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Author: jnweaver

More move-out recycling downtown this year

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WKOW-TV 27

MADISON (WKOW) — It?s moving week on campus and Wednesday, many students have made it to their new homes. Between traffic, moving trucks and a lot of belongings, it can be a struggle along the way, but a UW conservation program is helping people on the move. “Donate and Take” is a tent full of stuff that people want to get rid of– for people who need that stuff. It?s an opportunity that means fewer items will head to the curb. UW-Madison senior Andy Bose came up with the idea for “Donate and Take.”

Experts say this allergy season one of the longest

Posted on
WISC-TV 3

MADISON, Wis. – Hang on to your tissues. Experts in Wisconsin said this allergy season will be one of the longest. Dr. Mark Moss at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health said the allergy season began about two to three weeks early. The mild winter and unseasonably warm spring temperatures caused trees to bud and bloom and release pollen and mold much earlier.

Police: Four men rob 21-year-old on State Street

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Wisconsin State Journal

Madison police said four men robbed a 21-year-old as they walked home early Wednesday morning. According to a news release the person was approached by the four robbers while walking on the 400 block of State Street around 2:30 a.m. Authorities said the person was not hurt in the attack.

Black youth to get police training in first academy of its kind here

Posted on
Capital Times

Black youth from the Madison area will be learning about police work in a good way this week. The inaugural Black Youth Career Police Academy is being held Aug. 16 to 18 at two locations, the Boys and Girls Club of Dane County and the Madison Police Department Training Center, with kids getting immersed in what officers do, and possibly looking at careers they might not have thought of. Madison officers will be helped by the Fitchburg and UW-Madison police departments and the Dane County Sheriff?s Office.

Fake $100 bill found at campus store

Posted on
Capital Times

A bogus $100 bill was passed at a UW-Madison campus store late last month, with the bill accepted by a new clerk. The fraud was reported July 30 at Walgreens, 311 East Campus Mall, according to a news release from the Madison Police Department. The manager of the store found the counterfeit bill while counting money from the cash box.

Penn State accreditation in jeopardy

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WISC-TV 3

(CNN) – The organization that grants academic accreditation to Penn State has warned the school that it is in danger of losing that crucial status in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal, the university announced this week. The move by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education is the latest blow for the beleaguered university, which has seen its reputation clobbered and its football program hobbled after investigators found school leaders did too little stop the abuse.

Drought creates danger of toxic fungi in surviving crops

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Wisconsin State Journal

“It?s going to take a really unique year if we?re going to see it here, and we?re having that unique year,” said Joe Lauer, an agronomy professor at UW-Madison. Lauer said farmers also need to be on the lookout at harvest time for toxins from another genus of fungi called Fusarium. Those toxins can cause milking cows to become less productive and can induce farm animal miscarriages if ingested in high enough concentrations.

On Campus: UW grad student’s ‘Feminist Ryan Gosling’ blog hits the big time

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Wisconsin State Journal

Be careful what you blog about ? it might make you famous. That?s the lesson learned by UW-Madison graduate student Danielle Henderson. When she started a blog with photos of hunky movie star Ryan Gosling mouthing cheeky, made-up feminist thoughts, she intended it as a study guide for herself and a source of laughs for a few like-minded friends. She?s about to start her second year in a master?s program in gender and women?s studies. Now, after attracting more than 20,000 followers, the blog feministryangosling.tumblr.com is being published in a book, “Feminist Ryan Gosling,” coming out on Tuesday.

Shooting near Texas A&M kills officer, civilian; Gunman fatally shot

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CBSNews.com

(CBS/AP) COLLEGE STATION, Texas – A gunman and a law enforcement officer were among three people killed Monday in a shooting near the Texas A&M University campus, police said. A male civilian also was killed, while two other officers and a woman were injured in the shooting in College Station, said Bryan Police Department spokesman Jon Agnew. Bryan police are assisting nearby College Station in the investigation.

