Testy partisan debate on spending money to keep convicted felons from reoffending. It came as the legislature’s finance committee debated a Department of Corrections request for ten million dollars. Republican state Representative Robin Vos said the money will go to “home coming parties for criminals,” and brought up the early release program included in the Democrat’s state budget bill to save money on corrections. “We have ten million dollars sitting right here that we could have used to make sure those same people who are already reoffending stay in jail. But no, we said it’s much more important to let them out, and then to pay for programming for prisoners, than it is to make sure we keep people locked up and the community safe,” said Vos. [Read more...]
More money for district attorneys to prosecute drunk drivers
State lawmakers have freed up more money to combat drunk driving, but will it be enough? The Joint Finance Committee signed off Tuesday on $1.4 million to pay district attorneys’ costs to enforce the tougher drunk driving measures passed by the Legislature. Some members of the committee questioned whether that’s enough. “We are asking them to come to work because we’re going to dump more cases on you, and we want you to prosecute them,” said Senator Luther Olson (R-Berlin). Senator Judy Robson (D-Beloit) said the tougher drunk driving laws will increase the workload of prosecutors who are already understaffed. [Read more...]
Expansion of state deer herd approved
Wisconsin’s deer population could get larger, under new population goals set by the Natural Resources Board.
Hunters complained last fall that strict herd management policies have resulted in a shrinking white-tailed deer population in the state. Those concerns are prompting action from the Natural Resources Board, which voted Tuesday to increase population goals by 21-percent to a statewide target of 800,000 deer. [Read more...]
Lone Wisconsinite races among bright minds
Jail time for errand running babysitter
A Wausau-area babysitter who left children home alone twice last year is going to jail. Rhonda Piehl will serve seven months in the county jail for leaving the children unattended as she ran errands last April. “I can’t understand why great fear didn’t just overtake you because of what might happen in your absence,” said Marathon County Judge Greg Grau. “I don’t understand you.” [Read more...]
