March 24 - Forum at Basics

Come Alive on April 5

Forum on the importance of electing Joanne Kloppenburg to Wisconsin’s Supreme Court to counter Governor Walker's agenda of ending public union workers' collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin.

Speakers will include Peg Lautenschlager, former State Attorney General, and Ted Lewis, director of the Rock Valley Education Professionals.

Date: Thursday, March 24
Time, 6:30-8 PM
Place, Basics Cooperative, 1711 Lodge Drive, Janesville,
Wisconsin.

The public is invited.

For further information e-mail RockCountyProgressives@Gmail.com

Local Protests Planned

From the Milwaukee Area Labor Council AFL-CIO

Friday, March 25th,2011- 7:30 A.M.
Greater Beloit Chamber of Commerce Legislative Breakfast Picket- Representitives Wynn, Knilans, and Loudenbeck to be present. Country Club of Beloit, 2327 Riverside Drive. We will picket on the sidewalk.

Tuesday March 29, 2011 - 5:00 PM
Protest Governor Walker at Forward Janesville Dinner, Holiday Inn Express & Conference Center, Janesville

March 10, Rally Milton Teachers

MILTON—The Milton Education Association, Milton’s teachers union announced that it plans to sponsor another rally in support of public employees Thursday afternoon in Milton.

According to a posting on the teachers union’s facebook site, the rally will be at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Milton East Elementary School, along Highway 26 in Milton.

The post said the group hopes to double attendance it had at a rally last Thursday at the elementary school. The rally drew a crowd of teachers and other public employees, union members said.

The group had gathered to protest Gov. Scott Walker’s pending budget-relief bill, which seeks to curtail collective bargaining rights for public sector unions and tp force the union members to pay more for health and retirement benefits.

Forwarded by Rock County Progressives

March 9, Ft. Atkinson Rally

There will be a rally for Public Employees on Wed. March 9th on the Main St. bridge from 5-6 p.m. The Community Informational Forum will be postponed because of a need for more coordination of speakers and for the schools and city to gather more information. A key factor is that the city needs more time to gather more information on how the budget will impact it. We do not wish to give out incorrect or incomplete information.

Please bring family and friends to the rally. If all goes well, we may have another the following week before the Forum.

Jude Hartwick
FEA V.P.

Forwarded from Rock County Progressives

March 7, Harmony Town Board Meeting

Alert to all citizens that are concerned about center pivot irrigation from the proposed mega-dairy on the Rock Prairie:

What: The Harmony Town Board Meeting
When: Monday, March 7, 2011 at 7:00PM
Where: Harmony Town Hall, 440 N Hwy 14, Janesville, Wisconsin
(same side of the road, next door to Silha & Sons Excavating).
The agenda includes: Center Pivot Manure Ordinance.

Here are a couple of info links, there are many documents on line.

Johnstown Bans Center Pivot Manure Sprayers

Pivot Irrigation Study

Rock Environmental Network, Inc.
"When People Lead, the Leaders will Follow"

Alert! Farmland Protection Update

People from across Wisconsin are voicing opposition to Gov. Scott Walker's proposal to eliminate the state's program to permanently protect farmland. We need your help to reach out to lawmakers and the governor with a simple message: Don't wreck Wisconsin's farmland protection program.

Gov. Walker's budget proposes to zero out funding for the Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement program and wipe the program off the books. The American Farmland Trust and Gathering Waters Conservancy are helping to organize grass-roots supporters of farmland protection. We need your help.

Please contact your state representative and senator and urge them to reject elimination of the PACE program and to work for secure funding sources. Even if funding is temporarily limited, it makes no sense to eliminate the program! It was supported by a broad, bipartisan coalition of farmers, local officials, citizens and land trusts when it was created in 2009. Wisconsin does not want to lose this excellent opportunity for farmers and their families to protect farmland and pass their farms on to the next generation.

Initially funded with $12 million in bonding authority over two years, PACE has exceeded expectations in popularity with farmers eager to protect their valuable farmland for future generations. Seventy-six applications covering more than 18,600 acres of some of Wisconsin's best agricultural land were received during the program's first two application rounds - much more than could be protected with the initial funding for the program!

In addition to the governor's budget, bills have been introduced in the Senate and Assembly to eliminate PACE and its funding sources. Your legislators need to hear from you, and now.

A few facts that show the importance of this program:

Wisconsin was 9th in the nation in the amount of agricultural land developed from 2002-2007 and 4th in the nation in the amount of prime farmland - the very best farmland - developed during that same period. While pressure to convert farmland may have slowed in the last two years, history shows that when the economy recovers the loss of farmland will return. The Wisconsin PACE program is a vital hedge against the incessant push of growth and development over rural communities and farmlands.

Local groups across the state are organizing efforts to reach out to lawmakers, contact media and take other steps to save Wisconsin's farmland preservation program. We need you to join the rising crescendo.

For more information, go to www.wisconsinfarmland.org, or contact:

Bill Berry
American Farmland Trust/Protecting Wisconsin's Farm and Forest Lands
1973 Strongs Ave
Stevens Point WI 54481