LARSON REPORT

WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

March 4, 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.wisconsin.gov

Mailing Address:

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

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.

Milwaukee Polar Plunge

March 5 at 10 a.m.

Take part in this unique opportunity to support local Special Olympics athletes by running into the icy waters of Lake Michigan. Register yourself or a team either in advance online or on-site starting at 10 a.m. Plunging starts at noon. CLICK HERE for more information.

Bradford Beach (MAP)

2400 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive

Milwaukee, WI 53211

(414) 962-8809

Wisconsin Teen Poetry Slam Finals

March 5 at 7 p.m.

Teens from the Milwaukee and Madison areas will compete in a poetry slam. Individuals placing in the top six will earn a spot on the Brave New Voices team, which will represent Wisconsin in the national competition in California. Please CLICK HERE for additional information.

Helen Bader Concert Hall (MAP)

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

2200 E. Kenwood Blvd.

Milwaukee, WI 53201

(414) 229-1122

Maple Sugaring

March 8 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Learn how to identify maple trees, then participate in the classic Wisconsin winter activity of collecting maple sap and boiling it down into syrup. Admission is $10 for adults and $7 for children ($7 and $5 for members). Samples of the finished product are included. Please dress for the weather. For additional information, CLICK HERE.

Urban Ecology Center (MAP)

1500 E. Park Place

Milwaukee, WI 53211

(414) 964-8505

Dear Friend,

I continued working with my colleagues in the Senate this week to reach a compromise on the Budget Adjustment Bill that will keep our state moving Forward.

Enclosed you will find updates for the recently announced Budget and the Budget Adjustment Bill. Monday's community meeting at UW-Milwaukee to address the effects of voter ID legislation and ending same-day registration is also discussed.

As usual, please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns or opinions you may have about our community or our state.

Sincerely,



Chris Larson
State Senator, District 7

Governor Walker is growing desperate as his agenda to steam roll Wisconsin has ground to a halt. In an unprecedented move, his rubberstamp legislative leaders passed new rules grabbing supervision of Democratic Senate staff. Under this rule, Republican senators have been appointed and given the power to oversee Democratic office operations, potentially controlling constituent contact, reviewing emails, redirecting staff activities, and possibly even the hiring and firing of Democratic staff.

This rule is proceeded by others issued by Republican Senators aimed at intimidating Democratic Senators and their staff, including banning staff from using the copiers, requiring staff to have timesheets approved by the Republican Leader, and even limiting the number of constituents allowed in the office.

The governor even fought a judicial order to stop his public lock out of the State Capitol. He has once again turned a deaf ear to the historic outcry.

His antics will not stop legislators from trying to find a compromise. My Democratic colleagues and I remain committed to continuing our discussion with Senate Republicans. Walker has proven again and again that he would rather bully than lead, rather be vicious than visionary. In times like this we need more than an amateurish administration.

Statewide Governor Walker’s unrelenting attack on workers rights, assault on neighborhood schools, and decimation of local services is creating a growing unease among voters.

Please feel free to visit the links below for more information on Budget Adjustment Bill provisions:

Legislative Council Memo Summarizing the Budget Adjustment Bill

Legislative Fiscal Bureau Summary of Fiscal Items

Legislative Fiscal Bureau Summary of Non-Fiscal Items

Legislative Fiscal Bureau Summary of Senate Amendment 1

Photo (TOP): Firefighters march on the Capitol

Photo (MIDDLE): Assembly members move their offices outside to meet with constituents after the Capitol was locked down

Photo (BOTTOM): Wisconsinites leave Post-It Note messages on the Capitol doors after the public was banned from entering

Governor Walker announced his 2011-2013 Biennial Budget on Tuesday, which proposes devastating cuts to educational opportunities, local services and access to basic healthcare for Wisconsin’s most vulnerable.

These radical cuts will be detrimental to our communities and others statewide and will decrease our quality of life. Wisconsin has a strong history of smart investments in the services that make our state a great place to live, work and raise a family. Unfortunately, Walker’s Wisconsin is a land of little opportunity.

One of the most distressing provisions in Walker’s budget proposal is the more than $1.7 billion in cuts to education and local government. This radical restriction of state support will make it nearly impossible for communities to fund crucial services including police and fire protection, transportation services and parks maintenance.

In addition, the devastating cuts in the governor's budget is an all out assault on our children attending public school. These cuts will mean larger class sizes, fewer educational opportunities for our children, massive teacher lay-offs and even school closures.

Health care programs in Wisconsin utilized by elderly, disabled, low-income and our unemployed neighbors will also face severe cuts under Governor Walker’s budget.

Our neighbors are becoming increasingly concerned with Walker’s misplaced priorities and the damage his agenda will have on the state of Wisconsin. Governor Walker’s second chapter is even worse than his first. First he attacked working families, now he threatens the quality of life in our communities. The more details we get, the worse his story.

To view a copy of the 2011-2013 Budget Bill in its entirety, please CLICK HERE. You can also view documents summarizing the budget by CLICKING HERE to visit the Wisconsin Department of Administration's Web site.

Town Hall Meeting Recap

Nearly 100 neighbors attended the town hall meeting at the UW-Milwaukee campus on Monday to discuss the effects of ending same-day registration and voter ID legislation.

Sen. Lena Taylor and I were able to video conference in to the meeting to address those present. We were also joined by Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Alderwoman Milele Coggs and Alderman Nik Kovac.

After giving brief presentations, guests and legislative staff answered questions and addressed concerns voiced by our neighbors.
 
Thank you to everyone that attended. I also want to thank the following individuals and groups for their help in coordinating this event: The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Student Association Vice President Angela Lang and the rest of the UWM Student Association, UWM College Democrats, Latino Student Union, 9 to 5 Wisconsin, Act Everywhere and Progressive Students of Milwaukee.

Photo (TOP): Panel at the town hall meeting at UW-Milwaukee