Saturday State News Briefs: Labor Day travel should be smooth

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It should be relatively easy to get around Wisconsin this Labor Day weekend – especially if you avoid the peak traffic times.

Forecasters say the weather should be almost perfect. And the DOT says construction activities are shut down until Tuesday. The major construction is on Interstate-94 in Kenosha and Milwaukee counties, along with Milwaukee’s Mitchell Interchange – Highway 41 in the Oshkosh and Green Bay areas, I-43 in Ozaukee and Sheboygan counties, and I-94 in Eau Claire and Saint Croix counties. To get the latest road conditions, call 511 or visit 511WI-Dot-Gov on the Internet. The DOT also says law enforcement will be especially watchful for drunk drivers, as part of a campaign called “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over.” Six people died and 370 others were injured in Wisconsin crashes last Labor Day Weekend. And don’t forget your wallet or purse. The Triple-“A” says gasoline costs 20-cents more a gallon than it did a year ago. The statewide average price is $3.92 today for unleaded regular. That’s up seven-tenths-of-a-cent from yesterday, and it’s six-cents higher than a week ago because of the temporary refinery shutdowns in the Gulf caused by Hurricane Issac.

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Manufacturing activity in southeast Wisconsin went down in August for the second month in a row. That’s according to a monthly survey by Marquette University and purchasing managers in the Institute for Supply Management. The seasonally-adjusted manufacturing index dropped to 42-point-nine this month – down from 46-point-seven in July and 60-point-two in June. Anything below 50 shows a decline in local factory conditions, while anything above 50 indicates growth. According to today’s report, business executives continue to express uncertainty about the economy. That’s mainly because they don’t know what government policies will be like until after the November elections.

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Four people from central Wisconsin will never forget meeting astronaut Neil Armstrong – especially because it was his last public appearance before he died this month. Gary and Mary Sulzer own a company in Mosinee that made parts for the Discovery Channel Telescope, which Armstrong helped dedicate at a ceremony in July in Flagstaff, Arizona. The Sulzers were on hand, along with their 23-year-old son Tim and the plant’s quality control manager, Roger Molski. The 82-year-old Armstrong was the first person to walk on the moon back in 1969. Molski said meeting Armstrong was like seeing Christopher Columbus – a true pioneer. The Sulzers’ telescope is being used at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff.

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Former federal judge John Shabaz is being remembered as a “force” on the Wisconsin bench. Shabaz died yesterday at the age of 81. He was appointed a U.S. District Judge by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, sitting on the bench for more than 25 years. Shabaz was known for his dedication and speed, pushing cases through so rapidly the Western District of Wisconsin earned the nickname “the rocket docket.” Shabaz had served as a Republican state lawmaker from 1964 until he was appointed to the federal court. He is survived by his wife and four children.

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The Department of Natural Resources has lifted a flush-only advisory for 50 families living near the location of a pipeline spill which happened last month. Those families can now resume using water from their private wells for taking showers, washing clothes or dishes and watering their lawns. West Shore Pipe Line Company installed water filter systems on those wells. Even though testing shows the filtering is removing contaminants, the families are still being urged to use bottled water for drinking, cooking, food preparation and making ice.

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The emaciated 15-year old girl found walking outside in pajamas last February is expected to take the stand in three trials against family members. Dane County Circuit Court Judge Julie Genovese ruled yesterday an impartial jury can be found to judge the girl’s father, stepmother and stepbrother. The teenager weighed 82 pounds when she was found walking in her bare feet in the cold winter weather. Authorities say she was starved, tortured and kept in the basement by her parents. They also say her half-brother sexually abused her. The defense did win on one of its motions when the judge ruled there would be three separate trials next year for the three family members.

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If you have suggestions to keep birds and bats safe from wind turbines the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is seeking some public input. An effort aimed at habitat conservation is being undertaken by the federal agency in eight states. The feds say they want to promote clean energy with putting endangered species at risk. The Fish and Wildlife Service is reportedly accepting comments until October 1st. Several approaches are on the table for consideration, including slowing the turbines when bats are near or birds are in their migration pattern. It’s also possible to avoid locating wind-energy projects in areas where endangered birds and bats live.

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Governor Scott Walker hopes to continue Senior-Care, Wisconsin’s prescription drug program for low-to-middle income seniors. The 10-year-old program offers medicines at a lower cost, with less paperwork, than Medicare Part-“D.” A federal waiver allows Senior-Care to keep running under the state-and-federally-funded Medicaid system. That waiver expires at the end of the year. Walker’s office said today it wants a three-year waiver to keep Senior-Care going through 2015. A year ago, Walker wanted to scale back Senior-Care by making seniors enroll in Part-“D,” and then purchase extended Senior-Care benefits. But the governor changed his mind after advocates for the elderly said it would have cost seniors a lot more – and many would not have been able to afford the extended benefits. Senior-Care requires a $30 enrollment fee each year, with co-pays for medicines of $5-to-15 dollars.

