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State fines co-owners of popup COVID-19 testing centers for failure to provide services

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The co-owners of a company that set up pop-up COVID-19 testing sites will be paying a fine to the state.

State consumer protection director Michael Domke says Aleya Siyaj and Akbar Syed, the co-owners of the Center for Covid Control, failed to provide the testing services they promised people. 

“And instead of slowing down or trying to throttle their business to keep up with what they’re able to produce, they just allowed themselves to keep taking more and more and more.”

The company, based out of Illinois, had multiple locations across Southern Wisconsin, but all of them folded up around January this year when investigations started mounting across the Country. “So I think the culmination of our agency and other agencies looking into their activities, led to them saying, Alright, enough is enough, and shutting their doors,” says Domke.

Siyaj and Syed will have to pay Wisconsin over 22 thousand dollars in civil forfeiture. Multiple other states have lawsuits pending against the couple. 

Check the apps on your phone and see if you still need them, says DATCP

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Now is a good time to check the apps on your phone and make sure they’re still doing what you want. 

Michelle Reinen with the state division of consumer protection says your phone carries a lot of data about you that you might not even realize you’re sharing with companies. 

“Sometimes that’s done illegally without permission from the user. And sometimes, it is done legally, where you have the knowledge and have consented, but you may not fully understand how much information is being collected and sold.”

Reinen says you should feel free to turn off functions of apps that have the access they don’t really need. “If you don’t want it to access your camera. And there’s no need that an app X accesses your camera, go ahead and turn that off.  If it’s not a weather app or a workout app that’s tracking your mileage, does it really need to know what your location is in order to function properly?”

Many apps share data between themselves and can create a profile of you that can be sold to advertisers and others. If you don’t need an app on your phone, it’s best to get rid of it.

Johnson downplays attack on US Capitol

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U.S. Senator Ron Johnson said doesn’t believe the protestors who stormed the U.S. Capital during the January 6th attack should be called ‘armed’. Speaking at the Milwaukee Rotary on Tuesday, the Wisconsin Republican said none of the protestors had guns, and that the protesters were orderly inside the building.

Four people have so far been charged with bringing guns into the Capitol grounds and two have been convicted. Hundreds of people have been arrested and charged for their part in the attack, and the January 6th Committee is still holding hearings on the attack. Others who stormed the Capitol to prevent the election of President Joe Biden carried stun guns, pepper spray, and clubs, and an entire group of protestors carrying rifles had to be stopped by police before they made it to the Capitol.

WPS clears utility crews to head south to work on hurricane relief efforts

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Wisconsin Public Service is gearing up to help those affected by Hurricane Ian in Florida and the southeast.

WPS Spokesman Matt Cullen says contracted crews that usually help WPS are instead being sent south. 

“Instead of having them remain with us and continue to perform work on our behalf, we again have released them so that they can assist with this restoration effort and be part of it.”

Millions of people are without power across Florida, and that number will likely increase as Ian travels across the east coast.

“It’s something that we’re continuing to closely monitor because there could be an additional request that would go out for additional crews, perhaps even our own to be able to assist with this effort,” says Cullen.

Forecasters say Ian is likely to make landfall once again near Charleston, South Carolina on Friday.

Be careful what you share about students on social media, says BBB

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Kids are heading back to school, and while parents might be very proud, be careful with what you’re posting online.

Lisa Schiller with the Better Business Bureau says viral posts like having your child hold up a sign on their first day could come with risks. 

“Back to school photos with those children holding a board with their full name, age, height, and other details. That’s great for your own personal information, you know, keep it in the home. But don’t put it on social media.”

All of that data could be used to steal you or your child’s identity, or it could be used to guess passwords and break into online accounts.

Teens and college students heading back to school also ought to take some time to go over what they’re sharing on social media. Schiller says it’s important to check your settings on who you’re exchanging information with.

“You may want to remove Remove personal information from your account that others can see like your telephone number or your address.”

You should also look over your friend list and make sure what you’re sharing is going to the people you want it to. 

Dems hold close lead in elections in this month’s Marquette Law School Poll

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This month’s Marquette Law School polling shows Democrats with a slight lead over Republicans in the major races in November.

Poll Director Charles Franklin joked about it. “The state of the race for governor is close. I know that’s a shock to everyone because we’re so unaccustomed to close races here.”

