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Bill Esbeck: Broadband has bipartisan support in Congress

Deploying broadband is an issue that generates strong bipartisan support in our nation’s capital. In May, the entire Wisconsin congressional delegation came together seeking Federal Communications Commission action on better broadband mapping, which will lead to more efficient broadband investments.

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James Wigderson: No mileage taxation without full representation

Nearly hidden in the transportation budget passed by the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee is a provision that would allow the committee to implement a mileage-based fee on drivers by 2023. The decisions to create the fee, how it would implemented, and the amount of the fee would all be in the hands of the 16-member JFC instead of the full legislature and the governor.

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Steven Walters: No manual for lieutenant governor job

There’s no manual on how to be a lieutenant governor and no specific responsibilities, other than being ready to become governor in the event of a resignation or death. But there’s a few unwritten political rules in the relationships between governor and lieutenant governor.

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Mike Rohrkaste: What $231M more for caregivers means for your loved ones

On an 11-4 party-line vote by the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee, state Republicans have pumped $231.6 million in new funding into direct caregiver wages, responding to that need. It’s a step in the right direction toward addressing both the workforce issue in nursing homes as well as helping to stop the closures we’re being faced with.

Read More »

John Nichols: Justice Shirley Abrahamson set the record straight

I came of age in a family that revered former Chief Justice Edward George Ryan, so I was a bit surprised when former Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, who was also revered in my family, raised an eyebrow as we considered the bust of her predecessor on a summer afternoon many years ago. Abrahamson recalled when Lavinia Goodell, the first woman admitted to practice law in Wisconsin, applied in 1876 for permission to argue cases before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Ryan rejected her — and all women. He argued that allowing women to practice law would be a “departure from the order of nature.”

Read More »

Bill Esbeck: Broadband has bipartisan support in Congress

Deploying broadband is an issue that generates strong bipartisan support in our nation’s capital. In May, the entire Wisconsin congressional delegation came together seeking Federal Communications Commission action on better broadband mapping, which will lead to more efficient broadband investments.

Read More »

James Wigderson: No mileage taxation without full representation

Nearly hidden in the transportation budget passed by the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee is a provision that would allow the committee to implement a mileage-based fee on drivers by 2023. The decisions to create the fee, how it would implemented, and the amount of the fee would all be in the hands of the 16-member JFC instead of the full legislature and the governor.

Read More »

Steven Walters: No manual for lieutenant governor job

There’s no manual on how to be a lieutenant governor and no specific responsibilities, other than being ready to become governor in the event of a resignation or death. But there’s a few unwritten political rules in the relationships between governor and lieutenant governor.

Read More »

Mike Rohrkaste: What $231M more for caregivers means for your loved ones

On an 11-4 party-line vote by the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee, state Republicans have pumped $231.6 million in new funding into direct caregiver wages, responding to that need. It’s a step in the right direction toward addressing both the workforce issue in nursing homes as well as helping to stop the closures we’re being faced with.

Read More »

John Nichols: Justice Shirley Abrahamson set the record straight

I came of age in a family that revered former Chief Justice Edward George Ryan, so I was a bit surprised when former Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, who was also revered in my family, raised an eyebrow as we considered the bust of her predecessor on a summer afternoon many years ago. Abrahamson recalled when Lavinia Goodell, the first woman admitted to practice law in Wisconsin, applied in 1876 for permission to argue cases before the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Ryan rejected her — and all women. He argued that allowing women to practice law would be a “departure from the order of nature.”

Read More »

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