GOVERNOR ACKNOWLEDGES PROCLAMATION FAULT

The office of the governor sent this letter to milwaukeeworld.com this afternoon in response to our earlier posting accusing the governor's office of using copyright material by Michael Horne that appeared here on February 12th in a proclamation issued in honor of the 60th anniversary of Glorioso Bros. grocery store in Milwaukee.
The governor's communications director, Dan Leistikow, admits that the proclamation came from this site, and gives the credit that had been lacking.
Milwaukeeworld is grateful for the governor's prompt attention to this matter of intellectual property.
--Michael Horne

pdf version

JIM DOYLE
GOVERNOR
STATE OF WISCONSIN
P.O. BOX 7863, MADISON, WISCONSIN 53707-7863 􀂌 (608) 266-1212 􀂌 FAX: (608) 267-8983 􀂌
WWW.WISGOV.STATE.WI.US
March 29, 2006
Michael Horne
Milwaukeeworld.com
Dear Mr. Horne:
As I mentioned to you over the phone, our office does thousands of proclamations, and
works very hard to gather accurate and thorough information from whatever sources it
can on a very short timeframe. Since the material for the Glorioso Brothers
proclamation came from your posting, I wanted to send you this letter giving you
credit. Feel free to post this letter on your site.
Glorioso Brothers is a great Milwaukee small business, with a rich history and a
bright future in the city. Your article was a fitting tribute to the company and the
hardworking people who have made it a success.
Sincerely,
Dan Leistikow
Communications Directorv

SHAM TRAM? SCANT INFO ON CONNECTOR ACCORD

By Michael Horne

I hope you have plenty of memory in your computer, because I'm going to download the entire Common Council files on the proposed Milwaukee Connector project right now. We'll give you all the links, too.
Ready?
Here is the entirety of the files for City of Milwaukee Common council Legislative File Number 051610:
"Resolution expressing the City of Milwaukee's support for the Milwaukee Connector public transit project."
That's it, in its entirety. No "whereas," "be it resolved" or "be it further resolved" clauses. Nothing, in fact, for an alderman or for the public to know exactly what it is the Steering and Rules Committee will discuss when the file comes up.
This leads an inquiring mind to wonder why there is such scant information available. Usually the reason is because the information that does exist is bad, poorly-researched or ultimately more expensive than we should know.
The silent treatment is especially handy when very large sums and very large projects are involved.
It is well documented that a move was afoot in private for several years to transfer control of the publicly-owned Mitchell International Airport from the county board to an unelected regional authority. That disaster benefited from silence and the withholding of information, and there is reason to be concerned that the proponents of the Milwaukee Connector project have not been particularly aggressive at advancing their cause, judging from the paucity of information out there. This group has spent $6 million studying an alternative form of transportation for the region, and what do we get for it? Surreptitiously introduced legislation unsupported by documentation.
When the file was submitted to the city clerk on March 23rd, he was unaware it was immediately on its way. His staff, significantly, had not been engaged in drafting legislation to express the City's support for the connector public transit project.
However, a source has provided milwaukeeworld with a Draft Common Council Resolution dated March 16th. The final resolution to be considered by the council will likely differ from the one before me which reads as if it were written by an engineer, probably from HNTB, the giant consulting firm that significantly has nothing about the Milwaukee Connector on its website, despite its intimate involvement with the project.
In a document that includes a staggering 22 "whereas" clauses, one "resolved" clause and four "further resolved" clauses, the draft proposal tells us that it has been seventeen years since $241 million in federal transportation aid was allocated to our area, and six years since the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County reached agreement to use $91.5 million to implement results of the Milwaukee Connector project."
The connector would be a "guided street tram" which "represents the new generation of bus rapid transit technology."
The next whereas tells us "the guided street tram is the best choice to fit the urban fabric of Milwaukee, versus the other technologies that have" [the sentence just dies right there.]
This miracle machine with "twice the life span of buses ... provides a flexible dual mode system operating on a guidance track with electric overhead power or optional being 'off-line' powered with a hybrid diesel/electric generator providing a more environmentally friendly public transportation system for downtown."
One whereas clause mentions "the proposed routes" for the guided tram. Somebody has penciled in a change so the sentence now reads, "the currently proposed routes."
These routes would "connect the city's major attractions, business centers, hotels, universities, hospitals, sports and entertainment venues, theaters, museums, dense residential neighborhoods and more with modern transportation."
So, then, what we have is a very poorly promoted proposal for a rubber wheeled transit system that will operate on overhead wires along an invisible track but can switch to a diesel engine for a little off-roading. The system would apparently operate two routes on 13 miles of already heavily-developed streets where it will displace a certain amount of parking and all buses.
Oh, and it's French technology, never before tested in the United States of America.
Sounds like a bus to me. Let's call it the "Sham Tram."
The final "further resolved" clause in the draft document states that the "Common Council directs the City's representative on the Milwaukee Connector Steering Committee to support the guided street tram as the locally preferred alternative and to vote "yes" to advance the next phase of the study which is preliminary engineering."
The proposal has raised the ire of Ald. Robert Bauman, chair of the Public Works Committee, which ordinarily would have had jurisdiction over the matter had Council President Willie Hines, Jr., the resolution's sponsor, not instead moved the file to the Steering and Rules Committee, which he heads.
Bauman has issued three releases against the proposal. He argues that the routes proposed for the connector are already served by buses and are virtually fully developed. He feels a connector system of some sort (Bauman, who was once in the railroad car business, is a fan of rails) that would operate in the city's lesser developed areas, like the Menomonee Valley as a spur to new businesses and residents.
Bauman would also like to see transportation dollars used to bring high speed and/or commuter rail to Milwaukee, which he said would provide a greater economic and social benefit than replacing Milwaukee's buses with -- buses.
The Milwaukee Connector has a website that contains a number of recommendations, studies and cost estimates. It is considerably out of date, with the most recent news dating to 2004. This is curious, especially since the connector is so close to being studied by the common council.
Take a look for yourself, and avail yourself of an opportunity to place your comment at the site
On March 25th, the city of Orleans, France, chose against a rubber tired tram system in favor of conventional steel wheels and rail.
[Update: March 29 2006 -- The Common Council file language will be introduced tomorrow, and we will update you when the information comes in. --Ed.]