Texas A&M Shooting: Gunman Kills Two, Including Cop

Posted on
ABCNEWS.com

A gunman was killed by police near Texas A&M University in College Station after shooting five people and killing two, including a peace officer who was attempting to serve him an eviction notice. Just before 12:30 p.m. CDT the university issued an electronic alert, warning students of an “active shooter” in a residential area near the school’s football stadium. By 12:44 p.m CDT, students were alerted that the gunman was in custody but to continue to avoid the area.

3 killed in shooting near Texas A&M

Posted on
WISC-TV 3

(CNN) – A Texas constable and two others were killed Monday in a shooting near Texas A&M University, police said. Rhonda Seaton, a spokeswoman with the College Station police department, told CNN that the three people killed were the constable, the man authorities say exchanged gunfire with law enforcement officers and an unidentified civilian. A few minutes earlier, Asst. Chief Scott McCollum, from the same police department, told reporters that multiple people had been shot in the incident, which occurred around noon just a few blocks from the Texas A&M campus.

Dozen dumpsters destroyed by fires, siding melts off apartment buildings

Posted on
Capital Times

Madison firefighters were busy early Sunday fighting dumpster blazes at two student apartment buildings, with a dozen dumpsters destroyed and siding melted off the buildings. Flames were shooting 20 feet high, and melted siding went up three stories, according to a news release from the Madison Fire Department. The first fire was early Sunday at 12:19 a.m. in the rear of a 32-unit apartment building at 118 N. Brooks St., next to the Southwest Commuter Bike Path.

UW?s Ball says attack was case of ?bad place, wrong time?

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Madison.com

Before senior running back Montee Ball addressed his University of Wisconsin teammates, he had a flashback to the last time he spoke in front of the entire team. It was immediately following the 45-38 loss to Oregon in the Rose Bowl, when Ball told everybody in the locker room he was returning for his senior season. It was a much different situation when Ball spoke to the team on Friday night.

Tom Oates: Ball?s assault unlikely to affect team?s focus

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Madison.com

There were some lonesome players Sunday at the University of Wisconsin?s football media day at Camp Randall Stadium. At the beginning anyway, many of the Badgers sat alone on the chairs that were scattered around the field while reporters had Heisman Trophy candidate Montee Ball surrounded. Only it wasn?t Ball?s Heisman chances that reporters were asking about. It was the concussion the senior tailback suffered Aug. 1 when he was brutally attacked by five males while walking to his campus-area apartment after a night out with friends.

UW-Superior campus nears recovery after flood

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WISC-TV 3

SUPERIOR, Wis.- Repairs at the University of Wisconsin-Superior are nearly complete after June flooding devastated the campus. Heavy rains caused flooding that damaged every building except the Service Center on the south side of campus. But facilities management director Tom Fennessey told the Duluth NewsTribune that repairs are about 95 percent complete. He?s optimistic repairs will be finished when students return to campus in a couple of weeks.

New test results illustrate Madison schools’ achievement gap

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Wisconsin State Journal

A new student test in Madison schools that could help gauge the effectiveness of the school district?s achievement gap plan suggests an average student?s knowledge grew at or slightly below the rate of their national peers in math and reading and ended the year about a half-grade level behind….One advantage of MAP is it allows schools to closely track the growth of students over a school year, said Bradley Carl, a researcher at the Value-Added Research Center at UW-Madison. While attainment levels are important for setting high expectations for students and schools, growth more accurately reflects the impact of a school, program or teacher.

With big move near, students urged to help cut down on waste

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

A few days before thousands of Downtown leases expire next week, neighborhoods around the UW-Madison campus were already filled with hallmarks of the annual August migration Friday. There were the rental trucks packed with furniture and SUVs hauling trailers loaded up with mattresses. There were the tenants and their friends or family helping fill cars in front of apartments and homes. There was also, as always, the waste.

