Saturday, January 20, 2024
Friday, January 19, 2024
Another round: George’s Encore opening Feb. 20 in Racine
RACINE — After George’s Tavern, a staple in Racine’s music community for nearly 80 years, closed Dec. 24, it was clear that the people wanted more — an encore, perhaps.
Caleb Robinson says he plans to deliver just that with George’s Encore, opening Feb. 20 at 1201 N. Main St.
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George the Penguin, a 6-foot-tall, 30-pound metal sculpture, will greet patrons again when George's Encore opens Feb. 20 at the former George’s Tavern. |
Robinson said he wants to embrace the history of George’s Tavern and build upon the established community atmosphere.
A Racine native, Robinson was a patron of George’s Tavern and has known the previous proprietors, Gary, Sherry and Michael from the Gibson family, for years.
A long-time entrepreneur, Robinson has unique experience in both the live music and restaurant industries.
He celebrated his 12th season at Smoke’d On the Water, 3 Fifth St., this past summer.
The seasonal restaurant, open Memorial Day through Labor Day near the Pershing Park Boat Launch, features live music with karaoke on Thursdays, Open Jams on Fridays, two bands on Saturdays and one band on Sundays.
Before Smoke’d On the Water, Robinson ran Top Dog Hot Dogs, a mobile food stand usually set up on Monument Square.
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| George's Tavern, at the corner of Main and Hamilton streets, closed in December, but the Racine staple is set to reopen Feb. 20 as George's Encore under the ownership of Caleb Robinson. |
Honoring George’s Tavern
The well-loved events from George’s Tavern like Open Jam Nights, Evening of Storytelling and Tom & Jerry cocktails on Thanksgiving morning will live on at George’s Encore, Robinson said.
He also plans to continue previous fundraising partnerships, such as working with Thoughts for Food.
George’s Encore will offer its venue space for the fundraiser benefitting Racine County Food Bank at 6 p.m. Saturday, March 2.
When Gary Gibson ran the kitchen at George’s Tavern, patrons valued his home-cooked meals, like the chili and soups. Robinson said George’s Encore will share this same commitment to home-cooked food.
Robinson said Jeremy Gibson, who will be running the kitchen and is not related to the tavern’s original Gibson family, and Jenni Sailor, who will run the bar, will help make the “Food, Fun & Friends” values the tavern was built on possible at the next installment of George’s.
Wednesday, January 17, 2024
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Thursday, January 11, 2024
Racine County man launches bid to recall Speaker Robin Vos over Trump, election issues
Molly Beck
MADISON – A Racine County man plans to gather thousands of signatures to trigger an election to recall the most powerful Republican in the state Legislature over his opposition to Donald Trump and unwillingness to impeach the state's top election official over the 2020 election.
Matthew Snorek of Burlington on Wednesday filed paperwork with the Wisconsin Elections Commission notifying the agency of his intent to circulate a recall petition against Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Rochester.
Vos, who has been speaker for 10 years and has represented the 63rd Assembly District since 2005, is the most effective Republican in the GOP-controlled state Legislature but has faced fierce criticism from members of his own party in recent years over his rejection of calls to decertify the 2020 election, which has been impossible as long as supporters of Trump have called for the idea.
The move to try to recall Vos comes two months after a Racine County-based group focused on the 2020 election ran television ads threatening to unseat Vos if he did not advance articles of impeachment against Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe — an effort Vos has blocked.
Snorek told the commission he was launching a recall effort of Vos, in part, because of Vos' past statements promising to work to keep Trump from becoming the GOP presidential nominee in 2024. Trump has targeted Vos since 2020 after the Assembly Speaker repeatedly refused to entertain the illegal idea of undoing the results of Trump's loss in 2020 in Wisconsin to President Joe Biden.
Vos in a statement called the effort "a waste of time, resources and effort."
"The effort today is no surprise since the people involved cannot seem to get over any election in which their preferred candidate doesn’t win," Vos said.
Vos also come under criticism from Republicans who believe the 2020 election was improperly decided, despite court rulings, audits and studies confirming Biden's win, for not doing more to remove Wolfe. Wolfe has become a top target of Trump supporters since the 2020 election.
In his notice to the commission, Snorek wrote, "Vos is blocking fair elections in WI. Vos misled the WI Assembly in the impeachment of Megan (sic) Wolfe. Vos said he will 'try as hard as I can to make sure Donald Trump is not the nominee in 2024. Vos supported the unlawful drop boxes. Wisconsin must move 'forward' without Robin Vos in power."
