Shortcuts | November 12, 2009

V1 Staff |

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL COMMENDS FIELD TRIP EFFORTS
The efforts of fundraisers to save school field trips here in Eau Claire have shown up on national radar: The Wall Street Journal. High fives all around! The dieing embers of the economy have been starting fires in elementary schools all the way to high schools as funding for learning opportunities such as field trips go up in flames. WSJ highlights schools around the country, including Eau Claire’s Northstar Middle School, for tension caused by loss of funding. However, the paper also points to Eau Claire as an example of hope, hard work, and dedication for the $40,000 we have raised so far toward our goal of $70,000. Keep up the good work!

LEINIE’S EXPANDING OPERATION
Have you driven by the Leinekugel’s Brewery lately and wondered what was going on with the demolition and construction? Well, their plans are to install a brand new pasteurizer to increase the output potential and efficiency of the plant. In order to do this, they first needed to erect a larger building, housing the machinery that is being created in another Wisconsin town. When the building and machinery are completed around December, they will install the pasteurizer, which should be fully operational by early 2010. This is another big step in the overall expansion of the facility and means a significant reduction of energy and water use by scraping aging equipment.

NEW FUND HELPING BUSINESSES
Businesses in Eau Claire are getting a boost (as is the local economy). Last May the Eau Claire Area Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors recommended that $150,000 of the county’s revolving loan fund be reallocated toward a “Regional Business Fund.” The city is going ahead with the fund, which allows businesses in the city to seek funds for start-up, research and development, and downtown building renovations. The hope is that this collaboration will help early-stage businesses, and help advance downtown redevelopment efforts. The reallocation of funds will create the opportunity to help create quality jobs and provide more opportunities for business development.

GUBERNATORIAL RACE HEATS UP
Lieutenant Governor Barb Lawton has pulled out of the running for the state’s top job. Lawton, Gov. Doyle’s second in command for the past seven years, announced recently that she was dropping out of the gubernatorial race for “very personal reasons.” Her announcement leaves only Republicans (Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and Congressman Mark Neumann) as candidates for the November, 2010 race. However, it is rumored that Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who was unsuccessful in obtaining the 2002 bid for governor, might be seeking the Democratic nomination and President Obama’s teams has allegedly encouraged him to run.

COUNCIL ALLOCATES MORE FUNDS TO IMPROVING ROADS
During the Eau Claire City Council’s budget deliberations on Nov. 5, it decided in two seperate motions to increase road improvements by $200,000 for the coming year. The allocated funding will mean that the Forest Street parking lot project, part of the community garden addition, will be delayed until 2011. The other half of the funding increase will come from the sale of the UW Health building on Farwell Street, recently purchased by Bolton Refuge House. The $200,000 in funding will afford about eight extra miles of seal coating roads, which the council unanimously agreed is in need.