There are some new faces on the Fox 47 9 p.m. news. The Madison television station WMSN, Channel 47, has ended the agreement it had since 1999 for WKOW-TV Channel 27 to provide it with news. As of Jan. 1, WISC-TV Channel 3 is serving as the news source for the local Fox network affiliate.
WASHINGTON (WKOW) — The FBI is changing its definition of the crime of rape, which for the first time will include sexual assaults on males.
PITTSBURGH — Could Joe Rudolph be coming home? Rudolph, a Belle Vernon Area graduate, is flying into Pittsburgh today to interview for a position on new Pitt Panther football coach Paul Chryst?s staff. Chryst and Rudolph have a good relationship, as Chryst served as the offensive coordinator at Wisconsin before being hired to replace Todd Graham at Pitt. Rudolph is currently an assistant coach at Wisconsin, where he worked on the same staff with Chryst the last four years.
Joe Rudolph will interview Friday at Pittsburgh, according to a report in the Valley Independent (Pa.) newspaper, and could become the third assistant former UW offensive coordinator Paul Chryst takes with him to Pitt. Rudolph was recently reassigned from tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator, to offensive line coach after former OL coach Bob Bostad announced he was joining Chryst in Pittsburgh.
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin junior running back Montee Ball has decided to return for his senior season. Ball, a consensus first-team All-American and finalist for the Heisman Trophy, tied Barry Sanders? NCAA record by scoring 39 touchdowns this season. His 1,923 rushing yards led the country and were the seventh-best total in Big Ten history. The inaugural winner of the Big Ten?s Graham-George Offense Player of the Year Award, Ball finished the season with 2,229 all-purpose yards, second-best in school history behind only Ron Dayne?s 2,242 yards in 1996. Ball said he?ll take the next year to improve his NFL draft stock and lead the Badgers.
University of Wisconsin running back Montee Ball knows he shocked a lot of people with his decision to return for his senior season. “Obviously, I?m taking a pretty huge gamble right here,” Ball admitted Thursday as he announced his decision in an afternoon news conference.
The drug Ritalin has been used for years to help people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). But it wasn?t until now that researchers at UW-Madison have discovered where in the brain the drug works. Psychology professor Craig Berridge and graduate student Robert Spencer have identified the upper portion of the brain?s prefrontal cortex as the key area where Ritalin works.
James F. Crow, one of the world?s most eminent evolutionary biologists and a popular UW-Madison professor for more than 40 years, died Wednesday in Madison. He was 95. The university named its Institute for the Study of Evolution after Crow in 2009.
“Jim was a major figure in the history ? up to the present ? of evolutionary genetics,” said John Hawks, an associate professor of anthropology. In addition to his research on the behavior of genes and the effects of radiation on the human mutation rate, Crow served on a number of groundbreaking national committees. He chaired a national committee that compiled a report on the use of DNA evidence in the courtroom.
Two singers have gone from performing in drafty Mills Hall on the UW-Madison campus to singing for a world class opera company in the windy city. At noon this Saturday, Jan. 7, soprano Emily Birsan and tenor James Kryshak will perform a recital under the auspices of the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Around UW-Madison, it?s almost as easy to spot a moped as a backpack. But the popularity of mopeds and motor scooters also creates problems, especially with parking, so Mayor Paul Soglin is proposing a special committee to recommend parking rules for mopeds in the city. He plans to include moped riders on the committee. The university already has rules and a parking program for mopeds on campus, which requires owners to get an $85 annual permit and park only in designated spots or risk a ticket. On city property, mopeds can be parked any place a bicycle can, but a recent change in state law now lets cities regulate mopeds as motorcycles and create moped-only parking.
The Madison community lost a legend this week with the passing of former UW-Madison Chancellor Edwin Young. For those who witnessed the protest era of the 1960s, Young was a strong leader who stayed committed to higher education. University students today don?t recall Young, but they should know his dedication to excellence in education helped form the great University of Wisconsin as we know it today.
