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La Casa opposes White Rock closing
Posted by: | CommentsAnselmo Villarreal, executive director of Waukesha’s La Casa de Esperanza, said Tuesday that he and his agency were backing efforts to stop the closure of White Rock Elementary School, a facility known for its bilingual program for Hispanics.
School District Administration is proposing to parcel White Rock pupils among three other elementary schools as part of its larger plan to move 6th graders into middle school. The shakeup would provide the cash strapped district more than $1 million in savings on building use and transportation costs, school officials say.
At a morning meeting at La Casa, Villarreal said school administration has not provided his agency nor concerned parents with details that are needed to justify the proposed closing. His support for the parents puts a powerful voice in their corner.
“The School District wants to maximize use of facilities and resources,” Villarreal said. “But what’s more important than anything else is the education of our children.”
Villarreal called the staff and the school “remarkable.”
“We cannot support the closing of White Rock,” he said. “We need to know that the great successes of White Rock will be duplicated. We don’t have answers for that and we don’t know where our children will go.”
No one from district administration or the School Board was there.
Villarreal said he sent a letter to the district last week that says he would not support the closing of White Rock.
Tony Baez, president of the Council for Spanish Speaking Inc., said the closure proposal falls into an economic strategy among school district administrators nationwide to “tighten up.”
“We’ve spent too much time building bilingual schools to let a school superintendent who basically lasts (in the district) for about three years,” Baez said. “Superintendents come and go but not the community.”
The district has held several neighborhood meetings, some at La Casa, to explain its rationale for the proposed closure, saying the school would have too few students and transportation costs could be cut because only one-third of the school’s pupils live inside its enrollment boundaries.
Parent Jose Lopez said at the meeting that he was confused by all of the facts and figures the district is using to justify the closing.
“There are so many official arguments,” Lopez said. “I get confused. I feel lied to.”
The proposal has yet to be a ted on the School Board, which reportedly is conflicted about the idea.
New Waukesha Walmart to open late summer, early fall
Posted by: | CommentsLisa Nelson, a public affairs director with Walmart, said over the holiday that the new store being built at West Ave. and the bypass should be open by late summer or early fall.
Waukesha-based Generac partners with Fiat
Posted by: | CommentsThis in from the Milwaukee Small Business Times:
Generac Power Systems Inc., and Fiat Powertrain Technologies have reached a new strategic partnership that will begin early next year, by which Fiat will supply Generac with a wide range of industrial diesel engines to be used in power generation stations designed and built by Generac.
The power stations will be capable of producing between 60 kW to 350 kW, and will use engines that will increase productivity, efficiency and lower operational costs, both companies said.
Fiat’s engines use about 37 percent less oil than its competitors’ designs and require less frequent oil and filter changes. Although Fiat’s engines are smaller than many other diesel engines used in power generation, they create more power by incorporating turbochargers and enhanced injection systems. Those designs use less fuel, while generating the same or more power than the engines designed by Fiat’s competition.
“FPT engines have many superior technology and performance advantages that Generac seeks to utilize in its gensets,” states Allen Gillette, senior vice president, engineering, Generac. “Using FPT engines will enable us to offer our customers superior products and technology. In addition, as FPT products are developed to reduce engine emissions while improving fuel consumption, they will aid Generac in continuing to meet the new exhaust emissions standards required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and providing the most innovative engine technologies on the market today.”
Generac has also launched a new hybrid electrical system for recreational vehicles. Because today’s motor coaches have all the bells and whistles and comforts of the home, they are using far more energy than ever before, the company says. The appliances and accessories that need to be powered are increasingly more sophisticated and advanced and need a dependable, clean power source.
Generac has partnered with Magnum Energy and Precision Circuits Inc. to introduce the first Hybrid Electrical System to deliver all the power needed for large RVs without having to install a larger, more costly generator.
“For more than 50 years, Generac has garnered considerable expertise in producing small engines, providing innovative and value-driven generator products for the residential, commercial and RV industries. Generac’s staff of talented engineers is responsible for creating this opportunity to expand the company’s RV product offerings, developing a cutting-edge system to answer consumer needs for a better power solution on the road,” said Bill Slavik, director of RV OEM, Generac. “This new power management system allows consumers to now have all the comforts of home without the increased energy costs.”
Amateur ball team may go to Mequon
Posted by: | CommentsIt seems there’s an interest in hosting a Northwoods amateur baseball team elsewhere in the metro Milwaukee area – Mequon.
A proposal by an owner and potential partners to bring a Northwoods League team to Waukesha’s Frame Park and build a stadium at the ball diamond there came to a halt early this year when financing fell through.
It seems the same deal is being offered to Concordia College in Mequon as was offered to Waukesha for the controversial use of frame Park.
Here’s a report from Journal Sentinel on the newest baseball proposal in which Northwoods is mentioned.
A LaCasa Thanksgiving
Posted by: | CommentsPatrick Ryan snapped these photos of La Casa de Esperanza’s annual Thanksgiving Day celebration for its youngsters in the La Escueita early childhood development program.
It captures what the holiday is all about.
