Quoted: Scott Rankin, chairman of the department of food science at UW-Madison.
Raw milk advocates fight for right to sell
Wisconsin State Journal
Category: State news
Chris Rickert: Walker veto maintains fishy status quo for church-owned apartments
Wisconsin State Journal
“Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar?s, and unto God the things that are God?s.” ? Jesus People who know a lot more about the Bible and ancient history than I do disagree about what, exactly, Jesus meant by this. But I don?t think I?m too far off in assuming he saw a distinction between the secular and nonsecular worlds and believed people should behave accordingly. As applied to Gov. Scott Walker?s veto of a provision in the state budget that would have forced Madison?s Pres House Apartments to pay taxes, I think Caesar might be owed some money. Pres House is the attractive 51-unit student housing development opened near Library Mall in 2007 and owned by the Presbyterian student center at UW-Madison.
Former UW-Madison chancellor back on interim basis (AP)
Madison.com
A former University of Wisconsin-Madison chancellor is returning to the position on an interim basis while UW officials seek a permanent replacement for the most recent chancellor. Chancellor Emeritus David Ward held the position from 1993 to 2000. He also led the American Council on Education in Washington, D.C. for seven years. On Wednesday he was named the interim chancellor as of July 18.
UW-Madison seeks stability with David Ward as interim chancellor
Wisconsin State Journal
UW System President Kevin Reilly lured former UW-Madison Chancellor David Ward out of retirement to serve as interim chancellor of the state?s flagship university, an effort to provide an experienced and familiar leader after a period of contentiousness. ?He?s someone who can bring people together on campus, who can reach out to the other UW System chancellors and can serve as a very strong advocate for our flagship, land-grant, global institution that is UW-Madison,? Reilly said at a news conference Wednesday at Bascom Hall.
Court watchers say high court has hit new low
Wisconsin State Journal
Quoted: Donald Downs, a UW-Madison professor of law and political science.
Mahoney turns Supreme Court investigation over to chief deputy
Wisconsin State Journal
Quoted: Charles Franklin, political science professor at UW-Madison, and Howard Schweber, a political science professor at UW-Madison.
Wis. sheriff distances himself from court probe (AP)
Madison.com
Quoted: Howard Schweber, a UW-Madison political science and law professor.
Collective bargaining law takes effect
Wisconsin Radio Network
After months of protest marches, court hearings, and marathon legislative sessions, Governor Scott Walker?s law that rolls back the ability to collectively bargain for many state workers officially takes effect today. It?s been a historic journey for the measure to get to this point, as it has worked its way through the Legislature and the courts in a battle like no other in recent memory. It has left many in the state divided and will likely impact the political landscape of Wisconsin for the next several years.
John Nichols: State poised to renew progressive legacy this summer
Capital Times
The most progressive legislative session in Wisconsin history took place precisely 100 years ago, when a coalition of rural Republicans and Milwaukee Socialists united to enact reforms that broke the grip of the robber barons and finally put state government on the side of working Wisconsinites, small-business owners and farmers.
….Wisconsin established the standard by which other states were measured. It was the most innovative, the most humane, the most responsible and, above all, the most politically progressive state in the nation. And the ideas that came from Wisconsin formed the underpinning for the labor, farm, civil rights and social justice movements that would eventually come to the fore two decades later, as Franklin Roosevelt imported University of Wisconsin professors and veterans of the state?s legislative and political battles to forge a ?New Deal? for America.
Floyd A. Hummel: Wealth advantage gives mediocre students a leg up
Capital Times
Dear Editors: Walker?s catastrophe is helping Americans wise up to the results of ?trickle-up? economics. From decades of college teaching, I?d like to describe one scenario of the wealth advantage.
Outstate outrage: Grass-roots energy beyond Madison fuels recall efforts
Capital Times
From Green Bay to Fond du Lac, Oshkosh and beyond, those involved in the movement to remove their legislators who sided with Walker say it is their constitutional right to take action, and while they may not be hoisting signs and walking around the Capitol, they are working to change the makeup of those who serve within it.
Quoted: Dennis Dresang, UW-Madison professor emeritus of political science
Justice Prosser was asked to get help for anger, sources say
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quoted: Charles Franklin, a UW-Madison political scientist.
Dane County sheriff endorsed Prosser’s opponent
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist Charles Franklin.