The days of University of Wisconsin sports teams? uniforms being stamped with the familiar Adidas logo may be numbered. On Thursday, the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) released a document that further outlines alleged sweatshop abuses at a factory Adidas subcontracted with in Tangerang, Indonesia. The memo also picks apart the apparel giant?s assertion that it wasn?t producing at the factory when the alleged violations took place, and therefore isn?t responsible for any wrongdoing. In recent years, similar findings by the WRC have led UW-Madison to end licensing agreements with Nike and Russell Athletic. But those deals — worth between $40,000 and $50,000 each — were relatively minor compared to the current arrangement between UW-Madison and Adidas, which pays the university roughly $2.5 million annually in both royalties and equipment.
Anyone with more than one clock in the kitchen can sympathize with the confusion at the end of Tuesday night?s men?s basketball game between Michigan State and the Badgers. Of course, the stakes were a bit higher at the Kohl Center than when you?re trying to hit the sweet spot getting a pizza out of the oven. Apparently the officials had no choice but to go with the clock that showed time had run out just prior to Ryan Evans? improbable bank shot that would have tied the game for Wisconsin. According to another ? unofficial ? clock, Evans got the shot off in time. In the end, it didn?t matter. The official clock said Wisconsin lost, and that was that.
Record-setting running back Montee Ball will return for his senior season at the University of Wisconsin instead of entering the NFL Draft, he confirmed Thursday afternoon at a press conference in Madison. “Obviously I took that into my decision, but listening to what my parents had to say and listening to my heart, I believed that I had to come back for my senior season and be a leader for this team,” he said.
MADISON (WKOW) — Wisconsin wide receivers coach DelVaughn Alexander is leaving the Badgers to become an assistant coach at Arizona State University. The following is a statement from Arizona State regarding Alexander:
TEMPE, Ariz. — DelVaughn Alexander has been named an assistant coach for Sun Devil football, head coach Todd Graham has announced. Alexander spent the past five seasons with the Wisconsin Badgers, coaching wide receivers. While with the Badgers, Alexander was a part of two Big 10 championships and made five bowl appearances, including the last two Rose Bowls. No stranger to the Pac-12, Alexander has coached at both Oregon State and USC.
Former University of Wisconsin football assistant coach Jay Norvell, who is the co-coordinator on offense at Oklahoma, has emerged as a candidate to become the offensive coordinator for the Badgers. A source said Norvell, a Madison native, has talked to UW coach Bret Bielema about the vacant position. Meanwhile, the shakeup on the UW staff appears to be even more extensive than previously reported.
Even before they became University of Wisconsin women?s basketball teammates, Lindsay Smith and AnnMarie Brown were members of another group. That would be the Torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament Club ? hardly an exclusive sorority and one that nobody really wants to join. Smith and Brown had their final prep seasons ended and their first college seasons thrown into doubt when they fell victim to torn ACLs.
Running back Montee Ball, who appeared ready to jump to the NFL after a prolific junior season, is returning to the University of Wisconsin. A UW source said Ball has told people in the football program he is returning for his senior year. Ball was expected to announce his decision on Wednesday, with another source indicating a news conference was being set up. It never happened, either because Ball wanted to make sure of his decision, or because news broke about two coaching departures, following a chaotic day at the UW football offices.
Who paid for Gov. Scott Walker?s trip to southern California last weekend, where he mixed campaign fundraising with official Rose Bowl duties? UW-Madison listed Walker as part of its “official delegation” — which typically means the university pays for airfare and hotel stays. But in this case, his campaign paid for all his airfare and one night?s hotel stay, said Ciara Matthews, Walker?s campaign spokeswoman. Walker flew to California Thursday to attend political events. The campaign paid for his hotel stay Thursday night, Matthews said, and all costs up until 6:30 p.m. Friday when his official duties kicked in.
Jerry O?Brien, executive director of the Kohl?s Center for Retailing Excellence at UW-Madison, believes the move to focus on smaller communities could be a boon for the Shopko brand and its customers.”To find new places right now with the growth that Target and Walmart have had is very challenging,” O?Brien said. “I think it?s really good for these towns. Some of these more outlying towns are not very well served. This will be fun to watch.”
