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Republicans propose American Family Field funding plan

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Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly have proposed a $614-million plan to keep the Brewers in Milwaukee and upgrade American Family Field. The new plan would raise income taxes on MLB Players and staff, including the Brewers.

“Unfortunately, the amount of money that was generated and has been spent so far, doesn’t even allow the team to remain in Wisconsin unless something is done as quickly as possible,” said Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester).

Under the plan, the Brewers will chip in for repairs to American Family Field, including winterizing the park for use year round. “We’ve asked the Brewers to step up and they have the Brewers are going to contribute an additional 100 million dollars over the term of the contract. And that is in addition to their current rent and other capital investments,” said Representative Robert Brooks (R-Saukville).

The plan also requires investments from Milwaukee city and county.

The plan unveiled Monday was greeted cautiously by Democrats. In a statement, a spokesperson for Governor Tony Evers said it’s unfortunate Republicans rejected a proposal Evers’ made earlier this year, to spend $290 million in state money to fund Brewers ballpark renovations. Evers looks forward to reviewing the Republican proposal and continuing conversations.

Assembly Democratic Leader Greta Neubauer of Racine and Assistant Leader Kalan Haywood of Milwaukee said the Republican proposal falls short of recognizing the regional benefit of AmFam Field and places too great of a financial burden on the city and county of Milwaukee.

Bipartisan Assembly panel will examine impact of AI

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A new bipartisan Assembly task force will explore the impact of AI in Wisconsin. Representative Nate Gustafson (R-Neenah) has been named by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos to co-chair the panel with Representative Steve Doyle (D-Onalaska).

Gustafson admits, some of us are apprehensive about AI. “I think it starts with the foundation that a lot of people are getting their misconceptions of what AI can do, kind of based off of the Terminator, I’ll put it out there very bluntly like that.”

And of course, AI is already in common use.  “The press release that I put out, speaking of me becoming the chair of the task force, was actually generated using chatgpt,” Gustafson said, although the release needed some additional polishing.

“We’re going into the unknown, we’re really going into the fog of this. So we’re going to really find out who the big players are, obviously, not only in our state, but in our country, as we kind of expand and really call on the folks who have the most expertise on this topic.” Gustafson expects the task force to begin its work next month, with a goal of creating legislation.

Governor Tony Evers’ administration has also announced formation of an AI task force.

In addition to the AI task force, Vos has also appointed task forces on human trafficking, truancy and childhood obesity.

DFI urges caution regarding precious metal investment pitches

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Ask questions first, if you’re considering investing in precious metals. Staff Attorney Lindsay Fedler with the state Department of Financial Institutions Division of Securities, said due diligence is critical before buying gold or silver.

“What are their qualifications, and how does the product they’re pitching meet your personal financial needs, as well as what are their premiums and fees for buying these precious metals?”

Fedler said precious metal firms should be able to give buyers a precise value. And she said prospective investors need to be wary of advertisements designed to instill fear about the economy, touting certain political or religious affinities, trying to create a false sense of urgency by claiming that there is a limited supply, or encouraging financing through loans that are typically arranged by the firm selling precious metals.

Before making any financial decisions, the DFI recommends investors do their homework, ask questions, and contact the DFI’s Division of Securities at [email protected] and (608) 266-2139 for more information. If you have concerns about a precious metals offer, contact either the DFI’s Division of Securities, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) toll-free at (800) 422-7128 or [email protected], or report suspicious activities and information to the CFTC toll-free at (866) 366-2382.

Additional information may be found in this DFI press release.

Manufacturer 3M agrees to massive settlement for lawsuits over PFAS contamination

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Chemical manufacturer 3M has agreed to a settlement worth at least 10 billion dollars over PFAS contaminations.

Over 300 communities are entering lawsuits against the company over widespread contamination of the so-called “forever chemicals”.

The total settlements will be paid out over the next 13 years, and could go as high as 12 billion dollars if more communities find contamination.

Those chemicals were used in everything from fire-fighting foam to making non-stick pans, and have been linked to some cancers and immune diseases. 

