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Author: jnweaver

NTSB: Fog may be factor in UW helicopter crash

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Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Foggy conditions may have contributed to the fatal crash of a University of Wisconsin Med Flight helicopter last year, according to documents released Thursday.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it has not yet found a probable cause of the May 10 crash that killed the pilot, a doctor and a nurse. But hundreds of pages of documents released by the board indicate that foggy conditions may have limited the pilot’s visibility.

Two other medical helicopter crews in the area told investigators they declined requests for flights that night because of the danger brought on by deteriorating weather, records show. One of them, a pilot for a La Crosse hospital’s program, said he noticed “fog and scud forming” on the bluffs near the Mississippi River during an earlier flight.

Eric Sandgren: Animal research ethics publicly discussed

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Capital Times

In his recent letter, Rick Marolt asks University of Wisconsin System administration, regents, ethicists, researchers, and others: “Who among you has the courage to defend these experiments (on monkeys) on moral grounds?”

I would remind him that the ethics of these experiments is discussed and defended publicly by the research community.

GE to close Lunar office in Madison

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Capital Times

The former Lunar Corp., now known as GE Healthcare Lunar, will be closing operations at 726 Heartland Trail in Madison in June and consolidating functions at the GE Healthcare facility located at 3030 Ohmeda Drive in Madison.

Doyle pushes expanded hospital tax

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Capital Times

Gov. Jim Doyle’s administration is pushing ahead with an expanded plan to tax hospitals to bring in more federal money to balance the budget and help hospitals.

The plan would bring in an additional $300 million a year in federal money that could be used to increase payments to hospitals to care for the poor, expand state Medicaid programs that provide health care for the poor, and help cover the cost of existing Medicaid programs, Doyle aides said.

University of Wisconsin finding could be way to beat CWD prion

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Capital Times

University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have found a chink in the armor of the tough infectious prion that is believed to cause CWD, the fatal brain-wasting disease that plagues Wisconsin’s white-tailed deer herd.

The finding is particularly important because prions survive in soil for years, meaning that they could potentially infect other animals.

Inauguration: Local African-American leaders pack bags for D.C.

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Capital Times

It is for some the realization of a dream deferred, for others a sweet soaring entry into the world of politics. For Madison’s African-American community, Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration is a historic moment full of the promise he held out to voters in his campaign.

Some of them will be joining the millions of people expected to gather, shoulder to shoulder, on the National Mall on Jan. 20 to witness Obama’s swearing-in on the steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Nations that sow food crops for biofuel may reap less than expected

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Capital Times

Ethanol and biodiesel manufacturers have been extremely optimistic about the potential of food crops such as corn and soybeans to produce biofuels, but a new study suggests that the projections they relied on have not been realistic.

The study by University of Wisconsin and University of Minnesota researchers, published Tuesday in the journal Environmental Research Letters, determined the global yields of such crops have been overestimated by 100 percent to 150 percent.

Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball’s Kathi Bennett: Basketball is ‘who I am’

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Capital Times

Kathi Bennett would like to say that it’s just another road trip. But honesty won’t let her.

When Bennett returns to Bloomington, Ind., with the University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team, she anticipates that it will be an emotional experience. Bennett, in her first season as an assistant coach for the Badgers, spent five years as head coach at Indiana University.

State colleges tighten belts in response to endowment losses

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Colleges and universities in Wisconsin, like their counterparts nationwide, are dealing with the effects of the economic downturn. All have had precipitous drops in their endowments since last summer, ranging from 18% at places such as Viterbo University to 35% at Beloit College.

Meanwhile, some have seen enrollments or annual fund raising decline. Others are bracing for potentially huge state budget cuts.

PETA Criticizes Marquette University

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WISC-TV 3

MILWAUKEE — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said Marquette University is doing classroom experiments in which turtles are being struck on the head with a hammer to kill them and frogs and rats are being maimed and killed in teaching physiology.

The group has asked the university to use non-animal methods for instruction in the class, including detailed computer animations.

Deerfield family fears for missing daughter

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Capital Times

DEERFIELD — At 23, Christine Walters was figuring out who she wanted to be.

Friends and family hope she’s still out there, embracing nature and taking a break from traditional society.

But two months after the Deerfield High School graduate was last seen in northern California, they’re increasingly frightened.

Kohl Center Zamboni driver keeps his cool at 9 mph (77 Square)

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Artie Schultz doesn’t seek the spotlight — it just seems to find him. After all, when you’re all alone atop a big machine in front of 15,000 people, they tend to notice.

Schultz drives the Zamboni at the Kohl Center, meaning he’s the guy who resurfaces the ice for the Badgers men’s and women’s hockey teams before and during their games and practices. Tearing over the ice at 9 mph, Schultz has to be the most recognizable facilities maintenance guy in town.

