Assessment teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will arrive in Wisconsin Thursday to survey the damages caused by flooding and clear the path for Gov. Jim Doyle to file a request for federal disaster assistance.
Wisconsin's entire Congressional delegation sent a letter to R. David Paulison, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), offering their support when Doyle formally requests federal disaster assistance.
Doyle has declared a state of emergency for 29 counties across Wisconsin, including the Milwaukee area.
Doyle has requested that FEMA conduct a comprehensive damage assessment of the state, and Doyle expects to seek a federal disaster declaration after the assessment.
"Even as we struggle with the shock of the widespread damage across the state, we need to start getting an accurate assessment of the damage and resources needed to help speed the recovery," Doyle said. "I’d also like to thank all of the people in this state who have come together to help their neighbors and friends during this tough situation."
"While traveling around Wisconsin this weekend, I saw firsthand some of the severe weather that hit our state hard. I am also receiving frequent updates on the toll the weather has taken on homes, businesses, roads, and utilities so we have a complete picture to give to FEMA. I am already working and will continue to work with Governor Doyle, the Wisconsin congressional delegation, and state and local officials in support of any and all federal assistance to help communities statewide respond to the flooding and other weather-related damage," said U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold.
Four state legislators from the western part of Wisconsin sent a joint letter to Doyle, urging him to make a federal disaster request for relief from FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
"Significant damage to public infrastructure, flood-control dams, homes, farms and businesses has occurred as a result of heavy rainstorms and straight line winds on June 7 and 8. Since rainfall is expected through late this week, there will most likely be additional damage," wrote state Sen. Dan Kapanke (R-La Crosse) and state Reps. Mike Huebsch (R-West Salem), Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse) and Lee Nerison (R-Westby).
Roads and neighborhoods in towns throughout southeastern Wisconsin, including Oak Creek, South Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha and Waukesha, remained under water today.
On Monday, Lake Delton, a longtime tourist attraction in the Wisconsin Dells, was washed away into the Wisconsin River, taking several homes along with it. To view video coverage of the washout, visit Channel 12 WISN.com, a media partner of Small Business Times.

A bipartisan group of federal legislators, business interests and labor unions today unveiled the Small Business Heath Options Program (SHOP) Act designed to make health insurance more available and affordable for small businesses and their employees.
The legislative contingent supporting the legislation includes: Reps. Ron Kind (D-Wis.), Phil English (R-Pa.), John Barrow (D-Ga.), Bill Young (R-Fla.), Russ Carnahan (D-Mo.), Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), Tom Allen (D-Maine), Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.), Jason Altmire (D-Pa.), Chris Shays (R-Conn.), Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) and Jim Ramstad (R-Minn.).
They were flanked today by representatives from the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), the National Association of Realtors (NAR), and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
Supporters said the plan is "breakthrough" legislation. H.R. 6210 is companion legislation to Senate Bill 2795 introduced by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) in early April.
"Small businesses in the United States are in a crisis today when it comes to finding affordable health insurance," Kind said. "With rising costs pricing small businesses out of the market, no surprise that sixty percent of Americans without health insurance are from families where the head of household is self-employed or works in a small business. If we are going to address the lack of health care coverage in this country, we have to first look at small businesses, and the SHOP Act gets to the heart of that."
"As health care costs continue to skyrocket, American entrepreneurs and small businesses are all too often forced to choose between the livelihood of their business and the quality of benefits they provide to their workers," English said. "By establishing a nationwide health insurance pool for small businesses and the self-employed, we can break down the barriers to affordable health insurance and ensure these job producing employers can provide their workers with stronger healthcare options with more choices at a lower cost.  The SHOP Act is an innovative, bipartisan compromise that will go a long way to increasing access to affordable, quality healthcare in our country."
The supporters said the SHOP Act will make health insurance less costly, more predictable and more accessible for the 47.1 million employees of the nation's 5.8 million small businesses and for 14.1 million self-employed individuals in America by:

• Allowing small businesses and the self employed to band together in a statewide or nationwide pool to obtain lower health insurance prices by spreading their risk over a larger number of participants. 
• Keeping prices low by offering a range of private health plans that have to compete for business.
• Providing small business owners with an annual tax credit of up to $1,000 per employee ($2,000 for family coverage) if they pay for 60 percent of their employees' premiums, and a bonus tax credit if they pay for more than 60 percent of the premiums. Self-employed individuals would get a $1,800 annual tax credit ($3,600 for family coverage) to purchase health insurance.
• Cutting down on administrative costs for small businesses – today, small businesses spend almost 25 percent of health insurance premiums on administrative costs, compared to 10 percent for large employers.
• Banning the practice of rating insurance based on health status and claims experience so that premium increases will be more stable and predictable.
• Providing a web site with comparative information about a variety of private health plans.
• Putting in place accountability measures using existing structures like those use by state insurance commissioners to ensure that all health plans meet state requirements for financial solvency, network adequacy, and claims and appeal procedures.

