Author: Correspondent

Governor Tony Evers and Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Attorney General Josh Kaul slammed Republicans on August 17 after the Wisconsin State Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance (JFC) delayed a plan to use the first tranche of Wisconsin’s $31 million in National Prescription Opiate Litigation (NPOL) settlement funds to combat the state’s opioid epidemic. The funds were awarded as part of agreements that Attorney General Kaul entered into with pharmaceutical companies, settling the state’s legal claims. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) received its first $6 million payment on July 29 to begin using immediately, while the remaining...

Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) has been working over the past year to modernize its fare collection system, and announced the three phases of the transition to the new system on August 8. The phased approach includes estimated timeframes provided there are no further supply chain delays. The new system is expected to launch in mid-2023, alongside Milwaukee County’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service, introducing a new era of transit in Wisconsin. “Metropolitan Milwaukee is transforming into a world class city, with more conventions, cruise lines to our port, internationally recognized sports teams, additional airline services, leading hospital...

Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) gave one million more rides than this time last year for a total of 8.4 million rides. MCTS thanked the community on August 11 for the positive sign that ridership was bouncing back. Each day, hundreds of bus operators connect thousands of residents to work, appointments and other destinations along 40 bus routes, traveling 55,000 miles each day, nearly 24-hours a day. “It’s an achievement worth celebrating as we win back ridership we lost during the height of the pandemic. We are grateful to our riders, our operators, and our community for choosing public...

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) announced on August 9 that after more than two decades of effort, at least one photo has been found for each of the 58,281 service members whose names are inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. In the Fall of 2001, a short-term initial effort was made to collect photos of those on The Wall, with a larger, more concerted effort launched in the Fall of 2009. Since then, hundreds of volunteers and family members have submitted photos for the effort. Volunteers tracked down photos in many different ways. “When VVMF began this effort,...