Author: Correspondent

Wisconsin Republicans unveiled their sweeping plans to seize power at the end of the day on Friday, November 30, for a special lame-duck legislative session to be held on Monday, December 3. The purpose of the session is to advance legislation that would severely restrict former Republican offices that were lost to in-coming Democrats during the 2018 midterm election. The effort would elevate the authority of a GOP gerrymandered Legislature, restrict the authority of the new democratically elected governor, limit in-person early voting to two-weeks, as well as push the 2020 primary election date earlier from April to March....

Seth Meyers will return on January 12 as the headline performer for Laugh It Up Milwaukee, the annual fundraiser that celebrates community partnership. An internationally known comedian, Emmy Award-winning screenwriter, and current host of NBC’s Late Night program, Meyers performed at the first annual Laugh It Up event in 2012. The show this year will take place at the Pabst Theater, with proceeds to benefit programs at the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center (JCC) and partner beneficiary, Running Rebels. The event will mark the seventh annual presentation of Laugh It Up Milwaukee, a social and cultural...

A recent study shows that statewide efforts to reduce tobacco consumption are paying off, with Wisconsin’s smoking rate falling to 16% in 2017 after several years at 17%, according to the Department of Health Services Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey (BRFSS). One of the biggest reductions is among those aged 35 to 44, down to 19% in 2017 from 24% in 2016. There are also signs that smoking rates may be starting to fall for some groups that have higher rates, including African Americans and people who are on Medicaid. “The hard work by community organizations, health educators,...

Milwaukee County Parks-inspired merchandise, ranging from Milwaukee Domes t-shirts, posters designed by local artists, and even button-up dog shirts, launched on November 26 as part of a new charitable online store, with all sales going to help fund future Milwaukee County Parks projects. The merchandise is available at ParksforGood.com, kicking off a new partnership between Milwaukee County Parks and the Greater Milwaukee Foundation (GMF) to create a dedicated parks improvement fund. The GMF fund will also provide an option for individuals and businesses to make tax-deductible donations to support future park improvements. Profits from merchandise sales will go directly...

“The general public may miss these holiday news dumps, but the reporters and media covering the company will remember. And it gives us less reason to take anything Facebook says the first time around at face value.” – Ryan Mac On the eve of Thanksgiving, in what many called a classic “news dump,” Facebook confirmed reports that it hired a Republican-affiliated opposition research firm to dig up dirt on critics—most notably, billionaire philanthropist Gеоrgе Sоrоs, who is Jewish and often the target of right-wing anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. In a blog post, Elliot Schrage, the tech giant’s outgoing head of...

According to documents released on October 23 by the Project on Government Oversight, earlier this year Amazon employees met with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials to market “Rekognition” — the company’s facial recognition technology that we have been sounding the alarm on for months. The prospect of the Trump administration using facial recognition to supercharge its deportation machine is very alarming indeed. So to find out what’s happening, we filed a Freedom of Information Act request on Wednesday demanding that the Department of Homeland Security release information relating to where and how it intends to use facial recognition as...