Waukesha Citizens Group Wants Clarity On Water Policy, Negotiations

A new Waukesha citizens organization is calling on the city's water supply negotiating team to clarify public certain water policy matters and conduct discussions with Milwaukee out in the open.

Here is the text of the letter (below), a link to the City of Milwaukee policy resolution the letter mentions, and background about the organization.

Steve Edlund, Chairman Waukesha Citizen Accountability Board PAC 426 Prospect Ave Waukesha, WI 53188

July 22, 2011
Mr. Steve Crandell Waukesha Water Negotiating Team Spokesperson
City of Waukesha 115 Delafield Street Waukesha, WI 53188-3615

Dear Mr. Crandell,

A June 29, 2011 correspondence from the City of Milwaukee Mayor, Tom Barrett requested a reply as to whether Waukesha is agreeable to the terms outlined in Milwaukee Resolution 080457 before negotiations on the sale of Lake Michigan water to the City of Waukesha can commence.

Milwaukee has asked for a simple yes or no response to whether Waukesha accepts the terms of Resolution 080457 by a written report indicating that the “community has adopted and implemented” The reporting requirements of section D, items D-1, D-2, and D-3.

Waukesha’s response to Mayor Barrett by Mr. Dan Duchniak dated June 29, 2011 requested that the requirements (of resolution 080457) be discussed in the context of an entire water supply agreement.

As written and approved by their Common Council, Resolution 080457 has no provision to allow segregation of its terms.

Waukesha has specific requirements outlined in the resolution and the resolutions clearly states, “Requirements before negotiations of a potential agreement may occur”.

Resolution 080457 and the negotiation for a water sale are mutually exclusive and one a prerequisite of the other.

Waukesha and Milwaukee citizens have expectations of openness and transparency to the acceptance or rejection by Waukesha of resolution 080457 in its entirety prior to a potential negotiation of a sale of Lake Michigan water from Milwaukee to Waukesha.

The response by Waukesha, that the certain terms of resolution 080457 be “negotiated” in another context than that of the resolution would permit the process to be conducted in closed door session and out of the public view by using the Wisconsin Open Meeting Law exemption for conducting business in closed door session.

Given the significant socioeconomic impact of resolution 080457 upon Waukesha, in the greater interest of the public right to know, and by the narrow interpretation of Wisconsin Open Meeting Laws, Waukesha citizens expect the Waukesha Common Council as represented by the Waukesha water negotiating team to respond to Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett concerning Milwaukee’s Resolution 080457 in either a “no”, meaning you will not agree to the complete terms of resolution 080457, or “yes”, meaning you completely accept all the terms and reporting requirements of resolution 080457.

If the Waukesha Common Council chooses to accept the complete terms of Resolution 080457, Waukesha citizens would expect those terms to be discussed in public by the Waukesha Common Council as part of section “D” reporting requirements and that this business be conducted in an open meeting(s) as there will be no need to negotiate the reporting requirements.

Respectfully,

Steve Edlund Chairman Waukesha Citizens Accountability Board

cc: Tom Barrett, Milwaukee Mayor; Willie L. Hines Jr. President City of Milwaukee Common Council; Micheal J. Murphy, Chair of the Finance and Personnel Committee, City of Milwaukee Common Council; Waukesha Common Council President Paul Ybarra

Wisconsin Will Require Voter ID - - But Will Close Some Offices Which Provide A Qualifying ID

If that isn't voter suppression, what is?

Randy Hopper Earns "Pants On Fire...Ridiculous...False..." For Claim Against Jessica King

His whopper is a PolitiFact trifecta, and a sign of desperation by the recalled and doomed Republican State Senator.

He claimed she voted herself a 63% raise, which she did not: notice how the big lies look authentic with a specific number of piece of information included?

Questioning Walker's Job Claim Is Absolutely Legitimate

Did Wisconsin/Walker really create half the nation's new jobs last month?

Remember his statement in May that new business filings in Wisconsin were up 25% - - and then that claim went away?

As did the Secretary of Workforce Development a few days later?

And the news release about Walker's administration all ready to announce 125 jobs created at one manufacturer - - though Gov. Doyle had already announced them?

Walker DNR Engaging In Nanny State Social Engineering

I'm glad the Walker DNR is continuing to accept and distribute these federal handouts, though I'm not sure why any self-respecting private-sector firm in WalkerWorld these days would want a single Obama dollar.

Applications due August 26 for new clean diesel grant

Wisconsin DNR is offering approximately $720,000 in grants to help both public and private fleets reduce their diesel emissions. Funding comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through monies allocated by the federal Diesel Emissions Reductions Act. On-road, off-road and stationary engine projects are eligible for grants. DNR's Clean Diesel Grants webpage provides additional details, including links to downloadable documents required as part of the grant application. Application packets must be postmarked by Friday, August 26, 2011.