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Fifteen Wisconsin education groups and school districts say they’ll apply for competitive federal grants which aim to close achievement gaps between whites and minorities. Almost 900 groups throughout the country will apply – but only 15-to-25 grants will be approved. They’ll range from five-million dollars to $40-million. It’s part of the Education Department’s “Race to the Top” program. The Milwaukee Public Schools expect to apply, along with the Baraboo, Beloit, Kenosha, Janesville, New London, Verona, Waukesha, and West Allis-West Milwaukee districts. The six groups expecting to apply are the Cooperative Educational Service Agencies 9-and-10 based in northern Wisconsin – the state E-School Network, Another Chance Outreach of Milwaukee, the Education Literacy-and-Training program, and the Dane County YMCA. Officials say other districts can still apply. But the Madison district won’t apply, even though President Obama first announced the “Race to the Top” program at a Madison middle school in 2009. Superintendent Jane Belmore tells the Wisconsin State Journal the district is working on its own ambitious plan to help close achievement gaps – but the timing is not right to seek “Race to the Top” funding this time around. The deadline to apply is October 30th.

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A special prosecutor has been named in the case of a Fond du Lac man accused of killing a teacher in a drunk driving crash. 23-year-old Christopher Schneider is charged with drunken and negligent homicide in a crash on a rainy evening last September. Authorities said Schneider’s vehicle struck a bicycle driven by 36-year-old Eugene Dennis, who died the next day at a Milwaukee hospital. A preliminary breath test showed that Schneider had a blood alcohol level of point-12. Fond du Lac County District Attorney Dan Kaminsky said he had a relationship with a relative of the defendant – so he arranged for Winnebago County DA Christian Gossett to prosecute for the state. The driver is scheduled to go on trial next July.

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It you didn’t call before yesterday’s deadline, you’ve missed your chance to get your phone number on Wisconsin’s No Call list. People wanting to avoid telemarketing calls have been able to list their land line and cell phone numbers through the state. It also cuts back on unwanted text messages. If you beat the deadline, your phone will be off-limits to those types of calls effective October 1st. Consumers have to register every two years to stay on the list. Wisconsin’s No Call law took effect in 2003.

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A Wisconsin fugitive is being held in Missouri in connection with last week’s fatal shooting in the Town of Yorkville. The Racine County Sheriff’s office say the suspect is being held on an unrelated warrant from the state department of corrections. He will be extradited back to Wisconsin, then formally arrested for the shooting last week of 54 year old Robert Greene. Investigators say Greene was staying with friends when he was shot early last Sunday morning.

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Officials with Madison’s Weir Minerals say a foundry it wants to operate would not emit any dangerous gases. Weir wants to locate the new foundry operation at its location on South Stoughton Road in Madison. The company melts and molds metal into parts for pumps which are used in mining. It says the new plant would mean 100 new, permanent jobs for the local economy.

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A growing computer software company is moving to Wisconsin. Comply-365 is located just a few miles south of the state line in Roscoe Illinois. Owner Kerry Frank said the five-year-old company needs more room now – and it will need flexible space for possible growth in the future. Frank and her husband Dude found the space they were looking for at the old Ironworks Building in downtown Beloit. They’ll get four-thousand square feet for now. It’s part of a former Beloit Corporation facility that was renovated by businesswoman Diane Hendricks. Comply-365 now has 17 employees. It makes cloud-based compliance software for mobile aviation devices. Kerry Frank says the firm is also creating new software for the food and medical industries.

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Milwaukee Police are treating the death of a 52-year-old man as a homicide. Police said neighbors found the man’s body just before seven this morning in an alley on Milwaukee’s north side. The victim was shot-to-death. No suspects have been arrested.

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Two people were rescued after they fell into Lake Michigan from a boat that slammed into a break-wall at the Sheboygan Harbor. Two others on the boat were pushed into the break-wall. None of the four were injured. The Coast Guard said the boat capsized when it hit the structure – and Coast Guard rescuers pulled two of the victims out of the water. Officials said the boat’s owner is having commercial salvage operator recover what it can from the vessel.

