News 02.16.17
16 February 2017 News
The Mayville police chief is under investigation. Police chief Chris MacNeill has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal investigation. A press release says the Watertown Police Department is conducting the investigation, but did not say what the nature of the allegations are. MacNeill has been the police chief since 2011 and has worked in the department since 2000. Mayville police captain Ryan Vossekuil has assumed the chief’s responsibilities during MacNeill’s absence.
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The Fond du Lac County Board approves an economic incentive package to help with the downtown Fond du lac Retlaw Hotel renovation project. County executive Al Buechel says the package includes a $1.1 million performance based loan and appropriating more than a half million dollars in sales tax revenue. Buechel says he thinks an economic incentive such as a low interest loan is appropriate given the hotel’s impact to the downtown. The hotel was purchased last summer in an online auction. Hotel manager and owner Dennis Ducette says construction on the nearly $24 million project is expected to get underway this spring with plans to open the renovated hotel this fall.
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As police across Wisconsin step up patrol to crack down on aggressive driving, Fond du lac county issued more speeding tickets per miles driven than any county in the state in the last three years. Statewide speeding citations increased nearly seven percent between 2014 and 1015. Sheriff’s captain Ryan Waldschmidt says most of the offenders are from outside Fond du Lac County. He says while the trend has been going upward he thinks they have been been pretty steady,
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Gov. Scott Walker is defending his proposed switch to a self-insurance model for public workers, even though Republicans who control the Legislature have been cool to the idea. Walker says concerns about the possible loss of jobs by moving to self-insurance “doesn’t make sense because we’re still going to have employees who are still going to need coverage.” Under a self-insurance system, the state would contract with six health insurance companies to administer the program for about 250,000 state workers and family members instead of purchasing insurance from 17 HMOs. Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald last week said he was concerned such a move could lead to broad insurance company job losses. Walker estimates the switch would save $60 million over two years, money he wants to give to K-12 schools.
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Gov. Scott Walker says he supports a measure that would legalize possession of a marijuana extract used to treat seizures. Walker told reporters Wednesday that he’s mainly concerned about opening the door to full-fledged legalization of marijuana but the bill appears to be crafted narrowly enough to avoid that. The bill legalizes possession of cannabidiol oil with a doctor’s certification. The oil doesn’t produce a high. The Senate overwhelmingly passed the measure last week. The Assembly Committee on Children and Families was set to hold a public hearing on the bill Wednesday. The Assembly passed a similar measure last session but it died in the Senate.
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Republican lawmakers are seeking changes in Wisconsin law in reaction to the presidential recount last fall forced by Green Party candidate Jill Stein. A bill being circulated in the Legislature would limit who could ask for recounts. Had it been in place last year, Stein could not have forced the recount of Wisconsin’s presidential votes. Under the bill, only aggrieved candidates could petition for a recount. To be aggrieved, the candidate would have to be within 1 percent of the winner’s vote total in an election with at least 4,000 votes. If fewer than 4,000 votes are cast, the person seeking a recount must be within 40 votes. Taxpayers would still pay for recounts only where the difference is within one-quarter of a percentage point.
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