Wisconsin’s historic political year featured a first-ever recount in a Supreme Court election.The race between state Supreme Court challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg and incumbent Justice David Prosser appeared too close to call April 6th, hours after the polls closed, with Prosser holding a razor thin lead. “We look at the margin at the present moment, 585 votes as I understand it, and I think we feel pretty good about that margin,” he told supporters that night.
Archives for 2011
Democrats critical of Family Care move
Democrats say a proposal to expand Family Care is just Governor Walker trying to claim credit for something he had no control over.
The governor on Wednesday offered a plan to lift an enrollment cap and to make the program providing long-term care assistance for the elderly and disabled available in every county. State Representative Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee) says federal officials actually deserve credit for the decision, based on a letter sent to the state earlier this month that informed the administration that program enrollment could not be capped under the waiver agreement with the state.
The December 13th letter from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ordered the state to remove the cap, and to admit anyone who had applied after it was put in place July 1st as part of the state budget. Richards says Walker taking credit for something he is being forced to do by the Obama administration is “despicable.”
Richards and several other Democratic lawmakers sent a letter to federal officials earlier this year, asking them to reject Wisconsin’s request for a cap on the program.
The Walker administration maintains Wednesday’s press conference, which made no mention of the letter, was part of an ongoing commitment to lift the cap on Family Care enrollment. A spokesman for the governor says the cap was always intended to be temporary.
In a statement released Thursday, state Department of Health Services Secretary Dennis Smith adds that the plan to expand the program to all 72 counties goes beyond any ongoing discussions with federal officials.
AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:08)
Drunk drives to police complex
Usually it’s law enforcement seeking out suspected drunken drivers away from the station house, but not always.
Police in the Racine County Village of Mount Pleasant got a complaint about an intoxicated male at the Village Hall attempting to pay his taxes. Being just on the other side of their brand new complex, a couple of officers walked right over.
The complaints from other citizens in line waiting to pay their taxes and from village employees led to a discussion with the 55-year-old man, who admitted driving there — alone, to get the taxes paid. The strong odor of intoxicants on his breath led to the man being arrested for Operating While Intoxicated, with a blood alcohol level of .15 — after he got to pay his taxes.
Tom Karkow, WRJN, Racine
Treasurer tops 2010 returns
It was a good year for returning lost property.
The treasurer’s office exceeded its previous record of returning $32.8 million in unclaimed property. Wisconsin State Treasurer Kurt Schuller continues to dole out misplaced or forgotten property to happy recipients in the state. No matter how much money he returns to the rightful owners, Schuller says, he just keeps finding more. “I started out the year with $405 million; I gave back $33.5 million and I still have $411 million to give back.”
Schuller says more than 26,000 Wisconsinites got a check from his office this year, that’s money they didn’t know they had. So, where is the money coming from; what exactly is unclaimed property? “We’re talking about stocks that were bought long ago in the family name, bank accounts, safety deposit boxes, insurance policies that demutualized, bank accounts that you forgot about — you moved, utility deposits.”
Schuller says there are many ways people lose track of money, but relocation is a big reason. He says when people move, businesses or old employers might not know how to contact them. Schuller says he used facebook to track down a woman who had $225,000 coming to her. The treasurer’s office is currently working with the state Veterans Department to get a hold of over 4,000 Wisconsin veterans who are unaware of their unclaimed property.
Schuller’s office returned $33,891,714 this year, over $1 million more than last year’s record of $32,836,258. Begin your search immediately by accessing the unclaimed property database 24/7/365 or call 877-699-9211 to speak with a claims examiner.
AUDIO: Jackie Johnson report 1:46
GAB lawsuit in court
A court hearing will be held in Waukesha today on a lawsuit filed against the state elections’ agency over the review of recall petitions. Governor Scott Walker’s campaign and the head of the state GOP want to force the Government Accountability Board to eliminate false and duplicate signatures from recall petitions, without making a complaining party point them out first.
Circuit Judge Mac Davis is not expected to make an immediate ruling. But he could decide today whether to let other groups join the lawsuit.
A petition drive to recall the Republican governor ends next month, and Walker’s campaign says it should not be up to them to find improper petition signatures.
Board director Kevin Kennedy has said the law presumes the signatures are valid if they’re dated and have a Wisconsin address. Kennedy says a more detailed review would require a change in the law and a lot more resources.
