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Author: jnweaver

On Wisconsin: Town successfully rids itself of termites

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Wisconsin State Journal

….We know of places like Coloma, Oxford, Hancock, Plainfield and Plover largely from the green road signs along this north-south route that is a year-round thoroughfare for vehicles, campers, boats and snowmobiles destined for somewhere Up North.

Endeavor is also on that list but is now known for what is no more. Over the last five years, this village of 453 people, about 10 miles north of Portage, has waged a successful battle against wood chewing termites.

…researchers from the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison teamed up with Alternative Pest Solutions in Madison and with the UW-Madison entomology department to create a two-fold attack.

UW-Madison senior helps ?Starstruck!? shine bright

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Wisconsin State Journal

People know me as: Ryan Moldenhauer, a UW-Madison senior in music education and tenor/assistant music director with the Wisconsin Singers, a Broadway-caliber professional entertainment company featuring the best talents of UW-Madison.

Coming up next: We?ve just completed an intensive 18-day rehearsal period before going on the road to premiere our newest show, ?Starstruck!?

Wisconsin river town and its ?hereditary defectives? were focus for famed psychologist

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Wisconsin State Journal

….It could be any Wisconsin river town. But for a brief while in the early 1900s, Alma became notorious as the centerpiece for the misguided and now-discredited campaign to better society through eugenics, or the improvement of the human race by encouraging so-called desirable genetic traits.

Research by a University of New Hampshire psychology professor has brought to light an odd and unsettling article in which a well-known scientist of the time labeled nearly a quarter of Alma?s residents “hereditary defectives.”

(The scientist, famed child psychologist Arnold Gesell, received a graduate degree from the University of Wisconsin, where he studied under Frederick Jackson Turner.)

Lyman Lyons: Prevent drastic change to iconic Union Terrace

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Wisconsin State Journal

The terrace is the heart and soul of UW-Madison?s Memorial Union. Apparently this isn?t enough to prevent the design committee from significantly altering it to add a lobby and lounge to the Union Theater. Arguments about square footage or sunset views miss the point – the experience of being on the terrace will be radically changed, and not for the better.

Just Ask Us: Whatever happened to the Bucky Wagon?

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Wisconsin State Journal

A: The Bucky Wagon, which carried the Spirit Squad to Camp Randall on Badger football game days, was deemed unsafe in 2001. The Athletic Department was concerned about the 1932 LaFrance fire engine running over band members and being easy to fall from, but it?s now undergoing repairs and will emerge more eco-friendly. Students from UW-Madison?s College of Engineering are working to make the wagon electric, said Glenn Bower, an automotive faculty advisor at UW working on the project.

Around Town: Trek hopes free bike rides kick-start more interest

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Wisconsin State Journal

Billy Garcia, 19, a UW-Madison student from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was at a friend?s house near the Capitol on Sunday and dreaded the long walk back to his dorm. He looked at the B-cycle docking station at Wisconsin Avenue and East Mifflin Street and discovered it was free. He had read about the bike sharing program in other cities before. “I just assumed it would be a matter of time until they installed these here,” he said, noting that Madison is one of the most bike-friendly cities he?s seen.

Stay safe on dark city streets

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Madison.com

Very little sparks fear faster than being alone in the early morning hours on a dark street with a stranger coming from behind. Footsteps quicken. The heart races. Waves of terror crash in unabated. Often, the episode proves harmless and the fear gene subsides as quickly as it arose. Sadly, sometimes that?s not the case and violence occurs. Too often on Madison streets people are accosted, beaten or sexually assaulted.

Picnic Point to get makeover

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Wisconsin State Journal

The view from Picnic Point is going from barely there to panoramic. Work began this month along the popular peninsula to clear out invasive plants, opening up expansive views of Lake Mendota, Downtown Madison and campus.

UW-Madison residence hall move-in starts Thursday

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Capital Times

Nervous parents and their excited offspring will be swarming all over the UW-Madison campus beginning Thursday during the annual migration known as Move-In Day. By the time it?s all over next Wednesday, more than 7,000 students will unpack boxes and set up speakers in the university residence halls, according to the UW-Madison news service.

