Friday, July 27, 2012
County Executive Chris Abele said the cost of adding the question to the ballot — at least $20,000 — is not worth an advisory referendum with no action behind it.
Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele plans to veto the county board's request for an advisory referendum regarding a well-known U.S. Supreme Court decision, citing the cost of adding it to the ballot. The referendum refers to an oft-criticized 2010 Supreme Court case Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission, in which the court ruled that the First Amendment protected political spending by corporations and unions in elections. On Thursday, the board voted 14-4 in favor of an advisory referendum that would ask Milwaukee County residents whether they support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would essentially override the Supreme Court decision. Abele spokesman Brendan Conway said the county executive agrees with the board's…
Saturday, June 30, 2012
County Executive Chris Abele spoke to chamber members on Wednesday about some fiscal happenings in Milwaukee County.
In the midst of the recall campaigns, Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele went to Opening Day at Miller Park, where he sat between Gov. Scott Walker and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, two men Abele says he gets along with. Walker quipped about the shirt Abele should have worn to the game: One with arrows pointing left and right, and proclaiming "I'm with stupid." Abele's joke warmed up the crowd at Wednesday’s Greendale Chamber of Commerce event, where he sounded confident tones about this year's county budget. Last year’s 2011 budget started with a $55 million deficit and about $1 billion in long-term liabilities, Abele said, but things look brighter for next year. The latest presented 2012 budget is now poised to go forward with no …
Monday, April 16, 2012
Pat Jursik loses bid to lead the Milwaukee County Board in long voting process Monday.
Update 2:30 p.m. In a statement, Pat Jursik congratulated Dimitrijevic on her election and said supervisors should come together to support the new chairwoman. "Supervisor Dimitrijevic ran a hard race, and her election as chairwoman represents a new start for Milwaukee County. I look forward to her leadership for all of Milwaukee County. Chairwoman Dimitrijevic and I have already forged a strong alliance on behalf of the entire South Shore from Bay View all along the lakefront to Oak Creek. I am excited that she is now in this important leadership role." Marina Dimitrijevic was voted the new chairwoman of the Milwaukee County Board on Monday, beating out four other candidates, including Supervisor Pat Jursik. Jursik, who represents a …
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Supervisor responds to Abele's State of the County address.
Update 9:20 a.m. Wednesday John T. Zapfel, deputy chief of staff for County Executive Chris Abele, said a draft of the contract with CBRE Group, which won the bid, is being reviewed by the county's Community Business Development Partners group and will then go to corporation counsel for its review. The contract will then need final signatures from both the county and CBRE. County Supervisor Pat Jursik, who represents a portion of Oak Creek on the Milwaukee County Board, called on County Executive Chris Abele to move forward on a facilities plan that was part of the 2012 budget. In a letter to Abele, Jursik said she was concerned that Abele did not mention the plan in his State of the County address delivered Monday at the University of …
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Abele was elected last year to replace Scott Walker.
Chris Abele, elected last year to serve the remainder of now-Gov. Scott Walker's term as Milwaukee County executive, will run unopposed for re-election this spring. Tuesday was the deadline for candidates to file the necessary paperwork to get on the ballot. The general election will be held April 3. A Franklin man, Steve Hogan, said in December that he would run against Abele. But he dropped out because he could not collect the required number of signatures for his nomination papers, according to a Journal Sentinel report. The county executive is elected to a four-year term. For more on this year's elections, visit the Elections page on Oak Creek Patch.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Purchase of 136 buses ends 20-year argument about how to spend federal money.
Milwaukee County will replace one-third of its bus fleet by purchasing 136 low-emissions buses using federal grant money. Most of the federal money - $36.6 million - has sat idle since 1991. County officials said in a news release that the first 55 buses have already been ordered and will be put into service over several months beginning in March. "These new, low-emission vehicles will modernize our transit system and improve the environment," County Executive Chris Abele said in the news release. "I'm pleased that we're finally using the long-idle $36.6 million to benefit Milwaukee County transit riders and are ensuring that these federal funds are kept here for our residents. These investments reflect my strong commitment to transit as a…
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Event kicks off three-week toy drive.
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Wednesday, November 30, 2011
The Milwaukee County Courthouse Christmas tree will be lit during a ceremony that begins at 5 p.m. Thursday. The ceremony, which is open to the public, will take place in the rotunda on the first floor of the courthouse and includes music by the Salvation Army Brass Band and ornament decorating for children. The ceremony serves as the kick-off for the county’s toy drive, held between Dec. 1 and Dec. 20. Attendees are encouraged to bring an unwrapped toy to the event to donate to the drive. All toys will be donated to the Salvation Army at the end of the drive. If you are unable to attend the event, toys can be dropped off in the county executive's office, Courthouse Room 306, until 5 p.m. on Dec. 20. This year’s tree donors, John and Helen…
Monday, November 21, 2011
Snowplow Driver Appreciation Day is Monday.
The Milwaukee County Department of Transportation is gearing up for another Wisconsin winter, but it will take a brief pause Monday to recognize Snowplow Driver Appreciation Day. County Executive Chris Abele will visit the main shop, 10320 W. Watertown Plank Road, at 1:30 p.m. to meet with plow drivers and learn how the county is preparing for the incoming winter weather. "Snowplow drivers work diligently to provide the crucial task of keeping highways and expressways within the county safe and passable for residents and employees during the winter," Abele said in a news release. "They work long, irregular hours and put themselves in danger to ensure the roads are safe for us. I think it's important to take time and realize how vital they …
Friday, November 18, 2011
College Avenue east of Howell Avenue reopened Friday.
A new-and-improved College Avenue, now a four-lane boulevard east of Howell Avenue, officially reopened Friday morning with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The improvements, including additional lanes, sidewalks and a roundabout just west of Pennsylvania, will better connect Cudahy, Milwaukee, Oak Creek and South Milwaukee and should help stimulate economic growth in the area, local officials said. "Today we celebrate our new, beautiful four-lane boulevard, with green landscaping, artistic murals of aviation history," said County Supervisor Pat Jursik, who represents a portion of Oak Creek and was one of the driving forces behind the construction project. "(It's) not just a new road, but will be a gateway for economic development to the …
Monday, November 14, 2011
Mayors and village presidents met Monday in Franklin to discuss the County Board's recent decision to restore half of the funding taken out of the budget by County Executive Chris Abele.
Some municipal leaders said they will continue to do all they can to provide paramedic services residents of Milwaukee County have grown accustomed to, and that they will keep fighting to restore all of the $3 million County Executive Chris Abele took from the county’s paramedic program. Others feel they have done all they can, and when county residents realize how lower funds impacts service, it will be the municipal leaders with clean hands. “We’ve done all we can do. The blood will not lay at our feet. It will lay squarely at the feet of the County Board and the county executive,” Greendale Village President John Hermes said at an Intergovernmental Cooperation Council meeting on Monday in Franklin. President of the ICC and Franklin …
Michael Wallace
8:42 am on Tuesday, July 31, 2012
It is not just about whether or not the American people can distinguish between truthful and false ads. It is about Politicians reliance on a small group of corporations and individuals to get into office. If you paid for me to get a job, and in that job I would have influence over something that you wanted, more than likely I am going to help you get what you want. So lets say a bill comes up … more ›