Tech and Biotech: Tech festival, VentureLab put focus on entrepreneurship

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Wisconsin State Journal

If you?ve ever thought about starting a company ? especially if there?s technology involved ? the next week or two should get those juices flowing. All sorts of activities are on tap, primarily tied to the Forward Technology Festival, Aug. 15-25. Meanwhile, 16 budding entrepreneurs will get intensive training on how to run a business at VentureLab Wisconsin 2012 at University Research Park.

Texting while driving can be a deadly activity

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Wisconsin State Journal

It wasn?t until after their son?s death on Oct. 24, 2010, that Dan and Deb Ellefson knew much about text messaging. What they learned, in the hardest way possible, was that drivers who read and send text messages can be at least as dangerous as drunken drivers, and that young people ? who use text messaging obsessively ? are woefully ignorant of the hazards it poses. “Everybody texts and the general feeling is, especially among young people, they?re texting and driving and they think that?s perfectly OK, they think they?re being safe,” Dan Ellefson said. “But the truth is they?re not. It?s extremely dangerous.”

Campus Connection: College threat assessment teams face challenging task

Posted on
Capital Times

Peter Ystenes, a detective lieutenant with UW-Madison Police and a co-chair of the university?s threat assessment team, says it?s always a good idea to examine individual cases and ask if a situation could have been handled differently — but he isn?t about to make judgments on a case he knows little about. ?It?s fair to question, but my issue right now is we only know half the story, or a quarter of the story, and (the media is getting) information second- or third-hand and then reporting it as truth,? says Ystenes. ?That irritates me a bit knowing how difficult these situations can be, and frankly how sad some of the cases have been.?

Indeed, keeping a campus community safe, while at the same time not overreacting and respecting the rights of individuals, can put those charged with assessing potential threats in a tough spot.

Developer envisions Edgewater as iconic destination

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Wisconsin State Journal

With its centerpiece public terrace overlooking Lake Mendota, Robert Dunn?s plan for the Edgewater hotel shares a key trait with other, more monumental projects he?s done around the country. More than a hotel, the Madison developer wants the Edgewater to be a destination attracting locals and visitors and a catalyst for economic development.

Ask the Weather Guys: What is a drought?

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Wisconsin State Journal

A. A drought means different things to different people. Technically, a drought is a period of abnormally dry weather sufficiently long enough in a given area to cause a shortage of water, whether it is for crops, recreation, water supply utilities or other purposes. As you can imagine, a drought for someone who lives in a desert region would be very different than for a person living among Wisconsin?s many lakes.

Books fail to accurately represent our increasingly diverse world

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Wisconsin State Journal

Though the issue of minority representation in children? books has garnered attention for decades, the disparity has increased during the recent recession, according to the Cooperative Children?s Book Center at UW-Madison?s School of Education, which tracks how many children?s books published each year feature minority authors and characters. The center found 3.6 percent of children?s literature published last year featured black authors, main characters or themes and 1.7 percent featured Hispanics, both the lowest proportions over the past decade.

Quoted: UW-Madison librarian Megan Schliesman

Taking scrap metal from curb can get you $414 fine

Posted on
Capital Times

Scrap metal thieves looking for an easy score this week might be heading to the UW-Madison campus area to scoop up things left curbside by moving students, but the city said leave it be or you could be fined. The Madison Streets Division and Police Department are planning to patrol the streets in and around campus, looking for people taking bed frames, bikes, appliances and other metal items off the curb.

Three Badgers On SI Pre-Season All-America Team

Posted on
WISC-TV 3

MADISON -Three Wisconsin Badger football players are named to the Sports Illustrated Pre-Season All-America football team. Running back Montee Ball and left tackle Ricky Wagner are first team selections while center Travis Frederick makes the second team.

