Recently added articles from Daily Reporter (Milwaukee, WI):
Turf war escalates between Wisconsin counties, builders
Jul 02, 2009; ... If county highway administrators refuse to admit they aresnatching work away from road builders, industry groups will forcetheir point in the state Legislature. For now, the two sides will try to negotiate a fair split of roadconstruction projects, giving counties the freedom to ...
Airports balance construction needs with passenger fees
Jul 02, 2009; ... A proposed change in federal law that would give airports moremoney for construction projects also could increase ticket pricesand scare away passengers. Passenger Facility Charges, such as a $3-per-ticket fee atMilwaukee's General Mitchell International Airport, are the ...
Wisconsin architects adapt for building-information modeling boom
Jul 02, 2009; ... Architects realize the potential and potential headaches of aswitch to building-information modeling for large state constructionprojects. "I just wrestled with it for two hours on the simplest thing,"said Josh Johnson, president of the American Institute of ArchitectsWisconsin ...
Tax proposal scares small contractors in Wisconsin
Jul 01, 2009; ... Matt's Electric Inc. might shut down if the state chooses towithhold 2 percent of earnings generated by small and independentcontractors. "I can't absorb that," said Matt Feyuerherm, president of thesmall electrical contractor in Ellsworth. "I'm lucky I made itthrough last year ....
Wisconsin roofers question asbestos training rule
Jul 01, 2009; ... Wisconsin roofing contractors are bristling over the potentialcosts of retraining their workers to meet state asbestosrequirements without proof the requirements will improve safety. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services distributed a memothat interprets the laws requiring ...
Early support gives Madison's Edgewater Hotel momentum
Jun 30, 2009; ... The Hammes Co.'s proposed $100 million renovation of Madison'sEdgewater Hotel could set a new course for developers frustratedwith the city's project approval process. "We could be looking at a whole different ballgame if thisproject is approved," said Carole Schaeffer, executive ...
Neighborhood's growth in Milwaukee depends on Goldmann's
Jun 30, 2009; ... Silence has ruled the stretch of Historic Mitchell Street nearthe vacant Goldmann's Department Store ever since the retailerclosed down in October 2007. "The building being unoccupied, that end of the street, thevolume of traffic dropped," said Jerry Lewis, former co-owner ...
Cities in Wisconsin brace for cuts to road money
Jun 30, 2009; ... Wisconsin public works directors on July 6 will feel the firstcut in the state's reduction in road-maintenance money for cities. Municipalities will get 6.13 percent less in the July paymentfrom the state's Connecting Highway Aid program, which providesmoney to maintain, plow and ...
Bursting the Dane County bubble
Jun 29, 2009; ... The economic recession has drastically affected Wisconsin:Factories have closed, mass layoffs caused unemployment numbers torise and building projects have been suspended. Yet in the middle of the gloom, the bright side of the economystill shines on the west side of the University ...
Urban renewal hits roadblock
Jun 29, 2009; ... There's just something about city life. It attracts people. Itattracts development. And, although Dane County recently lostsupport for a program that promotes urban infill projects, officialssay the push for urban growth remains strong. The county has green space into which it can ...
Dane County cuts back as revenue streams slow
Jun 29, 2009; ... Shared revenue cutbacks and revenue shortfalls are giving DaneCounty's budget a one-two punch that might only be shielded withlayoffs, unpaid furloughs, wage freezes and delays in constructionprojects. County officials project a $578,000 reduction in shared revenuecoupled with a ...
Groups criticize Wisconsin for stimulus spending
Jun 29, 2009; ... The state is not doing enough with stimulus money to maximize jobcreation because Wisconsin is spending too much on highway expansionjobs, such as the Interstate 94 project, according to two watchdogorganizations. Monday was the 120-day mark by which states were required to ...
Compromise reached on public and private road jobs in Wisconsin
Jun 26, 2009; ... For the time being, highway departments and private road buildersagree counties should not perform any road or construction work thatuses private money. Instead of forcing county highway departments to competitivelybid on projects with price tags of more than $25,000, the ...
Wisconsin roadworker death highlights safety shortcomings
Jun 26, 2009; ... Wisconsin roadworkers are at the mercy of inattentive drivers anda difficult-to-enforce move-over law. "Ultimately, the orange barrel doesn't do much to protect us,"said Bruce Stelzner, Chippewa County highway commissioner andpresident of the Wisconsin Counties Highway Association ....
Rocky roads under repair in Wisconsin
Jun 26, 2009; ... While there's no cure-all for pavement blowups that are poppingup across the state amid the high heat, regular maintenance helps. Blowups have not been big problems in past years because theweather did not climb from cool to hot as quickly as it did thissummer, said Steve Krebs, ...
Fate of transit authority rests with Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle
Jun 26, 2009; ... The state Legislature met several requests in creating a DaneCounty regional transit authority in the 2009-11 Wisconsin budget.But its efforts might not be enough to bring the RTA to fruition. "I think it's a ruse to try to make it look more acceptable tovoters as long as Transport ...
Wisconsin dam project draws water into energy talks
Jun 25, 2009; ... A proposed hydropower project on the Mississippi River isinspiring a state lawmaker to reconsider his dismissal of water as alikely source of renewable energy. "I think a lot of people just put (hydropower) out of theirheads," said state Rep. James Soletski, D-Green Bay, and ...
Decline continues in architecture
Jun 25, 2009; ... When U.S. architects reported work was picking up in March,expectations followed that the industry would be in recovery mode bynow. "It looks like this recovery is going to be a bit more elusivethan we hoped," Kermit Baker, chief economist for the AmericanInstitute of Architects, ...
Buy America puzzles construction industry
Jun 25, 2009; ... Contractors, suppliers and local governments are struggling tofigure out how Buy America requirements will be applied to stimulusprojects. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act requires builders useconstruction materials made in the U.S. But local governments arestill ...
Wisconsin Senate OKs final budget agreement; Assembly vote on tap
Jun 25, 2009; ... The state Senate approved a special Legislative committee'sagreement reached on the 2009-11 state budget early Friday morningon a 17-15 vote. Sen. Alan Lasee, R-De Pere, was absent from the vote. Sen. JimSullivan, D-Wauwatosa, voted against the agreement. The specially formed ...