Court watchers say high court has hit new low
Wisconsin State Journal
They are supposed to be sober, adult and dispassionate. But recent events have legal and political experts wondering what the heck is wrong with the state Supreme Court.
Quoted: Donald Downs, a UW-Madison professor of law and political science, and Mordecai Lee, a UW-Milwaukee political science professor and former Democrat state lawmaker.
Walker says he should have prepared public earlier for his sweeping changes
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Gov. Scott Walker said Monday he should have done more to prepare the public for his plan to eliminate most collective bargaining for public employees.
“We had not built enough of the case” for the sweeping plan, Walker said during a wide-ranging session with Journal Sentinel reporters and editors.
The collective bargaining law, which goes into effect Wednesday, will allow future bargaining only on wages with increases capped at the rate of inflation. It also will require annual certification votes on union representation and bar deduction of union dues from public workers? paychecks.
What’s next for state Supreme Court after alleged physical confrontation between two justices? (WLUK-TV, Green Bay)
“You go back just 10-15 years the Wisconsin State Supreme Court really was viewed as an exemplary institution of good government, above the political fray, ” said Howard Schweber, a political science and legal studies professor at U-W Madison.
On Campus: UW System will no longer collect dues for employee groups
Wisconsin State Journal
UW System will no longer deduct membership fees from the paychecks of employees who are part of membership organizations such as the UW-Madison faculty group PROFS, or the academic staff group ASPRO.
Walker vows to continue pressing for UW-Madison autonomy
Wisconsin State Journal
Gov. Scott Walker vowed Monday to keep pushing for his plan to split off UW-Madison from the rest of the University of Wisconsin System, even after the state Legislature axed it from the two-year state budget. The state Legislature commissioned a special 17-member task force to study the structure of UW System. It must submit a report on that issue by Jan. 1. Walker will appoint two of the task force members. He said he will work with the state Legislature to develop reforms for the campuses by the next two-year budget.
Wis. Supreme Court argument leads to investigation
Madison.com
Quoted: Howard Schweber, a political science and law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Professor: State Supreme Court Has Become ‘Laughingstock’
WISC-TV 3
MADISON, Wis. — A University of Wisconsin law professor said that bickering among the state?s Supreme Court justices has made the court a “laughingstock.”
Quoted: Howard Schweber, UW-Madison associate professor of political science and legal studies
Professor: State Supreme Court Has Become ‘Laughingstock’
WISC-TV 3
MADISON, Wis. — A University of Wisconsin law professor said that bickering among the state?s Supreme Court justices has made the court a “laughingstock.” His comments come after a liberal justice accused a conservative court member of choking her during an argument earlier this month.
University of Wisconsin-Madison law professor Howard Schweber said infighting has made the court a laughingstock and the justices have become fodder for late-night comics.
Walker signs budget bill, vetoes just 50 items
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Gov. Scott Walker signed a two-year $66 billion budget Sunday that will cut nearly $800 million from public schools, expand taxpayer support for private voucher schools, cut taxes for investors and businesses, clamp down on property taxes and put the state?s finances in better shape than they?ve been in for more than a decade.
Can ‘fake’ Democrats really pull an upset?
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Quoted: Charles Franklin, a political scientist at UW-Madison.
Young and old praise Tosa Pool’s opening
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Although the temperature was only in the 50s, the cool weather didn?t deter John Morgridge from being the first person down the slide into the new Tosa Pool at Hoyt Park at a preview party May 27, the night before the facility?s grand opening. Following Morgridge into the pool was Milwaukee County Parks Director Sue Black, and the two high-fived it afterward.
Sources: Argument between Prosser, Bradley becomes physical
Wisconsin State Journal
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser allegedly grabbed fellow Justice Ann Walsh Bradley around the neck in an argument in her chambers earlier this month, according to three knowledgeable sources. But a different account of the incident emerged Saturday, and Prosser said the allegation “will be proven false.”
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel quoted sources saying Prosser made contact with Bradley to defend himself after she charged toward him. Details of the incident, investigated jointly by Wisconsin Public Radio and the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, remain sketchy. The sources spoke on the condition they not be named, citing a need to preserve professional relationships.
(The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism also collaborates with Wisconsin Public Television, the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication and other news media.)
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Wis. gov makes 50 vetoes in state budget (AP)
Madison.com
Republican Gov. Scott Walker left the state budget largely intact, using his powerful veto pen to issue only 50 changes before signing it into law Sunday. The lack of changes indicate Republicans who control the Legislature handed the governor most of what he wanted as they revised the two-year, $66 billion budget.
