Now Ask Walker About That 250,000 Jobs Pledge

Still the most underplayed story by my reckoning in recent months in Wisconsin: 

Administration predicts Walker won't meet 250,000 jobs campaign promise

SCOTT BAUER | Associated Press Posted: Saturday, October 22, 2011 9:05 am

Read more

Now that the fake "We Got Jobbed" legislative session has ended, it's time to ask Walker to at least spin out some rationalizations about that key jobs, first-term number - - 250,000  - - which his Department of Revenue says is unattainable.

But which others said was central to electing him:

Walker offers toughness, experience

Oct. 24, 2010

Scott Walker has said repeatedly during his campaign for governor that he will develop strategies to create 250,000 new jobs during his first term.

It's a big promise - one that has been derided by his critics. But for the sake of Wisconsin, Walker had better be right.

 For Walker, it's accountability time.

George Meyer, Wisconsin Wildlife Leader, On Resource Protections

The former Secretary of the DNR cuts to the chase in a fine Journal Sentinel op-ed about Bill 24's fast-tracked, wide-tracked waterway and shoreline deregulation:

While it is appropriate to streamline government regulatory processes, due to past streamlining efforts the Department of Natural Resources currently is issuing 97.5% of these permits and processes the permits in 26.5 days or less. The further streamlining proposed in these bills goes too far and will seriously damage our precious lakes and streams...

In the long term, weakening the laws that protect our lakes and streams will cost Wisconsin jobs and limit the recreational opportunities of Wisconsin citizens.

Why Walker Wants To Shrink Role Of Government?

Answer:

To make it easier for the pleasurably privileged 1% and the political machine that serves them to profit from public resources and strengthen their economic and electoral hegemony.

If you starve public schools of their financing, private schools that can teach conservative doctrines prosper. Which conservative donors love.

If you starve bus systems and ban trains, roads remain priority #1, meaning road-builder profits stay reliable  and donations flow back to the transit-killers.

If you steer public dollars to agencies with new private-sector management and operating manuals, like Wisconsin's remade Commerce Department and the chamber-of-commerce-inspired DNR, more government-let contracts, and other public resources like waterways and wetlands and their profit-making potential fall under private steerage and management - - and the donations flow back from a grateful private sector.

And if you weaken environmental regulation, public confidence in government naturally erodes with the landscape - - see Oak Creek, coal ash spill - - and that makes it easier for companies to fill streams, build on lake beds, and mine large swaths of land - - see Senate Bill 24 - - with less fear of regulatory oversight, or effective citizen opposition.

The goal is to allow and encourage business to make a profit off public resources and to decrease the public role and trust in resource management and preservation.

It isn't that Walker and the Fitzgeralds and their conservative donor groups want government to run more efficiently - - that would only give government more credibility and reach.

They want to use government to subsidize private interests with tax breaks and deregulation, and to run out of existence government programs in the common interest.

And through fresh tax schemes, like the idiotic 9-9-9, or a flat tax, to make middle-class taxpayers foot more of the bill - - thus to pay for more for less.

The extreme right now in power in Wisconsin, with national funding' support, is coming after
anything and everything that has been created and maintained with your money and belongs to you - - beginning with state power plants, and then public waterways, and on to what ever can be picked off- -  airports, street repairs, fish hatcheries, fire services, policing.

If it can be privatized and profitized, they will take it, and then through fees and an increased middle-class tax burden make you pay again to use it.

That is is the way that conservative interests in Wisconsin can control public resources and policy management (from rules to fees), with less resistance (thank you Voter ID), to extend the political strength and power of the 1%, and to make sure that Walker, Gableman, Prosser, Ziegler and Roggensack, and the Fitzgeralds, keep the political landscape clear of opposition.

15% of the American public is now on food stamps, nine percent are unemployed and the 1% has extended its share of the nation's wealth exponentially over the last few decades.

How much money do these people need, and where will they stop using public resources and state powers to feed and extend their control?

Recalling Walker is the first step towards retaining the historic, vital and democratically fair Wisconsin Way.

Still The Most Important Story During Walker's Counterfeit Rule

The AP reported two weeks ago on the crash of his 250,000 jobs' pledge.

An economic forecast by Gov. Scott Walker's own administration predicts that Wisconsin will fall far short of adding the 250,000 new private-sector jobs by 2015 that the governor promised as a key part of his successful election campaign.

The Department of Revenue report released Friday predicts that by 2014, the state will have added only 136,000 jobs in the private sector compared with 2010. The job growth estimate was down 43,000 from the department's previous report released in June.

Walker promised while he was campaigning that the state would add 250,000 jobs during his four years in office. But like the national economy, growth has been sluggish in Wisconsin this year and job growth is not track to meet Walker's pledge.

Through September, the state had added just 29,300 jobs since Walker took over in January. At that pace, there would be roughly 156,000 new jobs in the state by 2015.

Read more: http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_c9af610c-fcb7-11e0-a291-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1crIhCxZu

Oak Creek Power Plant Murky History

There's a bad aura that the Oak Creek Power Plant can't shake.

Seems like something is always backfiring there.

Back in the 1950's, utilities were a cash cow of sorts, as they paid a tax to the state on the value of generating stations and 65% was rebated to the municipality in which the property was located.

Milwaukee back then was still expanding through annexation, and had its eye on the relatively-undeveloped Oak Creek both for its land and the rebated power plant tax revenues, and when a protracted legal battle was over, Oak Creek was permitted to remain independent, incorporate and keep the power plant revenue - - and Milwaukee lost big and bigger:

It had its annexation power removed forever by the State Legislature.

There's a nice, short book about it all, and an online link, here.

These days that juicy revenue formula is long gone, and now there's an even bigger power plant in Oak Creek with it's share of controversy, too.

The new mega-plant's opening a few years ago was delayed by litigation over permits and pollution fears that produced a court-approved settlement including a fund to prevent or mitigate air and water pollution that might arise from the plant's everyday operations.

And not to handle something like the recent bluff collapse and coal ash spill into Lake Michigan where some construction was taking place at a spot where state DNR regulators had declined to require an environmental review.

