The Milwaukee Post

Claims Board rejects Talgo claim The Wisconsin Claims Board rejected a nearly $66 million claim that the U.S.-subsidiary of a Spanish train maker filed in a dispute stemming from Gov. Scott Walker's refusal of federal money for the construction of a high-speed rail line between Milwaukee and Madison. Seattle-based Talgo Inc. said it was owed near- ly $65.9 million as compensation for the state's breach of contract for the purchase of two trains. The trains were scheduled to run on Amtrak's Hiawatha line between Milwaukee and Chicago. Talgo also had hoped to land contracts to build two trains for the high-speed rail project between Madison and Milwaukee, but the federal govern- ment withdrew nearly $810 million in stimulus funding after then-Governor-elect Scott Walker said he would kill the project. Prior to Walker's election, Wisconsin won federal stimulus funding for the $810 mil- lion rail line from Milwaukee to Madison. Then-Gov. Jim Doyle reached an agreement with Talgo to provide the trains. Talgo recently announced it would close its Century City plant in Milwaukee. Now that the Claims Board has rejected the filing, Talgo can sue in state court. State settles Zoo Interchange lawsuit with two area groups The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has settled a two-year-old lawsuit and will pay more than $13 million for new Milwaukee County bus routes to help with con- gestion during the Zoo Interchange reconstruction. The lawsuit was filed in 2012 by the Black Health Coalition of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Inner City Congregations Allied for Hope. It alleged that the project's $1.7 billion expansion of the Zoo Interchange discriminated against urban minorities by not including public transit improvements. "The settlement includes transit services that will alleviate traffic congestion dur- ing construction," DOT Secretary Mark Gottlieb said in a news release. "The routes will support the department's traffic management plan for the project, facilitating our commitment to minimize the impacts of construction on travelers, residents and busi- nesses." Under the terms of the agreement, the state will spend up to $11.5 million over four years to provide bus routes aimed at easing traffic congestion. Details on the routes have not yet been developed, but will focus on getting city residents to outer county locations and bringing workers into the city from outer county areas. Additionally, it will provide $2 million over four years for transit providers to offer additional services to enhance the use of transit to relieve congestion, such as real-time transit route information or public outreach to encourage ridership on the routes. The terms of the settlement were negotiated in court-sponsored mediation. The Zoo Interchange's reconstruction will take place from 2015 through 2017, with the north leg of the interchange – U.S. 45 – to be completed by the end of 2018. Improvements to nearby arterials and interchanges are already underway. The routes are aimed to "efficiently handle diverted and detoured traffic once the core interchange reconstruction begins," the DOT said. 4 • Milwaukee County Post • May 23, 2014 WEEK IN REVIEW STATE AND LOCAL STORIES OF INTEREST Click It or Ticket underway All Wisconsin law enforcement agencies have intensified their safety belt enforce- ment efforts during the annual Click It or Ticket mobilization through June 1. "Click It or Ticket is more than just a slogan. Whenever officers see an unbelted motorist, they will stop the vehicle and issue a citation," said David Pabst, director of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation's Bureau of Transportation Safety. In addition to law enforcement efforts to increase compliance with Wisconsin's safe- ty belt law, WisDOT is using federal funding to broadcast TV, radio and web messages statewide urging motorists to buckle up. The messages feature Donald Driver, the Green Bay Packers' all-time leading receiver. According to WisDOT statistics, approximately 1 out of 5 motorists in Wisconsin does not wear a safety belt, and more than half of the drivers and passengers killed in crash- es last year were not buckled up. Lucey laid to rest in Milwaukee A funeral for former Wisconsin Gov. Patrick Lucey was held Monday in Milwaukee. The Democrat died May 10 at the age of 96. Lucey was elected governor in 1970. He was re-elected in 1974 but he left midway through the term to serve as President Jimmy Carter's ambassador to Mexico. Lucey also ran for U.S. vice president as an independent in 1980. His Wisconsin career included a strong push to merge the University of Wisconsin in Madison with the state college system. It led to the current system of 13 four-year state colleges. Lucey also appointed Shirley Abrahamson to the state Supreme Court in 1976. She became the first woman on the state's high court. Gov. Scott Walker and former Governors Martin Schreiber, Scott McCallum, Tommy Thompson and Jim Doyle attended the funeral at the Church of Gesu on the Marquette University campus. Milwaukee man charged in Xbox thefts A Milwaukee man already serving a jail sentence for a retail theft was charged last week in Waukesha County Circuit Court after he allegedly stole two Xbox units from a Delafield Best Buy store earlier this year. Nickolas Lamon, 36, was charged with one felony count of retail theft and faces 3 1/2 years in prison if convicted. The criminal complaint against him said he was seen on store surveillance video and by a store employee carrying two Xboxes, worth a total of $999.98, out of the Delafield Best Buy store on Jan. 15 without paying for them. Surveillance video showed him get- ting into a car, which Menomonee Falls police said was owned by someone they arrested for retail theft there, according to the complaint. The Xbox units were gotten rid of in West Allis, the complaint said. Lamon already is serving a 60-day jail term and a three-year period of probation for a retail theft from a Target store, according to online court records. Deputy injured in squad crash on south side A Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office deputy was struck by a motorist on South Howell Avenue on Tuesday morning. According to a MCSO news release, the female deputy was driving northbound on Howell Avenue, near Hutsteiner Drive, when a pick- up truck headed southbound turned east and collided with the squad. The deputy was taken to Froedtert Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, treated and released. She will be off work while she recovers from her injuries. The driver of the pickup refused medical treatment. Per MCSO policy, the crash investigation was handled by the Milwaukee Police Department. The MPD cited the pickup driver with failing to yield the right of way while making a turn, operating a vehicle after a license suspension and operating a vehicle with a suspended registration. Regional transport plan lagging behind The public was scheduled to speak out Thursday on the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission's 2035 regional transportation plan, which is no longer on pace to be completed on time due to budget constraints. The review, which was held Thursday at the O'Donnell Park Pavilion in Milwaukee, evaluated plan forecasts, measured transportation system performance and assessed the current implementation of the plan's recommendations. According to a commission release, the plan – which consists of five main elements: public transit, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, transportation system management, travel demand management and arterial streets and highways – is no longer consistent with existing and future revenues, which appear to be more constrained this year than they were in 2010 or 2006. Therefore, the recommended freeway expansion would not be completed by 2035 and improving and expanding transit would not occur. In this case, transit service levels would be expected to further decline by another 11 percent from the current already- reduced service levels. Public transit, which was expected to have twice as many service miles by 2035, has actually declined by 4 percent, and of the 384 additional proposed miles of the recom- mended 586-mile off-street bicycle and pedestrian path system, only 47 miles have been constructed since 2006, according to the release. Such meetings are held every four years to provide a guide for transportation devel- opment in the region for 20 years into the future. Having begun in 2006, the plan is approximately one-quarter of the way through its 30-year implementation period.

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