NAACP-Racine Get Out The Vote Week
6 hours ago
Friday, March 21, 2025
Major Lee Enterprises shareholder wants to buy company that owns The Journal Times
From The Journal Times.com:
David Robinson News Business Reporter
David Robinson News Business Reporter
The second-biggest shareholder of Lee Enterprises, the Iowa-based media company that owns The Journal Times, said Thursday that he wants to try to buy the company.
The Hoffmann Family of Companies, which owns just under 10% of Lee’s stock, said in a letter to Lee executives that it wants to have “open discussions” about buying Lee in its entirety.
The letter of intent from David Hoffmann, the company’s billionaire chairman, comes after Hoffmann has been steadily adding to its stake in Lee, which also owns publications in 73 U.S. markets, including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Omaha World Herald.
In an interview Thursday, Hoffmann said combining Lee’s 78 newspapers with the 21 publications his company owns would create the second-largest newspaper company in the United States, behind Gannett.
“Local news and journalism is important to me,” Hoffmann said. “To me, it’s part of the fabric of America. I’ve had some success in my life, so it’s something that I’d like to invest in and try to preserve, and at the same time, I think we’ll be successful from an investment point of view.”
In a statement, Lee said it would evaluate any offer Hoffmann were to make.
“Lee’s board of directors and management team are committed to acting in the best interests of all shareholders,” the statement said. “Consistent with its fiduciary duties, Lee’s board of directors will carefully review any credible proposal to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interests of the company and Lee shareholders.”
Hoffmann, in his letter, expressed concern about Lee’s intention to divest $25 million in non-core assets and its recent earnings, which included a net loss of $16 million during the final three months of last year.
He also said he hoped that, by purchasing Lee and combining it with the other media properties that he owns, it would allow it to support and grow the local news outlets.
“We believe this commitment represents a sharp contrast to other potential acquirors, such as non-local hedge funds and investment firms primarily concerned with increasing profits over jobs, local concerns and the power of quality journalism,” Hoffmann wrote.
“Today, more than ever, we embrace the concept that local news is a fundamental component of journalism and the communities it serves, and its preservation is in the best interest of a well-informed public,” Hoffmann wrote.
“I thought, now’s probably a good time to put my money where my mouth is,” Hoffmann said in the interview.
While Hoffmann said the declining sales of newspapers is likely to accelerate, he said Lee’s digital business, which now generates more revenue than its print products, is an asset.
“We believe deft management and navigation of this transition to be essential to Lee’s future viability,” Hoffmann wrote.
Lee’s stock, which has lost 26% of its value over the past year, rallied by almost 14% on Thursday after news of Hoffmann’s letter became public.
Hoffmann’s letter did not include any details on the price he might be willing to pay for Lee, although he indicated that he would like the process to move quickly.
While Hoffmann noted the decline in newspapers, he said he has no plans to move away from them.
“We’re pretty good at getting advertisers to advertise in the hard copy, as well as the transformation into digital media. We think there’s a place for both. And I’d like to preserve that,” Hoffmann said. “I, personally, still like reading the newspaper. A lot of my friends like reading the newspaper ... and I think we can create a new revival of that medium.”
Hoffmann said he spoke with Lee executives Thursday morning and told them the letter was coming. As he built his stake in Lee, Hoffmann had previously expressed interest in potentially acquiring more Lee newspapers.
“It’s been a very positive ongoing dialog. I don’t think they’re surprised about our letter. I don’t think very many people are surprised about our letter,” Hoffmann said. “We’re not an activist, we’re not antagonistic. We’ve been regularly talking.”
Hoffmann, whose net worth was estimated at $2 billion by Forbes magazine, operates dozens of businesses, from real estate developments and wineries to luxury transportation and manufacturers. In all, the Hoffmann Family of Companies employs more than 16,000 people.
“We have a strong record of success in the media industry, as evidenced by our ownership of 14 media companies, including our most recent successful acquisitions of the Napa Valley Register, St. Helena Star and Inside Napa magazine,” which it acquired from Lee.
Thursday, March 20, 2025
Racine Common Council fails to reach quorum Tuesday
From The Journal Times.com:
Holly Gilvary
RACINE — The Common Council could not proceed with its meeting Tuesday because it did not have a quorum.
