TOP STORIES

Wisconsin’s 10 GOP electors formally cast votes for Donald Trump, JD Vance
4 years ago, a different group of Republicans signed fake documents as part of a false electors scheme … Under a process laid out in the U.S. Constitution, states around the country met Tuesday to finalize their votes for Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance through the Electoral College. … slate of electors who met Tuesday in [JFC] hearing room was composed of 10 new Republicans [RPW chair Schimming,ex-guv TGT, FdL DA Toney, Rep. Sapik, RPW exec committee members Katie Verzal, Julie Helmer, Hannah Testin, Doug Haag and Jim Schildback, ex-RNC delegate Charlotte Rasmussen] … “This is a historic moment,” [RPW Chair] Schimming told reporters after the vote. “We put a maximum, maximum effort into winning this state for Donald Trump and JD Vance.” … [reviews felony charges in fake elector case] TGT: “Isn’t it about time to turn the page? I mean, we can fight over the election of 2020 for the next four years. What does it get us?” touted unrecognized importance of electors, “It’s quite an honor to be able to be one of 10. And hardly anybody understands what we did.” By Johnson, WPR
https://www.wpr.org/news/wisconsins-10-gop-electors-formally-cast-votes-for-donald-trump-jd-vance

Police chief says motive for Wisconsin school shooting was a ‘combination of factors’
… [at presser, MPD Chief] Barnes offered no details about a possible motive, though he said bullying at Abundant Life Christian School would be investigated. … investigating writings that may have been penned by Natalie Rupnow and could shed light on her action. “Identifying a motive is our top priority, but at this time it appears that the motive is a combination of factors,” the chief told reporters. … There are always signs of a school shooting before it occurred. We’re looking into her online activity.” … gave the number to a tip line for anyone who might have known the shooter and her feelings. … talking with the shooter’s father and other family members, who were cooperating, and searching the shooter’s home. … divorced [parents] jointly shared custody … but the shooter primarily lived with her 42-year-old father … first 911 call … came in … from a second-grade teacher — not a second-grade student as [previously] reported … left without taking questions … leaving the Madison mayor and Dane County executive to face the media. They declined to disclose the names of the victims. “Leave them alone,” Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway snapped. Anonymous law enforcement official said investigators believe the shooter used a 9mm pistol.
* VP Harris in MD speech called for gun control, “Our nation mourns for those who were killed and we pray for the recovery of those who were injured.”
* School official Wiers, concerned residents comment. By Bauer and Shastri, AP
https://apnews.com/a8e1ee353d7fdab2b86dfb355938d871

Madison mayor during school shooting presser pleads for ‘human decency’
… [MPD chief] Barnes did not take questions from the media Tuesday but said he focused his remarks around reporters’ pre-submitted questions. … When media … pressed for more information … [Rhodes-Conway] got heated … “It is absolutely none of y’alls business who was harmed in this incident. … Just have some human decency, folks. Leave them alone. Let them grieve. Let them recover. Let them heal. Don’t feed off their pain. We’ll share what we can when we can and not before that. … It is my first priority, and I believe the priority of many of us here, to respect their privacy and their timeline … have been deeply impacted by trauma and are grieving. And, frankly, I think it should be up to them whether and if they want to share any personal identifying information with anyone at all. But, it’s not up to me. It’s a law enforcement decision. And so, when law enforcement feels like that’s appropriate, they will share that information.” … asked … for more general information on the victims … why proper people weren’t in place to answer questions, provide clarification or set the record straight. … Getting frustrated, Rhodes-Conway said good, factual information will be shared “when we can. … None of you is obliged to stay here. You’re free to leave. You don’t have to be sitting in this room if you don’t want to.” By Kirby, MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2024/12/17/madison-mayor-satya-rhodes-conway-on-abundant-life-christian-school-shooting/77052911007/

