Green Bay News

WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. Capitol building was running on a generator for a time, and Metro trains kept moving, but on emergency power.

Tourists were evacuated from museums. At the State Department during the daily press briefing, spokeswoman Marie Harf was forced to finish her comments in the dark. In the White House, President Barack Obama barely noticed Tuesday’s disruption.

All this was caused by problems at an electrical station 35 miles southeast of Washington that caused widespread power outages on Tuesday.

The mechanical failure occurred shortly before 1 p.m. Tuesday at a transfer station in Charles County, Maryland, that is controlled by utilities serving Washington and southern Maryland. Homeland security officials in Washington and Maryland said there was an explosion at the station, although the two utilities, Pepco and the Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, could not immediately confirm that there was a blast or fire. No one was injured, the utilities said.

Many of the outages were brief, but some were longer and forced evacuations. Officials said a mechanical failure at a transfer station led to the outages, and terrorism was not suspected. Tens of thousands of customers lost power.

The outages affected the White House, the Capitol, museums, train stations and other sites.

At the White House, the interruption last only a few seconds before backup generators kicked on. The complex quickly went back onto regular power. Electricity in the press briefing room dipped around lunchtime, briefly darkening cubicles and blackening TV screens.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said he was with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office when the power blip occurred, and they didn’t notice anything unusual.

Power in the U.S. Capitol building twice shut down briefly, and then came back on via generator.

Some traffic lights were out, and Metro said 14 of its 91 public transit stations were affected. Power to the trains remained on and trains were moving, Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said, but the affected stations were on emergency power, with dimmer lighting and nonworking elevators and escalators.

Some Smithsonian museums also lost power, were evacuated and closed to the public, including the popular National Air and Space Museum and the National Portrait Gallery, a spokeswoman said.

Thousands of tourists spilled from the museums onto the National Mall. It’s a busy time of year for tourism as spring brings both better weather and the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which draws thousands to look at the pink-budded trees.

Bill, 62, and Karen, 56, Smith, a retired couple visiting D.C. for a week from Canterbury, Connecticut, were in the National Air and Space Museum when the outage happened.

“We were looking for moon rocks and the lights showing the moon rocks went out,” Bill Smith said. “Then the lights flickered and an announcement came over saying everyone needed to evacuate. They didn’t say why.”

He said no one panicked or even seemed irritated, though the crowd speculated about what happened.

Jenni Swan, who was visiting from Savannah, Georgia, with her husband and two children, said they were eating in the museum’s atrium when security officers said the building was being evacuated.

“Honestly I think my kids are excited because of all the fire trucks and people leaving the building quickly,” she said.

WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) – The Medical College of Wisconsin can start recruiting students for the first class at its Wausau campus.

The college has received approval from two key accrediting organizations. The Wausau campus will open in July 2016 with about 20 to 25 medical students.

The Medical College’s other new campus in Green Bay will welcome its first class July 1. It’s hoped the new campuses will generate doctors who want to practice in smaller cities and rural areas where there’s a shortage of physicians.

The college’s main campus in the Milwaukee suburb of Wauwatosa has about 800 students while the Wausau and Green Bay campuses will together eventually have about 200 students.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Madison’s mayor builds on his legacy with an easy re-election.

Paul Soglin won another four-year term with about 72 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s election. Soglin’s challenger, Alderman Scott Resnick, was running in his first citywide campaign.

The 69-year-old Soglin has been mayor of Madison for 18 years, including stints in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

The State Journal says Soglin campaigned on fiscal responsibility and addressing challenges of racial equality and poverty.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – An Afghan official says an Afghan soldier opened fire on U.S. troops, wounding three before he was shot dead.

Gen. Fazel Ahmad Sherzad, police chief for eastern Nangarhar province, says the incident happened after a meeting between Afghan provincial leaders and a U.S. embassy official in the compound of the provincial governor in Jalalabad.

He says the Afghan soldier opened fire “right after the U.S. official had left.”

He says the American troops immediately returned fire, killing the Afghan soldier.

U.S. officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

It is the second insider attack this year. An Afghan soldier killed three American contractors on January 29.