"While the backers of this recall effort want to focus on the past, I am going to keep my eyes focused on the future. We have elections to win in the fall," Vos said. "I am confident that my friends, neighbors and supporters from Racine County will stand with me and ensure this effort fails to gain any real traction."Snorek did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Wispolitics.com first reported Snorek's plans.
By filing the paperwork Wednesday, Vos is now allowed under state law to begin fundraising unlimited amounts of money.
A failed effort to gather signatures to recall Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in 2020 allowed him to raise unlimited campaign cash. Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker also used that ability to raise unprecedented sums during the recall campaign against him in 2012.
State law allows an elected official's constituents to launch a recall effort after that official has been serving in his or her term for one year. The first week of January meets that requirement for Vos, who began a new term in the Assembly last January.
To trigger a recall election, Snorek must gather 25% of the total number of votes for governor in 2022 in Vos' district, or about 7,000 signatures, over the next two months.
Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.
Tuesday, January 9, 2024
Assembly GOP proposes medical marijuana bill that would create state-run dispensaries
SOUTH MILWAUKEE – Assembly Speaker Robin Vos on Monday announced a bill creating a medical marijuana program and state-run dispensaries in Wisconsin, marking the first time an effort to legalize cannabis has been pushed by at least one leader of the Republican-controlled state Legislature.
But it doesn't appear to have the backing of key members of the Senate yet, including the leader of Republicans in that chamber and the senator that has introduced a less restrictive medical marijuana bill in the past.
Wisconsin is one of 12 states where recreational or medical marijuana is not available. Democratic lawmakers and Gov. Tony Evers have for years called for the legalization of marijuana for recreational and medical use but have been blocked so far by GOP legislative leaders.
Now, Republican lawmakers — at least on the Assembly side — are growing warmer to the idea of allowing marijuana use for medicinal purposes, but the bill released Monday would not allow users to smoke cannabis, nor would it pave the way for private dispensaries in Wisconsin.
"The people of Wisconsin have said they want us to try to find solutions for the problems that vex our society," Vos said. "There are very few Republicans that I know, and I would say most employers and even an awful lot of citizens, that do not want to see this become an end-around to get us toward recreational marijuana."
In a statement, Evers' spokeswoman Britt Cudaback did not say whether Evers would sign the bill released Monday. He told reporters last week that he would approve a restrictive medical marijuana bill, unless Republicans include a "poison pill" like cuts to taxes or diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives that he opposes.
"The governor will be reviewing Assembly Republicans’ proposal, and he looks forward to hearing from Wisconsinites and other stakeholders as the bill moves through the legislative process," Cudaback said.
Vos said the bill has the support of at least 50 Republicans in the Assembly, which would be enough to pass the proposal without Democratic votes. Vos said there would be hearings in the next few weeks and the Assembly would pass it before it adjourns in February.
"We wanted to focus on putting a program together that would get the votes in the Assembly to show that we actually were serious about getting this done," Vos said.
Democrats have previously accused Republicans of promoting their medical marijuana bill during an election year, despite knowing it doesn't have the votes to become law.
Sen. Melissa Agard of Madison, who has been a key Democratic supporter of full legalization, said "putting forward an overly restrictive medical cannabis bill does not move our state in the right direction."
"It is disappointing to see that yet again, Wisconsin’s Republican Legislators are acting as health professionals when they are not. I firmly believe we must trust doctors, patients, and caretakers to make these personal, medical decisions," Agard said in a statement.
Using marijuana for medical purposes with a doctor's approval is a popular idea among Wisconsin voters — 83% supported it in 2019, the only time the Marquette University Law School poll asked the question.
Senate Republicans have not supported legalization in the past
GOP leaders have previously said support was building in their caucuses for the idea, but previous iterations of the bill haven't gotten far in the Legislature, beyond getting a public hearing in 2022.
In a statement, Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, did not say whether he supported the Assembly GOP's plan, but said "specific details of the proposal are important and need to be thoroughly vetted before the Senate decides how to proceed."
"The Assembly’s medical marijuana proposal will move through the normal legislative process, including committee action, before being considered by the full Senate," LeMahieu said.
Several Senate Republicans have not supported legalizing marijuana in the past. Rep. Jon Plumer, R-Lodi, told reporters at a separate press conference at the state Capitol that he hopes to get them on board this time but did not name another Senate Republican aside from Sen. Mary Felzkowski of Irma.
