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This Just In...
Kevin Fischer is an award-winning veteran broadcaster who has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for nearly three decades.
Kevin, who is a legislative aide to state Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, “INTERchange,” on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, in Franklin.
Week-ends
By Kevin Fischer
Saturday, May 10 2008, 08:00 AM
A look back at the people and events that made news the past week.
Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In...
HEROES OF THE WEEK
Lee Frangquist, Al Johnson, Gary Lapp, John Dederich and Joe Raisleger
John Challis
Dale Davis
VILLAINS OF THE WEEK
William Earl Lynd
Amanda Morgan Leppert and Toby Lee Lowry
Brenda Thiel
Guadelupe Gutierrez-Juarez
Texas teenagers
Pennsylvania state Senator Vincent Fumo (D-Philadelphia)
Code Pink protesters
Hugh Hefner
The New England Patriots
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
"People make mistakes. People in a very stressful job make mistakes. We've told you what they are; we've told the public what they are. We hope no mistakes happen every day in the 911 center. Can I guarantee that? No. Can I work on opportunities to limit mistakes? Yes."
Dane County 911 director Joe Norwick, offering a public apology seven days after telling reporters "there's nothing to apologize for" regarding how his department handled a 911 call made from Brittany Zimmermann's cell phone around the time she was murdered. Norwick expressed his "sincere sympathy to the Zimmermann family" for his department's mishandling of the 911 call and to "the public and media for any misleading statements I made."
"The two questions that kept coming to mind after the loss of this mother and her two children were why this person went home after his third DUI conviction and why he still has his 3-ton killing machine in his possession."
State Representative Joel Kleefisch (R-Oconomowoc), reacting to the crash caused by drunk driver Mark Benson that took the lives of Jennifer Bukosky, 39, her unborn child and 10-year old daughter, Courtney Bella. Two days before the accident, Benson appeared before a Waukesha County judge on a third drunken driving offense. He was sentenced on April 23 to 75 days in the county's work release jail, but was given until May 9 to report there, with orders not to drive in the meantime.
“What's the big deal? Nuns don't get a free pass when it comes to voting.The fact that the convent will get photo IDs for the elderly nuns shows that it can be done. If an individual is capable of going to the polls and casting a vote, the person is capable of getting a proper ID. If the 98-year-old nun doesn't want to get an ID, then she doesn't have to vote. Every American has an interest in making sure that elections are clean.”
Wisconsin blogger Freedom Eden, after a group of nuns wasn’t allowed to vote in Indiana’s primary Tuesday because the sisters failed to produce a photo ID.
"I think food inflation has got to go up. Everything that uses wheat, everything that uses corn, everything that uses corn syrup has got to go up."
C. Larry Pope, president and chief executive of Smithfield Foods Inc., the world's largest pork producer.
"This subsidized (ethanol) program - paid for by taxpayer dollars - has contributed to pain at the cash register, at the dining room table, and a devastating food crisis throughout the world.”
U.S. Senator John McCain, joining other GOP Senators calling for curbs on ethanol production.
"The time has come to end the taxpayer subsidy of ethanol that was started 27 years ago to get this industry off the ground and on its feet. Well, it is well on its feet now. It has never made sense to me to turn food into fuel.”
Wisconsin Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Menomonee Falls)
“The world has changed dramatically for the airline industry. This is probably a bigger shock to the airlines' systems than what happened after 9/11. This is going to bring some very fundamental change in the industry in terms of its size, its shape and its character, especially if these phenomenally high fuel prices continue for any length of time.”
Scott Dickson, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Oak Creek-based Midwest Air Group Inc., which operates Midwest Airlines, on the rising cost of fuel.
“To create just one gallon of fuel, ethanol slurps up 1,700 gallons of water, according to Cornell's David Pimentel, and 51 cents of tax credits. And it still can't compete against oil without a protective 54-cents-per-gallon tariff on imports and a federal mandate that forces it into our gas tanks. The record 30 million acres the U.S. will devote to ethanol production this year will consume almost a third of America's corn crop while yielding fuel amounting to less than 3% of petroleum consumption. In December the Congressional Research Service warned that even devoting every last ear of American-grown corn to ethanol would not create enough ‘renewable fuel’ to meet federal mandates.”
The Wall Street Journal
"Sen. Obama's support among working, hardworking Americans, white Americans, is weakening again.”
Hillary Clinton, who was then accused of being racially insensitive.
“The point is that if it becomes necessary to cut ... then cut! That's what responsible budget managers do, from coast-to-coast, in the private sector, which does not have the luxury of coercively adding revenue (read: raising taxes) or resorting to the kind of accounting legerdemain that is a staple of government.”
The Beloit Daily News, editorializing about the state budget revenue shortfall of $652.3 million.
"Often these ads misrepresent the facts and scare voters by talking about criminal, not civil, cases, and everything is subordinated to a sound bite. They're what french fries are to nutrition - fattening, but not helpful. It's important that the judiciary be completely independent. Unfortunately, three-fourths of Americans are not familiar with this concept."
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra day O’Connor speaking in Milwaukee. O’Connor said Wisconsin Supreme Court judges should be appointed, not elected.
"The general mood is that some people were disappointed that was the outcome of the animal. It was neat to have cougar back that once was an animal of Wisconsin."
Tim Lizotte, wildlife supervisor for the DNR in the Waukesha-area, expressing disappointment that a cougar that once roamed southern Wisconsin was shot and killed in Chicago last month. Sounds like the DNR would prefer that the cougar still be around, possibly stalking and killing.
OUTRAGE OF THE WEEK
First it was the botched 911 call in Madison. Now, the Madison Police have to defend how they handled a murder investigation.
MOST UNDER-REPORTED STORY OF THE WEEK
Wisconsin Congressman David Obey calls for a pullout from Iraq
MOST OVER-HYPED STORY OF THE WEEK
The Milwaukee Brewers and their six-game losing streak. A legitimate story, true. But even though I’m not a fan of manager Ned Yost, if you were thinking about firing him, you’d better be ready to accept his replacement.
And just who would that be? Who’s available in early May? You'd have to select from inside the organization.
These losing streaks are part of baseball. The problem is this team isn’t playing up to its potential. But it is awfully early.
STRANGEST, MOST UNUSUAL STORY OF THE WEEK
He should have stayed in bed.
REMEMBER: Your suggestions/nominations for any of these categories every week are welcome, especially for HEROES OF THE WEEK. If you know of anyone in the community deserving of recognition, please e-mail me.
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