UW graduation rates, degree demand are top of mind with $855M budget increase request
… “Right now, our Board of Regents have a process by which they approve programs,” [UW Pres.] Rothman said [in interview]. “And I think what will ultimately flow from this is a process by which the board will review program discontinuances and program suspensions.” … low enrollment in some university programs is a “natural evolution” based on which are most in-demand. “Nearly 40 percent of our graduates are in STEM or healthcare fields,” Rothman said. “That’s up 30 percent in the last 10 years. This is not a new development. This needs to be looked at in context. Over the last five years, we have closed or discontinued over 100 programs among the Universities of Wisconsin. So this is an ongoing process. … The $855 million over the two years of the biennium would get Wisconsin to the average or median level. We think that’s a reasonable ask to continue to ensure affordability and accessibility for Wisconsinites to our 13 great universities.” … help keep the UW’s “Tuition Promise” intact, attract and retain talent statewide, and keep the institutions competitive with other universities in the country. … “Universities of Wisconsin are focused on serving the state and helping Wisconsin win the war for talent,” Rothman said. … “the future nurses and data scientists and engineers and teachers … If we don’t produce those graduates, the jobs that the great employers of Wisconsin are creating today are going to go unfilled.”
* JFC member Sen. Wimberger, interviewed before Rothman, said “I always find it confusing when people talk about student loan debt and people can’t find a job to pay off their student loans. That indicates it was not an investment that has a payoff. If higher education had a payoff on the investment, there would not be a student loan problem. So I think we need to reanalyze how we think of higher education. … UW needs to get focused on what’s important. Expanding just so you can say that you spend as much as somebody else is a non sequitur.”
By Rogers, WPR
https://www.wpr.org/news/universities-wisconsin-uw-graduation-rate-budget-increase-request

TOPICS

WHITE HOUSE
– Wisconsin electors cast their votes for Trump, a quiet act in contrast to 2020’s chaos … Schimming shared that he signed the documents with a Kwik Trip pen, signifying his extensive traveling for Trump during the campaign season. Thompson talked about how the Electoral College was created. The meeting lasted just 20 minutes. Reviews 2020 fake elector scheme, settled dispute between state, federal law over when electors meet. TGT urges moving on from 2020. UW prof. Burden: “The 2020 campaign was exceptional because Trump and his allies alleged that the election was ‘rigged’ against them and lodged all kinds of legal and extralegal challenges both before and after election day. Never in modern times had a losing candidate put up fake sets of electors in battleground states in hopes of reversing the outcome.”
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/12/17/wisconsin-electors-cast-votes-for-donald-trump-jd-vance/77021119007/

– This time it’s for real: Electors cast Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes for Donald Trump … [TGT] remarked on the “quiet crowd” in the Capitol. “This is a celebration. Let’s have some excitement for God’s sake,” the four-time elected leader of Wisconsin said as he and the nine other Republican electors signed off on the election. “You don’t elect the president every day.” … said few appreciate the roll of electors, noting that the Electoral College was added to the U.S. Constitution at the urging of two of the nation’s founders, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.Reviews 2020 fake elector felonies, Electoral College origin and process.
https://madison.com/8e2561d2-bcb0-11ef-8e16-1f14c7ca3d12.html

– Casting their electoral votes for Trump, Wisconsin Republicans declare their party’s on a roll
https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2024/12/17/casting-their-electoral-votes-for-trump

– Trump names replacement for former Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett as ambassador to Luxembourg … this week nominated Stacey Feinberg, a businesswoman and musical theater producer … also a motivational speaker and a board member on the Women Founders Network … to replace Barrett … Barrett will likely have to leave the post sometime early next year. … “Stacy will be GREAT, and make America proud!” Trump posted on his social media site. He made no mention of Barrett. … late Monday night. … also named his nominees for ambassador to Japan, the Dominican Republic, Austria and Uruguay. Reviews Barrett’s political career. Barrett did not respond. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2024/12/17/trump-names-replacement-for-tom-barrett-as-ambassador-to-luxembourg/77046368007/

