Important Corporate Law Case Coming

from OneWisconsinNow.org:

The headline reads "Case could rewrite corporate law in Wisconsin” and arguments before the Wisconsin State Supreme Court begin this week.

Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce has already made it known how it would like the Wisconsin Supreme Court to rule.

And who can forget the millions of dollars WMC spent supporting corporate-friendly and ethically-challenged judges Michael Gableman and Annette Ziegler?

Haven’t you had enough? It's time WMC-backed justices Gableman and Ziegler remove themselves from ruling on this case. Sign the petition below and demand Justices Ziegler and Gableman recuse from the Virnich and Moores case.

In 2006, A jury ordered the owners of Communications Products Corporation, Daniel Virnich and Jack Moores, pay $6.5 million in damages after the pair took over $10 million from the company as they drove it into the ground. Dozens of workers were out of jobs when the company went under, and Communications Products Corp. refused to fulfill its union contract and pay workers their due. All the while, Virnich and Moores continued to collect huge payments from the company.

When WMC gets its way, it means fewer rights for workers and more breaks for corporations. Labor lawyers have said that allowing owners like Virnich and Moores to get rich on the backs of workers would "weaken future collective bargaining agreements and companies' duties to meet their obligations."

Please take just a moment and sign on to the petition demanding Gableman and Ziegler recuse themselves. But don't just sign—get five friends to sign too. Together, we'll stand strong with our workers and fight back against the corporate greed of WMC.

Follow this link to sign the petition:

Justices Annette Ziegler and Michael Gableman,

I am writing to request you recuse yourself from participating in the upcoming case before the Wisconsin State Supreme Court involving the former Communication Products Corporation. As you know, oral arguments are set to start, Wednesday, January 7.

Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce not only filed a brief at the appeals level but also reiterated its sentiments and desired outcome of the case in the media just days ago.

Because of the millions of dollars spent by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce which benefited both of your races for Supreme Court, your continued participation would raises serious concerns about your impartiality on this case.

To ensure a Wisconsin Supreme Court with the highest ethical standards, I respectfully request you withdraw from participation in this case.

Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]

Martin Luther King, Jr.

A community celebration and commemoration of the life and ideas of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. will be held on MONDAY, JANUARY 19 at 7 p.m. at the English Lutheran Church, 1509 King Street, La Crosse. The featured speaker will be Reverend Everett Mitchell, of the Madison-area Urban Ministry with music by the Tommy Wesley Gospel Choir. Doors open at 6:30. Free admission. Sponsored by La Crosse County, Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center and Franciscan Skemp Healthcare.

Please print out and distribute the flyer!

"It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it."

More last minute notice

From the Tribune:

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation will take public comment in La Crosse today on its draft long-range transportation plan, Connections 2030. A public meeting will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. at the UW-La Crosse Cartwright Center. Area residents are invited to attend to learn about the plan, ask questions and submit comments. The DOT also welcomes comments and questions via phone at (608) 266-8108, or on the Connections 2030 Web site at www.wiconnections2030.gov. Comments will be received until Feb. 27.

The draft plan summary includes:

Support BICYCLE and PEDESTRIAN facilities and plans.:
*Increase accommodations along state trunk highways, where feasible, to develop a connected bike and pedestrian network
* Expand the federal “complete streets” policy to state funded projects
* Continue to implement the state’s bike and pedestrian plan goals

As for PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION:
* Support public, specialized and human services transit.
* Work with partners to ensure that adequate funding is available for existing transit systems and improve coordination among providers
* Seek new funds for rural and regional transit systems to improve coordination between the state’s transit systems
* Improve intercity bus service and connections.
* Promote intercity bus service that links urban and rural areas, and connects to other modes
* Establish a state program to fund service, improve station facilities and purchase new buses

And RAIL SERVICE
* Support development of fixed-guideway transit systems.
* Continue state funding for studies and implementation
* Recommend new, separate operating funds for new fixed-guideway transit systems receiving state assistance, and develop a capital and operating assistance program in
major metropolitan areas
* Increase intercity passenger rail service.
* Continue to improve intercity passenger rail service by supporting existing service and implementing the state’s component of the 3,000-mile Midwest Regional Rail System
* Establish a rail station capital assistance program for existing buildings and constructing new stations, and promote connections with other modes such as local and interregional bus, taxi and air service
* Consider opportunities »to extend intercity
passenger rail service to areas of the state not identified in the Midwest Regional Rail System.