Dear Editor: Am I the only one who?s been struck by the near absence of public debate in the community following our School Board?s 5-2 vote to reject Madison Prep?s charter school proposal?….A recent story by Todd Finkelmeyer in the Cap Times noted the relatively passive political posture among UW-Madison students nowadays, compared to years past. Is that affliction contagious?
Now is the winter of our pop culture discontent. With the thermometer dropping and the UW-Madison classrooms sitting empty, there?s not a whole lot going in January for people who like to get out there and see live music, or good movies, or quality theater.
Four UW-Madison professors earned recognition from Education Week blogger Rick Hess as being among the top 50 most influential education scholars in America. That figure was more than all other Big Ten Conference institutions combined, with the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor placing two academics in the top 50 and Northwestern one. Those being recognized on the UW-Madison campus include: Gloria Ladson-Billings, Adam Gamoran; Sara Goldrick-Rab, and Douglas Harris. John Witte, a professor of public affairs and political science, was also recognized.
It was the week before Christmas, and D.A. Henderson was alarmed about germs. He isn?t easily rattled: Dr. Henderson led the successful worldwide effort to eradicate smallpox in the 1970s, and he directed the U.S. Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness after the deadly anthrax letter attacks and the destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001. But recently not just one but two laboratories had engineered the virus known as bird flu to make it easily transmissible?through the air, among mammals?and that was a scary development. “Compared to plague or to anthrax, this one has a potential for disaster that dwarfs all others,” says Dr. Henderson, now a distinguished scholar at the Center for Biosecurity of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. “Given our flu-vaccine capacity, which is limited, this could be a catastrophe if it gets out.” The experiments shouldn?t have been done, in his view, and?partly because they could give terrorists a blueprint for making a more deadly form of H5N1 avian-influenza virus?they certainly shouldn?t be published.
UW-Madison virologist Yoshihiro Kawaoka and Ron Fouchier, a virologist at the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands, are mentioned in this article.
In a few hours it?ll be all about the football. But it?s been interesting these last several days to hear University of Wisconsin administrators and fans talk about the image boost UW gets from playing in the Rose Bowl. If you haven?t seen the new UW promotional ad, you?ll see it during the game, but it highlights some of the discoveries and research that originated at UW and it?s impressive.
Hugh Edwin Young, who served as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison during the tumultuous Vietnam War era, died on Monday, Jan. 2 in Madison. He was 94.
“For over 40 years, Edwin Young brought shrewd and wise leadership to every position he held on campus, offering stability during some of the university?s most trying times,” said Interim Chancellor David Ward in a news release. “We send our thoughts and best wishes to his family.” Young?s folksy Maine accent and dry humor masked a canny political mind. With a background in labor relations and an intricate network of contacts, he surveyed each challenge carefully before deciding how to move.
Here is what?s No. 1 on Eyeworthy?s list of New Year?s Resolutions: See more art! It?s an excellent goal for the soul, the brain and the heart, and it?s easy to achieve in an arts-rich community such as Madison. Begin your 2012 with a trip to the newly expanded Chazen Museum of Art. At not even 10 weeks old, the Chazen addition is a dazzling New Year?s baby indeed.
Kiplinger?s Personal Finance ranked UW-Madison as the 13th best value public university, the highest of any university in the Big Ten Conference. Last year, UW-Madison was ranked 14th by Kiplinger. Criteria include measures for both academic quality and affordability, such as: average ACT and SAT test scores, four-year graduation rate, sticker price, financial aid, and average debt at graduation.
UW-Madison, not surprisingly, tops the list of most selective campuses in the University of Wisconsin System. But what are the next most competitive of the UW System?s 13 four-year campuses? According to a new report from the nonpartisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, it?s UW-La Crosse and UW-Eau Claire.
