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The Review Geek
11-07-2025
- The Review Geek
Ballard – Season 1 Episode 2 'Haystacks' Recap & Review
Haystacks Episode 2 of Ballard Season 1 starts with Ballard arriving at the lodge crime scene. She introduces herself to Detective Neylon, the man in charge. Neylon is unhappy that she is on his turf, but tries to be accommodating. He allows her to check the crime scene and promises to call her once he gets the ballistic report. Before leaving, Ballard talks to the manager and checks out the CCTV footage. Unfortunately, the murder was not caught on camera, but a suspicious man catches her attention. She quickly takes a picture before leaving. Outside, Zamira waits, and Ballard tells her that they will secretly work the case. She calls Laffont and sends him the victim's details. Laffont asks her to call Bosch, but she refuses. Neylon believes Yulia was killed in a robbery gone wrong, but Zamira and Ballard think otherwise. They follow one of Yulia's co-workers to a local salon. The woman refuses to talk since she is undocumented. Ballard allows her to leave and talks to the salon manager. The manager tells them more about Yulia, but nothing substantial enough to be a lead. Luckily, she recognises the unhoused man in the picture but doesn't know his name. They head back to the office and debrief the team. Ted is frustrated to be sent on the hunting mission. Meanwhile, Ballard and Zamira start creating the case board and going through all the evidence. Ballard leaves to talk to Laura's mom but runs into Pearlman. He is mad that Ballard is looking into Yulia's and Laura's cases. Ballard tells him about the connection between Sara and Laura. She also reminds him that all cases are important. As they talk about the cases, it dawns on Pearlman that Brian might not have killed his sister. Brian was doing a military tour. Ballard promises to get Pearlman answers and calls Laffont to check out Brian's alibi during Laura's murder. Laffont suggests they bring Bosch in, but Ballard refuses. The visit with Laura's mom doesn't go as smoothly as Ballard hoped. As she leaves Laura's mom's house, someone starts tailing her. Unfortunately, Ballard doesn't realise she is being followed. She heads to her therapy session where we learn that someone tried to rape her. Her therapist worries that Ballard is too hurt by the betrayal of her fellow officers. Ballard switches the topic back to the shooting. On her way out, she runs into Olivas and two other male officers. One of the officers makes a crude sexual joke, pissing Ballard off. Back at the office, Colleen finds the last advert that Laura worked on. Martina finds a possible connection between Laura and Sara. Sara was in the drama club, and the killer might have met them through acting classes. Laffont gets an update on Brian's alibi, forcing them to drop him as a possible suspect. It also turns out that Leyton never submitted the bullet that killed Yulia to ballistics. Ballard sends Laffont to do it, and Colleen offers to join him. On the other hand, Ballard visits Brian and apologises to him. Brian is relieved to hear he is cleared, but sends her away. In the meantime, Zamira joins Ted in searching for the unhoused man. After a while, their search leads them to a guy named Frosty. Ballard joins Zamira and Ted to make an arrest, but Frosty tries to make a run for it. He ends up breaking his leg. Given that Frosty is hurt and too high, they call it a day and drop him at the hospital first. After a long day, Ballard calls Aaron after getting hurt during the arrest. Aaron drops by her house and says she only calls him on the bad days. They end up sleeping together, and Aaron accidentally flashes Tutu the following morning. On the other side of town, Ballard meets with the captain after Neylon reports her for working her case. The captain sides with Ballard and asks her to take over the case since she arrested Frosty. However, the captain asks her to close the case perfectly or lose the case. Before heading to the office, Ballard drops by Ballistics. She begs Freddie to run the ballistics on her John Doe case and prioritise the Yulia case. She later meets with Zamira at the hospital to interrogate Frosty. Unfortunately for them, Frosty suffers from mental issues. Even when sober, he can barely make a coherent sentence. Zamira and Ballard believe that someone intentionally paid Frosty to kill Yulia because he was too lost already. When asked about the gun, Frosty claims he buried it, and it turned into roses. With no clear answers, Ballard and Zamira leave. At the office, Colleen is still traumatised by her first visit to the morgue. Laffont comforts her, and they get back to the case. Ballard sends Zamira and Ted to try to find the gun Frosty disposed of. Bosch makes an impromptu visit and asks to talk to Ballard in private. He is unhappy she didn't reach out, but doesn't take it personally. He invites her for lunch and tries to encourage her to find the silver lining in her current situation. Bosch also mentions that he found the alibis of two witnesses problematic in the Laura case. Back on the street, Zamira and Ted find Frosty's gun near a rose mural. Zamira calls Ballard, and they rush the gun to Freddie. Unfortunately, the gun can only be linked to Yulia's case. As for the John Doe case, Freddie says the bullet was never presented and thus never analysed. Zamira is sure she called in to request the