State News: Rep. Zepnick, Titletown District, Millennial Marketing

Embattled Legislator Removed from Committees

Assembly leaders have removed Rep. Josh Zepnick, D-Milwaukee, from his committees at the state Capitol after two women accused him of sexual misconduct.

“We take the allegations made against Rep. Zepnick very seriously,” said Assembly Minority Leader Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, in a statement. “Yesterday I took one of the few disciplinary actions available to me as Minority Leader and removed Rep. Zepnick from his assigned committees. Moving forward, I will consult with members of the Assembly Democratic Caucus, as well as the majority party, to ensure this issue is addressed in an appropriate manner.”

The Cap Times reported Friday that two women said Zepnick had kissed them without their consent, one in 2011, the other in 2015.

Zepnick told the newspaper he had no recollection of the alleged incidents but apologized for his actions. He also said that his life is back on track now that he’d been sober for two years, and he would not resign.

But several Democrats pushed for him to resign, including Hintz and Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Martha Laning.

The last time lawmakers even discussed such a move was in 2014, following reports that then-Majority Leader Bill Kramer sexually assaulted a woman at a Republican fundraiser. No expulsion vote was ever taken and Kramer was allowed to serve out his term, though he was stripped of his leadership position and was eventually sentenced to five months in jail.

The last state lawmaker to be censured by his colleagues was former Rep. Jeff Wood in 2010. Wood, a Republican-turned-Independent lawmaker from Chippewa Falls, was arrested repeatedly for driving under the influence.

Waukesha OKs 40-Year Deal to Buy Lake Michigan Water

The Waukesha Common Council unanimously approved a 40-year plan Tuesday night to buy Lake Michigan drinking water from Milwaukee.

A couple of Waukesha residents spoke against the deal.

Ron Kading said he worries about water rates getting out of control.

“My concern is that we are getting in at a good rate today, but I’m worried about tomorrow. What’s gonna happen tomorrow with Milwaukee water?” Kading asked.

Waukesha officials acknowledge constructing a pipeline to bring in Milwaukee water will raise rates, but they say they’ve built any later cost increases into their projections. Waukesha also said it will count on the Wisconsin Public Service Commission to help control how much Milwaukee charges.

Waukesha will now pursue state and local construction and environmental permits that would help the city become the first community outside the Great Lakes Basin to get lake water under terms of a 2008 multi-state agreement.

Schimel Joins Lawsuit Against California Egg Regulation

Wisconsin has joined a dozen other states in a lawsuit against California that could be heard in the U.S. Supreme Court. The lawsuit claims California’s law regulating eggs sold in California violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution and federal law, and has negative economic implications.

California law requires eggs sold in the state to come from hens, “confined only in ways that allow these animals to lie down, stand up, fully extend their limbs and turn around freely.”

Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel said this is an opportunity to stop California’s overreach.

“We wanna get involved and make sure we can help shape the end result of this, too,” he said. “To make sure our farmers are not disadvantaged in the interstate commerce and that our consumers don’t pay more.”

Twelve of the 13 states suing California have Republican attorney generals. Iowa is the only state with a Democrat in that role.

Schimel said his office didn’t consult any egg producers in Wisconsin immediately prior to joining the lawsuit, but said his past conversations with farmers helped inform his decision.

Packers Open New Part of Titletown District

People skate at the Titletown District skating rink in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Thursday, Nov. 30. Photo by Patty Murray/WPR.

The Green Bay Packers are joining other National Football League teams that are developing areas that neighbor their stadiums as a way to attract fans year-round.

The Titletown District is under development and parts of it opened this summer, including a hotel and sports medicine clinic.

On Nov. 30, the Green Bay Packers team President Mark Murphy cut the ribbon on a new ice skating rink, restaurant, and a tubing hill. He said it will be a $165 million dollar project, with at least $65 million chipped in by the Packers.

Skaters and tubers will have to pay to use the facilities, but there are free public areas located across the street from Lambeau Field. Murphy said the opening of the ice rink and tubing hill is a capstone of the project’s first phase, more development is in the works.

UW Health Planning $80M in Cuts

UW Health is seeking to cut $80 million in the next 18 months to help cope with sharp cost increases and declining revenue growth, according to a statement the health system released. UW Health needs to reduce expenses and increase revenues for a number of reasons.

Kaplan cited the “extraordinary growth” in the cost of medications and a rising number of Medicare and Medicaid patients. Those government programs pay less than it costs to provide care, and Kaplan said commercial payers are reluctant to offset those underpayments.

UW Health CEO Alan Kaplan said the first steps will be to manage overtime and not fill open positions. Kaplan said the cuts could include eliminating at least 225 full-time positions. UW Health has 17,000 employees.

Good Samaritan Law for Pets Considered

Wisconsin is considering a Good Samaritan law that would provide legal immunity to emergency professionals who help animals when responding to a fire or other 911 calls.

Under the proposed legislation, first aid could be administered only to domesticated animals, like household pets, service dogs and police canines. The bill would not require EMTs to help animals if they respond to a 911 call, it merely allows them to do so without being sued.

The Humane Society and veterinarians support the bill. The Wisconsin EMS Association supports the bill, which provides immunity whether first responders choose to medically treat an animal or not.

The bill authors are Rep. Dave Considine, D-Baraboo, and Sen. Rob Cowles, R-Green Bay. Cowles called it a “feel good” bill, a reference usually used in derision, but not in this case.

“Why wouldn’t we want to save our pets if we could? So this is one of these simple bills that makes it clear paramedics can do that,” Cowles said.

We Energies Closing Coal-Fired Plant

Another large coal-fired power plant in Wisconsin is closing. We Energies says it’s shutting down its Pleasant Prairie facility in Kenosha County next year.

The Pleasant Prairie plant was once the state’s largest coal-fired generator of electricity, but the shutdown notice is not a complete surprise. We Energies is trying to find other duties for the roughly 150 employees at the Pleasant Prairie plant.

The Sierra Club’s Elizabeth Ward said the planned closing is part of a national trend. “It’s the 266th coal plant to be announced for retirement, and that has been sort of a steady pattern we’ve seen,” Ward said. “It’s continued this year, regardless of some of the rhetoric that’s been stated about coal coming back. It kind of shows that’s unlikely, and this transition will keep happening.”

Walker Wants to Lure Millennials to State

Gov. Scott Walker announced plans to seek approval from the state Legislature to spend $6.8 million in state money on a marketing campaign aimed at luring more workers to Wisconsin.

“We need to go beyond our borders to attract and then in turn retain more talent here in the state of Wisconsin,” Walker said. The governor introduced a plan to work with the state Legislature to fund and launch a campaign to attract who he called “Midwest millennials” to live and work in the state. Walker said he hopes the campaign will be approved this legislative session.

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