Walker veto will allow Pres House to remain tax-exempt
Wisconsin State Journal
It means the 51-unit Pres House Apartments will remain tax exempt, sparing it an annual cost of about $200,000.
“We?re thrilled,” said the Rev. Mark Elsdon, executive director of the Pres House ministry. “We take it as an affirmation of the work we?re doing and the value of it.”
Walker Makes 50 Vetoes In State Budget
WISC-TV 3
Noted: Walker also used his veto pen to eliminate Board of Regents review and approval of University of Wisconsin-Madison compensation, personnel system plans and tentative labor agreements because “these plans will already require approval from the Joint Committee on Employment Relations?? and “removing this level of approval will give the state?s flagship campus the level of autonomy it needs to successfully compete in the global higher education environment.”
Gov. Walker Signs Budget Into Law
WISC-TV 3
ASHWAUBENON, Wis. — Having survived months of protests, injunctions, and appeals, Wisconsin?s budget is now officially law.
UPDATE: Walker signs state budget
WKOW-TV 27
ASHWAUBENON (WKOW) — Gov. Scott Walker signed his first budget on Sunday afternoon at a private ceremony near Green Bay.
Wisconsin has a new state budget
Wisconsin Radio Network
In signing the two-year $66 billion budget, Governor Scott Walker eliminates the debt saying ?Republicans and Democrats alike have caused this problem.? He says ?Unfortunately for all of us ?honest budgeting? was one of those areas where both political parties tended to look the other way.?
Handler Talks About Meaning Of K9 Vest Donation
Channel3000.com
Protecting the dogs who help protect us, that?s the idea behind the Wisconsin Vest-A-Dog organization that has made a very special donation to the University of Wisconsin Police Department K9 Unit on Thursday. The bullet resistant and stab resistant vest will go to the newest member of the unit, Odin.
Biz Beat: Budget serves up tax break for wealthiest Wisconsinites
Capital Times
Progressives have found precious little to like in the 2011-2013 budget Gov. Scott Walker will sign into law Sunday at a ceremony in Green Bay. But perhaps the most regressive item is a new tax loophole ? disguised as an economic development tool ? that is projected to cost the state hundreds of millions in lost revenue over the next decade.
Quoted: Andrew Reschovsky, UW-Madison professor of public affairs and applied economics
Long-lasting heart-shaped balloon in Capitol is ‘symbol of our fight’ for protest movement
Wisconsin State Journal
The tens of thousands of protesters have left. The metal detectors are gone. But a small reminder of the massive demonstrations that rocked the state Capitol for weeks on end remains. A mysterious heart-shaped red balloon still floats inside the Capitol dome, where it has hovered high over the rotunda since mid-February. Some say it has been hovering atop the dome since Feb. 14, the day hundreds of protesting UW-Madison students and teaching assistants held a Valentine?s Day march along State Street before flooding the Capitol with “valentines” for the governor and signs reading, “Please don?t break our hearts.”
Marquette revises sex assault policies (JSOnline)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Marquette University officials acknowledged Wednesday that the university made mistakes in how it handled student reports of sexual assaults and said they?ve worked out a way to improve how they report sexual assaults to city police. Previously, officials with Marquette?s public safety department left it up to the student who reported a sexual assault whether to report that assault to the Milwaukee Police Department. But that was against Wisconsin law, which mandates that a private security firm that believes a crime has been committed has to promptly notify police. Now students will be told the incident will be reported, but they have a choice of whether to talk to police.
Trip suggests he gets biotech
Wisconsin State Journal
It?s nice to see that Gov. Scott Walker?s ?open for business? mantra extends beyond the traditional sectors of Wisconsin?s economy ? agriculture, tourism and manufacturing ? to the biosciences and biotechnology. The Republican governor plans to tout Wisconsin as a great place for scientific businesses to thrive next week at the 2011 BIO International Convention in Washington, D.C. This is no small thing for Madison and Dane County, which are home to UW-Madison, its more than $1 billion in annual research, and a growing number of private companies making breakthroughs and developing products in the life sciences.
Bill exempts researchers from animal cruelty cases
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A provision in the state budget would give more legal protection to researchers performing animal testing in the state.