– Mike Huckabee: Biden wants to make it difficult for Trump, ‘Hannity’ panelists Mike Huckabee and Reince Priebus unpack the Biden administration’s leadership as the president prepares to leave office. 6:53 video discusses presidential pardons, selling border wall, “snubbing American people,” Trump win rejected “progressive left,” Biden escalating Ukraine war with missiles, abetting Iranian nukes, Trump Day 1 executive orders.
https://www.foxnews.com/video/6366162026112

– ‘That’s Never Happened’: Expert Alarmed by Trump’s Scandalous ‘Day One’ Plan, His plan to issue pardons to rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol as one of his first official presidential acts is an alarming prospect. … Among the chief concerns alarming to [law prof.] Bowman, a former state and federal prosecutor and author of High Crimes & Misdemeanors: A History of Impeachment for the Age of Trump, include Trump’s free reign from a Republican Party that “is far too cowardly to stand up to him.”
https://shepherdexpress.com/news/features/tha%E2%80%99s-never-happened-expert-alarmed-by-trumps-scandalous/

STATE GOVERNMENT
– ‘Make no mistake, we still hold the majority’ says Wisconsin GOP Senate president … Felzkowski made her comments during a WisPolitics panel Tuesday alongside Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) and two strategists — Keith Gilkes, a consultant and former chief political advisor for Republican former Gov. Scott Walker and Democratic strategist Tanya Bjork. … “We’ve got some Republicans. We’ve got some Democrats who are in close, 50-50 seats,” Neubauer said during the panel discussion. “I expect that some in Republican leadership want things to continue as they have in the past, but I expect that a lot of those members who are in those difficult seats are going to be pushing to invest in K-12, to lower costs for working families, to take up popular policy.”
https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2024/12/18/make-no-mistake-we-still-hold-the-majority

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
– Democratic senators seek to ax transgender care ban from defense bill, NDAA, which passed the House last week, would bar transition-related health coverage for service members’ minor children. … The group of 21 senators, led by Baldwin — who will be the Senate’s sole LGBTQ member in the new term — is seeking to remove a provision tucked into the bill that would prohibit “medical treatment for military dependents under the age of 18 who are diagnosed with gender dysphoria” under the military’s health care program, Tricare. … [reviews Baldwin floor speech, other sponsors] … Schumer [in floor speech] didn’t mention the transgender health care provision specifically, but he added that the bill “has some bad provisions Democrats would not have included.”
https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/rcna184431

– Tammy Baldwin, 20 other senators try to strike anti-trans provision from defense bill … introduced an amendment to the House-passed version of the bill, and Baldwin delivered floor remarks against the anti-trans language. … House version of the act, passed last week, bans coverage of gender-affirming care for trans people under 18 under TriCare, the insurance plan for service members. It would primarily affect children of these troops. The Senate voted 83-12 Monday to advance that version of the bill, and a final voted could come Wednesday. … Opposing the current version of the NDAA “is not a position I take lightly,” Baldwin said. “I have supported the final passage of each NDAA that has come before me in the Senate up until now. … because some Republicans decided that gutting the rights of our service members to score cheap political points was more worthy. Let’s be clear: We are talking about parents who are serving our country in uniform having the right to consult with their family’s doctor and get the health care they want and need for their transgender children. That’s it. They want the right to whatever health care is best for their child, something I imagine all parents want. … It’s flat-out wrong to put this provision in this bill and take away a service member’s freedom to make that decision for their family.” Reviews bill, amendment co-sponsors, other advocates comment.
https://www.advocate.com/politics/tammy-baldwin-opposes-transphobic-bill

AGRIBUSINESS
– Westby’s Darin Von Ruden reelected Wisconsin Farmers Union president
https://lacrossetribune.com/87d98606-bcb4-11ef-acd5-4f334c3c0e5f.html

