to what they see as a weak settlement between the Bush administration and the tobacco industry.    more   
• Jun 16, 2005 Three More Charged in Federal Probe Three more men have been charged in connection with a federal investigation into a phony billing scheme allegedly set up by a pair of construction executives to get money for themselves and their political and business contacts.    more   
• Jun 12, 2005 Glitch Means Part of Meth Law Goes Into Effect Early A glitch in new legislation restricting access to cold medicines that can be used to make methamphetamine will cause part of the law to begin about three months early, a newspaper reported. Gov. Jim Doyle signed the law Tuesday in Hudson and the dignitaries in attendance assumed the law would...    more   
• Jun 12, 2005 Glitch Gives State Meth Law a Jump-Start A flaw in new legislation restricting access to cold medicines that can be used to make methamphetamine will cause part of the law to begin about three months early, a newspaper reported. Gov. Jim Doyle signed the law Tuesday in Hudson and the dignitaries in attendance assumed the law would take...    more   
• Jun 12, 2005 Meth Law Goes Into Effect Early A glitch in new legislation restricting access to cold medicines that can be used to make methamphetamine will cause part of the law to begin about three months early. Gov. Jim Doyle signed the law Tuesday in Hudson and the dignitaries in attendance assumed the law would take effect Oct. 1.    more   
• Jun 8, 2005 Meth Ingredient to Become More Difficult to gGet Making the highly addictive drug methamphetamine requires little more than a trip to your local Walgreens or Target: camping fuel, iodine, matches, coffee filters, rock salt, battery acid. But the key ingredient will soon be a little harder to get. Pseudoephedrine powder, the active ingredient in...    more   
• Jun 8, 2005 Governor Signs Law Restricting Cold Medicine Sales to Fight Meth Gov. Jim Doyle signed legislation Tuesday restricting access to cold medicines that contain a key ingredient to make methamphetamine, saying it was a key step in the fight against the drug that has invaded Wisconsin. Under the legislation, Wisconsinites can no longer buy cold medicines containing...    more   
• Jun 7, 2005 Amie's Law Heading to Washington A Wisconsin teenage changed the law in our state, and now she's heading to Washington to try to change a national sex offender law. Amie Zyla of Waukesha convinced Wisconsin lawmakers to open the records of juvenile sex offenders to the public this year. When Amie was eight, 14-year-old Joshua...    more   
• Jun 7, 2005 Doyle Signs Meth Law Gov. Jim Doyle signed a law Tuesday that restricts access to cold medicines that contain a key ingredient used to make the illegal drug methamphetamine. Under the legislation, Wisconsinites will no longer be able to buy cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine over the counter except in the...    more   
• Jun 7, 2005 Doyle Signs Meth Law Gov. Jim Doyle signed a law Tuesday that restricts access to cold medicines that contain a key ingredient used to make the illegal drug methamphetamine. Under the legislation, Wisconsinites will no longer be able to buy cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine over the counter except in the...    more   
• Jun 5, 2005 Law Change Could Jump-Start Courts Seventy percent of all criminal traffic cases in Brown County court during the last 28 months involve someone who was driving with a revoked driver’s license. The sheer volume of these cases -- charged as operating after revocation -- clogs the court system, and is prompting an effort to...    more   
• Jun 4, 2005 Bush Lies Should Get Him Tossed Out You may not have heard about the so-called "Downing Street memo" because the U.S. media haven't done much coverage of it. The wire services with which The Capital Times contracts - the Washington Post/Los Angeles Times, Scripps Howard and the Associated Press - have moved few stories about the...    more   
• May 23, 2005 Anti-Meth Bill Targets Tablets A bill awaiting Gov. Jim Doyle's signature could make buying your favorite cold medicine a little more difficult the next time you suffer from the sniffles. The state Senate and Assembly this month approved the bill, which would prohibit retailers from selling cold- and allergy-fighting tablets...    more   
• May 23, 2005 Anti-Meth Bill Targets Tablets A bill awaiting Gov. Jim Doyle's signature could make buying your favorite cold medicine a little more difficult the next time you suffer from the sniffles. The state Senate and Assembly this month approved the bill, which would prohibit retailers from selling cold- and allergy-fighting tablets...    more   
• May 21, 2005 Poll Shows Wide Support for Examining Judge Nominees Thoroughly A new Associated Press-Ipsos Poll suggests that most Americans want the U-S Senate to look closely at nominees to the federal courts, rather than simply approve the president's choices. More than three-quarters of those surveyed believe the Senate should take an "assertive role" in examining...    more   
• May 21, 2005 Judicial System Falls in the Crosshairs Just in case you missed it, here is evangelist Pat Robertson's take on the federal courts: The federal judiciary is a greater threat to America than are Islamic terrorists. Indeed, Robertson - who not too long ago was a serious candidate for the Republican nomination for the presidency - says the...    more   
• May 12, 2005 Governor Supports Tougher Meth Laws Soon, it might be a little tougher for people to make meth in our state. Both the Assembly and the Senate pass bills limiting the purchase of cold medications containing drugs used to make methamphetamine. Governor Jim Doyle says he agrees with tougher legislation restricting people's ability to...    more   
• May 11, 2005 Final Inmates Housed Out-of-State Return to Wisconsin Wisconsin's decade-long practice of paying out-of-state prisons to house its inmates ended last week with the return of 53 inmates from a Minnesota correctional facility, Gov. Jim Doyle said Tuesday. Doyle said their return marked a turnaround for a state that once led the nation in the number of...    more   
• May 10, 2005 Bill Eases Trying of Repeat Drunken-Driving Cases Gov. Jim Doyle signed an assembly bill last week making it easier and less expensive for prosecutors to try repeat drunken-driving cases. Walworth County Assistant District Attorney Dennis Krueger recommended changes to the current law, which were forwarded to the governor's desk by Assembly...    more   
• May 7, 2005 New Law Aimed at Juvenile Sex Offenders Registered sex offenders such as Waukesha's Joshua Wade who commit assaults as juveniles will no longer be exempt from community notification after Gov. Jim Doyle signed "Amie's Law." Named for Wade's first known victim, Amie Zyla, now 17, of Waukesha, the new law gives law enforcement another...    more   
• May 3, 2005 'Amie's Law' to Help Identify Sex Offenders When Amie Zyla and her father saw Josh Wade recently on TV, being charged with molesting teens, it was the worst possible kind of rerun. Zyla, of Sussex, had been assaulted by Wade nine years ago, when she was 8 years old and apparently the first in a string of children who Wade, then 14,...    more   
• May 3, 2005 Authorities Can Notify Public About Juvenile Sex Offenders Law enforcement officials can notify the public about juvenile sex offenders they believe pose a danger to the public under legislation the governor signed Monday. Previously, law enforcement could disclose information only about adults registered as sex offenders because juvenile records were...    more   
• May 3, 2005 Doyle Approves Releasing Sex Offender Info Authorities are now able to release information regarding sex offenders who committed crimes as juveniles after Gov. Jim Doyle signed Assembly Bill 99 into action Monday. One of a series of bills to receive the governor's approval, Assembly Bill 99 specifically gives police chiefs and sheriffs...    more   
• May 3, 2005 Governor Signs Aimee's Law Governor Jim Doyle has signed a bill into law making it easier to track juvenile sex offenders once they become adults. The governor signed "Aimee's Law" Monday at the Waukesha Teen Center. The bill is named after Amie Zyla, who was assaulted when she was eight years old by Joshua Wade, who was...    more   
• May 3, 2005 The Impact of Amie's Law Governor Jim Doyle signed a law Monday that lets law enforcement agencies release information about sex offenders who committed crimes as juveniles. Juvenile records are usually sealed. It's called Amie's Law, after Amie Zyla of Sussex. She was eight years old when she was assaulted by a...    more   
• May 3, 2005 Doyle Signs Amie's Law The governor signs legislation that makes it more difficult for juvenile sex offenders to repeat their crime. Assembly Bill 99 -- or Amie's law -- gives law enforcement the authority to release information to the public about sex offenders who committed crimes as juveniles if they believe the...    more   
• May 3, 2005 Names of Young Sex Offenders Can Be Released Law enforcement officials can notify the public about juvenile sex offenders they believe pose a danger to the public under legislation the governor signed Monday. Previously, law enforcement could disclose information only about adults registered as sex offenders because juvenile records were...    more   
• May 2, 2005 New Law Lets Authorities Notify Public of Juvenile Sex Offenders Law enforcement officials can notify the public about juvenile sex offenders they believe pose a danger to the public under legislation the governor signed Monday. Previously, law enforcement could disclose information only about adults registered as sex offenders because juvenile records were...    more   
• Apr 27, 2005 Conservatives Misrepresent Federal Courts For more than a generation, the American right has fallen back on the idea that our federal courts were too liberal and "activist" judges were unmaking every aspect of our national character. As recently as last week, perennial ethics violator Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, took time out from his...    more   
• Apr 24, 2005 Frist Hardens Effort to Stop Filibusters Majority Leader Bill Frist said Sunday it was not "radical" to ask senators to vote on judicial nominees as he hardened his effort to strip Democrats of their power to stall President Bush's picks for the federal court. Frist, speaking at an event organized by Christian groups trying to rally...    more   
• Apr 19, 2005 Homeland Security Omits Threats from Right-Wing Terror Groups Some House Democrats say the Homeland Security Department is overlooking the possible threat posed by right-wing extremists. The lawmakers say the government is instead focused on possible threats from radical environmental and animal rights activists. A recent internal Homeland Security document...    more   
• Apr 17, 2005 Construction Crashes Prompt State Attention As orange traffic cones sprout like dandelions along the region’s highways, state transportation officials are again reminding drivers to slow down in construction zones. But in this road-construction season -- after the deadliest season in decades in 2004 -- the Wisconsin State Patrol will back...    more   
• Apr 16, 2005 Lautenschlager Fights Bias in Auto Loans Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager and five Milwaukee legislators launched a campaign Saturday to give minorities legal recourse against auto financers that discriminate in their loan practices. Investigators in the state Department of Justice have found evidence that African-Americans...    more   
• Apr 15, 2005 Let's Keep our Court System an Independent One In the 1930s, Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to change the Supreme Court by putting new members on it. He was angry that the courts had been ruling against his New Deal proposals. But Roosevelt's court-packing scheme was rejected by Congress. That was good, because we shouldn't...    more   
• Apr 15, 2005 Texan Is Indicted in Iraq Oil Sales by Hussein Aides An American oil trader and a Korean lobbyist with a scandalous past were charged yesterday in connection with illegal gains and kickbacks involving the United Nations oil-for-food program during Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq. In an indictment, federal authorities in New York said David Bay...    more   
• Apr 5, 2005 Still No To Concealed-Carry "If I'm sitting in a room with 10 people, and they don't have guns, I feel safer." - Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Nov. 7, 2003 Some gun advocates are trying to turn public alarm over an uptick in mass shootings around the nation into support...    more   



Economy

• Aug 3, 2006 Editorial: A cynical election ploy Balking at raising the minimum wage for years, congressional Republicans have shifted tactics this election season. They will throw the working poor a pay hike if, and only if, they can dish out yet more tax cuts to multimillionaires.    more...  
