WUWM News

After an unprecedented number of weather-related closures, Milwaukee Public Schools is adjusting its calendar for the rest of the school year. Feb. 19 was originally a staff-only day for professional development. But to make up for lost time, it is now a regular school day with students expected in class.

Updated at 4:32 p.m.  

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers announced Monday that his budget will include legalizing medical marijuana, along with decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana for personal use. Evers says possession, manufacturing or distribution of marijuana in amounts of 25 grams or less should be decriminalized.  

Sincere Tatum, 18, is one of a handful of black students at Brookfield Central High School. The school is 70 percent white, 4 percent black. 

“It took a while for me to adjust,” Tatum said. “Most of the time I’m the only African-American kid in my class.”

But Tatum tends to look for the upside in challenging situations.

“Like OK, there’s a cultural difference, but now I have the opportunity to educate my classmates if needed,” he says.

The Get The Lead Out Coalition and the Freshwater For Life Action Coalition had been looking forward to formally sharing what they consider compelling evidence to Milwaukee city leaders for weeks. They insist contamination caused lead pipes through which more than 70,000 homes receive city water is as important a threat to public health as lead in paint.

A report issued this week shows jobs in the solar industry in Wisconsin grew by 3 percent in 2018. But the state's largest electric utility, Milwaukee-based We Energies, also hopes more people will consider joining its company. 

The report by The Solar Foundation indicates the U.S. solar industry employed 242,000 people last year. That was down 3 percent nationally.

If you plan to visit the Milwaukee Art Museum in February, you can expect to be immersed in Haitian culture — by watching performances, or creating your own Haitian-inspired art. The museum is using Haitian dance, music and storytelling to celebrate Black History Month.

Milwaukee Police Officer Matthew Rittner was buried Wednesday, on what would have been his 36th birthday. He was fatally shot on Feb. 6 while executing a search warrant. His memorial service was held at The Assembly of God Church in Oak Creek.

Thousands filled the church in Oak Creek to commemorate the fallen officer. Some law enforcement officials traveled thousands of miles to honor Rittner, who served 17 years on the Milwaukee Police Department.

Three former Milwaukee County Jail employees have pleaded guilty in the dehydration death of Terrill Thomas. Thomas’ death shed a spotlight on the jail’s health services provider, which was charged criminally in his death. Milwaukee County is taking steps to change the health services provider at the jail, who is in charge of both medical and mental health care.

The Wisconsin Association of Railroad Passengers, a railroad passengers group with nearly 700 members, is trying to steer the idea of a second daily Amtrak train across Wisconsin into reality. Town hall meetings will be held Wednesday and Thursday evenings on the possibility of a shorter, more reliable, Empire Builder. 

Amtrak's current Empire Builder train runs from Chicago, through Milwaukee, to the Twin Cities, all the way to the West Coast.  

New Democratic Gov. Tony Evers promised on the campaign trail to provide a middle class tax cut. Republicans who control the legislature have the same goal, but getting there may be an ordeal.

The state Assembly passed a bill Tuesday that would tap a budget surplus to pay for a $340 million annual tax cut for single and joint filers. The measure goes to the state Senate on Wednesday, but if the GOP proposal is approved Evers might reject it, as he has a different approach in mind.

Dentists and community health care groups are debating a plan from Gov. Tony Evers to improve access to dental care in Wisconsin.

Two former Milwaukee County Jail employees are awaiting sentencing for their role in the jail dehydration death of Terrill Thomas in 2016. All three employees who were criminally charged were fired for their role in Thomas’ death—and one has been sentenced already.

We Energies hopes to increase the amount of mercury it is allowed to release from its coal-burning Oak Creek power plant into Lake Michigan. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources held a hearing Monday as part of its review process.

Jason Knutson, wastewater section chief with the DNR, attempted to appease the crowd and explain the mind-numbingly complex five-year waste water permit We Energies wants to renew.

Across the country, the number of opioid deaths continue to rise. In 2017, the state of Wisconsin saw more than 900.

Changes are being implemented in an effort to lessen the number of people addicted. United Healthcare made changes to its opioid policy when it comes to prescriptions being written by dentists for people under the age of 19. The scripts are now limited to a three day supply and no more than 50 morphine milligrams a day.