Wisconsin
is Getting Conned By Foxconn
People around the state thought the Foxconn deal was lousy when it
passed last summer. At the time, the deal promised a $3 billion giveaway
to the foreign corporation, waived rules that protect our wetlands and
our water – the same rules everyone else follows, and assured the
company of even more money from local taxpayers.
Now, we have learned that the deal is even worse. Initially, Foxconn
promised to invest $10 billion of their own, but this number has already
shrunk by a full $1 billion under the terms of the contract approved by
Scott Walker’s economic development agency. With local incentives and
state highway improvements added, the size of the public subsidy keeps
growing, too, and now stands at over $4.1 billion – equal to $1,774 from
every household in Wisconsin.
We now know one piece of that ever increasing subsidy will come from the
Walker Administration raiding $134 million from the state highway
rehabilitation fund to pay for local roads supporting Foxconn. This raid
was not previously disclosed and, according to the nonpartisan
Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB), it is unlikely that the work was
accounted for in the state highway rehabilitation fund when the 2017-19
budget was adopted and “would likely result in the delay of other,
previously planned rehabilitation projects on state highways.”
The Walker administration claims that the misuse of funds will be offset
by the early completion of other highway projects. However, the LFB
confirmed they were likely already accounted for in the budget.
Additionally, any savings generated by the completion of other projects
would require legislative action to be transferred to the highway
rehabilitation program, according to the LFB.
In addition to the financial aspects the deal, Foxconn also gets relief
from environmental regulations that Wisconsin’s other companies have to
follow. Foxconn has no obligation to avoid or minimize its impact on a
pond and 42 wetlands that cover about 26 acres within the first parcels
of land the company is readying for construction in Racine County. This
week, we also learned that the Army Corp of Engineers will not require
Foxconn to seek out federal approval regarding these wetlands, leaving
these wetlands unprotected.
Informational
Meetings for Families and Adults with Developmental Disabilities on
Family Care and IRIS
Arc of Dane County, LOV Dane, the Wisconsin Long Term Care Coalition,
and Third Place Group are holding small group sessions entitled “Our New
Reality: Making Sense of Family Care & IRIS in the Transition Period and
Beyond on.” The sessions will be held in Sun Prairie, Cross Plains, and
Stoughton to provide factual information, opportunity for questions, and
time for parents and people with disabilities to share their experiences
about the transition to Family Care and IRIS.
Information about the three sessions:
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January 11th, 2018, from 6:00 -7:30 pm at the Sun Prairie School
District Offices, Multipurpose Room, 501 S. Bird Street in Sun
Prairie.
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January 17th, from 6:00-7:30pm at Rosemary Garfoot Public Library,
2107 Julius Street, Cross Plains
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January 18th, from 6:00-7:30pm at Stoughton Public Library, 304 S.
4th Street, Stoughton
The meetings are free of charge but pre-registration is recommended.
Click here or call (608)833-1199 to register.
2018
Tax Season is Upon Us
In the next few weeks you should receive the W-2 forms you need from
your employer to file your state and federal taxes. While the receipt of
W-2 marks the beginning of the income tax filing season, it is
unfortunately a time when scam artists declare open season on
unsuspecting taxpayers.
If you are contacted by an individual claiming to work for the Wisconsin
Department of Revenue or Internal Revenue Service there are three
important things to keep in mind, no matter how convincing the person
contacting you may be:
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Both the IRS and Wisconsin DOR contact taxpayers about their
accounts by mail.
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Neither agency will call you, make threats about your tax liability
and demand immediate payment.
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Neither agency will request that you pay your taxes using iTunes or
Amazon gift cards, wire transfers, PayPal, prepaid debit cards or
reloadable MoneyPak cards.
Even if caller ID or the email address of the sender leads you to
believe you are being contacted by one of these agencies, do not provide
any information to a person who calls claiming to be from one of these
agencies or respond to any emails that appear to come from one of these
agencies. Phishing scams, sending emails which appear to have been sent
from a legitimate sender, are increasingly common and effective. Caller
ID spoofing, using technology to have another number appear on your
caller ID, is another tactic that is used by scammers.