• Aug 3, 2006 Bad legislation, clever politics Sometimes Congress’ Republican leadership can be, as the Brits would say, too clever by half. Broadly, the Republicans support slashing the estate tax and oppose increasing the minimum wage, and Democrats, the opposite. The House Republicans came up with a way to force Senate Democrats to either...    more...  
• Aug 2, 2006 Editorial: Pairing minimum wage with estate tax is cynical ploy What does the federal minimum wage have to do with the estate tax? Good question.    more...  
• Jul 31, 2006 Fooling the Voters The two bills passed by the House last Friday and Saturday reflect a single Republican electoral strategy. Representatives want to appear to have accomplished something when they face voters during their five-week summer break, which starts today, and at the same time keep campaign donations...    more...  
• May 2, 2006 Doyle urges cap on oil profits But critics say the industry is unfairly targeted Brookfield - Gov. Jim Doyle called on federal lawmakers Monday to cap oil company profits, return "excessive" profits to Americans and repeal $10 billion in tax breaks to oil companies, saying the moves would lower gas prices for struggling Wisconsin families. Doyle also announced a joint Web...    more   
• Apr 27, 2006 Elected Officials Taking Action Against High Gas Prices Wisconsin Ag Connection Thursday, April 27, 2006 Fueled by higher and higher energy costs, Wisconsin's lawmakers are beginning to do what they can to find out what's going on with the skyrocketing gasoline prices. On Wednesday, Governor Jim Doyle joined fifteen other governors in sending a...    more   
• Apr 26, 2006 Green: Trust me on budget, I don't have a clue You won't be surprised to hear that Wisconsin still has a budget deficit. The good news is that it is "only" $1.5-billion, less than half of the $3.2 billion budget hole Gov. Jim Doyle inherited after 16 years of Republican budgets. The deficit dominated much of the debate in the 2002...    more   
• Apr 26, 2006 Block price gouging, state officials say Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager on Tuesday renewed her call on the state Legislature to adopt legislation to protect citizens from getting gouged at the gas pump. Lautenschlager supports Senate Bill 373, sponsored by state Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, which would protect...    more   
• Apr 25, 2006 Cost of Gas Puts Pressure On GOP By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and Steven Mufson Washington Post Staff Writers Tuesday, April 25, 2006; A01 President Bush and congressional Republicans are under mounting public pressure to reduce gasoline prices, but they have few if any policy choices that would cut them over the next few months...    more   
• Apr 25, 2006 Doyle talks up interest in GM Overtime has begun in Janesville as demand grows for SUVs Janesville - General Motors' top manufacturing executive heard a pitch Monday from Gov. Jim Doyle and local plant and union leaders. At a meeting in Detroit, Doyle expressed thanks that the Janesville assembly plant, the struggling automaker's oldest factory, was spared when a round of plant...    more   
• Apr 24, 2006 WI Democrats Want To Take Action On Gas Prices MADISON – In Wisconsin, a pair of local Democratic lawmakers want to take action on rising gas prices. State Representative Tom Nelson and State Senator Dave Hansen say a set of bills must be pulled out of committee. The bills would give the attorney general the power to prosecute wholesale...    more   
• Apr 22, 2006 Editorial: GOP fiscal extremists There is one good thing that comes with Republican hegemony: Proof positive that the Grand Old Party no longer even feigns interest in fiscal responsibility. Complete Republican control of the White House and Congress has unleashed a pork-barrel spending spree of unprecedented proportions....    more   
• Apr 20, 2006 FOX Poll: Gloomy Economic Views; Bush Approval at New Low NEW YORK — More Americans disapprove than approve of how George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and Congress are doing their jobs, while a majority approves of Condoleezza Rice. President Bush’s approval hits a record low of 33 percent this week, clearly damaged by sinking support among Republicans....    more   
• Apr 19, 2006 Senator calls for an end to price gouging The state Senate is being called to take up anti-price gouging legislation when lawmakers return to the Capitol next week. With gas prices nearing three-dollars a gallon again in Wisconsin, State Senator Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) says now is the time to act on legislation penalizing businesses...    more   
• Apr 18, 2006 Wineke: A worry we wish had come to fruition Guess what the big worry about oil was three years ago? The experts were worried then that a victory in the Iraq War might send oil prices plummeting and thereby ruin the economies of Alberta and Texas, both oil-producing regions. "Fortune" magazine wasn't worried; it predicted the falling...    more   
• Mar 31, 2006 In '06, 'values' debate will include stem cells People are starting to take notice of Wisconsin’s push-and-pull on stem cell research. Gov. Jim Doyle has taken a firm line on promoting the research, pioneered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as an important economic development tool for the state that could also contribute to...    more   
• Mar 29, 2006 State Buys 65,000 Northeastern Acres More than 100 square miles of northeastern Wisconsin forest land will be protected forever by a land sale Governor Jim Doyle announced Wednesday. The Wild Rivers Legacy Forest Project includes almost 65,000 acres of forest, lakes, streams, and shoreline in Marinette, Forest, and Florence...    more   
• Mar 29, 2006 Doyle takes credit for luring Abbott Tax change attracted firm to state, he says The decision by global pharmaceutical group Abbott Laboratories Inc. potentially to create thousands of jobs in southeastern Wisconsin hinged on a reform in the corporate tax code that Gov. Jim Doyle championed after taking office in 2003, the governor said Tuesday. In an election year when...    more   
• Mar 22, 2006 Doyle touts ethanol at GM plant Gov. Jim Doyle reiterated his commitment to ethanol Tuesday on a Rock County stage where he said the flexible fuel would boost two of the county's largest industries. "It all comes together in Janesville," Doyle said in reference to the county's agriculture and automotive industries. Doyle...    more   
• Mar 21, 2006 John Nichols: Bush costly, even for conservatives Republicans who gathered in Wauwatosa last week for the annual Future Wisconsin conference got an unexpected dose of reality from a former Badger State politico who has made it big in national conservative circles. American Conservative Union President David Keene, who as a GOP wunderkind...    more   
• Mar 7, 2006 AGs question natural gas price spikes Skyrocketing natural gas prices can't be blamed solely on Hurricane Katrina, a cold winter or other traditional supply-and-demand factors, according to a report released today by Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager and three other attorneys general from the Midwest. Instead, the report...    more   
• Mar 4, 2006 Walker, lawmakers meet State may be little help in fiscal crisis After meeting Friday with Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, six state lawmakers agreed that a county fiscal crisis looms and demands painful solutions, but they disagreed sharply on taxation issues and warned that a strapped state budget could offer little help. Four of the legislators...    more   
• Mar 3, 2006 Editorial: Lawton, arts & the economy Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton has done more with the state's No. 2 job than any of its previous occupants. In fact, she's done more good than a lot of governors have. Lawton gets her highest marks for recognizing that Wisconsin's future depends on broadening our ideas about economic development....    more   
• Feb 27, 2006 Bill Spevacek: A grand strategy on ending poverty could separate Dems from GOP In a recent speech in Washington, Gen. Wesley Clark called for an American grand strategy to replace the Cold War strategy that held the world together for a half century after World War II. Good idea. Even some Republicans are now privately admitting the failure of their party's grand...    more   
• Feb 21, 2006 Bush: Nation is on verge of energy technology breakthroughs MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Saying the nation is on the verge of technological breakthroughs that would "startle" most Americans, President Bush on Monday outlined his energy proposals to help wean the country off foreign oil. Less than half the crude oil used by refineries is produced in the United...    more   
• Feb 21, 2006 In Milwaukee Bush pushes ethanol, hybrids; says major energy breakthrough around the corner In an area of the state staunchly against the mandated use of ethanol in all gasoline Pres. George Bush Monday made a call for greater use of ethanol as a way to wean the nation from its dependence on foreign oil. "The more ethanol we use, the less crude oil we consume. And using ethanol has...    more   
• Feb 19, 2006 Editorial: A budget for the wrong war From the Journal Sentinel Responsible budget-making - especially a budget as important as the Defense Department's - necessarily requires difficult and painful decisions about what to leave in and what to forgo. But those who produced the Pentagon's budget for fiscal 2007 earlier this month failed this important test. Far...    more   
• Feb 18, 2006 Editorial: Son of TABOR and honest debate From the Journal Sentinel Posted: Feb. 18, 2006 "Let the people decide" is the slogan being used by those pushing for the latest version of a taxpayer bill of rights in Wisconsin. Fair enough. But make sure they have all the facts at their disposal when they decide. And be sure to conduct a...    more   
• Feb 2, 2006 Economic `sunshine' takes edge off winter Hurray, it's February. That's one less month of winter that we have to deal with. We don't know what promise the groundhog will have for us tomorrow, but for those watching Wisconsin's business and economic climate there have been a couple of signs of an early spring. The first bit of good news...    more   
• Feb 1, 2006 Kettle Foods announces expansion into Wisconsin Kettle Foods, an Oregon-based natural snack maker, has announced plans to build a plant in Beloit, which is expected to generate an economic impact of $18 million for the state in the first three years. The announcement was made Monday by Gov. Jim Doyle. The facility will have 70,000 square feet...    more   
• Jan 31, 2006 $10 million keeps the trains rolling Gov. Jim Doyle announced Monday that five local communities are among the recipients of nearly $10 million in state aid for constructing freight rail-related facilities and upgrading freight railroad infrastructure. "A quality transportation system serves as the foundation of Wisconsin's...    more   
• Jan 30, 2006 Beloit lands new snack factory Beloit's growing food manufacturing sector is gaining another ingredient. Kettle Foods announced today it will build a 70,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in the Gateway Industrial Park to make potato chips. Oregon-based Kettle Foods produces hand-made, all-natural Kettle brand potato...    more   
