Archive | Environment RSS feed for this archive

Reps. Clark and Wachs Issue Warning: Mining Bill Violates Public Trust Doctrine

 February 22, 2013 by Barbara With Representatives Fred Clark (D-Sauk City) and Dana Wachs (D-Eau Claire) have issued a warning calling on all legislators to reject the new mining bill SB1/AB1 on the grounds that it violates the Public Trust Doctrine. The doctrine was originally established in 1787 as a way to proclaim that all […]

3 Comments Continue Reading →

Northern Officials Unite in Defense of the Water

February 21, 2013 by Rebecca Kemble and Barbara With In a strong statement of unity, elected officials from Ashland and Bayfield Counties traveled to Madison for the Superior Days lobbying effort and a press conference concerning the new mining bill being rushed through the legislature next week. The mayors of Ashland, Bayfield and Washburn were […]

1 Comment Continue Reading →

Elected Officials Demand Superior Days Remove Mining From Lobbying Agenda

February 18, 2013  by Barbara With In a press release sent out today, Ashland City Council member and Superior Days participant Kelly Westlund renewed her request to the organizers of the grassroots lobbying event to remove mining from this year’s agenda. In a letter dated February 15, 2013 addressed to Superior Days Coordinator Linda Bruce, […]

Leave a Comment Continue Reading →

Walker Blames Top Employer in Ashland County for Lack of Jobs

by Todd and Dotty Richmond [EDITOR’S NOTE:  This is a open-source correction/continuation of a February 12, 2013, AP article written by Todd Richmond. While the AP may accept such a stenographic offering as even minimally adequate, Todd’s mother Dotty does not. Consequently, Dotty forced Todd to redo his homework assignment, this time getting the facts […]

5 Comments Continue Reading →

GTac Circulates Deceptive Illustration of Proposed Iron Mine

February 10, 2013  by Joseph Skulan A disturbing feature about the plans for an iron mine in the Penokee Hills near the shore of Lake Superior is that so little information about these plans has been made public. To date, Gogebic Taconite (GTac), the company that claims it intends to build the mine, has refused […]

Leave a Comment Continue Reading →

Associated Press Blames Tribes for Walker’s Failed Jobs Agenda

February 13, 2013 by Barbara With and Rebecca Kemble In a nationally circulated article concerning Wisconsin’s dismal job creation numbers, Associated Press reporter Todd Richmond attempts to scapegoat the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa as the reason Gov. Scott Walker’s record on jobs creation is the worst in the country. Walker, who has […]

2 Comments Continue Reading →

Amidst Controversy, Superior Days Promotes Mining Legislation

February 14, 2013 by Barbara With and Rebecca Kemble A long-standing and formerly non-partisan grassroots project that sends delegates from northern Wisconsin to Madison to lobby their representatives has included mining in the agenda this year, creating a violation of core principles of the 28-year-old group. According to the Superior Days website, the yearly effort […]

Leave a Comment Continue Reading →

Ashland Listening Session Sends Strong Message: “There Will Be No Mine”

February 12, 2013   by Barbara With and Rebecca Kemble A microcosm of the global struggle for clean water and land played out in northern Wisconsin last weekend at a listening session held in Ashland concerning SB1/AB1, the new Republican-sponsored mining bill. Impassioned testimony on behalf of the water and Lake Superior was given for […]

2 Comments Continue Reading →

Hearing Records Show Overwhelming Opposition to Mining Bill

February 11, 2013 by Barbara With Almost three weeks after the only public hearing was held on controversial mining bill SB1/AB1, the chairs of the legislative committees charged with vetting it have yet to release the results. Neither Sen. Tom Tiffany (R-Hazelhurst) nor Rep. Mary Williams (R-Medford) has publicly announced information on testimony presented at […]

11 Comments Continue Reading →

Mining Heritage Argument Challenged

February 10, 2013  by Rebecca Kemble The O’Dovero-Flesia family farm lies in the shadow of the Penokee Hills in Ashland County, Wisconsin. Five generations have successfully farmed this land for 87 years.  Now a mountain top removal project proposed by Gogebic Taconite and a new law written to ease the way for its approval threatens […]

Leave a Comment Continue Reading →