Milwaukee Biz Blog

Business is just booming in Canada, eh. That message rang loud and clear at the Milwaukee World Trade Association's 44th annual Wisconsin International Trade Conference Tuesday.

I was fortunate enough to be asked to moderate a panel discussion on Canadian/U.S. trade relations at the conference, which took place at the Italian Community Center in Milwaukee.

Here in the United States, we're slogging through record national debt, two wars, record gas prices, skyrocketing food costs, an icy housing market, the subprime mortgage collapse, low consumer confidence, plummeting retail sales, a weak U.S. dollar and tightened credit.

To validate our woes, only six of the 19 local economic indicators tracked by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce pointed upward in March.

A lot of folks like to blame the messenger, i.e. the media. But I am here to tell you straight out that the media did not cause Harley-Davidson Inc. or Midwest Airlines to eliminate hundreds of jobs. The media did not cause Dell Inc. to cut 10 percent of its workforce or General Motors Corp. to cut 3,500 jobs, including about 200 in Janesville.

The reality is we've got some strong headwinds to fight through around here, but we're doing our best to keep moving forward.

However, our neighbors to the north apparently are faring far better at this point in time.

Nancy Ward, director of the Canadian Trade Office of the Council of Great Lakes Governors in Toronto, Ontario, spoke on the panel Tuesday with great exuberance about the health of the Canadian economy.

Canada has no recession, she said. In fact, its economy is a reverse-mirror image of America's economy, with a strong Canadian dollar, a tidy government budget surplus, an oil market boom, soaring retail sales, strong consumer confidence and unemployment at a 33-year low.

"Canadians are buying lots of things," Ward said.

They're also making lots of things.

In 2004, Ontario made automotive history when it surpassed Michigan as the largest automotive producing jurisdiction in North America, according to Ward's Automotive. While Detroit withers, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Suzuki and Toyota have shifted production plants to Canada.

I asked Ward why America is losing so much production and so many jobs to Canada. She did not hesitate with her answer. "Health care."

America has the highest health care costs in the world. I know it deeply disturbs many Wisconsin business leaders to hear it, but Canada's government-paid, universal health care system is an economic competitive asset, when compared with America's mish-mosh system that is part private, part socialistic and all redundant, inefficient and costly.

Ward also noted that Canada has a more tightly regulated mortgage banking system, so its economy has not been nearly as shell-shocked by the subprime collapse as the American economy has been.

I know what some of you are thinking. Something along the lines of, "Those Canadians don't have to pay for their defense, because we do it for them."

True enough. But then again, there's a matter of degree. America's total cost for the war in Iraq could reach the $3 trillion mark, according to Nobel Prize economic laureate Joseph Steiglitz.

Some other observations from the speakers on the Canadian business panel Tuesday:

• Georges Rioux, Canadian Consolate General in Chicago, said the pressure is growing to create a "smart border" with the United States, using better technology and more manpower. In this era of "just-in-time" manufacturing and high fuel costs, neither country can afford to have its 18-wheelers standing idle in traffic jams at the border, waiting for inspections, Rioux said. "It's important for our tourists, it's important for our trucker, but most of all, it's important to our way of life," Rioux said.
• JoAnn Queen, senior international trade specialist with the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C., said the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which is the subject of considerable debate in the U.S. presidential election, has been a resounding success for businesses on both sides of the Canadian border.  
• Bill Werra, business unit manager for the process division of Sentry Equipment Corp. in Oconomowoc, said his company is growing rapidly as it manufactures equipment for harvesting bitumen from the oil sands of Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada. The locals up there have dubbed their town "Fort McMoney," he said.
• Roch Lambert, vice president and general manager of the Outboard Marine Engines Division of BRP US Inc., said his company is thriving quite nicely in Sturtevant. He attributed the operation's success to its proximity to the Canadian company's development center in Waukegan, Ill.; the quality of the Wisconsin labor force; a local talent pool of qualified engineers; strong support from the Wisconsin state government; and a tight cultural fit of "outdoorsmen who like to play outside … We're extremely happy to be here."
• Greg Charlesworth, vice president of foreign exchange services for M&I Bank, said the Canadian budget surplus "is a great advantage for their currency." He predicted that the U.S. economy will "pick up" a little bit in the second half of 2008, and interest rates will rise here in 2009. However, all bets are off if crude oil prices continue rising toward the $200-per-barrel mark, he said.

 

Steve Jagler is executive editor of Small Business Times.

