Green Bay News

MADISON (AP) – A Wisconsin board that banned its employees from working on global warming issues has backtracked and will now simply prohibit them from advocating on climate change policy.

The Republican-controlled Board of Commissioners of Public Lands drew criticism in April after it voted to institute the ban on its nine employees. The board made the move after learning its Tia Nelson, the board’s executive secretary and daughter of Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, had worked on global warming issues on board time years ago.

On Tuesday the board modified the ban to prohibit staff only from engaging in climate change policy advocacy.

MADISON (AP) – Advocates for a Wisconsin law that extends benefits to certain people above and beyond what is offered under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act say they fear the state law is in danger.

Members of the Keep Families First Coalition gathered Tuesday to urge the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee not to kill the law.

The state chamber of commerce and the League of Wisconsin Municipalities are lobbying to require employers to only follow the federal law covering time off to care for a baby or loved one.

Wisconsin’s law goes beyond the federal law in that it extends leave to more part-time workers and to those taking care of an in-law or domestic partner. It also allows an employee to use sick or vacation time as medical leave.

Click here to see what interstates and highways will post 70 mph speed limit signs.

BROWN COUNTY – The National Weather Service has used a video sent to FOX 11’s ReportIt to confirm a weak tornado touched down in southern Brown County Monday.

Jeff Last of the NWS used the video and an analysis of radar images to determine that the tornado rated EF0, the weakest level on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. An EF0 tornado includes wind speeds between 65 and 85 mph.

The person who submitted the video says it was taken as the twister crossed Dickinson Road in the town of Glenmore.

Last says the tornado likely touched down around 3 p.m.

No damage was reported in the area.

FOX 11 Meteorologist Phil DeCastro is following up on this story and will have full reports for FOX 11 News at Five and Nine.

(CNN) – The University of Cambridge is seeking a Lego professor.

The centuries old, British school has teamed up with the Lego Foundation to launch a new research center focused on play in education, development and learning.

The foundation has similar ties with MIT and Tsinghua University in China.

The Lego guru will lead the center and will likely need to be passionate about playing with Lego’s and childhood education.

The Lego Foundation is financed by Lego Group, it manufactures and sells the popular toy.

(CNN) It’s not you, the internet really is slowing down.

According to data tracked by HTTP Archive, the average time to download a website is up because the average size of a website is nearly double what it was three years ago.

Videos, pictures, embedded tracking tools and increased website security are partly to blame.

Each not only makes a site bulkier but requires separate data fetching tasks, and all that takes time.

Online traffic is up too, thanks to mobile devices and that slows things down.

The slowdown is just by a matter of seconds but in this microwave world we live in every millisecond counts!

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Officials in Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s administration assured legislators Tuesday that a $138 million software upgrade is on track, dismissing concerns from Democrats about possible cost overruns and other potential problems.

The state Department of Transportation has been working to implement the State Transforming Resources project, or STAR, a single cohesive software system for agencies to handle finances, payroll and procurement functions. The first of three implementation phases is set to begin July 1.

DOA officials told the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Information Policy and Technology during a briefing Tuesday that the system will replace more than 140 individual systems, some of which date back to the 1980s.

Dawn McCauley, DOA’s STAR project manager, said the state has spent $81.7 million on the project plus another $15 million former Gov. Jim Doyle’s administration spent on the software in 2005 before shelving the project. Department of Administration Secretary Scott Neitzel insisted the project remains within its budget.

“It is a large project but it’s a desperately needed project,” DOA Secretary Scott Neitzel told the committee. “This project will transform state government.”

Committee Democrats weren’t convinced. Assembly Minority Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, told Neitzel that the Legislature needs to watch the project closely because costs could easily exceed estimates and the prospects of waste and abuse are real.

He also pointed to a memo from technology research and analysis company Gartner Inc. to DOA officials that said the company’s review of the project found a number of problems, including lack of software testing, insufficient training for state workers on the system and a lack of communication between stakeholders.

“It just seems to me that it’s vitally important … to have proper oversight of this,” Barca said.

Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma, questioned DOA’s plan to bill state agencies for the project’s costs, whether the system would be safe from hackers and whether old data would be retained once the new system is up and running.

