Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Monday, July 30, 2012
F
LOCAL
5A
ON ENCORE, 10A
Documentary: HBO's 'About Face' puts the lives and careers of models into sharp focus. Model China Machado
NEWSWATCH DELIVERED: Go to www.jsonline.cominewsletters to have a free news digest sent to your inbox each weekday, and when major news breaks No Quarter
Daniel Bice
Dragotta said he won't back away from his criticism of Obama just because his company scored some government work
Obama critics benefit from government contracts M ilwaukee small-business owner Ken Dragotta flatly rejects the notion that government played a significant role in his firm's success. He and his family, he says, are responsible for what Systems Engineering and Automation Corp. has achieved. But here's something Dragotta doesn't reject: Contract work for federal agencies. Dragotta was one of a handful of company men deployed in Wisconsin by GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's team to attack President Barack Obama over his recent remark that "if you've got a business — you didn't build that. Someone else made it happen." Similar events were held
in other battleground states. "(Obama) was touting the government's involvement in creating wealth for smallbusiness people, which is 180 degrees opposed to the fact," Dragotta said last week. Dragotta But in his remarks to reporters, Dragotta never mentioned that his small Milwaukee firm had cashed in on a pair of government deals just recently. Last year, records show, Systems Engineering — a north side firm that makes precision-machined parts — won two U.S. Department of Defense contracts worth
more than $175,000. Both contracts were to provide crankshafts for the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, which is responsible for repairing the country's naval ships and submarines. The first contract was signed in January 2011 for $91,860, and the second a month later for $85,110. That's more than pocket change for a firm that employs just four workers. Reached Friday, Dragotta acknowledged that his firm bid on the contract to supply these specialized parts for nuclear submarines, beat out the competition and eventually turned a profit on the deals. Government records say his firm has
annual revenue of $1.2 million. "Anytime you're making money, of course, it's a benefit to the business," said Dragotta, who has made a few small donations to Republicans. His firm was invited to bid on these recent contracts because it performed well in 2005 on yet another federal contract from the U.S. Navy to make the same part for nuclear submarines. In that case, Dragotta said, his company lost money. In addition, Systems Engineering does a lot of work for Caterpillar Inc., a heavy equipment manufacturer that is a major government contractor. It could not be Please see NO QUARTER, 8A
List of tainted wells grows
FAIR HAS BULLS AND BIRDS . . . AND MORE
Total polluted now at 7; DNR broadens search By DON BEHM dbehm@journalsentinel.com
Town of Jackson — A growing number of residential wells found to be polluted with gasoline from a July 17 pipeline break and dramatic increases in levels of benzene in the wells prompted state environmental officials Sunday to broaden the search for contaminated groundwater in the town. As of Sunday afternoon, three more private wells in the Town of Jackson were found to be contaminated with
Representatives of West Shore Pipe Line Co. and the DNR will attend a public meeting on the spill beginning at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Jackson Area Community Center,
4
N165-W20330 Hickory
KYLE GRILLOT / KGRILLOT@JOURNALSENTINEL.COM
Lane.
Taylor Boettcher of Ellsworth is flung from a bull Sunday at the Washington County Fair in West Bend. He was not injured. To see a photo gallery of the fair, go to jsonline.com/photos.
gasoline, bringing the total to seven, said Scott Ferguson, spills coordinator with the state Department of Natural Resources in Milwaukee. The three latest wells were added to the list this weekend after tests of water samples found that they contained levels of benzene exceeding the federal safe drinking water standard of 5 parts per billion, Ferguson said. The break in the pipeline occurred in the 1800 block of Western Ave., generally midway between Maple Road and county Highway G. The pipe is owned by West Shore Pipe Line Co. of Arlington Heights, Ill. Two of the three latest wells are west of the pipeline break in the 1900 block of Western Ave. A third is northwest, in the 1800 block of Mill Road. On Sunday, the DNR pushed its search for polluted wells even farther afield, generally to the southwest,
Fairgoers ride the Ferris wheel on Sunday, the last day of the Washington County Fair's six-day run. After paying for seeds, children let birds feed out of their hands at the Washington County Fair.
c
'72"awl'**1161114.#4111r.1411.11 .11111P1414
Board OKs increase in airport fee Fliers may pay more to help fund projects By STEVE SCHULTZE sschultze@journalsentinel.com
You might not notice it when you buy a plane ticket, but a $3 per flight fee at Mitchell International Airport will likely soon rise by 50 % to $4.50. The "passenger facility charge" increase is needed to help cover growing costs of airport improvement projects that relate to airport safety, reducing congestion
or airplane noise abatement efforts, said airport Manager C. Barry Bateman. Though the $4.50 applies to tickets for flights that take off or land in Milwaukee, the passenger fees can add up to a maximum of $18 for a round trip that includes switching planes. A nonstop, round-trip flight would carry a total of $9 in passenger fees. Among projects for which the higher fee is being sought for Mitchell are the $22 million expansion of Concourse D, a $2.7 million expansion of the plane taxiway serving
Concourse C and $9.2 million for gate expansions on Concourse C. Those projects are largely completed. The fee is expected to boost revenue to about $17 million next year, airport spokeswoman Pat Rowe said Friday. The $3 fee brought in $13 million last year. Fewer flights from Mitchell as a result of airline consolidations and Frontier Airlines' decision to no longer have Milwaukee as a hub would result in lower passenger fee revePlease see FEE, 7A
Please see WELLS, 8A
Transit Plus faces quality questions HOW TO FILE COMPLAINTS ■ Transit Plus: Riders can
call (414) 343-1700 or use the email form on ridemcts.com's 'Contact Us' page. ■ Independence First: A complaint form can be downloaded from its homepage, independence first .org. Complaints can be emailed to jloitz@indepen dencefirst.org or riders can call (414) 226-8380.
Disability service contract scrutinized By EMILY EGGLESTON eeggleston@journalsentinel.com
Milwaukee County's contract for transportation services for people with disabilities, Transit Plus, is up for renewal this summer, and some riders, advocacy groups and a county supervisor are raising issues with the quality of service. Concerns center on late pickups, long rides and the complaint process for the
transportation service, which serves people who cannot independently use the bus. "Sometimes it's good," said Lisa Burg, 54, a Transit Plus rider from Milwaukee, of the service. "Sometimes it's very good. But sometimes it isn't, and you have no way of knowing what you're going to get." Unlike a taxi, Transit Plus is a rideshare service that coordinates picking up and dropping off many individuPlease see TRANSIT, 8A