News 02.23.17
23 February 2017 News
Four families are displaced following an apartment fire in the City of Berlin. The fire happened Tuesday evening just before 8:00 p.m. at the Quarry Street Apartments. Berlin Police Captain Kevin Block says all the residents were evacuated but the building appears to be a total loss. The Berlin Fire Department, Berlin Police Department and the State of Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigations are continuing to investigate the fire to determine the cause. Poy Sippi and Green Lake Fire Departments, Berlin EMS, Berlin Emergency Management, Green Lake County Sheriff’s Department and City of Berlin Public Works assisted the Berlin Fire and Police Department at the scene.
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The Fond du Lac police chief says a high speed chase last week through a residential neighborhood is under review. The reckless driving suspect fled following a traffic stop and led police on a chase that ended when the suspect’s vehicle crashed into two cars and two houses on 8th Street. Fortunately nobody was injured. Police Chief Bill Lamb says the internal investigation to make sure police pursuit policy was properly followed. Lamb says the investigation will include a review of the radio traffic between dispatch and the officer and whether there was any directive from a supervisor to continue or terminate the chase. Lamb says the department reviews every chase to make sure it was proper, or whether the chase should have been terminated to protect public safety.
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Oshkosh Police say they’ve identified a 22-year-old man who exposed himself to several women. Officers say the Oshkosh man was driving around the community, pulling up next to women, and exposing his genitals to them. It happened at various locations in the city on Feb. 20, 2017, between the hours of 10:15 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. The police department is seeking additional victims. If you have any information, contact Detective Jeremy Wilson at (920) 236-5732. To leave an anonymous tip, contact Winnebago County Crime Stoppers at (920) 231-8477.
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Gov. Scott Walker is recommending spending $803 million on state building projects over the next two years, with nearly $450 million of the funding coming from new borrowing. Walker says the capital budget he released prioritizes investment in current facilities and limits new construction. Projects to be funded that Walker highlights include a $75 million replacement for the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s crime lab in Milwaukee. Walker proposes spending $33 million renovate and repair Sandburg Hall at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. There is also $5 million for a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Innovation Center in Green Bay. Walker is also calling for $5 million to remodel and expand the La Crosse Center. The Building Commission was set to meet in March to vote on the recommendations.
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A researcher says the majority of Wisconsin residents will use driverless cars two decades from now. But University of Wisconsin engineering professor David Noyce said at an Assembly committee hearing Wednesday that Wisconsin trails other states in preparing for the transition. Working in the state’s favor, he says, is the fact that a University of Wisconsin traffic lab is one of 10 groups nationwide the federal government has designated to test the vehicles. Uber, General Motors and other companies developing the technology are also urging the Legislature to set groundwork for the testing and use of autonomous cars in Wisconsin. Legislatures in 11 states and Washington D.C. have already passed laws related to driverless cars. The governors of two other states have signed executive orders for driverless car testing.
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The state Senate’s top Republican introduces a bill that would relax Wisconsin’s high-capacity well regulations. Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald’s measure would allow people to repair, replace or reconstruct wells without approval from the state Department of Natural Resources. The bill also would require the DNR to evaluate water bodies in the state’s central sands region. The agency would be able to ask the Legislature to adopt special conditions for water withdrawals in the study area if the agency feels they’re necessary to protect streams and lakes. Lake associations in the study area would be allowed to build high-capacity wells to replenish lakes if water levels have been dropping. The associations wouldn’t have to pay permit application fees and could get state grants to build the wells.
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