Sunday, February 24, 2013
From the benefits of minimum wage to the destruction of the American family, Patch bloggers weighed in on a variety of topics this week. Here is a look at some of the most popular posts over the past week.
The most popular blog posts in Wisconsin Patch sites this past week ran the gamut — from pro- and anti-Scott Walker pieces to children on leashes to destruction of American families. Every day, Patch's Local Voices bloggers share information, insight and opinion about what matters to them. Here's a selection of blogs from throughout the past week. Although this post only had two sentences, it was enough to garner more than 120 comments. In, "Why Do We Have a Minimum Wage?" readers debated the importance of unions and the minimum wage system. Mount Pleasant blogger, Bottom Line, needed to only ask one question to get this conversation flowing: Why do we have a minimum wage and how does it affect society? Greendale blogger J.B. Schmidt …
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Unexpected political activity hit police in the budget, leading chief to ask for a say on whether his department should have to pick up costs of political gatherings.
Awhile ago, Wauwatosa Patch asked the ranking Wauwatosa police officer in charge of operations to reflect on whether anything stood out in the past year in policing our city, and to get back to us. Were there any crime trends, upturns, downturns, unusual cases – anything that had raised his eyebrows? “I’ve given this some thought,” Capt. Jeff Sutter said. “In terms of crime-fighting, I’d have to say it was business as usual. Some bad people did some bad things, and we caught a lot of them. “There’s only one area that stands out, and I hate to even bring it up: Politics. “With the partisanship in the state government, on both sides, we got caught in the middle. “And when there are protest rallies – we’re involved. We’ve never had to …
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Mayor steps down three months short of a full term to take county economic development job.
- GOVERNMENT
- Jim Price
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Wednesday, December 21, 2011
She will officially remain in office as mayor until Jan. 3, but Jill Didier bade her goodbye Tuesday night in the last Wauwatosa Common Council meeting of 2011 and the last over which she would preside. Waiting until all business on the agenda had been conducted, Didier held up adjournment briefly to say a few words. "I want to extend some thanks and gratitude to my family and constituents," she said. "Wauwatosa has one of the most involved constituencies I've ever seen." She also praised city staff for competency, efficiency and concern for serving citizens during her tenure — settling on some examples of the demands most commonly placed upon local government officials. "The roads got plowed and the leaves got picked up," she said, "and I…
Friday, November 18, 2011
Governor's neighbor makes his feelings known on politics and the role of public workers.
- GOVERNMENT
- Jim Price
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Friday, November 18, 2011
Two voices harmonize what is America. "It's a great country where both sides can come out and assemble and say what they want," Dan Yendrzeski of Menomonee Falls said Tuesday night at the recall rally that drew about 1,000 people to Wauwatosa. "There's not a lot countries where you can say that." On the Wauwatosa street where Gov. Scott Walker lives, resident Gary Johnson recalls what his wife said earlier this year, the first time 1,000 people showed up to protest the governor's policies. "She came home through the crowds," Johnson said, "and told me, 'This is America. Isn't that great, that we should all be able to do this?'" The difference and dissonance follow. Yendrzeski, standing at Juneau Playfield at the time, had gone on to say …
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Crowd is generally well-behaved, with a little strong talk but no jostling between sides in debate of whether to recall Wisconsin governor.
- GOVERNMENT
- Jim Price
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Tuesday, November 15, 2011
A crowd that eventually grew to about 1,000 descended Tuesday evening on the block where Gov. Scott Walker and his family live in Wauwatosa, kicking off the first day of the statewide recall effort against the first-term executive almost in his own front yard. There, organizers set up tables at the homes of several residents of the block, neighbors of Walker's, who invited people to stop by and sign recall petitions. A handful of counter-protesters showed up as well, and some words were exchanged — not all perfectly polite — but there were no real outbreaks. Recall advocates chanted and brought a small brass band, a few thumped drums and the bottoms of 5-gallon buckets; waved a variety of flags ranging from Old Glory to the raised fist; …
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Wisconsin's school administrators are no longer subject to 'union meddling and obstruction.'
The repeal of much of Wisconsin’s collective bargaining law with regard to many of Wisconsin’s public employees has not been adequately explained. This repeal will do more to improve the quality and lower the cost of Wisconsin government than anything else we’ve done. There are approximately 275,000 government employees in the state of Wisconsin. About 72,000 work for the state, 38,000 for cities and villages, 48,000 for counties, 10,500 (full-time equivalent) for technical colleges, and 105,229 for schools. Only half of state employees are unionized, but almost all school employees are. As you can see, the biggest impact will be on Wisconsin’s schools. Since my office has received the most complaints from school teachers, let’s look at …
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Changes had been discussed all year as Gov. Walker and the state Legislature acted, but council actions officially do away with different rates for union workers.
In moves no doubt being mirrored in some form in communities across Wisconsin, the Wauwtosa Common Council approved measures Tuesday night that spell the end of union collective bargaining influence on compensating city workers. One resolution, passed unanimously, did away with any difference between union and non-union employees in health insurance contributions, excepting fire and police, raising the rate for formerly protected employees from 3 percent to 10 percent across the board. Another eliminated all but one health care plan, doing away with negotiated options and allowing the city to set up plans with higher deductibles. "These two little items are a big deal," said Ald. Peter Donegan, chairman of the Employee Relations Committee…
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3850 N 124th St, Wauwatosa, WI
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Tuesday, May 24, 2011
A day after postponing action on agreement with AFSCME, board will take another stab at it.
The Wauwatosa School Board will meet Wednesday evening in a special session to again consider approval of an interim agreement with the union representing its custodians after postponing action Monday night. It is the only item on the agenda for the 6 p.m. meeting in the board room of the Fisher Building, 12121 W. North Ave. The board voted 6-0 Monday, with member Tom Jarosz absent, to delay a vote on an agreement with the union until no later than June 13, the board's next scheduled meeting. But Superintendent Phil Ertl said Monday a special meeting could be scheduled as soon as this week, and it will come in less than 48 hours after the postponement. There is reason for the rush. The district faces a June 1 deadline for informing staff …
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Override vote avoided as aldermen put item on hold, letting controversial issue die with minimal debate.
Wauwatosa's controversial and emotional battle over contracts with city unions effectively ended Tuesday with Mayor Jill Didier's veto still in place. The Common Council voted to table any discussion of a possible override of that veto, leaving the unions working under existing agreements. The vote to "hold" the issue was 8-all, and the tie was broken, ironically, by Didier. On April 19, the council ratified new contracts by an 8-7 vote, just weeks after voting them down. Didier announced the following day that she would veto the measure. Ald. Dennis McBride (District 4) moved immediately on Tuesday to hold the override issue over after Didier officially introduced her veto. "We've dealt with this issue in two meetings before in which we'…
Lika Phipps
3:45 pm on Monday, February 25, 2013
Leave it to Bottom Line to ask such a hot topic question... Always rhetorical, and a question that may not have a right/wrong answer, depending on the angle it comes from. But, good question about minimum wage. My opinion? So we don't have slave wages. On the other hand, if minimum wage was supposed to be livable, it would depend on who you are. A single person needs a lot less than the chap … more ›