MIDWIFE RESPONSE TO SUIT

A case last year in which an uncredentialed midwife has been charged with reckless endangerment in the death of a child during delivery has drawn a comment from the Wisconsin Guild of Midwives, a group which has been awaiting the governor's signature on a bill that handily passed both houses of the legislature on January 31.
Katie Prown, who led a grassroots charge to victory for the bill sent the following release to milwaukeeworld.com in which she says the pending licensing law would clarify the legal status of midwives.
Helen Dentice, the midwife who participated in the tragic circumstances attendant to the birth of Faith Stoiber, would not have qualified to serve as midwife under the provisions of SB477, Prown said.
According to the release:

SB 477, will close a gap in current law by requiring midwives who provide out-of-hospital maternity care to undergo the training necessary to qualify for the Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) credential. The CPM credential requires midwives to complete a rigorous educational program, to develop collaborative relationships with physicians, and to adhere to strict guidelines for identifying risk factors that necessitate hospital care.

Helen Dentice, who did not have the credentials that SB 477 would put into law, delivered Faith Stoiber in her parents’ home last November. The infant died, and Dentice has been charged with second-degree reckless endangerment, unauthorized delivery of a prescription drug, and practicing medicine without a license.

“I’m grateful that the legislators of this state recognized the need for this law,” said Bridget Stoiber, Faith’s mother. “Right now it can be very confusing for families to try to tell the difference between trained and credentialed midwives and lay midwives.” Under current Wisconsin law, there are no regulations governing out-of-hospital maternity care and no provisions to prevent lay people from advertising as midwives and delivering babies.

“As a Certified Professional Midwife who’s been practicing for over 25 years, it doesn’t surprise me that this legislation has earned such widespread support from the many physicians across the state who work with me and with other CPMs,” said Jane Crawford Peterson, President of the Wisconsin Guild of Midwives. “They know the difference between a CPM and a lay midwife, and they’re grateful that we finally have a bill that will clarify the distinction and give families the tools they need to determine if their midwife is appropriately trained.”

SB 477 requires midwives to disclose detailed information about their education, skills, and experience and to provide families with an individualized plan for care in the event that the mother or infant requires transfer to a hospital. The bill also clarifies that collaborating physicians cannot assume liability on behalf of the midwives who consult them. “Those of us who work with Certified Professional Midwives,” said Mike Feigel, MD, “believe this legislation will help open up collaborative relationships by removing the potential for litigation that has kept many doctors from being willing to confer with or accept patient referrals from midwives who practice in out-of-hospital settings.”

