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Rockies closer to wildcard after beating Brewers

September 30, 2009 By

Pinch-hitter Chris Iannetta clubbed a 2-run homer off of David Weathers in the 11th gave the Colorado Rockies a 7-5 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night at Coors Field in Denver.  It’s the 16th homer of the season for Iannetta and his first career game-ending drive.

The Rockies widened their NL Wild Card lead to three games over Atlanta with five remaining.

The Brewers forced extra innings with some 9th inning heroics.  Trailing 5-2, catcher Jason Kendall clubbed a 3-run homer, just his 2nd home run of the season.

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With:

How low can gas prices go?

September 30, 2009 By

A year ago gas prices saw a downward drop that eventually averaged out at under a $1.70 a gallon statewide. They’re going down again, but AAA Wisconsin says it’s unlikely they’ll go below two dollars again.

Spokeswoman Pam Moen says it’s hard to predict what prices will do in the coming months, although she does expect them to continue dropping for now.

It was on December 12th of last year when the statewide average for a gallon of regular unleaded hit a low of $1.66.

AUDIO: John Colbert reports (MP3 :38)

Filed Under: Transportation

New bill strengthens sex ed, adds consistency

September 30, 2009 By

Milwaukee lawmakers introduce the Healthy Youth Act.

The new legislation strengthens current sex education law, and aims for more consistency statewide. It would ensure that sex ed taught in Wisconsin schools is based on using curriculum proven to reduce risky behaviors that result in unintended teenage pregnancy and STDs.

“Eleven thousand Wisconsin teens will become pregnant this year alone. And well over 85% of them will be unintended.”

State Representative Tamara Grigsby (D-Milwaukee) cites the latest data from the Health Department, showing an increase in teen sexual activity and higher teen birth rates in counties across the state. Grigsby says it costs Wisconsin taxpayers an average of $5,100 per year when a teen younger than 17 gives birth. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, Politics & Government

DCF faces lawmakers

September 29, 2009 By

The head of the agency in charge of Wisconsin Shares is defending efforts to root out corruption in the program.

Department of Children and Families Secretary Reggie Bicha went before the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee on Tuesday to address recent scandals surrounding Wisconsin Shares, a state childcare subsidy program.

Bicha says the agency is committed to stopping the fraud currently plaguing the system, which includes providers falsifying records to obtain additional payments from the state. The Secretary says the agency was created nearly a year ago to fix problems exactly like this, and it is an ongoing process.

Recent reports have shown providers collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments they didn’t deserve. Bicha says they are already taking broad action to go after those who have cheated the system. The Department is currently suspending payments to providers when there is reasonable suspicion they are violating the requirements of the program.

Lawmakers spent nearly two hours questioning the Secretary about current efforts and why it took so long to uncover the corrupt behavior. State Senator Luther Olsen (R-Ripon) says the state has been played for fools by people who have been able to take advantage of the system.

Bicha says the greatest focus will be on rooting out corruption in Milwaukee County, where it’s estimated 95-percent of fraudulent cases take place. He says, if those efforts fail, it could cause the entire program to crumble. The agency is taking over child care administration in Milwaukee County after the first of the year.

AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (MP3 1:12)

Filed Under: Children & Families, Legislature

Throwing a lifeline to newspapers

September 29, 2009 By

Newspapers would get a real estate tax exemption, under a bill being introduced in the Legislature.

The proposal from state Representative Marlin Schneider (D-Wisconsin Rapids) says newspapers play a vital role in a Democracy, but they’re going under due to tough financial burdens.

Nationwide, over 120 newspapers have gone out of business in the past year. In Wisconsin, Schneider says several large papers have had to consolidate and those in smaller areas have shutdown.

insists he’s not pandering to the press, and said he’s had enough run-ins with editors over the years to show it. He says newspapers need to state in business, despite the fact that some reporters “jerk (him) around all the time.”

AUDIO: John Colbert reports (MP3 :36)

Filed Under: Legislature
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