From WisBusiness.com …
— Gov. Jim Doyle’s labor secretary laid out a depressing view of the state’s job picture but said “together we will come through this.”
Roberta Gassman, the secretary of the Department of Workforce Development, said Tuesday that state unemployment in Wisconsin “is nearing what we see at the national level.” The state unemployment rate is 7.6 percent — up from 4.4 percent in October.
“It is a challenging time that our state is in,” Gassman told the Assembly Committee on Jobs, the Economy and Small Business. “Together we will come through this, as challenging as that will be.”
Added Gassman: “We had lost 73,000 jobs over 2008, and this year we are in a challenging environment.”
Doyle Commerce Secretary Richard Leinenkugel said the state was dedicated to getting the economy moving in Wisconsin. Leinenkugel outlined the approaches his agency was taking to retrain a work force to deal with the demands of the new economy, including customized labor training grants and loans to companies. He said incentives to add workers in 2008 totaled $84 million and leveraged over $630 million in private investment and training.
AFL-CIO official Phil Neuenfeldt told the committee that more than 100 worker training programs exist. “We need modernization. If they (employers) are going to survive in this economy, they have to increase productivity in this environment,” he said.
See more from the committee meeting: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=151007
— The first day of the Green Tier 2009 conference in Milwaukee featured a keynote address from sustainability expert and author Bob Willard that urged attendees to use the language of business to convince companies to adopt sustainable practices.
Willard told attendees to avoid “greenie” talk with executives and instead focus on how engaging in socially and environmentally friendly business practices can reduce risk, provide opportunities and boost profits.
He said it was key to sell sustainability as a tool by which to profit, rather than as a goal to achieve in and of itself.
Willard is a former IBM senior manager and author of “The Sustainability Advantage” and “The Next Sustainability Wave.”
The Wisconsin DNR’s Green Tier Advantage Conference is a two-day event focused on environmentally sustainable business practices encouraged by the state’s Green Tier program.
The conference, held at the UW-Milwaukee School of Continuing Education, features a series of panel discussions with representatives from business, government, environmental advocacy groups and others. Sponsors include ABB, WisPolitics.com and Michels Corporation. The conference runs through Wednesday.
The conference was preceded by a half-day Executive Summit on Sustainable Business, which featured presentations geared toward top-level corporate executives on how sustainable practices can generate cost reductions, sales growth, energy savings and profits.
See more soon at http://www.wisbusiness.com
— Fair Market Development LLC is proposing a $76 million development with about 400 residences and 10,000 square feet of retail space in the Park East corridor, according to BizTimes Milwaukee.
Fair Market Development consists of developers Robert Schultz and Harry Drea. They submitted the only response to a Milwaukee County request for proposals for a vacant lot owned by the county and located between North Broadway, North Water Street, North Milwaukee Street, East Lyon Street and East Ogden Avenue in downtown Milwaukee’s Park East corridor.
Read more: http://www.biztimes.com/daily/2009/3/2/#developers-propose-76-million-project-for-park-east-corridor
— In the midst of economic downturn and layoffs, a new Web site — http://newbusinessmilwaukee.com — is working to make sure new small businesses are found by the local residents of southeast Wisconsin.
The site is a chronological collection of the companies’ logos, with the newest businesses on the top. Upon rollover of the logo, the name, address, phone, and a 150-word description appear. New businesses can freely post their information on the website and it is usually put up within the day.
Read a press release from the site’s founder: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=150940
See the site: http://newbusinessmilwaukee.com
— Jeff Yabuki, president and CEO of Fiserv, Inc., spoke about the changing landscape of financial services, saying that “we are seeing a massive shift in the [financial] landscape.”
Yabuki told a Tuesday gathering of the Rotary Club of Milwaukee that the shift, “has everything to do with how our future generations are going to bank.”
“I think over the long term we are going to see less [banking] institutions, but we are still going to see thousands. … I think you’ll see new kinds of institutions come in.”
Yabuki called the current economic situation “a challenge of monumental proportion” but added, “I think the government is doing a pretty good job right now.”
Yabuki also talked about the significant transformation initiative the company has taken over the last two years concerning the landscape of financial services and leadership for today and tomorrow.
See more from the meeting: http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Article=151006
— Republican lawmakers rolled out a new joint task force on economic development they say would solicit input from state business leaders through a series of roundtable discussions.
The Wisconsin Jobs NOW Task Force, co-chaired by Sen. Randy Hopper of Oshkosh and Rep. Rich Zipperer of Pewaukee, will initially hold roundtables in Green Bay, Eau Claire and Milwaukee. Other GOP lawmakers will serve as “contributing members” to the task force, which will be joined by executives Mike Savignac of PDQ Manufacturing in De Pere, John Radke of BioResearch Inc. in Brown Deer, and Ed Schafer of Silver Spring Gardens Inc. in Eau Claire.
“You solve problems with an economy by creating consumers; you create consumers by offering jobs,” Hopper said at a Capitol news conference Tuesday. “The people that are offering those jobs are the people we ought to be talking to.”
Radke said his business needs capital to survive but that the current climate has made gaining capital in Wisconsin for a small business “next to impossible.”
“What we don’t need is for anybody to make it more difficult than it already is,” Radke said.
