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Budget deals may not be to Doyle's liking

June 24, 2009 By

Will the final state budget cut out the governor? A budget conference committee meets this evening. Where does that leave Governor Jim Doyle? Senate Majority Leader, Russ Decker, was asked about that this afternoon. "The governor's always in play, he's at the beginning, he's there at the end, so we'll be talking to the governor," said Decker. "Well, the governor's people, I should say."

"It sounds like the governor's been cut out of the whole thing, to me," said Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald. "It'll be interesting to see if they push this right up to the final minute, 'cause obviously he doesn't have the ability then to veto anything. So if they give him kind of a bag of goods, that he doesn't know what's in it, that's going to make it very difficult."

Governor Doyle has insisted this week that he wants a finished budget on his desk before July 1st, to allow three or four days to assess it and plan vetoes. "Hopefully we get it done, optimistically by the weekend, if we can. If Fitz has the Republicans concur with everything, we're on a roll," said Decker. "We don't know what's in it," replied Fitzgerald, which drew a laugh from Decker.

Decker may indeed have the last laugh. Fitzgerald, asked about his expectations for the conference committee process, predicted it would be a "dog and pony show, total eyewash," with a product that will be the result of closed door negotiations between Decker, Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan, and other Democrats.

Senate President Fred Risser this afternoon named Decker, Fitzgerald and Senator Mark Miller to the conference committee, while Assembly Majority Leader Tom Nelson named Sheridan, Minority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald, and state Representative Mary Hubler, a Rice Lake Democrat who is not in leadership and who did not serve on the Joint Finance Committee.  

AUDIO: Reporters Q&A with Senators Decker, Fitzgerald (4:45 MP3)

Filed Under: Budget, Politics & Government, Top Story

Controversy over cell phone tower

June 24, 2009 By

A cell tower is being built in a park dedicated to the memory of slain Kenosha County Sheriff's Deputy Frank Fabiano , Junior, and people in the Kenosha County Town of Somers are not happy.

At the Somers Town Board meeting, Amy Fabiano said having a cell tower at the park in her husband's name just isn't right. She says the construction surrounding a sign naming the park in his honor. Fabiano pleaded with the board to move the tower.

Somers Town Supervisor Vern Wienke said the park should have been properly developed in the first place, avoiding the problem. He says none of the plans dealt with the possibility of this happening, and only focused on just putting a "piece of wood on some dirt." Wienke says that's not how you honor someone.

Still, Wienke said the cell tower is needed to provide proper coverage to the eastern part of the town. He said plans are in the works for a park that will be a monument to Fabiano with the kinds of things that will honor him, and the cell tower won't interfere.

Fabiano was fatally shot in 2007, while conducting a routine traffic stop near the UW-Parkside campus.

AUDIO: Janet Hoff reports (MP3 1:20)

Filed Under: Miscellaneous

Natural Resources Board approves shoreland updates

June 24, 2009 By

The state Natural Resources Board has passed updates to Wisconsin's shoreland protection rules .

The new rules, the first major statewide shoreland protection revision in over 40 years, will increase flexibility for property owners to manage their land, while improving environmental protections for lakes and streams, according to Department of Natural Resources Secretary Matt Frank.

The updates, which reflect 50,000 public comments the DNR received over several years at more than a dozen public hearings, are also expected to streamline the administrative process.

Wisconsin's shoreland protection rules, first created in 1968, largely apply to unincorporated areas outside city and village boundaries. Under the proposal, basic provisions of the shoreland protection rules would remain unchanged, including a 75 foot setback from the shoreline for new structures and minimum lot sizes of 20,000 square feet (10,000 square feet for sub-standard lots). The new rule would implement a 35 foot limit on the height of shoreland structures.

Under the new rules, shoreland owners with an existing non-conforming residence located between 35 feet and 75 feet of the shoreline would have greater flexibility to make home improvements. Spending limits for repairs to existing homes are removed. It will no longer be necessary to request a variance from the county if the homeowner is spending more than 50% of the value of the property.

However, a property owner expanding the physical footprint of a non-conforming structure will be required to offset the environmental impact of the expansion by choosing from a number of options. Examples include reducing the amount of mowing next to the water, installing rain-gardens to absorb storm runoff, or re-planting native vegetation near the shoreline. Non-conforming structures may not be expanded towards the water but may be expanded on the other three sides, as long as impacts are offset.

In addition, the proposal would implement a cap for the amount of impervious surface allowed on shoreland property, similar to caps found in a number of county shoreland ordinances. Impervious surfaces include the roofs of buildings and pavement.

Legislative review of the proposal is now required.

AUDIO: Jeff Petersen, WIXK report (1:33 mp3)

Filed Under: Environment & Conservation, Top Story

One day, 200 holes, 36 water bottles

June 24, 2009 By

golflag.jpg A Marshfield man had a dream, and it involved a lot of golf. Neil Riedel got to Riveredge Country Club at 4 a.m. Tuesday morning. He teed off at around 5 a.m. By noon, he'd already played over 100 holes.

“We played the first six or seven holes in fog,” said Riedel. “We just had to follow the ball the best we could.” Riedel, a cancer survivor, was golfing from sun-up to sundown to raise money for cancer research. “I had cancer, my mother had cancer, my mother-in-law died of cancer,” said Riedel, who eventually played 200 holes while consuming 36 bottles of water and sports beverage. “It's kind of a special project for me.”

On top of cancer, Riedel also survived being struck by lightning, ironically enough, while golfing at Riveredge. He said he was fairing pretty well, despite the day's extreme heat and humidity.

AUDIO: Paul Knoff reports (1:30 MP3)

Filed Under: Human Interest

General visits troops in Iraq

June 24, 2009 By

Soldiers from several Wisconsin National Guard units got a visit last week in Iraq from their state commander, Brigadier General Mark Anderson. Anderson says he was impressed by the "competence and confidence" the soldiers are exhibiting in their various security missions.

"This is very interesting time for the country of Iraq as they transition into more stability operations," Anderson said of the U.S. military presence there.

Three thousand, two hundred soldiers from the Badger State were called to active duty earlier this year as part of the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

Anderson served in Iraq in 2005 and 2006 and he says there have been major improvements since he was there. He says they had to take a road convoy down a highway that used to be one of the most dangerous in the country and he wasn't concerned this time.

The general wasn't able to visit every unit from Wisconsin because of a series of dust storms.

AUDIO: General Anderson on his unit (MP3 :20)

Filed Under: Military
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