• Jan 28, 2006 Governor brings good news to Beloit Gov. Jim Doyle is expected to make a major economic development announcement in Beloit Monday when he comes to town for his “Capital for a Day” tour. Doyle's office confirmed the governor will share the good news at an 8 a.m. breakfast at La Casa Grande's banquet hall, 618 Fourth St. As Doyle...    more   
• Jan 27, 2006 Wisconsin must do something to halt ‘brain drain' “Should I stay or should I go?” It's not often that I can start a column with a song title from the British rock band The Clash, but that's the phrase many of Wisconsin's young adults and retirees are asking themselves these days. And reports of who's staying and going are somewhat troubling....    more   
• Jan 27, 2006 State's biotech industry: A spot on world stage? Gabriela Cezar left a great job at Pfizer Inc. and took a pay cut to join the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "It's not like I didn't have the opportunity to go to the coasts," said Cezar, a 33-year-old, Brazilian-born scientist who uses stem cells to test drugs and study...    more   
• Jan 27, 2006 $2.1 million grant for industrial park The Barron Industrial Park will have plenty of development money thanks to a $2.1 million federal grant. Barron sold the city's last industrial park lot that had sewer, water and road access this past summer to Lawrence Trucking, but the $2.1 million grant specifically alleviates that problem....    more   
• Jan 25, 2006 State leads neighbors in high-tech growth Growth in high-tech exports is happening faster in Wisconsin than in other Midwestern states, a report tracking the state's economic progress says. Of Wisconsin's $12.7 billion in total exports in 2004, about $2.6 billion, or nearly 21%, were high-tech products and services, according to the...    more   
• Jan 25, 2006 Poll Shows Americans Skeptical About Economy Some of the economic numbers may be looking up, but a lot of Americans aren't convinced. A new survey found that people to be generally skeptical about the economy and worried about the cost of gas, heating oil and health care. A lot of it seems to depend on political affiliation. More than half...    more   
• Jan 25, 2006 Poll Shows Americans Skeptical About Economy Some of the economic numbers may be looking up, but a lot of Americans aren't convinced. A new survey found that people to be generally skeptical about the economy and worried about the cost of gas, heating oil and health care. A lot of it seems to depend on political affiliation. More than half...    more   
• Jan 24, 2006 Petition: Gun bill bad for business More than five dozen business owners and employees in small towns throughout Green and Dane counties have signed a petition against proposed legislation to legalize the carrying of concealed weapons. The Republican-led Senate Bill 403 was passed in amended form by the Senate and Assembly before...    more   
• Jan 23, 2006 Editorial: Some lessons from Ireland The Emerald Isle certainly has lessons to teach Wisconsin about economic development and the key role education plays in a healthy economy, as Gov. Jim Doyle, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, and other area leaders learned...    more   
• Jan 21, 2006 Tax credit helps create 71 jobs Gov. Jim Doyle Friday unveiled a $250,000 tax credit package that will help J.J. Keller & Associates with its creation of 71 new positions. The jobs are related to a new Web-based product introduced by the large technical publishing firm, said Robert Keller, president and chief executive officer....    more   
• Jan 20, 2006 Business climate, manufacturing strong in state, Burke says In his State of the State address Tuesday night, Gov. Jim Doyle announced plans to fund a new initiative to help Wisconsin manufacturers. On Wednesday, Wisconsin Department of Commerce Secretary Mary Burke visited The Jor-Mac Co. Inc. in Grafton to discuss the initiative. Before her presentation,...    more   
• Jan 20, 2006 State official touts biotech industry Rachel Chizek, a 21-year-old biochemistry major at Lakeland College, wants to work with DNA when she graduates in 2007, but is worried she'll have to leave Wisconsin to do that. But according to Michael Morgan, Wisconsin secretary of revenue, the state aims to create new jobs in the...    more   
• Jan 19, 2006 Extending global reach The state intends to spend about $400,000 over the next year to help smaller businesses improve their manufacturing techniques so they can compete in a global economy, Mary P. Burke, Wisconsin secretary of commerce, said Wednesday. The money will be used to help about 100 companies bring in...    more   
• Jan 18, 2006 Ethanol, Health Care Mentioned During State of the State Speech Governor Jim Doyle says Wisconsin must reduce its dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels by immediately implementing new standards on renewable energy. During his annual State of the State Address on Tuesday, Doyle called on fellow lawmakers to pass the recommendations of his Task Force on...    more   
• Jan 16, 2006 Doyle looks to kindle business in New North Gov. Jim Doyle will announce Tuesday that $9.5 million in private venture capital will be made available to startup businesses in the 18-county area in Northeastern Wisconsin now branded the New North. Barely a month old, the New North has within its borders a group of 75 private investors whose...    more   
• Jan 16, 2006 Doyle capitalizes on venture plan Gov. Jim Doyle will announce Tuesday that $9.5 million in private venture capital will be made available to startup businesses in an 18-county area in northeastern Wisconsin. The area, now being marketed as the New North, has a group of 75 private investors whose contributions have created the...    more   
• Jan 15, 2006 Analysts: Growing Deficit Hobbles Economy Like a person packing on pounds, the United States keeps adding to its flabby budget deficits, endangering the nation's economic health and the pocketbooks of ordinary Americans. Here's the worry: Persistent deficits will lead to higher borrowing costs for consumers and companies, slowing...    more   
• Jan 13, 2006 Doyle trade trips boost economy Past foreign trade trips by Gov. Jim Doyle have drummed up some $10 million or more in business for Wisconsin exporters, state commerce officials said - little more than a rounding error in state exports that totaled $12.7 billion in 2004. But as Doyle participates this week in an economic...    more   
• Jan 9, 2006 Doyle, delegation seeking trade in Ireland Governor Doyle and a Wisconsin delegation are in Ireland this week to drum up some trade opportunities. Doyle plans to meet with Republic of Ireland President Mary McAleese and Lord Mayor of Dublin Cahterine Byrne, as well as business leaders. The Milwaukee Development Corporation is picking up...    more   
• Jan 9, 2006 Gov. Doyle Drops In On Ireland Gov. Jim Doyle arrived in Ireland this week on another overseas trade mission. The Milwaukee Development Corporation is picking up Doyle's tab. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is accompanying the governor, who arrived in Ireland late Sunday night. Ireland is the state's 25th largest trade partner....    more   
• Jan 9, 2006 Doyle drops in on Ireland Gov. Jim Doyle arrived in Ireland this week on another overseas trade mission. The Milwaukee Development Corporation is picking up Doyle's tab. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is accompanying the governor, who arrived in Ireland late Sunday night. Ireland is the state's 25th largest trade partner....    more   
• Jan 9, 2006 Doyle drops in on Ireland Gov. Jim Doyle arrived in Ireland this week on another overseas trade mission. The Milwaukee Development Corporation is picking up Doyle's tab. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is accompanying the governor, who arrived in Ireland late Sunday night. Ireland is the state's 25th largest trade partner....    more   
• Jan 5, 2006 Doyle: State has witnessed remarkable economic turnaround Wisconsin has experienced a remarkable economic turnaround and there's a shortage of trained people to hold jobs, Gov. Jim Doyle said Wednesday evening as he kicked off a series of town hall meetings leading up to his annual state of the state message to lawmakers. "I am proud to report to you...    more   
• Jan 4, 2006 Doyle: State has witnessed remarkable economic turnaround Governor Doyle begins a series of town hall meeting in Merrill today. The meetings precede Doyle's annual state of the state message to lawmakers scheduled January 17th in Madison. Doyle says Wisconsin's financial picture is much better than it has been in many, many years with the state...    more   
• Jan 4, 2006 Doyle signs economic development bills Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has signed a bill that expands the number of contaminated properties eligible to receive state assistance for cleanup and redevelopment. The bill is one of two bills Doyle signed Wednesday to promote economic development in Wisconsin. The governor also signed into law a...    more   
• Dec 28, 2005 Grading Wisconsin’s high-growth economy Before the calendar turns to a new year, here are some category-by-category “grades” for Wisconsin’s high-growth, tech-based economy in 2005. Take it easy on the professor if you disagree; he doesn’t have a “back-up” position. Innovation: A minus. Wisconsin continues to produce more than its...    more   
• Dec 28, 2005 Madison Movie That's right, Governor Doyle has agreed to appear in a movie that starts shooting at the end of January in Madison. It's called "Winter Of Frozen Dreams". The independent film is based on the true story of Barbara Hoffman a UW student who was convicted of murdering at least one man with cyanide...    more   
• Dec 21, 2005 Bringing business back to Whitewater? Motorists speeding past Whitewater on the new Highway 12 bypass may decide to spend some money in the city because of action by state lawmakers. Gov. Jim Doyle signed a bill into law Tuesday that authorizes the white-on-blue signs that are common on major highways. The signs display logos of...    more   
• Dec 12, 2005 Doyle offers $700,000 in grants to bio-energy projects Governor Jim Doyle said the state Department of Agriculture is launching a $1 million program he put in the 2005 budget to boost the development of renewable energy sources and materials. Of the program's funding, $700,000 will go into grants of up to $150,000 each for businesses or individuals...    more   
• Dec 8, 2005 Economic development group introduces 'New North' Business, government and community leaders across northeast Wisconsin have banded together to introduce "New North," a new brand to be used to promote regional cooperation and economic development across the region. The new brand came out of meetings between leaders from regional businesses,...    more   
• Dec 8, 2005 Wisconsin Launches 'The New North' Eighteen Wisconsin Counties including several in our area are joing together to market themselves as "The New North." The Counties stretch from Fond du Lac to Florence. The "New North" organization will be based in Appleton and will coordinate development efforts among the counties. Governor Jim...    more   
