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Walker signs ‘lame duck’ bills in Green Bay

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Governor Walker has signed all of the bills curtailing the powers of the incoming governor that were passed in lame duck session earlier this month.

Governor Walker’s office announced Friday morning that he would be in Green Bay at noon today to take action on those bills, and then signed them in their entirety with no line item vetoes.

Walker had suggested earlier this week that he might use the veto, but declined to do so. He also waited to sign this bills until after putting together a deal for Kimberly Clark, using powers that would be stripped from the Governor in the bills.

Walker said that Governor-Elect Tony Evers will continue to enjoy some of the strongest powers of any governor in America, including having the line item veto.

The outgoing Republican governor used a Venn diagram to illustrate the continuity of the powers he employed for eight years, and those available to Evers.

There are a number of changes that the bills bring to the executive branch. Evers will not have the power to decide the head of the board of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation until 2019. Evers has campaigned on dissolving the board and rebuilding the state commerce department.

Under the new laws, the executive branch will also have to get permission from the Joint Finance Committee before making changes to medical assistance and insurance programs that require federal waivers. Republicans recently won the right to require single adults without dependant to be employed while receiving state aid.

The state attorney general’s office will also have to ask permission from the legislative Joint Finance Committee before entering or leaving lawsuits over state statutes. Republicans have worried that incoming attorney general Josh Kaul would pull out of defenses of the state’s voter ID law or it’s legal challenges against the Affordable Care Act.

The bills also restrict early voting to two weeks. In statements to the media at the signing, Walker said that he likes early voting but that it needs to be fair, and that allowing large cities like Milwaukee and Madison to have up to 6 weeks of early voting is unfair to residents in other parts of Wisconsin. A measure like this one has already been thrown out by a federal judge as being discriminatory in nature.

 

Congress passes 2018 Farm Bill, sends it to President Trump for signature

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Congress has passed the 2018 Farm Bill.

Senator Tammy Baldwin voted yes on the bill, saying it will ease the pressure on dairy farms.

“I met with farmers across Wisconsin, and I brought their concerns and ideas to Washington to make sure that the farm bill works for our Wisconsin Farmers.”

She adds that current conditions are rough for farmers and their families. “Right now our farmers are facing a perfect storm of challenges, and these challenges have threatened their businesses and our communities.”

Congressman Ron Kind was one of three House Democrats to vote against the bill. He says the bill gives too much funding to corporate interests.

“It fails to reign in Wasteful subsidies and crop insurance programs that lead to overproduction by big agribusiness. It cuts $800 million from vital conservation programs, and does nothing to address the damage caused by the President’s trade war.”

Senator Ron Johnson also voted against the bill. He says it includes too much funding for food assistance programs. The bill now heads to President Trump for a signature.

Madison night club in jeopardy after weekend shooting

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A Madison area nightclub is facing legal trouble following a weekend shooting.

Madison alder David Ahrens says Visions is in jeopardy of losing its liquor license in the aftermath the shooting early Sunday that left four wounded.

Ahrens says there’s been a long history with Visions involving battery and other serious incidents. He’s met with the city attorney on the matter.

Police have arrested the suspect in the shooting. He’s 35-year-old Cole Foster. Foster faces charges of recklessly endangering safety. 

All of the victims are reported to be in stable condition.

Stevens Point YMCA bans cable news in fitness center

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The Stevens Point YMCA is joining a growing group of fitness centers at are banning cable news from their facilities.

The Stevens Point Journal reports that the Y has banned channels like CNN, Fox News and MSNBC from its large screen televisions because people were getting disruptive over media coverage of political news.

Staffers say those channels are still available on more personal screens like those on exercise equipment, and that local news is still allowed on the large TVs.

Feingold signs Washington Post op-ed urging protection of democracy

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A former Wisconsin senator says Democracy needs to be protected in these divisive times.

44 former U.S. Senators, including Wisconsin democrat Russ Feingold, signed on to a post in the Washington Post, saying the U.S is entering a dangerous period.