UW football: Concern mounts over numbness in Budmayr’s throwing hand

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Madison.com

If the University of Wisconsin football team had to play a game today, redshirt freshman Joe Brennan would be the backup quarterback behind senior Russell Wilson. The question now is whether that scenario will continue throughout much of the season. There is legitimate concern around the program concerning the status of sophomore quarterback Jon Budmayr, who is scheduled to see a nerve specialist on Thursday due to continued numbness in two fingers on his throwing hand.

Midwesterners Feel East Coast Quake

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WISC-TV 3

Millions of people up and down the East Coast were rocked by Tuesday afternoon?s 5.8-magnitude earthquake, and, believe it or not, the ground rumbled here in Madison as well, 700 miles away from the quake?s epicenter.

“The windows shook, kind of rattled a little bit,” said James Lustig, who works at the Carbone Cancer Center on the sixth floor at UW Hospital. “I thought, ?That?s kind of weird, my window doesn?t open.?”

Heidi Fassnacht: Reflections on Sterling Hall, a thank you for opening your hearts

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Capital Times

Dear people of Madison and beyond: Forty-one years is a long time to wait to say ?thank you,? to express my gratitude for the ways, known and unknown, that you have touched my life. It has taken me this long to come to a place where I recognize the gift my life has been, and how I have not gotten here alone. Forty-one years ago, early one morning, my father was killed in the bombing of Sterling Hall on the University of Wisconsin campus.

….I may never fully know who all of you are and the many ways you have touched my life. What I can offer you is my heartfelt gratitude, and the knowledge that within even the greatest tragedy is the opportunity of the gift, even if it takes a lifetime to see it.

Jason Hughes: There?s no incentive to be state worker

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Capital Times

Dear Editor: At one time having a state job was considered a good thing, but now the times have changed. We?ve gone four years without raise, our insurance premiums are being increased, and we have to pay 5 percent of our pay toward our retirement benefits. The state used furlough days as a way to save costs and we see where that landed us.

Obituary: Cody A. Blomgren

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Cody A. Blomgren, age 16, of Arlington, passed away on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011, at University Hospital, as a result of an automobile accident. He had worked for the UW Arlington Agricultural Research Farm.

Obituary: Raymond “Ray” Wirsbinski

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Raymond “Ray” Wirsbinski passed away on Monday, Aug. 22, 2011, at the age of 87 years, one month and seven days. In 1959 Ray became business manager of residence halls for UW-Madison. While this was initially a temporary position, it became his life’s work, the work he did for nearly 40 years.

Obituary: Beatrice C. “Bea” Bice

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Beatrice C. “Bea” Bice, age 86, of Verona, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Aug. 21, 2011, at her home in Willow Pointe Assisted Living. In 1966, she began her career at UW-Madison, working as an instructor in the Department of Anatomy and as a Behavioral Disabilities graduate advisor before her retirement in 1991.

Hey, Watch It! Errol Morris, Werner Herzog reunite (sorta) in Sundance Screening Room

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Wisconsin State Journal

….this September?s Screening Room schedule at Sundance Cinemas, announced over the weekend, is a reunion of sorts for the two filmmakers. Fans of the series, indie, documentary and foreign flicks for which the usual Sundance amenities fees are waived, will be happy to see the upcoming schedule contains good films, and a lot of them. Most weeks have two new Screening Room movies opening, including favorites from this year’s Wisconsin Film Festival like the A Tribe Called Quest documentary “Beats, Rhymes and Life” and “Shut Up, Little Man,” a documentary made by two UW-Madison grads.

Sterling Hall bombing was 41 years ago

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Capital Times

Only 18 days away from the 10th anniversary of the worst terrorist attack in American history, Madison on Wednesday is quietly commemorating the 41st anniversary of one of its darkest days: the bombing of Sterling Hall on the UW campus. Early in the morning of Aug. 24, 1970, four anti-Vietnam War radicals ? Karleton Armstrong, his brother Dwight Armstrong, David Fine and Leo Burt ? used a van filled with almost a ton of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil to bomb Sterling Hall, killing researcher Robert Fassnacht and injuring three others.