Only six alders, along with Mayor Cory Mason, were present Tuesday: Marlo Harmon, Maurice Horton, Melissa Kaprelian, Mary Land, David Maack and Samuel Peete. State law requires that two-thirds of the council (10 alders) must be present for a quorum.
Alders Jeff Coe, Olivia Turquoise Davis, Sandy Weidner, Cinthia Esqueda, Terry McCarthy, Henry Perez, Renee Kelly and Cory Sebastian were absent.
It was not immediately clear Tuesday whose absences were excused or what alders’ reasons were for missing the meeting.
The council was scheduled to take action Tuesday on Mason’s veto of an ordinance that would change the structure of council proceedings, including removing the mayor’s ability to appoint committee members. Alders on March 4 approved the final ordinance with a 10-0 vote.
Tuesday’s agenda items will be rescheduled for the next Common Council meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 2.
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Wisconsin sheriffs forced to aid federal immigration authorities under GOP bill
From The Journal Times.com:
ADAM KELNHOFER
Wisconsin sheriffs would be forced to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under a bill up for an Assembly vote Tuesday.
The bill that Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos authored would require sheriffs to ask those in jail on serious offenses for proof of U.S. citizenship and report to ICE those whose legal status they cannot verify. Sheriffs would also have to hold anyone in jail longer should ICE make such a request.
Only those charged with or arrested on suspicion of felony criminal offenses such as sexual assault, homicide and illegal possession of a firearm would be reported. Sheriffs would still have discretion to tell ICE about the immigration status of those in custody on lesser crimes.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has said he would veto the proposal.
Tony Evers promises to veto GOP bill requiring counties to aid in immigration crackdown
Under the bill (AB24), sheriffs who don’t comply would put their county at risk of losing up to 15% of their state aid through the state's shared revenue formula. They’d also have to request the federal government reimburse them for any extra costs the extended jail holds incur.
Sheriffs would have to certify with the Department of Revenue each year that they have complied with the order. If not, the department would be ordered to cut the county’s portion of state aid for the next year.
The bill comes amid a federal crackdown on illegal immigration, aimed in part at reducing the flow of illegal fentanyl into the country.
President Donald Trump has called illegal immigration a “massive invasion” at the southern border that has “spread misery, crime, poverty, disease and destruction to communities all across our land."
There is no evidence to support Trump’s claim that immigrants commit more crimes than native-born residents.
A study by UW-Madison sociology professor Michael Light and two others of crimes committed between 2012 and 2018 found US-born citizens were more than two times more likely to be arrested for violent crimes than immigrants, 2.5 times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes, and more than four times more likely to be arrested for property crimes.
While a handful of Wisconsin counties have written agreements with ICE to cooperate on investigations and hold undocumented immigrants longer, generally how much sheriffs cooperate with ICE is up to each sheriff. Sheriffs who haven’t entered official agreements with ICE still aren’t allowed to impede the federal law enforcement agency, but they’re not required to have their deputies take time away from local law enforcement to assist federal law enforcement.
Police in Dane County generally don’t work with ICE right now. The Wisconsin State Journal found most municipal police department policies do not require officers to inquire about a suspect’s citizenship during interactions.
The Madison Police Department’s policy states it will only comply with lawful ICE requests if the person targeted “is engaged in or is suspected of terrorism or espionage,” “is reasonably suspected of participating in a criminal street gang,” “is arrested for any violent felony” or “is a previously deported felon, under circumstances for which there is an independent basis for officers to detain or arrest the individual.”
The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin, Voces de La Frontera Action, Wisconsin Counties Association and six other groups registered in opposition to the bill. The Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs Association, Badger State Sheriffs’ Association and one other group registered in favor.
The ACLU in its written statement opposing the legislation says the measure “undermines community safety by diminishing trust in law enforcement by immigrants and others who may be presumed to be ‘foreign.’”
The Sheriffs and Deputy Sheriffs Association in its statement in support of the bill expressed support for the intent of the policy to ensure ICE is notified when those unlawfully in the country commit felonies. However, the group also raised concern over the potential to lose state aid and the mandatory reporting requirements, noting many sheriffs are already operating with limited resources.
Wing of Delta plane strikes runway during landing attempt at NYC Airport
As they report these airplane "mishaps," the talking heads keep saying how safe flying is.
People start St. Patrick's Day before the sun comes up in Milwaukee
When I was still drinking, I once totaled a friend's car while driving drunk on St. Patrick's Day.
Monday, March 17, 2025
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