Author: Wisconsin Examiner

Wisconsin Votes: An unsatisfying result after the worst presidency in American history

Wisconsin Votes: An unsatisfying result after the worst presidency in American history

Posted by | Nov 7, 2020 |

How did we come to this point? President Donald Trump made history on Tuesday night with his false declaration of victory while votes were still being counted all across the country. At least, by signaling in advance that he would reject the election results if they did not favor him, Trump had diminished the impact of his own brazen stand. Still, it was a breathtaking display in a country that still likes to think of itself as a democracy. Over the last four years we have been numbed to the fact that we have a president who routinely lies...

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Foxconn’s nearly abandoned manufacturing plant seen as political project for influencing election

Foxconn’s nearly abandoned manufacturing plant seen as political project for influencing election

Posted by | Oct 29, 2020

State tax credits for Foxconn’s Mount Pleasant operations — once pegged at potentially $3 billion — appear increasingly unlikely. But even without them, the Taiwan-based company’s installation in southeastern Wisconsin will carry a hefty price. The most recent audit report from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC) on the tech company’s 2019 job-creation record all but extinguished the prospect for the company to get a payout through the controversial deal reached under former Governor Scott Walker. “The reason why the 2019 credits were rejected was because they’re not in compliance with the contract,” state Representative Gordon Hintz (D-Oshkosh), the...

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A Sundown Town: Wauwatosa Justice Rally highlights violent role of law enforcement in protests

A Sundown Town: Wauwatosa Justice Rally highlights violent role of law enforcement in protests

Posted by | Oct 25, 2020 |

Wauwatosa protesters and residents gathered in Hart Park on Thursday, October 15 for a rally for justice for police shooting victim Alvin Cole, organized by Team Roc, the social justice arm of rapper Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. The rally took place just a few blocks from the Wauwatosa village, a local business hub. Hundreds gathered around the stage to listen to music and the voices of families from around the state who have experienced police violence. Following the rally the group took to Wauwatosa’s streets, marching and chanting, as protesters in the suburb have been doing for months. The Wauwatosa...

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Briggs & Stratton’s Greed: How corporate executives plundered millions in bonuses before going bankrupt

Briggs & Stratton’s Greed: How corporate executives plundered millions in bonuses before going bankrupt

Posted by | Oct 18, 2020 |

Just days before filing for bankruptcy in July, Milwaukee’s Briggs & Stratton Corp., at one time the largest producer of small engines in the world and employer to 11,000 union production workers making a solid, middle-class living, handed its top executives $5 million in bonuses, calling them “retention awards.” In mid-September a federal bankruptcy court judge approved the sale of Briggs & Stratton’s assets to KPS Capital Partners, a private equity firm. Like vultures picking a carcass clean, these bonuses in the run-up to bankruptcy have become an all-too-frequent way for corporate executives to gift themselves with one last,...

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Pandemic uncertainty contributing to a spike in Wisconsin’s already climbing suicide rate

Pandemic uncertainty contributing to a spike in Wisconsin’s already climbing suicide rate

Posted by | Oct 17, 2020 |

Suicide rates in Wisconsin rose 40% between 2000 and 2017 according to new report published by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services and in 2019, 850 Wisconsin residents died by suicide. Rates have climbed considerably higher nationwide during the pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the rising suicide rate across the country is linked to “elevated adverse mental health conditions associated with COVID-19. The CDC surveyed Americans on their mental health at the end of June and found that 40% of adults were struggling with their mental health or substance abuse. Anxiety and depression...

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Wisconsin DOJ concludes its investigation into Kenosha police shooting of Jacob Blake

Wisconsin DOJ concludes its investigation into Kenosha police shooting of Jacob Blake

Posted by | Oct 10, 2020 |

The file from the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha was handed over to consultant Noble Wray, the former Madison Police Chief, on October 7 by its Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI). This begins the next phase of analysis before any decision on charges is made by the Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office. According to DOJ spokeswoman Gillian Drummond, the file is nearly complete and contains more than 170 investigative reports, as well as video, audio recordings, photos and other attachments that the department has spent many hundreds of hours...

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