BLACK RIVER FALLS, Wis. (AP) – Authorities say two brothers have died in an apparent murder-suicide at a residence in Garden Valley.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office says deputies responded late Sunday night to a report of a shooting involving 28-year-old Cory Renard and 24-year-old Tyler Renard. The caller told dispatchers that one of the victims appeared to be dead and the other was alive but suffering from a critical gunshot wound.

WKBT-TV reports Tyler Renard was taken to an Eau Claire hospital, where he died Monday afternoon.

The sheriff’s office says preliminary autopsy reports indicate Cory Renard died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, while Tyler Renard died from a gunshot wound that likely wasn’t self-inflicted.

Investigators say the facts and circumstances surrounding the deaths lead them to believe they were the result of a murder-suicide.

An investigation is ongoing.

SHAWANO- If you heard a tornado siren in Shawano County Wednesday morning, it was a false alarm.

Officials tell us the siren was accidentally triggered when they sent out a fire alarm around five a.m.

The dispatch center had gotten a report of a fire at a business, however when crews got there, there wasn’t a fire.

BELLEVUE – Do you want to buy a new home?

FOX 11’s Emily Deem spent the morning with Adam Adler, Senior Broker Associate with Coldwell Banker the Real Estate Group — to learn some helpful tips on buying a home.

Before you start looking  – Get Pre-approved
Loan Programs
– FHA              – WHEDA
– USDA          – Conventional
– VA                – Fixed Rate vs. Adjustable Rate
A lot of good loan programs available with great rates to discuss with your lender.  Some loan programs, have income limitations
Down Payment and Closing Costs
– You will want to know what to budget for down payment depending on loan program
– Down payment requirements will vary from 0% to 20% or more depending on loan program and credit score
– You will want to know what to budget for closing costs which will vary depending on loan program
Credit   
– If you’re looking to buy in 3 months, 6 months or even longer, it’s not too soon to be pre-approved.
– If you have a credit score that is too low, a lender can give you some tips on what you can do to improve your credit score or put you in touch with someone that assists with credit repair.
Affordability
– You will want to know what purchase price you’re approved for
– You will want to know what your payments will be so you buy what you are comfortable paying, not just what you are approved to
– You will want to be looking at homes you can afford
NeighborWorks Green Bay 
–  Is a great organization we have in Green Bay to assist with home buying.  Check with your local agent for similar organizations within your community.
–  Buyer education
–  Possible down payment or closing cost assistance
–  Credit counseling and foreclosure prevention

Get an agent
– you want an agent in your corner to let you know about houses that come on the market or if you see a home that you have questions about, you have someone to go to with your questions for more information on that home.
– Buyer agent can provide advice instead of just information
– Buyer agent can help you do the homework on property values in the area
– Buyer agent can help you determine negotiation strategy
Ways to find an agent
– Through recommendations from friends and family.  Most people will be able to give you the name of an agent they’ve had a good buying or selling experience with.
– Open houses are another way to “test the waters” where you can meet agents
– Search online for agents bio’s and testimonials from past customers
Discuss your wish list with your agent
– must have’s and wants to discuss with your agent  (see attached PDF and Word doc, I didn’t know what would be easiest for you to use)

Writing the Offer
Writing an offer involves a lot more than just offering a price to the seller.  Terms of an offer can include:
– price
– earnest money amount
– closing timeline
– how is the closing timeline going to work with your current lease if you have one
– how much time does the lender need – some loans take longer than others
– what do you want included in sale/what is the seller willing to include
– appliances – stove, refrigerator, washer, dryer
– other items like window treatments, work benches
– what kind of contingencies to you want to include on your offer
– financing
– appraisal
– inspection
– tests – radon test, water tests for properties with well water
– well and septic inspections properties not on municipal services
After offer is accepted
– get home inspection done as soon as possible
– talk with agent about any other timelines that need to be met based on offer
– call your insurance agent to get homeowners insurance set up
– stay in touch with lender routinely throughout the process
– set up electric, gas, water utilities to be transferred the day of closing
– be patient, sometimes there are bumps in the road that your lender and agent will have to help you past
After closing  
– TV, Cable, Internet service connections at the new house (make sure to cancel old services)
– Change of address with USPS
– Change mailing address for any credit cards, financial institutions, magazine subscriptions, etc.
– call municipality to get garbage and recycling schedules

GOTHAM- A five-year-old girl is still missing in the Wisconsin River.

