Governor Speaks at Dedication of Wind Farm in Brownsville
10/23/08 - Governor Jim Doyle says wind energy could bring as much as 1-billion dollars into the states economy. Doyle spoke at the dedication of the Forward Energy Center in Brownsville yesterday afternoon. He says wind is something we have an abundance of and is a key energy source to cut our dependence on foreign oil. Congressman Tom Petri agreed saying our ability to find new energy sources in Wisconsin will be important for our economy to grow. The farm, which includes parts of Dodge and Fond du Lac counties, has a total of 86-turbines and can generate enough electricity to power 30,000 homes.
Red Ink Trimmed Down in BD Budget
10/23/08 - Governor Jim Doyle says wind energy could bring as much as 1-billion dollars into the states economy. Doyle spoke at the dedication of the Forward Energy Center in Brownsville yesterday afternoon. He says wind is something we have an abundance of and is a key energy source to cut our dependence on foreign oil. Congressman Tom Petri agreed saying our ability to find new energy sources in Wisconsin will be important for our economy to grow. The farm, which includes parts of Dodge and Fond du Lac counties, has a total of 86-turbines and can generate enough electricity to power 30,000 homes.
Red Ink Trimmed Down in BD Budget
10/23/08 - The Beaver Dam Administrative Committee conducted a page by page analysis of their 2009 budget last night. The 181-page, $13 million dollar document started off with just over $82,000 in red ink, but after three-and-a-half hours of deliberations, the deficit was reduced to just over $18,000. The deficit was reduced by removing a $45,000 phone system replacement at city hall. Officials decided to wait until a decision is made about renovation of the building. They also removed $17,000 in pier replacements at Edgewater Park. The piers were destroyed by this summer flooding and city officials are hoping FEMA will reimburse most of the replacement costs. The committee will meet again next Wednesday.The 2009 proposed mill rate is up two cents from last year to $6.78, meaning the owner of a $150,000 home will pay $1,017 dollars for the city portion of the tax bill. Officials plan to have the budget before the city council for approval at their November 17 meeting.
Weyco Rezoning Moves Ahead
10/23/08 - The Beaver Dam Plan Commission approved a rezoning request for the former Weyco Shoe Factory. The property at 222 Madison Street is currently zoned as Light Manufacturing. Pending council action, the bulk of the grounds will change to a commercial district with a portion converted to single-family, two-family and multi-family. Wisconsin Redevelopment LLC has plans preliminary plans to convert the factory to 33 loft-style apartments. The current parking lot could possibly be used to build four single-family homes, or 8 to 14 units of row-house style, three-story homes. The Commission also approved an offer-to-purchase for the city to acquire a property at 108 Beltline. The property is needed for additional space for the Water Treatment Plant. The matters will be brought before the city council for consideration at their November 3 meeting.
ER Stabber Sentenced
10/23/08 - Four months in jail for a Beaver Dam man who stabbed two men during a fight in downtown Beaver Dam last March. Arsenio Prudente IV pleaded “no contest” last month two felony counts of Injury by Negligent Use with a Weapon and had felony bail jumping charges dismissed but read into the record. The 33-year-old told authorities he had a bad day and “went out looking for a fight.” He used a box-cutter-type knife to injure the two Beaver Dam men outside the Emotional Rescue tavern around 2:30am. The victims sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Prudente was also sentenced to two-and-a-half years of probation and ordered to pay nearly $3800 in restitution to his victims.
Bankers Speak Out on Local Issues
10/23/08 - We assembled a panel of local bankers yesterday on WBEV’s Community Comment to discuss the country’s recent economic slowdown and its effect on Dodge County financial institutions. Representatives from National Exchange, American National, Farmers and Merchants, Horicon Bank and Dodge Central Credit Union were in agreement that local banks and credit unions remain in good standing and home and business loans are still available to qualified customers. The panel was also in agreement that there has been an increase in foreclosures in Dodge County, and new home mortgages have dipped slightly, but they all said local lending practices have been sound. They also indicated that their deposits were up by as much as 15%, speculating that it was likely because more people were taking money out of the stock market. None of the panelists expect any of the $700 billion in bailout dollars to be injected into the local banking system, though they say it is too early to tell. More information is available at bankrate.com; myfdicinsurance.gov; ncua.gov.
Watertown School District Referendum
10/23/08 - Watertown school district residents will have two questions on their ballots November 4th asking them to approve more than $22-million for renovating elementary buildings and additional money to pay for teaching and support staff to man the buildings. Watertown Superintendent of Schools Doug Kaiser says if the first question were to pass residents would see an additional 70-cents added to their mill rate for the 2009-2010 school tax year. For the second question, an additional 22-cents would be added at the beginning of the 2010-2011 year.