"We commend this bipartisan group of representatives for supporting small business and working to address their number one concern - the ever-increasing cost of healthcare," said Todd Stottlemyer, president and chief executive officer of the NFIB. "The pooling options and tax credits outlined in this bill directly reflect on NFIB's Small Business Principles for Healthcare Reform, helping to stabilize costs and incentivizing small businesses. We will continue to work with leaders in Congress to pursue new approaches to addressing the healthcare crisis that continues to burden America's job creators."
"For many Realtors and those with families, the total cost of health insurance can rival or even exceed their monthly mortgage," said James Helsel Jr., treasurer of the National Association of Realtors. "This bill will empower trade associations and other organizations to help guide their self-employed and small business members through the process of finding coverage."

American small-business owners are not optimistic about the current state of the economy.
"The National Federation of Independent Business Index of Small Business Optimism fell 2.2 points to 89.3 - a recession-level reading, and the lowest index reading since 1980," said NFIB chief economist William Dunkelberg. "But the current low readings have not been accompanied by the declines in real spending and hiring, as was the case in past recessions."
There was a modest decline in employment in May (seasonally adjusted). Six percent of the owners increased employment by an average of 4.7 workers per firm, and 16 percent reduced employment an average of 2.9 workers per firm, virtually identical to the April numbers.
Forty-three percent of those surveyed hired or tried to hire (down 5 points), and 77 percent of those trying to hire reported few or no qualified applicants for the job openings they were trying to fill. Fifteen percent (seasonally adjusted) reported unfilled job openings, down six points from April (the 34-year average is 22).
"That is an indication that the unemployment rate will rise," Dunkelberg said. "Eight percent of owners reported the availability of qualified labor was their top business problem, much lower than last September (the Fed's first economic warning and rate cut) when openings stood at 25 percent of all firms, and 17 percent reported the availability of qualified workers was their top business problem."
Over the next three months, 16 percent plan to create new jobs (down three points), and 8 percent plan workforce reductions (up two points), yielding a seasonally adjusted net 2 percent of owners planning to create new jobs - down three points from April.
Plans to make capital expenditures over the next few months fell one point to 25 percent.
More firms are reporting deteriorating sales trends than sales gains, quarter over quarter.
"Clearly the economy is weak compared to six months ago," Dunkelberg said.

U.S. employers are projecting a slight decline in hiring for the third quarter, according to the seasonally adjusted results of the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.
"While overall softness continues in the third quarter, employers are generally not reacting with large-scale payroll reductions," said Jeffrey Joerres, chairman and chief executive officer of Milwaukee-based Manpower Inc. "The gradual slowdown suggests that employers have become sophisticated at anticipating their hiring needs."
Of the 14,000 U.S. employers surveyed, 26 percent expect to increase their workforces during the July-September period, while 10 percent expect to scale back their payrolls for a net employment outlook of 16 percent (seasonally adjusted to 12 percent). Fifty-eight percent expect no change in the hiring pace, and 6 percent are undecided about their hiring plans.
Seasonally adjusted survey data indicates that hiring in five of the 10 industry sectors surveyed will decrease slightly during the upcoming quarter compared with the second quarter, making it the weakest employment outlook since the fourth quarter of 2003.
"Hiring looks to be a bit cooler this summer," said Jonas Prising, president of Manpower North America. "However, select industries are showing stability that may provide opportunities for job seekers who have the skills that employers need."
Milwaukee, Ozaukee and Washington County employers expect to hire at a steadier pace than their national counterparts, according to the Manpower survey. Thirty percent of those Wisconsin employers plan to hire more employees, while 13 percent expect to reduce their payrolls, Manpower spokeswoman Nicole Langley said.
"Employer sentiment about hiring appears to be less encouraging than in the second
quarter of 2008, when 37 percent of companies interviewed intended to add employees, and 10 percent planned to reduce staff levels," Langley said. "Hiring activity is expected to be lighter than one year ago, when 27 percent of companies surveyed planned to increase staff levels and 6 percent expected to cut payrolls."
In Waukesha County, 33 percent of the companies surveyed plan to hire more employees in the third quarter, while 17 percent expect to reduce their payrolls.

SABMiller plc, the parent company of Milwaukee-based Miller Brewing Co., today announced that it has agreed to acquire the Russian brewer LLC Vladpivo.
Vladpivo, the largest brewer in the Russian far east Primorie region, is located near the city of Vladivostok. The value of the gross assets to be acquired is approximately $69 million.
The Russian Far East represents approximately 7.6 percent of the Russian beer market and is projected to grow faster than the total Russian beer market from 2007 to 2013.
James Wilson, managing director of SABMiller RUS, said, "The acquisition of Vladpivo complements our existing capability and will allow us to expand the presence of our worthmore brands, by providing us with a more competitive logistics configuration and better access to our consumers in this important and attractive region."
Vladpivo will become SABMiller's third production facility in the country, in addition to its main brewery in Kaluga and the site in Ulyanovsk which is currently under construction and expected to be commissioned in early 2009.
SABMiller also today announced that its South African subsidiary, SAB Ltd, is launching Grolsch, the group's premium Dutch beer brand.
Ronald van Amerongen, international brand director for Grolsch, said, "The launch of Grolsch in South Africa is an exciting first step in SABMiller's global ambition for the brand. South Africa is the original homemarket of SABMiller and is a fast-growing consumer market for premium beer. This launch is the first of many, as we continue to develop Grolsch's presence around the world."