The prevailing perception around these parts is that Milwaukee has no chance of being the home for the corporate headquarters when Miller Brewing Co. and Molson Coors Brewing Co. merge their U.S. forces.

After all, Molson Coors vice chairman Pete Coors, who will serve as chairman of MillerCoors, said the future headquarters will probably located in a "neutral" city other than Milwaukee or his hometown, Golden, Colo.
The Denver Post reported that the cities being considered for the new MillerCoors headquarters include Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, New York and Des Moines.

Still, that isn't stopping the folks at the Milwaukee 7, the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle from continuing their efforts to convince the merged brewer to come to a town that has marketed itself as "Brew City" for decades.

The M7 is bringing the international site selection team of Deloitte LLP to our fair city this week to evaluate our region and provide insight about how it should market itself to companies that may be considering Milwaukee as an option for corporate headquarters.

Steve Baas, governmental affairs director of the MMAC, said the Deloitte team will be here today and Friday, sizing up the region's assets and making note of its weaknesses.

"We have them coming in to look at what we're pitching, to coach us up," Baas said. "You could call it due diligence, but it's much more than that. It's a great opportunity."

The M7 folks will use the feedback as they continue to make their case to MillerCoors and as they pitch Milwaukee to other corporations in the future, according to Pat O'Brien, executive director of the M7.

Deloitte had provided some consultant work related to the formation of the M7, which then invited the company's site selection team to hold its annual meeting here, O'Brien said. While they're here, the dozen-or-so members of the team are going to size up Milwaukee.

MillerCoors officials have been mum about their progress in determining the location of their combined headquarters, because they are awaiting the U.S. Department of Justice's antitrust review of the corporate marriage, O'Brien said. He said the government's decision is expected in June.

Ultimately, Milwaukee might need to come up with a new identity to supplant the "Brew City" moniker. After all, if Miller goes the way of Pabst, Blatz and Schlitz, the only thing left will be a collection of nice local microbreweries.

Still, the M7 has not given up on the notion of convincing MillerCoors to put its headquarters here, Baas said. The Milwaukee team will "dot every i" and "cross every t" until a decision is made, he said.

Baas acknowledged that a pessimist may believe the cause is lost. He said an optimist may believe Milwaukee still has a chance. But a realist believes Milwaukee must make its best case and let the chips fall where they may, he said.

In other words, the M7 gang is going to swing hard, in case it hits something.

Steve Jagler is executive editor of Small Business Times.

In 1998, when the U.S. Women's Open was held at Blackwolf Run in Kohler and Whistling Straits was opening, it appeared that Wisconsin was on the verge of becoming a major player in the world of championship golf.

But did any one back then even dream that southeastern Wisconsin would become the golf championship hot spot that it has?

Consider, in addition to hosting the 1998 U.S. Women's Open, Blackwolf Run will host the 2012 U.S. Women's Open. Whistling Straits, located in Haven just north of Sheboygan, hosted the 2004 PGA Championship, the 2007 U.S. Senior Open, and will host the 2010 and 2015 PGA Championships and the 2020 Ryder Cup. Erin Hills, which opened in 2006 in the Washington County Town of Erin, will host the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links this year and the U.S. Amateur in 2011.

Robert Lang, who developed the course, hopes to one day bring the U.S. Open to Erin Hills.

In addition, the U.S. Mid-Amateur will be held at the Milwaukee Country Club this year.

These tournaments provide a huge benefit to the region's economy. The U.S. Women's Open, the U.S. Amateur, the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup are broadcast on national television. When golf fans watch those events, the televised images of beautiful Wisconsin golf courses help shatter the myth that this state is nothing but frozen tundra. The tournaments also bring big crowds to fill hotel rooms and restaurants.

But even after they are over, the exposure and the prestige of these events attracts travelers to Wisconsin to play at these elite golf courses. The parking lots at Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits are always filled with several vehicles bearing Illinois license plates. Even before it has hosted a major event, Erin Hills attracted golfers from 40 states last year, as a result of overwhelmingly positive buzz in the golf world.

How did all of this happen? How did southeast Wisconsin become a major golf destination? The props go to three people: Mother Nature, Herb Kohler and Bob Lang. Mother Nature provided the beautiful terrain, and Kohler and Lang provided the vision and the resources to mold the land into breathtaking gold courses.

In the beginning

It all started in the 1970s, when the Kohler Co. was trying to figure out what to do with an old brick building that was built in 1918 to provide hosing for the company's immigrant workers.

