— Gov. Tony Evers in his budget address called for expanding the state’s BadgerCare program, drawing a connection between health care access, the workforce and economic development.
“I wish we could all agree that expanding affordable health care will help our families, our farmers, our rural communities, our small businesses, our main streets, and our state’s biggest employers alike,” Evers said in his speech last night.
He also argued the state’s 1849 abortion ban means women in Wisconsin are “treated like second-class citizens,” noting it was enacted before they had the right to vote. He said the law strips them of their reproductive rights and makes it harder to recruit new workers to the state as well.
“We cannot expect more people to move here if they have to give up basic freedoms when they do,” he said. “Period.”
The budget address covered a wide range of proposals including a new family leave program for public and private sector employees, boosting the state’s transportation fund, additional funding for the Wisconsin Technical College System and more.
Evers’ budget plan now goes to the GOP-run Legislature, which likely will send him a revised budget around July 4.
See the full text of Evers’ speech: https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WIGOV/bulletins/347d65a
Watch the speech here: https://wiseye.org/2023/02/15/2023-budget-address/
See more coverage at WisPolitics.com: https://www.wispolitics.com/2023/evers-calls-for-family-leave-program-workforce-initiatives-in-budget-proposal
— Members of the Assembly Health, Aging and Long-Term Care Committee in an informational hearing questioned DHS officials on a variety of issues, including how the agency addresses complaints about nursing homes.
Yesterday’s hearing came amid worker shortages across the state, including at the state’s Veterans Home at King, and complaints about treatment of residents at the Veterans Home at Union Grove.
Rep. Donna Rozar, R-Marshfield, said someone contacted her with concerns that complaints made about a nursing home had not been adequately addressed.
“How many complaints does a facility have to have before you just kind of say, ‘Hmm, what’s going on here?’”
Department of Health Services Division of Quality Assurance Administrator Otis Woods noted a rise in complaints over the past few years during the pandemic and said the agency had hired private contractors to help investigate them. He said the agency investigates all complaints within two weeks to 45 days depending on the severity of allegations.
DHS Legislative Director H.J. Waukau during the hearing noted the $50 million Gov. Tony Evers has proposed to help boost the state’s health care workforce. But Rep. Dave Murphy, R-Greenville, said he doesn’t see how spending more money will solve the problem.
“I feel like we’re now at a point where there’s shortages in so many areas, that all I’m doing is rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic,” Murphy said.
Curtis Cunningham, DHS assistant administrator of Medicaid benefits and service, said the agency had offered $30 million in grants to help address workforce needs. He cited a grant program to send out postcards seeking people who are interested in taking care of someone in their community. He also said DHS is looking at ways to use technology, such as using floor sensors to monitor people in their homes rather than a full-time person to help out.
Watch the hearing:
<br><b><i>Top headlines from the Health Care Report … </b></i>
— Researchers at Madison-based Promega have developed a material aimed at improving a brain imaging technique that relies on bioluminescence.
<i>For more of the most relevant news on COVID-19, reports on groundbreaking health research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics.com and WisBusiness.com.</i>
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— The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee has tweaked the Evers administration’s plan to spend $165 million in extra federal transportation aid, including restrictions on money earmarked for easing congestion and improving air quality.
The bulk of the money — $89.3 million — is going into local transportation improvements. That includes $15.6 million for a carbon reduction program. The goal of the new federal program is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from on-road highway sources.
The Department of Transportation also called for $4.2 million going to a program designed to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality.
The motion the Joint Finance Committee approved specifies that the congestion mitigation funds can only be used for right-of-way improvement projects or those that improve traffic flow.
The motion also restricts money going into the carbon reduction program to projects replacing street lighting and traffic control devices with energy-efficient alternatives, improving traffic congestion, and enhancing traffic flow without constructing new capacity.
That motion passed 11-3 with Dem Rep. Tip McGuire, of Kenosha, joining all Republicans present in supporting the move.
See more coverage at WisPolitics.com: https://www.wispolitics.com/2023/wed-pm-update-evers-to-call-for-cooperation-in-budget-address
— A new nonprofit called the OPEN Foundation has launched in Dane County to provide career development services to members of the LGBT community.
The group was founded by Heidi Duss, a consultant and diversity, equity and inclusion executive coach based in the Madison area. She launched Culturescape Consulting in 2020, and is the board president for the existing OPEN organization.
Duss says the newly established foundation can provide support and connections for professionals who “who may otherwise be held back in their career” due to their gender identity or sexual orientation.
“We are committed to making sure that no one is held back due to their gender identity or sexual orientation and that everyone has the opportunity to pursue their dreams and reach their goals in life,” she said in a statement.
