Friday, May 3, 2013
Wisconsin's drunk driving-related incidents are the highest in the United States and state Legislators have crafted six bills to confront the issue, but they carries a hefty price tag.
Some state Republican Legislators want to toughen the laws for habitual drunk drivers and first-time drunk drivers if they cause an injury or killed someone, but the price tag for those laws could cost taxpayers up to $236 million, according to a story in the Wisconsin State Journal. Rep. Jim Ott (R-Mequon) and Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) have introduced six bills to the Senate and House. The bills would: Because of the jail time provisions, the state expects to have to build 17 facilities that would each house 300 people. "A fiscal estimate from the state Department of Corrections put the cost of the bill regarding third and subsequent offenses at between $169 million and $204 million annually. Other agencies also weighed in, …
Monday, January 21, 2013
What's blocking Wisconsin from implementing new, tougher laws against drunken driving? It could be "the dollar factor."
Mark Grapentine is a seasoned observer of state politics. He was an aide to then-state Rep. Scott Walker and a policy adviser to then-Gov. Tommy Thompson. For the past decade, he’s been a lobbyist for the Wisconsin Medical Society. In this capacity, he’s pushed for tougher state drunken driving laws — and noticed that, despite an absence of pushback, these laws have stayed mostly the same. “It has been interesting to watch how there has been a lack of progress in an area where there seems to be a tremendous amount of agreement on the need to do something,” Grapentine says. Wisconsin remains the only state where first-offense drunken driving is not a crime, although the civil penalties include license suspension and substantial fines. Two …
Friday, January 11, 2013
Bill proposed by state Sen. Alberta Darling and Rep. Joe Sanfelippo calls for binding referendum making supervisors part time and axing salary by 70 percent.
Calling it a plan to help Milwaukee County deal with its fiscal woes, two Republican state legislators on Friday unveiled a plan that would enable voters to decide whether to drastically cut salaries of county supervisors. The legislation proposed by Sen. Alberta Darling of River Hills and Rep. Joe Sanfelippo of West Allis would authorize a binding referendum in April that calls for reducing salaries by 70 percent — from about $50,000 to $15,000 — and making the positions part time. "This bill is about local control," Darling said in a press release. "It let's voters decide what's more important: parks or politicians." Darling and Sanfelippo are seeking co-sponsors for the bill, which also would eliminate health care and pension benefits …
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Party leaders and delegates offer up some advice for U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan on what will be the biggest speech of his life.
TAMPA, FL -- All eyes will be on U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan on Wednesday night as the Wisconsin congressman formally accepts his vice presidential nomination in a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention here. Patch chatted with Wisconsin delegates and other party leaders in Tampa about Ryan's acceptance speech and asked them what they thought he needs to do to introduce himself to America. __________________________________ Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch: "Paul Ryan just needs to go and be himself. Paul Ryan is loved in Wisconsin. Paul Ryan is a hero not just to the GOP in Wisconsin, but to all of us who share his values, who share his love of the outdoors, his love of family and his Midwestern virtues that he is going to bring to …
Thursday, March 22, 2012
The flurry of ads and campaign appearances are just beginning here as GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney's wife appears at Miss Katie's Diner in Milwaukee with state Sen. Alberta Darling.
The first wave of the upcoming tide of GOP presidential campaigning in Wisconsin descended upon Miss Katie's Diner Thursday morning, with an appearance by Ann Romney, wife of the Republican frontrunner. Romney was introduced to the small diner crowd by state Sen. Alberta Darling, who co-chairs Mitt Romney's Wisconsin campaign with former state Sen. Ted Kanavas. Darling said Wisconsin is undergoing a "revolution," and said Badger state voters are "very different from Illinois." She predicted that Romney will fare better in Wisconsin than he did in Tuesday's Illinois primary, where he took 47 percent of the vote. "We are Romney turf here in Wisconsin," she said. The Romneys, who celebrated their anniversary yesterday, received additional …
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Gathering up reaction from around the web.
The recall elections held Tuesday night produced no change in the control of the state Senate, as Republicans narrowly kept their majority. The GOP now has a 17-16 hold on the Senate. Democrats picked up two seats, but fell short of what they were hoping for - winning three seats and grabbing control of the Senate. Two more recall elections are set to be held next Tuesday. They both involve Democrats - Jim Holperin of Conover and Bob Wirch of Pleasant Prairie. Here's a roundup of reaction from around the web: - Patch has complete coverage of the Sandy Pasch-Alberta Darling race, which has dominated local news coverage in recent days. Results were known until the wee hours of the morning, but the election was won by Darling, a Republican…
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Oak Creek's state senator isn't sitting on sidelines in Wisconsin recalls.
State Sen. Chris Larson's name won’t be on a ballot when Wisconsin voters go to the polls for next week’s historic recall elections. But that doesn’t mean the first-term Democrat is staying silent. Through social media and in-person appearances, Larson has actively campaigned for Democratic candidates throughout the run-up to the elections, which will be held Aug. 9 and Aug. 16. He doesn’t fear alienating the people he supposedly works with – Senate Republicans – and doesn't think about what impact his activism will have when the Legislature returns to session. For him, ideals like "bipartisanship" and "working together" went out the window during the budget-repair bill battles back in February. One aspect stands out in particular. "Me …
Friday, June 24, 2011
Republican Alberta Darling and Attorney General JB Van Hollen say new Justice Department unit could recover $6 to $7 for every $1 spent.
State Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) announced Friday she is introducing legislation to create a new public assistance fraud unit within the state Department of Justice. Darling, who was joined by Attorney General JB Van Hollen at her district office in Menomonee Falls in making the announcement, said the unit is being proposed because she wants to get rid of public assistance fraud in Wisconsin. “What’s most important is that we’re going to prosecute fraud and we’re going to increase the penalties to a felony,” Darling said. “It’s going to be both providers and beneficiaries that we’ll target.” Darling said she wanted to create the program in order to root out fraud after a stories done by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in the past …
Lika Phipps
11:12 pm on Saturday, May 18, 2013
Drinking is a privilege. So is driving. If you can't be responsible, they get taken away, because obviously some people aren't responsible enough, so they have to be treated like children. If you want to get trunk off of your tuches, do it at home and stay there. No one wants to deal with obnoxious people who think they're Benny Parsons and end up doing too much damage than what it's worth. more ›