Edwin Young, the former head of both UW-Madison and the University of Wisconsin System, died Monday of natural causes at the age of 94. Young served as chancellor at UW-Madison from 1968 to 1977, which was one of the most turbulent eras on campus due to the anti-war demonstrations. He was heading the university on Aug. 24, 1970, when Madison was rocked by a bomb exploding outside Sterling Hall.
“His chief recognition, for better or worse, was that he kept the university open in 1970, ?71 and ?72 even during all the student disturbances,” says David Johnson, a UW-Madison emeritus professor of economics who first got to know Young during the 1950s. “There were calls by some to close it down, but he refused. He held the university together.”
Ten miles in wool uniforms. 80-degree heat. Wake-up calls at 4 a.m. It?s at least as tough as eating a rock. But the 300-member UW Marching band got a little taste of the glamorous on its trip to the Rose Bowl when singer will.i.am showed up to perform with them in downtown Los Angeles Sunday night. Then, the L.A. Times tagged along on game day. Artist will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas reportedly told Band Director Mike Leckrone: “I want to be like you when I grow up. You?re the coolest man on the planet.”
The Madison City Council unanimously approved a resolution urging the state to once again allow children of undocumented workers in Wisconsin to qualify for in-state tuition to public colleges. It is highly doubtful the Council?s action Tuesday, one of its first decisions of 2012, will lead GOP state legislators to rethink their recent repeal of a short-lived law that had made Wisconsin one of 12 states to provide such reduced tuition to these students.
Emmett L. Bennett Jr., a classicist who played a vital role in deciphering Linear B, the Bronze Age Aegean script that defied solution for more than 50 years after it was unearthed on clay tablets in 1900, died on Dec. 15 in Madison, Wis. He was 93. His daughter Cynthia Bennett confirmed the death.
Professor Bennett was considered the father of Mycenaean epigraphy ? that is, the intricate art of reading inscriptions from the Mycenaean period, as the slice of the Greek Bronze Age from about 1600 to 1200 B.C. is known. His work, which entailed analysis so minute that he could eventually distinguish the handwritings of many different Bronze Age scribes, helped open a window onto the Mycenaean world.
The only thing better than a Rose Bowl party at Union South on the UW-Madison campus would have been a Rose Bowl victory by the Badgers in Pasadena. Alas, the victory was not to be, but that didn?t stop about 1,500 fans from jamming the new union building at Randall and Dayton to watch the game between the Badgers and the Oregon Quackers, a game that was non-stop action from start to finish, with the chrome-domed Ducks ending up on top of the scoring pile, 45-38.
MADISON – Jose Guadalupe “Lupe” Avila Saldana, age 66, of Madison, died on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012, at St. Mary?s Hospital in Madison, with his family by his side. He worked at UW-Madison as a mail clerk for 36 years.
Emmett Bennett Jr., who spent nearly three decades as a faculty member at UW-Madison before he retired in 1988, is remembered as the father of Mycenaean epigraphy in this fascinating New York Times obituary which ran over the weekend. The post was passed along by a local reader who referred to Bennett as a “giant in archeology and cryptology circles.”
Former University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Hugh Edwin Young, who led the university during the tumultuous Vietnam War era, has died. He was 94.The university says Young died Monday in Madison. The Newfoundland native received his master’s degree and Ph.D. at UW-Madison and became an economics teacher there in 1947. He left in 1965 to become president of the University of Maine, but returned to UW-Madison and was named chancellor in 1968.
A driver who faced little more than misdemeanors for an alleged second drunken driving offense and for driving after his license was revoked found himself charged with felonies Friday for allegedly fighting with the police officers who arrested him. Jason E. Brown, 37, of Madison led UW-Madison police on a short pursuit about 1:40 a.m. on Dec. 23 before parking at the Shorewood Hills Police Department and shutting off his lights, according to a criminal complaint filed in Dane County Circuit Court.
Periodically we read about laborers in foreign countries working in bad conditions to make uniforms and sports equipment for our university teams, such as UW-Madison, and being cheated out of wages. Since UW alone purchases over $2 million per year, what would happen if all NCAA teams were required to buy American?