Some animal rights activists say this will let researchers off the hook for animal cruelty, while researchers say it is necessary to close a loophole to ensure scientific studies continue. The amendment would exempt animal researchers in Wisconsin from any state criminal penalties for animal cruelty. Researchers would still be liable under federal law if they violate the protocol of their research institution.
UW Hospital: Abortion language inserted into state budget could jeopardize OB/GYN accreditation
Wisconsin State Journal
A provision inserted in the state budget would prohibit UW Hospital and Clinics from funding abortions, but it?s unclear whether that will stop the hospital from offering required abortion experience to doctors-in-training. Abortions are not performed at UW Hospital and Clinics, but obstetrics and gynecology residents train at Planned Parenthood to learn about family planning, which includes the opportunity to perform abortions. State law currently prohibits the use of public funds to pay physicians to perform abortions with few exceptions, but the new legislation specifically targets UW Hospital and Clinics. UW Hospital and Clinics is a public authority and does not receive state funding.
UPDATE: Assembly passes concealed carry bill
WKOW-TV 27
The concealed carry bill is heading to Gov. Scott Walker?s desk for his signature. The Assembly has passed the legislation with bipartisan support Tuesday.
Assembly Passes Concealed Carry Bill
WISC-TV 3
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin state Assembly passed a bill Tuesday with bipartisan support to legalize the carrying of concealed weapons, a change Republican Gov. Scott Walker supports and was expected to quickly sign into law.
Assembly passes concealed carry bill
Wisconsin Radio Network
Legislation legalizing concealed carry in Wisconsin is on its way to the Governor?s desk, following a bi-partisan vote in the Assembly Tuesday night. The legislation includes permit and training requirements, which supporters say will help to ensure the public is protected.
‘In Wisconsin’ TV show cancelled after 10 years
Wisconsin State Journal
After a successful 10-year run, “In Wisconsin” has been cancelled by Wisconsin Public Television. Patty Loew, a professor at UW-Madison and the show?s host, said she was disappointed by the cancellation of the news and documentary program, but has fond memories of her time with the show.
“It was a program that reached into communities all over the state and I worked with some really talented people,” she said. The show?s cancellation comes after a large number of staff retirements and turnover, according to Kathy Bissen, director of production at WPT.
About 100 illegal immigrants paid in-state tuition in 2010-11
Wisconsin State Journal
About 100 illegal immigrants took advantage of a law allowing them to pay in-state tuition at University of Wisconsin System schools in the 2010-11 academic year, according to a State Journal analysis, under a short-lived program that will likely expire July 1. Republican Gov. Scott Walker is expected to sign a two-year budget that will ban resident tuition for illegal immigrants, ending a program that former Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, signed into law just two years ago. The State Journal obtained data from the 13 four-year campuses in the UW System and found that about 70 illegal immigrants filed paperwork for resident tuition in 2009-10, while about 100 did so in 2010-2011.
On Campus: UW System administration must cut 50 jobs under budget plan
Wisconsin State Journal
University of Wisconsin System administration must cut about 50 full time positions — or 40 percent of its staff — under the budget that Gov. Scott Walker is expected to sign this week. That means the size of administrative staff will be reduced from 126 to about 75.
UW System To Cut Administrative Positions
WISC-TV 3
The University of Wisconsin System is bracing for budget cuts that will require it to cut some positions.
UW System sees some budget benefit
Wisconsin Radio Network
The University of Wisconsin System has gotten some of what it wanted from the state budget. The Madison campus will not be spun off, although the issue will be studied. Michael Spector, President of the UW System Board of Regents, said the campuses will have some long sought flexibilities in areas including budgeting and personnel management. ?Not everything we wanted in those areas, but certainly a significant amount. I think, the way legislation works, it?s a good start for the next biennium,? he said.
Assembly to vote on concealed carry
Wisconsin Radio Network
The state Assembly is expected to vote today on legislation legalizing the concealed carry of weapons in Wisconsin. The bill passed in the state Senate earlier this month creates a permit system and requires training to carry concealed guns and other weapons.
UW System sees some budget benefit
Wisconsin Radio Network
The University of Wisconsin System has gotten some of what it wanted from the state budget. The Madison campus will not be spun off, although the issue will be studied. Michael Spector, President of the UW System Board of Regents, said the campuses will have some long sought flexibilities in areas including budgeting and personnel management. ?
Michigan May Get to Vote on Budget Cutters
Bloomberg News
Quoted: Charles Franklin, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political-science professor.
