LAWTON SPLITS WITH DOYLE ON FILM FUNDS

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld

By Michael Horne

And The Milwaukee World Hound Dog Team

Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton, the champion of Wisconsin's $4 million tax break for motion picture production in the state, differs from Governor Jim Doyle on the issue.
Doyle suggests abandoning the tax credit after its first year. Lawton tells milwaukeeworld: "We saw tremendous potential in just the first year. This is a growing industry for us in Wisconsin and to eliminate the credits is to shut down the industry, and jobs will be lost."
Doyle's choice for his Lieutenant Governor -- Kevin W. Shibilski -- has been working for the past couple of years for Stifel Nicolaus & Co. in the public finance division there. Those are the folks that gave us (with the Royal Bank of Canada) the school lawsuit featuring five southeast Wisconsin districts. A film crew from ABC News was in Kenosha recently working on a segment about the case. They interviewed Marc Hujak of the Kenosha School Board. I want to find out when it will air, but nobody got back to me yet.
Former Ald. Michael S. D'Amato makes a return to public life today, Friday, February 20th, 2009 at 4:30 p.m. when he is to appear at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning on a panel discussing the Obama administration and its plans for cities. Just in time, too, since President Barack Obama created a White House Office for Urban Affairs yesterday by executive order. ...
The Milwaukee Air and Water Show will be at Bradford Beach, including the U.S.A.F. Thunderbirds. The show will "air" July 25th and 26th, 2009. This is in a neighborhood that has a problem with noise levels at volleyball games!
Rep. F. James "Jim" Sensenbrenner, Jr., is off again to Liechtenstein for his fifth visit in as many years. I have always been suspicious about Sensenbrenner's frequent travels to that minor duchy -- which happens to be a major powerhouse in banking circles. (According to Slate, Liechtenstein is one of three bank havens now that Swiss depositors have been outed.) Does Sensenbrenner have secret bank accounts there? Is he smuggling stuff in or out? Maybe he's just playing the lottery. His trip is sponsored by the same outfit investigated in the past for paying his way to Liechtenstein, the International Institute for Management Development, a Swiss organization. ... The folks at the Howard J. Schroeder American Legion Post are searching for a new operator for their tavern, 6006 W. Mequon Road. ... My birthday is Ash Wednesday -- how much fun is that? I'll figure out when and where the party is, and Twitter about that. Yes, I am now a twit.