Here's my proposal for holding We Energies accountable.

Like I said, there's something irreparably negative about the site.

The company and the DNR can't rewrite their clumsy regulatory and management history, but they can do a better job as regulators and stewards at the Lake Michigan shoreline, can't they?

And we should treat this as a warning about pending legislation that further deregulates public management and protection of Wisconsin's waters.

Great Things Happening For Milwaukee Clean Energy Start-Up

Remember the news on this blog and elsewhere about a Milwaukee entrepreneur who developed a Smart Phone app to help people figure out, and even order, the energy-saving light bulbs that fit their needs?

Well good things are happening for Adam Borut and his business, Eco Hatchery, including:

Winner, Best Overall App in EPA’s Apps for the Environment Challenge

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected the Light Bulb Finder mobile app as the Winner, Best Overall App in the Apps for the Environment Challenge. You can read more about EPA's Apps for the Environment Challenge here: http://blog.epa.gov/data/winners-announced-for-epa-apps-for-the-environment-challenge/. An official EPA press release will go live on Tuesday, Nov. 8th to coincide with the Apps for the Environment Forum and awards ceremony in Washington DC.

Finalist, AT&T’s Power Your Future Contest

The Light Bulb Finder app is one of four finalists in the AT&T Power Your Future Contest. The winner will be chosen based on popular vote. The winning app will be pre-loaded on future AT&T smartphones and receive $20,000.

To try the Light Bulb Finder app and vote, visit the following site on a browser-enabled mobile device (you cannot vote from a computer): http://att.promo.eprize.com/app

You can vote once a day, every day through 12/19/2011 (so don’t forget to bookmark the voting site)

Each time you vote, you will get an additional entry into the sweepstakes.  Thirty sweepstakes winners will be selected. Each winner receives a $100 Amazon.com digital gift card

Mass Save Lighting Efficiency Program

In August National Grid, Western Massachusetts Electric Company (WMECo), NSTAR Electric, Cape Light Compact and Unitil -- as part of Mass Save® -- launched a lighting program with the Light Bulb Finder app.  Massachusetts residents can get instant discounts of up to 70% off ENERGY STAR qualified bulbs purchased through the app. Alternatively they can find local participating retailers directly through the app. You can view the press release at: http://www.prlog.org/11682470-mass-save-goes-mobile-to-help-customers-save-time-and-money.html

City of Milwaukee ME2 and City of Madison Green Madison Programs

In August, both the City of Milwaukee and the City of Madison launched joint programs to promote their respective ME2 and Green Madison programs.

City of Milwaukee Press Release:  http://www.prlog.org/11611978-the-city-of-milwaukee-goes-mobile-to-save-residents-energy.html

City of Madison Press Release: http://www.cityofmadison.com/greenMadison/documents/GMnews06.pdf

Focus on Energy

Eco Hatchery was a member of the Applied Proactive Technology (APT) winning bid for Implementation Contractor for the Residential and Appliance Program.

Political, Environmental Posts Were Most-Read Items Here Last Week

I guess this blog has an accurate title.

Thanks to all the readers.

Here are the top five items for the previous week:

The Case For Recalling Scott Walker, Restoring Wis... Nov 2, 2011

Senate Recalls Have Helped Stop One Republican Pow... Oct 31, 2011

Clean Wisconsin Disputes We Energies On Lake Michi... Nov 1, 2011

Paul Ryan's Moment Is Over; Pass The Cold Tea, Ple... Oct 30, 2011

Lake Property Owners Want More Scrutiny Of Walker'... Oct 30, 2011

As Recall Paperwork Questions Swirl, Gov. Eagle Scout Should Honorably Decline Its Fund-Raising Perk

I'd expect nothing less from Scott Walker, Eagle Scout - - an important, formative biographical fact he often cites, even on his official state website  - -  because the early recall election filing that enables Walker to raise unlimited money is beginning to look like a ploy.

From the Eagle Scout ceremony:

The foremost responsibility of an Eagle Scout is to live with honor. To an Eagle Scout, honor is the foundation of all character. He knows that 'a Scout is trustworthy' is the very first point of the Scout Law for a good reason. An Eagle Scout lives honorably, not only because honor is important to him, but because of the vital significance of the example he sets for other scouts. Living honorably reflects credit on his home, his church, his troop, and his community. 

If indeed the early recall filing is a pro-Walker ploy, it ought to be the tipping point for independent voters who eschew partisanship but still want a level playing field and basic fair play.

On top of efforts to hamstring legitimate recall petition circulation, having run fake Democrats in this summer's Senate recall elections, adding voting and registration barriers in the unneeded Voter ID bill and changing the 2012 primary to a date obstructing college voters, hasn't election tampering by the GOP and Walkerites gone far enough?

How About A Simple, $5-Per-Pound Fine For We Energies' Dirt And Coal Ash Watery Deposit?

We learned Friday that the DNR is crediting We Energies with dumping the equivalent of 208 dump trucks-full of soil, debris and coal ash, or about 2,500 cubic yards of the stuff, into the Lake Michigan.

So how much did that weigh? I can visualize 208 dump trucks strung out like a long, long freight train, but give it to me in a measure I can relate to, like the weight of so many quarts of milk, or phone books, or Zaffiro's extra-large pizzas.

How about in pounds to help me get an idea of the weight of We Energies' big lake big dump?

One conversion website has these various measurements:

Earth, loam, dry, excavated - 2106 pounds/cubic yard
Earth, moist, excavated - 2430 pounds/cubic yard
Earth, wet, excavated - 2700 pounds/cubic yard
Earth, dense - 3375 pounds/cubic yard
Earth, soft loose mud - 2916 pounds/cubic yard
Earth, packed - 2565 pounds/cubic yard

To be fair, it looks like one of the last three categories - - so let's average it out to about 2,850 pounds per cubic yard - - so if I have done my math right, 2,850 x 2,500 = 6,250,000 pounds.

I imagine if I went down to the Lakefront and emptied a 50-pound bag of chemically-laden soil and debris out in the water near Bradford Beach, it'd probably net me a fine of a few hundred dollars - - maybe $250, or $5 a pound.

