Good morning.
Thursday in Whitewater will be cloudy with a high of 34. Sunrise is 7:25 AM and sunset 4:35 PM for 9h 10m 30s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 98.2% of its visible disk illuminated.
Whitewater’s Landmarks Commission meets at 6 PM.
On this day in 1914, the Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and minimum daily wage of $5 in salary plus bonuses.
Evan Casey reports Slate of Foxconn opponents announce run for Mount Pleasant Village Board (‘The 4 opponents plan to gain a majority of the village board this spring’):
Local opponents of Mount Pleasant’s Foxconn project are looking to change the direction of the community’s village government.
The local watchdog group A Better Mount Pleasant has been lobbying against spending related to the development for years. Now the group is running a slate of candidates, hoping to create a majority on the village board, while unseating Village President Dave DeGroot, who has been a vocal supporter of Foxconn.
“This is our chance to have a majority and to really transform the village in ways we know residents to want to see,” said Kelly Gallaher, who is running against DeGroot.
Gallaher, spokesperson for A Better Mount Pleasant, has been one of the more vehement opponents against Foxconn.
“While all of us had big hopes for it when it was first announced, it has failed, and it’s really left Mount Pleasant holding the bag in terms of debt and bonding for this project,” she said.
Foxconn initially planned to invest $10 billion on a large flat-screen manufacturing plant in Mount Pleasant and employ 13,000 people. Those plans never came to fruition, and a far smaller manufacturing facility now operates on the site.
Kim Mahoney owned the last home on the Foxconn development area with her husband. She is now is running for a seat on the village board alongside Gallaher.
According to A Better Mount Pleasant, the village, Racine County and the state have spent $200 million on land purchases, $185 million for water and sewer, $140 million for electric and power storage and $225 million for roads for the Foxconn project.
“We do want to get control of the amount of money that continues to be spent on the project and see if we can pull back some of the spending or eliminate some of it,” Mahoney said.
And so, and so, a question: Will government officials responsible for this grandiose failure be held accountable? Alternatively, can a local government do anything with impunity?
One hopes for the best for the residents of Mount Pleasant.
See FREE WHITEWATER’s category on Foxconn.
How robotics is miniaturizing surgery: