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The Marquette freeway interchange in downtown Milwaukee will re-open on August 30 after four years of rebuilding. The final price-tag is not known yet, but it will be at least $10 million below the projected cost of $810 million. |
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Outagamie County is looking into a four-day work week to save money. Read more here. |
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Below is an article by the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Department of Administration titled, "Wind on the Water (WOW)." WCA Legislative Associate Monica Groves Batiza has been participating in a WOW working group at the PSC that has been given the charge of assessing the possibility of putting wind mills in lakes.
When Governor Doyle issued Executive Order #191 in April of 2007 recognizing the importance of reducing Wisconsin's greenhouse gas emissions, he established the Governor's Task Force on Global Warming. The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, which is providing support to the Task Force, has opened a docket investigating the feasibility and potential of an offshore wind energy project on the Great Lakes. The work group assembled to support this effort is called the Wind on the Water (WOW)
The WOW group will look at the potential for developing wind energy on Lake Michigan and Lake Superior. Wisconsin has already committed to get 10 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2015, and terrestrial, or land, wind resources provide some renewable energy to Wisconsin. However, the winds on the Great Lakes blow at a significiantly greater speed and consistency than wind over land in Wisconsin. WOW's task is to investigate the viability of this tremendous asset--wind power offshore-- taking account of the costs, benefits, and impacts for the state and local communities. |
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 Phase Two of The Wisconsin Way is now underway, with several public forums being held this week. Remaining dates and locations for the statewide forums include:
Wausau: July 23
Kenosha: July 24
Columbus: July 28
La Crosse: July 29
Janesville: August 4
Platteville: August 5
Superior: August 7
Milwaukee: August 11
Rhinelander: August 12
Appleton: August 14
Madison: August 19
For more detailed information on each location, click here.
Online registration is currently available for the second round of public forums. Registering ahead of time helps ensure there is sufficient space and seating, so please register and please pass the word.
You can also find recently posted data from public opinion polls conducted in January and May. Simply log in to the Web site with your e-mail address, and you'll be able to access this research and learn what residents across the state are saying about taxes, local services, economic development and the future of Wisconsin. |
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WCA President and Oconto County Board Chairman Lee Rymer, a strong advocate of "The Wisconsin Way" during his presidency, spoke at last week's second round of public forums in Green Bay. Rymer's comments included the fiscal challenges currently facing counties in both the northeastern part of the state and all of Wisconsin, as well as how the public forums were helping to engage our state's citizens in finding workable and sustainable long-term solutions.
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The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will hold a series of public hearings around the state in August on proposed rules relating to the identification, classification and control of invasive species. For your information, a copy of the Hearing Notice is attached, which includes the dates and times of the hearings. To access the official public hearing site for this rule, click here.
To access the DNR's Web site with more detailed information on the rule, click here.
If you choose to comment via email, click here. You can also comment in writing by addressing it to NR 40 Comments, Endangered Resources-6, DNR, Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707-7921. |
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 WCA will host "Opportunities and Challenges of an Aging Society Statewide Summit" August 19-20, 2008 at the Marriott Madison West. The two-day conference will take an in-depth look at aging issues and bring together some of the state's leading experts.
In addition to general sessions each of the days, there will be concurrent workshops on issues such as aging and disability resource centers, transportation coordination, and caregiver support. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Robert Applebaum, a professor in the Department of Sociology and Gerontology and Director of the Long-Term Care Project at the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
The WCA Aging Summit has been an initiative spearheaded by WCA President and Oconto County Board Chairman Lee Rymer and promises to be a worthwhile event for county officials around the state. Sign up today, as space is limited.
Click here for a full tentative agenda, including registration and housing information. |
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Ron Arendt, Wood County Park Administrator, retired on July 12 after serving since 1974. Thanks to Trent Miner, Chairman of the Wood County Highway Infrastructure and Recreation Committee, for submitting the following story on Ron.
Ron came to Wood County practically after college in May of 1974 and was promoted to Parks Administrator after a short stint as the Asst. Parks Administrator. Since that time, the Wood County Parks system has benefited from his foresight and knowledge. As times have changed, so have expectations of county campgrounds. No longer are Mom and Dad and the all the kids getting packed into tents in sleeping bags with nothing between them and the great outdoors but a good coating of Deep Woods OFF. Campers came onto the scene in higher numbers and bigger shapes and sizes. Our parks had to adapt to that change in camping attitude. Full Story... |
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The Pew Charitable Trusts has launched an initiative called "Make Voting Work" that strives to road-test innovative practices in election administration under the stress of real-world conditions. Their goal is to provide an evidence base that can serve as a substitute to uninformed conjecture and poorly grounded news headlines in grounding decisions by federal, state and local government policymakers about election administration.
The research currently underway in the 2008 presidential election cycle focuses on voter registration, post-election audits, poll worker training and the use of vote centers.
They intend to expand their research into examining other opportunities to cast a ballot at a location other than the traditional neighborhood precinct. To that end, they are seeking election officials who, under the stress of a presidential election, are interested in working with academic researchers to evaluate early, absentee and vote by mail systems this election (or to examine data that has previously been collected at the state or local level but has not been analyzed or widely disseminated). Full Story... |
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 Has your company signed up for the online Wisconsin County Purchasing Directory yet? This interactive tool is searchable, available 24/7 and allows vendors to include multiple contact names, e-mail addresses and cross references all for one low rate. To be a vendor, fill out the form found here.
If you are a county purchasing agent or make purchasing decisions for your county, take a closer look at the Wisconsin County Purchasing Directory. It provides comprehensive information on businesses that deal with counties all over the state and even includes references so you can speak with other counties first hand about their experiences with a particular vendor.
For more information on the directory, click here. |
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The Fox Valley Technical College's Criminal Justice Center for Innovation, in partnership with the National Crime Prevention Association and the Wisconsin Crime Prevention Practioners Association, is holding a seminar, "Emergency Readiness Planning for First Responders: Is Your Family Prepared When Disaster Strikes?"
The national training program will be held August 13 in Milwaukee and August 14 in Appleton, with first responders, law enforcement, emergency management personnel, crime prevention practitioners, educators, community, volunteer and church response agencies/organizations encouraged to attend. Learn more here. |
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 The WCA Group Health Trust is offering a scholarship to those enrolled in a full-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited two-or-four year Wisconsin college no later than the fall term of the application year.
The applicant, applicant's spouse, parent, grandparent or guardian must be an employee of a member of the Group Health Trust, with applications due August 31, 2008. Click here for more information, including the application form. |
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The Wisconsin County Mutual Insurance Corporation is once again taking applications for its scholarship program. Applicants must enroll in a full-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited two-or-four year Wisconsin college no later than the fall term of the application year.
Applicant's parent, grandparent or guardian of the applicant must be a county supervisor or employee of a County Mutual member county. The application deadline is August 31, 2008 and winners will be announced at the WCA Annual Conference October 12-14, 2008. Learn more here.
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