So I'd suggest the DNR compute a penalty for We Energies with a $5 multiplier - - a simple fin or five-spot per pound of dirt and coal ash - - on behalf of Lake Michigan, and its fisheries and the water we drink from part of the world's largest surface fresh water supply - - and ding the company $35,625,000.

No volume discounts, please.

As the famous philosopher-king Roundy Coughlin at the Wisconsin State Journal used to say, "What could be more fairer?"

Is The Early Recall Filer For Real, Or A GOP Plant/Sympathizer?

Since Wisconsin Republicans openly filed fake Democratic candidacies to twist the Senate recalls earlier this year, it's reasonable to ask if this sole filer from Waukesha County that just gave Gov. Walker 11 extra days to raise unlimited funds is on the level?

If so, well, OK, sorta.

If not...it goes to the top of my brief for recalling Walker, here.

Walkable Neighborhood: Good For Your Health

Data show sitting for long periods at work, or in the car, is really bad for you health.

Which would mean that walking or biking to work or and leaving the car to run (literally) errands beats that long, say, Pewaukee-to-Milwaukee commute.

You can see how your neighborhood rates on a walkability scale, here.

S.S. Badger Looking For Permanent Congressional Clean Water Exemption

These folks do not miss a trick.

Wisconsin GOP Cong. Tom Petri and others have just filed this House of Representatives action to merge the S.S. Badger's nomination for Historical Landmark status with an exemption from EPA permitting.

The result would be the continued dumping of about four tons of coal ash daily into Lake Michigan.

From Congressional documents:

November 2, 2011 (5:37 p.m.)

MR. PETRI OF WISCONSIN, AND MR. BENISHEK OF MICHIGAN
At the end of title VII, add the following:

SEC. 707. SPECIAL CONSIDERATION FOR VESSELS OF HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provision of this title or the amendments made by this title, a qualified vessel shall operate for the life of the vessel under the terms and conditions of the Vessel General Permit, as in effect on November 1, 2011, without regard to any expiration dates in such permit.

(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: (1) QUALIFIED VESSEL.—A vessel is a qualified
vessel for purposes of subsection (a) if the vessel is, as of November 1, 2011—

(A) on, or nominated for inclusion on, the list of National Historic Landmarks; and
(B) subject to part 5.3 of the Vessel General Permit.

AMENDMENT TO THE RULES COMMITTEE PRINT OF H.R. 2838 OFFERED BY MR. HUIZENGA OF MICHIGAN


2 (2) VESSEL GENERAL PERMIT.—The term‘‘Vessel General Permit’’ has the definition given such term in section 321(a) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as added by section 702.

State Department Pipeline Review A Botched Process

A black eye in the tar sand pipeline political mess for the State Department - - and not the first.

S.S. Badger Continues End Run Around Lake Michigan Coal Ash Dumping

For some time  - - for example, here -  I have been calling attention to the daily coal ash dump into Lake Michigan by the last remaining coal-fired steamer on the Great Lakes.

Awareness of the issue - - including company efforts to get exempted from federal clean water regulations - - has been rising since 2009.

Yet even after finally facing a pending 2012 EPA order to convert to cleaner fuel and cease the dumping practice- - as other Great Lakes ships have done - - the Badger's owners, while running a PR campaign also appear to have found a new way to delay and perhaps end the EPA's regulatory push:

Getting the ship declared a National Historical Landmark that is beyond EPA regulatory authority.

So the 3.8 ton coal ash daily dump - - thus somewhere between 500-to-600 tons in a shipping season, according to published estimates - - would continue into the lake. Even permissible close to shore, in certain emergency circumstances.

As a historical, Landmark-honoring necessity?

Will that happen?

Here is a link to the Landmark nomination.

Op-Ed Amplifies Lessons In Coal Ash Spill

Kerry Schumann, Executive Director of the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, lays out the lessons about We Energies' dump of coal ash into Lake Michigan this week - - a bluff collapse and spill that took place after the company received a pass from DNR regulators that allowed construction on top of buried coal ash:.

She writes:

This is what can happen when special interests convince decision-makers to allow them to bypass environmental and public health protections...

Wisconsin legislators need to learn this lesson fast before they cause more devastation.

There is a bill racing through the so-called special jobs session that attempts to do more of the same, but on a much larger scale. Senate/Assembly Bill 24 (which should be called the "Polluters Over People Bill") would give a free pass to industries that damage natural resources. This would jeopardize Wisconsin's water quality and quantity, air protections and public input opportunities.

The bill also would provide a back door for mining operations to set up shop without obeying conservation laws that have been on the books for decades. Just as We Energies got a regulatory pass in 2008, mining interests have received this gift of a bill by being significant campaign contributors - in this case to Gov. Scott Walker...

Wisconsin legislators may soon have to cast a vote on SB/AB 24. They should connect the dots between this week's environmental disaster in Lake Michigan and the ones that would flow from this new legislation.

Cool Shout-Out Via Twitter And State Sen. Sen. Chris Larson

I love the way e-communication can work. This blog posting closes the loop.
Thank you, Senator:

ChrisJLarson Chris Larson

The case is made for recalling Scott Walker. What's your top reason?... fb.me/16u7NAoXX

3 hours ago

Legislating Though Dysfunction, Partisan Hackery Is The New Wisconsin Standard

Consider that while the state continues to shed jobs, the Wisconsin State Senate and Assembly, under GOP leadership, are devoting time in their much-ballyhooed Special Legislative Session on Jobs instead to:

1. Waste an all-night session in the Assembly to specifically amend a state scholarship program that had nothing to do with jobs - - and that had already so amended.

2. Debate and pass in the Senate The Permission Granted To Shoot-A-Burglar, Or Maybe The UPS Driver Law.

3. Agree to let people carry concealed weapons into the Capitol Building.

4. Debate and pass in the Senate The Teach Abstinence In Public Schools Bill.

5. Work to approve a bill hamstringing recall petition circulators with burdensome new legal rules to make Gov. Walker's removal by recall beginning in mid-November more difficult.

