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Sinkhole threatens apartment building

August 10, 2007 By

A large sinkhole caused by recent heavy rain has forced the evacuation of a Janesville apartment building.

City Public Works Director Jack Messer says the hole developed in an area that used to be an old quarry filled with sand and gravel.

Erosion has widened the hole and it's now within fifteen feet of the building. There's also a sixty foot drop off.

Messer said they felt it was better people evacuate until experts can come in and determine how to stop the erosion.

AUDIO: Janesville Public Works Director Jack Messer ( 1:02 MP3 )

Filed Under: Human Interest

Mercury clean-up at ERCO is underway

August 10, 2007 By

ERCO Port Edwards plant The state's number one mercury polluter begins the process of eliminating mercury emissions.

"We expect to start on this immediately."

ERCO Worldwide President Paul Timmons, earlier this week, announced the company would spend $95-million to convert its Port Edwards facility to a mercury-free membrane technology. Mercury Free Wisconsin and other environmental groups have been urging this transition for years. Oceana had named the plant one of the nation's " filthy five ." So, what took so long? Well, Timmons points out they only acquired the property two years ago, so he thinks they acted pretty quickly.

"I think we moved along pretty quickly. And, you know, the most compelling reasons are that number one, it makes a lot of economic sense; number two, it's appropriate and good for the environment and obviously for the people that work there; and number three, it's a market situation that is quite compelling."

They won't reduce that pollution by just a small percentage, either; Timmons says mercury emissions will be reduced to zero . Aside from some minor disruptions to current operations, this change-over is a win, win, win situation.

"We're just happy to be able to respond to the interests of the marketplace, the interests of the local citizens, and clearly to the shareholders of our organization with a project that's beneficial on many fronts."

Former DNR Secretary George Meyer, who now heads the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation , says fish-eaters will be grateful for the improvements. ERCO currently spews out 25% of the state's mercury. Timmons says the project will extend the life of the plant by up to 30 years, increase its cash flow, and preserve jobs. Timmons makes a point to thank the employees, and neighbors, for their understanding during this process.

"I really want to thank them and clearly the support that we've had from our neighbors and the community people in the local region around the plant at Port Edwards."

Timmons says the project is already in the planning stages, they are sorting through the details of engineering, and checking into permits. The transition should be complete in about two years.

NOTE: State Senator Neal Kedzie boasts in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that this action was taken without a mandate from the government.

NOTE2: ERCO's Port Edwards plant makes chemicals primarily for the paper industry.

AUDIO: Jackie Johnson report (2:14 MP3)

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation

Sen. Kohl setting farm bill priorities

August 10, 2007 By

The US Senate will begin debating the next five year farm bill when it returns from the current break, and US Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) says there will be many key issues to look at when that discussion begins.

Kohl says his priorities for the farm bill renewal include extending the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program and increasing investments in renewable energy. The Wisconsin Democrat says rural investment is a main part of the farm bill and it important to protect.

The US House already passed the farm bill. That version did not include a provision to begin reducing farm subsidies, despite efforts from members of Wisconsin's House delegation to include it. Kohl says he won't be carrying on that fight, since it could limit rural investments.

Kohl was in Madison Thursday to meet with agricultural officials and farmers. 

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (MP3 :59)

Filed Under: Agriculture

UW students will pay higher tuition, but how much?

August 10, 2007 By

The University of Wisconsin votes for a 5.5% tuition hike, but lawmakers are discussing a 4% cap. So, which is it?

It's a 5 ½-percent increase. That's what UW System spokesman David Giroux says. In lieu of a state budget, the UW Board of Regents earlier this week voted to jack up tuition for the upcoming academic year, starting in September. Giroux says a tuition cap sounds good for students, but not if it means driving down the quality of their education.

"You can drive down tuition all you want but if the state doesn't drive up its share of the investment the quality will suffer, access will suffer, something has to give."

Wisconsin Democrats this week agreed with Republican lawmakers on the Legislative Conference Committee that a 4% tuition cap wasn't a bad idea, that is, as long as the state would give the UW System $120-million for the next two years. That didn't happen. Giroux says a tuition cap combined with a decline in financial support will cause something to collapse.

"So when the state backs off its commitment the only recourse to maintain quality is to put a greater portion of that burden on students. We do not want to do that. So the only people who can prevent that from happening are the people who hold the purse strings."

Giroux points out that UW-Madison has the 2nd lowest tuition in the big ten, providing a low-cost high-quality education system.

"If we can come up with a workable compact between the university and the state that holds tuition increases to the bare minimum while sustaining today's level of academic excellence, today's level of student services, that would be a win, win, win."

Although tuition is set for this year, Giroux says the 5.5% increase can be adjusted higher or lower as needed.

"If there is no cap but there are drastic reductions in state funding and the state imposes more costs on the university, tuition and fees can go up; if the state forces us to reduce tuition revenues, we can adjust that in the second semester or in subsequent years."

The Legislative Conference Committee is scheduled to return next week Thursday.

AUDIO: Jackie Johnson report (2:15 MP3)

Filed Under: Education

Capitol hearing doubtful for beer tax hike

August 10, 2007 By

A proposal to raise Wisconsin's beer tax may die in committee.

State Representative Karl Van Roy (R-Green Bay) chairs the Assembly State Affairs Committee, which has been assigned the beer tax bill. He says there's no big push for the legislation, so he thinks it will probably stay right were it is and doubts it will get a full hearing before the committee.

The bill from Madison Democrat Terese Berceau would increase the tax by about 15-cents a six pack. Berceau claims there's a lot of support for the measure from outside the Capitol, but inside the legislation only has three co-sponsors. 

WIBA's John Colbert contributed to this report.

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (MP3 :38)

Filed Under: Taxes
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