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The president and co-owner of Bartolotta Fireworks has sought personal bankruptcy protection, and the company is becoming part of Wolverine Fireworks, the Milwaukee Journal reported today. Third-generation, family-owned Bartolotta Fireworks does hundreds of events a year in Wisconsin and elsewhere in the Upper Midwest. The business was started in 1977, but traces its roots to the 1930s when founder Sam Bartolotta developed a passion for pyrotechnics. In a chapter 7 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Madison, Wis., Jeffrey and Donna Bartolotta said that they had $506,377 in assets and $3,697,010 in liabilities. Jeffrey is president of the fireworks company. He and his wife, Donna, own a third of it, according to court records.

The American Bankruptcy Institute today announced the creation of a Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy. The 15-member expert panel will examine the consumer bankruptcy system and issue a report with recommended improvements that can be implemented within the existing structure. The Commission aims to modernize the consumer bankruptcy system with practical and cost-effective recommendations, building on the framework established by Bankruptcy Code of 1978 and Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. The Commission will employ an open, information-gathering model that will allow interested parties across the consumer bankruptcy spectrum to provide input. Read more.