6. Debate and pass a bill in the Senate changing future primary schedules to penalize college student voting and also to limit absentee-ballot access.

And that's only a half-dozen examples culled in 20 minutes from my blog.

[Thursday update: Add Assembly approvals overnight for teacher discipline and creating an elected Milwaukee County Comptroller - - hey, one job created! - - to the 'jobs' agenda.]

This legislative farce and dismissal of the real world is taking place on the public dime at the Capitol in Madison as jobs continue to drain away from the state, and as the State Department of Revenue has said Scott Walker's 250,000 new jobs pledge is unattainable.

But the good news for out-of-work Wisconsinites: rest assured that soon there will be no more medical talk in sex-ed classes about where babies and HIV come from, comfort yourself knowing you can attend a State Capitol hearing with a gun in your pocket and be confident that you'll get a free shot at someone you think is breaking into your house.

On, Wisconsin.

Big Pharma, Like Wall Street Banks, Has Get Out Jail Free Cards

The British drug behemoth GlaxoSmithKline - - (Advair to Avandia to Aquafresh, and straight through the alphabet to hundreds of brand names: Beano to Horlicks to Polident to Zantac)  - - is about to nip multiple civil and criminal investigations in the bud writing a check:

Federal prosecutors began an investigation in Colorado in 2004, later taken over by the U.S. attorney in Massachusetts, into whether Glaxo promoted drugs for unapproved uses, and into ways Glaxo potentially influenced doctors. The probe concerns nine of the company’s best-selling products from 1997 to 2004, including the Advair lung treatment, Glaxo said in its annual report.


Today’s settlement also covers a U.S. Justice Department probe of Glaxo and a Medicaid rebate program, and a Justice Department investigation into the development and marketing of the Avandia diabetes drug, the company said.

And though the Glaxo payment is a record-breaker for pharmaceutical firms, the company will wrap up these pending probes with a surplus in reserves it had set aside just for these matters.

Is it right that the company buys its way out of trouble and has a windfall to spend?

The company set aside 2.2 billion pounds ($3.5 billion) in the fourth quarter last year in anticipation of reaching an agreement on the cases. Glaxo said it will have about 1 billion pounds of its 2.9 billion pounds in total legal provisions remaining after today’s settlement is completed, and it hasn’t decided what to do with the money

Look at the other troubles it is still facing and ask yourself if anything that money alone should not be allowed to fix?

Glaxo still faces probes involving the United Nations oil- for-food program, and HIV product sales and marketing in the U.S...

This enormous double standard in liabilities and consequences that benefits big corporations - - with the costs ultimately borne by customers and consumers - - reminded me of the recent disparity between an announced CitiBank civil settlement involving mortgage investment fraud and criminal charges brought in Wisconsin against lower-level mortgage scam artists.

When the Occupy Wall Street Movement looks for other targets, boycotts of Big Pharma should be right up there.

Rep. Krusick, Assembly GOP Leaders Vie For "Least Informed" Trophy

Engrave all their names on the hardware, as none knew the all-night, nine-hour debate they just put the rest of the State Assembly through over college scholarship preferences for racial minorities was a useless exercise - - because the preferences State Rep. Peggy Krusick, (D-Milwaukee), wanted to get rid with a statutory amendment had already been removed.

A year ago.

I had suggested Krusick, a Democrat, was behaving more like a Republican for carrying their anti-affirmative action water, but now I see that she was behaving more like a charter member of the new Know Nothing Party, which is a growing GOP/Tea Party offshoot.

I regret my error.

Breaking News: Special WI Senate Jobs Session Interrupted By Shoot-A-Burglar Law

This is after the Senate passed an abstinence-instruction law for the public schools.

Priorities, priorities.

Remember Wisconsin's New Early-Morning Alcohol Sales Law?

Seems we have both a new law allowing earlier-morning booze sales and a new poster-boy for the perils of early morning intoxication.

No word if the authorities directed the man to jail for contempt or to a detox center for treatment.

On, Wisconsin.

Yet Another Roadblock By Republicans To Walker's Recall

The partisan game-playing by Republicans with the Wisconsin electoral process continues unabated as the effort to recall Scott Walker edges ever closer.

On top of first-ever signature notarization requirements, now a GOP official has offered up yet another obstacle:

Separate recall petitions and thus double the signature work and notarization hassles, too, for both Walker and sidekick Rebecca Kleefisch, the TV-reporter-turned-Tea Party Lt. Gov., according to Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen -  - - - though they ran together.

So, 1,080,000 signatures are needed to both recall Walker and ensure that Kleefisch can't somehow sneak into the office.

WI Legislature Continues To Discourage Voting

Only soldiers can get an absentee ballot by email, and the primary date is moved from September to August, keeping students from voting at the polls, the Senate now says.

Republicans are simply working to suppress the Democratic turnout through various methods, including registration and other restrictions in the Voter ID bill. 

What a way to run a democracy.

You'd Book Walker To Speak At The Union League Club In Chicago?

And not expect protests?

Is today "Celebrate Irony Day" in Chicago?

You might as well have booked him into a fund-raiser at a theater showing "Total Recall."

Explanation, here.

More WI Jobs Evaporating - - Like Walker's 250,000 New Jobs Pledge

Dana  is closing its Milwaukee auto parts' plant, and moving 165 jobs, including 150 good union positions, to a Kentucky plant.

Which raises, again, this question:

Why has the state media underplayed the recent Wisconsin Department of Revenue projection that Scott Walker's  pledge to create 250,000 new private sector jobs by the scheduled end of his term is unattainable?

As the AP had reported:

The Department of Revenue report released Friday predicts that by 2014, the state will have added only 136,000 jobs in the private sector compared with 2010. The job growth estimate was down 43,000 from the department's previous report released in June.

Does Walker get to spin away from the pledge?

Nearly Five Years Ago, I Asked A Question About The Oak Creek Power Plant

In the second-ever posting on this blog, 8,595 items ago, I posed a simple question on Feb. 3, 2007 about approvals for and concerns over the We Energies controversial coal-fired Oak Creek Power Plant under construction - - where a bluff and coal ash landfill beneath some additional utility construction at the complex  fell into Lake Michigan earlier this week:

It turns out that the huge new coal-fired power plant that WE Energies is building along Lake Michigan in Oak Creek is not yet free of the legal and regulatory questions that had slowed its approval...