Welcome from La Casa director Anselmo Villarreal
Good cheer from program director Brenda Rios
Waukesha firm gets 10.7M federal award
Posted by: | CommentsThis from Journal Sentinel’s Thomas Content:
Waukesha Electric Systems on Tuesday was awarded $10.7 million from the federal stimulus package for a “smart grid” demonstration grant.
The U.S. Department of Energy grant will fund a project in Irvine, Calif., that will create a superconducting transformer designed to improve the stability and reliability of the power grid.
Waukesha Electric was the only Wisconsin company awarded funding by the Energy Department. The agency announced 32 demonstration projects will receive a total of $620 million in funding.
The Waukesha Electric transformer is envisioned to be 50% smaller and weigh 50% less than a conventional transformer, and lead to lower power consumption, the agency said.
Waukesha Electric will contribute $10.8 million to the project, bringing the total project value to $21.55 million.
“These demonstration projects will further our knowledge and understanding of what works best and delivers the best results for the smart grid, setting the course for a modern grid that is critical to achieving our energy goals,” Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement.
“This funding will be used to show how smart grid technologies can be applied to whole systems to promote energy savings for consumers, increase energy efficiency, and foster the growth of renewable energy sources like wind and solar power,” Chu said.
An analysis by the Electric Power Research Institute projects that implementing smart grid technologies could reduce electricity use by more than 4% by 2030, providing a savings of $20.4 billion for businesses and consumers nationwide, the agency said.
The federal agency’s decision to award one project to a Wisconsin company meant that Milwaukee-based We Energies was rejected in its application for $4 million in smart grid funding.
The We Energies project seeks to use advanced meters and distribution automation in a 9-square-mile area encompassing Shorewood and parts of Glendale and Milwaukee – including the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus.
The goal: to test technologies of what the industry has termed a “self-healing grid,” and the Milwaukee utility’s project would have deployed technologies to isolate faults and minimize the number of customers that would be affected when a power problem occurs.
We Energies, which would have contributed $4 million to the project, will not pursue the project without the government funding.
“It’s a very good project and it’s one that we felt met the criteria,” utility spokesman Brian Manthey said.
Tom Welch, a spokesman for the Department of Energy, said the 32 projects were selected from a pool of 135 applications for funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
In a separate announcement last month, the federal government announced grants of $3.4 billion nationwide, including $21.5 million for three Wisconsin Power companies – American Transmission Co., Wisconsin Power & Light Co. and Madison Gas & Electric Co.
Green Bay-based Wisconsin Public Service Corp. was shut out in that round of funding.
New chief of staff for Waukesha County
Posted by: | CommentsWaukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas announced the appointment of Ellen Nowak as his chief-of-staff .
Nowak replaces Allison Bussler who was recently appointed the Waukesha County Director of Public Works.
“Ellen will be an outstanding addition to the Waukesha County team,” Vrakas said. “Her policy experience and knowledge of the issues facing the state of Wisconsin and Waukesha County will make her a very successful chief-of-staff.”
Nowak has nearly ten years of experience working with the state legislature. She served as chief-of-staff and legal counsel to State Representative and Speaker of the Assembly John Gard.
Prior to her tenure in Madison, Nowak practiced law in the private sector in Milwaukee. Most recently, Nowak served as director of government affairs for School Choice Wisconsin, a non-profit group advocating in favor of vouchers for low-income Milwaukee students to attend the school of their choice.
“I am very excited to be part of the Waukesha County team,” Nowak said. “I look forward to serving the residents of Waukesha County and continuing to encourage and promote Waukesha County as a leader in Wisconsin.”
Good Sam ripped off
Posted by: | CommentsThis in from Waukesha Police Sgt.Sgt. Jerry Habanek:
On Sept. 9, a Good Samaritan was filling up with gas at the Citgo Station, 1700 Pewaukee Road.
She was approached by another woman who asked if she had $5 because she did not have money to pay for gas. While this woman was speaking to the Good Samaritan, one of her partners took a credit card from the Good Samaritan’s purse.
The Good Samaritan gave the ladies the $5 for gas. The Good Samaritan did not realize that she was also going to treat them to a $250 shopping spree. Her credit card was used at stores in West Allis and Greendale.
Police report they have a good video and pictures of the two suspects and their vehicle.
Help police identify the two suspects. For further information contact, 262-524-3766.
3 hurt in multiple vehicle pile up
Posted by: | CommentsWaukesha police are investigating the cause of a late Monday multiple vehicle crash that injured three people.
According to Waukesha Police Sgt. Gerald F. Habanek:
On Monday at approximately 5:20 p.m., a grey Nissan traveling westbound on E. Moreland Blvd. drifted southbound and crossed the median at Parklawn Dr.
The vehicle continued traveling in a westbound direction in the eastbound lanes and struck a delivery truck that was traveling eastbound.
When this crash occurred, a minivan swerved to avoid the two vehicles and crashed on the side of the road. Four other vehicles crashed trying to stop and avoid the Nissan and the delivery truck.
Three people were transported to area hospitals. A 27 year old male was transported to Froedtert Hospital. A 56 year old female and a 34 year old male were transported to Waukesha Memorial Hospital.
