This Just In ...
Kevin Fischer is a veteran broadcaster, the recipient of over 150 major journalism awards from the Milwaukee Press Club, the Wisconsin Associated Press, the Northwest Broadcast News Association, the Wisconsin Bar Association, and others. He has been seen and heard on Milwaukee TV and radio stations for over three decades. A longtime aide to state Senate Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature, Kevin can be seen offering his views on the news on the public affairs program, "InterCHANGE," on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10, and heard filling in on Newstalk 1130 WISN. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their lovely baby daughter, Kyla Audrey, in Franklin.
Developments take too long
I have argued constantly that local and state policies discourage rather than encourage economic development here, and contribute to our extremely slow pace of growth. Excessive taxing and spending and over-regulation present major obstacles.
Today's MIlwaukee Journal/Sentinel features an excellent letter to the editor that nails it:
DEVELOPMENT
Too much time spent on planning
A quote in the Oct. 2 article "Close vote advances freeway funding," attributed to Waukesha County Supervisor Patricia Haukohl of Brookfield, struck me. She said regarding the Pabst Farms development, "It's all happening too fast."
Too fast? You've got to be kidding! This project, as Scott Williams reported and supporters point out, has been in the planning and early implementation stage for a long, long time. I've lived in Delafield for 11 years, and it seems as though it's been almost that long that we've been debating the pros and cons of this development.
The attitude about development in southeastern Wisconsin is that we have to plan and debate and replan and debate and plan again before we get something done. It is one of the major problems we face as we try to compete for jobs and business expansion in our state. We are generally conservative about development and fanatically analytical about new developments to the extent that we become uncompetitive compared to other states.
I travel frequently to Atlanta. It is not unusual for whole subdivisions to be built in a period of three months there. Seemingly whole communities can spring up in a year.
When we have officials at any level of government who think development projects move along too fast, we need look no further to answer the question of why we aren't more successful in recruiting companies to locate here.
Raymond A. Mazurek
Delafield
And as we now have learned, the developer of Pabst Farms has bowed out. We are our own worst enemy.
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