The columnist is cleaning off his desk, emptying his inbox. Here are a few unused news nuggets that seem a shame to throw away.
Category: Scott Walker’s Wisconsin
Stories about Scott Walker’s time as governor of Wisconsin — the effects of his policies on public sector unions, job creation, public records, the environment and more.
Posted inMoney & Politics Column, Scott Walker's Wisconsin
Have John Doe probes trashed rule of law in Wisconsin?
Conservative commentators have embraced the narrative put forth by critics of the two John Doe probes involving Walker and others. Wisconsin is being defamed as a place where unethical law enforcers driven by naked political partisanship have run amok.
Posted inGovernment, Health & Welfare, Scott Walker's Wisconsin
Wisconsin FoodShare fraud crackdown questioned
In 2011, Walker’s first year as governor, 102 people were suspended from the FoodShare program for violating program rules, according to DHS. That number has increased each year, to 1,184 in 2014.
Posted inMoney & Politics Column, Scott Walker's Wisconsin
Groups let Gov. Scott Walker’s backers give unlimited sums
Walker’s committee, Our American Revival, can raise and spend unlimited sums. At least two donors have given Walker $100,000 or more, according to press accounts. Had they so desired, these donors could have given $100 million.
Posted inEnvironment, Government, Scott Walker's Wisconsin
Wisconsin DNR mulls dissolving science bureau
Internal correspondence obtained by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism confirms discussions about the possible dismantling of the bureau and a reorganization that would move researchers into other agency divisions.
Critics, both inside and outside the agency, say such a reorganization would rob the state of impartial science that should guide critical natural resource management decisions.
Posted inEducation, Government, Scott Walker's Wisconsin
Board overseeing Wisconsin’s for-profit schools fights for its life
With the Wisconsin Educational Approval Board on the chopping block in Gov. Scott Walker’s budget, EAB Executive Secretary David Dies fears the for-profit schools it oversees will ramp up practices that could harm students.
Posted inGovernment, Health & Welfare, Scott Walker's Wisconsin
Gov. Scott Walker’s budget would shake up long-term care programs; disabilities advocates concerned
Gov. Scott Walker is proposing sweeping changes to the state’s long-term care programs for the elderly and disabled, but the lack of detail has advocates concerned.
Posted inMoney & Politics Column, Scott Walker's Wisconsin
Scott Walker budget bill is rife with non-fiscal policy items
Some of Walker’s proposals appear to be policy changes with little or no fiscal impact. Wisconsin governors and lawmakers from both parties have often injected these into the budget. Walker, as a candidate for governor in 2010, made an unequivocal pledge to “strip policy and pork projects from the state budget.” By his first budget, this promise was labeled “broken.”
Posted inOpinion, Scott Walker's Wisconsin
Your Right to Know: Don’t let the UW hide research records
This blanket exemption would spare the UW from needing a good reason to deny access to these records, as current law requires. Instead, universities could categorically spurn inquiries from citizens, media and even lawmakers looking into controversial research, potential threats to public safety, conflicts of interest or how tax dollars are spent.
Posted inGovernment, Scott Walker's Wisconsin
State workers punished after curbing non-union elevator shop
The employees said they acted to protect public safety in restricting the contractor’s ability to service a particular elevator model. But the state Department of Safety and Professional Services, responding to complaints filed with an office created by Gov. Scott Walker to assist small businesses, accused the employees of violating workplace rules and nullified this restriction.
Posted inMoney & Politics Column, Scott Walker's Wisconsin
Gov. Scott Walker sees end to sky-high spending in governor’s race
Walker, a possible presidential contender, says this extraordinary spending owes to extraordinary circumstances, like the opposition he faced from unions and others. Absent these factors, “my guess is, at least in the gubernatorial election, I doubt you’re ever going to see something that high again.”
Posted inGovernment, Justice & Safety, Scott Walker's Wisconsin
Gov. Scott Walker noncommittal on right-to-work, firm on no pardons
And on a presidential run: “I don’t think people should just run particularly for office as high as that because it’s the next logical step or it’s part of adding a career, in this case in politics,” Walker said in an end-of-year interview. “I think it’s something you should feel like you’re actually called, that there’s a purpose, there’s a reason for doing it.”