"We've had conversations with the Senate. I know that Mary Felzkowski had the last two sessions a bill. So I'm hopeful that we can get something done but with both houses," Plumer said.
But Felzkowski, who has led the bill in the past, said in a statement that she saw the bill for the first time on Monday and had been consulted about the proposal "at a ten-thousand foot view."
"While some concepts in the bill sound incredibly well thought out, my concerns with several provisions, most notably the choice to require the state to directly dispense medical marijuana, instead of going the route of a proven, private-sector model of delivering this care, led to my decision to remain un-involved in this particular legislation," Felzkowski said.
State would run dispensaries, provide smokeless options
Republicans had already indicated their proposal would be more restrictive than the 38 states that currently allow medical use.
The plan calls for five dispensaries managed by the state Department of Health Services in each Medicaid region, which Republicans said would mark the first time a state has run dispensaries.
When asked why Republicans supported government-run businesses in this scenario, Vos said marijuana is still illegal under federal law.
"We want to guarantee that law enforcement knows that it's well-controlled and well-documented," Vos said.
Felzkowski said she believed that "private entities, run by those with expertise in this area of medicine, are more efficient and more effective than any government agency."
Participants would get their doctor's confirmation of their medical condition, pay a $100 registration fee per year and visit a pharmacist at the dispensary to get the prescription.
Unlike previous versions of the bill, Vos said most forms of cannabis would be allowed, including concentrates, oils, tinctures, edibles, pills, topical creams and vapors, among others. Participants would not be able to smoke marijuana.
The bill lays out nine medical conditions that would qualify for the program, including cancer, glaucoma, severe chronic pain, multiple sclerosis and terminal illness with life expectancy of less than a year. Vos said additional conditions could be added through legislation, but authors looked at other states to create a list.
Minnesota's medical marijuana program, for example, includes about 20 medical conditions, including obstructive sleep apnea, obsessive-compulsive disorder, HIV/AIDS and autism spectrum disorder. Patients ages 21 and older can use dried flower, which is consumed by smoking.
About 40,000 people participate in Minnesota's program, which Vos said lawmakers used as an estimate of how many would participate in Wisconsin. If the bill passed both chambers and was signed by Evers, the program could be implemented this year.
Molly Beck of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to this story.
Thursday, January 4, 2024
Wednesday, January 3, 2024
Sunday, December 31, 2023
Friday, December 29, 2023
Tuesday, December 26, 2023
Monday, December 25, 2023
Saturday, December 23, 2023
Friday, December 22, 2023
Thursday, December 21, 2023
Robin Vos says medical marijuana bill likely coming in January
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Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said the bill would propose something similar to Minnesota's medical marijuana program, which originally allowed for the substance to be sold in pill, oil and liquid forms for people with serious conditions such as HIV, cancer, Crohn's disease, post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain. |
Republicans will likely introduce a medical marijuana bill in January that would allow the substance for Wisconsinites with serious conditions, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said Wednesday.
Vos, R-Rochester, said the bill would propose something similar to Minnesota’s medical marijuana program, which originally allowed for the substance to be sold in pill, oil and liquid forms for people with serious conditions such as HIV, cancer, Crohn’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain. The Minnesota law was recently modified to allow for smokeable forms of cannabis.
Vos said he’s been operating under the assumption that 50 Assembly Republicans — a majority of the 99-member chamber — would have to support the proposal for it to pass because Democrats typically support broader programs than what it appears Assembly Republicans are slated to introduce.
Vos offered details about the proposal under the condition that the Wisconsin State Journal not seek reactions to it until early Thursday morning. Legislative Democrats haven’t made clear publicly that they would be unanimously opposed to narrower marijuana bills.
Democratic Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer said Democrats were open to discussing the Republican bill.
"We hope that it's a serious proposal from our colleagues that addresses the past harms that have been caused by the criminalization of marijuana and that really allows access for the people who need it," she said Thursday.
Republicans this year stripped provisions to legalize marijuana from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ two-year budget.
Without providing more specifics about the bill, Vos said its authors wanted to make sure there would be no pathway “to assume that because we have medicinal (marijuana), someday we’ll have recreational.”
Vos said the bill is different from legislation Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Irma, has been working on. It’s unclear what the differences between the proposals will be, but Felzkowski’s last version of the bill also proposed allowing the use of medical marijuana in nonsmokeable forms for people with serious conditions.