Herb Kohler, the company's president and chief executive officer, rejected the advice of consultants and the preference of his own board of directors and transformed the building into a first-class resort called the American Club, which opened in 1981.

The American Club was a big success. Many guests at the hotel liked to play golf and would go play at courses in the Sheboygan area, and they suggested that Kohler Co. build its own course. Kohler saw an opportunity, so he built Blackwolf Run, which opened in 1988. The course was designed by Pete Dye, one of the best golf course architects.

Ten years later, Blackwolf Run was the host of the U.S. Women's Open. I helped cover that event as a reporter for The Sheboygan Press. It was a huge success for Kohler, with record-breaking crowds and a thrilling ending. Jenny Chuasiriporn, a college kid and an amateur, hit a 40-foot putt on the 18th hole to force a playoff with Se Ri Pak. The huge crowd around the 18th green exploded in cheers as if they had just seen a last-second, game-winning Packer touchdown. Chuasiriporn's jaw dropped, and she put her hand over her mouth as if to say, "Oh, my God! What did I just do?"

It was a classic, but underappreciated moment in Wisconsin sports history. However, the next day, Pak beat Chuasiriporn in an 18-hole playoff.

Kohler looked like a proud papa the whole weekend, and not just because of the U.S. Women's Open. During the tournament, he unveiled his newest crown jewel with the opening of Whistling Straits.

Kohler and his friend, former President George H.W. Bush, played the first round at the course, located along the Lake Michigan bluffs north of Sheboygan, before heading to Blackwolf Run to watch the U.S. Women's Open.

Backroom bargaining

Once it opened in 1998, Whistling Straits was immediately considered one of the best golf courses in the country. Its spectacular lakefront setting earned rave reviews.

The success of the U.S. Women's Open in 1998 and the quality of Whistling Straits put Kohler in a great position to negotiate with the United States Golf Association (USGA) and the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) for a major championship.

Kohler was in talks with the USGA to have Whistling Straits host the 2005 U.S. Open. The U.S. Open may be the biggest men's golf major of them all.

However, the PGA beat the USGA to the punch. The PGA offered to pull its 2004 PGA Championship from Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. and award the tournament to Whistling Straits instead.

With a bird in his, Kohler decided he couldn't turn down the 2004 PGA Championship on the chance that he would get the 2005 U.S. Open, and the events were too close together to try to host both. So, Kohler accepted the PGA's offer.

The move by the PGA hurt some feelings in Louisville, but the 2004 PGA Championship was another huge success for Kohler, with an attendance record and another championship tied after 72 holes. Vijay Singh won a three-hole playoff with Justin Leonard and Chris DiMarco.

After the tournament, speculation again heated up about what would be the next championship hosted by a Kohler golf course.

The USGA awarded Whistling Straits with the 2007 U.S. Senior Open. Golf legend Tom Watson appeared poised to win, but he faded, and the tournament was won by Brad Bryant.

In an apparent attempt to box the USGA out of Whistling Straits, the PGA made a blockbuster offer to Kohler, awarding the course with the 2010 and 2015 PGA Championships and the 2020 Ryder Cup. Reminiscent of Valhalla, the PGA pulled the 2010 PGA Championship from Sahalee Country Club near Redmond, Wash., and moved it to Whistling Straits.

Lang's bold venture

Meanwhile, as Whistling Straits was hosting the 2004 PGA Championship, Robert Lang, a developer and the former owner of the Lang Cos., was making plans to build a golf course in southwest Washington County that he dreamed would one day host the U.S. Open.

At first, Lang was planning to build a nine-hole golf course on the property located west of Holy Hill. Because he was not a serious golfer, Lang did not fully realize the potential of the undulating Kettle Moraine property that had been carved by glaciers.

"I just thought it was pretty land," Lang told SBT in an Aug. 19, 200,5 cover story on the building of Erin Hills.

He sent topographical maps to some of the top golf course architects in the nation. The architects were very excited about the property's potential. Then Lang realized he had a chance to build a special golf course. He hired Michael Hurdzan and Dana Fry of Columbus, Ohio-based Hurdzan-Fry golf Course Design Inc. and Golf Digest golf course architecture writer Ron Whitten to design Erin Hills.

The buzz about Erin Hills and its beautiful natural setting spread quickly in the golf world. Even before it was open, USGA officials toured the property and began considering it for future championship events.

