Should the state minimum wage be indexed to inflation? With Labor Day just around the corner, Wausau Democrat, state Senator Russ Decker wants to do just that. "It goes seven, eight, ten years before the minimum wage is increased, and we think that's too long," said Decker. But Wayne Corey, Executive Director of Wisconsin Independent Businesses , says the current system of determining and implementing increases in the minimum hourly wage have served the state well. Work the numbers, says Corey, and you'll find that if the state had been indexing the minimum wage to inflation since 1990, it would be lower than it is today. The state's minimum wage was raised two years ago , from $5.70 an hour to $6.50. Decker's bill got a public hearing Tuesday at the Capitol.
Bucks sign their top pick, Yi
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The Milwaukee Bucks signed their 2007 first round draft pick, Yi Jianlian to a multi-year contract.
The Bucks 6th overall selection in the 2007 NBA Draft, Yi Jianlian (pictured) signed his contract in Hong Kong following a negotiating session with Mr. Chen Haitao, owner of the Guangdong Tigers.
Yi Jianlian is expected to join the Bucks for training camp that begins on Monday, October 1 at the Bucks Training Center in St. Francis, WI.
The 6'11 Jianlian has played professionally for the Guangdong Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association since 2002-03, when he was awarded Rookie of the Year honors. Last season, Yi posted career-high averages with 24.9 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 30.7 minutes.
Listen / Download – GM Larry Harris looks forward to seeing Yi fill the power forward spot. :22
Doyle to budget writers: "let's get real"
Governor Jim Doyle Tuesday again called on state legislators to get the budget job done. The governor met in Eau Claire with area school superintendents, who say they're having a hard time planning for the coming school year, which starts next week, when they don't know what they'll have to work with. Doyle compared state lawmakers to procrastinating students. "It is now nearly seven months that this budget has been in front of the legislature," he noted. "It's a little bit like having an assignment due, and it's now past due." Doyle said part of the legislature's job is to send him a budget that he'll sign. "I am not going to sign a budget that cuts education in this state by $130 million. So, let's get real about this." State law requires the budget to be completed by July 1, though there are no penalties for being late. Wisconsin is the last state in the nation to pass its budget this year. Doyle met at North High School in Eau Claire with Eau Claire superintendent James Leary, Altoona superintendent Greg Fahrman, and Augusta superintendent Stephen Lafave.
Prison tour opens lawmakers' eyes
Members of the State Senate's Committee on Judiciary & Corrections may have visited the women's prison in Fond du Lac with some preconceived notions, but came away with a different understanding.
Tuesday's visit of the Taycheedah Correctional Institution was part of the Committee's "State of the Justice System Tour."
State Senator Lena Taylor is the Committee's chairperson. She admits after hearing concerns about the health and mental health care inmates have been receiving they entered with some wrong ideas about the facility. Now she finds the prison is understaffed.
Taylor says nurses are in short supply. Prison guards, she says, often dispense medication and that shouldn't be.
Fellow Committee member Senator Kathleen Vinehout says transportation is also a problem. Inmates' appointments for some medical providers have been delayed or cancelled because of lack of adequate transportation for appointments.
If funding proposals make it through the budget process, Vinehout says there would be funding for thirty-three additional staff members at the prison and access to better mental health care for some seriously ill inmates.
Lt. Governor critical of cuts to reproductive healthcare
The Lt. Governor says Republican budget cuts to reproductive healthcare could damage Wisconsin's economic future.
The budget from Assembly Republicans would cut state funding to about 30 private family planning clinics around the state. Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton says the proposal "pulls the rug out" from under Wisconsin women by reducing access to critical care for low-income women. Those facilities provide screenings for cervical and breast cancer, as well as birth control counseling.
Lawton says the proposal also puts the state at risk for losing federal aid. She says ending state assistance could result in Wisconsin losing $35 million from the Medicaid Family Planning Waiver.
Lawton says cutting back on reproductive healthcare for low-income women also makes it difficult for them to contribute to the state economy.
The Lt. Governor joined with legislative Democrats Tuesday in denouncing the plan.