bullet analysis. She couldn't follow up as she left the force, but now, she is certain someone in LAPD wants this case to go unsolved. The scene then cuts to Ballard's stalker calling someone. He assures the other party that the case is closed and Frosty will be taking the fall. The other party gives him new instructions. The episode ends with the stalker arriving at work, and we learn that he is a police officer. The Episode Review Ballard feels betrayed by her former colleagues, and she is intent on proving her case. It seems like Zamira also has an issue with Olivas, but she is hiding the truth. Ballard is facing a lot of issues in this case. As soon as she gets a lead, it turns out to be nothing. They thought Brian was their guy, but he was innocent. Frosty gave them nothing. There is always someone a step ahead of Ballard, and based on the closing scene, we know he is either in the force or has some officers on his payroll. It doesn't help that Ted's attitude continues to affect the morale of the team. He is always complaining and telling on Ballard. He might want to focus on doing his job to help Ballard close the cases quicker!
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
State legislators in Waukesha County push for more district attorney positions in budget
The Waukesha County District Attorney's Office, struggling through what it considers a critical staffing shortage, has at least caught the ears of eight state legislative leaders. Wisconsin State Assembly representatives whose districts include Waukesha County submitted a budget amendment motion on May 20 that proposes funding for the addition of 10 more Waukesha County assistant district attorney positions — a measure they say addresses a core Republican concern about public safety. The effort at least targets a concern county officials have recently addressed about the lack of funding for state-mandated services. In April, Waukesha County District Attorney Lesli Boese focused on her own 16-attorney department. In a loosely orchestrated public campaign, including media interviews, she spelled out the difficulties her staff has faced as caseloads have grown and the number of prosecutors to work on them has not. "It's just become a crisis," Boese said in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in April. "I've got prosecutors who I think are kind of getting burned out by the hours. At some point, you can't do more with less." Individually, the eight legislators — State Reps. Scott Allen, Barbara Dittrich, Cindi Duchow, Dan Knodl, Dave Maxey, Adam Neylon, Jim Piwowarczyk and Chuck Wichgers — essentially concurred in statements issued May 20. In a news release, they noted that the budget proposal addresses rising caseloads and criminal justice efficiency. "Public safety is the primary function of government," Allen, of District 82, said in a statement. "We cannot keep our community safe if our justice system does not have enough staff to do the work." Neylon, whose District 15 office issued the news release, noted the caseload backlog threatens a fundamental right to "timely justice" for victims and defendants alike. "The justice system in Waukesha County is under immense strain, with a growing backlog of unresolved cases," Neylon, of Pewaukee, said. "Without immediate investment in staffing, our courts cannot ensure a fair and swift judicial process. It's time to give Waukesha County's justice system the tools it needs to serve our community." District 97 Rep. Duchow, R-Town of Delafield, echoed earlier data called out by Boese, who noted that Waukesha County had the second fewest prosecutors per capita in the state, based on 2024 figures. (Using two different metrics, Boese said her office is short between 10.6 to 24.7 attorneys.) "The Waukesha County's DA office has been and continues to be understaffed and overwhelmed," Duchow said. "We're not talking about a few vacant positions, or having a few extra cases to manage." Legislators also echoed concerns by county officials about the impact of residents from outside the county on the local criminal caseload. You can read the statements from all eight legislative leaders here. Strictly speaking, the proposal for more district attorney funding isn't tied to existing legislation. Rather, it's part of a collection of ideas, in the form of budget motions, that will take shape in the coming weeks as the state fully forms its budget for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. In a brief phone interview, Allen noted that the Assembly's Joint Finance Committee "has only taken a couple of actions so far," meaning the process is barely underway to create a 2025-2027 budget. Whether the district attorney staffing issue will gain the support of that committee depends on numerous factors as funding prospects are debated. The district attorney proposal will fall under the state Department of Justice budget, Allen said. Ideally, the budget process would conclude prior to the start of the new fiscal year, he said. Otherwise, under Wisconsin law, the government would continue to operate under funding established in the current fiscal year. As such, additional funding for the Waukesha County District Attorney's Office would have to come from the new fiscal year budget. The funding proposal is tied to a broader effort by the county officials to gain additional financial assistance from the state for mandated services. Those services include law enforcement and