Sunday, November 7, 2010

Top Stories, November 7th

Daylight Savings Time Reminder

11/7/10 - When you set your household’s clocks back an hour this weekend, Tod Pritchard with Wisconsin Emergency Management hopes you’ll keep a couple other items in mind -check the batteries in your smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector. And, if you don’t have the latter, consider getting one. The need for CO2 detectors was driven home by the death of a couple in their Walworth County home, of apparent carbon monoxide poisoning. “People call it the silent killer and that is very true,” Pritchard says, “It’s tasteless, it’s odorless, it’s colorless. And unfortunately, it kills very quickly.”

Aurora Health To Cut 175 Jobs

11/7/10 - One of Wisconsin’s largest health systems plans to cut 175 jobs by the end of the year. Aurora Health Care blames the economy, fewer hospital admissions, and higher employee pension costs. Aurora also said it would move 40 workers from its hospital in Summit in Waukesha County to other facilities. The system employs about 30-thousand people. It opened a new hospital last week in Grafton and also has medical centers and clinics in Mayville, Lomira, Hustisford and Watertown. C-E-O Nick Turkal said Aurora has about five-percent more employees now than at the end of last year – a few months after it decided to cut 90 jobs and leave 220 posts vacant. Those jobs were mainly administrative, and mostly in Metro Milwaukee.

Lawmakers Under Pressure on Road Fund

11/7/10 - Lawmakers face increased pressure next session to end raids on the state transportation fund. Voters in Dodge County and 52 other Wisconsin counties on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved advisory referendum questions on ending the practice of using money from the state’s road building fund to balance the budget. Dodge County had the highest margin of passage, at 85-percent. Racine County also approved a similar referendum question during the September primary. Transportation Development Association director Craig Thompson says the measures passed in every county where it was on the ballot, with an average of 70-percent of the vote. Recent state budgets have taken money out of the transportation fund, which is fueled by gas taxes, in order to fund other programs and spending. Thompson says they’ll be pushing lawmakers to take up the issue, and are hoping a state Constitutional Amendment can be introduced this spring. The measure would have to pass two consecutive sessions of the Legislature before going to voters for final approval.

Kohl Hopes To Run In 2012

11/7/10 - Wisconsin Sen. Herb Kohl says he hopes to run for reelection in 2012. With this week’s Republican wave sweeping out Democratic Senator Russ Feingold, more people are wondering if fellow Democratic Senator Herb Kohl will run for reelection in 2012. Kohl spoke with reporters about his plans following an event in Milwaukee and says he likes his job. Kohl was first elected to office in 1988 and would be trying for his 5th Senate term if he decides to run again. Kohl would be expected to put millions of dollars of his own money into any reelection bid.

Walker Talks Budget With UW Regents

11/7/10 - Governor-elect Scott Walker is asking the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents to help balance the state budget. With a deficit of nearly $3 billion, the Republican told University officials last week he and the incoming legislature face a quote “formidable task,” and a serious challenge ahead. Walker told UW policymakers he needs their help, and wants U-W leaders involved when his commerce department negotiates to bring new companies to the state. Walker says the UW is a great asset to help fulfill his goal of creating 250,000 new jobs.

UW Political Scientist: ‘Poll Takers Accurant’

11/7/10 - Poll takers did pretty well in predicting the outcomes of this last week’s election, according to a UW political scientist. While the campaigns of Democrats Russ Feingold and Tom Barrett argued right up to election day that polls weren’t giving an accurate picture of the electorate, UW political scientist Charles Franklin said that proved to not be the case. “It turns out that the average poll showed about a six point Republican lead. In both those races the vote totals look like about a five point or a little over a five point Republican lead. So the polling actually did quite well.” And Franklin said polling appears to have been a pretty accurate indicator of outcomes in other races across the country. He says Senator Harry Reid’s win in Nevada was the biggest surprise. As for the ‘cell phone gap,’ Franklin said it seems to account for just a couple of percentage points, but it may be time for polls to incorporate cell phone only users, despite the added expense.

Labor Union Law Will Not Be Enforced

11/7/10 - A new state law designed to make it easier for employees to form labor unions will be not be enforced. That’s the result of a settlement in a lawsuit filed by two business groups. The law was signed in May. It prohibits companies from making their employees attend meetings in which bosses discuss their workers’ plans to unionize. The Wisconsin Manufacturers-and-Commerce group and the Metro Milwaukee Association of Commerce challenged the law in court. But Governor Jim Doyle’s administration has agreed to a legal stipulation that the law will not be enforced. The stipulation says a federal labor law allows employers to make their workers attend meetings on unionization – and the federal law trumps the state law. The agreement still needs approval from a judge.

New Home Construction Flat

11/7/10 - New home construction has been flat in Wisconsin. And it's not just the builders suffering. Wisconsin builders were hit hard in the recession as many people opted to stay put and not build new. Rick Hodges is the executive director of the Metropolitan Builders Association. He says that decline in new construction has had ripple effects. The Kohler Company announced just this week that it's cutting 750 jobs in the U.S., including 350 employees in Sheboygan County. The manufacturer of kitchen and bathroom fixtures like faucets, tubs, and toilets blames the slump in new construction and renovation. The Wisconsin Builders Association says new housing starts are actually up around three percent in much of the state from this year to last. While that does mark some improvement, Hodges says the industry most likely won't see a real recovery until people have more confidence in their jobs.

National Bike Trail Proponents In Wisconsin

11/7/10 - A key backer of a proposed bicycle system to help riders more easily pedal across the U.S., is visiting Wisconsin this week. While many bicycle riders prefer short trips, the biking industry reports more riders are going on multi-day trips of hundreds and even thousands of miles. Jim Sayer heads Adventure Cycling Association, the largest bicyclist member group in North America. He's promoting a national bicycle route system connecting states, as well as cities to rural areas. Sayer says "it's a hybrid system of trails and on-road facilities. Sometimes it can just be low volume country road like you'd find in the dairy lands of Wisconsin.” It could also include rail-trails and higher volume traffic roads that have good shoulders where a bicyclist could ride comfortably. Sayer made his pitch last week to Wisconsin bike riders and manufacturers, speaking to bike tour directors Friday in Madison.

DNR State Land Burn Planned

11/7/10 - Wisconsin wildlife officials plan to burn up to a thousand acres on state land in Walworth and Waukesha counties over the next two months. The DNR says those burns will improve grassland and wetland environments for several wild species. The burns are expected to help get things ready for seeding of native grasses, getting rid of unwanted vegetation and invasive species, and improving the nesting habitat for ducks and birds.

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