Congratulations to the UW football team and coaches for a great season that has taken them to the Rose Bowl tournament! We are proud of their accomplishments. I now challenge the students to have pride and integrity. Your future employers will look for people who take pride in their work and their company. They will also look for employees with integrity.
Four UW-Madison students got V.I.P. treatment from Facebook when they were flown out to the company?s Palo Alto, Calif. headquarters, put up in classy hotels, and showered with food for a couple of days in early December. “It was awesome to see (Facebook?s campus). Being in the middle of all that – it?s the nerd mecca,” said UW senior Ryan Schmukler, 21, of Madison.
Like some in the newspaper industry wish it was possible to turn back the clock, Ken Frazier admits to having a certain affinity for the library of not-so-long-ago. “There?s a lot of nostalgia in both worlds for the way things used to be,” says Frazier, who has spent the past 33 years working in libraries on the UW-Madison campus. “There is a lot of affection for the print culture.” Indeed, while Frazier can appreciate history, his affection for the way things used to be didn’t stand in the way of his drive to change with the times and keep libraries relevant for the campus community of today.
Each year, the Wisconsin State Journal selects five newsmakers from the worlds of sports, business, politics and the arts who will be confronted with momentous decisions ? or asked to deliver on past promises ? in the coming year. Among those selected for 2012 are UW System President Kevin Reilly and Badger women’s basketball coach Bobbie Kelsey.
If there were any doubts about fans? enthusiasm over the Badgers? second consecutive Rose Bowl appearance, they were put to rest by the turnout for Monday?s Rose Bowl watch party at Union South. Badgers fans flocked to Union South in larger-than-expected numbers to cheer on Bucky. Riley Garcia, general manager for restaurants at Union South, said the university was planning for between 300 and 1,000 guests. Instead his staff of eight student employees – diminished by students who hadn’t returned from winter break – hosted closer to 1,500 fans.
PASADENA, Calif. ? For more than 30 years, a thrilling loss in the Rose Bowl stood as perhaps the most glorious moment for the University of Wisconsin football program. The ninth-ranked Badgers have moved far beyond that point, so there was little solace to be gained from a highly entertaining 45-38 loss to No. 6 Oregon on Monday night in the 98th Rose Bowl. It was a cruel ending to a season that included two other heartbreaking last-second losses that kept UW (11-3) from playing in the national championship game.
RUSSELL PANCZENKO, Director, Chazen Museum of Art: No one knows exactly how many people showed up for the October opening of the expanded Chazen Museum of Art because a mechanism meant to count visitors malfunctioned. But that was about the event?s only major glitch, according to museum director Russell Panczenko. Not bad for a $43 million construction project that nearly doubled the size of the campus art museum and added 22,500 square feet of gallery space that the public can browse for free.
A sophisticated new ad about the University of Wisconsin-Madison to air during the Rose Bowl telecast is a cutting-edge effort, featuring UW?s development of disease-resistant crops, the first micro motor and research in Antarctica.
Each season in 2011 had a memorable weather event, some with negative impacts. There were two good snow storms in February. The Groundhog Day blizzard had wind gusts of up to 60 mph and snowfall depths ranging from 1 to 2 feet. That resulted in snow drifts of 6 to 10 feet. The second storm occurred on February 20-21 with snow accumulations between 8 and 15 inches. Freezing rain and sleet also fell across southern Wisconsin.
….During the year, 10 people were directly killed by weather events: one person from a blizzard, one from lightning, one from a tornado, one from non-tornadic thunderstorm winds, one from flooding and five during the July heat wave.
A. Ever wonder why Tupperware containers retain huge droplets of water after a dishwasher cycle, or why plastic cups take longer to air-dry than their glass counterparts? UW-Madison physics Professor Clint Sprott explains that two factors are at play: cohesion and adhesion.
Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said that there was a tremendous police response resulting in the 100 block of State Street closing down, restaurants closing early, and the presence of a police mobile command post, which is only used during extreme circumstances. UW-Madison senior Lisa Anderson, who lives on the 100 block of State Street, discovered the scene after leaving her apartment for Ian?s Pizza around 2 a.m. Police questioned her since the 100 block was closed to pedestrians. In response to Anderson?s safety concerns, police said it was safe at the time and to return to her apartment. Anderson said it was “kind of unsettling” not knowing the details of the incident. She also reported seeing overturned tables and broken glass in Frida?s later Sunday morning.
A deadly influenza virus has circulated widely in birds in recent years, decimating flocks but rarely spreading to humans. Nonetheless, because of its persistence in bird flocks, this highly pathogenic virus has loomed as a major public health threat. Seasonal influenza kills less than 1 percent of the people it infects. In contrast, human infections with the H5N1 virus, though exceedingly rare, are fatal in most cases. Should this virus mutate in a way that allows it to be transmitted as efficiently among people as seasonal influenza viruses are, it could take an unprecedented toll on human life.
A number of important scientific and public health questions regarding this virus remain unanswered, including the likelihood of such mutations arising and the mechanisms by which they may occur. Two recent studies co-funded by the National Institutes of Health (including research conducted by UW-Madison bird flu expert Yoshihiro Kawaoka) have shed light on how this potentially grave human health threat could become a reality.
Driving without headlights early on New Year?s Day led to a traffic stop and multiple arrests, UW-Madison police reported. The arrests came about when a police dog brought to the scene sniffed out marijuana in the vehicle, while police found a loaded .38 caliber handgun and a large amount of cash in a purse left outside the vehicle, according to a police news release.
Playing on a football field? Easy. Try nearly eating the weight of a baby in meat. That?s what many football players from Wisconsin and Oregon did Wednesday and Thursday at the “Beef Bowl,” an annual event thrown by Lawry?s in which the teams headed to the Rose Bowl try to outdo each other over prime rib. The team that eats the most meat goes on to win the Rose Bowl 71% of the time, according to Gina Doyle, the general manager at the restaurant?s Beverly Hills location. If that stat proves true, Wisconsin should win by a landslide.
LOS ANGELES — University of Wisconsin linebackers coach Dave Huxtable confirmed to the State Journal on Friday he will be returning to the Badgers next season, despite an offer to be the defensive coordinator at Pittsburgh. Huxtable is in his first year as linebackers coach at UW after a successful three-year stint as defensive coordinator at Central Florida.
PASADENA, Calif. (WKOW) — Security will be tight at the Rose Parade before Monday?s Rose Bowl game. The University of Wisconsin-Madison marching band and the floats won?t be the only displays along the parade route. Occupy LA protesters are expected to bring their own float. Pasadena police say they will not be part of the official parade.
MADISON, Wis. — After one final practice on Thursday, the University of Wisconsin Marching Band is ready for the Rose Bowl. Band members packed up their gear before an early flight on Friday. They said that they?ll arrive in Pasadena and then head to the practice field to gear up for the 123rd Tournament of Roses Parade on News Year?s Day.
MADISON, Wis.– Wisconsin residents won?t get a respite from recall mania at the Rose Bowl. Organizers of the drive to oust Republican Gov. Scott Walker from office plan to travel to Pasadena for Monday?s big game, which pits Wisconsin against Oregon. They plan to hold a rally before the game and solicit signatures from Wisconsin residents and students attending the game.
Dear Editor: I get why Gov. Scott Walker is trying to make the UW System a second-tier educational institution. He first cut $170 million from the UW budget, is now cutting over $46 million, and will cut $19.7 million more from the UW budget in 2012-13. He couldn?t successfully complete his own bachelor?s degree, and he doesn?t want others better educated than he is.
At the midpoint of the regular season, the University of Wisconsin men?s hockey team finds itself a model of inconsistency.
In her first 12 games as University of Wisconsin women?s basketball coach, Bobbie Kelsey already has experienced more losing than she did the past two seasons as an assistant at Stanford. Not surprisingly, it has not been a particularly enjoyable experience for Kelsey, whose team carries a 4-8 record into Friday night?s Big Ten Conference opener against No. 9 Ohio State (13-0).