• Dec 5, 2005 Trade mission yields positive results Governor Jim Doyle returned recently from a trade mission to Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland and said contacts between Wisconsin businesses and leaders in the three countries will help grow Wisconsin's economy. “In order for us to grow, we have to have companies in our state that are...    more   
• Dec 3, 2005 Miller calls for renewed focus on innovation A California congressman says the federal government must make innovation in science and technology its top priority for economic growth. In the Democrats' weekly radio address, Representative George Miller said demonstrated leadership is vital to promote innovation that advances health care,...    more   
• Dec 2, 2005 Local transit center in line for funds La Crosse’s planned transit center will receive some of the approximately $2 million allocated to Wisconsin in the federal 2006 transportation appropriations bill. The exact amount is not yet determined, U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wisconsin, and U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, said in announcing the...    more   
• Nov 30, 2005 ABC Computers receives $250,000 tax credit for expansion Waupaca-based ABC Computers will receive $250,000 in tax credits to build a new facility that is expected to create 18 jobs. The tax credits were announced by Gov. Jim Doyle, and are granted through the Northeast Wisconsin Regional Economic Partnership (NEWREP) Technology Zone. ABC Computers is...    more   
• Nov 29, 2005 Tech college gets state grant for nanotechnology The state will grant Chippewa Valley Technical College $500,000 to establish a nanotechnology incubator. The grant, which is meant to complement work the college already is doing, will help the state support entrepreneurs, Gov. Jim Doyle said Monday. "Through this project, we are creating an...    more   
• Nov 29, 2005 Big Expansion for a Small Technology The Chippewa Valley could grow in a big way because of something too small to see. Governor Doyle was in Eau Claire Monday to give the nanotechnology program at CVTC a $500,000 grant. Nanotechnology is the study and design of atoms. The governor says this will keep the Chippewa Valley on par with...    more   
• Nov 29, 2005 Tech college gets state grant for nanotechnology The state will grant Chippewa Valley Technical College 500-thousand dollars to establish a nanotechnology incubator. The grant is meant to complement work the college already is doing. Governor Doyle says it'll help the state support entrepreneurs in the nanotechnology industry. The tech college...    more   
• Nov 28, 2005 Chippewa Valley receives state grant for nanotech incubator Chippewa Valley Technical College (CVTC) will receive a $500,000 grant from the Department of Commerce to establish a $5.5 million nanotechnology incubator on their Gateway Manufacturing Technology Center in Eau Claire. Nanotechnology is the study and design of systems at the scale of the atom....    more   
• Nov 28, 2005 Nanotechnology center to be built in Eau Claire The Chippewa Valley Technical College will receive a $500,000 grant from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce to establish a nanotechnology incubator in Eau Claire. The $5.5 million center will include the 40,000-square-foot NanoRite incubator at Chippewa Valley Tech's existing Gateway...    more   
• Nov 25, 2005 UWO in line for $500,000 grant The leader of the free world is all that stands between the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and a three-year innovative manufacturing program. Congress has approved $500,000 for the Competitive Manufacturing Through Innovation program proposed by UWO to help northeastern Wisconsin manufacturers...    more   
• Nov 25, 2005 UWO to launch business plan The leader of the free world is all that stands between the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and a three-year innovative manufacturing program. Congress has approved $500,000 for the Competitive Manufacturing Through Innovation program proposed by UW-Oshkosh to help Northeastern Wisconsin...    more   
• Nov 23, 2005 Despite obstacles, black entrepreneurs optimistic African-Americans in Milwaukee and across the nation continue to lag whites in key economic indicators from poverty and unemployment to housing and education. Entrepreneurs like Kalan Haywood say there are plenty of reasons to be thankful anyway. With renewed optimism, he and others are the...    more   
• Nov 22, 2005 Feds approve $1.3 million for La Crosse airport A $1.3 million federal grant for a new taxiway at La Crosse Municipal Airport did remain in the appropriations bill Congress approved last week, lawmakers said. The money “will help us go forward” with building the $7.5 million taxiway, said Dan Wruck, airport director, who credited Wisconsin...    more   
• Nov 22, 2005 Democrats' innovation agenda includes small firms House Democrats unveiled an innovation agenda that would double federal science research, guarantee broadband access to every American in five years and achieve energy independence for the United States in 10 years. The package of proposals could cost billions of dollars, but House Minority...    more   
• Nov 22, 2005 Governor praises Janesville's GM workers State politicians cited Janesville's dedicated work force as a main reason why General Motors announced Monday it would not close the sport-utility plant. Gov. Jim Doyle said while tough decisions were made, it was because of the hard-working employees in Janesville that the plant was spared....    more   
• Nov 22, 2005 Airport Grant A Federal Grant means some safety improvements for the La Crosse Municipal Airport. The 1.3 million dollar grant will allow the construction of a taxiway running parallel to the current runway. That improvement will reduce the potential for runway collisions. The grant will also improve...    more   
• Nov 20, 2005 Kewaunee Harbor OK'd for federal funds The Kewaunee Harbor project will receive $259,000 in federal aid to allow for maintenance to structures that have deteriorated due to ice conditions and waves. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., made the announcement recently along with other federal funding he acquired for several Wisconsin projects as...    more   
• Nov 19, 2005 Give ethanol mandate a green light This year's surge in gasoline prices was a reminder that America's energy policies have failed to promote the development of alternative fuels with the urgency needed. Wisconsin has an opportunity to start correcting that failure by jump-starting the use and production of ethanol, an alcohol fuel...    more   
• Nov 19, 2005 Federal funds secured for business center The U.S. Senate has approved an appropriation bill that includes $200,000 for construction of a Center for Manufacturing Excellence in the La Crosse International Business Park, U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl said Friday. The Treasury, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill now...    more   
• Nov 19, 2005 $1 million to aid development Beloit has been awarded $1 million to support two economic development projects in the city. The federal funds, secured by U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, and U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., will be used for the Neighborhood Initiative Program and the Inman Parkway extension. Each project will...    more   
• Nov 16, 2005 Governor, senator offer pleas to GM State lawmakers are urging General Motors to keep its production plant in Janesville open. Recent reports in national publications have speculated that the plant could be closed as the company continues to face growing financial hardships. "During my tenure as governor, I have worked closely with...    more   
• Nov 16, 2005 Top House Democrat unveils energy plan House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi unveiled the Democrats' so-called "Innovation Agenda," a plan aimed at keeping the nation competitive in the global marketplace and free from dependency on foreign oil, in a speech Tuesday at the National Press Club, stressing the role that the Midwest plays in...    more   
• Nov 12, 2005 $310K OK'd for airport work Gov. Jim Doyle has approved $310,000 for the Sheboygan County Memorial Airport, part of a funding package to complete more than $7 million in renovations at a cost of only $175,000 to Sheboygan County taxpayers, officials said Friday. The $310,000 in funding — half each from the state and the...    more   
• Nov 11, 2005 Menard to add 200 jobs in new building for division HQ, data center Home improvement retailer Menard Inc. said Thursday it would add about 200 jobs in the Eau Claire area and build a new divisional headquarters after receiving a $4.2 million incentive package from the state. The company has had a series of disputes with state environmental officials, and a...    more   
• Nov 10, 2005 Doyle to ink beer bill Gov. Jim Doyle will ice a deal reached between the state's small brewers and beer distributors over who can ship which beer where and in what quantities. Doyle will sign Assembly Bill 787, an amended version of which passed both the Assembly and Senate on Wednesday, said Dan Leistikow, a...    more   
• Nov 10, 2005 Sensing economic opportunity, Doyle casts gaze to the east Gov. Jim Doyle’s current nine-day trade mission to Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic will expand relationships that may benefit Wisconsin businesses and UW-Madison research facilities. Doyle is joined on his trip by representatives from Wisconsin companies and the heads of several facilities...    more   
• Nov 10, 2005 Menard to build new corporate headquarters in Eau Claire; help create 200 jobs Gov. Jim Doyle announced today that Menard, Inc. will construct a new corporate headquarters for its Midwest Manufacturing Division and develop a new data center in Eau Claire. The project is expected to create up to 200 positions. Doyle provided an incentive package for Menard, Inc. totaling...    more   
• Nov 10, 2005 Menard Inc. to build manufacturing HQ in Eau Claire Home improvement retailer Menard Inc. will construct a new corporate headquarters for its Midwest Manufacturing division and develop a new data center in Eau Claire. The project is expected to create up to 200 positions, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle in announcing the plan. The state of Wisconsin is...    more   
• Nov 9, 2005 Gov. Doyle qualifies five technology companies for investor tax credits The Department of Commerce (Commerce) has qualified five small businesses for investor tax credits under the new Angel Investor and Venture Fund Tax Credit Programs. "By encouraging investors through tax credits to make these crucial investments, we are helping to turn these great ideas into...    more   
• Nov 7, 2005 Doyle Leaves on Trade Mission Governor Doyle leads a trade mission to Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland this week. Doyle and a delegation of Wisconsin business and government representatives will arrive in Germany Tuesday. They'll be in the Czech Republic by Thursday and Poland by Sunday. The business leaders are looking...    more   
