The Wisconsin Supreme Court is set to rule Tuesday on a legal challenge to a four year-old budget maneuver, and their decision could put a significant hole in the state’s current two year budget. In October of 2007, when Governor Jim Doyle signed a two year budget bill that included a $200 million transfer from the Patients Compensation Fund, an attorney for Wisconsin Medical Society likened the action to a bank robbery. The Medical Society challenged the constitutionality of the transfer. [Read more...]
Feingold won’t let Johnson off the hook on drilling comments
July 19, 2010 By
The oil leak in the Gulf may be capped, but here in Wisconsin political controversy over Great Lakes drilling continues to bubble. Did he or didn’t he? Senator Russ Feingold says Republican Senate candidate Ron Johnson did tell WisPolitics that he’d support oil drilling in the Great Lakes. “Mr Johnson said clearly, when he was asked would you support drilling in the Great Lakes, he said I’ll drill wherever there is oil,” Feingold said Sunday while campaigning at the Dane County Fair in Madison. “The fact is, this is going to happen again, if people like Mr. Johnson are running the show. He said the reason that this happened is that the oil companies were over regulated, not under regulated. Now if anyone else in their right mind believes that, I’d like to understand why. That’s the difference between me and Mr. Johnson. He wants weak laws for the oil companies, and want to make sure we don’t drill in the Great Lakes.” [Read more...]
Farmers’ markets and food safety
July 19, 2010 By
Summer farmers’ markets are in full swing, and shoppers might want to consider some basic food safety with their purchases.
A growing number of Americans are turning to local farmers’ markets for produce. However, Barb Ingham with UW Extension says being grown locally doesn’t necessarily guarantee crops are completely safe. She says many illnesses from food-borne pathogens are tied to produce, and some simple efforts can keep you safe. [Read more...]
Railroad commissioner Breske to retire
July 19, 2010 By
While others will fret about their state jobs with a change in the Governor’s office, state Railroad Commissioner Roger Breske won’t be among them. Breske seemed like an odd choice when he was appointed to the office in June of 2008. He had been in the bar and restaurant business for 21 years and at one time served as President of the Wisconsin Tavern League. He was a Democratic state Senator when Governor Jim Doyle appointed him to serve as state railroad commissioner. Observers at the time noted Breske’s strong opposition to a statewide smoking ban may have been a consideration, but Breske says he did actually have a few years of background in the railroad business: he worked four years as a fireman on the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad. [Read more...]