In an interview yesterday, she explained the foundation aims to expand on OPEN’s community-oriented mission to include equity programs and services, with a focus on those early in their career and “diverse and allied individuals.” Duss said she wants to “break down that social construct” around what it means to be a professional to make it more inclusive.
While the foundation will initially be focused on Dane County, she said interested parties from the Milwaukee area have reached out in recent weeks. As the group launches its new services and secures partnerships and more funding, she said it will expand into other areas as well.
“We want to serve as many people as we can,” she said.
The foundation will provide: an online professional resource hub; mentoring and coaching services; a newsletter, workshops and seminars for those early in their career or transitioning to a new career; access to “exclusive job and internship offers”; as well as scholarships and youth services.
According to the foundation’s website, OPEN was created in 2006 by LGBT leaders in the Madison area as the Out Professional Executive Network. It has since re-branded to the Out Professional Engagement Network.
See the release: https://www.wisbusiness.com/2023/open-launches-new-nonprofit-to-support-career-development-for-lgbtq-workers/
See more on the organization here: https://www.openmadison.org/
— January home sales in the Milwaukee area fell 32.9 percent over the year but prices were higher, according to the latest Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors report.
The GMAR report shows 797 homes were sold in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties last month, compared to 1,188 in January 2022.
Report authors note residential unit sales will likely remain relatively low through the first half of 2023 because the first six months of last year were part of the “pandemic market.”
“That period was an unusually intense time marked by record sales,” they wrote. “Any comparison to that stretch will most likely be down.”
GMAR says decreasing sales usually lead to lower prices, but in this case “exceptionally tight inventory” helped defy the expected trend. Average January prices were 9.5 percent higher over the year, the report shows.
Meanwhile, total listings in January were down 30.2 percent over the year, from 1,573 to 1,098.
Report authors argue the regional market is “nowhere near becoming a buyer’s market” in the short-term, despite the lower listings number.
“That is because the metropolitan market is contending with a years’ long trend of not creating enough new or existing homes to satisfy buyers’ needs,” they wrote.
See the full report here: https://www.gmar.com/resources/research-statistics/2023-housing-statistics
— The upcoming Midwest Gaming Classic is expected to have a $2 million impact on the Milwaukee area, city officials estimate.
It will be held March 31-April 2 at the Wisconsin Center, and is expected to draw around 15,000 guests, according to a release from organizers. That includes international visitors from Japan, South Korea, Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain.
The annual event will feature thousands of games both retro and modern, from pinball and tabletop roleplaying games to virtual reality.
See event details here: https://www.midwestgamingclassic.com/
#TOP STORIES#
# When a 911 call comes, a survey of ambulance services shows many aren’t always able to respond
# A Waukesha solar company’s sudden shutdown leaves customers, employees reeling
# First teaching health center in Wisconsin coming to Milwaukee’s northwest side
#TOPICS#
# AGRIBUSINESS
– USDA to survey Wisconsin farmers’ 2023 planting intentions
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=185&yr=2023
# CONSTRUCTION
– Building blocks: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Chemistry Building
– Eau Claire Co. projects face potential delays, cost increases if borrowing debate drags on
# EDUCATION
– Madison Jazz Society to end concerts, focus on music education
# ENVIRONMENT
– Seventh largest sturgeon speared on Lake Winnebago on Valentine’s Day
# FOOD AND BEVERAGE
– Pizza Man restaurant might occupy former Stubby’s spot
– This Greenleaf vineyard just added a kitchen to serve up dinner — and a show
# HEALTH CARE
– Winter months not stopping construction at new Mayo Clinic Health System hospital
# LABOR
– What Fiserv plans to pay new hires at its new downtown Milwaukee headquarters
# REAL ESTATE
– Cudahy Tower Apartments in downtown Milwaukee sold by Michael Cudahy foundation
– Pat Connaughton’s firm Three Leaf proposes 448 rental units on ‘underutilized’ Hartland site
– Revitalize Milwaukee to rehabilitate homes in Muskego Way neighborhood
– Two-story, non-residential building planned to replace historic Third Ward building
– Lowlands Group to open new restaurants, outdoor bier garden at 84South in Greenfield
# REGULATION
– Dairy groups weigh in on Chippewa milk hauler permit scheme
http://wisconsinagconnection.com/story-state.php?Id=186&yr=2023
# TECHNOLOGY
– Milwaukee startup ITA wants to make international travel more accessible
# TRANSPORTATION
– Milwaukee Mitchell airport’s 440th base to be redeveloped by Dallas company
# PRESS RELEASES
<i>See these and other press releases:
https://www.wisbusiness.com/press-releases/ </i>
Dept. of Natural Resources: Confirms CWD in two additional wild deer harvested in Marathon County
Alliant Energy: Forbes names Alliant Energy a ‘best employer’ of 2023