Big 10 and Pac 12 agree to play more
With the Rose Bowl between Wisconsin and Oregon looming Monday in Pasadena, the Big 10 and Pac 12 expanded on their already solid relationship. The conferences announced a plan Wednesday to meet more often in hopes of raising the national exposure for each conference.
Although the agreement will take place in all sports, the football field is where the biggest change will be noticed. Starting in 2017, each of the 12-teams in the Big 10 will have one non-conference game against a member of the Pac 12.
The Big 10 also confirmed that their Hoops Challenge with the ACC would not be affected by this agreement.
#14 Marquette Men and #14 Green Bay Women in action tonight
A solid slate of D1 hoops tonight features a couple of top-25 teams. The #14 Marquette men host Vanderbilt at the Bradley Center. The Golden Eagles check-in at 11-1 on the year while Vandy sits at 8-4. It’s the final non-conference game for Marquette before hosting Villanova New Year’s Day in their Big East opener.
The Horizon League resumes conference play on the Men’s side. Green Bay is on the road at Butler tonight while Milwaukee visits Valparaiso. Both the Panthers and Phoenix are 2-0 in conference play.
The #14 Green Bay Women put their 26-game conference winning streak on the line against UIC tonight while the Milwaukee women host Loyola-Il. Its the Horizon League opener for the women.
Pickett returns to practice
The Green Bay Packers defensive line received some much needed news Wednesday as Ryan Pickett returned to the practice field. Pickett has missed the last two games recovering from his second concussion of the season.
Pickett told reporters Wednesday that he was “out longer than expected” and that he “wanted to get back bad.” However, he also knew that it was for the best that he sat.
AUDIO: Ryan Pickett knows the doctors were looking out for him :10 [Read more…]
Letter raises Family Care questions
Governor Scott Walker on Wednesday announced plans for an $80 million expansion of the state’s Family Care program and the end to an enrollment cap. Governor Walker says the move became possible after the state worked with providers to find cost efficiencies in the program, which was set up to help elderly Wisconsinites receive long term care at home instead of in nursing homes.
However, a letter released later in the day shows federal officials had recently ordered the state Department of Health Services to remove the cap. The letter dated December 13th directs the state to identify and enroll any individuals not admitted to the program after the cap took effect on July 1st of this year.
Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie says the letter was discussing “permanent caps and was part of ongoing communication between DHS and the federal government.” Werwie says the Governor “always planned to lift the cap once the suggestions made by the non-partisan Legislative Audit Bureau were ready to be put in place.”
The cap was included in the state budget approved earlier this year and will require legislative action to remove, as will allowing the program to be offered in all 72 counties in the state. Currently, Family Care is only available in 57 counties.
Wednesday’s announcement was widely applauded by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and several groups representing the elderly.
Joint Finance Committee co-chair Alberta Darling (R-River Falls) offered her support, saying she was thrilled to learn the administration had “found savings that make lifting the cap a possibility.” Senator Darling says she expects it “will be a top bi-partisan legislative priority in the coming year.”
However, fellow JFC co-chair Robin Vos (R-Rochester) expressed concerns about the plan, which will need to pass the powerful budget committee along the way. Vos says “Medicaid took up every single nickel of new revenue that was brought into the current state budget,” and they are being forced to find $500 million in new revenue “just to keep that program on a sustainable path.”
AUDIO: Andrew Beckett reports (1:05)
Vos says he has “very serious doubts that their assumptions are fact based and not based on the best of wishes” and DHS officials will need to show the cost savings touted by Walker are backed by a detailed analysis to show the program will actually save money. Vos says he’s “very seriously concerned that they are looking to use some funny math to try and make this thing balanced.”
Dane County expands biomarkers program
Dane County is expanding a program that makes it harder for convicted drunk drivers to hide problem drinking.
The county is increasing the number of offenders in a pilot biomarker program from 100 to 300. The program requires OWI offenders enrolled in a Driver Safety Plan to submit to tests that can detect the use of alcohol for several weeks after it’s consumed, unlike the few days normal urine tests check for.
Program director Pamela Bean says about 30 percent of those tested under the program so far had drinking relapses within a year, which half of them lied about. Bean says the goal of the program is to keep repeat drunk drivers off the streets by allowing them to zero in on high risk offenders and helping them recover through intense treatment.
Dane County is one of two counties in the state where the program is being tested.