From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— The Legislative Black Caucus has laid out policy priorities for next session to address disparities in health care, education, housing and other topics facing Wisconsinites of color.
Sen. Dora Drake, the caucus chair, said the policy agenda will serve as the guideline for legislation that members plan to draft and introduce.
“We know that the landscape is changing, and so we want to be proactive in making sure that we have a clear agenda of setting policy for next year,” the Milwaukee Dem said.
During an hourlong presentation in the Capitol, caucus members yesterday laid out priorities that they heard on a listening tour that took them to Green Bay, Racine, Madison, Milwaukee and Beloit. That includes establishing a public option for health care and other priorities.
Sen. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, and Drake expressed confidence that Dems would control both houses of the Legislature next session, which would provide an easier path to passing the coming proposals.
Johnson added she believes Republicans would support many of the ideas because the racial gaps in areas such as health care cost taxpayers. Even if there is split control of the Legislature next session, Johnson said it would still give the caucus leverage to pass the bill.
“They will literally have to answer for why these things are not [a] good idea or why this isn’t good governance when they see the numbers we’re dealing with,” she said.
— Nuclear fusion company SHINE Technologies has now raised more than $1 billion in total after recently announcing $240 million in new equity funding.
The Janesville business yesterday said the new financing kicks off its next stage of development, focused on developing methods for recycling used nuclear fuel as part of its road toward commercial fusion energy.
Its existing applications for fusion technology include radioisotopes for cancer therapies and imaging as well as aerospace and defense component testing.
“Fusion energy is one of the most important technologies humanity will ever develop — it will forever change how we power our species, and is already having major impact across advanced manufacturing, healthcare and recycling,” SHINE CEO Greg Piefer said in a statement.
The funding round announced yesterday was led by NantWorks, a California-based company with subsidiaries across health and life sciences, energy and renewables, and communication sectors.
Along with the new financing, SHINE yesterday announced NantWorks founder Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong has been appointed to its board of directors, noting he contributed $150 million in investment. The two companies have also joined a strategic partnership providing “priority access” to SHINE’s radiopharmaceutical supply.
In a statement on joining SHINE’s board, Soon-Shiong said the company’s leadership in fusion technology and production of the isotope Lu-177 “aligns with my lifelong mission to make cancer treatment more precise, targeted, and ultimately curative.”
See the release below.
Listen to an earlier WisBusiness podcast with Piefer.
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