Investigators Use Playing Cards To Help Solve Cold Cases

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WISC-TV 3

Homicide investigators have launched a new project that aims to bring closure to Wisconsin cold cases through the use of playing cards. Some of the cases are more than 50 years old. One case included in the program is the Madison disappearance and slaying of University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student Kelly Nolan.

Among the unsolved murders of UW-Madison students are those of Brittany Zimmermann (2008), Donna Mraz (1982), and Christine Rothschild (1968).

Madison Police Investigates Sexual Assault On Campus

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WISC-TV 3

Madison police are looking for two men wanted in connection with a sexual assault early Monday morning on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Police said the incident happened just after 3 a.m. on Monday in the 1000 block of West Dayton Street. According to police, the victim was walking near the corner of State and Frances streets when two men began to follow her. Police said she tried to run from them, but they were able to keep up.

Woman sexually assaulted downtown

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Capital Times

A 20-year-old Madison woman was sexually assaulted early Monday morning while walking downtown, police say. The assault was reported at 3:12 a.m. Monday. According to the police incident report, the victim was near State and Frances streets when two suspects began following her.

Man using fire escape to get home falls from second story

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Capital Times

A 20-year-old downtown resident suffered a broken ankle and possible head injury early Friday morning when he fell off a fire escape trying to get into his apartment.

Madison Police spokesman Joel DeSpain told madison.com this incident should serve as a reminder to college students heading back to campus in a few weeks not to take chances if out drinking, such as climbing fire escapes, balconies, etc.

UW-Madison bone marrow transplant pioneer Fritz Bach dies at 77

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Wisconsin State Journal

A former UW-Madison researcher and physician who pioneered the use of bone marrow transplants ? now conducted on tens of thousands people each year ? died Sunday at his home near Boston. He was 77.

Dr. Fritz Bach was 31 years old and an assistant professor at UW-Madison in 1965 when he began developing techniques to help people survive organ transplants. The test he developed allowed doctors to find the family member who would be the closest match in an organ transplant, in order to avoid transplant rejection.

Man walks woman to car, steals purse

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Capital Times

A man was walking a woman to her car Thursday morning but then reportedly grabbed her purse from the car and ran, police said.The theft was reported at 4:41 a.m. Thursday at West Washington Avenue and Bedford Street, the Madison Police Department reported.The 21-year-old Madison woman met the guy at a downtown nightclub, police said.

Walker takes a new path ? the political middle

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Wisconsin State Journal

?The governor scored a lot of victories this year, but they have come with real political costs,? said Charles Franklin, UW-Madison political science professor and polling expert. ?He is a little less comfortable than he was before, and he needs to convince independent voters to come back to him.?

Crime and Courts: Madison fire marshal says law would kill local fire code

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Capital Times

Since 2007, when a campus-area fire in a home with disabled smoke detectors killed a 23-year-old man, the city has been on a mission to require tamper-resistant or hard-wired smoke detectors in apartment buildings and homes. That effort culminated in 2009 with a city ordinance that officials say has helped prevent any fire deaths since. But a proposed state law could wipe that ordinance off the books, according to Madison Fire Marshal Ed Ruckriegel.

Tom Oates: Road to expansion may be dead end for college sports

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Madison.com

Even as the Big Ten grew from 10 to 12 schools, it was palatable because the conference expanded incrementally. And when the Big Ten couldn?t come up with anything better than Leaders and Legends for its division names, at least the opponents were familiar. If, however, Texas A&M moves from the Big 12 to the SEC as many expect it to do, decorum in college athletics will be lost forever. The resulting land grab will dramatically alter the NCAA landscape, and not for the better.

Campus Connection: Alvarez and family reportedly lost $1 million in Ponzi scheme

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Capital Times

University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez and members of his family filed claims for at least $1 million from convicted Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro, the Associated Press reports. Alvarez is not the focus of the AP article, which instead zeroes in on an NCAA investigation examining Shapiro?s connections with the University of Miami Hurricanes? football program.