Search crews will resume the search Wednesday morning for Angela Christianson.

Officials say she fell into the river in Richland County Monday while she was playing with her siblings.

They were in a sandy area that has a sudden 10 to 12 foot drop-off.

The Department of Natural Resources searched by boat and plane Tuesday, while the Baraboo Police Department used a drone.

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) – Forecasters say the ingredients necessary for bad weather are coming together for a series of midweek storms.

Large hail, high winds and a few tornadoes are possible Wednesday in the Plains of eastern Kansas and northern Oklahoma. The mid-Mississippi River Valley, including nearly all of Illinois, could see even worse weather Thursday.

The Oklahoma-based Storm Prediction Center says seasonal warming and changes in the jet stream are behind the new round of severe weather. Cool air in place early this year suppressed thunderstorm development in much of the country, and until late March the U.S. went more than a month without a twister.

Emergency officials said a tornado touched down briefly Tuesday night in southeastern Kansas. Hail and high winds caused problems from St. Louis to southwestern Indiana.

PARIS (AP) – French air traffic controllers went on strike Wednesday, prompting the cancellation of 40 percent of flights across France.

The powerful SNCTA union called the two-day strike in a quarrel over working and retirement conditions, saying in a statement that “disruption is expected over the whole country.”

France’s main airline, Air France, said long-haul flights would not be affected, and guaranteed some 60 percent of medium-haul flights from and to Paris’ main airport, Charles de Gaulle.

Air France said it would ground two out of three flights at Paris’ second-largest airport, Orly.

France’s civil aviation agency said part of the dispute involves conditions for raising the retirement age for controllers from 67 to 69 years.

It advised passengers to contact their airline for more information.

Further strikes are planned April 16-18 and April 29-May 2, coinciding with spring school holidays in France.

PRINCESS ANNE, Md. (AP) – Utility regulators and police are trying to determine what could have been done to prevent the deaths of a man and his seven children who died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator installed after their home’s power had been disconnected.

Officials from Maryland’s public utility regulator say they are looking into what happened, while Princess Anne police have subpoenaed the power company to document exactly what steps it took and when.

Power company officials said they encourage residents who are having trouble paying their bills to contact them, but that Rodney Todd had not done so.

Todd, 36, and his children were poisoned in their sleep only days after the power company discovered a stolen meter and cut off electricity to their rental home, police said. Delmarva Power said it cut off power for safety reasons on March 25, not because the family was behind on its bills, as family members previously had said.

With the power out, Todd had bought the generator and put it in his kitchen to keep his two sons and five daughters warm. Friends and relatives last saw them alive March 28.

“Probably it was bedtime and they decided they needed some light and probably some heat, because toward the end of March even though it was spring we were having some pretty chilly nights,” Princess Anne police Chief Scott Keller said.

Police found their bodies Monday inside the one-story, wood-frame home on Maryland’s Eastern Shore after school workers, friends and the father’s co-workers knocked on the door with no answer.

“I’m just numb. Like it’s a nightmare but it’s not,” the children’s mother, Tyisha Luneice Chambers, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. “If I had known he was without electricity, I would have helped.”

She said relatives would meet Wednesday to plan their funerals.

Why Todd had a generator running indoors wasn’t clear. The chief speculated that if it had been outside, the noise would have bothered neighbors. He ruled out foul play.

Matt Likovich, a spokesman for Delmarva Power, said the utility was not contacted after the illegal meter was removed. “We had no record of who was living there,” Likovich said. “There was no way to determine what their situation was.”

Likovich said customers are encouraged to contact the utility if they are having difficulty paying their bill. He said there are options for such customers, including partnerships with social service agencies. But, he said, the customers “have to contact us.”

Todd had received assistance with utility bills in the past but did not apply for help this year, said Tom VanLandingham, who directs the Office of Home Energy Programs in Somerset County.