The course was awarded this year's U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links before it even opened.

When it did open on Aug. 1, 2006, Erin Hills was a major hit. The course received so much positive press that in 2007 golfers from 40 states came to Wisconsin to play at Erin Hills. Golfers from 20 states have already made reservations to play there this year, Lang said.

The course recently was awarded the 2011 U.S. Amateur by the USGA.

Most major golf championships are played at courses on the coasts, but there are a lot of golfers and golf fans in the Midwest, and once in awhile the PGA and USGA need to bring their championships to flyover country. The PGA seems to have established Whistling Straits as its top Midwest site for championship tournaments. It's starting to look like the USGA may do the same with Erin Hills.
Speculation has already begun about if and when Erin Hills will get to host the U.S. Open. If this year's U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links and the 2011 U.S. Amateur are successful, Lang should achieve his ultimate goal.

Andrew Weiland is the managing editor of Small Business Times.

Today marks the 64th anniversary of Groucho Marx's live broadcast of his "Pabst Blue Ribbon Town" radio program from Milwaukee.

Marx came to Milwaukee on Feb. 5, 1944, to broadcast his show from the old Milwaukee Auditorium. His special guest in that episode was actress Gene Tierney.

In 2004, Small Business Times conducted research to provide context for several historical photographs found at the former Pabst Brewing Co. headquarters in downtown Milwaukee.

Selfishly, solving the mystery of the story behind the photographs and tracking down a recording of that Milwaukee broadcast was one of the coolest moments of my journalism career.

Jim and Karen Haertel, the original investors in the Pabst Brewery site redevelopment site, had found the photographs in 2004 amid the rubble that was left behind when the owners of Pabst fled Milwaukee in the middle of the night.

The old photographs included images of Marx, actor Danny Kaye and others as they entertained Frederick Pabst Jr., former chairman of the board of the Milwaukee brewing company. In one of the photos, Marx is seen without his trademark fake bushy mustache and eyebrows.

But what was Marx doing at the Pabst brewery?

Several weeks of research later, I discovered that the radio episode, which aired for the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) and was broadcast locally on WISN-AM, was devoted to Pabst's 100th anniversary.

The validation came from East Coast old-time radio aficionado Wayne Boenig, who also provided a copy of the original radio broadcast to SBT.

 

The dialogue of the old radio show is classic Groucho schtick:
Co-star Fay McKenzie says to the host, "Oh Groucho, look, there's Lake Michigan! My, it's choppy today. See all the whitecaps."
In his trademark sarcastic tone, Groucho replies, "Yes, isn't it wonderful? You get near the place where they make Pabst beer, and even the lake has a head on it."
The Milwaukee crowd erupts in laughter and applause.
Announcer Durward Kirby then interrupts the skit to promote Pabst and its 100-year anniversary, in a pitch that seems eerily ironic today, given the brewer's demise a half-century later.
"We don't want to get too serious at our 100th anniversary celebration here at Milwaukee. It'll be a long, long time before our next 100-year party. But there's one thing we do think we ought to say. For a full century, our company has grown and prospered because we've always brewed and sold quality beers. Beers that were honestly made. Beers that were honestly sold. Premium beers that have made fast and loyal friends all over the world," Kirby tells the audience. "Today you enjoy beer that all our 100 years of brewing skills can produce. Pabst Blue Ribbon, a delicious blend 33 fine brews with a smooth, satisfying flavor that only full-flavor blending can achieve. And now, as we enter our second hundred years, we want to reaffirm our pledge and our promise, that whenever you buy Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, wherever you buy it, it will continue to be the finest beer we know how to make. Rich and smooth and mellow. A master blend of fine ingredients and a century of skill. A beer to order with confidence and served with pride. That is Pabst Blue Ribbon."

To view vintage photographs from the Marx visit to Milwaukee, visit http://www.biztimes.com/news/2004/3/19/rediscovering-our-blue-ribbon-past.

To hear the recording of the original 1944 broadcast, visit http://www.biztimes.com/news/2004/3/19/hear-the-1944-broadcast.

Prost!

Steve Jagler is executive editor of Small Business Times.

Credit union advocates like to talk about how unique their financial institutions are compared to banks. Once upon a time, they were right. Credit unions were different because they promoted thrift and provided low cost credit, especially to people of low- and modest-means.

Today, the only thing that makes large, profit-driven credit unions unique is that they don't pay corporate income taxes, yet they are indistinguishable from the taxpaying banks they compete against.