Felzkowski’s previous version of the proposal received a public hearing in April 2022, the first hearing in Wisconsin for a marijuana measure since 2009 and the first one ever under a Republican-led Legislature.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, who previously said he opposed legalizing marijuana for medical use, has since said Senate Republicans are moving closer to supporting the policy for serious conditions.
An October 2022 Marquette Law School Poll found 64% of registered voters in Wisconsin, including 46% of Republicans, want marijuana to be fully legalized. A 2019 Marquette Law School Poll found 83% of Wisconsinites said medical marijuana should be legal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
Saturday, December 16, 2023
Thursday, December 14, 2023
Monday, December 11, 2023
Sunday, December 10, 2023
Saturday, December 9, 2023
Friday, December 8, 2023
Foxconn awarded $6.3 million in tax credits for meeting jobs, capital investment goals
The company has been approved for $6.3 million in tax credits from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., for hiring 1,029 full-time workers and investing more than $26 million at its facilities in Racine County for work done in fiscal year 2022.
This year's credit is $2.3 million less than what the company received last year.
Since 2020 Foxconn has received a roughly $43.6 million from taxpayers, which does not include land acquisition or infrastructure upgrades on the property in Mount Pleasant. Foxconn has received more than half of the funding it agreed to under the renegotiated deal with the state in 2021 and could receive up to $80 million through 2025.
In a statement on Thursday the company said it is "committed to Wisconsin and looks forward to growing with the state, county, and village."
"Foxconn has invested over $1 billion in Wisconsin and created approximately 1,000 jobs, a 42% increase over a three-year period and comprising a fifth of our workforce in the United States," the company said. "Foxconn currently manufactures data servers and microinverters in Wisconsin, and the campus remains a strategic asset for the company to respond to market demand with speed and flexibility.”
Foxconn was notified of the credits in a letter from the WEDC in November.
If the company wants to receive the full amount of tax credits from the state next year, it will need to hire at least 134 full-time employees and maintain a minimum of 1,163 full-time employees through 2025. According to the agreement, the company's goal is to employ 1,454 workers by 2026.
More:Here's a short timeline of Foxconn's plans and development in Wisconsin
Current reality far different than when original deal was signed
In 2017, then-Gov. Scott Walker and Foxconn agreed to a $2.85 billion tax incentive package if the company met certain hiring and capital investment goals. At the time Foxconn was promised to bring 13,000 high-tech jobs to Wisconsin and create a massive large-screen LCD manufacturing facility in Mount Pleasant
But by 2021, the development changed significantly from what was talked about four years earlier.
Foxconn was not awarded any credits in the first two years of the deal.
Gov. Tony Evers and officials at the WEDC renegotiated the deal and brought the job numbers down to under 1,500 and the maximum tax credit over the course of the agreement down to $80 million.
Foxconn's physical footprint in Mount Pleasant is also shrinking.
The company agreed to give up its development options on more than 1,300 acres in Wisconsin Innovation Park that will be used by Microsoft to develop a multi-billion-dollar data center complex east and north of Foxconn's campus. Microsoft has promised to build $1.4 billion in new property value by Jan. 1, 2028.
The company began construction this fall on the first building on a 2315 acre parcel that it bought from the village for $50 million. The sale of an additional 1,030 acres is scheduled to close by the end of the month.
The Milwaukee Business Journal first reported the award of tax credits.
Thursday, December 7, 2023
Sunday, December 3, 2023
Friday, December 1, 2023
Thursday, November 30, 2023
Wednesday, November 29, 2023
Delahaye 107 Racer w/ 6.2L Gipsy Major Airplane Engine: Bizarre Start-Up Procedure & Accelerations!
I wish they showed the drive train.
Tuesday, November 28, 2023
Saturday, November 25, 2023
Rehabs prey on addicts stuck in the 'Florida Shuffle' | Vargas Reports
"Treatment" is a lie with an only 3% recovery rate. Treatment centers have bilked the government out of billions of tax dollars.
Friday, November 24, 2023
Milwaukee County Zoo arrest, FOX6 obtains all sheriff's office video | FOX6 News Milwaukee
Don't mess with angry womens.
Thursday, November 23, 2023
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
Monday, November 20, 2023
Gen-Z losing more money to scams than other age groups, data shows
The dumbing down of America continues.
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