LARSON REPORT

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

September 1, 2011

CONTACT ME

Please feel free to contact me with any concerns or opinions you might have.

Office Phone: (608) 266-7505
Toll-free Phone: (800) 361-5487

Email: Sen.Larson@legis.wi.gov

Mailing Address:

State Capitol
P.O. Box 7882
Madison, WI 53707

Web Site: SenatorChrisLarson.com

COMMUNITY EVENTS
 

Supporting our neighbors and being involved in our community is of the utmost importance. Some community events that might be of interest to you and your family are listed below. 

St. Francis Days
Join me this weekend at the annual St. Francis Days at Vretenar Municipal Park. Enjoy this family-friendly event that offers free entry, parking and entertainment. This neighborhood event will feature great food, local musical groups, a petting zoo, and the city's largest parade, in which I will be participating. To view the route for the parade, please CLICK HERE. You can also CLICK HERE to view the daily schedule of events.

Vretenar Municipal Park (MAP)
4224 S. Kirkwood Street
St. Francis, WI 53235
(414) 481-2300

 

Made in Milwaukee
September 3 from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Stop by this day-long arts festival that will feature the best of Milwaukee arts. Made in Milwaukee will also offer a wide range of activities for the whole family to enjoy including a kid's fair, local business fair, live music from neighborhood artists, talented dancers, an outdoor fashion show, and more. CLICK HERE for more information and a complete festival lineup.

Cathedral Square Park (MAP)
520 E. Wells Street
Milwaukee, WI 53202
(414) 257-8005

Indian Summer Festival
September 9 at 4 p.m. until September 11 at 8 p.m.
Attend this cultural event where you can enjoy crafts such as basket weaving, moccasin making, and wildlife carving, eat traditional food, and listen to live music performances. The main event of the festival is the pow wow competition, featuring dancers in full regalia competing to drum groups from across the country. You can also observe the Grand Entry at the beginning of each day that includes tribal veteran color guard groups. Indian Summer runs Friday from 4 p.m. to midnight, Saturday from noon to midnight, and Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. with a special prayer ceremony that starts at 10 a.m. Admission is $12 for adults, while seniors over 60 are $10 and kids 12 and under are free. CLICK HERE for more information.

Henry Maier Festival Park (MAP)
200 N. Harbor Drive
Milwaukee, WI 53202
(414) 273-3378
 

Dear Friend,

In honor of Labor Day I have included a brief history of the Labor Movement in Wisconsin, as well as details for celebrating Labor Day in our community.

Sincerely,

Chris Larson
State Senator, District 7

Celebrating Wisconsin's Labor Movement

As we celebrate Labor Day this upcoming Monday, we should take time to remember Wisconsin’s deep labor history and the generations of workers and reformers who have made significant contributions to building a middle class across our state.
 

Our Community Fights for Worker's Rights
Our community played a pivotal role in Wisconsin's labor movement, which began over a century ago. Wisconsin’s first unions were formed in Milwaukee—the bricklayers in 1847 and the carpenters in 1848. In the 1880s, as the eight-hour work day became a central concern across the country, laborers in Milwaukee formed the Milwaukee Labor Reform Association (later the Eight-Hour League) to advocate for the eight-hour day. Milwaukee workers fought for the eight-hour day with a five-day sweeping industrial work stoppage, halting production in factories throughout the city.

During the 20th century, Wisconsin's workforce continued to seek fair treatment and safe working conditions for all under Robert La Follette’s progressive movement. In 1911, the State Legislature passed the first workman's compensation law. Then in 1932, our first unemployment compensation laws were enacted. Wisconsin continued to support its workers by passing the Wisconsin Employment Relations Act in 1937, which provided workers with the right to organize.

The labor movement was vital to growing a strong American economy and a solid middle class. The ability to organize, receive fair treatment and work in safe conditions are fundamental values that built our country.

Celebrate Labor Day in Our Community

Annually, we celebrate our hard-working Wisconsinites and the Labor Day holiday with family-friendly neighborhood festivals. Join me in our community this Labor Day weekend as we celebrate Wisconsin's current workforce, as well as those that came before us and fought for better workplace rights for all. See a list of local Labor Day events below.
 

Oak Creek Lions Labor Day Festival
September 2 through September 5
Attend this annual event and enjoy music, food, rides, and fun and games for all ages at the 52nd annual Oak Creek Lionsfest. Indoor and outdoor stages will feature live music from over 20 bands all weekend long, including the Britins, Mt. Olive and Pat McCurdy. For more information, please CLICK HERE.

American Legion Festival Grounds (MAP)

9327 S. Shepard Avenue

Oak Creek, WI 53154

Labor Fest

September 5 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Watch the annual Labor Day parade that starts at Zeidler Union Square Park at 11 a.m. and works its way to the Summerfest grounds. Once at Summerfest, enjoy a free festival that includes music, Bingo, vintage cars, a children's area and much more. Local vendors will also be selling food and drinks throughout the afternoon.