Wisconsin utilities operate with state-approved monopolies and guaranteed rates of return. That's a pretty sweet deal in a free enterprise economy, so is it asking too much of the utilities to meet the highest legal and environmental standards?

Apparently, the answer was from the DNR was, yes, that's asking too much, as the Journal Sentinel's Don Behm and Thomas Content report in a shocker:

State environment regulators gave We Energies a pass in 2008 - exempting it from certain rules so that construction work could be done atop coal ash landfills on a bluff on the Lake Michigan shoreline at the utility's Oak Creek Power Plant, officials said Tuesday.

Department of Natural Resources officials determined in 2008 that construction activities on an ash-filled ravine and other small landfills south of the utility's two plants on the property would not increase the risk of the ash or other contaminants getting into the lake, said Frank Schultz, the department's waste supervisor in Milwaukee. We Energies is building an air quality control facility for the older power plant at the site.

State environmental and utility regulators at the time decided that the construction activity would not significantly damage the environment, so no impact studies were needed.

Can you believe it?

Where Is The Money For All These Road Projects Walker Wants?

The small government people in the "broke" state run by Scott Walker sure do want to spend a lot of money on new, big-dollar roads. Is there a budget for this?

(Pause)

I didn't think so:

November 2, 2011 For Immediate Release Contact: Cullen Werwie, 608‐267‐7303

Joe Nestler, Director, WisDOT Bureau of State Highway Programs (608) 266‐9495 joseph.nestler@dot.wi.gov

Transportation Projects Commission Approved Highway Projects for Environmental Study

TPC action allows environmental study work to proceed on six potential major highway projects
Madison – Today action was taken by Wisconsin’s 15‐member Transportation Projects Commission (TPC) to move forward with environmental studies on six potential major highway project candidates.

This was the second time the TPC has met in 2011—the same group met only once in the eight years prior to 2011.

“A quality transportation system serves as the foundation of economic growth by helping move raw materials to factories, workers to jobs, and finished products to markets” said Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker who also serves as TPC Chairman.

“Approving these projects for environmental study is a crucial step to address significant mobility and safety concerns along some of our state’s key travel
corridors.”

Projects approved for environmental study include:

    I‐94, St. Croix County, US 12 to WIS 65

This six‐mile segment of I‐94 between US 12 and WIS 65 in St. Croix County provides direct interstate access to the cities of Hudson and Roberts and is an important route for moving freight throughout the state and region. Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) volume along the corridor is 49,000 and future AADT is expected to grow to 71,000 by 2030. Currently, an average of 31 crashes occur annually along the six‐mile mile corridor. A majority of the corridor has crash rates above the statewide average.

    US 12 (Beltline Highway), Dane County, US 14 to County N

This 19‐mile section of US 12 (Madison Beltline in Dane County) between County N and US 14 links the city of Madison with the Interstate highway system. Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) volumes throughout the corridor currently vary between 30,800 and 146,500 AADT and are expected to grow tobetween 37,900 and 172,000 by 2030. Currently, an average of over 600 crashes, including 14 fatalities occur annually along the Beltline corridor. About half of the corridor has crash rates significantly greater than the statewide average.

    I‐39/90, Dane, Columbia and Sauk counties, US 12 (Madison Beltline) to Wisconsin Dells

This 56‐mile section of I‐39/90 in Dane, Columbia and Sauk counties provides critical interstate access to major Wisconsin cities including Madison, Wisconsin Dells, Wausau, and Eau Claire, along with Minneapolis and Chicago. Average Annual Daily Traffic (AADT) volumes throughout the corridor currently vary between 37,800 and 90,000 AADT and are expected to grow to between 48,100 and 117,000 by 2030. The corridor is an important route for summer tourism and for moving freight throughout the region. Currently, an average of 520 crashes including 30 fatalities occur annually along the 56‐mile corridor. About 40‐percent of the corridor reflects crash rates that are significantly higher than the statewide average
.
    US 51, Dane County, US 12 (Beltline) to WIS 19

This approximately nine‐mile corridor of US 51 between the Madison Beltline and WIS 19 in DeForest provides access to major employment and residential areas and also serves regional traffic to outlying communities. An estimated 19,100 to 49,600 vehicles drive this stretch of US 51 every day, a number that is projected to increase to between 31,900 and 69,700 vehicles by the year 2030. Currently, an average of over 250 crashes, including nine fatalities occur annually along the corridor. About 60‐ percent of the corridor reflects crash rates that are significantly greater than the statewide average.

    I‐43, Milwaukee and Ozaukee counties, Silver Spring Rd. to WIS 60

This 14‐mile segment of I‐43 in Milwaukee and Ozaukee counties provides critical interstate access between major metropolitan areas including Milwaukee, Chicago and Green Bay. Average Annual Daily Traffic volumes throughout the I‐43 corridor currently vary between 47,600 and 92,200 AADT and are expected to grow to between 58,400 and 109,800 by 2030. Currently, an average of over 225 crashes, including five fatalities occur annually along the 14‐mile corridor. About 45‐percent of the corridor reflects crash rates that are significantly greater than the statewide average.

    I‐94, Milwaukee County, 70th Street to 25th Street [Editorial insert: context, here]

This 3.5‐mile segment of I‐94 in Milwaukee County provides a critical interstate link for manufacturers, commuters and tourists within Milwaukee and the entire region. Average Annual Daily Traffic volumes throughout the I‐94 corridor currently vary between 138,000 and 156,000 AADT and are expected to grow to between 171,000 and 181,000 by 2030. Currently, an average of over 300 crashes per year occur along the 3.5‐mile corridor. Nearly 90‐percent of the corridor reflects crash rates that are significantly greater than the statewide average.

The TPC is a public/private commission chaired by the Governor that also includes five state senators, five Assembly representatives and three citizen members.