• Nov 5, 2005 Doyle's trade tour could spice up 30-year alliance The first order of business when Gov. Jim Doyle departs next week on a European trade mission is to reinvigorate a three-decade-old alliance with the pivotal German state of Hessen. It's little surprise that Germany is emerging as a central focus of the three-nation, 10-day foreign trade tour...    more   
• Oct 29, 2005 Waupaca Foundry to get $2M for upgrade Gov. Jim Doyle announced Friday that the state will provide nearly $2 million from the Department of Commerce for Waupaca Foundry to upgrade its facilities in Marinette and Waupaca. The Department of Commerce will provide Waupaca Foundry with a $1 million Community Development Block Grant to help...    more   
• Oct 25, 2005 New bill could expedite research, profs say A law that prohibits state employees from signing contracts of more than $15,000 with the state has hindered UW-Madison professors attempting research with independent companies, UW officials and professors said. Gov. Jim Doyle and state Sen. Ted Kanavas, R-Brookfield, are authors of a new bill...    more   
• Oct 24, 2005 Palermo's to receive $22M in tax credits for valley plant The state of Wisconsin is awarding $22 million in federal tax credits to aid in the construction of Palermo Villa Inc.'s new frozen pizza plant in the Menomonee Valley. An affiliate of the Italian food manufacturer, Palermo Properties L.L.C., will receive $22 million in New Markets Tax Credits,...    more   
• Oct 24, 2005 Here’s why Wisconsin’s tech economy indicators are up A new report suggests Wisconsin is slowly making progress when it comes to building a technology-based economy, as judged by indicators such as producing patents, investing in private research and development, and creating high-tech jobs. The natural question: Why are we improving? There is no...    more   
• Oct 22, 2005 We could be 'Saudi Arabia of ethanol' The rising price of oil and gasoline is adding new energy and clout to the ethanol industry, and it's made for some strange political bedfellows in the process. Across the state, ethanol has made news in recent months - from new plants and a state task force to a proposed mandate to use ethanol...    more   
• Oct 21, 2005 Madison gets $900,000 state grant for Covance Laboratories project The City of Madison has received a $900,000 state grant toward Covance Laboratories Inc.'s $1.8 million project to improve access to its facility in Madison, Gov. Jim Doyle said Friday. Plans for the company, a unit of Covance Inc. in Princeton, N.J., include street reconstruction, sidewalks,...    more   
• Oct 19, 2005 Wisconsin’s entrepreneurial climate improves Wisconsin cities are improving as places to grow new businesses, according to a national magazine. Among small cities, Green Bay is the fifth best "hot spot," while Madison is sixth among mid-sized cities. The trio of Kenosha-Chicago-Gary ranks 12th among large cities. Milwaukee is 20th. The...    more   
• Oct 19, 2005 State urged to invest in energy efficiency A draft study by a state energy think tank suggests Wisconsin can reduce the need for new power plants and save natural gas if the state steps up its investment in energy efficiency. The study, prepared by the Energy Center of Wisconsin, concludes that "an average of up to $75 million to $120...    more   
• Oct 17, 2005 Doyle calls for increased renewable fuel Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle urged the federal government Monday to do more to increase the use of ethanol and other renewable fuels. "What we need is a national energy policy," Doyle told a gathering of the American Council on Renewable Energy on Capitol Hill. Doyle supports a plan in the Wisconsin...    more   
• Oct 17, 2005 Doyle: Renewable Fuel Governor Doyle urged the federal government Monday to do more to increase the use of renewable fuels, such as ethanol. The American Council on Renewable Energy hosted the conference in Washington where Doyle made the remarks. The Democratic governor supports a plan in the state Legislature that...    more   
• Oct 12, 2005 Biofuels surge forward Wisconsin's energy future may include more biobased fuels to reduce the state's reliance on imported oil and reinvigorate rural economies. A recent policy initiative, consortium and related bill from Madison explore ethanol use and production expansion and try to incorporate major industrial...    more   
• Oct 12, 2005 State could benefit from defense funding The U.S. Senate approved a bill Friday to include millions of dollars in funding for several Wisconsin companies manufacturing goods for the nation’s military. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., touted the passage of the 2006 Defense Appropriations Bill through the Senate, saying businesses and projects in...    more   
• Oct 10, 2005 Doyle wants conflict law exemption for UW researchers Thomas Sutula wants to discover drugs that would treat epilepsy and a host of other brain diseases, except the University of Wisconsin-Madison neurologist says an arcane state law stands in his way. Sutula, chairman of UW's neurology department, is a founder of NeuroGenomeX, which hopes to...    more   
• Oct 10, 2005 Barrett heads to China on critical commerce mission Going to China has become a political rite-of-passage ever since President Nixon visited Chairman Mao in 1972. This week, Tom Barrett becomes the first mayor of Milwaukee to visit China. The first-term mayor will use his first foreign trip since the April 2004 election to lead a three-city,...    more   
• Oct 10, 2005 Doyle wants to exempt UW researchers' spinoffs from conflict law Thomas Sutula wants to discover drugs that would treat epilepsy and a host of other brain diseases, except the University of Wisconsin-Madison neurologist says an arcane state law has stood in his way. Sutula, chairman of UW's neurology department, is a founder of NeuroGenomeX, which hopes to...    more   
• Oct 10, 2005 Doyle aims to expedite research Thomas Sutula wants to discover drugs that would treat epilepsy and other brain diseases, except the University of Wisconsin-Madison neurologist says an arcane state law has stood in his way. Sutula, chairman of UW’s neurology department, is a founder of NeuroGenomeX, which hopes to develop...    more   
• Oct 6, 2005 Editorial: Good deal for Wisconsin Despite what some people may think about casino gambling, the bottom line is that both the state of Wisconsin and its Indian tribes have a huge financial stake in the continued operation and success of those casinos. Yes, the tribes turn a handsome profit from the casinos, but they share their...    more   
• Oct 3, 2005 Markup law action lax Accused violators of the state's so-called minimum markup law are rarely fined, many complaints are never investigated, and enforcement has become less of a priority in recent years, a newspaper reported. Under the Unfair Sales Act, gasoline wholesalers and retailers must add at least 9 percent...    more   
• Oct 3, 2005 Report: Minimum markup law has no teeth Accused violators of the state's so-called minimum markup law are rarely fined, many complaints are never investigated and enforcement has become less of a priority in recent years, a newspaper reported. Under the Unfair Sales Act, gasoline wholesalers and retailers must add at least 9 percent to...    more   
• Oct 2, 2005 Gas-markup law unfair, area station owners say Motorists aren’t the only ones who sometimes feel gouged at the gas pump. On average, gas station owners and managers in Wisconsin file a complaint each day alleging that their competitors are undercutting them by charging less than the law requires. Under the so-called minimum-markup law,...    more   
• Oct 1, 2005 Gov. helps dedicate Falls power plant During dedication ceremonies Friday at the Sheboygan Falls Energy Facility, Gov. Jim Doyle said the 300-megawatt power peaking plant is a vital component of the state’s future energy needs. “In Wisconsin, if we’re going to keep growing, we must invest in our energy infrastructure,” Doyle said....    more   
• Oct 1, 2005 Governor Renews "Grow Wisconsin" Initiative Governor Jim Doyle was in De Pere late Monday afternoon with a renewed proposal he says will boost Wisconsin businesses. "Grow Wisconsin" is an extension of an initiative the governor introduced two years ago. This new plan proposes to increase income limits, promote local businesses, and create...    more   
• Sep 28, 2005 Ethanol Group: Legislation 'Vital to State's Economy' Passage of the 10-percent ethanol bill would be 'the single most important thing the Legislature and Governor Jim Doyle could do to grow Wisconsin's economy.' That's according to the Wisconsin Ethanol Producers Association, which is supporting a measure that would require all regular grade...    more   
• Sep 27, 2005 Tower site to get $3 million in state aid The Tower Automotive Inc. factory complex on Milwaukee's north side will receive up to $3 million in state tax credits under its new designation as a enterprise development zone, Gov. Jim Doyle said Monday. The designation is part of Doyle's economic development initiative called "Grow Wisconsin:...    more   
• Sep 27, 2005 Doyle pitches economic plan Gov. Jim Doyle pledged Monday a wide range of state resources for promoting and supporting Wisconsin businesses under an updated economic development plan called Grow Wisconsin: The 2005 Initiative. Doyle first announced his Grow Wisconsin plan after he was elected in 2002. He presented the new...    more   
• Sep 27, 2005 Doyle pitches new economic plan Gov. Jim Doyle on Monday pledged a wide range of state resources for promoting and supporting Wisconsin businesses. “Grow Wisconsin was a comprehensive agenda of action steps. It wasn’t about studying the problems. It was ‘these are the steps we need to take,’” Doyle said Monday during a news...    more   
• Sep 26, 2005 Lt. Gov. Visiting the Area Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton will be in Merrill Monday (September 26, 2005) to talk about Governor Doyle's economic plan. It's part of a five-city stop between her and the governor. She'll also visit Eau Claire. Doyle will be in Madison, Milwaukee, and De Pere. His "Grow Wisconsin" plan...    more   
• Sep 26, 2005 Ethanol push stirs debate It's Big Oil vs. Big Corn. A major political fight is shaping up over a plan in the Legislature that would require all gas sold in Wisconsin to contain 10 percent ethanol by July 2006, a mandate that supporters say would benefit farmers while reducing gasoline prices and dependence on foreign...    more   
• Sep 26, 2005 Major fight shaping up over plan to require ethanol in gas It's Big Oil v. Big Corn. A major political fight is shaping up over a plan in the Legislature that would require all gas sold in Wisconsin to contain 10 percent ethanol by July 2006, a mandate that supporters say will benefit farmers while reducing gasoline prices and dependence on foreign oil....    more   
• Sep 25, 2005 Doyle to reveal Tower Automotive plan Gov. Jim Doyle will announce a $3 million package of tax credits to help rebuild Milwaukee's sprawling and all-but-deserted Tower Automotive site on Monday as he unveils a package of tax breaks, proposed investments and regulatory changes meant to upgrade the state's business climate. The...    more   
• Sep 22, 2005 Doyle appoints panel to study future of base when 440th moves Gov. Jim Doyle's former top aide will lead a commission to determine how to use a Milwaukee Air Force Reserve base once its main tenant moves out. Doyle on Wednesday appointed the commission to draw up an economic development plan for the base housing the 440th Airlift Wing at Milwaukee's General...    more   