DOA officials insisted everything will be all right.

Neitzel repeatedly stressed the project’s budget would be sufficient. Assistant Deputy Secretary John Hogan downplayed the Gartner memo, saying DOA plans to implement more system testing and training and there was never any real issue with communication. He also explained that DOA plans to pay for the upgrades by selling a financial instrument called certificates of participation and then repaying the buyers with money pulled from the state agencies beginning in 2017. Neitzel said DOA is still developing a process on how to charge the agencies.

David Cagigal, the state’s chief information officer, said the system would be protected by firewalls.

Only about 20 percent of state workers have been trained on the system so far, McCauley said, but everyone should be up to speed by October, when the old systems that will no longer be needed during the first implementation phase will shut down. Old data will be archived, she added.

Doyle’s administration began an effort to create a cohesive statewide data system in late 2004 but gave up four years later as savings estimates dwindled. Walker restarted the project in 2012 under the STAR moniker.

JANESVILLE (AP) – A Janesville woman is facing criminal charges in a Rock County crash that killed one person and injured her and five others.

The crash involved three vehicles and a semi on Interstate 39/90 near Beloit Saturday night. Authorities say 20-year-old Mackenzi Adams crashed her car into a guardrail while driving drunk. Two other vehicles stopped to help her.

The State Patrol says a semi driver crashed into all three other vehicles, killing a 26-year-old Jessica Border of Lake Geneva. Her husband and two young boys in the backseat were injured, as were two others in another vehicle. Adams was also injured, but appeared in Rock County Circuit Court via video Monday. A $2,000 cash bond was ordered.

The Janesville Gazette reports Adams’ attorney, Jack Hoag, says she was not driving the vehicle that caused the death.

WASHINGTON (AP) – None of 73 U.S. airport workers cited by a government watchdog for unspecified ties to terrorism is actually a suspected terrorist or threat to aviation security, a senior Transportation Security Administration official told lawmakers Tuesday.

The TSA’s deputy assistant administrator, Stacey Fitzmaurice, told members of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation Security that an internal review by the agency concluded that none of the workers posed a security threat. The Homeland Security Department’s inspector general earlier found that the airport workers had terrorism-related activity codes associated with their names in a government terrorism database, and warned that they could pose a “potential transportation security threat.'”

Inspector General John Roth said in a report released earlier this month that TSA doesn’t have access to the government’s Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment database.

Fitzmaurice said the TSA is still working with the intelligence community to gain automated access to TIDE, maintained by the National Counterterrorism Center, part of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. But the agency does review terrorist watch lists when vetting airport workers seeking to work in secure areas, she said.

“We do have access to terror watch lists. We are asking for more intelligence information on individuals,” Fitzmaurice said.

The TIDE database includes names of people who are not suspected of being terrorists but may have direct connections to people or organizations that have sparked concerns with the government. Fitzmaurice did not explain why the 73 airport workers were included in the database.

The agency has been trying to gain access to the broader terrorism database since last year. Inspector General John Roth told lawmakers that the TSA’s request for access to the information still has to be formalized.

Fitzmaurice told lawmakers that while Roth’s office has concluded that airport employee vetting is “generally effective,” the TSA is continuing to try to make improvements.

Lawmakers scoffed at the suggestion in the wake of Roth’s report and leaks from his office that revealed that auditors were able to sneak to sneak mock explosives, weapons and other prohibited items past security screeners in 67 out of 70 attempts at airport checkpoints.

“It’s clear today that we can’t use that word effective, in my opinion,” said New York Rep. Kathleen Rice, the top Democrat on the subcommittee.

Chairman John Katko was equally dubious.

“We cannot have a bureaucratic morass in charge of airport security. We just cannot,” the New York Republican said.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Milwaukee Brewers Hall of Fame broadcaster Bob Uecker was hospitalized overnight after he was hit in the head by a baseball during batting practice.

The Brewers flagship radio station, WTMJ, says a pop-up hit Uecker prior to Monday night’s Brewers-Kansas City Royals game. The 81-year-old broadcaster worked the first six innings of the game and started feeling dizzy.

