Changing the archaic rules around cable monopolies is a good idea and I hope it's something Democrats get on board with to support. There's going to be a ton of lobbying money going against this, but it's 2013 for crying out loud. Kill sports blackouts and let me pay for the content I want.

If it hurts a few TV "stations" who's only means of survivial is because they get included in every cable providers "bundle", so be it. Adapt. If you can't compete based on your product, I'm sorry, but that's how the market works.

Ending the practice known as sports "blackouts" is particularly awesome. It's a practice from an era long ago that has no practical or logical application in 2013. Or 2001 for that matter. When was the last time you thought, "Well shucks. The game is blacked out so I guess I'll head over to the stadium instead to buy a ticket for the game!". Exactly. Never.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is working on legislation that would pressure cable and satellite TV providers to allow their customers to pick and choose the channels they pay for, his office confirmed on Wednesday.

Consumers have long complained about the rising costs of cable TV packages and having to pay for dozens or even hundreds of channels just to gain access to the few that they watch.

The industry officials said the bill would also end the sports blackout rule, which prohibits cable companies from carrying a sports event if the game is blacked out on local broadcast television stations.

Dropping the rule would have the most effect on the National Football League, which requires broadcasters to black out games if the local team does not sell out the stadium. The rule is meant to encourage fans to buy tickets to see the game live.

The bill also includes a provision that would boost Web TV service Aereo, according to the industry sources. Aereo allows customers to stream broadcast TV on their computer or mobile device, but the TV networks are suing the company, claiming that it is stealing their copyrighted content.

Hopefully this kind of money can find it's way into the County budget for years to come.

You will soon see a lot of yellow in Milwaukee County Parks. Dandelions sure, but also a whole bunch of construction equipment. Dump trucks and graders are just some of the gear workers will use to make much-needed repairs. The county plans to spend $14.6 million this year improving its parks, chipping away at a list of deferred maintenance needs totaling $300 million.

As soon as the weather warms, workers will dig into more than two dozen parks projects. At Johnsons Park near 18th and Brown in Milwaukee, Parks operations chief Guy Smith says an outdated shelter won’t be around much longer.

"We’re looking for the removal and demolition of this existing building within June and we are looking to have our new building up and ready to go in August," Smith says. – WUWM

A few highlights of where portions of that money will be directed:

• An appropriation of $273,700 is budgeted for the planning, design and construction of the Oak Creek Parkway – along Drexel Avenue between Howell Avenue and 13th Street.
• $103,893 is budgeted to perform various improvements at the Wehr Nature Center.
• $125,000 is budgeted for replacing sections of the walkways at Humboldt Park.
• $380,000 is budgeted for the construction of a new restroom/picnic shelter at Johnsons Park.

For a few weeks now, we've been hearing that it was simple "communications" going on between the decertified union and the County labor negotiator via the Finance/Personel Committee of the County Board. Nothing to see, move along.

Dan Bice has a piece out today in the Journal Sentinel which includes emails obtained via open records requests that seem to show it was much more than simple chit chat over tea:

Emails obtained via the state open records law suggest the county labor director and officials with American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 48 were not only engaged in negotiations but were also putting forward contract proposals to one another. The decertified union sent one personally to Dimitrijevic in February.

Eventually, the county's top labor negotiator made an offer that he said was "authorized" by the County Board's Finance, Personnel and Audit Committee. The plan would have given union members a 1.5% raise beginning May 12 and required the county to collect union dues from the paychecks of AFSCME members, something that is not currently done. – JSonline

I read through the emails that Bice obtained, and the most conclusive one I noticed was from the labor negotiator to the union indicating that a proposal was authorized by the Finance/Personel Committee:

"Attached is Milwaukee County's proposal for a collective bargaining agreement with Milwaukee District Council 48, AFSCME for 1/1/13 – 12/31/13, as authorized by a majority of five members of the (nine-member) Finance Personnel and Audit (FPA) Committee," Bau wrote Abelson on March 27. "No additional provisions are authorized to be offered."

Meanwhile, there's a hamfisted response by my Supervisor, David Cullen, about how the whole thing is "confusing" and despite proof showing a proposal for collective bargaining sent to the union there wasn't any "attempt to cut a deal" with the union. And Lebron James!! ..or something.

There are three parties involved here. The County Board and it's Finance/Personel Committee, the County labor negotiator and AFSCME. Either there's an elaborate rouse going on by AFSCME and the County labor staff to make the County Board look bad, or the County Board isn't being honest and is attempting to cover up something they know they shouldn't have been engaging in.

