FOOD STAMPS-WORK
Work requirement would reduce food stamp rolls
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A proposed work requirement for food stamps recipients in Wisconsin is projected to knock half of the people off the program.
Gov. Scott Walker's proposal is scheduled to be voted on Tuesday by the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee.
Walker's Department of Health Services reports in briefing papers that about 31,350 participants in the Wisconsin FoodShare program would not be able to meet the proposed requirements. That is half of those in the program who are able-bodied adults without children.
Walker wants to require FoodShare recipients to spend at least 20 hours a week searching for work or participating in job training to keep their benefits.
The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau says five states impose the work requirement and six others have it in portions of their states.
TOBACCO FEE
State workers who smoke would pay $50 fee
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - State workers who smoke would have to pay $50 more per month for health insurance under a proposal by Gov. Scott Walker.
The Legislature's Joint Finance Committee planned to take up the issue Tuesday. The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau estimates that the fee will generate $6 million over the next two years.
Twelve other states currently impose similar fees but anti-smoking groups including the American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association oppose them because they argue they are not effective in reducing tobacco use.
Walker's administration says the fee is necessary because it estimates health care costs for tobacco users are about 35% higher than those who don't.
The proposal does not say how employees would be identified as tobacco users.
RAW MILK TRIAL
Prosecution: Wis. trial is not about raw milk
BARABOO, Wis. (AP) - Prosecutors say the licensing trial of a Wisconsin dairy farmer is not about raw milk, although his supporters say it is.
Jurors heard opening statements Monday in the trial of Loganville farmer Vernon Hershberger.
Hershberger is charged with distributing milk from his dairy farm without a milk producer's license, operating a retail food establishment and dairy plant without licenses, and violating a hold order placed on his dairy products after a raid on his farm.
The Baraboo News Republic reports state attorneys sought to show the case revolves solely around the specific charges against Hershberger.
But defense attorney Glenn Reynolds tried to describe Hershberger's farm as a collective community, rather than a store that merely sold products to customers, and said state regulators did not understand how the business functioned.
WAUSAU PAPER-MILLS SALE
Wausau Paper finalizes deal to sell 2 Wis. mills
MOSINEE, Wis. (AP) - Wausau Paper Corp. has signed a final agreement to sell its two remaining Wisconsin paper mills.
Monday's announcement finalizes Wausau Paper's withdrawal from making paper in Wisconsin after 114 years.
The two mills will merge with two other Wisconsin paper mills under new ownership, becoming Wisconsin's biggest papermaking company by employment.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (http://bit.ly/10QUuh7) reports the new paper company also has a formal name: Expera Specialty Solutions LLC, employing 1,800 in Wisconsin.
KPS Capital Partners LP, a New York private equity firm, has agreed to acquire the Rhinelander and Mosinee paper mills from Wausau Paper and the Kaukauna and De Pere mills from Thilmany Papers.
All four mills produce specialty papers for packaging. None of the four mills makes paper for printing and publishing.
LAKE SUPERIOR-BIG LAKE TROUT
Study: Less Lake Superior habitat for big trout
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) - New research finds that Lake Superior's warming water probably already is affecting its most abundant big fish, the cold water-loving siscowet lake trout.
Increasing water temperatures over the last three decades have made conditions more favorable for chinook salmon, walleye and lean lake trout but less favorable for siscowet lake trout.
The study estimates that fatty siscowets have lost about 20% of their historic habitat because of the temperature changes that have already occurred.
The research used a mix of computer modeling and temperature measurements. It was conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, funded by Wisconsin Sea Grant.
The Duluth News Tribune (http://bit.ly/12PAMEv) reports the researchers picked lake trout, siscowet, salmon and walleye because they are among the most important species for sport angling and the region's tourism economy.
DORM FIRE-ARREST
UW-Madison student arrested in dorm fire
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - University of Wisconsin-Madison Police have arrested a 19-year-old student for allegedly setting fire to a bulletin board in a residence hall.
Police responded to fire alarms in Sellery Hall early Saturday and determined the source was a bulletin board on the ninth floor of the B Tower in the residence hall.
University police interviewed witnesses and arrested a male student.
A house fellow had written up the student earlier Saturday morning for urinating in the women's restroom shower stalls. Police believe he set the bulletin board outside the house fellow's room on fire in retaliation for being disciplined.
The Wisconsin State Journal (http://bit.ly/11SOMlc) reports the damage was contained to the bulletin board.
The student was booked into the Dane County Jail.
BLACKED-OUT RECORDS-WISCONSIN
Wis. police become more aggressive with redaction
MILWAUKEE (AP) - More people who get arrested or crash their cars in Wisconsin are having a tougher time getting the full paperwork from police.
Departments across the state are increasingly blacking out names, addresses and other identifying information about people mentioned in their reports. It comes after a federal appeals court ruled last year that divulging the information violates the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act. That law requires consent before agencies release a driver's personal information.
The decision has left Wisconsin police wary of lawsuits if they release identifying information in crash and incident reports, which often use identifying information gleaned from state vehicle records.
It's unclear how many departments have adopted such redaction policies, but Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association President Steven Riffel says the number is rising every day.
SCHOOLS-POVERTY
Poor children in Wisconsin schools increases
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The percentage of children in Wisconsin public schools who come from families poor enough to receive free and reduced-priced lunches has increased for the ninth year in a row.
The state Department of Public Instruction reported Monday that 43.2% of children in public schools are on the programs, up from 42.5% the previous year.
There are nearly 359,000 students in Wisconsin in the programs.
Nearly 37% of students come from families that earn less than $30,000 a year, qualifying them for free meals. Another 6.3% are eligible for reduced-price meals.
There are 110 school districts with more than half of their students in the program, including Wisconsin's five largest districts in Milwaukee, Madison, Kenosha, Green Bay and Racine.
DODGERS-BREWERS
Kershaw pitches 3-hitter as Dodgers beat Brewers
MILWAUKEE (AP) - Clayton Kershaw scattered three singles in his second complete game of the year and Matt Kemp hit his first home run since April 24, lifting the Los Angeles Dodgers to a 3-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday night.
Ryan Braun managed a pair of singles and Yuniesky Betancourt also singled for the only hits off Kershaw (5-2). The lefty struck out five and walked one.
Andre Ethier homered and tripled for the last-place Dodgers before being ejected by plate umpire Dan Bellino for arguing a called third strike in the eighth inning.
The victory was a respite for Dodgers manager Don Mattingly. He addressed speculation before the game on whether he would be fired this week, insisting he didn't feel as if he was about to be replaced.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
