Making higher education affordable
Any plan that doesn’t include this simple, common sense reform is not a serious attempt to help with the student loan debt crisis. [Superior Telegram]
Earned Media
Muslim group calls for compromise in Ariens prayer dispute
When the head of Gov. Walker's job creation agency makes dozens of workers choose between their religion and their jobs, it's another reminder of why Wisconsin remains at the bottom of job creation in the Midwest. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Walker administration won’t explain what happened to WEDC text messages
Jenni Dye, research director for One Wisconsin Now, said she doesn’t believe the police logs meet the definition of “transitory” records. [Capital Times]
Rebecca Bradley, critics dispute relevance of politics in Wisconsin Supreme Court campaign
The liberal group One Wisconsin Now says that answer indicates that Bradley is driven by politics, despite her assertions that she leaves her political inclinations behind in her duties as a judge. [Capital Times]
Walker half-solutions don’t come close to fixing Wis. higher ed crisis he caused
Feeling the heat from One Wisconsin Now, Gov. Scott Walker felt the need this week to try to look like he was do something on the issue of student loans and the costs of higher education. [Daily Kos]
Scott Walker says DOA decision to not release WEDC text messages doesn’t match his policy
Gov. Scott Walker on Wednesday indicated a decision by his administration to not release an employee's text messages related to a questionable WEDC loan goes against his own open records policy. [Capital Times]
Editorial: On open records, Public Records Board does the right thing
The Walker administration also cited the August redefinition of “transitory correspondence” when denying a records request from the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now. [Racine Journal Times]
Local officials slam GOP lawmaker’s ‘offensive’ comments about Milwaukee
“Bob Gannon says black people in Milwaukee are responsible for over 10,000 mass layoffs in municipalities across the state," said Scot Ross, the executive director of One Wisconsin Now. "His statements are despicable, racist tripe that should embarrass all of his Republican colleagues." [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Walker’s Secretive Governing Style
Then there was the open records request by One Wisconsin Now, asking for visitor logs at the governor’s mansion from November 2014 through early April 2015, during the time Walker was planning for and then campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination. Walker’s assistant legal counsel David J. Rabe claimed there were no visitor logs for […] [Urban Milwaukee]
Wisconsin’s new solicitor general defends admitting privileges abortion law
"It is Republicans who have targeted reproductive health care with 'special' scrutiny, proposing restriction after restriction designed to burden women and their doctors." [Capital Times]
Wisconsin rolls out college affordability plan: more grants, tax breaks
Walker "has come up with his most ridiculous excuse to date for his intransigence on the refinancing issue, blaming Connecticut." [UPI]
Public Records Board under intense scrutiny
The action drew objections from groups on both sides of Wisconsin’s partisan divide, such as the as the liberal One Wisconsin Now . [Wisconsin Radio Network]
Scott Walker announces GOP college affordability initiative
Forgive the debt, or allow students to refinance their loans at lower rates under the Higher Ed, Lower Debt bill. The first would cost $19 billion, the other, costs nothing. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Legislators pitch competing student debt bills
Scot Ross, executive director of liberal group One Wisconsin Now, said refinancing student loans is one of the best ways to solve the student loan "crisis." [Appleton Post-Crescent]
Records Board backtracks amid public outcry on access
The change drew criticism from conservative and liberal groups alike, including the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and One Wisconsin Now. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Records board must reverse bad decision
Concealing a list of people who visit a public building, presumably to meet with the state’s most powerful leader, is arrogant and immediately suspect. [Wisconsin State Journal]
Walker climbs over corpses of mass shooting victims to grab a little attention
“I think Wisconsin is probably one of a select few states that has joined every single one of these lawsuits against the Obama administration,” said Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now. [Wisconsin Gazette]
Devil’s Advocates Radio: January 14, 2016
One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross appeared on the Devil's Advocates radio show to discuss Gov. Scott Walker's bogus student loan debt plan. [Devil's Advocates Radio]
Closed to the public
Then there was the open records request by One Wisconsin Now, asking for visitor logs at the governor’s mansion from November 2014 through early April 2015, during the time Walker was planning for and then campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination. [Isthmus]
In Other News, Scott Walker’s Wisconsin Is Still as Crooked as Ever
A liberal watchdog group, One Wisconsin Now, filed an open-records request for the office calendars from Bradley's days as a judge in a lower case. [Esquire]
Justice Bradley opposed so-called clean campaign pledge
Liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now executive director Scot Ross said the column brings Bradley’s integrity into question, and characterized her column as endorsing lying in campaigns. [Wisconsin State Journal]
Right-Wing Bradley Foundation Spent $108M to Privatize Public Education
A major new report from One Wisconsin Institute finds that the Bradley Foundation spent more than $108 million to privatize public schools in Wisconsin. [Diane Ravitch]
Wisconsin Board Reboots, Holds Hearing on Changes to Open Records Law
The changes also appear to address a records request from the advocacy group One Wisconsin Now. The organization repeatedly requested records which would show who visited the governor’s mansion before and after Walker became a presidential candidate. The group’s research director, Jenny Dye, got a “transitory records” denial one day after the board’s decision, and […] [PRWatch]
Judge’s ruling a mixed bag for those challenging voter ID law
Peterson wrote that the One Wisconsin Institute had "plausibly alleged that the decision to exclude certain forms of ID was impermissibly arbitrary." [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Liberal group alleges Justice Rebecca Bradley skirted Wisconsin open records law