BANKING AND INVESTMENT
– Ted Kellner’s multimillion-dollar fight to unseat pharma firm’s board … Kellner’s fight over control of AIM ImmunoTech has been going on for at least two years, a period in which the company’s stock shed about 90% of its value. Over that time, the local investor has spent several million dollars, he said, including mounting unsuccessful proxy battles each of the past two years.
https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2024/12/16/ted-kellner-proxy-fight-with-aim-immunotech.html

COURTS
– Janesville man sentenced to prison for possessing pipe bombs: 2 years prison, 3 years supervision
https://www.gazettextra.com/74e1117a-bcfc-11ef-bf30-7f8939eba7c6.html

EDUCATION
– Mauston school leaders hope third referendum attempt will prevent district cuts, closure, Leaders say district budget will run out after 2026-27 school year without additional funding
https://www.wpr.org/news/mauston-school-district-third-referendum-attempt-cuts-closure

– RUSD Board discusses asking voters to approve $190 million referendum
https://journaltimes.com/64b5d5a2-b9a4-11ef-981a-4f760c9fadb2.html

– What safety requirements do Wisconsin schools have to meet? What to know
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/education/2024/12/18/heres-what-safety-requirements-wisconsin-schools-have-to-meet/77048308007/

– Here’s what WDOJ’s Office of School Safety does — and why it’s in danger
https://www.postcrescent.com/story/news/education/2024/12/18/heres-what-the-office-of-school-safety-does-and-why-its-in-danger/76654327007/

– Cale Bushman named superintendent of Wausau School District
https://www.wausaudailyherald.com/story/news/education/2024/12/17/wausau-school-board-names-cale-bushman-as-superintendent-after-six-months-in-interim-role/77052986007/

FOXCONN
– Bruce Murphy: What Are Foxconn’s Employees Doing? After 7 years and $700 million in taxpayer subsidies, what have we learned? … state and local taxpayers and We Energies ratepayers paid some $683 million for roads and highways, sewer, water and electrical connections to a massive manufacturing campus … None of which happened. After years of unfilled promises by Foxconn, Walker’s successor, Gov. Tony Evers drastically downsized the deal, but … left the door open for Foxconn to collect those annual subsidies that have now totaled $52 million — all to do what? … [hire-fire scheme, downsizing promises, rhetorical shifts] … workers are kept on the payroll for a longer period, but there’s still no evidence they are manufacturing anything. … The company has constructed four buildings at its Mount Pleasant campus, but little activity can be seen there. Foxconn “is offering 44,000 square feet in one of the buildings for rent as industrial or office space,” CNBC reported. “Another building, which includes a dramatic glass sphere that was supposed to be a data center, has been marketed as an event space.” … “Foxconn Wisconsin is a key manufacturing site for data servers. Our global market share in servers is approx. 40%. Our Wisconsin operations greatly contributes to that market leadership.” But that 40% market share figure is driven by its contract with Nvidia to build artificial intelligence (AI) servers and Foxconn … builds upon some $500 million invested in Mexico, where Foxconn has an estimated 30,000 employees spread over seven campuses, with major production centers in Juarez, Tijuana, Guadalajara and Chihuahua City. [plus megafactories in China, India, Taiwan, moving into EVs in Japan, India] … Where does all of that leave Wisconsin? … Foxconn never mentions Wisconsin — or any other state in America — when discussing any of its major current and future business operations. … Foxconn currently claims it has 1,114 employees working there. Doing what? … Its reports simply tally the number of jobs, not what any of them are doing. [WEDC] CEO Missy Hughes managed to do an entire interview about Foxconn without a word about this. … [Mt. Pleasant Board’s Ryan doesn’t know/wouldn’t say,] “your questions are better directed to WEDC or Foxconn.” … It’s been seven and a half years and more than $700 million in subsidies since the deal was struck with Foxconn, and we still have no idea what we’re getting for our money.
https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2024/12/17/murphys-law-what-are-foxconns-employees-doing/ 