• Sep 22, 2005 New commission to address reuse of 440th Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has announced the formation of a commission of state and local leaders to provide advice on possible reuses of the 440th Airlift Wing at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee. The 440th Reuse Advisory Commission will work to ensure that all parties affected...    more   
• Sep 20, 2005 Dane County company gets $40,000 in technology tax credits Jenkins Research and Manufacturing Corp. will receive $40,000 in state Technology Zone tax credits to expand its business, creating two jobs and retaining 25 more, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Tuesday. Jenkins Research and Manufacturing Corp. specializes in custom machining, welding, and fabrication...    more   
• Sep 16, 2005 FdL gets $460,000 grant for lake channel dredging The City of Fond du Lac has received a state grant totaling almost $460,000 that will be used to fund the dredging of two channels to Lake Winnebago for recreational boating. Fond du Lac was among 12 state locations that shared $1,078,654 in funds from the Water Resources Account to make...    more   
• Sep 13, 2005 $12 Million Regional Initiative Lays Out Its Flight Plan If the ambitious economic strategy for Milwaukee and the region lives up to the grandly symbolic trappings of its announcement on Monday, it will be big and ready for takeoff. Architects of the $12 million, five-year plan chose a cavernous airplane hangar at Mitchell International Airport as the...    more   
• Sep 13, 2005 State offers $4.35M in aid to lure Cabela's The state of Wisconsin has agreed to provide $4.35 million to help Washington County lure a $70 million, 165,000-square-foot Cabela's store to a site at Highway 45 and Highway 41 in the town of Richfield. The Sydney, Neb., retailer has proposed to build the store on a 60-acre parcel. The store,...    more   
• Sep 9, 2005 Area Technology Firms To Receive $15,000 State Grants Two Milwaukee-area companies will receive state technology assistance grants of $15,000 each to develop their companies, Gov. Jim Doyle said. Doyle said that Wauwatosa-based PointOne Systems L.L.C. and Vantus Technology Corp. in Waukesha will receive $15,000 to obtain assistance in researching...    more   
• Sep 8, 2005 Two Companies Awarded State Tech Grants Two Wisconsin businesses each will receive $15,000 in funding for technology development projects from the state Department of Commerce, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Wednesday. Pointone Systems, LLC, will use the Technology Assistance Grant to hire professional grant research and writing assistance,...    more   
• Sep 1, 2005 Obey Helps Open Expanded Terminal Seventh District Rep. Dave Obey was at the Rice Lake airport on Tuesday to ceremonially cut the ribbon on the new expanded terminal. The terminal expansion was built using primarily federal and state funds. Obey, the senior Democrat on the House Appropriation Committee, has helped secure over $3...    more   
• Aug 30, 2005 Railroad Plans System Upgrades With the recently enacted state budget providing a big boost in money for rail projects, the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Co. is planning improvements on key segments of the system on which it operates. The budget signed by Gov. Jim Doyle last month contains $12 million over the next two years...    more   
• Aug 30, 2005 Florence Startup To Receive $750,000 In Aid A Florence County startup will receive $750,000 in state aid to purchase a business site and equipment in a project that will create 100 new jobs in northern Wisconsin. Lumber and cabinet component manufacturer Northern Component Solutions of Florence plans to buy a building, land and equipment...    more   
• Aug 30, 2005 State's Investment In Early-Stage Businesses Is Changing Perceptions Attorney Joe Hildebrandt has been a part of many deals connecting promising young Wisconsin companies with investors, some close at home and others in the financial centers of the nation’s East and West Coasts. Over the years, Hildebrandt told a legislative committee last week, he’s battled the...    more   
• Aug 29, 2005 Governor Announces Plan To Promote Lakeland Area Governor Jim Doyle has announced a $29,150 Joint Effort Marketing grant for the Lac du Flambeau Chamber of Commerce for their "Northwoods Meetings" project. The project is a cooperative effort between the communities of Lac du Flambeau, Minocqua, Arbor Vitae, Woodruff, Tomahawk and Rhinelander....    more   
• Aug 25, 2005 Bucyrus Makes Its Decision On Expansion Bucyrus International Inc. decided on Wednesday to proceed with an expansion of its manufacturing operations in South Milwaukee, where city officials fearful of a company move agreed to pursue a tax increment district to help the company justify its stay. The Bucyrus announcement came less than...    more   
• Aug 24, 2005 State Grant Will Help Janesville GM Plant Governor Jim Doyle visited the General Motors plant in Janesville today. And he brought a little gift with him – $5.4 million. The money is a state grant that will help train workers for a new assembly line at the plant. GM announced plans earlier this year to eliminate 25,000 manufacturing jobs...    more   
• Aug 24, 2005 Bucyrus To Invest Up To $95 Million In Expansion Bucyrus International Inc. said Wednesday that it will spend up to $95 million and could add about 200 jobs under a plan to expand its South Milwaukee plants to meet increasing demand for mining equipment. The expansion project will occur in phases, beginning with a $22 million,...    more   
• Aug 24, 2005 Janesville's GM Plant Celebrates The Production Of Its 16,000,000th Vehicle With a nod and an apology to Mark Twain, Gary Malkus offered his perspective on the state of the General Motors assembly plant that he manages in Janesville. "The reporting of the demise of Janesville Assembly was greatly exaggerated," Malkus said Tuesday as the plant celebrated the production of...    more   
• Aug 24, 2005 State Provides $5.4M For GM Plant In Janesville The state of Wisconsin is providing a $5.4 million grant to train employees on new assembly equipment at General Motors Corp.'s plant in Janesville. The investment from the state, which has now provided $10 million in financial aid to the Janesville plant since 2003, provides a little assurance...    more   
• Aug 24, 2005 Doyle Announces $5.4M Grant For GM's Janesville Plant Wisconsin's governor is giving $5.4 million to the General Motors plant in Janesville. Gov. Jim Doyle announced the grant Tuesday during a visit to the plant. He said the money will help train workers for a new assembly line. The grant is on top of the $5 million the state already pledged to...    more   
• Aug 24, 2005 GM Janesville Receives State Boost Employees at the Janesville assembly plant celebrated the past, present and future today. Since 1923, the plant has turned out 16 million vehicles. "If you took that 16 million and put them bumper to bumper you could could go round trip Boston to San Francisco ten times", said Plant Manager Gary...    more   
• Aug 23, 2005 State Aid Helps GM Gov. Jim Doyle was coming to Janesville today to make good on a promise he made nearly 20 months ago. Doyle scheduled a stop at the local General Motors' assembly plant to announce that the state will provide GM with $5.4 million to help offset training costs associated with the launch of a new...    more   
• Aug 16, 2005 Bridge To Hope Awarded Grant Bridge to Hope in Menomonie will receive a HUD Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) totaling $24,375 as a part of Governor Jim Doyle's grants totaling $218,021 to nine northwestern Wisconsin organizations. The grants are for emergency shelter and transitional housing programs administered by the Bureau...    more   
• Aug 16, 2005 Minneapolis Company Sets Sights On Southern Wisconsin Southern Wisconsin's biotech infrastructure has prompted a Minnesota company to consider crossing state lines to develop an operating facility that could employ approximately 200 people. Excorp Medical Inc., is looking to the southern tier of Wisconsin to manufacture systems used to treat human...    more   
• Aug 16, 2005 Highway 29 Expansion Finished Early It's an open road for drivers along Highway 29... or at least it will be Tuesday morning. An expansion project between Elk Mound and Chippewa Falls is done three months early. Governor Jim Doyle was at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday morning. He says there should be fewer crashes because...    more   
• Aug 14, 2005 Highway Is In For A Change The federal government is chipping in half a million dollars to help re-construct Highway 78 between Merrimac and Prairie du Sac, beginning in spring of 2007. "This is something we've been angling for, so we're grateful for the announcement," Sauk County Board Chairperson Bill Wenzel said. "The...    more   
• Aug 11, 2005 Senator Kohl in Mosinee Taking off and landing at Central Wisconsin Airport will soon be a little smoother thanks to a couple of lawmakers. Senator Herb Kohl will be there Thursday (August 11, 2005) morning to talk about a $14 million federal grant for a new runway and taxiway. Congressman Dave Obey also helped secure...    more   
• Aug 9, 2005 Sen. Kohl Tours G.M. Plant-Vows to Keep it Open The workers at the Janesville G.M. plant pump out about 1,100 Suburbans, Yukons and Tahoes each day. But they're hoping a federal grant will help them become a better trained and more efficient team. U.S. Senator Herb Kohl helped secure the $600,000 in funding, and he toured the plant Monday to...    more   
• Aug 9, 2005 Sen. Kohl Reassures Janesville GM Workers Senator Herb Kohl reassured General Motors employees that keeping their jobs intact is one of biggest tasks he has ahead of him. "Nothing is more important to me in terms of priority than seeing this plant maintains itself and maintains the jobs for generations to come", said Kohl. The senator...    more   
• Aug 6, 2005 New-Business Openings Up 12.5% Over 2004 Wisconsin is on track to have another strong year for new-business starts. If the current rate of business openings continues, this will be the fourth straight year of double-digit growth. So far this year, 20,341 new companies have registered with the state, a rate that's 12.5% ahead of last...    more   
• Aug 4, 2005 Racine to Get State Aid to Revamp Brownfields Site The city of Racine will receive a $750,000 grant toward a $3.2 million project to acquire and redevelop a brownfields site in downtown Racine, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle said Thursday. The former Massey Ferguson Ltd. campus will be redeveloped into an emergency shelter for men, women, and children...    more   
• Aug 2, 2005 Baldwin Lands $1.7 Million for Canal As the final details on the first section of the Portage Canal rehabilitation are nailed down, federal funding for the second phase of the project has become available. Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., recently helped secure $1.76 million in federal funds for canal rehabilitation from Adams...    more   