Ex-UW prof gets nuke safety post

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Capital Times

A former UW-Madison professor has been named vice chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards.

Said Abdel-Khalik earned a master’s and doctorate from the University of Wisconsin in the 1970s and remained on campus as a faculty member until 1987.

Madison-based stem cell bank’s receipt of cell lines called ‘extremely important’

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Capital Times

The U.S. National Stem Cell Bank — located at the WiCell Research Institute, a private, nonprofit support organization for UW-Madison — announced Monday it has received deposits of two human embryonic stem cell lines from Cellartis AB.

The National Stem Cell Bank now has received all 21 cell lines from the six providers listed on the National Institutes of Health federal registry.

MN man convicted in WI stabbing commits suicide

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Associated Press

WAUPUN, Wis. (AP) — A Minnesota man convicted of killing a Madison man apparently committed suicide in prison while serving a life sentence, authorities said Sunday.

Adam C. Peterson, 20, a native of Stillwater, Minn., who dropped out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison last year, pleaded guilty last month to killing Joel Marino, 31, at Marino’s home near campus last January, a crime that shocked the city.

Peterson apparently hanged himself in his cell in the Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun on Saturday night, the Dodge County sheriff’s department said.

Rick Marolt: Who will defend monkey experiments?

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Capital Times

Dear Editor:

Research proves that monkeys think, feel, and relate to each other much like people do. They deserve ethical consideration similar to the consideration given to people. But UW-Madison and Covance hold thousands of monkeys in neurosis-inducing conditions and conduct brutal and fatal experiments on them.

Kevin Reilly, UW System president, has refused to study the ethical problems raised by the research proving these animals’ similarity to us.

FDA could miss money conflicts

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Missing information, loopholes and weak oversight hamper efforts to uncover financial conflicts by researchers who test experimental drugs before companies seek government approval, an internal watchdog says.

As a result, the Food and Drug Administration’s screening system is unreliable, the Health and Human Services inspector general’s office says in a report being released today.

UW doctors speak for drug companies

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Critics say that when university doctors give speeches for drug companies, they can step over the line that separates research and education from marketing, especially when they do unaccredited talks at restaurants and other locations.

Drug firms wine, dine and pay up for doctors’ speeches

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Amid the evening din of customers ordering martinis and carving up steaks, a few doctors seated themselves at a table in the private dining room at Johnny Delmonico’s restaurant.

Wine, steak and a white tablecloth helped set the atmosphere for the guest speaker, Melissa Meredith, a physician and associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.

Moonlighting for the drug company Amylin, Meredith was there to give a promotional talk about the diabetes drug Byetta.

Meredith was one of more than 40 UW physicians in 2007 who were paid to work as speakers or authors by drug or medical device companies, records show.

UW researcher in clinical trial consults for medical firm

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

More than two years ago, University of Wisconsin-Madison doctor James Gern approached the pharmaceutical giant Merck with a proposal for an unusual human experiment.

The university would find people in the Madison area with asthma, deliberately infect them with cold viruses and give them the Merck asthma drug montelukast to see if it lessened their symptoms.

From 2003 through 2007, Gern, a professor of pediatrics and an allergy and asthma specialist, has been a regular speaker and consultant for Merck, putting in 28 days of work and making between $35,000 and $70,000.

UW psychiatrist paid to speak about disputed anti-smoking pill

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

In 2007, Eric Heiligenstein, a University of Wisconsin-Madison psychiatrist, worked as a speaker for Pfizer, giving talks to other doctors and health care professionals about the smoking-cessation drug Chantix, which has been under increased scrutiny. Chantix has been associated with depression, suicidal thoughts, blackouts and serious injuries.

Heiligenstein put in 14 days for Pfizer and was paid $10,000 to $20,000. Heiligenstein also gave paid talks for Pfizer in 2006.

Doctors face pressure to disclose all side pay

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Doctors’ moonlighting for drug companies – though legal – is coming under increased scrutiny, both at UW and across the country. This month, the trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America enacted a voluntary ban on company gifts of branded pens, sticky notes and other items and dinners for doctors. Also of special concern are university physicians who are sought by drug companies because of the influence and respect they wield with colleagues practicing in communities.

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From here to Honduras: Madisonians stage massive medical aid effort

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Capital Times

As a cold gray winter day began, more than 50 enthusiastic volunteers gathered at Chet’s Car Care Center in north Madison on Saturday to load boxes of medical and school supplies onto a semi-trailer headed for Honduras.

Many more hours had been spent during prior months boxing and wrapping the material, and designating where in the Central American country it should go so that volunteer teams arriving in February and March can provide free services for 4,000 to 5,000 patients.