prosecutorial positions that county officials say are threatened by their own budget. County officials, whose own budget crisis was publicized in 2024 as they considered a local sales tax to raise new revenue, had indicated in recent months that they hoped to gain legislative support for more state funding. That push became more pronounced after the county abandoned an ordinance proposal that would have put a county sales tax in place on July 1, 2025. But the district attorney proposal represented a more focused effort, citing what officials called an unworkable situation that threatens public safety. In a May 21 statement, Boese thanked area legislators for hearing her message, noting that funding for county attorney positions doesn't only fall short in Waukesha County. "The lack of funding for prosecutors in Wisconsin has hit a crises level," she said. Contact reporter Jim Riccioli at This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Legislators seek funding for Waukesha County District Attorney jobs
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Republican lawmakers propose sweeping deregulation
Rep. Nate Gustafson said his bill would implement a 'net zero' rule process. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner) Wisconsin Republican lawmakers are introducing bills to review every statewide administrative rule and impose new limits on the rulemaking process, saying there are too many regulations currently and they put operational obstacles and financial burdens on businesses. GOP Lawmakers have raised objections to agencies' administrative rulemaking process — and the power of the executive branch — for many years and have taken action to exert more control over the process and to limit the authority of state agencies and the governor. The REINS Act, signed into law by former Gov. Scott Walker in 2017, for example, required lawmakers' approval for regulations that might cost more than $10 million over a two-year period. 'A lot of what's been done in the past has looked at when you're implementing new rules — what is the process? Who is writing the rules?' Rep. Adam Neylon (R-Pewaukee), who introduced the bill that became 2017 Wisconsin Act 57, said at a press conference last week. 'What [the] REINS Act is not able to do is go back and reset it all,' Neylon added. 'We're looking at the stack of rules that have accumulated over the years that are piling up… We need a reset.' One of four GOP bills would require agencies to make cuts to offset the cost associated with new regulations. Under the bill, coauthored by Rep. Nate Gustafson (R-Fox Crossing) and Sen. Julian Bradley (R-New Berlin), agencies with a new rule proposal would have to stop work on the process until they've figured out how to eliminate the cost of a new regulation, or, alternatively, until a different rule reduces the costs to businesses, local governmental units and individuals over any two-year period. Gustafson calls it a 'net zero' rule process. 'So if there's an existing regulation or rule output that is of equal cost or greater, you're going to have to cut that rule if you want to implement a new one.' Another of the four bills — coauthored by Neylon and Sen. Steve Nass — would put an expiration date on every administrative rule seven years after implementation. Currently, administrative rules are in effect indefinitely unless repealed, amended by the agency or suspended by the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR). JCRAR is a 10-member committee responsible for reviewing proposed administrative rules to ensure they align with state law. Lawmakers on the committee have the ability to approve, suspend, or request modifications to proposed rules. Under the new measure, the year before a rule expires an agency would need to send notice to JCRAR about its intention to readopt the rule. If there is no objection by a lawmaker on the committee, then the rule would be considered readopted, but if there is an objection, then the rule would expire unless the agency goes through the rulemaking process again. Neylon said the point is to create a more modern process and do away with 'outdated or duplicative rules, creating unnecessary burdens on businesses.' Another bill — coauthored by Sen. Rob Hutton and Reps. Dan Knodl (R-Germantown) and Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie) — would limit scope statements, the first step in the rulemaking process, so they could only be used for one proposed rule and would set a six month expiration date when a scope statement can be used for an emergency rule. Currently, people can challenge the validity of an administrative rule in court. The final bill — coauthored by Rep. Ron Tusler (R-Harrison) and Sen. Eric Wimberger (R-Oconto) — would award people who challenge a rule attorney fees and costs if a court declares a rule invalid. The bill package is based on a report from the right-wing Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), which also launched a webpage about the effort to cut 'red tape' on Wednesday. WILL states in the report that Wisconsin is the 13th most regulated state in the country and lays out proposals similar to the new GOP bills. WILL said the actions would build off steps taken in other states, including Idaho, Ohio, Nebraska and Oklahoma, to reduce regulations. Neylon said WILL provided research and worked with lawmakers' offices on the legislation. But, he added, 'these are issues that we've all worked on for a lot of years, issues that we care deeply about. This is our initiative… and nobody else's.' Economist Michael Rosen told the Examiner that the bills come out of Republicans' 'national playbook,' and that the research from WILL is based on the idea that 'any regulation impedes economic growth.' 