Recently, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) cracked down by forcing credit unions to actually pay "some" taxes on the profits from services deemed to be unrelated to the institutions' tax-exempt mission.

But paying even a token amount of income taxes is apparently too much for Community First Credit Union.

The Appleton-based financial institution with nearly a $1 billion in total assets is suing the IRS for $54,604 in unrelated business income taxes it was forced to pay in 2006.  That same year, Community First posted profits of $8.4 million and spent a whopping $550,223 on travel and conferences for its executives and board of directors.

The credit union industry's corporate tax subsidy already costs Wisconsin taxpayers $40 million per year and $2 billion nationally. By the end of 2008, Wisconsin could have as many as six tax subsidized credit unions with $1 billion in assets or more.  The explosive growth of non-traditional credit unions comes at the expense of taxpaying institutions, which ultimately erodes corporate income tax collections used to fund government services.

What makes matters worse is that several studies prove that large credit unions do a poor job of serving lower income and minority consumers, despite the tax subsidy they were given to serve that very population. In fact, a 2007 study revealed Community First shares the worst rating for making home loans to low- and moderate-income borrowers among Wisconsin's largest credit unions.

The same study, which was conducted by two PhD economists, also found that the median income within a 2.5 mile radius of Community First's locations is well above the county and state median.

Both findings indicate that Community First's tax exemption is being used to subsidize financial services to the wealthy at the expense of lower income consumers.

Community First's suit to keep it from contributing even the bear minimum in corporate taxes should have Fox Valley residents wondering what return all taxpayers receive in exchange for the credit union industry's multimillion dollar tax subsidy.”

 

Kurt Bauer is president and chief executive officer of the Wisconsin Bankers Association (WBA).

If Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers can battle their way through the playoffs and advance to Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Ariz., a very capable cheesehead will be eagerly waiting there to greet them.

Bob Sullivan, a native of Waukesha and a graduate of Carroll College, is the president of the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee, the private, nonprofit Arizona corporation that serves as the liaison between the National Football League and the people of Arizona.

The NFL throws the annual mother of all parties, but Sullivan's committee is the host.

I tracked Sullivan down on his cell phone recently between plane flights as he enters the home stretch of a professional assignment that began in October 2006.

My first question for him was, "Did you grow up a Packer fan, and do you still consider yourself to be a Packer fan?"

His response came quickly: "I did. I do. That would be the ultimate icing on the cake if they get in the year I'm running the Super Bowl!"

Sullivan's parents, the late Cyril and Eleanor Sullivan, cranked out a very productive flock. Bob's brother, Tim, is the chief executive officer of South Milwaukee-based Bucyrus International Inc. Their sister, Patty Santiago, is a junior high school principal in Santa Barbara, Calif., and their sister, Susie Krummel, went to nursing school and is raising her children in Los Altos Hills, Calif.

Bob, Tim and Patty each graduated from Carroll College, where their mother was a librarian.

Bob Sullivan hit the streets in 1980 with a bachelor's degree in communications and a minor in business.

Carroll College doesn't have the name recognition that many universities have, but Sullivan said he was ready for action in his chosen field when he graduated. Most of his teachers were not pure academics, but most had real-world experience to share with their students.

"They emphasized a lot of hands-on education and training, very much so," Sullivan said.
With diploma in hand, Sullivan set out on a career in broadcast journalism. He became the assistant news director at WISN-Channel 12 in Milwaukee. He left that position for bigger markets and bigger ventures in 1987.

He eventually formed his own company, Sullivan & Associates Consulting, in Paradise Valley, a suburb of Phoenix, Ariz., where he lives with his wife, Meri (an Oconomowoc native), and their two children, Ryan and Delaney.

Along the way, Sullivan met Arizona Cardinals vice president Michael Bidwell. Bidwell was so impressed with Sullivan, that he called him a few months later and asked him to lead the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee.

Sullivan accepted the assignment, which was not for the faint of heart. He was first asked to raise $15 million. As he closed in on reaching that target, the committee raised the ante to $17 million. Sullivan is confident he'll get there.

When the final seconds tick off of the Super Bowl clock on Feb. 3, Sullivan will have one bright, gaudy bauble on his resume - one that he believes will help his company grow significantly.

"It's a nice contract to have, and it's high-profile for the company," Sullivan said.

