Kitchens Appointed to Coastal Management Council

Representative Joel Kitchens

Governor Scott Walker appointed Kitchens to serve as the Assembly Representative on the Wisconsin Coastal Management Council (WCM Council). The WCM Council works cooperatively with state, local and tribal government agencies and nonprofit organizations to manage the ecological, economic and aesthetic assets of the Great Lakes and their coastal areas. Their mission is to preserve, protect, develop and where possible to restore or enhance the resources of Wisconsin’s coastal areas. The WCM Council assigns grants to local projects that complement their mission. “There are 820 miles of coastline in Wisconsin,” said Kitchens. “I look forward to serving on this council. The 1st Assembly District alone contains a large portion of our coastline. The WCM Council awards grants to projects all over the state, and last year, our district received at least $86,000.” $1.5 million is available through the 2016-17 Wisconsin Coastal Management Program (WCMP) and will go toward funding community planning and development, coastal habitat conservation and restoration, coastal water quality protection, coordination and public involvement, coastal hazards, and public access.

Source: Kitchens press release

Governor Scott Walker

The Governor will lead a business development mission to Mexico in June as a part of the state’s ongoing efforts to increase exports and encourage international companies to invest in Wisconsin. “We will promote Wisconsin’s strong business climate, outstanding workforce and key industry sectors as compelling assets for successful business operations in Wisconsin during our trip to Mexico, just as we did during our trips to Europe, Canada and the United Kingdom last year,” Walker said. “The state of our state is strong, and this is the perfect time for businesses in Mexico to consider investing in Wisconsin.”

Source: Walker press release

Representative Reid Ribble 

Ribble voted with a bipartisan majority of the House of Representatives to update our nation’s email privacy laws, passing H.R. 699, the Email Privacy Act, with a vote of 418 to 0. “When our email privacy laws were written in 1986, today’s high school students hadn’t even been born, and electronic communications didn’t exist as we know them today. As a result, current law allows the government to access any American’s emails that are more than 180 days old without the need for a warrant,” Ribble said. “The Email Privacy Act brings our privacy laws into the 21st century and forces the government to get a warrant to access Americans’ electronic communications, just as they do for other forms of communication.”

Source: Ribble press release

Senator Tammy Baldwin

Baldwin applauded the decision from the U.S. Treasury Department to reject cuts proposed by the Central States Pension Fund. If the Treasury Department approved the Central States application to reduce benefits, 25,000 Wisconsinites would have faced deep cuts in the pensions they have earned over a lifetime of work. “Hardworking people who build their future should never have to doubt their retirement security,” Baldwin said. “I have heard the stories from Wisconsinites who worked hard, played by the rules and would have faced financial ruin if these retirement cuts were implemented. I’m proud to stand with working families and win this fight to protect the retirement security they have worked for, planned for and depend on.”

Source: Baldwin press release

Senator Ron Johnson

Johnson, who faces Democratic challenger Russ Feingold in the upcoming election, said he is open to joining GOP frontrunner Donald Trump on the campaign trail. “Stump with Trump?” Johnson stated during an interview with CNN. “Just because it rhymes: It’d be the Ronald [and] the Donald. Certainly, as I travel the state extensively, I hear a lot of support because what Donald Trump is saying resonates with an awful lot of people when it comes to the incompetence of Washington, D.C.,” Johnson said. “From what I’ve heard, Trump is running very strong up in the Northwest [part of Wisconsin]…that should also help me a bit, too.”

Source: breitbart.com

President Barack Obama

Obama will be the first serving U.S. president to travel to Hiroshima since it was hit by a U.S. nuclear bomb in 1945. The visit will be part of an Asian trip from May 21 to 28 that will also take in Vietnam. The Hiroshima bombing on Aug. 6, 1945, killed 140,000 people. Along with a second bombing on Nagasaki, it is credited with ending World War Two. A statement from Obama’s press secretary read: “The President will make a historic visit to Hiroshima with Prime Minister [Shinzo] Abe to highlight his continued commitment to pursuing peace and security in a world without nuclear weapons.”

Source: BBC News