Statistics compiled by the National White Collar Crime Center and the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance show that embezzlement by employees may be on the rise during the current economic downturn — at a time when businesses can least afford the losses associated with employee theft.

A leading Wisconsin executive and longtime key figure in the state’s economic development efforts reiterated his belief that those efforts have failed embarrassingly, but offered few ideas on how Wisconsin can improve an economy he calls grim.

Century-old historical landmarks and ‘green’ buildings might seem worlds apart, but hidden within the ornate, steeplelike Milwaukee City Hall, constructed in 1895 and recently renovated to the tune of $70 million, is a 21st-century success story: The City Hall complex, which includes two attached office buildings, has earned silver LEED certification for energy efficiency.

As sweeping new legislation regarding disposal of electronic waste moves through the Legislature, some technology groups and recycling businesses are lauding the measure even as electronics manufacturers say it places an impossible task on them to control what happens to their products once in the hands of consumers.

A call to offer free municipal water to attract new employers and a push to expand the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee beyond its east side campus dominated a panel discussion Thursday morning on the future of Milwaukee’s 30th Street industrial corridor.

Wisconsin’s real estate trade association had vigorously backed Scott Walker’s bid for governor, but individual real estate professionals appear underwhelmed by Walker’s proposed tax break on health savings accounts and divided over his decision to kill high speed rail. Although real estate professionals, who are largely self-employed, say any break on health insurancecosts is a step in the right direction, they say job growth and mortgage loan incentives would be more likely to rescue their struggling industry.