Marino’s killer commits suicide in prison cell

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Capital Times

Nearly a year after Adam Peterson attacked and killed a man in his downtown Madison home, and a month after being taken off suicide watch, the convicted killer took his own life late Saturday night by hanging himself with a sheet from his bunk bed in the Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun, according to a news release from the state Department of Corrections.

Peterson, who would have turned 21 on Feb. 22, was diagnosed with schizophrenia and psychosis after being arrested for the killing of Joel Marino, 31, in Marino’s home on Monona Bay. Peterson had attempted suicide on Sept. 25 in the Dane County Jail while awaiting trial but was rescued by a deputy.

U. of Wis. quietly scraps risky lab equipment

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Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The University of Wisconsin-Madison has quietly decided to stop manufacturing its signature aerosol chambers used for researching infectious disease, which were involved in a few dangerous lab accidents nationwide.

The College of Engineering is shutting down the business after an internal audit found it was poorly managed and carried the potential for huge liability costs in the event the chambers failed, exposing researchers to toxic agents.

Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey: This team compares favorably to UW’s best (Badger Beat)

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Capital Times

The 2006-07 Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team stands as one of the models of single-season success among its peers, with the NCAA record for fewest losses — one — and a national championship to show for it.

Keep that in mind as you consider this: This year’s Badgers team may be more dangerous offensively and doesn’t appear much different on the defensive end.

Biotech firm EMD Chemicals, formerly Novagen, to close

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Capital Times

One of Madison’s oldest biotech research operations will be closing at the end of the year, affecting about 70 employees at the former Novagen.

EMD Chemicals Inc., a subsidiary of Merck KGaA of Darmstadt, Germany, announced Friday it will close the company’s facility in University Research Park and consolidate all bioscience operations at the company’s San Diego facility.

Hill entering draft

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

P.J. Hill’s decision to skip his senior season at the University of Wisconsin and enter the 2009 National Football League draft should reveal whether UW has recruited well enough at tailback to withstand the premature departure of the No. 3 runner in program history.

Man released from prison on new DNA evidence in murder

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A Milwaukee man serving a life term in the murder of a South Milwaukee runaway was released from prison Thursday after tests showed DNA found on the victim matched unknown DNA discovered on two other slaying victims in Milwaukee. It marked the 10th exoneration for the Wisconsin Innocence Project.

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Grant to connect University of Wisconsin-Madison, southwest Wisconsin in science

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Capital Times

The Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment announced that it has awarded a $102,839 grant for the establishment of a University of Wisconsin-Madison – Mazomanie Science Outreach Outpost at Mazomanie Elementary School.

The Science Outreach Outpost will provide an off-campus site that will connect UW-Madison personnel and resources to K-12 teachers, students, and community members in southwestern Wisconsin.

Abortion proposal protest

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WKOW-TV 27

MADISON (WKOW) — Protesters were out this morning in Madison, demonstrating against the UW hospital’s plan to offer second trimester abortions.

The group of about 60 people protested peacefully outside the Madison Surgery Center on Park Street, where the abortions would be performed.

Hill considers move from campus to pros

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Junior tailback P.J. Hill, the No. 3 rusher in the history of the University of Wisconsin football program, is leaning strongly toward skipping his senior season and entering the 2009 National Football League draft.

Wisconsin Badgers’ Alvarez third-highest-paid athletic director

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Capital Times

University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez is the third-highest paid AD among those who work at public schools, according to a report Tuesday at Bloomberg.com.

Alvarez, who makes a guaranteed salary of $750,000, trails only University of Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley — who makes a guaranteed salary of $965,000 — and University of Kansas AD Lew Perkins — who is guaranteed $900,000.

Robert Sorenson: Badger hoops fans need to let loose

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Capital Times

Dear Editor: Much has been said already about the increasingly quiet nature of the basketball fans at the Kohl Center. Rob Schultz described the crowd at the Penn State game as morose and the quietest in the history of the Kohl Center. This did not happen overnight.

It is a sad day in Badgerland when the student athletes have to act as cheerleaders to exhort the fans to get involved.

University of Wisconsin community prepares for funding cuts

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Capital Times

With almost certain state funding cuts coming down the pike, University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Carolyn “Biddy” Martin recently took the unusual step of holding campus forums to give faculty, students and staff a chance to float ideas on how best to absorb revenue reductions.

Perhaps even more unusual, people showed up — approximately 400 in all attended three mid-December forums, despite blistering cold and snow that, on one occasion, threatened to close down the university.

Prison term for ex-UW student in marijuana case

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Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. AP — A judge ordered a more than 12-year prison sentence for a former University of Wisconsin student who went on to run a courier business bringing Canadian marijuana to Madison.