For more information contact Jessica Lawent, email jessica.lawent@wisconsin.gov or phone 414-263-8653.

Worse, the program summary highlights the clear social engineering involved:

The Wisconsin DNR, with support through the Wisconsin Clean Diesel Coalition, encourages diesel operators to undertake a variety of emission reduction strategies in an effort to improve air quality, safeguard public health and reduce fuel consumption. DNR and other organizations offer several grant programs to encourage and assist these efforts.

Wisconsin Jobs Numbers Defy Logic, Math

We have 2% of the country's population, and we are one of 50 states, and Walker says we own 50% of last month's new jobs nationally?

Does the state now count baby sitting, dog walking, lawn mowing and Facebooking as "work."

I smell something burning and I think it's numbers cooking.

Walker And Gerrymandering - - More Friday Follies

Gov. Walker likes to drop the bomb and fire other salvos on Fridays - - apparently he thinks that's either the way to make news or hide from it - - so I'd guess this afternoon is when Walker stops playing coy and inks ten years of GOP gerrymandered incumbencies.

In other words, when you see a headline like this in the Wisconsin State Journal on a Thursday - - Gov. Walker mum on signing the redistricting bills - - you can pretty much assume that the decision has been made and the action is imminent, maybe within 24 more hours - - like today.

Remember, he's the guy who called his surprise union-busting measure "a modest proposal" and "progressive," obfuscated his mandates on local spending and negotiating by calling them "tools,"and touted his radical and now-failed plan to turn the UW-Madison over to a separate board he'd control as a plan for "flexibility."

With Walker, you have to look behind the words, spot the intent that is the opposite, and plan accordingly.

As for Fridays, remember that he:


Announced that "progressive" [sic[ plan to wipe out collective-bargaining on a Friday;

Threatened massive state layoffs on a subsequent Friday - - probably to give workers an anxiety-filled weekend;

Then signed the union-busting measure a month later on a Friday morning during a private, protester-free moment in his office, with a ceremonial signing set for later that afternoon;

And signed the carry-your-gun-everywhere bill on a Friday.

So today's probably the day he'll sign the redistricting bill and simultaneously drive the recalls - -  those aimed at six of his Senate allies as well as a campaign aimed right at him, too - - into a higher gear.

That's because voters are turned off and stirred up by the GOP playing fast and loose, repeatedly, with process and law on behalf of their own partisan advantage; the heavy-handed redistricting rushed through the Legislature for Walker's signature is just the most recent example.

When the Senate tips back to Democratic control next month, and Walker himself is successfully recalled and then forced to stand again for election - - and the election will be a referendum on Walker, and not the fake referendum he ginned up against Gov. Doyle, who was not on the 2010 Gubernatorial ballot  - - Walker and his party will have brought it on themselves with fake politicking and Friday Follies.

Gov. Doyle's Recovery Continuing In Wisconsin

He set the table for Walker, and the numbers would have been even better if the Milwaukee-Madison Amtrak line were under construction, and if Walker-canceled wind farms were also being built.

Fertilizer Runoff Puts Wisconsin On National Bad Beach List. Twice

This is why we need stronger regulation of phosphorus pollution in Wisconsin.

How Many Ways, How Many Times, Will Wisconsin Republicans Diss The Disadvantaged?

Fast tax breaks for businesses and investors, tax increases for the working poor, and now more delay by conscience-free Republican officials in distributing available federal jobless-aid for the unemployed.

It doesn't get much uglier than this.

Recall them all.

The Walker Blunder That Cost Taxpayers $31 Million, And More...

I'm surprised the Walker people haven't taken down their childish, churlish site that boasts about killing fast Amtrak service to Madison as part of a Midwest network - - an action that has led the state to contemplate spending our money on a piece of the network the refused money would have covered.

Upscale River Hills, WI, Channels Its Inner Blagojevich

River Hills, a tony Milwaukee County suburb - - family income there is over $200,000 - has caught the attention of federal regulators for trying to sell its share of US Community Development Block Grant, a program to assist low-to-moderate income residents.

Dynamite story by Steve Schultze.

Remind you of a certain convicted Illinois Governor who famously said:

I've got this thing and it's f***ing golden.  I'm not giving it up for f***ing nothing.

Republicans Employ Ten-Year Chokehold

Legislative Republicans, elevating the chokehold to a ten-year plan, finished their hurried work to redistrict the state, with twin goals:

Finish the taxpayer-paid work using private attorneys before the State Senate might tip back to Democratic control after the August recall elections;

Create representation that will be about 60% Republican for the next ten years, if the courts approve the scheme.