Although Todd received some welfare money, it wasn’t enough to pay the bills, his close friend Sarah Hardy said.

“How can a man survive off of basically minimum wage with seven kids, and you can’t help him with a utility bill?” Hardy said. “This man was working. And Delmarva Power cuts the lights off?”

Later Tuesday, the utility revealed that the rental home never had legal power while the Todds lived there. The utility said the electricity had been disconnected in October when the previous tenants moved out, and there was no request to reconnect it after the family moved there in November.

“Through the use of smart meter technology, Delmarva Power discovered a stolen electric meter was being used at the home on March 25, 2015. Delmarva Power disconnected the illegally connected meter for safety reasons and to comply with standard protocol. Delmarva Power did not disconnect electric service at this address for nonpayment,” its statement said.

Bonnie Edwards said her grandsons, Cameron and ZhiHeem, were 13 and 7, and her granddaughters, Tyjuziana, Tykeria, Tynijuzia, TyNiah and Tybreyia, were 15, 12, 10, 9 and 6, respectively. Todd did all he could to stretch his money for their care, she said.

“All he was trying to do was to keep his kids warm,” she said.

Todd retained full custody when their divorce was finalized last September, and his ex-wife said he never harmed the children. But Chambers said he stabbed her in the face and served 16 months in prison for assaulting her.

Chambers also said she had been the primary breadwinner when they were together and kept paying child support until losing track of them in Todd’s last move.

“I was working 12-16 hours as a manager at McDonald’s, the overnight shift. He was home cooking and cleaning, and I was the working mom,” she said.

Hardy said there is more to that story.

“She abandoned him and the family,” Hardy said. “He took his seven kids … and raised them on his own.”

BRENHAM, Texas (AP) – Blue Bell Creameries says it’s expanding its recall of products made at an Oklahoma plant after pints of banana pudding ice cream tested positive for listeriosis.

The Texas-based dairy company announced in a statement Tuesday that no illnesses linked to those pints have been confirmed. The recall now includes the banana pudding ice cream pints and other products manufactured on the same line in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. The products were distributed to retail outlets across the nation.

The company last month issued the recall after ice cream contaminated with listeriosis was linked to three deaths at a Kansas hospital. The foodborne illness was tracked to a production line in Brenham, Texas, and later to a second line in Oklahoma.

The company suspended operations Friday at the Oklahoma plant.

TOWN OF LAWRENCE- No one was hurt in an overnight fire in Brown County.

The fire broke out after midnight at a home on Minten Way.

Firefighters say when they arrived, flames were shooting out of the garage, which is attached to the house.

Officials say the homeowner thought he heard someone inside, but no one was found.

The garage is a total loss and the home has heavy smoke damage.

Ingredients:

1 box (18.5 ounces) lemon cake mix
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
4 tablespoons water
1 large egg
1 can vanilla or lemon frosting
Yellow Sprinkles

Directions:

Mix together the cake mix, oil, water and egg. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop the batter out and form into a ball shape. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or on one that’s been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool and frost the tops. Top with yellow sprinkles.

MADISON (AP) – Voters have approved a constitutional amendment changing the way the chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is chosen.

The seven-member court will now vote to decide their chief justice. For the past 126 years the position has gone to the most senior member of the court.

Shirley Abrahamson has served as chief justice since 1996 and is the longest-serving chief justice in Wisconsin history. She is viewed as part of a liberal minority.

Opponents to the amendment said the Republican-controlled Legislature targeted Abrahamson for removal by putting the question on the ballot.

But supporters say having the justices pick their leader will make the court run better. Only seven states decide chief justice by seniority, while 22 have justices decide.

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Jordan Lyles pitched six effective innings and the Colorado Rockies hit six doubles for the second consecutive game in a 5-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night.

Lyles (1-0) limited the Brewers to two runs and five hits. He lost four of his final five starts last season.

Jean Segura was hit in the face by Lyles’ changeup in the fifth and stayed sprawled in front of home plate for several minutes. Segura apparently was OK, though, and remained in the game.

Six players doubled for the Rockies, who had 12 hits overall. Colorado had eight extra-base hits and 16 overall in the season opener Monday, a 10-0 victory.