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The State Capitol’s new police chief is asking the Senate’s majority leader for help in getting protestors to accept his plans to beef up enforcement. David Erwin wrote Democratic leader Mark Miller of Monona, after Miller criticized the new chief for not giving a heads-up about his enforcement plans to legislative leaders and the Supreme Court’s chief justice. On Monday, Erwin said he would begin strict enforcement of the rules regarding Capitol protests – including a requirement that groups of four-or-more people get permits for their activities. Erwin said he was trying to return “normalcy” to the Capitol and make the building safer, after reports that protestors have been harassing legislative staffers and others. The permit policy was spelled out by the Walker administration last December, but officials say it’s really been on the books since 1979. It has not been enforced, however. As an example, former Chief Charles Tubbs allowed the Solidarity Singers to merely check with police before the group’s daily noon-time sing-alongs they’ve had for the last year-and-a-half to protest Walker and the law which ended most public union bargaining. Erwin said he agreed the singers have been peaceful for the most part. But the chief asked Miller to encourage protestors to apply for permits so quote, “we have a sense of events taking place in the building each day, and can staff appropriately.”

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A West Bend man accused of causing a bonfire that burned seven people struck a plea deal this week, after being on trial for two days. 26-year-old Kyle De Ruyter pleaded guilty to five felony counts of causing injury by the negligent use of a weapon or explosives. Three other charges were dropped. Fond du Lac County District Attorney Dan Kaminsky said five witnesses testified for the prosecution before De Ruyter changed his innocent plea. He said the plea bargain was a good deal for the defendants, because the man’s guilty plea can be used against him in civil suits can could be filed by the victims. The bonfire took place in June of last year at a home in Campbellsport. Authorities said De Ruyter tried to beef up the flames by pouring gas on the fire, and it exploded. De Ruyter escaped injury, but seven others ran into a nearby pond – and it was only after they left the water that they started feeling burned. Craig Kell was the most seriously injured, with burns to 40-percent of his body. He and the others ended up going into a hospital in a car, because nobody called 911. Investigators say they are not accusing De Ruyter of trying to cover up the incident by not calling for help. He awaits sentencing, but no date has been set for that.

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The mining issue will take center stage at the State Capitol next month. The Senate’s Select Committee on Mining will hold public meetings September 18th, 20th, and 25th to get input on what a possible new mining bill should include. The panel’s chairman, Janesville Democrat Tim Cullen, is bringing the issue to the forefront at a time when the affected parties have been meeting behind the scenes to see if they can work out their differences. In July, the state’s largest business group urged those talks to stop until after the November elections. If Republicans win back control of the Senate, an official of the Wisconsin Manufacturers-and-Commerce said it was possible that the same bill defeated in the Senate last March could be passed next time. It would have relaxed current regulations, to make it easier for Gogebic Taconite to build a one-and-a-half billion dollar iron ore mine near Hurley. The project was scrapped when the bill failed to pass the Senate.

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The Sikh community released a new video overnight, in which members expressed their pride in the face of the shooting massacre at their temple in Oak Creek. WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee showed the video, and placed it on its Web site. The video is called “We Are Sikhs, a poem from the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin.” It includes the 911 call from Temple President Satwant Singh Kaleka, who was killed while trying to detain gunman Wade Michael Page. The video also showed the bullet hole that was left on a closet door frame in the temple as a remembrance of the incident. Several people expressed pride for their religion in the video, saying quote, “This is our country, this is our blood, this is our dream.” Six worshippers were killed and four people were wounded by the gunfire. Punjab Singh is the only victim still hospitalized – and he’s in a coma.

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All but one of the seven people arrested for operating a remote marijuana-growing operation in northeast Wisconsin appeared in federal court in Green Bay yesterday. Maria Blanca-Garcia, Michel Sanchez-Garcia, Jose Sierra-Aguilar, Juan Contreras, Guillermo Chavez-Carrion, and Pedro Infante-Ramirez were all detained. And they’re due back in court next Thursday. All six were arrested last weekend, and were accused of running at least three pot-growing sites in the Oconto County portion of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. Only Blanca-Garcia is in the U.S. legally, and prosecutors she appeared to be the ring-leader of the operation. A fisherman alerted the state DNR in June – and federal, state, and local law enforcement were investigating since then. Officials said about 15-thousand marijuana plants were seized, valued at 15-million dollars. But a defense lawyer told WLUK-TV in Green Bay the number of plants seized was only half of what the government claimed. Media reports said the seventh person was stopped in Idaho last week. That person’s name was blacked out of the government’s criminal charges – and officials have not said whether he’s in custody.