FDL Adopts Smoking Ban
10/23/08 - Fond du Lac is the latest Wisconsin city to adopt a total public indoor smoking ban. The vote was 4-to-3 last night to add taverns and other work-places to a ban that had already covered restaurants. It’s expected to take effect in early February. The vote followed four hours of debate and public comments. Lyle Huss says the smoking ban will shut down the bowling center he started a few months ago – and the life savings he put into it will go up in smoke. Maggie McCullough of Safe-Free Air for Everyone took issue with a claim that the economic benefit of cigarette sales outweighs the health-related costs of smoking. She said 23-million-dollars worth of cigarettes are sold each year in Fond du Lac County – while the health costs of smoking totaled 38-million. Glenn Miller of the county’s tavern league says his group probably won’t appeal the council’s decision. He says they won’t be able to afford the legal costs, considering the tight economy.
Weyco Rezoning Moves Ahead
10/23/08 - The Beaver Dam Plan Commission approved a rezoning request for the former Weyco Shoe Factory. The property at 222 Madison Street is currently zoned as Light Manufacturing. Pending council action, the bulk of the grounds will change to a commercial district with a portion converted to single-family, two-family and multi-family. Wisconsin Redevelopment LLC has plans preliminary plans to convert the factory to 33 loft-style apartments. The current parking lot could possibly be used to build four single-family homes, or 8 to 14 units of row-house style, three-story homes. The Commission also approved an offer-to-purchase for the city to acquire a property at 108 Beltline. The property is needed for additional space for the Water Treatment Plant. The matters will be brought before the city council for consideration at their November 3 meeting.
ER Stabber Sentenced
10/23/08 - Four months in jail for a Beaver Dam man who stabbed two men during a fight in downtown Beaver Dam last March. Arsenio Prudente IV pleaded “no contest” last month two felony counts of Injury by Negligent Use with a Weapon and had felony bail jumping charges dismissed but read into the record. The 33-year-old told authorities he had a bad day and “went out looking for a fight.” He used a box-cutter-type knife to injure the two Beaver Dam men outside the Emotional Rescue tavern around 2:30am. The victims sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Prudente was also sentenced to two-and-a-half years of probation and ordered to pay nearly $3800 in restitution to his victims.
Bankers Speak Out on Local Issues
10/23/08 - We assembled a panel of local bankers yesterday on WBEV’s Community Comment to discuss the country’s recent economic slowdown and its effect on Dodge County financial institutions. Representatives from National Exchange, American National, Farmers and Merchants, Horicon Bank and Dodge Central Credit Union were in agreement that local banks and credit unions remain in good standing and home and business loans are still available to qualified customers. The panel was also in agreement that there has been an increase in foreclosures in Dodge County, and new home mortgages have dipped slightly, but they all said local lending practices have been sound. They also indicated that their deposits were up by as much as 15%, speculating that it was likely because more people were taking money out of the stock market. None of the panelists expect any of the $700 billion in bailout dollars to be injected into the local banking system, though they say it is too early to tell. More information is available at bankrate.com; myfdicinsurance.gov; ncua.gov.
Watertown School District Referendum
10/23/08 - Watertown school district residents will have two questions on their ballots November 4th asking them to approve more than $22-million for renovating elementary buildings and additional money to pay for teaching and support staff to man the buildings. Watertown Superintendent of Schools Doug Kaiser says if the first question were to pass residents would see an additional 70-cents added to their mill rate for the 2009-2010 school tax year. For the second question, an additional 22-cents would be added at the beginning of the 2010-2011 year.
FDL Adopts Smoking Ban
10/23/08 - Fond du Lac is the latest Wisconsin city to adopt a total public indoor smoking ban. The vote was 4-to-3 last night to add taverns and other work-places to a ban that had already covered restaurants. It’s expected to take effect in early February. The vote followed four hours of debate and public comments. Lyle Huss says the smoking ban will shut down the bowling center he started a few months ago – and the life savings he put into it will go up in smoke. Maggie McCullough of Safe-Free Air for Everyone took issue with a claim that the economic benefit of cigarette sales outweighs the health-related costs of smoking. She said 23-million-dollars worth of cigarettes are sold each year in Fond du Lac County – while the health costs of smoking totaled 38-million. Glenn Miller of the county’s tavern league says his group probably won’t appeal the council’s decision. He says they won’t be able to afford the legal costs, considering the tight economy.
No comments:
Post a Comment