GOP Senate candidates to gather for last debate

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Wisconsin State Journal

The four Republicans vying for a shot at Wisconsin?s open U.S. Senate seat are scheduled to attend one more debate before Tuesday?s primary election. Tommy Thompson, Eric Hovde, Mark Neumann and Jeff Fitzgerald are set to appear on the UW-Madison campus Friday evening for an hour-long debate sponsored by Wisconsin Public Television, Wisconsin Public Radio, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee.

Seely on Science: Exploring the human side of nanotechnology

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Wisconsin State Journal

In today?s fast-moving technological world, some words can quickly lose their meaning. Take the word “nanotechnology,” for example. We see and hear it all the time. But, other than a vague sense that some pretty amazing things are being done with very small things, most of us don?t really have a handle on the promise of this science.

Exact Sciences expects to raise $50 million through additional stock offering

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Wisconsin State Journal

Exact Sciences Corp. wants to raise $50 million to get its test for colon cancer ready to go to market, even though it will be more than a year before that happens, in the best of circumstances.

“Part of the thinking behind that decision has to be a reflection of their concerns about the general stock market overall,” said Brian Hellmer, director of the Hawk Center for Applied Security Analysis at the UW-Madison School of Business.

Campus Connection: Is it worth spending $2.5 billion to send a rover to Mars?

Posted on
Capital Times

….I posed that question to a handful of academics around town to get their thoughts. Ed Churchwell, a UW-Madison professor emeritus of astronomy and an expert on topics such as star formation, infrared and radio astronomy, and issues of extraterrestrial life, says ?it depends on what value one puts on new knowledge.? Sanjay Limaye, a senior scientist with UW-Madison?s Space Science and Engineering Center, believes strongly in the value of space exploration but adds it?s worth asking whether NASA has focused too much attention on Mars.

UW-Madison students hold candlelight vigil

Posted on
WKOW-TV 27

A number of University of Wisconsin-Madison students joined together Wednesday to remember those affected by the Sikh temple shooting in Oak Creek. Organizers said the candlelight vigil was a way for them to spread awareness about the tragedy that occurred at the temple Sunday. Among the students was Harmanjot Singh. The UW-Madison junior is from Burlington, Wisconsin but grew up going to the Sikh temple in Oak Creek. He was home with his family when he found out about what happened.

UW scientists receive $1 million grant to study genome production

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Wisconsin State Journal

Four UW-Madison professors will receive a $1 million dollar grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation to study genome production, according to a release from the university Wednesday. Aseem Ansari, Jennifer Reed, Parmesh Ramanathan and David Schwartz will lead the research into more efficient and less expensive ways to produce genomes, which contain the biological information about an organism encoded as DNA.

UW-Madison called a ‘best buy’ for higher education

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Wisconsin State Journal

Even with tuition prices poised to rise, the “Fiske Guide to Colleges” still says UW-Madison gives students educational value for their dollar, according to the university. UW-Madison Communications said in a release the school was named one of Fiske?s “best buys” in the annual college guide students and parents alike pore over in the search for a school.

Wisconsin unveils special uniforms for Nebraska game

Posted on
WISC-TV 3

MADISON, Wis -Fans may do a double take when they watch the University of Wisconsin play Nebraska in Lincoln Sept. 29. Adidas has created new techfit uniforms for the game, and has dramatically changed the look of the uniforms for both teams.

Campus Connection: Can you guess Wisconsin?s lone great college to work for?

Posted on
Capital Times

Only one school in all of Wisconsin made The Chronicle of Higher Education?s annual list of ?Great Colleges to Work For.? Can you guess which one? According to this article accompanying the survey, ?open channels of communication, along with concrete ways of appreciating employees and helping them balance work and home, are hallmarks of great academic workplaces. At colleges, such policies have become more important as a slow national economy delays or shrinks raises ? ?