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Almost 200 people will soon be laid off at Brillion Iron Works. The Brillion-based company makes castings for semi-trucks and other large vehicles – and officials say there’s been a reduction in demand over the past two months. The firm blames the economy. Spokesman Timothy Weir said about 200 jobs were added at the start of the year to keep up with a growing demand for castings at that time. He said Brillion Iron Works is still on its way to a record year for revenues and profits – but it’s unfortunate that its core markets softened recently. The layoffs are set to begin tomorrow. 184 hourly workers and 14 salaried employees are being let go.

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It was as hot as advertised in Wisconsin Thursday, as record highs were either tied or broken in Eau Claire, Marshfield, Wausau, and Rhinelander. Eau Claire hit 97, tying a 71-year-old heat record for the date. Marshfield and Wausau both tied records with 93. And it was 92 in Rhinelander, breaking that city’s old mark of 90 set in 1969-and-’91. Madison and Milwaukee both came within five degrees of busting their record highs. Superior and Hayward had the coolest high temps with 84. Normal highs for late August are in the 70’s. Another 90-degree day is expected in southern Wisconsin, ahead of a weak cold front that’s pushing down from the north. Other parts of the state will be in the 80’s – and above-normal temps in the 80’s are predicted every day through Tuesday. Our next chance of rain is on Sunday and Monday. Remnants from Hurricane Isaac are heading north. But if they reach Wisconsin, forecasters say it could only generate light showers in the far southern part of the state.

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Democrats pointed fingers yesterday at Paul Ryan. They said the Republican vice presidential nominee wrongly blamed President Obama on Wednesday night for the closing of the General Motors’ plant in Janesville. Former U.S. Senator Russ Feingold said Ryan turned a bipartisan effort to save the plant into quote, “a dishonest, personal attack on president Obama.” And Feingold, who, like Ryan, is from Janesville, said quote, “Representative Ryan knows the same facts I do – Despite the work of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation, GM announced the plant closure during the Bush administration.” In his vice-presidential acceptance, Ryan said Obama visited the plant in 2008 and said quote, “If our government is there to support you, this plant will be here for another hundred years.” But Ryan said the plant never lasted another year – and he cited it as an example of Obama’s empty promises. But reporters quickly pointed out that GM actually ended its Janesville production in December of 2008, when George W. Bush was still in office. Ryan defended his remarks yesterday on CNN. He said the GM plant is still idle, and it’s quote, “the story of the Obama economy.” Ryan said Obama made quote, “grand promises” but none were kept. As Ryan put it, “He got elected. He put his policies in place, and the plant is still shut down.”

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Construction begins next week on a $16-million addition to Marquette University dentistry school in Milwaukee. The addition is expected to open next fall, and officials say it will increase the enrollment to 100 students, up from the current 80. The school’s dean, William Lobb, has not decided when the extra students will be admitted. He said new faculty would have to be recruited first. The school now gets up to 30 applicants for each available student opening. About half the students are from Wisconsin. Marquette officials estimate that about 80-percent of the in-state graduates, and 15-percent of those from out-of-state, practice in Wisconsin right after they get their diplomas. The state put up half the cost of the 45-thousand square foot expansion, or around eight-million dollars. Private donations covered the rest – including a million-dollar gift recently announced by Marquette alums Jeff and Beth Moos of Mondovi. Delta Dental of Wisconsin contributed two-million toward the project, and graduate Rick Kushner of Colorado gave a million-dollars to the dental school.

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A 54-year-old man was killed yesterday in a motorcycle crash in Waukesha County. The victim was from West Allis, but his name was not immediately released. Sheriff’s deputies said the motorcycle was going south on Highway 164 in the town of Vernon when it hit a grassy median, went out of control, and went down. The rider died at the scene, and he was not wearing a helmet. The crash remains under investigation.

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Wisconsin left a huge mark on the Republican National Convention, which ended last night when Mitt Romney accepted his nomination for president. The Badger State made its presence known in small ways on the final night. Olympic speed-skating hero Dan Jansen from West Allis appeared on-stage, and on a video which promoted Romney. Governor Scott Walker – who got rousing ovations both times he spoke at the convention on Tuesday – got some more TV face time by spending an hour with Ann Romney in the VIP box. Janesville Congressman and Romney’s running mate Paul Ryan took part in the customary send-off after Romney’s nominating speech. And former Milwaukee Archbishop Tim Dolan of New York closed the three-day proceedings in Tampa with a benediction. The cardinal will also appear at next week’s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. Milwaukee delegate Bob Spindell called it the most enjoyable convention of the 15 he has attended. That’s because Wisconsin was so much involved with it – and the state’s delegation got prime seats thanks to national chairman Reince Priebus from Kenosha. The Waukesha County GOP gave buttons to Wisconsin’s 42 delegates which showed the faces of four top state Republicans on Mount Rushmore – Ryan, Walker, Priebus, and U.S. Senate candidate Tommy Thompson. The label on the button read, “Wisconsin GOP – 2012 Rock Stars.”