'It has been a cornerstone of Republican policy since the election of Ronald Reagan to deregulate, get rid of regulation, and [to insist] that getting rid of regulation promotes economic growth,' Rosen said. He calls that theory 'nonsense.' Rosen points out that some of the most heavily regulated states — including California and New York — are also the most prosperous. He noted that the majority of the states cited in WILL' s research are those with Republican-dominated government. 'All regulations really are the rules under which the market operates,' Rosen said, adding, 'there have to be rules that govern the behavior of the buyers and sellers. That's what regulation is. It's very simple, and what they're arguing is to get rid of them.' Rosen challenges broad assertions in WILL's research, including WILL's finding that a 36% cut to regulations across the board in Wisconsin could grow the economy by 1 percentage point annually. That analysis fails to take into account 'negative externalities,' Rosen says — actions by companies that impose a cost on people who are not directly involved. He pointed to environmental regulations as an example of how these costs are paid by the public. 'In economic terms, companies that pollute… part of the cost of production should be disposing of the waste that a company produces…. If there aren't any rules, the cheapest way to dispose of your waste is to release it into the atmosphere or release it into the rivers and streams,' Rosen said. 'That's what we had in this country at the beginning of the 20th century, when we didn't have any environmental regulations, and rivers, like the Milwaukee River, and streams and lakes were polluted by manufacturers because that was the cheapest way for them to dispose of their waste.' Rosen said that some might argue that rules meant to protect the environment impede growth because they impose an additional cost on a company, however, he said that rules can ensure they aren't passing on that cost to the public. Since passage in 2017, the REINS Act has posed an obstacle to proposed environmental protection rules in Wisconsin. Without the regulations, Rosen said, people would have 'no assurance' about the products they buy — 'whether it's a can of tuna fish, whether it's an automobile, whether it's a ride on an airplane.' 'Is it impeding economic growth that we have regulations on air travel? No, because if we didn't have the regulation of the airline industry, we would have far more accidents and many fewer people would want to travel on airplanes,' Rosen said. 'These are all regulations that we take for granted,' but assure people they can trust the products and services they purchase, 'and we won't crash and die.' A better way to address onerous or outdated rules, Rosen said, is to take them up one at a time, rather than through the sweeping anti-regulatory bill package Wisconsin Republicans are proposing. 'Are there some regulations that maybe are antiquated? I'm not going to sit here and tell you there might not be,' Rosen said. 'But rather than pass sweeping legislation, which is ideologically driven and could have catastrophic consequences, people should raise the particular regulation.' Rep. Amanda Nedweski (R-Pleasant Prairie) said that she is excited for the bills to go through the Assembly Government Operations, Accountability and Transparency (GOAT) committee, which she chairs. The committee was created this session, inspired by billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency project, which has sought to remake the federal government by unilaterally firing employees and making deep cuts to federal agencies. 'Excessive regulations have serious economic consequences. They slow economic growth. They increase costs for businesses and consumers and they stifle innovation, all while the compliance costs put the greatest burden on our small businesses and working families,' Nedweski said. Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) said the bills are another action from the 'tired Republican playbook' and compared them to the actions being taken by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. 'These bills are an attempt at a power grab, akin to what we are seeing from the Trump-Musk administration,' Hesselbein said. 'The bills would, among other things, undermine the fundamental democratic principle of separation of powers. They are unnecessary, anti-democratic, and wholly wrong for Wisconsin.' Republicans in the Senate and Assembly, who hold majorities, could pass the bills without support from Democratic lawmakers, however, they would need Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' sign-off to become law. Neylon conceded that it's unlikely Evers will support them. 'Unfortunately Gov. Evers makes a lot of mistakes,' Neylon said. 'He's showing to be a failure as a governor, and I'm not optimistic he'll make the right decision here, but I think that we're doing the best we can to try to reform the regulatory process, and we think that it's time for a reset.' Evers' office hasn't responded to a request for comment. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