LABOR
– ‘Why not us?’ Nannies, housekeepers win labor protections in some states. A growing number of local governments are beefing up safeguards. … Federal labor laws for decades exempted domestic workers from many safeguards, including a minimum wage, civil rights protections and workplace safety standards. … rooted in sexism … Some of the new state and local legislation has mandated that domestic workers are paid overtime and at least the state or city minimum wage, while other laws have gone further, ensuring protections such as paid time off.
https://stateline.org/2024/12/18/why-not-us-nannies-housekeepers-win-labor-protections-in-some-states/

LAW AND ORDER
– Madison becomes latest American city rocked by a fatal school shooting: reviews shooting, aftermath, investigation, school shooting data. MPD chief Barnes, school officials Wiers and Kilpin, OCMH’s Hall, MMSD Supt. Gothard comment. Biden, Evers statements.
https://captimes.com/8bbb9f60-bca1-11ef-844d-df93920e802e.html

– Can parents of school shooters be charged under Wisconsin law? Yes. But circumstances matter. … “There is straight-up felony liability,” said Milwaukee-based attorney Craig Mastantuono of Mastantuono Coffee & Thomas. … Wisconsin statute 948.60, for possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18, says “any person who intentionally sells, loans or gives a dangerous weapon to a person under 18 years of age is guilty of a Class I felony.” If the shooting results in death, the penalty is a class H felony. … law has exemptions … But absent those exceptions, there is potential criminal exposure, according [MU prof. O’Hear] … it is not clear how the 15-year-old obtained the handgun and the parents “might have a good defense,” he said. … [MPD chief] Barnes told CNN on Tuesday the investigation is focusing on how the shooter got the gun. “We also want to look at if the parents may have been negligent. And that’s a question that we’ll have to answer with our district attorney’s office,” Barnes said. “But at this time, that does not appear to be the case.” … In Michigan, the parents of a school shooter were charged after a deadly incident in 2021, the first prosecution of its kind. … O’Hear called the prosecution in Michigan “a very aggressive use of homicide law. … I’m not entirely sure how well that’s going to hold up through the appeals process,” he said. … not aware of a case like this in Wisconsin. “So we would be kind of operating in some interesting novel legal terrain.”… [U-Mich prof. Zimmerman] said it is worth reminding gun owners to reassess their storage plan regularly, especially when teenagers are in the home.
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/2024/12/17/could-parents-of-maschool-shooter-be-charged-depending-on-the-fact-charges-are-possible-experts-say/77047458007/

– Abundant Life school shooting prompts calls for support, action … “We need to respond both with support and compassion for those most affected. And, at the same time, with fire in our belly, to underscore the need to be more proactive in addressing this crisis at its roots,” said [UW psych prof.] Davidson … director of the university’s Center for Healthy Minds. … Trish Kilpin, director of the [WDOJ] Office of School Safety, recommended that families all across the community be mindful of media consumption with children around … “I deeply feel for the surviving loved ones who now carry this unbearable pain, and for the community of Madison as it begins to grapple with this trauma during a season meant for joy and togetherness,” said Hockley, who is co-founder and co-CEO of the advocacy group Sandy Hook Promise. … United Way of Dane County set up an Abundant Life Christian School Emergency and Recovery Fund and is taking financial donations at unitedwaydanecounty.org or by texting help4ALCS to 40403. All proceeds will go to the school’s families, according to United Way. … People may like to exercise, meditate, go outside or spend time with friends or pets, said [UW psych prof.] Goldberg … “I think an occasion such as this, that hits home and brings us all to our knees, is also a time for self examination and to ponder within our own hearts the impulses of violence that arise within each of us,” [retired pastor] Wild said.
https://captimes.com/609ffdb6-bccf-11ef-b51c-ff55ac37aa12.html

– At Madison vigil, community mourns Abundant Life school shooting
https://captimes.com/b0d4a4ec-bcea-11ef-a9b4-07face50f2f0.html

– Mourners gather in vigil across Madison after deadly school shooting, Community members held a candlelight vigil outside the Wisconsin State Capitol, while a church next to the Abundant Life Christian School held a prayer event
https://www.wpr.org/news/vigil-madison-abundant-life-christian-school-shooting