--Michael Horne

WALKER WITHDRAWAL PLUS FOR CLARKE

[An Opinion Piece]
The withdrawal from the Republican primary for governor by Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker creates an incidental, but not unanticipated shift in the partisan dynamics of the September election.
Why? Because it will open the opportunity for Republicans to cause mischief by voting in the Democratic primary, specifically for their hero Sheriff David Clarke, Wisconsin's most prominent DINO.
Clarke faces opposition in the Democratic primary election from challenger Vince Bobot, who has proclaimed that he is a "real democrat," and not a Democrat In Name Only like you-know-who.
When Bobot entered the race, it was with the expectation that Scott Walker would remain a candidate for the governor's seat. The loyal republicans who got Walker where he is today, it was reasoned, would certainly vote to elevate him to the high office once held by such notable figures of the Grand Old Party as Scott McCallum, Cadwallader Washburn, Jeremiah Rusk and the legendary Edward Scofield.
Wisconsin voters are not permitted to vote across party lines during primary elections. It was reasoned that while the republicans would be busy voting for Walker and therefore prohibited from also casting a vote for Clarke, Bobot's supporters on the democratic side would cast their votes for him, and not for the grandstanding cowboy from State Street.
Now that Walker has withdrawn from the race, and with no other appreciable primary races within the republican party, Walker's supporters will be free to cast their votes in the democratic primary election for Clarke.
Whether republicans will do so, and in sufficient numbers to guarantee reelection for the sheriff remains to be seen. There have been instances in the past when the party faithful have remained at home during primary elections in which there was no race within their party. This noble tradition should be continued.
--Michael Horne

$115,000 QUESTION FOR WALKER

THE $115,000 QUESTION:

CAN WALKER CONVERT

GOVERNOR RACE FUNDS?

By Michael Horne

How much of Scott Walker’s remaining gubernatorial campaign funds could be converted to the county executive’s 2008 campaign?

“There is internal disagreement on this issue,” says George Dunst, the legal counsel for the State of Wisconsin Elections Board.

He says that some of the staff feel Walker could close his campaign books at the end of the 2006 general election and roll over all of Walker’s remaining funds “to any future race,” whether local or statewide.

However there are those, including Dunst, who believe Walker may not use all of the sums he received in the governor’s campaign in a future county executive race, since some of the contributions he received were in amounts larger than the $3,000 threshold for that position. [Individuals may donate up to $10,000 total to any candidate for governor, per election cycle.]

By this analysis, there may be more than $100,000 in Walker’s campaign treasury that he would be forbidden to spend on his future campaigns for non-statewide office.

Final figures for Walker’s gubernatorial bid will not be released until the end of July, but we took a look at the two most recent Walker finance reports, from July 2005 and January 2006, and identified at least 37 individuals who had contributed more than $3,000 to Walker’s bid.

We calculated the overage by adding together the sums above $3,000 that the contributors had given Walker, and came up with a figure of at least $115,535 that could be embargoed from Walker’s county executive campaign. This is approximately 20 per cent of the $563,306 Walker had on hand as of January 31, 2006.

The record shows that Walker received six contributions of the $10,000 maximum, including those from M&I Bank head Dennis Kuester, publisher Roy Reiman, Roberta Reiman, finiancier Richard Nasgovitz, fund manager Edward Mooney and architect / heir David Vogel Uihlein, Jr.

Other large contributors include Fiserv founder George Dalton ($9,500) and his wife Pauline Dalton ($9,000); Artisan Partners owners Andrew Ziegler and Carlene Ziegler ($8,000 apiece).

Other donors included Terrence Wall of Madison, Ralph Stayer of Johnsonville Brats, Michael Cudahy and his kin Anne and Fred Luber.

Any potential future seeker of Walker’s county executive seat would be advised to challenge the excess Walker contributions; it would take 39 contributions of the maximum permitted amount of $3,000 to equal the $115,535 advantage Walker enjoys from collecting contributions of over $3,000 and up to $10,000 during his abandoned run for governor.

It will be interesting to watch this issue play itself out.