The bipartisan group’s comments are in response to Robert Mueller’s investigation of President Trump and the 2016 election.  The ex-Senators say America is headed toward a crisis if current Senators are not “steadfast zealous guardians of our democracy”.

They urge lawmakers to place the country, democracy and national interest above all else.

Shopko sells off pharmacies to Roundy’s, Pick N’ Save stores

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Kroger-owned Roundy’s stores has bought 42 of Shopko’s pharmacy locations.

The deal was announced Tuesday.  Twenty-five of the affected Shopko stores are in Wisconsin.  Shopko is said to be changing its business model in a search for profits and Kroger can increase the foot traffic at its stores with the purchase.  

Although the official transfer won’t be done until next month, Shopko customers can fill their prescriptions at some of the pharmacies immediately.

Oneida County woman sentenced in toddler’s death

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An Oneida County woman will be spending 15 years in prison for the death of her toddler stepson.

30-year-old Ellen Tran was convicted in October with first-degree reckless homicide. The boy’s mother spoke for more than an hour at today’s sentencing hearing.

A child.  A toddler. A 20-month-old baby.  She despised him and she hated him.

Tran claimed the boy slipped in the shower, but prosecutors said the abuse was much worse. Judge Patrick O’Melia said he just wished Avery Edwards could have lived in a loving home.

“He would have been safer if just left on somebody’s doorstep.  A stranger would have taken better care of Avery.”

Tran’s ex-husband Trung Tran also faces charges in the case. He’s due back in court in February.

WJFW

Governor Walker says he’s ready to sign lame duck bills

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Governor Walker is now deciding how, and not if, he’ll be signing lame duck legislation passed last week that curtails the powers of incoming Governor elect Tony Evers.

Walker indicated at a Pewaukee press conference that his staff is deciding how best to sign those bills, and if changes need to be made.

“Right now it’s most likely that we’ll probably do a series, at least one if not multiple, line item vetoes, is what we’re looking at most closely.”

He says that Democrats and the media have been inflating the impact the bills will have. 

“I could veto everything, I could sign it all, or I could do a line item veto. No matter which of those three options I do, Tony Evers come January 7th, will have some of the strongest powers of any governor in America.”

Walker has not yet officially received the bills from the Legislature. 

Watch out for ‘spearphishing’ scam attacks on your business

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Scammers are sending out more targeted email attacks against specific people, in a process known as Spearphishing.

State consumer protection director Michelle Reinen says the scammers specifically target people with the authority to make payments or have access to financial information. One common tactic of the scam is to pose as your boss’s boss.

“The CEO or president of the company asks you to send over some piece of financial information or confirm something, and then you hand over important information for the company.”

Reinen says the scammers will send people in charge of finances phony invoice or bills that need to be paid, while impersonating someone else in the company or organization. 

“We’ve seen it with small towns that end up playing an invoice, and in their small town budget, they don’t necessarily have that money.”

Scammers are looking to capitalize on the idea that you might just blindly fill out an invoice or pay a phony bill without realizing it, she says. 

“Don’t let the busyness of the day help you to fall off guard with these situations, and don’t ever click on links from unsolicited emails.”

She reminds people to always check who’s sending you a mail, and not to get complacent about responding to emails that seem out of the ordinary.

 

Scammers impersonate Social Security to get your personal information

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Scammers pretending to be from Social Security have been hounding Wisconsin residents once again. (

State consumer protection spokesman Jerad Albracht says the scammers are using technology to spoof their phone numbers.

“So when you see the call on your phone, it will come up as their 1 800 number, and it might even say ‘Social Security Administration’ on your caller ID.”

The callers have becoming increasingly aggressive in their pitches, and have even threatened to cut off benefits if people don’t provide their personal information.

“They’re going to threaten you, they’re going to claim that your Social Security Number is going to be made inactive, they may threaten that if you don’t give information they may cut off benefits,” says Albracht. 

“They’ll come with any threat they can to try to get you to turn over money or personal information.”

If you get one of these calls, simply hang up. If you’re worried about your benefits, call a trusted, verifiable number for Social Security.