Gale warnings out for eastern Wisconsin; 15% of state’s schools not meeting new standards; more briefs

Talk about it

Forecasters now say eastern Wisconsin will get high winds and waves as early as tonight as the effects of Hurricane Sandy stretch from the East Coast to the Great Lakes.

The National Weather Service in Holland, Mich., has gale and storm warnings posted through Wednesday. The waves on Lake Michigan could reach 18 feet by this afternoon and 20 to 33 feet tomorrow before they go down. Waves on the Wisconsin side are not expected to be as high – up to 18 feet starting tomorrow south of Sheboygan.

But wind gusts of up to 50 mph are expected in parts of Door County.

The Weather Service says parts of Lake Superior could also get 20 foot waves, and dangerous conditions are possible on piers and break walls.

Hurricane Sandy got stronger early this morning, and it’s on a collision course with two other weather systems that could make the storm even stronger.

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15% of state’s schools not meeting new standards

Wisconsin’s new public school report cards show that about 15% of schools are not meeting most of the state’s new and tougher standards. But officials have not said what they’ll do about it.

The state issued school-by-school rankings last week. The rankings showed that the lowest performers did not keep up with the state’s expectations for student growth, dropout and graduation rates and other factors.

The state Department of Public Instruction says it will ask lawmakers next year to budget more money to help schools that are struggling.

But some administrators are not holding their breath. Sheboygan Supt. Joe Sheehan said the state will probably claim that it doesn’t have the money, and it will probably make schools use existing resources to improve.

Miles Turner, head of the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators, fears that the schools’ low marks will be used as punishment and not an incentive to improve.

There’s talk about a possible expansion of the state’s private school voucher program if Republicans can regain control of both houses in next week’s elections.

Republican Luther Olsen of Ripon, a member of the Senate’s Education Committee, said he doesn’t believe the report cards will be politicized. But he said lawmakers need to approve consequences to make schools accountable.

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Two Wisconsin counties get $2.6 million to help parents behind in child support

Brown and Kenosha counties are sharing $2.6 million federal dollars to help parents keep up with their child support.

The funding is designed to help non-custodial parents pay for services they need to support their families over the next five years. That could include things like transportation for parents to go to and from jobs so they can afford to make their payments.

The counties will have at least some discretion on how they’ll use the federal money.

Officials say the funding will be designed for parents who are at least a year behind on their court-ordered child support payments.

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Executive ‘warns’ about consequences of Obama reelection

An advocacy group plans to file a complaint with state elections officials today about an email that a Milwaukee executive sent to his employees about the presidential contest.

Citizen Action of Wisconsin said Michael White of Rite-Hite tried to intimidate workers last week.

His memo told employees to understand the “personal consequences” to them if President Obama is reelected. Among other things, he said the company’s health insurance and retirement contributions might have to end due to higher taxes.

White said he respected the workers’ right to vote for whom they choose, but he said he was just trying to present the facts as he knows them.

Mike Wilder of Citizen Action called on White to retract the email and apologize to workers at his industrial equipment manufacturing company.

Media reports say a number of U.S. business leaders are bringing up political concerns to their employees, but a Wisconsin election law bans employers from discussing certain subjects.

After White’s memo was publicized last week, the state Government Accountability Board said it would be up to the local district attorney to file charges. The Milwaukee County district attorney’s office said it would be interested in hearing from employees and from White.

Rite-Hite has refused public comment on the email.

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Romney, Obama to campaign in state

Wisconsin becomes the focus of the presidential race for the next two days, as both major candidates plan to visit.

Republican Mitt Romney is scheduled to speak tonight at State Fair Park in West Allis. And President Obama is scheduled to rally his Democratic supporters Tuesday night at the Brown County Arena near Green Bay.

National pollster Scott Rasmussen said the extremely close race for the White House could come down to Wisconsin eight days from now. He said Romney has a slight lead in the popular vote, but the president has a small edge in the tally that counts – the state-by-state electoral vote.

Rasmussen said Romney will need to win in Virginia, Ohio and one other swing state, and if he loses in Ohio, then Wisconsin, and two other swing states, become a must for the Republicans.

Obama has led in Ohio throughout the fall, and Rasmussen’s latest poll has Obama up by two points in Wisconsin. The president carried the Badger State by 14 points in 2008, but Republicans have made sizable gains since then.

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Four stabbed at Halloween party

Authorities in southwest Wisconsin are still investigating a Halloween party in which four people were stabbed and injured early Sunday at a home in the Iowa County town of Arena.

Three people were taken to hospitals soon after authorities arrived. A fourth person was hospitalized a few hours later.

Officials said some of the injuries were serious, but they were not life-threatening.

Two brothers from Spring Green, ages 19 and 20, were said to be persons of interest in the stabbing. They were in the Iowa County Jail last night on unrelated charges.

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Walker calls for tougher enforcement against domestic violence

Gov. Scott Walker said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday that Wisconsin needs to toughen its laws against domestic violence.

Walker appeared with Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper to address the deadly acts of violence in their two states over the last few months.

When asked why there has not been a national debate on guns, Walker said it was domestic violence that caused last weekend’s spa shootings in Brookfield.

“We didn’t do enough in this state apparently, at least at the local level, to adequately enforce those laws … We need to do more than that – and that’s something that isn’t a partisan issue,” said Walker.

Radcliffe Haughton shot seven women last Sunday at the Azana Salon and Spa in Brookfield, killing his estranged wife and two others before turning the gun on himself.

Haughton is from Brown Deer where police have been under heavy criticism for not arresting him right after a 2011 standoff in which he apparently pointed a gun at his wife. Haughton violated a restraining order when he bought a gun from a private dealer the day before the slayings.

Yesterday, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said a law is needed to prohibit those under restraining orders from buying guns online.

State Assemblyman Robin Vos, R-Racine County, said his colleagues have talked about some ideas for toughening domestic violence laws. But Vos – who’s expected to become the Assembly speaker in January – said he won’t rush to judgment for now.

Tags: state news, wisconsin, crime, politics