Wisconsin State Journal. Sept. 16, 2010.
Remove roadblock for wind farms
As recently as 2004, Wisconsin had more wind power generating capacity than Illinois. But by the end of 2009 Illinois had more than three times the wind power capacity of Wisconsin.
That comparison shows how Wisconsin is falling behind its neighbors in the drive to use wind as a clean, renewable energy source — and a source of jobs and income.
Wisconsin now has a chance to blow some life into its wind power industry by adopting new rules, proposed by the state Public Service Commission, on the siting of wind farms.
Lawmakers should accept the PSC proposal.
A chief reason for Wisconsin's becalmed wind power industry is a hodgepodge of local rules on where smaller wind farms can be sited. The hodgepodge has allowed a few opponents of wind farms to gain veto power over the state's energy policy.
In practice, developers all too often find that when they apply to local governments to build turbines on specific sites, they are blocked by impossible-to-meet requirements put in place to satisfy opponents' overblown or misinformed concerns.
Larger wind farms, over 100 megawatts in size, face no such local gauntlet. They go to one agency — the PSC. The PSC rigorously reviews applications according to reasonable standards that protect public health and safety while permitting well-designed wind farms on appropriate sites.
The PSC proposal for smaller wind farms would use a similar approach to establish a uniform ceiling of standards for local governments. Local governments would retain a large amount of authority to restrict wind farms. But the rules would specify how far local officials can go when they establish:
Noise limits.
Setbacks from residences, property lines, power and communication transmission lines and rights of way.
Shadow flicker limits to control the time that rotating turbines cast moving shadows on neighboring residences.
Good neighbor payments to compensate landowners who are within a half mile of the turbine but are not receiving payments given to owners of the land the turbine sits on.
Procedures to resolve complaints.
Requirements for notifying neighboring landowners of wind farm plans.
Wisconsin's potential for wind power development is more limited than some of its neighbors. But the potential is significant, nonetheless. The state should put the PSC proposed standards into practice and take better advantage of its wind power opportunities.
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Wausau Daily Herald. Sept 15, 2010.
Time for politicians to get serious, get specific
Sept. 14 marked the end of a primary season that in many ways had already started to feel like a general election. In most races, there was a clear front-runner, and we didn't see too many surprises.
In the 7th Congressional District, Democrat Julie Lassa will face Republican Sean Duffy. For U.S. Senate, Oshkosh businessman Ron Johnson will be the Republican candidate facing incumbent Democrat Russ Feingold. And for governor, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker will face Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. ...
In short, it's time for a detailed, public conversation not just about politics but about policy.
In preparation for our primary endorsements, the Daily Herald's Editorial Board interviewed both of the winning candidates in the 7th Congressional District race. Both are smart and engaged politicians. But it is not an exaggeration to say that both declined to give specific answers to more than a few of our questions. We suspect many voters feel the same way: We need to hear much more and many more specifics from both Duffy and Lassa in the weeks to come.
For example, one of Duffy's "Six Steps for a Fiscally Responsible Future" is "End all bailouts." Lassa, too, stated clearly and repeatedly that she is against government bailouts.
But in a political environment where everything negative seems to get labeled a "bailout," neither of these positions tells us much. Would Duffy end all state aid from the federal government? Does Lassa think we would have been better off had the financial system been allowed to collapse in 2008?
The point is that voters deserve to hear which specific policies meet each candidate's definition of a bailout. The same goes for other nice-sounding-but-vague plans and positions put forward by a range of politicians on all sorts of issues.
We'll be following a number of local and statewide campaigns between now and Nov. 2. We're excited to have the conversation, and we have high expectations that — in all of the races — the candidates, too, will work in earnest to give voters a real, informed choice.
Let's have a debate.
Debates will be an important piece of the larger political discussion we'll all be having in the coming weeks. Toward that end, Gannett Central Wisconsin, along with the Wisconsin Institute for Public Policy and Service and other local media outlets, are organizing debates in several of the most high-profile races in the state: the race for governor, for U.S. senator and for 7th Congressional District representative. ...
With the primaries over, we hope to be able to move forward quickly to get these debates scheduled. The public deserves to hear from the candidates in a clear, substantive forum.
We have some big choices to make in November. Now it's time to get serious about making up our minds.
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The Journal Times, Racine. Sept. 15, 2010.
Challenge for all at Harley-Davidson
After a tense week, Harley-Davidson will keep its motors running in Wisconsin.
At least for the time being.
Harley-Davidson union workers, faced with a tough choice of accepting job cuts and contract concessions or possibly seeing the motorcycle manufacturer move its operations out of state, made the right decision and accepted the cutbacks in votes this week in Milwaukee and Tomahawk.
Some jobs are better than no jobs, especially in a down economy.
Under the new contract, Harley-Davidson expects to cut more than $50 million in costs from its Wisconsin operations. Those cost reductions will include shedding about 300 full-time workers and creating a sub-tier of seasonal workers who will receive no benefits and a pay range starting at $16.80 per hour instead of the $30-plus wage rate of current full-time workers.
It was a nasty choice that was made even harder because the new seven-year pact carries no guarantees that the jobs at state plants will be protected in the future.
Harley-Davidson, like other companies, has suffered in the economic downturn and last year recorded losses of $55 million — a sharp decline from just a few years ago, when it posted profits of $1 billion. Company officials argued they needed to shed costs and to have hiring flexibility to react to the ups and downs of their business.
They gave the unions a take-it-or-leave-it proposition, and said they would look at moving production to other facilities in Pennsylvania or Kansas City.
There is no doubt the contract will leave some sour taste for a bit.
But, for now those 1,350 "saved" jobs look pretty good — and they're putting food on the table and paying the house payments.
That will continue, and those jobs can grow only if Harley-Davidson is successful over the coming weeks, months and years. That's a challenge not only to Harley-Davidson management, who should be doing their best now to make sure the company is positioned to be competitive, but to the workers themselves who are the ones responsible for putting out a quality machine. It's a challenge that needs to be met as well by the next governor and the Legislature, who should be working their hardest to make sure that Wisconsin has the tax and business policies that help companies here not only survive — but flourish.
The Harley-Davidson story in Wisconsin is, thankfully, not over. But there is work to be done if Milwaukee Iron is going to be a source of pride, jobs and business success in the future.