My major concern here is that this whole thing is going to end up in a giant lawsuit for which County residents will be on the hook. AFSCME has shown they have no fear of litigating against the County when they feel compelled to do so and you can bet it's not going to be any different with this.

In light of the emails released by Dan Bice, it's time the County Board came clean on exactly what is going on. Not only because it will hopefully protect us from litigation and a huge financial hit, but because it's the right thing to do.

It's been interesting to watch this whole thing play out. For months, the Board has been saying that the changes proposed in AB85 would limit minority representation and that a cut in pay would only allow for "rich people" to run for elected office anymore. Obviously, if that were the case, you'd see it play out in Brown, Dane, Racine and other counties through the state that also have "part time" boards with "part time" pay.

The one thing I want to focus on though is the claim made in the statement announcing the Board's own "reforms":

“This comprehensive package is the kind of bold reform our constituents asked for during the ‘OUR Milwaukee County’ sessions and various town hall meetings across the County,”  – link

I point this out because for the last few months at public hearings held by Supervisors, people on social media and the Supervisors themselves were talking how the vast majority of those in attendance at the "OUR Milwaukee County" sessions were in absolute opposition to Supervisor pay cuts and everything else in AB85.

Now suddenly those same constituents "asked" for the changes the Board is proposing?

I wonder what the people who've been going to war over AB85 on social media sites and blogs in defense of the County Board think about this. Are they upset that the Board is cutting it's pay and staffing levels? Many Supervisors and their supporters have said that AB85 will create the most powerful executive in the state in the County Exec. position. Since the Board also proposes a number of the same changes in control of things like contracts and labor negotiations, do they still feel that way? And why would the County Board, on it's own volition, suddenly want an "all powerful" facsict plutocrat dictator – or whatever ridiculous terms they're throwing around today – in absolute control of Milwaukee County?

It should also be pointed out that the self-imposed reforms by the Board upon itself have been done in a reactionary mode, not in a proactive way. If Rep. Sanefelippo never proposed AB85 earlier this year would the Board have proposed these changes? They had the whole previous year to do so and there was never a peep about self imposed reform during that time. It's an important question to ask.

Finally, it should be noted that the resolution being voted upon in committee this afternoon doesn't actually cut the pay of Supervisors. It "pledges" to do so at some point in the future. From the resolution they'll be voting on today:

 There's a big difference between a governing body "pledging" to do something and a governing body voting to do something. It's an important distinction and I'm curious why the Board didn't just include the pay cut in the resolution and be done with it.

Oh, and bold. Sweeping.

I haven't seen specifics yet but the main drive of the proposal seems to be a cut in the pay and staff for Supervisors. Which is somewhat confusing because for the last three months, Supervisors and their front groups have insisted that cutting the pay of Supervisors meant an end of democracy and would damage representation for minorities among other things. Apparently that's not the case anymore.

I'll have more commentary when there are more concrete details to put forth by the Board.

By now, the county’s lobbyists have been working in Madison to stop the downsizing bill for more than three months. But this is clearly illegal, because there has been no authorization provided by the county board, as the ordinance passed last fall requires. Only this week was such a resolution of approval crafted, which the board’s Intergovernmental Relations committee will consider on Monday.

I’m not a lawyer, but it certainly looks like Dimitrijevic violated this law several times, each time failing to bring this matter before the full board while directing her lobbyists to lobby the legislature. If she did not direct this lobbying to occur, then her lobbyists are in violation of the law. And a violation by any county employee “is considered a cause for discharge, suspension or demotion.”

Nor do the transgressions end there. One recent hearing on the bill in Madison was attended by 10 supervisors and several board staff members, all conducting political activity that had not been approved by a directive from the board.

I don't point this out to spite anyone. I point it out because it's another example of the Board being so hell bent on saving itself – at the expense of other services like mental health, transit, parks, etc – that they've been willing to ignore their own rules. The ironic thing here is that they took over both County lobbyists last year to spite the County Executive, and now it is coming back to haunt them.

I hope there is a good explanation of this but as Murphy points out, it looks like another in a growing list of problems for the Board.

It's for reasons like this and others that I've decided to support the legislation proposed by Sanfelippo. As a Democrat, I might not agree with him on many other issues, but this isn't about being a Democrat or a Republican. It's about putting Milwaukee County in a position to deliver the services we all pay for in the most effective manner possible. For over a decade, we've waited patiently on the promises of self-reform to materialize from the County Board, and it just hasn't happened.

The bottom line is results. Take away the rhetoric and personal issues and what you have left is a governing body that has produced very little in the way of meaningful progress in the areas it's supposed to be "supervising".