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The future of Wisconsin’s photo ID law for voting could hinge on a case from Texas that’s headed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Yesterday, a three-judge federal court panel in Washington threw out the Texas voter ID law that Republicans passed a year ago. The judges said the law imposes quote, “strict, unforgiving burdens on the poor.” And the court said minorities would be hurt the most, because they’re more likely to live in poverty. Appellate judge David Tatel said the Texas law imposes a heavier burden on voters than similar laws in Indiana and Georgia, because many voters would have to pay for documents they need to get the proper ID’s. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott promised an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, and he said the state was confident it would prevail. The justices previously upheld the Indiana law, and the U.S. Justice Department allowed Georgia’s law to take effect after reviewing it. As in Wisconsin, Republicans said the Texas law would prevent voter fraud. But Democrats said they found a clear motive to discriminate against minorities. Meanwhile, Wisconsin’s voter ID law remains in limbo, as two state appellate courts continue to review it. Governor Scott Walker has compared the Badger State’s law to Indiana’s, which the justices upheld. But in throwing out the Wisconsin law, Dane County Circuit Judge David Flanagan said it would hurt 300,000 adults who don’t have the required ID’s. But the state’s Republican attorney general said the law doesn’t hurt anyone, because those who don’t have ID’s can get them for free. J.B. Van Hollen has asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take over the two cases now, in the hopes of restoring the state’s photo ID requirement for the November elections.

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State Assembly Democrat Brett Hulsey of Madison said he was just “goofing around” after he was cited for flipping a nine-year-old boy off an inner-tube, and then took pictures of the youngster. But he now admits he shouldn’t have done it. Hulsey recently pleaded no contest to a non-criminal disorderly conduct ticket, and he paid a reduced fine of 114-dollars. Police said the boy was swimming with other kids at a Madison beach on the Fourth of July. Hulsey said the youngster was splashing the other kids – he was concerned about their safety – and he surprised the boy by walking by him. Hulsey told the Associated Press he doesn’t remember touching the inner tube or the youngster. The boy’s father approached Hulsey after the lawmaker took out his cell phone to take pictures – but Hulsey rode off on a bicycle. The boy’s mother recognized the lawmaker, and police contacted him about a week later. Hulsey told police he wanted to take a picture of a sailboat and the sunset – and the kids didn’t want to be in his picture, so he deleted it from his cellphone. Hulsey told the AP he knew the boy’s family, because his grandmother works for the city of Madison. The lawmaker said he was flabbergasted that the family went to the police – but he admits he should not have done what he did. Hulsey was re-elected to his second term in the Assembly this month, with no Republican opposition in November.

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A swimmer who drowned in Madison’s Lake Mendota yesterday was identified as 19-year-old John “Vietnam” Nguyen, a UW student from Chicago. Authorities said he was swimming with a group of friends when he went under and did not resurface. Rescuers were called around 6:50 yesterday morning to a spot near UW-Madison’s Limnology Building, and they found Nguyen in the water about 15 minutes after they arrived. He died at a hospital, where efforts to revive him failed. The Dane County medical examiner’s office said preliminary autopsy results were consistent with an accidental drowning.

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The days of extended jobless benefits are about to end. Wisconsin officials are telling long-term recipients that they’ll lose their extended payments when they expire in December. And those newly employed will go back to getting the previous maximum of 26-weeks. As of last month, over 29-thousand Wisconsinites were getting supplemental benefits that Congress approved to get people through the Great Recession. But the national job market continues to grow slower than many expected – and Mike Evangelist of the National Employment Law Project says only 30-percent of unemployed people will get benefits once the extended payments go away. The law project is urging Congress to approve another extension – something lawmakers have not done. Critics have said that extended benefits discourage the unemployed from looking for work.

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Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan shoreline and its tributaries are free of the invasive Asian carp. The DNR said today that 275 samples were taken from harbors and tributaries – and none tested positive for the carp’s DNA. Bob Wakeman of the DNR calls it great news. The tests were a joint project by the DNR, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Asian carp DNA experts from Notre Dame. Those scientists found carp DNA beyond the electronic barrier near Chicago that’s supposed to keep the bloated fish away from Lake Michigan. Only one actual fish has been found beyond the barrier – that being a year ago.

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