Listen to the press conference: http://www.wispolitics.com/1006/090302_GOP_press_conf.mp3
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REGISTER NOW: HOW THE FEDERAL STIMULUS AFFECTS WISCONSIN, WITH GARY WOLTER
Thursday, MARCH 12, 2009
11:45 a.m. at the Madison Club
Gary Wolter is serving as head of the Wisconsin Office of Recovery and Reinvestment. He is also chairman, president and CEO of Madison Gas and Electric.
The 2009 luncheon series is sponsored by The Wisconsin Bankers Association, The Ho Chunk Nation, WHD Government Affairs, Flaherty & Associates, Wal-Mart and Xcel Energy.
The event is open to the public, and the price for lunch is $15 for WisPolitics.com subscribers and Madison Club members, $19 for the general public. Call the Madison Club to register at (608) 255-4861. The luncheons start at 11:45 a.m. and ends at 1 p.m.
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THANKS TO OUR WISBUSINESS SPONSORS
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Press Releases
· BizStarts Milwaukee: Kicks off BizLearn to better educate and retain bright young entrepreneurs
· Datastore: Announces opening of new Madison records center
· Dept. of Commerce: Notice of availability for public comment
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· NewBusinessMilwaukee: Focusing on the new — Website aims to promote the newest small businesses in Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin
· Paper Discovery Center of Appleton: To hold free evening learning events
· SEIU: SEIU and Hospital Association agree: Forced overtime is inappropriate
· UW-Eau Claire: Selects new student center site
· UW-Madison: 100-hour challenge winners represent campus creativity, ingenuity
· UWM: Women’s History Month at UWM
· Wisconsin Association for Justice: Insurance industry math deceives consumers
For these and more releases visit http://www.wisbusiness.com/index.iml?Content=82
TOP STORIES
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TCF will pay back TARP funds: TCF Financial Corp. has moved to pay back the federal government the hundreds of millions of TARP bailout funds it received in November, calling its participation in the banking-assistance program “a competitive disadvantage”.
http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2009/03/02/daily32.html
Green trucking: State may consider diesel idling ban soon: … growing concerns over air pollution — not to mention fuel costs — have driven 21 states to pass laws restricting the amount of time diesel operators can idle their rigs. An idling diesel semi can burn through a gallon of fuel an hour while spewing out pounds of soot, ozone and carbon dioxide. … Wisconsin doesn’t have a diesel idling law on the books yet, but one is likely coming in this session of the Legislature. A sticking point has been drafting rules that everyone can agree on while trying to help truck and bus companies pay for adding idling reduction units to their fleet. Units can range in price from $1,000 to $10,000, although manufacturers say the devices pay for themselves within a year.
http://www.madison.com/tct/business/441274
Olsen family seeks to retain ownership of mill: Members of the Olsen family are using a request for bankruptcy protection and other maneuvers in an attempt to retain ownership of the family’s financially troubled grain business.
http://www.thenorthwestern.com/article/20090304/OSH03/903040357/1167
Doyle: Farmers should see payments soon: Wisconsin dairy farmers hurt by a collapse in milk prices should get help soon from the federal government, Gov. Jim Doyle said Monday. Doyle met Monday with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. He said Vilsack assured him the U.S. Department of Agriculture was working to get Milk Income Loss Contract payments out quickly. The program pays dairy farmers when domestic milk prices fall below a certain level.
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090304/GPG03/903040666/1247
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WISBUSINESS FEATURED COLUMNISTS
– GREGG HOFFMANN: Contributor, WisBusiness.com
– TOM STILL: President, Wisconsin Technology Council
– JENNIFER SERENO: Senior manager, Wood Communications Group
– STEVE JAGLER: Executive editor, Small Business Times
– TOM BURZINSKI: IT executive and consultant
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TECHNOLOGY (back to top)
– Data storage company expands to Sun Prairie
http://www.madison.com/tct/business/441353
ECONOMY (back to top)
– State’s delinquent taxes top $1 billion
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WI_DELINQUENT_TAXES_WIOL-?SITE=WIMAD&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
– Doyle likely to receive cool welcome from business leaders
http://www.jsonline.com/business/40694517.html
– Stimulus projects to feature logo
http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2009/03/02/daily39.html
– Coakley Bros. unit Datastore expands in Sun Prairie
http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2009/03/02/daily36.html
LABOR (back to top)
– Survey: Milwaukee CFOs not hiring in Q2
http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2009/03/02/daily33.html
SMALL BUSINESS (back to top)
– Fight songs for sale
http://www.jsonline.com/business/40689392.html
– Neatnik’s invention gets its doo
http://www.jsonline.com/business/40693652.html
REAL ESTATE (back to top)
– Graybar moves to bigger facility in De Pere
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20090304/GPG03/903040665/1247
AGRIBUSINESS (back to top)
– Region’s farmers get older
http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20090304/APC03/903040531/1028
TRANSPORTATION (back to top)
– Green trucking: State may consider diesel idling ban soon
http://www.madison.com/tct/business/441274
– AirTran’s February traffic drops 14%
http://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/stories/2009/03/02/daily42.html
RETAIL (back to top)
– Brennan’s to open new store in Oconomowoc
http://www.jsonline.com/business/40691892.html
HEALTH CARE (back to top)
– Bablitch named senior VP at Aurora Health Care
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/biz/441306
FINANCIAL SERVICES (back to top)
– American Family posts net loss for 2008
http://www.madison.com/tct/business/441473
MANAGEMENT (back to top)
– Oshkosh Defense selects leader
http://www.thenorthwestern.com/article/20090303/OSH03/303030024/1167
Media Partners
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National Business Roundups ( back to top)
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