The WisDOT Secretary serves as a non‐voting member. The commission typically meets in a two‐year cycle. In the fall of odd‐numbered years, the commission considers projects to advance for environmental study.

The environmental review process for a particular highway project can vary greatly – from a year to several years – depending on a project’s size and complexity. The process typically considers a project’s potential environmental and/or social impacts, and outlines specific improvement alternatives and estimated costs.

In even‐numbered years, the commission may recommend projects for enumeration (officially adding a project to the list for construction through the state budget). The TPC cannot recommend projects for enumeration unless they have successfully gone through the environmental study stage.

The 2011 – 13 state budget revised the definition of a major highway project as having a total cost of more than $30 million and involving at least one of the following:

o    Constructs a new highway route of 2.5 miles or more in length;
o    Reconstructs or reconditions an existing highway by either relocating 2.5 miles or more of the existing highway or adding one or more lanes five miles or more in length to an existing highway;
o    Improves to freeway standards 10 miles or more of an existing divided highway having two or more lanes in either direction;

In addition, the recently‐revised state law specifies that any project with a total cost of over $75 million that is not described above also qualifies as a major highway project.

Based on the recently‐revised major project definition, the TPC also acted Wednesday to move the Beltline/Verona Road Interchange project in Dane County from the State Highway Rehabilitation Program into the Major Highway’s Program.

More information about major highway projects in Wisconsin can be found on the Web at: www.dot.wisconsin.gov/projects/state/sixyear/major.htm.

NOTE: View this document on the Web at: http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/news/index.htm

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Rep. Peggy Krusick, Milwaukee 'Democrat,' Flips To GOP On Crucial Vote

Looks like Krusick forgot two important words when she carried water for ideologically-right wing Assembly Republicans to make it harder for minority students to quality for certain scholarships:

Those words would be "Jeff" and "Plale."

The impact of Krusick's pro-GOP bill amendment, as reported by the Journal Sentinel:

To qualify for the Talent Incentive Program, a student must show financial need and that he or she is a member of a minority group, a first-generation college student, handicapped, or a current or former prison inmate. Minority students are defined as those who are African-American, American Indian, Latino or Hmong.

Krusick's amendment would prevent minority status from being a factor that could be considered in granting the scholarships. Prison inmates would continue to receive preferential treatment under the bill.

Mary Lazich Kicks All That Stupid Science Out Of School Sex-Ed Classes

New Berlin's Republican State Senator Mary Lazich got her pro-abstinence sex-ed bill passed on a party-line vote Wednesday, eliminating the current law's medical and health focus in favor of her conservative/politically-correct/hormone-free dogma:

The bill would effectively repeal the measure passed by Democrats last year, the so-called Healthy Youth Act. That law says that schools that choose to offer sex education lessons must use medically accurate and age-appropriate curriculum, including information about birth control, sexually transmitted diseases and proper contraceptive use.

Look for Lazich's next bill to address a variety of subjects and education reforms that will mandate the use of Ouija boards and magic beans in science classes, and assign the classic novella, "Elves I Have Known," to all 9th graders. An alternative economics selection: "Use Alchemy To Beat The Coming Depression."

Walker Creates Jobs - - In His Office

Opens an office in the Governor's Office to review and approve agency administrative rules - - taking this pesky public policy-making function from his compliant legislature - - thus further consolidating his powers and keeping the people and those awful hearings away.

In Wisconsin, administrative rules have the power of law, so Walker gets to be a one-man Legislature, too.

Add it to the recall list.

Moderate State Senate Republican Faces Another Hurdle

Dale Schultz explains:

@DaleSchultz17 Sen. Dale W Schultz

More than a little disappointed that vandals attacked the windows outside my office at the Capitol overnight. pic.twitter.com/2tpX8l2h

Story Hill, I-94 Cemeteries Now In Road-Builders' Sights

Get ready for the highway battle of your lives, as "freeway" planning edges closer to a great West side Milwaukee neighborhood - - and three cemeteries, with sacred grounds, that are in the way.

Not that the road-builders and the DOT haven't been laying in the weeds for years with these plans.

More, here.

The GOP's Presidential Frontrunner Says China Is Developing "Nuclear Capability"

That would be true if Herman Cain and the rest of us were talking in 1963, as China first exploded a bomb in 1964.

The Case For Recalling Scott Walker, Restoring Wisconsin Democracy

With recall petitions eligible for signing later this week - - and certainly in full swing statewide by the 15th - - (information, here and here) - - let's begin to refine the case for cutting Gov. Walker's term to time served.

[Friday update: And if the GOP is any way behind this early filing that gives Walker a jump-start to unlimited fund-raising, add it to my case below.]

I've limited my argument to key actions by Walker that he also abetted and made worse with the heavy-handed use of state power, or through false statements or spin concocted to confuse the public and evade responsibility for his words and deeds, and their consequences.

Recall by the electorate - - a State Constitutional right and duty in perilous times - - should present little fear of the unknown to Walker, as it is the very procedure that paved his path to the Governor's Mansion after succeeding the recalled and discredited Milwaukee County Executive Tom Ament into that office in 2002.

But is Walker, the Eagle Scout, up to the challenge and willing to play fair and square?

Nope: Walker and his lieutenants are trying at this very moment to put in place laws, like petition notarization, designed to delay and gum up the recall procedure just as the game reaches the crucial inning.

So add manipulating the recall process itself for his personal advantage and political survival to the case for Walker's retirement.

Let's start at the beginning:

* He imperiously stripped away in the early days of his Governorship - - with only a 52% electoral, first-term 'mandate' - - a half-century of public employee collective bargaining and threw the state and tens of thousands of middle-class working families into turmoil.

Worse, he had hidden his intention from voters, camouflaged it in a "budget repair" bill, lied about it and got caught, refused to negotiate with unions that immediately acceded to his financial demands, falsely claimed he had openly campaigned on eliminating collective bargaining for public employees and conceded he had not so campaigned only when questioned about it under oath at a Congressional hearing (video, here).

That was The Big Lie - - a classically-deceptive move from a person ill-equipped and undeserving to govern - - that framed his national reputation as lead union-basher, and continues to frame the case for his removal.

* Add this question to the recall case against Walker:

If he is comfortable with his performance and agenda, why is Walker so often unable or unwilling to discuss them honestly?

"PolitiFact" has given Walker "mostly false" ratings. or worse, in 66%, or 24 of 36 statements vetted - - an ugly track record and the most such negatives for a Wisconsin figure this year.

[12/16/11 update: 27 of 39.]

He even earned a "false" rating twice in three days about that claim to have openly campaigned on his plan to go after collective bargaining - - here and here.

How is that possible?

Would you go to a lawyer, doctor, pastor, banker, auto mechanic or local pizza carryout joint with that history?

How can the Chief Executive of any operation be so unfamiliar with straight talk and true facts, or be trusted with substantial responsibilities for a state's credibility, its public resources and other people's lives?

It's evidence of a fundamental lack of moral authority, and illustrates why Walker should not hold the highest office in our state.

And there's more since:

[4/16/2012 update: A fresh "false" brings the ratio to 29-16 false-true. Here's the record:

• True6(6)
• Mostly True4(4)
• Half True6(6)
• Mostly False7(7)
• False18(18)
• Pants on Fire4(4)

The frame for Walker's recall is wider:

* He promoted and signed a power-grabbing Voter ID law allegedly to fight [non-existent] voting fraud, when, in fact,  the law - - a basic tool of democracy - - is being turned against the people and their electoral process by restricting registration and voting in areas where he and his Republican legislative allies are weak - - cities and college campuses.

* Walker moved, again through legislation to severely cripple 224 years of public trust management of rivers, lakes, streams and wetlands in Wisconsin in favor of private ownership, intrusion and controls - - again (remember his "modest proposal" in the "budget repair bill" that wiped out nearly all public sector collective bargaining) distorting the intent of the legislation by mislabeling it - - this time as a job-creating measure.

Look at the unfolding mess in Oak Creek, where the DNR in 2008 allowed We Energies to build on a bluff where coal ash had been buried, and now the bluff, vehicles, debris and coal ash are in Lake Michigan. Do we want even less regulation in the public interest where public waters are concerned?

* Even as unemployment rises in Wisconsin, the unimaginative and special-interest driven Walker killed job-creation in clean, green industries.

He served real estate and fossil-fuel business interests' with outlandish rules and restrictions on siting wind turbines, thus blocking hundreds of millions of dollars of wind farm projects in this emerging industry that were ready for installation, yet claiming repeatedly that the state is open for business.

And he forfeited the paid-for $810 million-Milwaukee-Madison Amtrak line. and future connections to a regional high-speed system, thus wiping out years of railroad construction and related employment...then turned around and asked for a big piece of the funding to be returned...then blasted the Obama administration for not sending back the money - - big money, tens of millions and more  - which Walker had had in hand mere weeks earlier. This was an amazing shift of responsibility and a patently duplicitous effort to have it both ways.

* Walker claimed he submitted a no-tax-increase budget, though it raised taxes on some lower-income working households by changing the fine print defining a tax credit for the working poor.

* His budget and subsequent actions heightened class disparities among residents, which is hardly the way a democracy is supposed to work. Walker has given high-earners and businesses in our "broke" state fresh tax breaks...and special services by a revamped Cabinet-level Commerce Department with substantial private-sector involvement...and plans to operate the Department of Natural Resources as a "chamber of commerce"-type agency, too - - but cut programs for lower-income citizens in areas as varied as medical care to school lunches to alcohol-and-drug counseling for students.

* Walker promoted and signed a pointless bill that endangers public safety by allowing the carrying of concealed weapons - - even in the politically-overheated State Capitol. It's a law that panders to the gun lobby, and with rising unemployment, is little more than government by distraction - - 'solving' a problem that doesn't exist while others fester, often through Walker's inattention or sole-proprietorship.

To sum it up: Walker has squandered a year expending considerable amounts of Wisconsin's credibility, quality of life, legal authority, and taxpayer dollars to reward himself with political protections and lavish fresh benefits on the most privileged residents and powerful lobbies in the state, thereby embedding his party power running the Big Government they claim to hate.

And while penalizing everyday families with lesser means and influence.

Three more years of Walker will disable the state. We can't afford it.

Case closed.

Add The Coal Ash Bluff Collapse To Regulatory FUBAR'S

So the DNR decided that nothing bad would happen to Lake Michigan if We Energies were allowed to build on a coal ash dump.

Maybe the thinking was, hey - - the S.S. Badger dumps every day in the Lake Michigan sailing season, so what the heck? Coal ash is just sand, right? (Not!)

Just a few days ago, in a different context, I put together a long list of pollution events that have occured because regulation was weak or naively based on corporate assurances:

Friday, October 28, 2011

Legislature, Governor Ignoring Pollution-Increase/Wetlands'-Loss History

As Wisconsin rushes to ease mining in watersheds, and remove restrictions on building into and disturbing waterways, riverbanks and shorelines, remember that when government allows private interests to have their way with public resources and waters, bad outcomes continue unabated.

So the list is now one mess longer.

Cheaper Hunting/Fishing Licenses In WI - - But In Less Open Space, Clean Waters

On the one hand, the Wisconsin State Assembly wants to encourage more hunting and fishing. Good news.

On the other hand, Walker and legislative leaders want to allow for more piers, mining debris and infrastructure, and development in state waters, wetlands, and on riverbanks and shorelines.

Oops.

Anyone see a contradiction?

Closed 'Model' Wisconsin Mine Still Toxifying Nearby Waters

Great story about a closed Wisconsin mine that is still polluting nearby waters, by Lee Bergquist of the Journal Sentinel that, by all rights, should sink the proposed Penokee Mine.

We Energies Joins S.S. Badger In Lake Michigan Coal Ash Dumps

The steamer does it on a daily basis.

We Energies when it loses a bluff to the lake.

None are good news for the water.

Opening Day For WI Concealed Gun Carry, 1st Day For "Accidental" Discharges

Earlier today we said it was Day One of Concealed Carry Watch in Wisconsin, where Republican legislators and Gov. Walker are welcoming pocket pistols in the State Capitol and elsewhere - - and now, right on schedule, here's a suspect in custody with bad timing, and more.