Hotel Across From Camp Randall Stadium Opens

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WISC-TV 3

After getting sacked by the economy in 2008, a hotel project in downtown Madison hopes to score success by catering to Camp Randall clientele and beyond. While its name may be Hotel Red, this new business hopes to be running in the black soon. After being in the works for three years, the hotel opened to the public on Tuesday.

Ted Voth Jr.: It?s unfortunate time to be looking for chancellor

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Capital Times

Dear Editor: ?Chancellor vacancies aplenty,? read the headline in the Wisconsin State Journal. This is a particularly unfortunate time for my alma mater, UW-Madison, to be looking for a chancellor. What academic of any integrity would want to come to the state of Wisconsin with its red-neck governor, know-nothing Legislature and rogue Supreme Court?

Campus Connection: In future, state students to pay more to attend college in Minnesota

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Capital Times

Wisconsin students who attend public universities and colleges in Minnesota will start paying more for their education in years to come under a new tuition reciprocity agreement between the states that was announced Monday. The good news is Wisconsin students currently going to school in Minnesota, and even those enrolling this fall, won?t be hit by the tuition hike.

Madison360: Mantra of wealthy Republicans ? we want the rest

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Capital Times

“The brakes are off and that?s our system of government now,” observes Andrew Kersten, a University of Wisconsin-Green Bay labor historian. Kersten?s new book is titled, “The Battle for Wisconsin: Scott Walker and the Attack on the Progressive Tradition.” Kersten has been asking why wealthy donors in and out of Wisconsin seem so relentless.

Biz Beat: Mid-rise apartment eyed off Willy

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Capital Times

Although the market for single-family homes and condominiums remains slow, developers continue to move forward with new apartment construction.

….Meanwhile, construction continues on a couple of other major apartment projects, one on the west end of the UW-Madison campus and another in the ‘Miffland’ neighborhood.

Groundhog Blizzard nets $1.4 million in federal aid here

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Capital Times

The Groundhog Blizzard of 2011 was very costly to local units of government but some relief has come this way through the Federal Emergency Management Agency. More than $1.4 million in federal aid has been paid to 51 local governments and six school districts in Dane County to cover some of the costs stemming from the the Jan. 31 and Feb. 1-2 storms that dumped more than 18 inches of snow in the Madison area.

….The county joined 52 out of 61 local units of government in Dane County, UW-Madison and nine school districts in requesting more than $1.5 million from FEMA.

Student group hopes to make move-out day greener

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Wisconsin State Journal

The movement to go green has hit the student move out. This weekend, Downtown Madison will undergo its annual transformation into piles of sofa cushions, overflowing trash cans and used microwaves as students move out of their apartments on Sunday and start new leases Monday. But this year, a new campus group is trying to reduce the amount of unwanted household goods going to the landfill by donating the items to charity.

Meghan Ford: Ending ag handouts would fight debt and obesity

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Capital Times

Dear Editor: As we have seen from the debt debate debacle, there is no easy way to fix the financial crisis we have gotten ourselves into. This is going to be tough and we need true innovators and leaders in our Congress….As a struggling college student, I?d like to eat healthy, to help my brain function and to perform my best, but with these big ag subsidies, overly sugared groceries are all that I can afford. Where do our priorities as a nation lie when a bag of carrots costs more than a six-pack of Ramen noodles?

R

Obituary: W. J. “Tip” Tyler

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W. J. “Tip” Tyler passed away peacefully on Monday, Aug. 8, 2011, at his home. Tip, a dairy geneticist, spent his career teaching dairy cattle reproduction and doing research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Agriculture Department. His students remember his quick humor and entertaining exam questions.

R

Capitol security costs for protests expected to top $8 million

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Wisconsin State Journal

The months of protests over Gov. Scott Walker?s budget and collective bargaining measures around the state Capitol are expected to cost the state more than $8 million to reimburse nearly 200 law enforcement agencies and seven state agencies brought in to provide around-the-clock security.