Most important (to me):
Encourage transportation demand strategies.
*Encourage alternatives »to driving alone by promoting ride sharing and telecommuting, providing more transportation service choices and improving modal connections
* Integrate transportation demand management strategies and corridor management

There's more at the link above. And/Or attend tonight's public meeting. Maybe in a few decades our public transportation system will begin to meet the needs of the last century!

Advance notice?

From the Tribune:

Wisconsin Sen. Dan Kapanke is inviting constituents to his new La Crosse office for an open house Thursday.

Kapanke, who was elected in November to his second term, will be on hand to take questions and talk about the 2009 legislative session. A projected $5.4 billion shortfall is likely to dominate most of the session as lawmakers struggle to balance the state’s budget.

Visitors are welcome between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in suite 308 of the Exchange Building, 205 Fifth Avenue S. A light lunch will be served.

More CAPX2020 Open Houses

from The La Crosse Tribune:

Representatives of CapX 2020 — the $1.7 billion proposal to upgrade high-voltage power transmission lines from the Twin Cities through Rochester, Minn., and ending in the La Crosse area — will host open houses about the project.

The open houses will include maps with proposed route options.
The 11 utilities involved in the project are reviewing and collecting data about the route options, including three potential sites for crossing the Mississippi River at Alma, Wis., Winona and La Crescent, Minn.

The schedule includes:

-Winona, Minn.: 5 to 8 p.m. Monday, Riverport Inn, 900 Bruski Drive Winona.

-Alma, Wis.: 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Alma High School, S1618 Hwy. 35.

-Centerville: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Centerville Community Center/Curling Club, W24854 Hwy. 54/93.

-La Crescent, Minn.: 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, La Crescent American Legion, 509 North Chestnut St.

Do we NEED it? No. Electricity use is going down and since we haven't really even started yet on the CONSERVATION plan that should be at the top of the global warming list, we can expect it to drop even more.

New ways to locally generate electricity are springing up by the hour including this great idea from researchers at the University of Michigan:

It has been estimated that if less than 0.1% of the renewable energy available within the oceans could be converted into electricity, it would satisfy the present world demand for energy more than five times over. ...

OWC [Oscillating Water Column] is economically viable design due to it's simple geometrical construction and also strong enough to withstand against the waves with different heights and different wave periods and directions. This design consists of a rectangular chamber and a pyramidal top which is installed on top of the chamber . .A conical duct is erected on the pyramidal top to reciprocally move the air from the chamber and into the chamber during the process of wave approach and wave leaves the Chamber. A special turbine which is mounted on top of the duct is subjected to turn at one direction as the airflow moves bi-directional. A generator is coupled to the turbine that produces electricity by rotating it's armature shaft which is coupled with the turbine shaft.

Or, simpler, VIVACE (Vortex Induced Vibrations for Aquatic Clean Energy):

Researchers claim to have fashioned a fish-like hydrokinetic scheme that harnesses both fast and slow underwater currents to generate electricity. Called Vivace, for Vortex Induced Vibrations for Aquatic Clean Energy, the technique has the potential to generate electricity, even from lazy river currents, at a cost lower than other energy sources. Michael Bernitsas, a professor at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), also has launched a company, Vortex Hydro Energy, to commercialize the technology. The technique mimics the ability of fish to use underwater vortices to swim upstream.

Or, what about harnessing the foot power of all those people at the mall or in hospitals to generate electricity?

Engineers and scientists are developing tiny generators that turn the kinetic energy of everyday movements into electricity which can then power sensors or provide electricity for remote installations.

The technology, known as power harvesting, is already being tested in helicopter frames, the floors of discos and in volunteers' knee joints in order to generate electricity. In the near future, harvesters could be used to recharge iPods and mobile phones, say researchers.

But, wait, what about all those cars? Couldn't they generate electricity, too?

In short, we are at a fork in the road, similar to one faced a century ago when the horseless carriage first appeared. Should we build more barns and plan for more horse poo? Or should we consider that things are going to be very different very soon and the old necessities and solutions (CAPX2020) are just going to be wasteful relics and costly mistakes.

With conservation and LOCAL OR REGIONAL power generation, the need for huge powerlines will be a thing of the past. But only if we make it so.