– Experts: Let children lead the discussion when talking about school shootings, DOJ says nothing should be assumed about shooter
https://www.wpr.org/news/experts-let-children-lead-the-discussion-when-talking-about-school-shootings

– ‘Remember that you’re not alone’: Victims of past tragedies say it’s important to unite when disaster strikes, Survivors from Waukesha and Oak Creek say outpouring of support can feel overwhelming
https://www.wpr.org/news/victims-of-past-tragedies-say-unite-when-disaster-strikes

– Leader of Madison Christian schools says ‘lives have been torn apart’ after Abundant Life shooting
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2024/12/17/madison-christian-schools-leader-speaks-about-abundant-life-shooting/77059579007/

– ‘I’m tired of people being sad. They need to be mad.’ Hundreds join Madison vigil to support victims of school shooting at Abundant Life Christian School
https://isthmus.com/news/news/i-m-tired-of-people-being-sad-they-need-to-be-mad/

– Ozaukee Christian School sends prayers to Abundant Life following Monday shooting
https://www.gmtoday.com/73b53826-4129-5125-a76f-eb106cb47bec.html

– Charles Barkley and Brian Anderson pay tribute to victims in Madison school shooting while calling ‘The Showdown’ golf event … “Thoughts and prayers to the people in Madison,” Barkley said while on air during the made-for-TV golf match between four of the game’s biggest stars featuring PGA Tour’s Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy against LIV’s Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka.
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/wisconsin/2024/12/17/charles-barkley-pays-tribute-to-madison-school-shooting-during-the-showdown-golf/77059450007/

– WPF: Arrests in Milwaukee are down. Here’s why
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2024/12/17/a-new-report-claims-fewer-are-being-made-in-milwaukee-heres-why/77044898007

– $10,000 Bonuses For Police Transfers Not Working? Gaining few recruits, losing council support. Plus: new labor negotiator approved. … [Mayor Johnson, MPD chief Norman announced the offer on Nov. 25.] … As of last week, the city had found only six of the 30 candidates it is seeking before a Dec. 22 deadline. … With more funding, the city appeared to be able to meet [Act 12] targets … switching to the state’s pension system for all new employees … creates an opportunity by allowing officers from other jurisdictions to transfer to the city without restarting their pension. … However, it has struggled to hire enough recruits to fill its recruiting classes. Council 7-6-1 [Coggs] renewed bonuses, after alders complained of Act 12 arbitrary “poison pill” staffing levels, suggested community liaison, comprehensive recruitment/retention plan. FPC Dir. Todd expected 30 laterals [transfer officers], got 28 applicants, but only 6 meet min qualifications, couldn’t immediately confirm that a recruiter was following up with ineligible transfer applicants to get them into police academy. After the meeting Tuesday, Mayor’s Office sent out a press release encouraging more transfer applicants.
* Council unanimously approved Mayor Johnson’s staff chief DeSioto as interim labor negotiator, at Johnson’s suggestion. Applications being accepted until Jan. 3.
https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2024/12/17/10000-bonuses-for-police-transfers-not-working/

MANUFACTURING
– Eli Lilly’s $3B expansion in Pleasant Prairie to begin this month, village says … Pleasant Prairie Plan Commission has endorsed Eli Lilly and Co.’s preliminary site and operational plan … allows for site grading, early footing and foundation and underground utility work to commence. … work is expected to begin this month, with the additions projected to be completed by March 2026. Reviews Lilly’s plans in Pleasant Prairie, Bristol.
https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2024/12/17/eli-lilly-3-billion-dollar-pleasant-prairie.html

– Battery plant moving forward again in Chippewa Falls … KYMA Battery Technologies told the city in December 2023 they had chosen to open their business in a western Detroit suburb instead of here. … plan now is to build new batteries. … to use all the buildings on the former EOG Sand Plant property.
https://www.leadertelegram.com/d50737ba-bc8d-11ef-a499-bb1deecdcde2.html