Sullivan is sharing his experience with his alma mater. He worked with Carroll College to create a class in which students competed to be among the nine chosen to go to Arizona to help the committee conduct studies on the economic impact and media coverage of the Super Bowl.

You'd think Sullivan would be looking forward to putting this Super task behind him.

"Actually, it's kind of melancholy. It's been a great run," he said. "It's kind of like a political campaign. Relief isn't the right word. It's a sense of accomplishment."

 

Steve Jagler is the executive editor of Small Business Times.

All over the world - wherever countries, states and communities are committed to people living longer and healthier lives - smoking cigarettes inside public places is ending.

We know which way history is going. It's only a matter of time before the whole country goes smokefree. Clean indoor air saves money in health care costs, improves public health, and most importantly, it saves lives. The support for clean indoor air only grows in the places that enact smokefree laws.

Minnesota has been smokefree since October. Illinois went smokefree on New Year's Day. In fact, nearly half the states in the nation have already acted to make their public places smoke free.

Here in Wisconsin, we have a patchwork of smokefree regulations, as dozens of municipalities go one way as their neighbors go another. Wisconsin restaurant and tavern owners deserve a level playing field that keeps people safe.

The Legislature should act now so that Wisconsin does not become the ashtray of the Midwest. I urge lawmakers to pass legislation that will make all public workplaces, including restaurants and taverns, smokefree on Jan. 1, 2009.

When I first proposed making Wisconsin's workplaces smokefree, it was part of a strategy that stood on three legs. I'm proud to say we've accomplished two parts. We've raised the cigarette tax - helping smokers to quit and stopping others from ever starting - and we're dedicating $30 million over the biennium to help people end their addiction to tobacco.

These steps are working. The number of smokers calling the quit line have soared. In the first week that the cigarette tax has been in effect this January, the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit line has gotten as many calls as it usually gets in a year - 9,000. And we've got the money in place to help these people succeed.

But it's time to complete my strategy and require clean indoor air. Smokefree laws are proven effective. They further increase the number of smokers trying to quit. For those trying to quit, smokefree laws help smokers win the battle over tobacco addiction. Clean indoor air also reduces the number of cigarettes consumed and discourages kids from ever starting.

Throughout my entire career in public life, I've fought to protect our kids and our citizens from the dangers of tobacco. As Attorney General, I helped lead the national effort to take on Big Tobacco, beating them in court for the first time in 40 years. Cigarette billboards and vending machines are gone, and Joe Camel was sent to retirement.

We're making progress in Wisconsin. Now the Legislature - with bipartisan support from Sen. Fred Risser and Rep. Steve Wieckert - has before it the opportunity to embrace the healthy direction the world is going. They have the ability to make Wisconsin smokefree - a step that will save money in health care costs, improve public health across the state and save lives.

It's estimated that in one year alone, 8,000 people will die from smoking-related illnesses in Wisconsin. Five thousand kids try their first cigarette every day. Two thousand of them will become regular smokers, and one-third of them will eventually die from their addiction.

Wisconsin can act now and act responsibly, or it can go kicking and screaming, clinging to the old rules of cigarette smoke. The people of Wisconsin are ready for this. Wisconsin doesn't want to wait two years to do what should already have been done. We want a clean smokefree law that doesn't open loopholes or leave unfair advantages for tobacco companies.

Jim Doyle is governor of Wisconsin.

The Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin is holding steadfast in its determination to develop a new casino at Dairyland Greyhound Park in Kenosha, but a member of its partnering tribe on the East Coast is expressing growing concerns about the likelihood that the project will ever see the light of day.

The Menominee's partner for the Kenosha project is the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut.

Mohegan author Ken Davison publishes "Feather News," which is a blog of "Independent News For Mohegans By Mohegans." In last Saturday's edition, Davison wrote a blog headlined, "Interior Delivers Blow To Tribe's Diversification Program."

Davison noted that the U.S. Department of Interior last week issued new policies that will further restrict the ability of Indian tribes to add land for casinos to their reservation land-base if the properties aren't close to their reservation.

The Interior Department subsequently denied at least 11 applications that were either incomplete or were awaiting decisions.

The Kenosha project was not among those plans that were rejected. However, Davison expressed concerns about the precedents set by the new policy and the latest rulings.

"While applications from the two tribes that are partnering with the Mohegans are not yet close to reaching the final decision stage, the new policy may not even permit the Wisconsin casino land-into-trust application to be approved once the application does satisfy the criteria that existed before last week's policy changes," wrote Davison, who is a veteran financial consultant.

