Wisconsin sees a surge in barriers to slow lakefront erosion. But such structures are temporary and may harm downstream beaches.
Author Archives: Mario Koran / Wisconsin Watch
Mario Koran reports on education, immigration and issues affecting communities of color. He is currently a New York Times local investigations fellow. Most recently, Koran was a 2021 Knight Wallace reporting fellow at the University of Michigan. Previously, Koran served as a west coast correspondent for the Guardian US and spent five years covering education for Voice of San Diego, where he was named the 2016 reporter of the year by the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. Since leaving an internship with Wisconsin Watch in 2013, Koran’s work has appeared in The New York Times, The Appeal, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, among others. Koran holds a BA in Spanish literature and MA in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Posted inEconomy, Environment, Imperiled Shores
‘The water always wins’: Calls to protect shorelines as volatile Lake Michigan inflicts heavy toll
Wisconsin’s Great Lakes communities expect to spend $245 million in five years to protect shorelines as a climate ‘tug of war’ drives extreme shifts in water levels.
Posted inEconomy, Lives on Hold
People with disabilities sue to overturn Wisconsin law denying them unemployment benefits
Eight plaintiffs receiving Social Security Disability Insurance payments say the state is illegally discriminating against them by banning them from jobless aid.
Posted inJustice & Safety, Justice Deferred
‘Skipping the middleman’: Defendants faced shifting demands in Outagamie County judge’s one-man drug court
The judge says it met a need, but the self-styled program lacked structure and meant longer punishments for some.
Posted inJustice & Safety, Justice Deferred
Judge’s rigorous collection of court-ordered debt atypical in Wisconsin — even in his own county
Outagamie County Circuit Judge Vincent Biskupic has held dozens of review hearings stretching over years to push defendants to pay overdue court costs
Posted inJustice & Safety, Justice Deferred
Man decries lengthy ‘de facto probation’ in Outagamie County
Beau Jammes filed a complaint against Judge Vincent Biskupic, arguing that being subject to the judge’s scrutiny for months was ‘illegal’ — and unhelpful.
Posted inJustice & Safety, Justice Deferred
‘Why do you keep harassing me?’: An Outagamie County judge controls defendants after sentencing
A Wisconsin Watch and WPR analysis shows Judge Vincent Biskupic is the top user of this ‘de facto’ probation, which raises questions of judicial authority — and fairness.
Posted inGovernment, Justice & Safety
When lies lead to wrongful convictions
“This case was essentially a case where it appeared to be going nowhere and the detectives in this case built this case out of absolutely nothing,” Mark Williams, a Milwaukee County assistant district attorney, said at trial. “They deserve the credit of the community for the job that they did.”
Posted inGovernment, Justice & Safety
Sidebar: California case prompts policy reforms
Revelations from jailhouse informant Leslie Vernon White prompted a mass review of cases spanning an entire decade in which jailhouse testimony had been used to secure a criminal conviction. And it led Los Angeles County to adopt what one expert calls some “of the best jailhouse snitch protections in the country.”
Posted inGovernment, Justice & Safety
Sidebar: Cases raise concerns about informant testimony
Several Wisconsin cases from the The National Registry of Exonerations show how incentivized testimony can contribute to wrongful convictions. Each involves testimony from informants that was later proven false.
Posted inLosing Track, WisWatch Blog
Story impact: Lawmakers hold up funding for GPS tracking, call for study
A Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism report on problems regarding the use of GPS devices to monitor convicted offenders was a factor in the decision of state lawmakers to delay approval of some funding sought by the state Department of Corrections for program expansion, and seek a study on the program’s effectiveness.
“People are concerned with the accuracy of the GPS monitoring devices,” said state Rep. Jon Richards, D-Milwaukee, citing the Center’s report.
Posted inJustice & Safety, Losing Track
Story impact: Lawmakers ask tough questions about state’s GPS tracking system
In response to a Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism report, Rep. Garey Bies, R-Sister Bay, called a hearing to question Wisconsin Department of Corrections officials about the reliability of GPS monitoring of offenders.