• Aug 2, 2005 Commuter Rail Extension To Get $80 Million in Federal Funds The proposed Metra commuter rail line from Kenosha north to downtown Milwaukee has been awarded $80 million in federal funding over the next five years, state legislators said Monday. The funds would be used for the proposed expansion of Metra's Union Pacific North Line. The project was first...    more   
• Aug 2, 2005 Doyle Helps Dedicate New Facilities for Chiefs' Training Camp Spending nearly $2.5 million to expand and modernize training camp facilities for the Kansas City Chiefs is a good investment all the way around, Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle said Monday. "You've got to be willing to make smart investments," Doyle told reporters following dedication ceremonies on the...    more   
• Jul 31, 2005 $13 Million Tabbed for Sturgeon Bay Bridge A $286 billion transportation bill that cleared the House and Senate Friday includes $13.1 million for a new $33 million downtown bridge in Sturgeon Bay, more than some local officials originally hoped to get. The bridge construction is planned to take place within a year if permits can be...    more   
• Jul 31, 2005 Federal Funding Revs Up Wisconsin's highways, buses and trains will pick up more than $4 billion of the $286.5 billion authorized by the massive transportation bill that won congressional approval Friday. As in other states, that money will pay for a wide range of projects: creating a new commuter rail line in...    more   
• Jul 30, 2005 Northeast Wisconsin Benefits from Federal Transportation Bill With money approved by Congress, drivers in Wisconsin might want to get used to the idea of driving on Interstate 41, or choosing to drive across one of three bridges in Sturgeon Bay. The Transportation Reauthorization bill provides five years of funding to expand roads, bridges, and railway...    more   
• Jul 29, 2005 Wall St. vs. Wisconsin Mark Green wants to be the governor of Wisconsin. The Green Bay Republican is serious about taking on Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, having announced that he will give up his U.S. House seat to make the run and having transferred more than $1.5 million from his federal campaign account to a state...    more   
• Jul 29, 2005 CAFTA Is A Mistake Repeated Ben Franklin said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Early Thursday, the Central American Free Trade Agreement passed through the House by two votes, with a bundle of side promises saying it would be different this time. Unless we...    more   
• Jul 28, 2005 Bush Threatens Veto of Amtrak Federal funding for Amtrak is again in jeopardy, and if President Bush vetoes appropriations for the railway, Wisconsin Dells will no longer have passenger rail service. Wisconsin Dells was built as a railroad town and has had railway service at the Kilbourn Depot since the 1870s. The railway...    more   
• Jul 22, 2005 Doyle Vetoes Power Plant Closures, Hails Biofuel Initiative in Budget Gov. Jim Doyle said Thursday he will veto a provision in the Republican-crafted state budget that would force the state to cut 270 jobs at its power plants and either sell the facilities or let private contractors run them. State Rep. Scott Jensen, R-Waukesha, a member of the Legislature's Joint...    more   
• Jul 22, 2005 NovaScan Approved for Tax-Credit Program NovaScan L.L.C., a Milwaukee developer of cancer-detection technology, has been approved to recive investor tax credits under the state of Wisconsin's new Angel Investor and Venture Fund Tax Credit Programs. The Angel Investor and Venture Fund Tax Credit Programs, managed by the Wisconsin...    more   
• Jul 22, 2005 Doyle Signs Land Bill Gov. Jim Doyle signed a bill Thursday that will force local governments to sell public land to utilities for power lines. Under the new law, local governments and utilities that have construction permits from the state will have 180 days to negotiate a price for the public land or the matter...    more   
• Jul 21, 2005 Doyle Vetoes Power Plant Closures Gov. Jim Doyle said Thursday he plans to veto a provision in the Republican-crafted state budget that would force the state to sell off its power plants and cut 270 jobs. State Rep. Scott Jensen, R-Waukesha, a member of the legislative Joint Finance Committee, added the provision to the budget....    more   
• Jul 21, 2005 Governors Urge Bush to Support Renewable Energy A coalition of seven governors, including Wisconsin's Jim Doyle, are asking President Bush to help reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil by heading up a national renewable energy project. The governors say that such an endeavor could achieve environmentally and economically sustainable...    more   
• Jul 20, 2005 City Gets $200,000 for Manufacturing Center U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl said Tuesday he has secured $200,000 for construction of a Center for Manufacturing Excellence that would be built in the La Crosse International Business Park. The money is in a Senate appropriations bill that funds the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The bill...    more   
• Jul 16, 2005 Give Mississippi River a Face Lift The Mississippi River's lock-and-dam system needs to be modernized to preserve the river's value as a navigational thoroughfare. In addition, the river's ecosystem needs to be restored to preserve its worth as a natural treasure. Last week Congress took a step toward providing what the river...    more   
• Jul 15, 2005 Doyle Pledges Help for Shipyards For the first time, Gov. James Doyle said unequivocally Thursday he would authorize a budget line to fund a second downtown bridge in Sturgeon Bay. "It will be two lanes, from Maple to Oregon Street and it will be built before the old bridge is rehabbed," Doyle said, bringing a crowd at Stone...    more   
• Jul 9, 2005 PSC Approves State's Largest Wind Farm Wisconsin regulators approved plans Friday to build the largest wind farm in Wisconsin. The 200-megawatt project across 50 square miles would be located just east of the Horicon Marsh - a state and federal refuge that has long been a mecca for birds and other wildlife. The $250 million wind farm,...    more   
• Jul 3, 2005 Investing in Business Ventures Could Pay Off for Wisconsin A case can be made that Wisconsin is massively under-spending on economic development. While jobs and economic development are high on the rhetorical agenda of every political leader, economic pundit and civic leader in the state, the amount of investment dollars going toward executing our...    more   
• Jun 29, 2005 Stem cell Pioneer 'Saddened' by Lawmakers' Research Restrictions UW-Madison researcher and embryonic stem cell pioneer James Thomson is expressing deep concern that Wisconsin will be left behind if the Legislature passes restrictive legislation limiting research on stem cells, saying he is "saddened and disappointed" by some recent developments. In a letter to...    more   
• Jun 28, 2005 Social Security Reform Would Hurt Small Business Owners Democrats released a study asserting that President Bush's Social Security reform proposal would hurt small businesses by cutting their retirement benefits and adding administrative costs. The president's plan would allow people to invest some of their Social Security taxes in personal accounts....    more   
• Jun 20, 2005 State Officials Will Defend 440th Officials from Wisconsin will have half an hour Monday to make a case to keep the 440th Airlift Wing at Mitchell International Airport. The governor and both U.S. senators plan to speak at a hearing in St. Louis, capping a day when officials of several other states will argue to hold on to their...    more   
• Jun 19, 2005 DOT Pushes for Amtrak Funding Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi has asked state lawmakers to restore funds to an Amtrak train line between Milwaukee and Chicago that were slashed by the Legislature’s finance committee. The Hiawatha line’s running costs are jointly subsidized by Wisconsin, Illinois and the federal...    more   
• Jun 19, 2005 Federal Budget Plan Has $257,000 for Door County Canal Work Money to renovate a portion of the Sturgeon Bay and Lake Michigan Ship Canal has been included in the federal budget. The funding is needed to keep the canal clear of silt and open to shipping. U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl announced he secured $257,000 in the 2006 Energy and Water Appropriations bill for...    more   
• Jun 18, 2005 Doyle Plans European Trade Mission Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle will lead an eight-day trade mission to Poland and the Czech Republic in November. The mission, from Nov. 8 to 16, will travel to Prague and Warsaw, Doyle said Friday. It will provide business leaders with the opportunity to meet with pre-qualified agents, distributors...    more   
• Jun 14, 2005 Governor Approves $75,000 Maintenance Project at Fond du Lac County Airport Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle has approved a $75,000 project to seal-coat and re-mark pavements at the Fond du Lac County Airport. State funds totaling $60,000 will help complete the project. Fond du Lac County is contributing the other $15,000, according to a press release. "Completion of this...    more   
• Jun 10, 2005 Barrett Lobbies to Keep 440th Wing Open Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett on Thursday joined the ranks of officials from Wisconsin visiting to urge that the 440th Airlift Wing remain at Mitchell International Airport. Barrett met two analysts from the Base Realignment and Closure Commission in Arlington, Va., saying afterward that he was...    more   
• Jun 7, 2005 Doyle Signs Economic Development Bill Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle signed a bill Monday that extends the use of tax incremental financing to towns that have cooperative boundary agreements with a neighboring city or village. The new law, Senate Bill 124, is expected to promote development of undeveloped areas between towns and cities...    more   
• Jun 3, 2005 Kenosha-Milwaukee Metra Extension Plan Gets $400,000 Plans to extend service to Milwaukee on a commuter railroad line that already links Kenosha with Chicago got a boost Thursday when the state presented local officials with $400,000 to help pay for an engineering study. State Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi presented the check to Kenosha...    more   
• Jun 3, 2005 Commuter Rail Extension Moves Forward with Study A key engineering study of a planned 32-mile extension of the Metra commuter rail line from Kenosha north to downtown Milwaukee is expected to begin in August, a project official said. The decision to move ahead with the preliminary engineering process is a major step forward for the proposed...    more   
• May 26, 2005 EraGen Gets $250,000 State Loan to Revamp Manufacturing Facility The state is giving EraGen Biosciences Inc. a $250,000 Technology Development Loan to help it upgrade its manufacturing facility for cystic fibrosis tests. EraGen's $1 million improvement plan is expected to create about 75 jobs, according to a joint announcement by the firm and Governor Jim Doyle.    more   
• May 22, 2005 U.S. 41 Expansion Appears on Horizon Big changes could be in store for the stretch of U.S. 41 between Howard and Suamico. To allow for growth and economic development, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation has plans for a $364.7 million expansion of the 14-mile stretch between De Pere and Suamico. Plans call for upgrading the...    more   
