The "Wills for Heroes" program offers estate planning free of charge for first responders throughout the state, including police officers, firefighters, paramedics and EMTs.

It was created by the State Bar of Wisconsin's pro bono program, in partnership with Foley & Lardner LLP, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, LexisNexis and the State Bar Young Lawyers Division.

A pilot legal clinic was held in Milwaukee last month where members of the Milwaukee Police and Fire Departments and their spouses and partners received assistance in creating wills, financial powers of attorney, health care powers of attorney and living wills.

"Our police and firefighters are always serving the community and doing good things for them; this program allows the community to do something for our public servants," said Mike Tobin, executive director of the City of Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission. "The pilot program was very successful and we are proud to help make this a statewide program for all first responders," he added.

Five dollars will be deducted from the paychecks of those 65 officers until the raises are "paid back."

The decision outraged police union officials who attended the meeting.

"If they do that, I can assure you we will file an unfair labor practice," Greg Stout, president of the Tampa Police Benevolent Association told reporters from the Associated Press. "I don't care if it's a dollar a month. Our hardworking police officers deserve that money."

In Massachusetts, the state's highest court has ruled that Boston failed to bargain in good faith with the city police union when it changed how it pays overtime to officers back in 2002. According to an article by Boston Globe reporter Maria Cramer, the ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rejected the city's argument.

That argument was basically that federal law allows municipalities to pay overtime only after officers have worked more than 171 hours in 28 days, instead of more than 40 hours over seven days. The ruling means the city will owe hundreds of officers hundreds of thousands of dollars in overtime.

A recent posting by POLICEPAY.NET, one of the nation’s leading contract negotiations and arbitration teams, and which is headquartered in Norman, Oklahoma, included the following stories. There’s no longer any doubt that the recession is having a severe impact on local law enforcement. Police sound staffing alarm. By Christian Burkin (The Stockton Record) “Not long ago the Stockton Police Department in California couldn’t hire fast enough to satisfy the city’s appetite for police, but last week it was forced by a shrinking budget to lay off four academy trainees who were about a month from graduating and joining the ranks.

If you're sick of hearing about Wall St. versus Main St., then get in line. The kicker is, it's going to get worse, a lot worse, before it gets any better. Atlanta, Georgia was until very recently a shining beacon of commercial development, with low rates of unemployment, and large numbers of young, skilled workers wishing to move there.