Station to Station, Again: The city could be facing another white elephant in the form of the former District 3 Police Station. That building was replaced by a new, high-tech station across the street. But that project ended up more than $30 million over budget, with little oversight by city officials other than the Police Department itself.

Currently, only the first floor of the former station at 4715 W. Vliet St. can be legally occupied, according to a memo from Chief Ed Flynn. The chief wants to use the second floor as well, but says that's going to cost some $977,000.

The department only has $550,000 in its budget for remodeling and the chief is asking that the rest come from the Asset Forfeiture Fund, which is aid from the feds that comes from seized property and money used in crimes.

Beer Ban: It's an appropriate topic for Bar Month at OnMilwaukee.com. Madison wants to create an "alcohol ban list" which would ban liquor stores from selling booze to citizens that the city labels "chronic drunks."

A city Alcohol License Review Committee says a person must be found a "habitual drunkard" to get on the list. Some committee members would categorize habitual drunkards as people with six or more alcohol-related citations or referrals to detox centers -- about 35 to 40 people. Downtown businesses are tiring of homeless drunks wandering around their premises. Habitual drunkards, under the regulation, could still walk into a tavern and have a drink, but would be prohibited from leaving with carry-outs. The city already has banned Downtown liquor stores from selling 40-oz. bottles, four-packs of beer and 200-milliliter liquor bottles.

Green Bay has banned various habitual drunks from buying alcohol for the past 10 years. There are 68 people on that list.

The Hidden Costs of Lawsuit: Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen won't come clean on what his lawsuit in fall cost taxpayers. That's the argument made by Rep. Mark Pocan, co-chair of the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee.

Van Hollen sued the Government Accountability Board just before November's election to try and force local clerks to recount voter lists in search of fraud. Van Hollen received many accolades from conservative talk radio hosts who supported the suit. Pocan says Van Hollen is ignoring repeated requests for documentation as to how much the suit cost taxpayers.

A Dane County judge dismissed the suit in November, but Van Hollen appealed. He dropped the appeal last month.

"It is becoming increasingly clear that the lawsuit was a political one, pursued in concert with the Republican Party," Pocan said. "The total cost to state taxpayers for this folly is likely in excess of $100,000, but due to the stonewalling of the attorney general, we may never know the real cost.

"He insists that his staff did not keep track of hours for the lawsuit. I find it hard to believe that his fiscal record keeping is as incompetent as he claims. Large law firms and even small, one-attorney offices keep track of time spent on cases. ... We may have to explore putting tighter fiscal controls on how the Attorney General spends his resources, especially in regards to lawsuits of a political nature."

More Parking Fees: The City of Milwaukee allows people with parking tickets to enter into a payment plan and keep themselves out of court. If ticketed persons keep to the payment plan, their vehicle registration won't be cancelled, their car won't be towed and their income tax return won't be seized. It's a convenient offering that avoids all sorts of trouble. That convenience will cost an extra $10 after the Council passes the extra fee. A Department of Public Works official says it's to cover additional administrative costs passed on by the city's vendor, Duncan Solutions.