• May 20, 2005 Airport Receives Funds for Improvements The Dodge County Airport received its moment in the spotlight during "Capital for the Day" activities. Wisconsin Department of Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi presented a $1.4 million ceremonial check to county officials Thursday. The check represents state and federal funds which will...    more   
• May 10, 2005 Doyle Pushes Budget as Fix for Economy With his proposed budget under fire from Republican lawmakers in Madison, Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle came to Milwaukee Monday to press his case for a package of economic initiatives in his spending plan that he argued can address two of the most pressing problems facing the city's economy. Doyle...    more   
• May 8, 2005 Tourism Spending Up in State Tourism spending statewide increased slightly in 2004, thanks to gains in smaller cities such as Wausau and Green Bay, according to a study prepared for the state Department of Tourism. The study details how, when and where travelers spent $11.8 billion in Wisconsin in 2004. Outagamie County...    more   
• May 3, 2005 Power Plant Financing Bill Signed A bill to provide new options in financing for power plants was signed Monday by Gov. Jim Doyle. The bill, written by state Sen. Robert Cowles, R-Green Bay, creates a new mechanism for financing construction. "This will both increase Wisconsin's power supply and provide protection for ratepayers...    more   
• Apr 24, 2005 Commerce Secretary's Past Loaded with Successes The new state secretary of Commerce is known to friends and colleagues as an irresistible force who's likely to sweep everyone along - nicely - in a wave of enthusiasm, hard work and inspiration. As a volunteer, she mentored two little boys at the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County. As a board...    more   
• Apr 23, 2005 Energy Bill Would Raise Gas Prices The energy bill that passed the House on Thursday will raise gasoline prices and subsidize oil companies but fail to reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil, Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said Saturday.    more   
• Apr 17, 2005 Much at Stake for Wisconsin in Base Closing Process As the Pentagon moves forward with its first base closing process in a decade, Wisconsin officials are working to keep the state’s five military installations off the list. At stake: nearly $1 billion and about 8,000 jobs. The Wisconsin bases are at Fort McCoy, between Sparta and Tomah; Volk...    more   
• Apr 16, 2005 Crane Nursery Open Today If you want a chance to see where the next generation of whoopers will learn the tricks of their trade, today is your only chance. The International Crane Foundation is inviting the public to tour its new whooping crane chick-rearing facility, giving people a chance for a one-time,...    more   
• Apr 12, 2005 Business Leaders Plan Trade Mission to China Milwaukee's business leaders have organized a pivotal trade delegation to China this year to market the city's economy and meet Chinese politicians, but it remains unclear if Mayor Tom Barrett will travel with the trade mission and represent the city. "We'd like him to come," said Ulice Payne,...    more   
• Apr 6, 2005 Midwest Telecom Conference to Push Government Cooperation Bringing together state and national governments will be the focus of the eighth annual Midwestern Telecommunications and Technology Conference, held April 12 at Marquette University in Milwaukee. The conference, titled "Regional Cooperation and Innovation", focuses on bringing different...    more   
• Apr 6, 2005 Madison Biotechs Get Commerce Grants Governor Doyle announced Tuesday that two Dane county businesses will receive funding for their technology development projects through the Department of Commerce Technology Assistance Grant program. BioSystem Development LLC of Middleton, will receive $11,250 to assist in its development of...    more   
• Mar 24, 2005 U.S. Sen. Feingold: On the President's Remarks Today Regarding Trade "I strongly disagree with the President's characterization today of NAFTA as a "success", and with his call on Congress to pass CAFTA this year. These comments are out of touch with American businesses and workers who have been forced to compete on an uneven playing field for years under bad...    more   
• Mar 22, 2005 New Business Recruitment Tool Offers Latest Data Wisconsin communities can now showcase their assets to growing businesses with a glitzy new Internet marketing tool developed by Forward Wisconsin and a consortium of economic development groups. Best of all, it's free. Location One Information System, or LOIS, is a powerful online database that...    more   
• Mar 16, 2005 Trade Deficit at All-Time High of $665.9B The U.S. deficit in the broadest measure of international trade surged to an all-time high last year, increasing a potential threat to the economy as the country sank deeper into debt to Japan, China and other nations. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that the deficit in the U.S....    more   



Education

• Aug 25, 2006 70% solution doesn't add up A one-size-fits-all mandate from Madison just doesn't make sense.    more...  
• Aug 17, 2006 Editorial: Green's '70 Cent' plan undermines local control Mark Green's "70 Cent Solution" plan for K-12 education should be recognized for the political ploy it surely is.    more...  
• Apr 20, 2006 Doyle signs bill increasing financial aid awards MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A state financial aid program can award low-income students a maximum $3,000 under legislation signed by Gov. Jim Doyle on Thursday. The law will increase the maximum award for the Wisconsin Higher Education Grant program by $500. The program gives need-based aid to...    more   
• Mar 21, 2006 Governor Signs Bill To Help Prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome Gov. Jim Doyle has signed a bill to help prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome. The governor said Tuesday that about one-half of the people who shake a child don't realize the potential harm. The bill requires the production of brochures and materials on the dangers of shaking a child. It also...    more   
• Feb 23, 2006 Walker wants to shake up UW System Gubernatorial, attorney general hopefuls discuss education and crime Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker said Wednesday that the state should consider breaking up the University of Wisconsin System. Walker's suggestion - in response to news of managerial missteps, administrators' raises and out-of-state tuition cuts - was the closest thing to a new policy...    more   
• Feb 23, 2006 Green cares for the rich, not students U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Wis., is certainly not pinning his gubernatorial hopes on the votes of Wisconsin's college students. Green, one of the Republicans challenging Gov. Jim Doyle in November's election, voted earlier this month to slash student aid subsidies by an unprecedented amount....    more   
• Feb 20, 2006 Doyle, Gard opt for voucher deal Following private negotiations regarding Milwaukee’s school-choice program cap, key state officials announced a controversial agreement last Friday. In the agreement that has spurred statewide debate, Gov. Jim Doyle and Assembly Speaker John Gard, R-Peshtigo, decided to introduce a bill this...    more   
• Feb 17, 2006 School voucher deal goes to the Legislature Teacher unions, some in GOP oppose compromise on cap Gov. Jim Doyle and state Assembly Speaker John Gard said Friday they wanted to push a deal raising the cap on Milwaukee's voucher program through the Legislature within the next two weeks, a deal that would bring some long-term stability to the city's precedent-setting and still-controversial...    more   
• Feb 7, 2006 Letter for evolution gets support from clergy OSHKOSH, Wis. Michael Zimmerman believes the teachings of religion and evolution can comfortably coexist, and 10,000 clergy members agree. Zimmerman, dean of the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh's College of Letters and Science, says his point of view often got drowned out in the national...    more   
• Feb 3, 2006 Support of student aid cut could hurt Green A vote Thursday to approve a plan that would cut nearly $12 billion in student aid funding could cost U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Green Bay, the Repubican gubernatorial ticket, according to a statement from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. A January poll by Strategic Vision, LLC, a nationally...    more   
• Feb 2, 2006 Doyle unveils aid plan Wisconsin elementary school students could begin working toward affording their college education starting in eighth grade, under a new plan Gov. Jim Doyle unveiled in his State of the State address Jan. 17. The plan, which Doyle has called the Wisconsin Covenant, would make it easier for...    more   
• Jan 30, 2006 State raises student aid The state Senate and Assembly both approved a bill last Thursday that would increase the maximum grant amount awarded to needy University of Wisconsin System students. In a unanimous vote by the Assembly and an affirmative voice vote by the Senate, legislators decided to pass AB 895 on to Gov....    more   
• Jan 30, 2006 Wisconsin Covenant seeks to motivate state’s youth UW System plans—two years in the making—to attract students from the lowest two economic qualities are coming to fruition, according to UW System Communications Director Doug Bradley. Gov. Doyle’s Wisconsin Covenant, announced during the 2006 State of the State Address, represents a joint effort...    more   
• Jan 29, 2006 Doyle proposal puts kids first and solves voucher problem It is time to set the record straight about the Milwaukee school voucher program. More importantly, it is time to come to agreement on a sensible compromise package put forward by Gov. Jim Doyle to lift the cap while bringing basic accountability to the program. Anyone who knows the governor and...    more   
• Jan 26, 2006 Doyle finds no shortage of friends after ads This was the message that a group of prominent African-Americans from government, business, the clergy and the local NAACP wanted to send to Gov. Jim Doyle on Wednesday: We got your back. They were responding en masse to recent political ads in Milwaukee that compared Doyle's stance on lifting...    more   
• Jan 26, 2006 Lawton wants increased college funding Wisconsin's lieutenant governor is encouraging the public to demand a greater investment in higher education. Barbara Lawton, a Democrat, is in Washington, D.C., today to give the keynote address to about 1,200 people at the Association of American Colleges and Universities' annual meeting. She...    more   
• Jan 26, 2006 Wisconsin must do something to halt ‘brain drain’ “Should I stay or should I go?” It’s not often that I can start a column with a song title from the British rock band The Clash, but that’s the phrase many of Wisconsin’s young adults and retirees are asking themselves these days. And reports of who’s staying and going are somewhat troubling....    more   
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