By Brian E. Clark
RISING
Milwaukee
Forbes magazine has named Milwaukee to its list of top 10 up-and coming
tech cities. Other upper Midwest cities named were Columbus, Ohio and
Iowa City, Iowa.
The magazine says “globalization and poor training may have gutted
America’s manufacturing base, but stalwart metal-bender Milwaukee is
not backing down.”
Jim Paetsch, director of corporate location, expansion and attraction
at Milwaukee 7, a regional economic development group, said the
Milwaukee area doesn’t believe manufacturing is fading.
“Manufacturing is certainly different today than it was even 10 years
ago. Our strategy is to become the leading global center for the
technology-intensive manufacturing enterprises of the future,” he told
the magazine.
MIXED
State revenues
Figures released by the Department of Revenue show state tax
collections for July through February of this fiscal year were up
compared to the same period last year.
But Legislative Fiscal Bureau director Bob Lang said the upswing
doesn’t change the projection the bureau made last month of a $652
million revenue shortfall for the biennium ending mid-2009.
According to the Revenue numbers, individual income tax collections
have risen from just more than $4 billion to a little more than $4.1
billion, a 2.6 percent change.
General sales and use tax collection went up from $2.48 billion to
$2.52 billion, a 1.6 percent increase. Corporate and franchise tax
collections were down 9.5 percent, however, from $472.37 million to
$427.62 million.
Public utility collection rose about $5 million to $146.17 million, a
3.5 percent change. Insurance revenue collection rose about $5.5
million to $82.22 million, a 7.4 percent change.
FALLING
Janesville GM workers
Nearly 1,000 workers at the Janesville GM Assembly Plant are off this
week – involuntarily – because the company’s parts supply chain has
been upended by a strike at American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings
Inc. in Michigan.
Negotiations have broken down over wages and benefits that have
affected GM factories in the U.S. and Canada. The strike has idled or
slowed 29 GM assembly and components plants because of parts shortages,
resulting in the temporary layoffs of about 37,000 GM workers.
The Janesville factory had been working shorter shifts last week but
decided to cancel the night shift for this week, according to plant
spokeswoman Mary Fanning. The factory makes large sport utility
vehicles such as the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon.