You'd think that Republicans would have learned that power-grabbing turns off the electorate: Scott Walker and his legislative allies forfeited moral, leadership claims and usurped power through the union-busting measure and other bills, only to see the recall elections threaten their control of the Senate, crush their credibility, drive down GOP poll numbers and make Walker's recall election a looming certainty.

But they have forged ahead with fast-tracked redistricting so quickly that local governments, which normally go first after a decennial census, will have to throw out their costly work and start over to abide by the legislative mapping lines.

Here's a telling bit of evidence that even Republican legislators know their redistricting practice and product has been a sham - - the line below is taken from the Madison State Journal's account of how the bills were approved prior to being sent to Walker for his rubber-stamping:

No Republican spoke during debate of the maps prior to the votes to pass them.

Reminds me of my years as a summer camp counselor. When the boys had messed up, and you asked, "who did this?," they'd all stand around silently and look at the ground.

Crime In Irony Town, (New Berlin), Apparently Can Happen Away From "Affordable" Housing

A house guest is charged with stealing a gun and other items from the Mayor's house to trade for drugs.

This story would been bumped a little higher on news budgets because of where the alleged thefts took place, but it illuminates wider issues because New Berlin is the Milwaukee-area suburb charged by the federal government with housing bias, with remarks like this in accounts of the official paperwork:

The complaint cites correspondence that mentioned "white flight," crime, drugs, slums, gangs, families with 10 or 15 kids, needing "to get a gun," not wanting New Berlin to turn into Milwaukee, moving to New Berlin "to get away from the poor people," not wanting to provide housing to people "who work but do not live here." Some writers also used racially derogatory terms for African-Americans.

Book Describes Wisconsin's Scary Brush With Socialism

What a close call.  Government intrusion into daily life is too horrible to contemplate.

National Transportation News Website Likes Wisconsin Info

All hail the Internets:

Top Picks from the Network

• The Political Environment Yesterday, 09:37pm Wisc. Republicans Will Spend $31 Million On Rail Improvements Walker Threw Away Earlier

  I'm a big fan of Amtrak, but isn't the state spending $31 million on Amtrak upgrades between Milwaukee and Chicago - - a sum basically covered …
• CarFree Maine Yesterday, 09:29pm How to build a Transit-Oriented Development in Maine!

  Brunswick, ME — Slideshow showing the transformation of an EPA Clean-Up Site into a vibrant, mixed-use, transit centered destination within 2 years!!! Click on “Show Info” for captions …
• Hard Drive Yesterday, 07:38pm Time-lapse video of Interstate 5 'Bridgegeddon' in Portland, Vancouver

  Portland, OR — Bridgegeddon on Interstate 5 wasn't as bad as the Oregon Department of Transportation predicted. But today's Interstate Bridge lift for a Columbia River barge carrying an oil-drilling rig was worthy of a time-lapse video. …
• The City Fix Yesterday, 04:35pm Urban Green Space Key in Improving Air Quality

  Tree-lined streets, like the ones seen here from Seoul, Korea, can have a significant impact in improving air quality in cities. Photo by Abby …
• GreenCityBlueLake Yesterday, 03:16pm Open dialogue leads to $6 million bike/ped improvements

  Cleveland, OH — When people ask why it’s important to have a bike and pedestrian advocacy group, you can point them to sustainable transportation advocates …
• Spacing Toronto Yesterday, 02:18pm There’s a big ride for Toronto cyclists on Wednesday. Here’s why you should go.

  On Wednesday July 20 at 6:30PM the Toronto Bike Union is planning a "Ride for Jarvis" beginning in Allen Gardens (here's the Facebook event listing). …

When Righty Commenters Amuse

It's a toss-up which of the reflexive right commenters entertain me more:

The ones who complain when I don't leap to their beck and call by posting their comment immediately, as if I have nothing else to do but sit at a computer, wait for their pearls and put them up in a nano-second, or;

The ones who see a delay as censorship.

The ones who dare me to post their comment.

Really: you people should get your own blogs.

Ronald Reagan: Raised Taxes And The Debt Ceiling

Eleven tax increases, 18 debt limit hikes, the record shows.

Please remind Republicans when invoke Reagan's name that he was not whom they have mythologized him to be.

This Editorial Headline About Ron Johnson Got My Attention!

Step Aside, Senator

Assembly Republicans In Wisconsin Make Unemployed Play Another Waiting Game

Holding unemployment checks hostage:

Assembly Republicans, at the State Capitol collecting their salaries, benefits and $88-per-day, tax-free meal and motel money, want to institute a waiting period for the payment of jobless benefits in the state as their price for releasing federal unemployment benefits withheld from the long-term unemployed since mid-April.

While vote-switching Senate Republicans, facing recalls, look as fake as the bogus 'Democrats' GOP party leaders ran in recall primaries.

We see through the chaff.

The GOP's recall slogan - - Let them eat cat food.