Zeidler Union Square Park (MAP)

301 W. Michigan Street

Milwaukee, WI 53203

(414) 277-0860 
 

Henry Maier Festival Park (MAP)

200 N. Harbor Drive
Milwaukee, WI 53202
(414) 273-3378

Back to School: Working with Less

With summer coming to an end and children heading back to school, it is time for us to reflect on the past six months and how Governor Walker’s budget will affect our children's educational opportunities this school year.
 

Our local schools face substantial cuts of $1.6 billion under the Republican budget. In our community, education funding for our children has been cut by $1,021 per pupil on average and over $185 million throughout local school districts. The budget also completely eliminates funding for many essential school programs including P-5 grants, Advanced Placement, and nursing service grants, while also cutting funding for programs such as school library aids and Head Start.

As a result of these cuts, our neighborhood schools and educators have been asked to continue service levels with substantially less support. I commend all of our schools for stepping up to this challenging task of trying to maintain current educational opportunities for our children and ensuring that they continue providing vital educational services.

Although Milwaukee Public Schools faced cuts of over $161million, they recently took the step of restoring the SAGE program at 10 schools by reallocating some funding from unfilled positions in their central office. In Cudahy's School District, additional costs have been shifted to employees in order to keep the same cost for parking, athletics and books for their students. While I applaud our dedicated teachers and staff at our local  neighborhood schools and their continued efforts to help our children achieve academic success, they should not be the only ones shouldering these deep education cuts pursued by Governor Walker.

Wisconsin has always been highly regarded for the educational opportunities we provide to all of our children and I hope that we can continue on that path in the future despite recent setbacks from Governor Walker and Republican legislators. Each Wisconsin generation before us has made an investment in our state's education. Education cannot be an optional expense, like a gym membership, but rather must be treated as the absolute necessity that it is. A quality education is the backbone of our state and the key to improving Wisconsin's long-term economic success.

Community Meeting on Economic Development

Wednesday, September 7 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

I encourage you to actively participate in the economic development of our community by attending a neighborhood meeting this upcoming Wednesday at the Cudahy Family Library. Representatives from the cities of St. Francis, South Milwaukee, Cudahy and Oak Creek as well as Milwaukee County and the Milwaukee Gateway Aerotropolis Corporation will be in attendance to discuss their current development efforts. This forum is an excellent opportunity for you to learn more and provide feedback about future planning in Milwaukee County, including the Hoan Bridge Repair, Aerotropolis, and other important community issues.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like additional information or have questions about the event.

Cudahy Family Library, Winter Garden Meeting Room (MAP)
3500 Library Drive

Cudahy, WI 53110

 

South Milwaukee Opening Day

I would like to thank those that attended the South Milwaukee School District's Opening Day this past Monday to discuss protecting our children's educational opportunities. I also appreciate being invited to the event held at South Milwaukee High School.

It was great to see so many of our neighbors participate in this community-based event that clearly laid out the school district's vision, mission and goals. It is important that we have these conversations in order to ensure that we are all on the same page about our children's educational futures.

Each year events like this one occur in communities across Wisconsin. For those interested in quality education, I encourage you to attend such events.
 

Milwaukee to Host Nation's Governors

The annual meeting for the National Governors Association is headed to Milwaukee in August 2013. I was happy to attend the announcement for this event, which will have many positive effects on our community.

This highly-anticipated event will be a great opportunity for Governors from all over the country to see what our community has to offer and will bolster our local tourism industry and ultimately our economy. Additionally, I hope that this bipartisan meeting proves to be a positive step forward towards improving relations between the two major parties both at the state level and nationally.

Session to Resume this Month

The 2011-2012 Legislative Session is scheduled to resume on September 13. If you are looking to stay up-to-date on the issues that are important to you, I encourage you to take advantage of the following free legislative resources:

Wisconsin Legislative Notification System - An email notification system offered by the Legislature that alerts subscribers of legislative activities relating to issues that they have identified as important. CLICK HERE for more information.
 

Committee Calendars - Tracks all upcoming committee meetings and public hearings. To view a copy of the calendar, please CLICK HERE.

WisconsinEye - Provides the public with unfettered access to committee meetings, public hearings, session days and other government activities, which allows the public to view legislative debate and policy-making without editing, commentary or analysis. CLICK HERE to watch videos made available by WisconsinEye.

Eye on Lobbying - Keeps track of which organizations are opposing or supporting proposed legislation. To visit this Web site offered by the Government Accountability Board, please CLICK HERE.

Intern at the Capitol

I currently have an opening for a legislative intern in my Madison office. A legislative internship is a great opportunity for students and recent graduates to learn more about the legislative process while gaining practical work experience.
 

With Interns from the Spring 2011 Semester
 

Intern responsibilities vary, but include policy research, summarizing proposed legislation, and responding to constituent inquires. All interns also assist with general office operations, including answering the phone.

Applicants must be able to work during normal business hours, and dedicate a minimum of 10 hours each week to the internship. All intern positions are unpaid.

To apply for an internship, please submit a cover letter and resume electronically to Sen.Larson@legis.wi.gov or mail them to Wisconsin State Capitol, P.O. Box 7882, Madison, WI 53707.