An interesting side effect of having this printed is the massive amount of negative attacks I've received so far. Not on what I said, but on me personally. You can see it in the moronic first comment on the Journal Sentinel site. While I'm not surprised by it, it is discouraging that there is a large segment of the population in Milwaukee (on both sides, to be fair) that is completely incapabale of having any kind of intelligent debate with people they don't agree with. It instantly turns into "you lost your election so everything you say must be invalid!" or, "GMC! GMC! You are a paid pawn of the evil GMC!".

While people like that who may get attention, it's been my experience in life that people like that rarely if ever do anything meaningful or productive.

As I said above and in the piece, it's time to leave emotion out of the equation when deciding how best to provide the services our tax dollars fund. It's why I'm supportive of the legislation even if it means a few of the people I thought were friends would no longer call me that.

MILWAUKEE (WITI) — There are questions as to whether a Milwaukee County Board Committee is breaking the law. That is the concern of a Milwaukee County Supervisor, and Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele.

“I am concerned the County Board could be violating the law,” County Board Supervisor Deanna Alexander said.

Alexander is a member of the County Board’s Finance, Personnel and Audit Committee which has the exclusive ability to authorize the labor negotiations on behalf of the County.

In late March, County Executive Abele reached out to supervisors, with concerns that the Committee was negotiating a contract with AFSCME. AFSCME, which represented County workers, failed to re-certify after Act 10, so negotiating with them could be against the law.

Video:

This isn't the first time Supervisor Alexander has been told to shut up. It happened over the winter when she decided to stray from the herd on the subject of Milwaukee County reform. While there's no such thing officially as a gag order, she would certainly face punishment in terms of committee assignments and being shunned by her colleagues.

“I’ve been warned, in a rather abrasive manner, that I’m under essentially an internal County Board gag order in addition to being silenced by closed-session meeting laws,” Alexander said.

But back to the real issue here. If the Board is secretly negotiating with a de-certified union, there are serious legal repercussions that could result. Outside of the legal problems, surely which the Finance Committee would have been made aware of by corporation counsel, why the heck are negotiations being held with a collective bargaining unit in AFSCME that doesn't exist anymore?

That's the real question here. Deflecting any attempts to flesh this out with the "well this is attorney client privilege" is not only weak, it's questionable from a legal perspective.

These are exactly the kind of creeping issues that give the County Board as a body a black eye with the public and they should be avoided not only for that reason, but because it's "good government".

Should there even be a new arena? How much will it cost? How will it be financed? Where should it go? And don't other cultural and arts institutions in town – the Milwaukee County Zoo, the Milwaukee Public Museum and the Milwaukee Art Museum, to name just three – deserve a hearing at the negotiating table just as much as a new arena does?

You can read the whole thing here.

Everyone agrees that the Bucks will need a new stadium in order to stay in Milwaukee.

The problem is that no one agrees on how to pay for it.

There are a number of options for a new stadium ranging from being fully financed with private money (a rare thing these days) to a dedicated multi-County sales tax. While that alone could be the subject of a lengthy discussion, I'd rather focus on something that not a lot of people are talking about yet: Milwaukee's image.

Having a major league sports franchise in your town is a huge deal. Would anyone know where Green Bay or Jacksonville were if it weren't for their respective NFL teams? Ask people in Nashville how their NHL team brings the city together and has increased the coolness factor for an already cool town. I don't even need to get into the example of Oklahoma City and their new NBA team.

Regardless of how it's financed, a new stadium should be built for the Bucks or we will lose them to another city pure and simple. If Milwaukee, and to some extent Wisconsin as a whole, would rather close it's purse we'll not only lose a valuable community commodity for a city that desperately needs one, we'll also lose the prestige that comes with having a major league sports team.

Milwaukee is already seen by much of the Country as a city on the decline and giving up our NBA team will only increase that perception. While there's no tangible correlation between the perception of a city's well being and it's growth, there is absolutely something to it.

I should add that I'm no huge fan of the NBA or the Bucks. But when I do take my kids to a game, I see the benefit the 10,000+ people bring to the area on a weeknight and can acknowledge that if it weren't for the Bucks, a lot of the establishments surrounding the BMO Harris Center wouldn't exist.

As I've pointed out in other things I've written lately, this City and area need to give people a reason to want to move here. Especially those coveted "young professionals" that everyone desires. For some, that's the prestige of having an NBA team to cheer on.

For that and a number of other reasons, it's why local leaders should be getting their heads together to figure out the "how" and not the "should" of making the new Bucks stadium happen.