Lawmakers Seek To Build On OWI Reforms
1/1/12 - A number of Wisconsin lawmakers are resolving with the New Year to build on the drunk driving reforms they made in the past year. Media reports from statistics on O-W-I arrests show they have not gone down since the latest changes took effect in July of last year. In fact, the numbers of felony arrests have gone up. West Allis Assembly Democrat Tony Staskunas and other lawmakers say they'll push for several new changes in 2012. One bill would force all first-time drunk drivers to breathe into sobriety tubes to start their vehicles. The previous reforms only required interlocks for all repeat drunk drivers, and first timers with blood alcohol levels over point-15. Another bill would require drunk drivers' vehicles to be impounded between 60 days and six months. And Assembly Democrat Josh Zepnick of Milwaukee introduced a bill last month on an issue his colleagues from both parties have hesitated to adopt -- sobriety checkpoints. Zepnick's bill would set them up in three counties as pilot programs.
Dane County Expanding OWI ‘Bio-Marker’ Program
1/1/12 - Dane County will expand a program that makes it harder for convicted drunk drivers to violate no-alcohol clauses as part of their penalties. The county that includes Madison will expand the number of convicts in a pilot “bio-marker” program from 100 to 300. Those people are required to get tests which can detect the use of alcohol for several weeks after it’s consumed – and not just several days, like normal urine tests. The program’s director, Pamela Bean, said about 30-percent of those tested had drinking relapses within a year – and half of them lied about it. Bean says the goal of the program is to keep more drunk drivers off the streets, and put them in intensive treatment where they’re more closely monitored.
Lawmakers Address Unruly Special Needs Student Restraint
1/1/12 - Wisconsin lawmakers are trying for a second time to limit the restraining and seclusions of unruly students in public school classrooms. Supporters say too many kids with special needs are restrained or placed in time-out rooms, when all they need is to be calmed down. It was a contentious issue when the bill first came up two years ago. But since then, Senate Education Committee chairman Luther Olsen of Ripon says all of the affected parties have reached a consensus on new guidelines. He says the main goal is to protect children and the teachers who work with them. A public hearing on the new bill is set for January 11th, and Olsen expects it to be passed this spring. Lawmakers of both parties are co-sponsoring the measure. That didn't happen two years ago, according to Lisa Pugh of Wisconsin's Disability Rights Partnership. The bill spells out when it's appropriate to restrain or seclude a child -- and it should be done in a positive manner by teachers who've had appropriate training. Restraints would not be allowed if they compress a youngster's chest, or do not protect the head.
Democrats Public Meeting On Mining Laws Planned
1/1/12 - Two Democratic lawmakers say they will hold their own public meeting this month on a proposed bill on mining in Wisconsin. The legislation is designed to advance a plan to build a mine south of Lake Superior in the Penokee Hills. Company officials say the project will create hundreds of jobs for an area which needs them, while environmentalists say the mine will contaminate one of the most pristine areas of Wisconsin. Senate Bob Jauch and state Representative Janet Brewley tell Madison-dot-com that people in their districts deserve to have a chance to air their opinions. The January 7th hearing will be held at Ashland High School.
Polar Bear Club Presidents Law Hoorah
1/1/12 - The president of the Milwaukee Polar Bear Club says he'll make his 60th and final New Year's Day jump into Lake Michigan today. 82-year-old Garth Garskey of Brookfield says his health is forcing him to call it quits. He's had four stents placed in his heart, and his toes turn black when he stays for too long in the cold water. Garskey also says his daughter is having a "conniption fit" about his annual jumps. After Sunday, Garskey says he won't return unless he gets "the itch" to do so.
Hubertus Developer Seeks To Build Wind Farm
1/1/12 - For the first time in over two years, a developer has asked the state for permission to build a large wind energy farm. Emerging Energies of Hubertus has applied to the Public Service Commission to put up 41 high-tech windmills in Saint Croix County in far western Wisconsin. Until now, wind farm developers have shied away from the Badger State because of uncertainty over government regulations. Lawmakers struck down new rules last year on where turbines can be located. The wind power industry and its opponents have been negotiating on rules the state can approve. William Rakocy of Emerging Energies says he feels comfortable about the project despite the uncertainty. He said he wants to believe that quote, "more reasonable minds will prevail." The proposed new wind farm would be located about 25 miles east of the Minnesota border in the towns of Forest and Cylon. The turbines would produce 102-and-a-half megawatts of power. The state has 30 days to decide if the application for the wind farm is complete. If so, the P-S-C would have a year to decide on a permit.
Weather Limited Spread Of Gypsy Moth
1/1/12 - State agriculture officials say a cold-and-wet spring helped limit the spread of the leaf-killing gypsy moth in Wisconsin last year. Spraying also helped. Planes dumped non-toxic treatments on 234-thousand acres across 23 counties in the western part of the state. Gypsy moths have spread from the eastern U-S in recent years. And Wisconsin is among 11 states taking part in a national campaign to slow that spread. Officials also set traps to determine gypsy moth populations and movement trends -- and another 25-thousand traps will be set this spring in the central and western parts of Wisconsin. Colleen Robinson Klug of the state ag department says the moths will remain in the eastern part of the state, and major anti-spreading efforts have stopped.
Aaron Rogers Appears In New Commercial
1/1/12 - Aaron Rodgers has added another commercial contract to his portfolio. The Green Bay Packers’ quarterback has signed a multi-year deal to promote health-and-wellness campaigns for Prevea Health of northeast Wisconsin. Rodgers says he’s focused on fitness – so the ad campaign is right up his alley. Prevea Health has 23 clinics in northeast Wisconsin, and it’s a partner with Saint Vincent and Saint Mary’s hospitals in Green Bay and Saint Nicholas Hospital in Sheboygan. Prevea’s president, Doctor Ashok Rai, says Rodgers will also make personal appearances for the company – and he couldn’t think of a better person to represent them. Rodgers also does ads for State Farm Insurance, Ford, Associated Bank, and the Gruber Law Offices in Milwaukee.
Dodge County Land Conservation Offers Trees
1/1/12 - Trees and shrubs continue to be offered as part of the annual Small Packet Tree sales program in Dodge County. The Land Conservation Department is offering several species of trees for sale for the 2012 planting season, including Red and White Oak, Sugar Maple, White Cedar, White Pine, Colorado Blue Spruce, Norway Spruce, Hazelnut and Fraser Fir. Most trees are sold in bundles of 25 and most are $24 per bundle, tax included. Sugar Maple bundles are $40 per bundle. The deadline to place orders is January 27, but there are limited amounts of some species, so early orders are encouraged. For more information or to get an order form, contact the Dodge County Land Conservation Department. Contact: 386-3660 http://www.co.dodge.wi.us/conservation/landserv.html#treesales
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