Team doctors checked him out and sent him to Froedtert Hospital. He was diagnosed with a mild concussion and remained in the hospital overnight.

Uecker says he’ll see how he’s feeling Tuesday afternoon before deciding whether to call the game Tuesday night.

NEW YORK (AP) – Safety regulators say a New Jersey company is recalling about 800 plush toys intended for children because their wheels could come off, creating a choking hazard.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said the recall covers two Bunnies by the Bay wheeled pull-along toys: a brown dog named Bud and a cream-colored bunny named Skipit. Both are about eight inches high and they cost around $30 each. The toys feature Bud or Skipit on four wheels and they come with a pull cord.

The CSPC says no choking incidents have been reported.

The toys were sold at gift and specialty stores and through Bunniesbythebay.com and amazon.com between February and April. They were made in China. There were about 800 sold in the United States and 10 in Canada, the CSPC said.

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Consumers can get more information by calling Bunnies by the Bay toll-free at (866) 763-8869 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or by emailing customerservicekidspreferred.com or going online at www.kidspreferred.com and click on “Contact Us” at the bottom of the homepage.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration is ordering food companies to phase out the use of heart-clogging trans fats over the next three years, calling them a threat to public health.

The move will remove artificial trans fats from the food supply almost entirely. Consumers aren’t likely to notice much of a difference in their favorite foods, but the administration says the move will reduce coronary heart disease and prevent thousands of fatal heart attacks every year.

Scientists say there are no health benefits to the fats, which are used in processing food and in restaurants, usually to improve texture, shelf life or flavor. They can raise levels of “bad” cholesterol and lower “good” cholesterol, increasing the risk of heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.

The fats are created when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil to make it more solid, which is why they are often called partially hydrogenated oils.

Once a staple of the American diet – think shortening and microwave popcorn – most artificial trans fats are already gone. The FDA says that between 2003 and 2012, consumer trans fat consumption decreased an estimated 78 percent as food companies have used other kinds of oils to replace them.

But some foods still have them, and the FDA says those trans fats remaining in the food supply are a health concern. Some of the foods that commonly contain trans fats are frostings, pie crusts, biscuits, microwave popcorn, coffee creamers, frozen pizza, refrigerated dough, vegetable shortenings and stick margarines.

To phase the fats out, the FDA made a preliminary determination in 2013 that trans fats no longer fall in the agency’s “generally recognized as safe” category, which covers thousands of additives that manufacturers can add to foods without FDA review. The agency made that decision final Tuesday, giving food companies the three years to phase them out.

Now that trans fats will be off the list of safe additives, any company that wants to use them will have to petition the agency to allow it. That would phase them out almost completely, since not many uses are likely to be allowed.

Still, food companies are hoping for some exceptions. The Grocery Manufacturers Association, the main trade group for the food industry, is working with companies on a petition that would formally ask the FDA if it can say there is a “reasonable certainty of no harm” from some specific uses of the fats.

The group said in a statement after the announcement that it is pleased with the FDA’s three-year compliance period, which “minimizes unnecessary disruptions to commerce.” The association has not specified what the industry plans to ask for, but has said the FDA encouraged food companies to submit a petition.

Trans fats are widely considered the worst kind for your heart, even worse than saturated fats, which also can contribute to heart disease. Over the years, they have been used in foods like frostings and pastries, which need solid fat for texture, or in those that need a longer shelf life or flavor enhancement.

They also have been used by restaurants for frying. Many larger chains have stopped using them, but smaller restaurants may still get food containing trans fats from suppliers.

The industry’s reduction in trans fats was helped along by FDA’s decision to force labeling of trans fats on food packages in 2006. But foods that list trans fat content as zero can still have very small amounts, since companies are allowed to round less than half of a gram of trans fat to zero on the package.

Susan Mayne, director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, says those hidden amounts can still “add up to a considerable intake of trans fats if you look at the overall diet.”

For now, the agency is recommending that consumers take a look at ingredient lists on packaged foods to make sure they don’t contain partially hydrogenated oils. Once the three-year compliance period is up, in June 2018, none of those ingredients would be allowed unless FDA specifically approves them.

The advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest first petitioned FDA to ban trans fats 11 years ago. The group’s director, Michael Jacobson, says that getting rid of the trans fats that are still out there could save tens of thousands of lives on top of those that have already been saved from reductions.

The decision to phase them out “is probably the single most important thing the FDA has ever done for the healthfulness of the food supply,” Jacobson said.

Also contributing to the decline over the years are local laws, like one in New York City that restricts the fats in restaurants. Large retailers like Wal-Mart have reduced the amount they sell.

The FDA has not targeted small amounts of trans fats that occur naturally in some meat and dairy products, because they would be too difficult to remove and aren’t considered a major public health threat by themselves.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – Major League Baseball says it is cooperating with a federal investigation into an illegal breach of the Houston Astros’ internal database after a report that the St. Louis Cardinals were responsible for the hack.

The New York Times, citing unidentified law enforcement officials, reported Tuesday that the FBI and Justice Department are investigating whether Cardinals’ front-office officials were behind the effort to steal player information.

MLB said the Astros’ “baseball operations database” was breached, but declined further comment until the federal investigation is completed. The U.S. attorney in St. Louis, Richard Callahan, says he is unaware of the investigation. Messages seeking comment from FBI officials in St. Louis, Houston and Washington were not returned.

The Cardinals and Astros both confirmed they are cooperating with the investigation but declined further comment.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Major League Baseball says it is cooperating with a federal investigation into an illegal breach of the Houston Astros’ internal database after a report that the St. Louis Cardinals were responsible for the hack.

The New York Times, citing unidentified law enforcement officials, reported Tuesday that the FBI and Justice Department are investigating whether Cardinals’ front-office officials were behind the effort to steal player information.

MLB said the Astros’ “baseball operations database” was breached, but declined further comment until the federal investigation is completed. The U.S. attorney in St. Louis, Richard Callahan, says he is unaware of the investigation. Messages seeking comment from FBI officials in St. Louis, Houston and Washington were not returned.

The Cardinals and Astros both confirmed they are cooperating with the investigation but declined further comment.

NEENAH – The YMCA of the Fox Cities is hoping to raise a little less than $2 million for improvements at four facilities.

YMCA leaders say they have already raised nearly $7.1 million during the silent and major-gift phases of the Growing Stronger Together Capital Campaign. The overall goal is $9 million.

The money is slated to be used for the following projects:

• Appleton YMCA: Enhanced security of child care area, enhanced Welcome Center and Member Services areas, lower lobby service area renovations and enhanced building accessibility
• Fox West YMCA (Greenville): New first-floor Wellness Center, gymnasium addition, second-floor multipurpose space and wellness equipment upgrades, enhanced Member Service area and new playground
• Heart of the Valley YMCA (Kimberly): Family locker room expansions, Wellness Center and free weight expansion, aerobic and cycling studio additions, wellness equipment upgrades and additional office space
• Neenah-Menasha YMCA: Locker room renovations and upgrades to Adventure Alley indoor child play area and wellness equipment

To learn more about the campaign or to donate, contact Jan Davey, YMCA of the Fox Cities Financial Development Director at (920) 954-7637, [email protected], or visit www.ymcafoxcities.org.

The YMCA of the Fox Cities has about 45,000 members and another 27,000 people who participate in its programs.

APPLETON – A Little Chute man who drove to Sun Prairie, brought a 16-year-old girl back to his home, and then sexually assaulted her was sentenced to a total of 27 months behind bars.

Brian Hansmann had pleaded no contest to three charges for the May 2014 encounter.

On a charge of having sex with a child age 16 or older, Hansmann was sentenced Monday to nine months in jail, according to court records.

On a count of exposing genitals, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison, consecutive to the jail time.

And on child enticement count, Hansmann was sentenced to 10 years probation, consecutive to the prison term.

According to a criminal complaint, the girl told police she met Hansmann on MeetMe.com, telling him she was 19 years old. The girl said Hansmann picked her up in Sun Prairie, took her to his Little Chute home for the night, and had sex with her three times.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is pushing new legislation to put in place stronger reforms in the Veterans Affairs system to combat the overuse of prescription pain medication.

Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, is offering up the Jason Simcakoski Memorial Opioid Safety Act, named after the 35-year-old Marine veteran who died last August at the Tomah VA Medical Center. Autopsy results show Simcakoski died of mixed drug toxicity, or too many prescribed drugs in his system.

“Our legislation would provide VA with the tools it needs to help prevent this type of tragedy from occurring to other veterans and their families,” said Baldwin in a statement.

Baldwin’s office indicates it worked the Simcakoski family, medical professionals and veterans service organization in crafting the legislation being introduced.

The legislation offers stronger opioid prescribing guidelines and education for VA providers.

Second it aims to increase coordination and communication throughout the VA system surrounding pain management and alternative treatments for chronic pain.

And third, it looks to hold the VA system accountable for appropriate care and quality standards through internal audits, Government Accountability Office reviews and reports to Congress.

Simcakoski’s father, Marv, tells FOX 11 Investigates that he was pleased to assist in forming the legislation he hopes becomes law.

“We’re trying to help veterans that’s the bottom line and make their lives better,” Marv Simcakoski said. “They fought for our country and did their part now we have to do our part.”

Watch FOX 11 News at Five for more details on the legislation.

NEW YORK (AP) – The Donald is running for president.

Real-estate mogul and reality-television star Donald Trump said Tuesday he will seek the Republican nomination for president. He’s the 12th high-profile Republican to enter the 2016 race, with more to come in the weeks ahead.

“All of my life, I have heard, a truly successful person, a really successful person, and even a modestly successful person, cannot run for public office, just can’t happen,” Trump said. “Yet that’s the kind of mindset you need to make this country great again.

“So, ladies and gentlemen, I am officially running for president of the United States, and we are going to make our country great again.”

Trump made the announcement at the midtown Manhattan tower that bears his name, giving a rambling speech that wandered from foreign policy to President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul to Trump’s achievements in business. In his well-known bombastic style, he mixed boasts about his wealth with promises to defeat effortlessly the Islamic State group and negotiate trade deals with China.

“Sadly, the American dream is dead,” Trump said. “But if I get elected president, I will bring it back bigger and better and stronger than ever before, and we will make America great again.”

It was a speech that drew immediate scorn online from a series of Republicans, who fear Trump will turn an otherwise serious Republican primary contest into a circus.

“I just apologized to my toddler for bringing him up in a country where Donald Trump runs for Prez, gets better than 2% in the polls,” veteran Republican strategist Liz Mair tweeted.

Republican operative Brendan Buck, who previously worked on Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign and now works for Rep. Paul Ryan, tweeted: “Who do I blame for Trump running for president. Whose fault is this?”

The Democratic National Committee was just as sarcastic on Twitter: “He adds some much needed seriousness that previously been lacking from the GOP field, and we look forward (to) hearing more about his ideas for the nation.”

Trump has teased presidential runs before, but has always backed out. But in preparation for the 2016 campaign, Trump decided not to renew his contract with NBC for his reality show, “The Apprentice.” He cannot appear on the network and run for president at the same time.

After forming a presidential exploratory committee in March, Trump has also hired political operatives on the ground in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. He has also been a frequent visitor to the early voting states in recent months, and is currently doing just well enough in early public opinion polls to earn a place on stage at the first event in August.

“Selfishly, the networks would put me on because I get great ratings,” Trump recently told The Associated Press.

Trump is required to release a personal financial disclosure that would reveal intimate details about his personal finances. The disclosure will include his net worth, sources of income, liabilities and assets, as well as the same information for his wife and dependent children. Trump said Tuesday he is ready to do so, pegging his net worth at roughly $9 billion.

Submitted June 16, 2015, by Kim Vorpahl, who writes:

“Sunset on the Green Bay 6-15-15!”

GREENVILLE – Submitted June 15, 2015 by Cindy Siegmann of Greenville, who writes:

“Your weather person said Appleton had the most rain yesterday. I am in Greenville and my rain gauge read about 3 1/2 inches of rain! We had white water in our front and backyard! Our little steam with a few inches of water became a danger zone in our backyard.”