Governor Tony Evers holds a two-point lead over Republican businessman Tim Michels. That lead is within the margin of error. Democrat Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes holds a 7-point lead over sitting Republican US Senator Ron Johnson.

The poll also quizzed respondents on their thoughts on abortion rights.

Only 33 percent of Republican respondents to the poll said that Abortion should be legal in most or all cases. That’s compared to 94 percent of Democrats and 70 percent of independent voters. Poll director Charles Franklin says there was one thing all sides could agree on.

“88% say there should be an exception for rape or incest and abortion laws. But that’s 79% of Republicans that say that, 87% of independents and 97% of Democrats.”

Franklin says it’s an issue that will likely be a sticking point through the election season.

Dane County judge closes one of the open records lawsuits against elections investigation

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A Dane County judge on Tuesday closed one of several open records cases against the Republican investigation of the 2020 presidential election.

Lawyers for American Oversight were seeking more documents from the Office of Special Counsel, but Judge Frank Remington says that’s probably not possible. 

“Mr. Gableman has demonstrated that he’s not capable of conducting a professional and thorough investigation, that he deleted records, public records, and that what you’re trying to do is superimpose a level of professionalism on an entity and an individual that just didn’t exist.”

Remington says, with the effective closure of the Office of Special Counsel by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, there’s not much point in continuing trying to get records. 

“I do not see any need for further proceedings in this case.”

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos fired Gableman last week after Gableman endorsed Vos’s primary opponent at a rally with former President Donald Trump. An open record case against Vos’s office is still active. 

 

Prep your deer hunting spot this summer ahead of fall hunt, says DNR

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We’re several months out from the gun deer season, but now’s a good time to get out into your favorite hunting spot to prepare it for the falls.

Department of Natural Resources deer specialist Jeff Pritzl says that while preparing private land for a hunt is important, it’s also important to take some time if you hunt on public land. 

“But for those public land hunters, they too, want to go in early, and get familiar with the property again, in any changes.”

Pritzl says you should be checking your sight lanes and keeping them clear, and checking for ash trees that might need to be removed because of the emerald ash borer beetle.

If you’re using an ash tree to put a deer stand in or alongside, that’s something you may want to adjust and or be familiar with. Because as those trees die, they become they can become hazards.”

Hunters should also be on the lookout for invasive species of plants and try not to spread them. “Be conscious of not incidentally moving that by cleaning your especially your shoes and the treads of boots before going into an area that, you know hasn’t been infected yet.”

Pritzl says getting work done now will ensure that deer aren’t being startled out of their usual patterns in the fall due to human activity. You can find a handy guide to spotting invasive species online at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Invasives

 

Inflation reduction bill to get vote this weekend

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Action is likely in the U.S. Senate this weekend, on a measure to bring down inflation.

Wisconsin Democrat Tammy Baldwin says the Inflation Reduction Act will help push down prices on drugs and food, and enforce corporate tax laws 

“This bill is entirely paid for, not only is it entirely paid for, but the extra revenue created by lowering the price of prescription drugs means you know that there’ll be huge savings and in Medicare.”

“There’s so much revenue generated by these policies that we’re going to pay down our deficit. And that is something we need to do, but it’s long overdue,” says Baldwin. A major portion of the bill increases enforcement at the IRS and institutes a base minimum tax rate for companies. 

“The corporate minimum tax addresses the fact that a lot of corporations don’t do their fair share.”

The bill will also allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices, which will help create savings for the government and help extend health care. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said voting will begin on Saturday.

Dane County judge awards lawyers fees to watchdog group in open records case

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A Dane County judge has ruled that a liberal watchdog group is entitled to attorney fees in a case seeking records from the Republican-led elections investigation.

Judge Valery Bailey-Rihn said that the public got a full look at the investigation thanks to American Oversight.  

“We have absolutely found out from this case, or at least my case that there was absolutely no evidence of election fraud. We have also found out that apparently the assembly and some of the leaders of the people, the States believe that they have no obligation to comply with the open records law.”

Bailey-Rihn said Republican leadership in the Legislature has shown a blatant disregard for open records laws.“They don’t understand it. They don’t follow the Attorney General Guide on the open records compliance guide, they leave it to people that they don’t train and they don’t understand what they’re supposed to do and why.”

The judge said Speaker Robin Vos and the Assembly will have to pay the fees, but declined to impose punitive damages in the case.