Legislative Joint Finance committee finishes proposed state budget with over $4 billion in tax cuts

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Heading into the final budget session on Thursday, Republicans on the legislative joint finance committee say they’ve delivered over 4 billion dollars in tax cuts.

Co-chair Republican Representative Mark Born says the cuts should come as no surprise. 

“That’s some great news with the continued tax relief properly returning the money that we over-collected from the taxpayers of Wisconsin.”

Committee co-chair Senator Howard Marklein says it’s important to return money to residents. “We invested historic amounts of money in our core priorities, while also providing for a historic tax cut, the largest tax cut in history.”

But Democrats say that the budget does more harm than good. Assemblyman Evan Goyke from Milwaukee says that the budget as it stands is a disservice to Wisconsin’s youth as the population continues to age. 

“I don’t see in the budget any initiatives that will catch the attention of young people to either come here or to stay here.”

Senator La Tonya Johnson of Milwaukee says cuts to childcare programs will harm the state. 

“If we do not have reliable quality childcare, our parents cannot go to work.”

Once Joint Finance is done with the budget, it will head to the Legislature for approval, and then to Governor Tony Evers, who can sign it, veto it, or use the line-item veto to modify it.

Republican budget writers reject Evers’ broadband funding plan

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At the Capitol, Republicans who control the legislature’s budget committee have rejected Governor Tony Evers’ plan to spend $750 million for broadband expansion. 

“I think it’s wise for the state to not throw more state money at the at the issue when we’ve got an phenomenal amount of federal money coming in,” Joint Finance Committee co-chair, Senator Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green) said Thursday. “I would prefer that we wait to see what the federal money is going to do and then come back later on and use additional state money to maybe fill in the holes.”

An Evers spokesperson said “Republicans have absolutely nothing to show for plans to actually address the pressing challenges facing our state.”

In a tweet, Evers called the decision irresponsible.

 

 

 

UW-Madison campus Starbucks votes for union

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A downtown Madison Starbucks has voted to unionize. The Starbucks on State Street near the UW-Madison campus is now the second Madison area Starbucks to approve a union.

The vote came in at 20 to 2 in favor. Store employees were worried last week that the head office of Starbucks was attempting to interfere with the vote, but were happy that the vote passed.

The Capitol Times reported that employees and Starbucks management may file an objection to the election results before the National Labor Relations Board officially certifies the union as the workers’ representative in negotiations with Starbucks, according to NLRB procedure. That certification typically takes a matter of days.

Madison’s Capitol Square location joined the Union last summer.

Master Lock to close MKE plant

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A gut punch for Milwaukee’s economy. Master Lock will close its plant in the city by March of next year. Mike Bink is a UAW union representative. He spoke with Fox 6 News on Thursday.

“Those higher paying jobs now pay $28 to $30 an hour. I don’t know how people are going to replace those jobs. A lot of them have skills. . .where they can pick up jobs at other places. But not everybody does.”

A Master Lock statement says the company will transition work from Milwaukee to other North American and global locations. The closure will impact some 300 workers. Mayor Cavalier Johnson called that “a slap in the face” to those employees. Master Lock has operated in the city since 1921.

Another low unemployment rate record for Wisconsin

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Wisconsin has hit another record low for unemployment. The state’s latest jobs report from the Department of Workforce Development shows a drop of a tenth of a point in the unemployment rate in April, bringing the number to 2.4 percent. That’s the third straight month the jobless rate has fallen to a record number.

The report also notes that Wisconsin added 3,800 jobs over the month and over 50,000 jobs over the past 12 months. Wisconsin’s unemployment number now sits a full percentage point under the national rate.

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CUNA Mutual workers on strike

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Hundreds of workers at a Madison-based insurance company are going on strike. Around 450 CUNA Mutual Group employees head to picket lines Friday in their first ever strike in the union’s 80 year history.

The announcement from Local 39, a union made up of office and professional employees, follows a year of failed negotiations on benefits, pensions and outsourcing at the company. Last month, Local 39 voted to authorize a strike lasting up to a week, with 92% of ballots in favor of allowing the strike.

WIBA