Know anyone in Bayonne, NJ? That’s where the winning $1.1 Billion Mega Millions lottery ticket was sold. Since we do not, we’re back again with today’s Key Reads.
The mayor of Green Bay went from being a back bencher in the State Assembly to a nagging nuisance in his home town. He’s now playing tough guy with the venerable Green Bay Packers. Somehow after more than 100 years, he–better than all his predecessors– knows how to handle the City’s relationship with its beloved professional sports team.
While we’re reluctant to give him the attention this stunt so desperately seeks, his decision to walk away from negotiations with the team is so colossally stupid, it’s our duty to keep you informed of his petulance.
Rest assured, the Packers will be in Green Bay long after the current mayor becomes a mere unfortunate memory. But, for now, he deserves all the shame an ridicule this stunt will bring him.
City of Green Bay puts Packers’ Lambeau Field lease talks on hold | Sports Business Journal
Talks between the Packers and the city of Green Bay on a new lease agreement for Lambeau field “are on hold,” according to Richard Ryman of the Green Bay Press Gazette. The lease “doesn’t expire for another nine years but the two sides started talking about a year ago.” Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich recently informed Packers President & CEO Mark Murphy that the city was “done negotiating for now.” One concerns “investments by the Packers in Green Bay” and another is “stadium availability for events other than Packers games.” Packers Dir of Public Affairs Aaron Popkey said that the Packers are “disappointed the city ceased negotiations and did not offer a counter proposal.” He added that the Packers “offered the city a better deal than any other city in the NFL has had or can expect.” They “did not ask for public funding,” agreed to assume operations and maintenance costs once the sales tax-funded portion of that account is “depleted,” and “agreed to invest in Green Bay where practicable.” Ryman noted as a result of suspension of talks, the Packers “halted about” $80M in Lambeau construction projects that were planned for this summer. Genrich said that it is “up to the Packers as to when talks resume.”
…[Packers CEO Mark Murphy responded:] “I think, going forward, we’re willing to put in — and this is out to 2030 or 2040 — we’re willing to put in $1.5 billion into the stadium. We’ve already put over $600 million of our own money into the stadium, but given the fact that they’ve walked away — we were going to go forward with $80 million in improvements to the stadium, mostly in the concourse and the concession areas, that given the status of negotiations, we’re gonna halt those investments … that’s going to affect our fans and also affect us for the draft. Hopefully we can get together and negotiate an extension”
Well, we haven’t seen this very often. A unanimous ruling from the Wisconsin State Supreme Court:
Wisconsin Supreme Court lets ruling stand that declared Amazon drivers to be employees | Associated Press
The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday let stand a lower court ruling that declared some delivery drivers for Amazon were employees as the state argued, not independent contractors as the online retail giant contended.
The court, in a unanimous decision, said the appeal was “improvidently granted,” meaning the Supreme Court should not have reviewed the case. That decision dismissing the case, issued after the court heard oral arguments, leaves a 2023 Wisconsin appeals court ruling against Amazon in place.
That ruling found that drivers in the Amazon Flex program are a part of the state’s unemployment insurance system and entitled to jobless pay if they are laid off. The decision means an Amazon subsidiary, Amazon Logistics, will likely be hit with a tax bill of more than $200,000.
Wow times in higher education are so tough, chancellors actually have to find their own homes. The latest from Wisconsin Public Radio reflects just how insulated many in academia have been from the real world. Despite this bold move toward austerity, fear not, the chancellor still gets a $2500+ a month housing allowance.
Selling of former UW-Milwaukee chancellor home is latest step in state higher ed budget cuts | WPR
The former home of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee chancellor is on the market for nearly $1.3 million.
The university announced in January it hoped to sell the house as part of an effort to cut costs. In February, the Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents approved the university’s request.
…The UW-Milwaukee chancellor’s French Revival home was designed by architect Charles Valentine and built in the 1920s. It was originally commissioned for Sylvester A. Weyenberg, president of the F. L. Weyenberg Shoe Company, and his wife, Gertrude, according to the real estate broker.
The house is on both the National and State Register of Historic Places. It was used by the chancellor as his residence as well as for entertaining and university meetings.
A column in the Washington County Daily News reminds us that the media’s short attention span sure has helped out Governor Evers. Had either of these incidents occurred during an administration of someone the press corps disliked, they’d still be front page news.
Two forgotten stories deserve attention | GM Today
In the latter half of last year, two unsavory and revelatory stories about Gov. Tony Evers were reported and made headlines throughout Wisconsin. Here we are at the end of March and the headlines have faded and Evers continues to act with impunity, having suffered no consequences for his shady behavior.
The first story was broken by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in August of last year. They revealed that Evers’ longtime Chief of Staff, Maggie Gau, was living with one of her subordinates. Later reporting revealed that that subordinate was Evers’ communications director, Britt Cudaback.
While the initial story is outrageous enough, further reporting revealed it to be even worse than first thought. Cudaback was appointed as a deputy in 2019 for $62,000 per year. She was promoted to report directly to Gau in 2020 and her annual salary was increased to $100,006. In 2023, her pay was increased again to $112,008. Her 80% increase in pay came in just four years during the same period she was living with her boss.
Furthermore, during that period, Evers admitted that no formal performance reviews were administered and there is no documentation that shows that there was a competitive and inclusive hiring process for the position and compensation that Cudaback holds. Evers vigorously defended the practice…
The second story that further revealed Evers’ deceptive and unethical behavior was broken by Wisconsin Right Now in November of last year. Through a series of open records requests, Evers’ office accidentally let it slip that the governor had been using a secret email alias for years. Tony Evers had stolen the name of Hall of Fame Milwaukee Braves pitcher Warren Spahn to conduct public business with other government officials and people outside of government.
Wisconsin’s Open Records Act is very strong and very explicit. The key to it is that the public has an explicit right to know what their government is doing. If a government official is conducting the people’s business, the public has a right to see it with a few very narrow exceptions.
That’s it for today. We’ll be back again tomorrow to bring you the day’s Key Reads. As always, our aim is to keep you informed, but not overwhelmed. Have a wonderful Wednesday.
