The Observatory (https://observatory.journalism.wisc.edu/page/2/)
Flint, Michigan, the city known for its contaminated water crisis, has something in common with Wisconsin — childhood lead poisoning. According to Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore of Milwaukee, the proportion of children with elevated blood lead levels among Wisconsin’s children has risen close to those of Flint. The Observatory verified this claim.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has approved the diversion of 7 million gallons of water a day to be used primarily for the proposed Foxconn plant. Critics question whether the diversion complies with the Great Lakes Compact, which restricts use of Lake Michigan water outside of the lake’s basin.
Wisconsin U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson supports President Donald Trump’s move to add troops to the southern border with Mexico to intercept unauthorized immigrants and drugs. Johnson cited a shortage of U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents. The Observatory finds his claim that the Border Patrol does suffer from attrition Verified, but finds his claim about the need for more agents Unobservable.
About one-fifth of the signaled intersections in Madison also have audible signals to help visually impaired pedestrians cross the streets. The head of the Wisconsin Council on the Blind and Visually Impaired believes there should be more.
Democratic candidate for governor Sen. Kathleen Vinehout claimed in a March 2018 campaign video that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s signature Act 10, which strips most collective bargaining rights from public employees, has led to a teacher shortage. We check her claim.
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin says President Donald Trump’s decision to send military troops the border with Mexico is aimed at keeping out immigrants, not fighting drug smugglers. The Observatory finds this claim Mostly True.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate and Madison Mayor Paul Soglin claimed, “The latest statistics demonstrated that if there is a firearm available, it is 17 times more likely to be used either for suicide or for assaulting a friend, relative an acquaintance than it is to be used in fending off an intruder.” The Observatory rates his claim as Mostly True.
Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner said in a town hall meeting in Watertown on Feb. 25 that, “There has been a law on the books for over 20 years that makes it illegal to carry a firearm within 1,000 feet of any school in the country.” The Observatory found this claim Mostly True.
Gov. Scott Walker announces a deal in July 2017 with Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn to build an LCD manufacturing plant in Wisconsin. At far left is Terry Gou, chairman of Foxconn. Matt Flynn, one of Walker’s Democratic challengers for governor, says some of the state’s multi-billion taxpayer investment will flow to out-of-state companies. We check his claim.
Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, touting high school test results, said students in choice schools outperform their peers. We check out his claim.