Thursday, May 17, 2012
A day after Gov. Scott Walker called recent jobs numbers inaccurate and sped up the release of federal statistics, the state Department of Workforce Development reported the state lost private sector jobs for the second consecutive month.
Employment has become central to the decisive recall battle for the state's top office, and Gov. Scott Walker experienced yet another setback Thursday as state labor officials reported the state lost 5,900 jobs in April. The new monthly data, which the state Department of Workforce Development stresses is preliminary and subject to revision, shows the state lost 6,200 private sector jobs, but added 300 government jobs, netting out at a loss of 5,900 non-farm jobs. The data was gathered through a survey of 3.5 to 5 percent of Wisconsin employers. Since December 2010, the month before Walker took office, the state has added a total of 400 jobs. It's the second consecutive month of private sector job losses in the state. The state's …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Now that the recall primary is behind us and messages from both sides are more targeted, Wisconsin voters are starting to get more decisive.
Gov. Scott Walker is up by six points against Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, according to a new Marquette University Law School poll of likely voters. The results of the poll were released Wednesday during a segment of the on-going "On the Issues" series with Mike Gousha and Professor Charles Franklin. Polling of 704 registered voters took place between May 9-12, and the poll results include responses from 600 likely voters in the pool with a 3.8 percent margin of error. Only 3 percent of those surveyed said they are undecided. The voting sample was split at about 52 percent women, 48 percent men and 89 percent white and about five percent each for African Americans and Hispanics. Before the primary, registered voters had Barrett leading by…
Facing a recall election, the governor says new jobs numbers released Wednesday are a more accurate reflection of how the state is doing. Tom Barrett calls announcement a political stunt.
Gov. Scott Walker released a new set of job numbers Wednesday morning that showed the state gained 23,300 public and private jobs during 2011, up from a previously-reported drop of 33,900. The new numbers come from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, part of a national report due to be issued on June 28, according to an Associated Press report. With Walker pushing up the announcement so that it comes three weeks ahead of the June 5 recall election, reaction has been predictably and wildly mixed. Walker's campaign said the numbers more accurately reflect what is happening in the state. The data is comprised of reports issued to 96 percent of Wisconsin employers and makes the numbers "much more reliable," according to a news …
The Racine Tea Party on Tuesday announced that Rep. Paul Ryan will make an appearance. They also have a location: Gorney Park on Nicholson Road in Caledonia.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
A total of four candidates are vying for a position in the newly formed 62nd Assembly District and yes... there's probably going to be a primary.
A Democratic primary election has become a possibility for the newly redistricted 62nd State Assembly seat now that a second Democratic candidate has announced their candidacy. Randy Bryce, 1718 Dale Drive, announced his bid for candidacy this afternoon. “With the current volatile political atmosphere in Wisconsin, I seek to build bridges so that all of the people in the State can have their voice heard," Bryce said. "Our government should be accessible, transparent, and, accountable. I seek to stop giving breaks to those who can afford it while the majority of working America keeps being told to make more sacrifices. I refuse to accept cuts to our services while property taxes are raised.” Bryce, 47, of Caledonia, is a political …
After serving as the village's administrator for over a year, Ron Meyer will get retroactive pay reflective of his job responsibilities.
The Mount Pleasant Village Board Monday voted to increase Interim Administrator Ron Meyer's pay so it is commensurate with his duties retroactive to May 10, 2011. After village trustees fired former Administrator Mike Andreasen in May 2011, they named Planning Director Ron Meyer as part of an interim management team with Village President Carolyn Milkie and former Clerk/Treasurer Debra Salas. The team was mostly dissolved after Salas left the village in February, and Meyer was named Interim Administrator in March 2012. Veronica Rudychev was hired to take Salas' place, and started working in Mount Pleasant in March. On April 23, 2012, trustees agreed to adjust Meyer's pay by giving him a one-time bonus of $7,500 for the work he'd done …
Burlington Democrat Kelley Albrecht officially announced today that she will challenge Rep. Robin Vos (R-Rochester) for his seat in the new 63rd Assembly District.
Her campaign Facebook page has been up for weeks, but the official announcement just came today: Kelley Albrecht of Burlington is running against Rep. Robin Vos (R-Rochester) in November in the new 63rd Assembly District. Previously, the 63rd Assembly District roughly included the northern part of Racine County, from Lake Michigan and west past I-94. If elected, Albrecht will represent Sturtevant, Dover, Rochester, Burlington, and most of Mount Pleasant in the 63rd Assembly District. The entire communities of Caledonia, North Bay, Wind Point, Norway, and Raymond plus pieces of the City of Racine are now in the 62nd, which essentially flipped places with the 63rd. Patch will talk with Albrecht more tomorrow about her candidacy, but for now…
Officials in Caledonia, Mount Pleasant and Sturtevant continue to have conversations with Countryside Humane Society for animal control while the City of Racine looks like it's on its own after Dec. 31, 2012.
When Countryside Humane Society first announced it would cease animal control as of Dec. 31 of this year, the City of Racine wanted to create a new agency with interested municipalities sharing the costs. The problems started when city officials presented their $6 million proposal and community officials saw projected costs skyrocket over what they'd been paying to Countryside. In Mount Pleasant, the price tag would have jumped from $25,000 a year with Countryside to $126,000 a year with the city. The story was similar in Sturtevant, with costs rising from $5,000 a year to $40,000. According to a story from The Journal Times, the Villages of Caledonia, Mount Pleasant and Sturtevant continue to have conversations with Countryside …
Monday, May 14, 2012
State Sen. Van Wanggaard's campaign today put out a press release saying he will participate in three debates with former Sen. John Lehman before the June 5 recall election. Lehman says media appearances don't count as debates.
State Sen. Van Wanggaard's campaign today issued a press release saying he will participate in three debates with former Sen. John Lehman before the June 5 general election for the recall in the 21st Senate District. According to the release, Wanggaard and Lehman will appear together on the radio, on TV, and in person over the next three weeks: on WRJN, for which the details are still getting hammered out; on "Upfront with Mike Gousha" on Channel 12 on May 27; and in person during the Patch/WGTD candidates forum on May 24 at Mount Pleasant Village Hall. “I’m looking forward to contrasting my bipartisan record of job creation and balancing the budget without raising taxes to the billions in tax hikes and job-killing policies my opponent …
The 28-day residency requirement in the Voter ID law and the unique summer election cycle could cause a low college student turnout, so Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett met with students Monday afternoon to energize young voters.
In a normal election year, college students are encouraged to go out and vote at their nearest polling location, but the new Voter ID law and the unique summer election schedule will completely change how political parties get out the college vote. Milwaukee Mayor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett met with UW-Milwaukee students and faculty Monday afternoon to remind them not only to get out and vote in the June 5 election, but to vote using the same address they used in the May 8 primary election. Because of the new 28-day residency requirement included in the Voter ID bill, students that voted from their campus location in May will have to request an absentee ballot to vote from that same address when they go home for the…
Edward Willing
8:24 pm on Friday, May 18, 2012
I would like to know how someone would believe that a survey of 3% of the entire state could possibly outweigh the real numbers of 96% of the state. more ›