The Rockies, who managed only one hit off Brewers starter Matt Garza through three innings, scored three runs in the fourth. Colorado had four consecutive hits in the inning.

OSHKOSH – We spoke with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle about recent announcements of cuts at area UW campuses.

Democratic lawmakers we spoke with say cuts at UW campuses are the tip of the iceberg.

“I think we’ll see many more cuts that will really affect the quality of education and the experience our students are getting,” said Democratic State Representative Amanda Stuck from Appleton.

The moves include UW Oshkosh’s decision to cut men’s soccer and men’s tennis, as well as some campuses encouraging some faculty to take early retirement.

However, Republican lawmakers told FOX 11 the schools may be jumping the gun.

“I would say it’s surprising and unfortunate that they’re taking this move in response to a proposed budget by the governor,” said Republican State Representative David Steffen of Green Bay.

“Is it maybe a bit premature? I understand they have to plan that there could be cuts coming,” added Republican State Representative Mike Rohrkaste of Neenah.

Governor Walker proposed cutting $300 million from the entire UW system.

“With the way they have to plan their funding and how they determine what they’re going to be offering in a coming semester, they have to act early and assume these cuts will come through,” explained Stuck.

Lawmakers told us the budget has yet to be finalized and there’s still time to change just how much will be cut from the UW system.

“I think there’s some opportunity to address and hopefully lessen some of the cuts involved with the UW system,” Steffen explained.

Some legislators said cuts are necessary.

“I do think cuts are inevitable to the UW system. I think that is the revenue numbers improve in May there could be opportunities for the cuts to maybe not be as bad,” said Rohrkaste.

Others questioned if there is a different place the money could come from.

“The budget still calls for 200 million dollars of tax cuts, there’s 345 million dollars of federal Medicaid money that we’re not taking that we could save right there,” asked Democratic State Representative Gordon Hintz of Oshkosh.

There are still months before the budget is finalized. Both houses of the state legislature will have to pass a budget, then the governor has to sign it.

MIILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Bucks have called a news conference for Wednesday morning for what it calls “a major announcement regarding the proposed development of a new sports and entertainment district in downtown Milwaukee.”

The Bucks, municipal and state leaders have been working on a plan to replace the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

The news conference is expected to include representatives from the Milwaukee Bucks, the team’s ownership group and the team’s design group.

New owners bought the team last April and have promised to contribute $150 million toward building the arena. Former owner and ex-U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl has promised $100 million of his own money to help replace the BMO Harris Bradley Center, which was built in 1988.

Gov. Walker floated a plan to use incremental revenues from athletes’ salaries, but that plan has fallen out of favor. Instead, the state may use a loan from a state lands fund.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett says the city and county are willing to provide a combined $50 million in funding.

The Bucks could leave Milwaukee in 2017 if there is no new arena.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Justice Ann Walsh Bradley has been re-elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Bradley defeated Rock County Circuit Judge James Daley on Tuesday to win her third 10-year term on the court. Bradley was first elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1995.

The race is officially nonpartisan, but Bradley drew support from liberals while Daley actively courted conservatives and accepted donations from the Republican Party in his failed attempt to knock off Bradley.

She is viewed as one of two liberal justices on the Supreme Court, which has a 4-2 conservative majority.

Daley criticized Bradley for dissenting from recent Supreme Court rulings upholding the voter identification law and Gov. Scott Walker’s restrictions on public employee unions.

Bradley says Daley tried to politicize the race.

GREEN BAY – An area technical college asked voters about a multi-million dollar referendum today.

Northeast Wisconsin Technical College is requesting more than $66 million from taxpayers in northeast Wisconsin for improvement and expansion of programs.

In Green Bay, the information technology, manufacturing, digital arts, public safety, and construction programs would possibly expand.

The manufacturing and health field programs would expand in Marinette and Sturgeon Bay.

Here are the facts of how much it would cost.

NWTC wants $53.5 million to expand and renovate its Green Bay campus, $10 million for its Marinette location, and $3 million for the campus in Sturgeon Bay.

The results of the NWTC referendum and all other items on the ballot are updated as they’re being tallied.