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Thursday, February 28, 2013
Late-night food carts concern restaurants The Vending Oversight Committee heard complaints from local restaurant owners about food carts operating near their locations at night, and discussed possible solutions Wednesday. Currently, late night Madison vendors are allowed to park on Library Mall, the 300 block of West Johnson Street and the 100 block of West Johnson Street, according to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4. Cortney Palm, who owns Pita Pit on State Street, said food carts parking in front of her restaurant is an issue. “It really has affected our late Meghan Chua/cardinal file photo
State Sen. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst, a coauthor of the bill, voiced his support Wednesday night.
State Senate passes divisive mining bill By Jack Casey The Daily Cardinal
The Wisconsin state Senate passed the controversial mining bill by a one-vote margin Wednesday night after a lengthy, contentious debate, setting up a vote in the state Assembly later in the week. The 17-to-16 vote was on party lines with the exception of state Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, who sided with the minority Democrats against the bill due to lingering concerns that the mine the bill would help create could be detrimental to the environment in northern Wisconsin. The main debates throughout the day centered on wetland protections, the time period regulatory agencies such as the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the Army Corps of Engineers would have to complete assessments on a potential mine and the taxes that would be levied against
mining companies under the proposed bill. State Sen. Tim Cullen, D-Janesville, who wrote an alternative Democratic version of the mining bill along with state Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, introduced a number of the Democratic amendments. Both senators have been leaders in the opposition to the Republican bill. Each of the amendments Democrats introduced throughout the day were tabled in the same 17-to-16 vote after senators from both sides of the aisle debated their necessity. The debate, which stretched from 11 a.m. to approximately 9 p.m. Wednesday, rehashed many of the arguments made for and against the bill in past months. Most Republicans support the bill, which is designed to ease the state’s mine permitting process, for the economic revitalization they say northern Wisconsin would experience if min-
ing is reintroduced to the area. However, Democrats have consistently opposed the bill citing loosened environmental regulations, specifically related to wetland and waterway protections. As the Senate session drew to a close, Democratic legislators, joined by Schultz, stood to give closing statements reinforcing their opposition to the bill. Jauch said the bill should not be considered a victory for anyone. “Nobody wins tonight,” Jauch said. “The future doesn’t win. The legislature doesn’t win. We can do better.” But state Sen. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst, who authored the bill, defended the legislation, saying the jobs it would help create would overshadow any complaints about a lack of bipartisanship. “This is the first step in the rebirth of the mining industry,” Tiffany said.
night business,” Palm said. “It’s not like a typical business where it’s down a couple of blocks, it’s like 15 feet outside of our door.” Steve Lawrence, owner of the Fried and Fabulous food cart, proposed several alternative locations for food carts to park and serve customers. Lawrence said he is willing to compromise with restaurants, but committee members said they would have to review his suggestions before coming to a conclusion. Verveer said a big problem
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Student leaders announce finalized ‘Revelry’ location Student leaders announced at a press conference Wednesday that Revelry, a university-sponsored event to celebrate the end of the academic year, will be held at Engineering Mall and Union South plaza May 4. Revelry is a music and arts festival held for students to celebrate the end of the year in a “fun and safe environment,” according to Revelry Public Relations Coordinator Bess Donaghue. The group announced tickets are set to go on sale April 8. Donaghue also said even though the event is not meant to be a Mifflin Street Block Party alternative, Revelry will be a safe way to celebrate the end of the year at a university-sponsored event, and alcohol will be served to students over 21.
“We believe that there is a better way to celebrate the end of the year than Mifflin,” Donaghue said. Student leaders originally planned to take money from student segregated fees to fund the event, but after receiving criticism they decided to fund the event entirely through fundraising and sponsors. Sponsors for Revelry include the UW Police Department, UW Housing and University Health Services. The budget for the event is $100,000, which will mainly go toward artist fees. Revelry is still working on obtaining a permit in order to block traffic on Randall Street for the event, but they are not expecting any problems in obtaining it,
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Bad River Band criticized for wastewater treatment plant By Andrew Haffner The Daily Cardinal
A conservative research group used data from a 2009 New York Times report to criticize the mismanaging of a wastewater treatment plant run by the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, which has recently expressed vocal opposition to a proposed mine near its reservation as members say it will damage waterways. According to the Environmental Protection
Agency data cited by the 2009 report, the Bad River Band wastewater treatment plant committed 241 violations of the Clean Water Act between 2004 and 2008, the most in the state of Wisconsin over that period. Among these were multiple instances in which excessive levels of EPA regulated substances, primarily E. coli and phosphorous, were found in the water released from the facility, as well as multiple incidents of non-
reporting from plant managers. The report brought to light Tuesday by conservative research group Media Trackers, bears even greater weight as the state Legislature debated the controversial mining bill this week. State Republicans eager to pass the bill responded to the report by questioning the Bad River Band’s dedication to their waterways. “Instead of condemning the
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April wang/the daily cardinal
Revelry Public Relations Coordinator Bess Donaghue announces the official location of Revelry, a festival to take place May 4.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”