U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) is a lead supporter of a new effort to guide future U.S. trade agreements to ensure a level playing field for American businesses, workers and consumers.
Feingold is an original cosponsor of the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development, and Employment (TRADE) Act of 2008 introduced by Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).
The TRADE Act requires a review of existing trade agreements, and a renegotiation of existing trade agreements based on that review. It sets terms of what must and must not be included in future trade agreements, and expresses support for strengthening the role of Congress in trade policymaking.
The framework created by the TRADE Act includes improved labor, environmental, food and product safety standards complete with enforcement mechanisms and penalties for failing to meet those standards, Feingold said.
"The trade policies agreed to over the past fifteen years are a major contributor to the tough economic times many folks in Wisconsin are facing," Feingold said. "I have opposed agreements like NAFTA, CAFTA and others that create a race to the bottom by failing to require fair labor, environmental, safety and other standards of the countries we do business with. Tens of thousands of good jobs have left Wisconsin for China, Mexico and elsewhere and have been replaced with lower quality, lower paying jobs without the benefits Wisconsinites need for their families. It's time that our trade agreements look out for American businesses, workers, consumers, family farmers and the environment rather than multi-national corporate interests.
"I support trade in the growing global marketplace and opening up new markets for American products," Feingold said. "But we can do it in a way that avoids the problems we have seen with NAFTA and other agreements that have taken their toll on American businesses and workers. This framework for a new direction of U.S. trade policies will strengthen economic security, maintain family-supporting jobs in the U.S., and encourage sustainable development in underdeveloped countries that are our trading partners."

Graphene Solutions, a nanotechnology company that features a 17-year-old student on its scientific team, is the grand prize winner in the 2008 Wisconsin Governor's Business Plan Contest.
The company, led by University of Wisconsin-Platteville chemistry professor Jim Hamilton and chief executive officer Philip Jackson, has patent-pending technology that could transform electronics, optics and materials science.
Philip Streich, a student who takes classes at Platteville and online through Stanford University, is co-inventor of the firm's platform for dissolving carbon nanotubes, graphene nanosheets and other materials so they can be purified and spread in a layer one atom thick.
Fifty-four judges took part in a process that progressively narrowed a field of 250 entries to 51 semi-finalists, 23 finalists and four category winners in Advanced Manufacturing, Business Services, Information Technology and Life Sciences. Graphene Solutions was the winner in the Advanced Manufacturing category and will collect cash and in-kind prizes worth $50,000.
Electrons travel 100 times faster in graphene (one-atom-thick sheets of carbon that form in an incredibly strong lattice) than in silicon. Possible uses of graphene range from television screens that are no thicker than a poster, to computer chips, batteries, sensors, solar cells and medical devices.
"Graphene Solutions proves that game-changing technologies are being produced on UW System campuses as well as the UW-Madison. It also demonstrates the value to our economy of supporting researchers as they move these technologies from the lab to the marketplace," said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council, which presented the contest this week at the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs Conference in Milwaukee.

Two out-of-state investment funds are bullish enough about the Pabst Brewery redevelopment project in Milwaukee that they see fit to invest money into the venture. For more, read the latest edition of the BizTimes Money bulletin.

Almost 300 new workers could join AIG-Travel Guard's 750 current employees when its new headquarters opens next year in Stevens Point. The company broke ground last week on its new facility in the Portage County Business Park. Construction on the new 125,000-square-foot, $20 million building should be completed by next summer. Read more in SBT's daily roundup of headlines from newspapers across the state at www.biztimes.com/#news.

The BizTimes Stock Index lost another .99 points to close at 153.12 Monday, and local stocks continued to stagger about in early morning trading today. The largest local decliners this morning were Actuant Corp. (down $2.42 to $32.31) and Bucyrus International Inc. (down $2.34 to $37.87). The largest local advancers this morning were MGIC Investment Corp. (up 47 cents to $10.86) and Strattec Security Corp. (up 40 cents to $38.85). The BizTimes Stock Index was created by Small Business Times and is monitored by North Shore Bank. The index, which measures the stock values of publicly held companies based in southeastern Wisconsin, is updated daily and can be viewed at www.biztimes.com.

A spokeswoman for Wal-Mart contends that a new Supercenter store proposed for Cudahy would be good for the city. Read more in today's Milwaukee Biz Blog.