The Milwaukee Post

State approves airport apron project The state has approved an $800,000 project to reconstruct the general aviation apron at Gen. Mitchell International Airport. The project will reconstuct the apron on the southwest side of the airport. The 25- year-old asphalt pavement will be replaced with concrete pavement, according to Wendy Hottenstein, airport project manager with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Milwaukee County, which operates the airport, will pay $160,000 and the state will contribute $640,000. The project is expected to be completed by the fall. County supervisor wants minimum wage hike Milwaukee County Supervisor Khalif Rainey would like to see the minimum wage in the county raised. Rainey introduced a measure last week calling for a countywide advisory referendum asking voters if they support an increase in the state minimum wage from the current $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour. The resolution was passed by the Judiciary, Safety and General Services on June 12 by a 5-1 vote and will be considered by the full County Board at its next meeting Thursday. Rainey said raising the minimum wage would lower the poverty rate in Milwaukee County. According to a county news release, the county's poverty rate is 22.3 percent, with more than 32 percent of children living in poverty. Workers earning minimum wage make $290 a week, or slighly more than $15,000 a year. The federal poverty guideline for a family of four is $23,850. "The problem of poverty is only getting worse in Milwaukee County," Rainey said. "We need to do something to light a fire under the Legislature and the governor to get them to move on increasing the minimum wage. People in poverty are suffering, and I'm confident the people of Milwaukee County will speak up for those who need a raise in the minimum wage." If approved, the advisory referendum would be placed on the Nov. 4 ballot. Milwaukee man pleads guilty to sex-trafficking offenses Najee C. Moore, 23, of Milwaukee, pleaded guilty last week to five counts of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking and one count of use of a facility in interstate commerce in aid of racketeering in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. According to documents filed in court, from 2007 through 2013, Moore engaged in multiple conspira- cies knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that means of force, fraud, or coercion would be used to cause both minor and adult victims to engage in commercial sex acts in Milwaukee and elsewhere. Moore also used an Internet website to promote his illegal enterprise. "I'm proud of the work of the human trafficking investigators assigned to our Sensitive Crimes Division," Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn said. "Their part- nered efforts with federal officials continues to result in the successful apprehension and prosecution of dangerous sexual predators." The prosecution is the result of the joint investigation by the Human Trafficking Task Force for the Eastern District of Wisconsin and was the work of cooperative efforts between enforcement agencies including the FBI, Milwaukee Police Department, Wisconsin Department of Justice-DCI, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and the Civil Rights Division. 4 • Milwaukee County Post • June 20, 2014 WEEK IN REVIEW STATE AND LOCAL STORIES OF INTEREST Study finds MATC's one-year value at $1.7B A comprehensive study by Economic Modeling Specialists International finds that Milwaukee Area Technical College's single-year value on business in 2012-13 at $1.7 bil- lion. Published in February 2014, the study, "Demonstrating the Value of MATC," said MATC, accounts for 3.1 percent of the gross regional product. The total impact equals graduate-former student productivity ($1.5 billion), college operations ($192.8 million) and student spending ($8.3 million). "This study reconfirms what we all know: our community is better when more peo- ple have an opportunity to educate themselves," Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele said. "In many obvious and indirect ways, MATC makes Milwaukee a better place." According to the study: ■ For every $1 students invested in MATC, they received $5 in higher future wages. ■ The average MATC associate degree graduate realized an increase in earnings of $10,900 each year compared with someone with a high school diploma. Taxes that local and state government will collect from the added income created by MATC graduates and former students is significant, according to a release. The study says that by the end of their careers, MATC's 2012-13 graduates and former students will have added $460.9 million in added paid state and local taxes. The study also said taxpayers receive savings of $26 million from MATC graduates and former students through reduced social costs, including less demand for welfare and unemployment benefits, reduced crime and related societal costs. All told, the study says: ■ For every $1 of public money invested in the college, taxpayers receive a cumula- tive value of $2.80 over the course of graduates' and former students' working lives. ■ The average annual rate of return for the taxpayer investment in MATC is 7.5 per- cent. MATC President Michael L. Burke said the study quantifies MATC's regional value and "helps to tell the college's story, reaffirming that MATC is a remarkable investment for its students, graduates and taxpayers." Skowronski named to MMAC award The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce announced that state Rep. Ken Skowronski, R-Franklin, has received the Champion of Commerce award for his service in the 2013-2014 Wisconsin legislative session. "Through the hard work of leaders like Representative Skowronski, we were able to achieve a number of significant public policy victories for the workers and employers of the Metropolitan Milwaukee region," MMAC President Tim Sheehy said. The Champion of Commerce award is given to lawmakers who earn an 80 percent or greater ranking on MMAC's biennial Legislative Scorecard. The scorecard tallies significant votes in pri- ority areas identified by the "MMAC Blueprint for Economic Prosperity." For the 2013-14 session, Skowronski achieved a 100 per- cent ranking on the MMAC scorecard, according to a news release. "Every two years, in advance of the legislative session, we lay out our members' pub- lic policy priorities to lawmakers, the press, and the public in our 'Blueprint for Economic Prosperity,'" Sheehy said. "This award recognizes those legislative leaders who took note of those priorities and worked to advance them in Madison." Skowronski represents the 82nd Assembly District, which covers Greendale, Franklin and parts of Greenfield in the southeastern portion of Milwaukee County. Skowronski won a special election to fill the spot vacated by Jeff Stone. Skowronski Longtime MPS teacher leaves $2M to Marquette A Marquette University alumna, who spent her entire career teaching with Milwaukee Public Schools, has left Marquette University $2 million for endowed schol- arship aid. Bernadette Steep, who died on May 4, at age 92, in Gurnee, Ill., graduated from Marquette University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1944 and a Master of Education degree in 1967. "This is a remarkable example of an alumna who dedicated her life to teaching and has now ensured her legacy will continue to live on in classrooms for generations to come," said the Rev. Robert A. Wild, interim president. "Scholarship aid is essential to our pursuit of academic excellence, and we are extremely grateful to Bernadette for her generosity." Steep began teaching elementary school in 1958 and retired in 1987 from Milwaukee Public Schools' Maple Tree Elementary School on Milwaukee's far northwest side. Her gift includes funds she first received from the estate of her sister, Mary Ann, who gradu- ated from Marquette in 1953 and received a law degree in 1990. Steep expressed her desire to continue to have an impact in education to honor the memory of her sister, as well as Marquette's community of Catholic, Jesuit priests. Steep's sister died on Dec. 21, 2007. The gift, which will be split between Marquette's College of Education and Law School, is the largest donation in the College of Education's history.

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