Another Bad Air Quality Day: The WMC Has Said Suck It In Anyway

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has issued an ozone alert - - again - - for much of southeastern Wisconsin Wednesday.

The full text of the alert for Wednesday includes far more counties that those under a similar DNR dirty air watch on Sunday, right in the middle of a holiday (think outdoor activities) weekend - - Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Kenosha, Racine and Sheyboygan Counties.

Remember that in the name of economic growth, the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce wants those pesky air quality standards in southeastern Wisconsin relaxed.

So you folks with asthma, or you outdoor workers and joggers, and all the kids and seniors from Door through Kenosha to Rock Counties - - the WMC says go suck some dirty air.

Dennis Troha, Kenosha businessman and would-be casino kingpin, has pleaded guilty to two federal misdemeanors Friday in connection with improper political contributions he made.

That Troha was negotiating a plea has been widely reported.

But the media will be shocked, shocked to discover that Troha's plea is not a scandal involving Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, but a bipartisan conviction.

All of the paperwork hasn't been filed, [UPDATE: Here's the agreement.] But Troha pleaded to conspiring to skirt campaign finance laws and help the campaigns of Doyle and -- surprise! -- President George W. Bush.

To my knowledge, Bush's name had never been mentioned in any of the previous news accounts about Troha's troubles. [UPDATE: The Wisconsin State Journal did write about Troha's donations to Bush in a story in March,