...[the alleged victim said the suspect] grabbed her by the hair and threw her onto the hood of her car. She noticed a black handgun, she said, and then heard an extremely loud bang that left her ear ringing into Tuesday. She said [the suspect] threatened to shoot her in the foot, but she kept screaming and fighting to break free and he eventually let her go and left. She said she then called 911...

Later Monday, she said, she was brushing out her hair and a shell casing fell out.

"I freaked out all over again," she said, and called 911. Police came and recovered the shell casing, she said.

Clean Wisconsin Disputes We Energies On Lake Michigan Ash/Debris Dump

[Separately, TV video here, and a national coal-tracking website's coverage, here. Plus: these Journal Sentinel photos show some of the power plant's structure right at the edge of the collapse.]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 1, 2011

Contact: Katie Nekola, General Counsel, 608-251-7020 x14; 

608-212-8751 (cell)

 

Not Discussed: Health Effects of Coal Ash Spill

Nearby residents should be concerned about bluff collapse at We Energies’ Oak Creek plant

 

MILWAUKEE – Monday’s bluff collapse at We Energies’ Oak Creek coal plant sent a substantial amount of coal ash into Lake Michigan. Coal ash is a dangerous byproduct of burning coal to make electricity, yet has potentially toxic health effects if it enters our groundwater.

 

“We Energies said in an update on its website today that coal ash is ‘not a hazardous material,’” says Katie Nekola, attorney for Clean Wisconsin, “but that is far from true. The fact is, coal ash contains chemicals and compounds that are dangerous to human health. This disaster proves that we need better regulation of coal ash and that the public deserves the right to know what’s in their drinking water.”

 

Coal ash contains 24 known pollutants, some of which, according to the National Resource Council, are toxic even in miniscule quantities. Those toxins include: arsenic, boron, cadmium, chromium, hexavalent chromium, lead, mercury, and dioxins, along with other chemicals and compounds.

 

These toxins can cause serious health problems including cancers, central nervous system damage, and blood and kidney disorders. Coal ash dump ponds and landfills are often unlined, and arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium can leach into local drinking water. One Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study found that residents living near unlined ash ponds run a risk of cancer from arsenic contamination that is 2,000 times greater than the EPA's threshold for acceptable risk. At Oak Creek, the coal ash came from a decades-old, closed coal ash landfill. This spill comes at a time when Congress is considering limiting EPA's authority to regulate coal ash as a hazardous waste.

 

“This landslide poured toxic materials directly into Lake Michigan, which 10 million people rely on for drinking water,” said Nekola. “Area residents should insist that We Energies and state regulators ensure the safety of their water supplies as soon as possible.”

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Clean Wisconsin, an environmental advocacy organization, protects Wisconsin’s clean water and air and advocates for clean energy by being an effective voice in the state legislature and by holding elected officials and polluters accountable.  Founded in 1970 as Wisconsin’s Environmental Decade, Clean Wisconsin exposes corporate polluters, makes sure existing environmental laws are enforced, and educates citizens and businesses. On behalf of its 10,000 members and its coalition partners, Clean Wisconsin protects the special places that make Wisconsin such a wonderful place to live, work and play.  Phone: 608-251-7020, Fax: 608-251-1655, Email: information@cleanwisconsin.org, Website: www.cleanwisconsin.org.

 

If Scott Walker Really Held Eagle Scout Values...

He'd want to win any contest - - including a recall challenge to his incumbency - - fair and square.

Because he always does the right thing.

Scout's honor. His words.

But Walker has ignored the message in this sample charge to Eagle Scouts' of "honest work, unselfish citizenship" all year:

...I charge you to undertake your citizenship with a solemn dedication. Be a leader, but, lead only towards the best. Lift up every task you do and every office you hold to the high level of service to god and to your fellow man. So live and serve that these who know you, will be inspired to the finest living. We have too many who use their strength and their brains to exploit others and to gain selfish ends. I charge you to be among those who dedicate their skills and ability to the common good. Build America on the solid foundations of clean living, honest work, unselfish citizenship and reverence for god and, whatever others say or may do, you leave behind you a record of which every Scout may be justly proud. 

Instead he wants to rig or benefit from selfishly-altered recall and related election processes - - again bringing to mind the tawdry student election on the Marquette University campus in 1988 where his disdain for rules and fairness in elections appears to have begun.

His sophomore year, Walker ran for president of the Associated Students of Marquette University (ASMU, the former title for Marquette Student Government). He was accused of violating campaign guidelines on multiple occasions.

The [Marquette] Tribune reported then that he was found guilty of illegal campaigning two weeks before his candidacy became official. Later, a Walker campaign worker was seen placing brochures under doors at the YMCA. Door-to-door campaigning was strictly prohibited.

Walker initially denied this but later admitted to the violation, which resulted in lost campaign privileges at the YMCA.

In the run-up to election day, the Tribune’s editorial board endorsed Walker’s opponent John Quigley, but said either candidate had the potential to serve effectively.

However, the Tribune revised its editorial the following day, calling Walker “unfit for presidency.” The column cited Walker’s distribution of a mudslinging brochure about Quigley that featured statements such as “constantly shouting about fighting the administration” and “trying to lead several ineffective protests of his own.”

The revision also expressed disappointment in Walker’s campaign workers reportedly throwing away issues of the Tribune after the endorsement was initially made.

Walker dismissed this, saying he had no knowledge of what his supporters did, according to a Tribune article from February 25, 1988

Walker is as Walker was, and does.

Today Is Day One Of Concealed Carry Watch In Wisconsin

A law permitting the concealed carrying of guns and other weapons, and which does nothing useful in Wisconsin except providing conservative politicians an easy pander with some gun owners and their lobbies, goes into effect today.

How long will it take for someone with a freshly-minted concealed carry permit based on a whole four hours training to misread a situation, or stir one up, that ends in an unforgiving use of that weapon.

Still the best approach: a call to 9-1-1 if there's trouble, and a sign like this one to prevent it.

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