Thirty-three-year-old Reed Rogala from South Orange, New Jersey, was sentenced Tuesday in a case closely tied to the disappearance of a Fitchburg man four years ago.

Now’s the moment to levy an import tax for energy research

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A column by UW-Madison faculty members Greg Nemet and David Weimer says that a policy window on energy has opened for President-elect Barack Obama that could fund his energy program with minimum fuss: the re-emergence of the oil import fee.

Since the 1970s, energy analysts have advocated an oil import fee to help reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Advocates have argued that there are external costs associated with oil imports from the unstable Middle East that should be internalized in the price of oil.

UW Health proposed plan to offer abortions criticized

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Capital Times

With no clinics in the Madison area currently administering second trimester abortions, a group of UW Health gynecologists is considering a plan to provide the procedure to patients who seek it.

“The physicians involved believe this is part of a comprehensive plan of care for reproductive health,” said UW Health spokeswoman Lisa Brunette. “Right now there is no clinic in the area that provides that type of termination and the physicians involved believe there is a public health responsibility to provide them, so they wish to move forward.”

UW’s new research site to be powered by the earth

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Capital Times

The ground far below much of Madison is particularly efficient for creating geothermal heating and cooling, and the new Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery on the UW-Madison campus is taking advantage of that fact.

Drilling started Monday on 75 bore holes about 300 feet deep below the site of the huge research facility being constructed on the 1300 block of University Avenue.

Bill Berry: Time to take hard look at future of news biz

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Capital Times

….Maybe people are too busy to take the time to pay attention to what’s going on around them, even if it is at their own risk. Maybe the corporate takeovers of media have driven deep wedges between citizens and “their” newspapers. Maybe people really believe they can get all they need to know from the Internet and radio and TV talk shows. Perhaps the de-emphasis of journalism programs in high schools and universities across the country has led to a general devaluing of the trade’s important place in society. Whatever the reasons, we are losing or witnessing the downsizing of important sources of information, arguably at a time when we need them more than ever.

UNH, Dartmouth in new polar research agreements

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Associated Press

DURHAM, N.H. (AP) — Dartmouth College, the University of New Hampshire and University of Wisconsin have signed new agreements on polar research.

The agreements create two new entities regarding ice coring and drilling that are vital to polar research.

Posted in Uncategorized

Kewaunee nuclear plant names new resident inspector

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Capital Times

The U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission has selected Kevin Barclay as the new resident inspector at the Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant in Kewaunee. He joined the NRC as a reactor engineer in 2006.

(Barclay received a B.S. degree in chemistry from UW-La Crosse. He later served as a naval science instructor for the Navy ROTC program at UW-Madison.)

New coalition attacks ‘culture’ of alcohol use

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Capital Times

In Dane County, more young people between seventh and 12th grades are abstaining from alcohol than regularly using it, according to a 2005 assessment. Still, the fact that nearly 30 percent of local youth are considered regular drinkers is a cause for concern for many.

About 30 people turned out Monday night for the first meeting of a new coalition looking to combat alcohol abuse in Dane County. Every seat was filled in an upstairs meeting room at the Exhibition Hall of the Alliant Energy Center.

Teen profiles on MySpace rife with references to sex, alcohol use and violence

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Capital Times

Want to visit the wild Web world of Madison adolescence? Np! (No problem!) Log into MySpace and type in a local zip code.

A browse through the Web pages and social lives of local teens is a virtual visit to their messy bedrooms — full of blaring music, colorful posters, gossip, and, in this age of exhibitionism spawned by cell phone cameras, hundreds and hundreds of photos.

(Megan Moreno, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, has co-authored a new study, the results of which have been published in this month’s issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.)

UW’s Krabbenhoft learned gritty play from his father

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Joe Krabbenhoft was only 2 or 3 years old, but he knew the routine.

His father would be hanging out with some of his buddies, guys who coached basketball at the high school or college level, and he’d say, “Ask Joe what’s the most important word in basketball.”

When they did, the boy didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Finish!”

State power shift begins

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Democrats took control of state government Monday, as legislators were sworn in for a two-year legislative session that will require them to fix a record budget deficit.

Union To Appeal Dispatcher’s Suspension Pertaining To Zimmermann Case

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WISC-TV 3

MADISON, Wis. — The union that represents a former Dane County 911 dispatcher accused of mishandling an emergency call from a slain University of Wisconsin-Madison student shortly before she was killed will appeal her three-day suspension.

AFSCME Local 40 representative Larry Rodenstein told WISC-TV’s Linda Eggert that he just filed a grievance to the discipline, which was handed out Dec. 18 — about eight months after county officials said Rita Gahagan mishandled the April 2 call that came from Brittany Zimmermann’s cell phone. The call disconnected after one minute.