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Perfect Surveillance: The Pentagon is watching Wisconsin with spy balloons
If you look up over the next few weeks in Wisconsin, and notice an unassuming, unmarked blimp floating by at high-altitude, you might just be watching the U.S. military, watching you. The Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security are testing a fleet of up to 25 surveillance balloons drifting across six Midwestern states. According […]
Teens hospitalized after vaping
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has launched an investigation after 11 Wisconsin youths were hospitalized with lung damage, possibly due to vaping. Although investigations are ongoing, DHS points to the recent use of e-cigarettes by the teens and urges anyone who has chest pain, fatigue, shortness of breath, or weight loss after vaping to […]
Getting meds out of our water
Wisconsin’s water contamination battles don’t end with lead pipe removals or cleaning up wells. Unused prescription medications, thrown in the trash or flushed out to Lake Michigan, are yet another pressing problem. According to a study by the School of Freshwater Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, traces of prescription medications have been found just […]
Sanctuary rally: “These people are us.”
State Reps. Marisabel Cabrera and Jonathan Brostoff and state Sen. Chris Larson joined immigration activists and advocates outside Milwaukee City Hall on Tuesday to announce new pro-immigrant legislation. The Rally For Sanctuary In Wisconsin sent a clear message that participants stand united in opposition to President Donald Trump’s policies. “It was a good show of […]
Overdose weekend
Over the weekend, 14 fatal overdoses occurred in Milwaukee County, with the Medical Examiner’s office responding to three in just under an hour on Sunday. Although toxicology is still pending for many of the dead, some information is known. They were mostly older than 30, including a 64-year-old woman who died on Saturday, apparently after […]
Sen. Darling blames Milwaukee
While Republicans organized in the legislature to make cuts to Milwaukee’s share of the state budget, Senator Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) focused on child welfare. Darling stated during a Joint Finance Committee hearing that improving child care in Milwaukee “can’t happen at the state level.” “We need to get the community to care about these […]
Legislators urge new approach to Milwaukee after bruising budget fight
The budget battle is over, but Milwaukee representatives are still struggling with the repercussions of a fight in which Republicans made a point of cutting state money flowing into Milwaukee. “It’s not a new battle,” says Rep. Evan Goyke (D-Milwaukee), “and it’s not uncommon.” Goyke told the Wisconsin Examiner he felt that Milwaukee was a […]
New bills ‘unlock the vote,’ end ‘prison gerrymandering’
Two bills introduced by three state legislators Wednesday aim to restore voting rights for formerly incarcerated Wisconsinites and end “prison gerrymandering.” Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) Rep. Jodi Emerson, (D-Eau Claire) and Rep. David Crowley (D-Milwaukee), joined activists for ex-prisoners’ rights to announce their “Unlock The Vote” campaign. “Our democracy is based on the fundamental principle […]
Data shows massive over-prescription of opioids in Wisconsin
From 2006 to 2012, Wisconsinites received 1,283,958,368 prescription pain pills. That’s according to a Drug Enforcement Administration database detailing the flow of pills nationwide. The database was released by order of a federal judge in Ohio and first reported on by the Washington Post. The DEA’s Automated Report and Consolidated Ordering System (ARCOS) reveals a […]
Students, state officials wrestle with student-loan debt crisis
A 12-person panel, including state and local officials and community members, gathered at Milwaukee’s Washington Park Library to discuss tackling the student-loan debt crisis. The meeting drew a crowd of about 30, including current loan borrowers, social workers, teachers and the parents of indebted students. Panelists, including Alex Brower, a substitute teacher in the Milwaukee […]
Year of clean drinking water off to dubious start
Although Gov. Tony Evers declared 2019 the year of clean drinking water in Wisconsin in his 2019-21 budget veto message, that ambition won’t be easily realized. More than $32.65 million is allocated in the budget to improve water quality throughout the Badger State. Evers proposed another $40 million to help kickstart the process of replacing […]
‘Restorative justice,’ not new youth detention facilities needed, advocates say
Plans to close the Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake youth detention facilities in Irma, have quickly evolved since Gov. Tony Evers took office, but the process hasn’t been without controversy. Many are questioning why the state is paying millions to sustain what Sharlen Moore, co-founder of Urban Underground, calls “failed mechanisms.” Moore urges a conversation […]