"The Mohegan Tribe has wagered tens of millions of dollars on two future casino ventures with tribes in Wisconsin and the state of Washington that hinge on the Interior Department eventually taking off-reservation land parcels into trust for the casinos. Neither project has yet to reach the point where its application is complete but the new guidelines, which stress local government support, could further hamper their efforts," Davison wrote. "The Interior Department did not rule on the casino project between the Mohegans and the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin, however, an application from the Lac du Flambeau Chippewa tribe of Wisconsin was denied in which the tribe sought to build a casino in southeastern Wisconsin, 308 miles from their reservation. The Kenosha casino would be about 200 miles from the Menominee reservation."

Evan Zeppos, spokesman for the Kenosha project, noted that Davison's viewpoint does not represent the official viewpoint of the Mohegan Tribe.

Zeppos said he remains "cautiously optimistic" that the Kenosha project ultimately will gain federal approval.

He noted the strong local support for the project. The City of Kenosha, the County of Kenosha and the Menominee Tribe each have signed an intergovernmental agreement for the plan, which also has received referendum approval from Kenosha County residents. Zeppos also cited the need for the project from the standpoint that the Menominee is the most impoverished of Wisconsin's Native American tribes.

"Ours is a very unique application. We are a very poor tribe, and we have extremely strong local support," Zeppos said.

The Kenosha project also was stung with this week's news that the Forest County Potawatomi Tribe is negotiating to offer pari-mutuel betting on off-track horse and dog racing at its casino to be expanded in Milwaukee. Off-track betting in Milwaukee would take betting customers away from the Dairyland Greyhound Park in Kenosha.

The news about the Potawatomi's plans to add off-track betting prompted the Menominee to issue a media alert, headlined, "Another Worthless Potawatomi Promise," Tuesday.

"The Potawatomi promised Wisconsin they wouldn't do it - but apparently, they've changed their minds," the Menominee's bulletin said. "The Potawatomi have decided to go back on their word to the state and offer off-track betting at their off-reservation casino in Milwaukee … It's another example of the Potawatomi using strong-arm tactics to get what they want … not a piece of the pie, but the whole pie for themselves."

However, Potawatomi spokesman Ken Walsh said his tribe negotiated the right to provide pari-mutuel betting in its 2003 gaming compact with the state.

"It's always been part of the plan. There was never an agreement not to offer it by the tribe," Walsh told SBT.

 

Steve Jagler is executive editor of Small Business Times.

Wisconsin lawmakers are scheduled on Thursday to consider legislation that would regulate cable TV programming. Such regulation may appeal to subscribers dissatisfied with the current lineup. But state government interference in programming decisions would prove costly and unconstitutional, and should be rejected.

The primary proponent of the legislation, Senate Bill 343, is the National Football League, which claims that cable companies aren't being "fair" in negotiating the terms and conditions for broadcasting its NFL Network. Specifically, the NFL wants government to force cable service providers into binding arbitration - in place of private negotiation - in hopes of fattening team owners' broadcast revenues.

This would be laughable were it not so serious. The NFL already enjoys an enormous advantage in negotiating broadcast rights by virtue of its exemption from anti-trust law. Under the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, all 32 teams are permitted to negotiate as a single block for both over-the-air and cable TV contracts, which vastly increases their leverage.

Cable companies such as Comcast, Charter and Time Warner have so far rejected the League's demand that the pricey NFL Network be offered as part of a basic tier of service, believing that subscribers simply don't want to absorb a rate hike for an additional eight live games this season. (The rest of the network lineup consists of replays, news and features.) The cable service providers are offering instead to air the NFL Network on a sports tier for which subscribers are willing to pay a premium.

The team owners insist that fans are thus "being held hostage" by the cable companies. But to claim that more government muscle is necessary to settle the dispute is both an invitation to higher cable rates and an insult to both the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

Cable networks are private property, plain and simple. If the cable companies are misjudging their subscribers' preferences, they will be duly punished by a loss of market share. Indeed, never before have viewers enjoyed so many choices in video services at such affordable rates.

Wisconsin consumers, in particular, will reap even greater benefits from video competition should Gov. James Doyle sign the cable franchise reform legislation recently approved by the Legislature.

If NFL officials believe there remains unmet market demand, they can either shop their programs to other video service providers or build their own network.

