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Pipeline protest bill passes committee unanimously
With no dissent and no protest from either legislators or onlookers, a controversial bill ratcheting up penalties for trespassing on energy sites including pipeline projects passed out of an Assembly committee Wednesday. The Energy and Utilities Committee approved AB 426 in less than 10 minutes on a 14-0 vote. Both the Assembly bill and its […]
Report: Health coverage falls for second year in Wisconsin
After falling for several years, the number of uninsured people in Wisconsin rose for a second year in a row in 2018, according to a new report by Kids Forward, a statewide research and advocacy group for children and families. For people of color, the lack of access to health coverage is especially acute, according […]
Bipartisan bill divides unions, environmentalists
Legislation that would make it a felony to trespass on pipeline and other energy sites is exposing some divisions among Democrats and making allies of business groups and labor unions. Critics, principally environmental advocates, contend the measure would stifle dissent against controversial projects. Proponents, including Democrats allied with labor, are defending it as a worker […]
Kaul, other AG colleagues condemn food stamp cuts
Calling a Trump administration proposal to cut up to 3.6 million people off from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits “nothing short of cruel,” Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul signed on as one of 24 state attorneys general filing a joint comment opposing the measure. “If it goes into effect, thousands of Wisconsinites will lose […]
Rival restaurant lobby says it wants to put employees first
When teacher-turned-restaurant-proprietor Ryan Clancy attended his first restaurant industry lobbying day, he was already a little skeptical of the organization that purported to represent his business interests. Clancy wanted to know why the Wisconsin Restaurant Association (WRA) was lobbying to block local laws protecting the rights of LGBTQ employees and ordinances that would set higher […]
Senators: Don’t cut food-stamp eligibility
3.6 million could lose nutritional SNAP (food stamp) benefits under rule change.
GM strike ripples through Wisconsin
In Wisconsin, GM is just a shadow of what it was, but for workers the strike has a long reach.
Bad debt, charity care rise in state’s hospitals
High-deductible insurance, weaker ACA, other problems are to blame, depending on whom you ask.
Three-state swing brings Klobuchar to Wisconsin today
The visit is part of a swing taking Klobuchar through three closely watched northern states for the 2020 campaign: Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
DNR plans Marinette chemical contamination listening sessions
As worries persist about contamination from chemicals known as PFAS in and around Marinette and Peshtigo in northeastern Wisconsin, the state Department of Natural Resources will hold the first of six monthly listening sessions on the issue this Wednesday in Marinette. “People asked the DNR to give folks a forum to ask questions and receive […]
Gov. Evers gets loose on state podcast
It might never reach an audience the size of “Call Your Girlfriend,” “Pod Save America,” or “WTF with Marc Maron,” but the Department of Workforce Development has joined the wonderful world of podcasting. The idea came out of brainstorming including DWD’s secretary-designee, Caleb Frostman, and the department’s communications staff. “Anytime we can tell our story […]
Recovering birth costs from men
A Wisconsin bill that would expand a program that requires unwed fathers to help pay for the cost of a mother’s pregnancy and delivery — even when the father and mother live together — is drawing criticism from health and child welfare advocates, but defense from supporters. The program is called birth-cost recovery (BCR), and […]