TOURISM
– Sargento CEO to serve as next Road America Board chairman
https://www.sheboyganpress.com/story/money/companies/2024/12/17/sargento-ceo-louie-gentine-appointed-road-america-chairman/77052120007/

TRANSPORTATION
– State Must Rethink Transportation Funding, Current funding sources likely unsustainable, report finds, and local roads and transit are suffering … according to a new [WPF] report … In 2006, a state law indexing the gas tax to inflation was repealed, and since then inflation has eaten away at the state’s primary source of transportation funding … [but even inflation-adjusted,] transportation funding has actually decreased between 2007 and 2023. Increasing registration and title fees have helped … but state policymakers have increasingly been forced to rely on debt and [GPR] … into direct competition with state funding for education and health care. With highway program using 46.8% of all $transpo$, local roads and public transit languish. Public transit miles have shrunk about 28.1% this century, in part due to levy caps. Austerity funding for roads/highways would restore reliance on gas tax but harm quality; maintaining funding or increasing require more $$$ [by increasing fees or gas tax, tolling, RTAs, weight-based fees, local option taxes, right-of-way access fees, mileage/use-based fees – helpful in transitioning to EVs.].
* WPF conclusion: “In short, Wisconsin risks falling behind on transportation, and it has few if any shortcuts it can take. Either the state will have to forego spending and sacrifice road quality, or it will have to tap one of a few available funding sources such as the gas tax, vehicle fees, general tax dollars, mileage fees, local taxes and fees or tolling.”
https://urbanmilwaukee.com/2024/12/17/transportation-state-must-rethink-transportation

– Milwaukee accepts $15M-USDOT grant to install EV chargers. Here’s where they could be located. … Of the 50 charging stations, first on the list for installations are locations at Milwaukee Public Libraries. Each site will include space to charge four vehicles, including two fast charging spots, said Erick Shambarger, director at the City of Milwaukee’s Environmental Collaboration Office. … various parks, including Lake, Riverside, Gordon, Dineen, McGovern, Estabrook, South Shore and Lincoln parks. Lists other sites, open to public input.
https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/local/2024/12/18/milwaukee-lands-15-million-grant-to-install-electric-vehicle-chargers/77048344007

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
– Layoffs hit area workers in 2024 despite soft landing for economy … Some layoffs resulted from manufacturers like Harley-Davidson Inc. and Rockwell Automation sustaining slower sales. Other causes driving layoffs included new owners of companies shuttering local plants and businesses shifting work from southeast Wisconsin to other locations, including Mexico. … rundown of notable southeast Wisconsin layoffs in 2024 listed by the month they were announced.
https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2024/12/17/year-in-review-for-layoffs.html

– Milwaukee Receives $1.5M-USDOL to Expand Apprenticeship Opportunities for Youth, Milwaukee will benefit from a significant federal investment aimed at creating opportunities for underserved youth. US Sen. Baldwin announced grant
https://shepherdexpress.com/news/community-news/milwaukee-receives-15-million-to-expand-apprenticeship-opportunities/

EDITORIALS
– CT Editorial: Madison tragedy a call to action to end gun violence
https://captimes.com/f4a87870-bbf4-11ef-b9ca-cf9c65369253.html

– WSJ editorial: Break America’s curse of gunfire in schools … Laws are not enough. But they can be a lot. And we all can do more. If you own guns, lock them up so young people can’t get them. If you know a young person who seems troubled, lend an ear and offer some guidance. This has to end. Madison may never be the same after Monday’s shootings at Abundant Life. But we must be better. If the rest of the world can prevent such a scourge, so can we.
https://madison.com/8011ec96-bbde-11ef-8076-27474a0fee73.html

– CT Editorial: Myadze deserved censure, and now he should resign
https://captimes.com/ddba8df6-bbf9-11ef-90dd-47e55a49b9bb.html

COLUMNS
– Steven Walters: Wisconsin tax bills trigger new school funding debate, The increase reflects the impact of school referendums approved this year
https://isthmus.com/opinion/citizen-dave/wisconsin-tax-bills-trigger-new-school-funding-debate/

– Jeff Mandell: Wisconsin Act 10 is unconstitutional: What the ruling means … If affirmed on appeal, this ruling has the potential to transform Wisconsin’s workforce. It eliminates artificial, anti-democratic obstacles to recognition for public-sector unions and restores the ability of such unions to bargain collectively, giving their members a seat at the table to advocate for fair pay, improved benefits, and safer workplaces.
https://www.therecombobulationarea.news/p/wisconsin-act-10-is-unconstitutional

– Mark Belling: The Listecki legacy, Milwaukee’s archbishop was determined to be heard … While many religious leaders drown in their own pomposity, Listecki is the ultimate regular guy. Even though he is a theological scholar, he speaks plainly. Beyond that, he shepherded the local church through perilous times. The legal settlements from the decades of sexual abuse by priests in an era in which church leaders totally lost their moral way forced the archdiocese into bankruptcy. That move preserved churches, a cemetery fund filled with downpayments of people who reserved graves and allowed the church to keep operating its programs. He took heat for it, but the move was necessary. … There are moral crises everywhere. The horrific school shooting in Madison. The Catholic Charities embezzlement. The growing depravity of our society. This can’t be combated with silence. Archbishop Listecki understands this.
https://www.gmtoday.com/f7d270e2-0fbc-5ca6-9fd7-988630d5a55f.html

– BIll Barth: Work at home not intended as forever, Legislative Republicans should push Evers on the issue.
https://www.beloitdailynews.com/c536633e-bb0b-11ef-a52c-53b22a7c9344.html

– HSHS CEO Damond W. Boatwright: HSHS sees an epidemic of violence against health care workers. Protect us. … Action is already being taken in Wisconsin, where Act 209 was signed into law in 2022, making threats and acts of violence against health care workers and their family members a Class H felony. Recently, Illinois lawmakers took a good first step in proposing bipartisan legislation that gives health care workers the same protections as employees who suffer violence in other care-oriented workplaces … Similarly, the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees Act (SAVE Act) introduced in Congress would make assaulting a hospital employee a federal crime … already provided to airline and airport workers. We look forward to these and similar initiatives moving forward.
https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/opinion/2024/12/18/assaults-on-health-care-workers-soar-protect-them-opinion/77059946007/

– Bill Barth: Higher standards for the public trust, Power to pardon should be used sparingly, and respect juries and judges. At least President Biden’s undeserved pardon of his son, Hunter, is understandable despite his promise not to do it. … But Rita Crundwell, the former Dixon, Illinois comptroller convicted of stealing $54 million from taxpayers to finance a lavish lifestyle? … it is common for American presidents to issue last-minute pardons and commutations just before leaving office. Frequently, there’s a creepy factor involved. Bill Clinton pardoned Marc Rich, a fugitive from justice whose ex-wife showered the Clintons with big donations. Donald Trump pardoned son-in-law Jared Kushner’s felon father, Charles, the same guy he’s now nominated to be ambassador to France. … Constitution gives presidents sole authority to grant pardons and commutations. There’s no recourse. They all do it. That doesn’t make it right.
https://www.beloitdailynews.com/dc37d8ea-bb0d-11ef-87bb-cfe0120dcb28.html

– Tom Saler: Mass deportations, stubbornly high mortgage rates could add to housing market woes
https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2024/12/18/tom-saler-deportation-high-mortgage-rates-will-dampen-housing-market/76773778007/

– John Nichols: Trump Does Not Have a Mandate, He didn’t win a majority of the popular vote, and the idea that America has gone full MAGA is outlandish
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/trump-no-mandate/

– Dave Zweifel: Under Trump you get hosed, but the oligarchy gets tax cuts
https://captimes.com/ce4e4632-b7fd-11ef-a3d2-3b5978e69841.html