As it is, the NFL will rake in $24 billion from long-term contracts with ESPN, CBS, Fox and NBC to broadcast a total of 248 games each season. There's also a $700 million annual deal with DirecTV satellite service for the exclusive rights to a series of Sunday games. All of which translates into about $120 million annually in TV revenue for each NFL team.

These broadcast revenues will exceed those collected by the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball and NASCAR combined, according to The Wall Street Journal.
So broadly is SB 343 written that virtually any producer could trigger the arbitration mandate. The bill states: "If a video programmer believes that a multichannel video programming distributor has not treated the video programmer in a fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory manner concerning the amount proposed to be paid by the multichannel video programming distributor for the addition or renewal of a video channel that is owned by the video programmer, the video programmer may request arbitration regarding that treatment."

But existing law does not permit state regulation of cable programming, which falls under the exclusive purview of federal statute. Nor does the Federal Communications Commission have the authority to intervene, as the NFL has sought, simply because the team owners aren't getting their way. There's been no violation of law, and thus FCC involvement would be prohibited.

Perhaps the team owners may be forgiven their impulse to seek government favors. After all, along with the anti-trust exemption, the majority of teams - including the Green Bay Packers - play in stadiums that have been partially or fully financed by the public. But Wisconsin consumers would be forced to sacrifice a great deal more if the Legislature concedes to the NFL's self-indulgent pleas for yet more special favors.

 

Diane Katz is director of science, environment and technology for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a Michigan-based research and education institute. She serves on the Telecommunications and Information Technology task force of the American Legislative Exchange Council and has testified on cable issues before the Wisconsin Legislature.

The 1990s saw the University of Wisconsin Badgers end their long Rose Bowl drought in style, winning the big New Year's Day game in 1994, 1999 and 2000.

Except for the lucky few who could make it out to sunny Pasadena, most of us watched the Badgers win from our homes on cable TV. And that makes us the perennial losers. We've been losing millions of dollars a year to the cable TV monopolies that continue to overcharge us because in most areas of the state, the local monopoly is the only cable game in town.

The Badgers will not be playing in Pasadena on New Year's Day 2008, but cable customers in Wisconsin are heading for a Rose Bowl moment of our own, providing the state legislature doesn't drop the ball. Legislators are on the verge of passing the Video Competition legislation that would streamline Wisconsin's archaic cable TV franchising system and speed the entry of statewide competition.

New competitors, notably the big phone companies that have expanded into home video service, would no longer have to go from town to town negotiating separate video franchise agreements. Any qualified provider would only have to apply for one statewide franchise to offer service anywhere in Wisconsin.   
The Assembly passed this legislation, AB-207, in May by better than a two-to-one margin. On Nov. 8, the Senate also passed the bill with some minor changes, and it now gone has back to the Assembly for concurrence. Once that happens, the next and last stop is for the governor's signature.

That day can't come too soon. Wisconsin families have been hammered with big annual cable rate increases for years. Satellite service requires an expensive upfront outlay for equipment and it has never made enough of a competitive dent in the market to put a lid on the cable monopolies' appetite for price increases.

Nationally, cable prices went up by a staggering 93 percent from 1995 to 2005. Over the past three years, though, 18 states have either passed or introduced Video Competition legislation similar to the bill now pending in Madison. In areas where phone companies are already competing with the cable companies, monthly cable bills have actually dropped by an average of 23 percent.

According to data from the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, bringing competition like that to the Wisconsin cable market would save consumers as much as $149 million a year in lower cable prices. And this isn't a case of "if you build it, they will come." AT&T is already here with a competitive home video offer. They are offering a competitive choice in parts of the Milwaukee area. Passage of the Video Competition bill would encourage them and other companies to offer the service in more places across Wisconsin without years of delay.

Special interests who like the status quo are trying to derail the Video Competition bill with claims that a statewide franchise system would somehow jeopardize the benefits of "local control." In fact, a statewide system provides more benefits.

It would set uniform customer service standards for cable and satellite service quality, with stiff penalties for violations. Local governments would still get the same franchise fees from video providers doing business in their towns, with the potential of getting more franchise fees from multiple providers. Video providers would be required to carry local educational and government programming, just as they are under the current local franchise system.

Let's remember too that those local authorities already have no control over what matters most to consumers - cable rates. The only control over those will come from viable competition. We can finally have that competition statewide if the legislature brings the Video Competition bill into the end zone.

On Wisconsin!

Harry Alford is president and chief executive officer of the National Black Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C.