Parties already sparring before local hearing starts - JSOnline

Parties already sparring before local hearing starts - JSOnline

"This is, in my opinion, unconscionable," Grigsby said, accusing Vos of holding the facility "hostage" to prevent area residents from voicing any criticism of the budget bill. "They don't respond well to confrontation," Grigsby said of Republican legislative leaders.

Taylor said she confronted Vos at the committee hearing in Stevens Point. Vos told her, she said, that extending the hearing would turn it into a media circus.

"I said, 'You're making it into a circus. You literally went around and basically took it from us,' " Taylor said. "This isn't open government. This is not democracy. This is shameful."

Darling said there is some concern about things getting out of hand.

"You saw what happened at the Capitol," said Darling, a River Hills Republican. "Luckily, those crowds didn't happen in Superior or Stevens Point."