— Both houses of the Legislature signed off on a statewide smoking ban Wednesday that would force Wisconsin’s bars, hotels and other public workplaces to go smoke free in July 2010. The state Senate approved the ban Tuesday afternoon on a 25-8 vote after turning back more than a dozen amendments seeking to carve out exemptions for nursing homes, private clubs and hotels. The Assembly then voted 61-38 to approve the bill after rejecting similar attempts to change the bill, clearing the way for it to go to Gov. Jim Doyle’s desk. The Dem governor is expected to sign it. The legislation was hammered out by representatives from the Wisconsin Tavern League and anti-smoking forces last week. The deal pushed off implementation until 2010, tweaked fines, pre-empted local governments from approving more restrictive measures and grandfathered in certain cigar bars. See more: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=158612 — First-quarter earnings from Kohl’s Corp. have prompted the company to raise its earnings outlook for 2009, from a range of $2.00 to $2.30 per diluted share to a range of $2.19 to $2.42 per share. Kohl’s reported net income for the quarter ended May 2, 2009 of $137 million, or $0.45 per share, compared with $153 million, or $0.49 per share, a year ago. Net sales were $3.6 billion, an increase of 0.4 percent for the quarter. Same-store sales for the quarter decreased 4.2 percent. “We achieved our goal of gaining market share through our performance in both comparable and total sales in the first quarter,” said Kevin Mansell, Kohl’s president and chief executive officer. “We continue to expect 2009 to be challenging from a macro-economic perspective and, therefore, remain conservative in our sales expectations, inventory levels and expenses. We are focused on gaining market share in this difficult environment.” See the press release: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20090514005159/en — Oshkosh B’Gosh notified the state that the company will permanently lay off 92 workers from its office at 112 Otter Ave in Oshkosh. The company intends to provide outplacement assistance to affected workers. Eligible workers will also receive severance pay and 13 are to be offered relocation opportunities. See the state filing: http://www.wisbusiness.com/1008/090513oshkosh.pdf — Tramont Corp. in Milwaukee has notified the state about a potential layoff of 40 workers that could begin on or about July 11, 2009. This notice is an update of a previous notice received in March 2009. See the state filing: http://www.wisbusiness.com/1008/large/090513tramont.pdf — Three candidates have been named as finalists to serve as vice chancellor for university relations at UW-Madison. UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin will select the new vice chancellor following the recommendation from a 13-member search committee chaired by Mark Bugher of University Research Park. The finalists are Midwest Airlines vice president for corporate communications Michael J. Brophy, University of Illinois at Chicago associate chancellor for public affairs Mark S. Rosati and UW-Madison senior associate athletic director for external relations Vince Sweeney. See the press release: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=158613 — University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate student Joseph Binder, a Ph.D. student in chemistry, has been selected to receive a national award from the American Chemical Society. Binder is set to receive the Kenneth G. Hancock Memorial Award in Green Chemistry on June 22 at the Carnegie Institution in Washington, D.C. Each year, this award is given to the graduate student whose work best advances the principles of green chemistry, focusing on developing environmentally benign chemical products and processes. See the press release: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=158530 — Verizon Communications has announced plans to divest its local wireline operations serving residential and small-business customers in predominantly rural areas in 14 states, including Wisconsin. These operations will be acquired by Frontier Communications. Approximately 11,000 Verizon company employees — those who primarily support the local phone business that is being acquired — will continue employment with Frontier after the merger. See the Verizon release: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=158537 TOP STORIES Emerson Electric acquires Vilter Manufacturing : Vilter Manufacturing Inc., Cudahy, has been acquired by a division of St. Louis-based Emerson Electric Co., according to a memo to employees. State car dealers at risk of closure: General Motors’ and Chrysler’s plan to eliminate thousands of dealerships across the country could include 50 to 100 in Wisconsin. Wisconsin Legislature passes statewide smoking ban: Lighting up in bars and restaurants would be illegal anywhere in Wisconsin under a bill state lawmakers approved Wednesday.
************************************************************ See commentary from around the state and columns from WisBusiness contributors Jennifer Sereno, Kevin McKinley, Tom Burzinski, Gregg Hoffmann, Tom Still and Steve Jagler: ************************************************************ TECHNOLOGY (back to top)
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ECONOMY (back to top) – U.S. falling behind, Bucyrus CEO says
MANUFACTURING (back to top) – Chinese imports could bring GM political troubles – Lack of ad spending saps NewPage’s sales – Mayor says Kenosha will do what it takes to keep engine factory open
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REAL ESTATE (back to top) – Wisconsin foreclosures still rising – Milwaukee to receive $2 million in EPA funding – Affordable apartments win zoning approval
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UTILITIES (back to top) – Frontier to buy rural Verizon lines for $5.3 billion
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