Click
here if you suspect that your identity has been stolen and someone
used your information to file a false tax return and follow the
instructions.
Christmas
Tree Removal
Every neighborhood in the city of Madison will receive two rounds of
Christmas tree collections. You may also bring your trees to a city
Streets Division drop off site.
The first round of collection has already begun, starting on Tuesday,
Jan. 2, 2018. The second round of collection will begin on Tuesday, Jan.
16, 2018. It typically takes the city 8 to 10 working days to complete a
round of collection.
Tree Collection Rules
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Place trees at the street edge only.
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Remove and discard tree bags.
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Remove all tree stands, ornaments, lights and other metal objects.
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Trees that are not properly prepared will NOT be collected.
Tree Drop Off Sites
West: 1501 W. Badger Rd.
East: 4602 Sycamore Ave.
The sites' open winter hours: Monday – Friday, 7:30 am – 3:00 pm
3rd
Edition of the Public Access Lands Atlas Now Available
The atlas includes properties managed by the Wisconsin Department of
Natural Resources, as well as federal and county-owned lands. People can
download and print these maps free of charge from a home computer.
The University Book Store's digital storefront provides a web-based
option for those interested in purchasing a PAL Atlas. The original PAL
Atlas, with 441 maps, two indexes and a glossary is available for
$89.95. A separate PAL atlas is also available for each of Wisconsin's
72 counties for $24.95. Lastly, a DVD with over 450 pages of public
lands access data is available for $5.95.
For orders using a check, a mail order form is available on the
University Book Store's website.
To place an order by phone using a credit card, call: 1-800-993-2665 EXT
5929. In order to simplify the purchasing process, be sure to mention
the item number (099127660) in your call.
For more general information, visit the DNR website, dnr.wi.gov, and
type the keyword "atlas" in the search bar. To order the Public Access
Lands Atlas via the DNR website, simply click the "buy" button.
Sign
Up Open for 2018 Landscape Pesticide Registry
The Landscape Pesticide Registry is now available to sign up for the
2018 growing season, and participants will find a new, easier online
registration this year.
You can request that commercial lawn care companies notify you before
they apply pesticides to lawns, trees and shrubs on the block where you
live, or on blocks immediately adjacent to yours. Participation in the
registry is free.
You can register online by
clicking here until Feb. 1.
If you are already an active user of the registry, you should have
received an email from the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer
Protection reminding you to renew your participation with instructions
and the new web address. Just for this year, you will need to set up a
new password, and you will need to provide the addresses again. You’ll
be able to view an interactive map to determine addresses of the
properties for which you want notification. In successive years, these
properties will be in the system and you will only have to indicate that
you want to keep them on your notification list.
New users will follow the same steps of setting up a password and then
choosing the addresses for which they want notification.
You may continue adding addresses until Feb. 1, when the registry will
be closed to the public so department staff can review it for ineligible
addresses. It will take effect March 15, when pesticide applicators will
be able to search it to find out if any of their clients' addresses have
been listed.
The registry applies only to commercial landscape applications.
Homeowners or landlords who do their own applications are not covered by
the notification requirements, nor are applications to the inside or
outside of buildings. The registry does not allow for notification of
pesticide use in agriculture, or for you to be notified about
applications around your workplace or your children's school or day care
center.
Fun
Wisconsin Fact
In 1977, Wisconsin made the honeybee its official state insect.
Legislation was introduced after a third grade class at Holy Family
School of Marinette and the Wisconsin Honey Producers Association pushed
for the honeybee. The honeybee was victorious against other insects that
were considered to represent Wisconsin including the monarch butterfly,
dragonfly, ladybug, and mosquito.
The honeybee is not exclusive to Wisconsin, seventeen other states
recognized it as a symbol due to their major role in agriculture. Bee
pollination is critical to plant and human survival, beeswax and honey
are only surplus gifts from this tiny insect. The plant world expends a
lot of energy attracting bees and other insects with brilliantly colored
flowers and sweet nectar (nectar is produced solely to attract
pollinating insects).