Public Union Strife Redefining Wisconsin’s Identity : NPR
National Public Radio
In Wisconsin, the partisan fight over public union rights is changing the culture of the state. Guest host Jacki Lyden talks with political science professor Kathy Walsh from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
UW should consider business leader
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
As Chancellor Biddy Martin prepares to clean out her office in Bascom Hall by August, the coming national search for her successor should take into account some trends that are shaping higher education in other states.
As Biddy Martin leaves UW-Madison, opinions formulate about next chancellor – JSOnline
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The pay is good. The perks are, too. But who will want to be the next chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison? When Carolyn “Biddy” Martin abruptly announced last week that she was leaving the top post to become president of Amherst College, it was clear her relationship with the Board of Regents and UW System President Kevin Reilly had soured over a battle for campus autonomy, hatched behind her bosses? backs. With budget cuts looming and a raucous political atmosphere in Madison, the new person at Bascom Hall will have to be tenacious, politically astute and a peacemaker. Moreover, that person will have to show that leading a top-five public research institution has somehow not been tarnished by the turmoil.
Wineke: Shameful Budget Hurts Wisconsin Children – Madison News Story – WISC Madison
WISC-TV 3
And so, after six contentious months, the state of Wisconsin has a budget, a $66 billion spending plan balanced on the backs of the state?s children….We are already paying a price for this. UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin is gone. She may have been the university?s best hope for adapting to the future but she got caught up in Gov. Walker?s schemes and her position became untenable. I expect we?re going to see many of our best faculty members leave, too. It?s one thing to work here for less money than you can earn elsewhere; it?s another to work in an environment where the Legislature takes pride in cutting schools.
Scott Milfred says Biddy Martin exit “looks like a step down” on Sunday morning’s “Upfront with Mike Gousha”
Madison.com
Wisconsin State Journal editorial page editor Scott Milfred appeared on Sunday morning?s “Upfront with Mike Gousha” on Milwaukee television station WISN-TV Ch. 12. He linked UW-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin?s departure to her frayed relationship with UW regents and UW System administrators following her push to split the Madison campus out of the System in Republican Gov. Scott Walker?s state budget.
Colin Goddard and Patrick Korellis: Concealed carry no answer to campus violence like we experienced
Capital Times
We are two extremely lucky people. We lived through the horrific experience of being the targets of a pair of students who, in separate crimes, carried guns into college classrooms at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, and at Northern Illinois University on Feb, 14, 2008. All around us, the lives of our classmates were senselessly ended. It was the most intense, stressful and frightening experience of our lives.
Wisconsin state politicians believe the way to deal with such campus violence is to allow college students to bring loaded, hidden guns onto campuses. This provision is part of the concealed carry legislation that passed the Wisconsin Senate and is set for a vote in the state Assembly on Tuesday.
Biz Beat: Governors have little control over job numbers, says UW econ group
Capital Times
Gov. Scott Walker has vowed that Wisconsin, on his watch, will generate 250,000 new private sector jobs by 2015 — a promise being followed closely by both the governor?s supporters and detractors. But a report released Friday by a liberal UW-Madison think tank says governors actually have little control over job creation in today?s global economy.
Quoted: Joel Rogers, director of the Center on Wisconsin Strategies
Campus Connection: How educated are Wisconsin legislators?
Capital Times
Do you sometimes wonder if Wisconsin has the least-educated legislature in America? Wonder no more. The answer? Not even close. The percentage of Wisconsin?s state legislators with at least a four-year college degree is slightly higher than the national average, according to an analysis of the 7,000-plus state representatives across the United States by the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Campus Connection: Martin could make key appointments before leaving for Amherst
Capital Times
Despite having one foot out the door, University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin could have a hand in some key campus decisions before leaving next month for her new post as president of Amherst College.
Although no one is suggesting Martin would do anything to harm the university, several key campus players confided to The Capital Times that they?d nonetheless have a problem if she made any significant moves now that she has decided to leave town for a different job.
Chris Rickert: Hey partisans: Remember your Socrates?
Wisconsin State Journal
Maybe to encourage a little horse-trading of ideas among people of good will from both ends of the political spectrum, the next exorbitantly paid UW-Madison chancellor could choose something on the Socratic Method for an upcoming Go Big Read program.
Census data shows more homes led by single dads
Madison.com
Quoted: Katherine Curtis, a demographic specialist and faculty affiliate of the Applied Population Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin.