Walker Leading Polls
According to the Public Policy Polling for Daily Kos, Governor Walker is supported by 50% of voters while Democratic contenders have lost some initiative. Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett dropped behind Walker with only 46%. Kathleen Falk is the next candidate that Democrats hope can beat Governor Walker with 43% of the vote. The last PPP survey showed much stronger numbers for Democratic contenders but some independent voters have flipped to support Walker.
Damage to Capitol Overestimated
The Department of Administration announced that the damage caused to the capitol building due to the massive protests last year are not as bad as they had estimated. The initial estimate was $7.5 million for everything from repairing stone structures damaged by protest signs taped to them to landscaping to extra custodial pay. The estimate has now dropped to only $200,000. Critics of the Walker Administration are accusing them of purposely inflating the initial estimate to make the protestors look bad. DOA spokeswoman, Jocelyn Webster, admits that the estimate was too high, but contended that Walker's administration needed to provide an estimate while fighting a lawsuit to restore full public access to the building. At the time of the estimate the building was still occupied by protestors so it was impossible to get an accurate estimate.
Portage Woman Wins Council Seat with Two Votes
Be careful who you write in on your next ballot. Carolyn Hamre saw that there was no candidate running for the 7th District seat on the Portage City Council so she jokingly wrote her own name and asked her husband to do the same. Now she has the job. This is not the first time that a write in candidate has taken a Portage Common Council seat with just a handful of votes. Ken Ebneter has been elected for the 1st District seat the past three terms as a write in and Frank Miller beat incumbent Richard Beebe for the 5th district as a write in candidate as well.
Redistricting Maps Declared Unconstitutional for Two Districts
A panel of three federal judges in Milwaukee found the GOP's redistricting maps to violate the federal Voting Rights Act in districts 8 and 9. The case was filed by an immigrant rights group called Voces de la Frontera. Voces submitted a map to the court that would give Latino citizens a 55% majority in the district as opposed the GOP map that would give Latinos less than 50%. The court will now draft a new district map in favor of Voces, but an appeal the Supreme Court by Republicans is likely. The court found all of the other districts drawn by the GOP to be in accordance with the law and they will remain in effect.
Doctors Disciplined for Writing Fraudulent Sick Notes
The UW School of Medicine and Public Health has carried out disciplinary measures to twenty doctors that were involved in writing fraudulent sick notes for protestors at the capitol last year. Three of the doctors received the harshest penalty of a $4,000 fine and the loss of leadership position for four months. Many of the doctors involved still claim that they did not act unethically saying that the protestors exhibited signs of stress. Dr. Norm Fost, head of a medical school investigatory committee found the doctors' actions to be below accepted standards of care because they lacked a physical exam, medical history, and laboratory data. Dr. Robert Golden, medical school dean, claimed that the disciplined doctors violated doctor conduct guidelines regarding honesty, integrity, modeling of professional behavior and being aware of their "external image". Two more doctors accused of participating in the sick note writing are being investigated.
Justice Prosser Asks Bradley and Abrahamson to Recuse Themselves
Justice Prosser has made a request that Justices Ann Walsh Bradley and Shirley Abrahamson recuse themselves from a case that will try him for misconduct against Bradley. Prosser argues that their participation would be a violation of the Due Process Clause of the 14th amendment of the US Constitution because they are both material witnesses and Justice Bradley is a complaining witness in the case. He further complained that the participation of Justice Bradley would be biased because it would make her a judge of her own case. Justice Abrahamson claimed that she will not make her decision whether to recuse herself until she knows if all the Justices that witnessed the incident will be asked to recuse themselves. Justice Bradley maintains that she has always been fair and unbiased in her judgment but did not state whether she will recuse herself.
Chronic Wasting Disease Discovered in Shell Lake
A three-year-old doe was discovered to be infected with chronic wasting disease just west of Shell Lake in Washburn County. This is the first case of the disease in that county. The DNR will enact a ban on feeding and baiting deer within a ten mile radius of the infected deer site. DNR Secretary Cathy Stepp does not anticipate any changes to the fall hunting season but the DNR and DATCP plan to monitor the deer herds by taking samples from taxidermists, processors, and local road killed deer. The last incident of CWD was discovered more than 100 miles from Shell Lake.
School Worker Fired for Supporting Walker
Mary Taylor, a school custodian, was fired for refusing to remove a sign from her car that said, "Stand with Walker". School authorities had warned Taylor that she must either remove her sign or park across the street from school property. Taylor contended that other school employees had signs on their vehicles opposing Walker but school authorities would not back down. Taylor was fired and is now filing a lawsuit against the school. "Justice for me is just to hopefully let people know that liberal school teachers and liberals in general cannot push the public around when they have different opinions other than theirs," said Taylor.