Campus Connection: Researchers scour Twitter for bullying language

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Capital Times

At first glance, Jerry Zhu seems like one of the last people on the UW-Madison campus you?d expect to be engaged in research on bullying. His website explains that he?s an associate professor in the university?s computer sciences department, and that his area of expertise is in machine learning. But Zhu is one of the leaders of a UW-Madison research team that has programmed a computer to scour millions of Twitter posts each day for cases of bullying in a unique, interdisciplinary project designed to compile vast amounts of information on this hot-button topic.

Andy Baggot: Badgers? Ball can’t carry on this way

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Madison.com

If all of this is a sign of things to come in Montee Ball?s pursuit of the Heisman Trophy, then shut down the hype machine and shutter the campaign headquarters right now. In the seven months since he announced he was returning for his senior season with the University of Wisconsin football team instead of declaring for the NFL ? a revelation as welcome as it was unexpected ? Ball has lived a star-crossed existence that is nothing short of jarring.

Obituary: Owen R. Fennema

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Madison.com

MIDDLETON – Owen Fennema, age 83, of Middleton, passed away due to complications from bladder cancer, surrounded by family on Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, at Agrace HospiceCare. Owen was a professor of food science at the University of Wisconsin?Madison from 1960 until his retirement in 1996. During that time, he served on numerous professional boards and committees, including the American Chemical Society, the Council for Agriculture Science and Technology and the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), for which he served in multiple capacities, including as president from 1982 to 1983. In a lifetime of stellar achievements, Owen was recognized world-wide for the publication of a seminal book for food science scholars, Fennema?s Food Chemistry, published in four editions and multiple languages and which is still in wide use today throughout the world.

Executive Q&A: Michael Williamson is investing in Wisconsin

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Wisconsin State Journal

Michael Williamson holds the keys to $80 billion, money that more than half a million people are counting on to pay their bills when they retire. Williamson is the new executive director of the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), the agency that manages the Wisconsin Retirement System?s two trust funds.

In the Spirit: Muslims battle ?un-American? bias

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Wisconsin State Journal

?Muslims are feeling more than welcome here,? said Saeed, 55, a UW-Madison academic staff member who has lived in Madison nearly 30 years. ?Most people realize we?re hard-working citizens ? people of faith raising children who are Americans. We care about our neighbors and our community just like everyone else.? Instances of blatant discrimination against Muslims are rare here, Saeed said. However, he said some retail outlets have a reputation within the Muslim community of never hiring women who wear the traditional Muslim head covering, called a hijab.

Police: UW’s Ball was present for July 27 fight that might have set stage for his assault

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

University of Wisconsin football star Montee Ball was with teammates at a party July 27 when a fight broke out in which one person was injured and possibly set the stage for the early Wednesday assault that left the Heisman Trophy candidate with a concussion and facial injuries, Madison police said Saturday. Also, detectives have identified several “persons of interest” who may become suspects in the attack on the running back, said Officer Howard Payne.

Just read it: Jerry Apps

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Wisconsin State Journal

Jerry Apps started his career as a county extension agent in Green Lake and Brown counties in 1957, then moved on to work as publications editor in the State 4-H Office. Born and raised on a Wisconsin farm, Apps is now the author of more than 30 books, many of them on rural history and country life, and is an emeritus professor at UW-Madison. Apps suggested three books, one published in 2010, one in 1939, and one in 1854. ?I believe all three of them have much to say to us today,? he said.

Olympics: Ex-Badger Jager advances to final of 3,000-meter steeplechase

Posted on
Madison.com

LONDON ? Former University of Wisconsin athlete Evan Jager continues to turn heads in the track world with his meteoric rise to prominence in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. His latest achievement came Friday, when the U.S. trials champion easily qualified for Sunday?s 3:25 p.m. final of the event at the London Olympics.

