Wisconsin Examiner, Author at Milwaukee Independent

Wisconsin healthcare resources “feeling the strain” as COVID-19 crisis escalates due to severe cases

Posted by Wisconsin Examiner | Oct 2, 2020 |

The spread of COVID-19 in Wisconsin continues to get worse, Governor Tony Evers and state health officials warned recently — and unless more people take it seriously, an increased number of residents, families, and members of the community may die from the virus in the coming weeks and months. “We are in a crisis,” said Dr. Ryan Westergaard, chief medical officer of the Bureau of Communicable Diseases in the state Department of Health Services (DHS). “And if we do nothing differently, I would say it’s a high likelihood that this is going to get much worse before it gets...

Latest Kenosha Police shooting hits close to home for family of Michael Bell

Posted by Wisconsin Examiner | Sep 9, 2020 |

For Michael M. Bell, word on August 23 that Kenosha Police had shot Jacob Blake in the back at close range replayed events from nearly 16 years ago. A Kenosha Police officer shot Bell’s son, Michael E. Bell, in the head November 9, 2004, killing him — and sending the father on a crusade to reform the process for investigating police officer misconduct, particularly when it involves the use of deadly force. The officer who fired the shot that killed the younger Bell has never been charged. Michael M. Bell sued the city of Kenosha over his son’s killing,...

Wisconsin rejects deployment of Homeland Security troops in Kenosha fearing a repeat of Portland

Posted by Wisconsin Examiner | Aug 27, 2020 |

Kenosha will have agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Wisconsin National Guard presence will be doubled Wednesday night, August 26, after conversations between Governor Tony Evers and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows regarding federal involvement in the city of 100,000. But Governor Evers remains steadfast in his objection to the presence of the Department of Homeland Security, which he declined during a conversation with Meadows on Tuesday, August 25. Contrary to a tweet from President Donald Trump, the Governor had already mobilized the Wisconsin National Guard on Monday, August 24, and declared a...

Save Our Stages: Wisconsin venues plead with Congress for financial relief in next COVID-19 aid package

Posted by Wisconsin Examiner | Aug 22, 2020 |

After going dark in the spring because of the COVID-19 pandemic and anticipating no more public performances for the rest of 2020, independent concert venues mobilized this week to get public backing for federal legislation to rescue them financially. In Wisconsin, 72 independent venues have signed on to the effort, ranging from the Pabst and Riverside theaters in Milwaukee and the Overture Center for the Arts in Madison to Big Top Chautauqua in Bayfield and the Mineral Point Opera House. In good times, independent performing arts venues can generate up twelve times the income for surrounding businesses — night...

Jobless Pay: The narrative used to deny Wisconsin workers vital financial help

Posted by Wisconsin Examiner | Aug 20, 2020

Photo by Gage Skidmore and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 Several times this summer, Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin) has defended his opposition to any new Congressional relief from the economic ravages of COVID-19 by asserting that financial help for people who are out of work from the pandemic keeps them from going back to work. He is not alone. Almost since a federal supplement of $600 a week for workers who had lost hours or been laid off took effect in April, claims have circulated that workers were turning down return-to-work calls from their employers. Johnson reiterated that message...

Wisconsin farmers continue to suffer from the failed politics of the trade war with China

Posted by Wisconsin Examiner | Aug 19, 2020 |

Just over a year ago, Trump came to Wisconsin in the midst of his trade wars and declared that farmers were “over the hump,” but that wasn’t true then and it certainly isn’t true now. Since he became president, Trump’s disastrous policies have contributed to the more than 2,000 dairy farms that have had to close their barn doors forever, with a record 818 disappearing for good last year alone. The people who live on these farms are more than a number or a statistic. They’re the farmers who sold their milk across our state and country. They’re the...