A liberal group is alleging state Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley violated the state's open records law and says it is exploring options for legal recourse. [Capital Times]
One Wisconsin Now believes Bradley may have falsified calendars
One Wisconsin Now says that based on her comments in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Rebecca Bradley, violated the state’s open record laws. [Wisconsin Daily Independent]
In TV interview, Bill Lueders decries ‘culture of contempt for the public’s right to know’
Lueders’ group last week filed a verified complaint against the state Public Records Board, which it contended violated the open meetings law at its Aug. 24 meeting, when it voted to expand what can be considered as transitory records. Those transitory records — items considered to have no long-term value — have been central to […] [Capital Times]
Justice Rebecca Bradley’s meetings calendars empty for 2 1/2 years
Either Rebecca Bradley wasn't working very hard or she's hiding who she was meeting with and what she was doing on taxpayer time," Ross said in a written statement. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Federal judge dismisses voter ID challenge but allows other parts of lawsuit to continue
They argued a number of provisions Republicans have added to state election law violate the federal Voting Rights Act, the First Amendment and the equal protection clause. [Associated Press]
UNSPUN: December 16, 2015
One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross made his regular appearance on UNSPUN's holiday edition to reveal the naughty and nice list for 2015. [WMTV-TV]
Complaint filed over Walker’s denial of requests for public records
The rule changes also were raised in response to a request from One Wisconsin Now, a liberal group seeking a list of visitors to the governor’s residence. [Wisconsin Gazette]
Wisconsin Public Records Board head: We didn’t change transitory records definition
Gov. Walker’s administration cited the “transitory” record provision when it denied a records request for text messages by the Wisconsin State Journal, and when the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now requested visitor logs to the governor’s mansion earlier this year. [Capital Times]
Watchdog calls rules cited by Walker administration improper
The rule changes also were raised in response to a request from One Wisconsin Now, a liberal group seeking a list of visitor's to the governor's residence. [Associated Press]
Is Wisconsin’s John Doe investigation really over now? What you need to know
One Wisconsin Now argues that under the U.S. Supreme Court case Caperton v. Massey Coal, at least a few of those judges should have recused themselves. The case found a judge must recuse when "extreme facts" create a "probability of bias." [Capital Times]
Questions, answers about text messages, visitor logs and other Wisconsin open records issues
In April, the liberal group One Wisconsin Now requested copies of visitor logs for the executive residence. [Capital Times]
Quiet change in public records policy could shield messages
In another case involving transitory records from October, it was disclosed that Capitol Police did not maintain all the records of who visited the governor’s mansion in the runup to his July entry into the presidential race before the filing of an open records request by the liberal group One Wisconsin Now. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Walker administration finding new way to deny public records
In response to a request from liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now, the Department of Administration released the reports which showed Walker meeting with presidential campaign staff at the residence. [Wisconsin State Journal]
RoJo Avoided Vote On Gun Control Bill
Maybe he had to call the Kochs to find out how to vote. Or maybe, as Scot Ross of One Wisconsin Now points out, RoJo was just afraid to cast a negative vote just before an election year. [Cognitive Dissidence]
Johnson misses gun control vote
To quote his 2010 commercial, ‘There are 100 members of the U.S. Senate,’ but only Ron Johnson hid in the Senate cloakroom to avoid a tough vote on guns. [Capital Times]
Critics slam Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley for 2006 birth control column
Jenni Dye, research director for One Wisconsin Now, said Bradley is attempting to hide her views from the public now that she's a candidate. [Capital Times]
The Rebecca Bradley Non-Partisan Ruse
Now, thanks to some research by One Wisconsin Now, we find out what appealed to Scott Walker most about Ms. Bradley that made him start wanting to appoint her to any job he could. [Cognitive Dissidence]
Some Students Eligible For Tuition Settlement, AG Not Part of Suit
Scot Ross of the group One Wisconsin Now said he’s glad the company is being held accountable but he criticized Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel. [Wisconsin Public Radio]
For-profit college to forgive Wisconsin students’ debt after settlement
Schwartz's statement came hours after One Wisconsin Now criticized Brad Schimel and Scott Walker for not joining several other states in the lawsuit against the company. [Associated Press]
Of course open records law applies to state Supreme Court
Neither Gableman nor Bradley has even had the courtesy to respond to One Wisconsin Now, which made the requests of them. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Records: Gov. Walker spent average of 48 minutes a day doing state business during pres. campaign
"Gov. Walker was more concerned with campaigning for president than doing his job," said Scot Ross, executive director of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now. [WITI-TV]
Calendar shows Scott Walker campaigned at length most days
Gov. Walker was more concerned with campaigning for president than doing his job, and now 10,000 Wisconsin workers have already gotten layoff notices this year. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
Three justices slow to provide documents under open records law
Meanwhile, records requests the liberal group One Wisconsin Now made to conservative Justices Rebecca Bradley and Michael Gableman have gone unanswered for months. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
What Wisconsin can do to solve student loan debt
The Badger Herald and WORT last week hosted a panel discussion on student debt, focused on finding solutions to the ever-growing problem of student debt. [UW Badger Herald]
UNSPUN: November 18, 2015
One Wisconsin Now Executive Director Scot Ross made his regular appearance on UNSPUN to discuss the recent terrorist attacks and failed Republican foreign policy. [WMTV-TV]
Student Loan Debt: Wisconsin 3rd in Nation
Analiese Eicher of One Wisconsin Now says student loan debt is dragging down the state's economy and it's time for the Legislature to do something about it. [Public News Service]