Madison360: UW athletic department hits back on ‘reseating’

Posted on
Capital Times

A few days ago I blogged in reaction to UW Athletic Director Barry Alvarez predicting he?ll advance a ?reseating? proposal for Badgers football and men?s basketball in coming years because the most frequent complaint he gets is from season ticketholders who cannot improve their seat locations. My summary response was that Alvarez might be out of touch with a loyal and mainstream fan base which cherishes its seat locations and feels jerked around in recent years by unrelenting increases in tickets, parking and mandatory donations in a bad economy. Response to my blog was strong and fairly passionate.

Marshall Smith: Madison fails to respond when economic opportunity knocks

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Capital Times

Dear Editor: Mayor Paul Soglin?s recent lamenting the terrible treatment of Madison by the state is classic crying the blues. In truth, like most capitals with major state universities, we secure a remarkable level of largesse and have been beneficiaries for years. This consistent input of funds, talent and buildings has enabled Madison to pursue one of the most flacid economic development programs extant. Nowhere is there the effort of Columbus, Ohio, or Austin, Texas. Or Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina or Berkeley, California.

Police want anyone with video of Ball beating to come forward

Posted on
Capital Times

Madison police are asking anyone with phone camera video of the attack by five men on University of Wisconsin running back Montee Ball to come forward. Officer Howard Payne said in an interview Friday morning that anyone who might have taken video of the attack ? no matter the quality ? could be very helpful in the investigation of the beating early Wednesday morning that left Ball with a concussion and facial injuries.

Campus Connection: Markel named dean of UW?s School of Veterinary Medicine

Posted on
Capital Times

UW-Madison decided to stay in-house in naming its next dean of the university?s School of Veterinary Medicine. Mark Markel, a professor of medical sciences and associate dean for advancement in UW-Madison?s vet school, will assume the dean?s post on Sept. 1, according to this university news release. Markel will be only the third dean in the school?s 29-year history and replaces Daryl Buss, who retired in June after heading the school for 18 years.

New dean named for UW School of Veterinary Medicine

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

The UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine appointed a new dean on Thursday, just the third dean in the school?s nearly three-decade history. Mark Markel, already a professor and associate dean at the school, will start his new job on Sept. 1. He replaces Daryl Buss, who led the school for 18 years.

Drought endangers goat milk supply

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Wisconsin State Journal

Contrary to conventional wisdom, goats really don’t eat just any old thing. And what they’re eating this summer is profits, to a point that the goat milk supply and some farms are threatened.The largest goat milk buyer and goat cheese maker in the country ? Montchevre, based in Belmont since 1989 ? this week upped by some 3 percent the price it pays for raw goat milk from its 350 suppliers in an effort to preserve its milk stream. Thomas Cox, a UW-Madison agriculture economist, said the increase is a necessary response to the drought that will probably be copied by the dairy industry as feed cost increases ripple through agriculture.

Seely on Science: Heat waves more deadly than hurricanes, floods

Posted on
Wisconsin State Journal

Science deals in data. But cold calculation wasn?t enough for Richard Keller, a UW-Madison professor of medical history and bioethics. Keller has been immersed in a project that he felt required more than numbers to convey the real science story. And the story he?s working on could not be more timely. The story is about heat and its power to kill.

Police say ‘precipitating event’ may have led to attack on Ball

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Wisconsin State Journal

Madison police said they believe a ?precipitating event? led to the attack early Wednesday on University of Wisconsin senior running back Montee Ball, who will miss next week?s start of the preseason football camp after suffering a concussion. Central District Capt. Carl Gloede said Thursday police were still trying to find out what that incident was, when and where it happened, what Ball?s involvement might have been, and whether other football players were involved.

Campus Connection: Adidas granted extension to respond to UW lawsuit

Posted on
Capital Times

Another day, another delay in the long-simmering dispute between Adidas and UW-Madison over allegations of sweatshop abuses at a factory the company subcontracted with in Indonesia.The UW System?s Board of Regents agreed to grant Adidas a 10-day extension to respond to a lawsuit filed against the apparel giant in Dane County Circuit Court on July 13. That response originally was due Thursday.