CHILD POVERTY IN WISCONSIN INCREASES
A definitive new report by one of the top poverty research centers in the country reveals that in 2016 Wisconsin poverty increased by over 10% and child poverty increased by a shocking 20%.
You can read more about the report and what it means for our campaign to end child poverty in Wisconsin on a new section of the End Child Poverty Wisconsin website. On that page, we’ll be posting information about poverty in Wisconsin and the U.S. you can use to show others in your community why this effort is so important.
It is significant that this increase in poverty in ...
FAIR TIME TO MEET A FARMER
This week I attended the Wisconsin Valley Fair; this fair and the many others that will be happening around our area this month is a celebration of our family farms, community values and our rural way of life. But all the things we celebrate at these fairs are slipping away. Family farms are closing, communities are growing smaller and smaller as young people leave. Our rural way of life is disappearing. It’s clear that what we have been doing is not working and we need new leadership in our state to bring back rural Wisconsin.
Farmers, the backbone of the rural ...
ON THE ROAD AGAIN….
In February 2018, US News and World Report ranked Wisconsin 44th in the country for its road conditions. The report, based on 2016-2017 data, noted that 31 percent of Wisconsin's roads are in poor condition compared to Minnesota's 10 percent.
The National Bridge Inventory rates the structural fitness of bridges from 0 to 9; 0 indicates the bridge is closed, 9 is a superior rating. Wisconsin's average bridge rating decreased from 6.5 in 2008 to 6.3 in 2016. If this trend continues, we will have increased numbers of bridges closing or imposing weight limits, negatively ...
VOTE ON AUGUST 14
Vote on August 14. This is a very important election. Early voting begins two weeks before. Check with your local municipal office for times.
The next election in Wisconsin is the Fall Primary Election on August 14, 2018. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.
Voters must be registered to vote (see VOTER REGISTRATION, below). You may register to vote at your polling place on Election Day. You must be 18 years or older.
Voters who move within 10 days before the election must vote at the poll from their previous address (in person or by requesting an absentee ...
SOLAR CENTRAL WISCONSIN
Home and business owners in Central Wisconsin are energized as the Central Wisconsin Solar Group Purchase Program began July 25 with a special presentation at the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA).
The Solar Central Wisconsin program allows individual home and commercial property owners to access lower prices for solar installations through the power of volume purchasing. This program builds on the success of 2017’s Solar Central Wisconsin program, which led to 308 kW of solar on 46 properties, offsetting approximately 405,264 lbs of carbon dioxide in the ...
The “Precedent” for DEMOCRACY: Marathon County’s Proposed Medical Marijuana Referendum (Video)
Watch the brief film below on the Marathon County Board's upcoming vote tomorrow, July 24, regarding whether or not it will allow citizens to participate in the democratic process by giving their opinions in a non-binding county referendum in November.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HzApXVqLbg
Public Access Video of Full Marathon County Board Meeting on July 19 Including an Agenda Item on the Medical Marijuana Referendum:
https://waam.viebit.com/player.php?hash=6DeBTaO95xhs
County Board Supervisor Districts and Contact Information:
http://www.co....
Wausau Pilot & Review’s Shereen Siewert Presents to The Westies (Video)
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link="https://youtu.be/o7klqpDQdAE" align="center"][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Shereen Siewert, investigative journalist -- and the founder and editor of Wausau Pilot & Review -- presented to The Westies Neighborhood Group on July 9, 2018, at the Wausau Labor Temple.
Wausau Pilot & Review broke multiple stories in the recent past including, but not limited to, topics related to the Wausau Chemical move, the Riverlife developer challenges, and the contamination issues in the Thomas Street Neighborhood.
...
WHAT’S THE GOAL?
Hardly a day goes by on my Facebook newsfeed that doesn’t include a bashing of Democrats. And this by those who consider themselves liberals or progressives. This is deeply troubling.
For one thing, what other party has a chance of stopping the Republican power play that has brought us Trump? Some of my friends who post these tirades against Democrats like to believe that the Greens, or the Democratic Socialists, or Libertarians are a viable alternative to Democrats. To that I say, what are you smoking?
No third party has won a presidential election since … uh, ...
THE UNIVERSAL ECONOMY UNIT VIX: FIGHTING BACK AGAINST THE RICH CLASS WAR BEING WAGED ON AMERICA
“The check arrived out of the blue, issued in his name for $1,200, a mailing from a consumer finance company. Stephen Huggins eyed it carefully. A loan, it said. Smaller type said the interest rate would be 33 percent. Way too high, Huggins thought. He put it aside.
A week later, though, his 2005 Chevy pickup was in the shop, and he didn’t have enough to pay for the repairs. He needed the truck to get to work, to get the kids to school. So Huggins, a 56-year-old heavy equipment operator in Nashville, fished the check out that day in April 2017 and cashed it.
W...
STOP REINFORCING ANTI-IMMIGRANT IDEAS
Here are some tips to keep in mind when you talk about immigration:
Immigrants are people who move—and are part of “us.” Always use inclusive language that emphasizes immigrants’ humanity and full membership in our communities: our neighbors, friends, and families.
Avoid “good immigrants” versus “bad immigrants” talk. All people deserve to be treated humanely, whether they were valedictorians or not, whether they have a legal asylum claim or not, whether they were brought to the U.S. as children or came here on their own.
When people say that ...