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Category: State news

Digital growth paves cable path to Big Ten Network

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Capital Times

Cable subscribers’ increasing embrace of digital services helped lead to a carriage deal between Comcast and the Big Ten Network, and could do the same for Charter Communications and Time Warner, Wisconsin’s two dominant cable providers.

BTN from its beginning insisted on being carried on a basic level of cable service — such as Charter’s Expanded Basic — in the Big Ten Conference states in order to reach a maximum number of subscribers. BTN has since made a partial concession on that point in its deal with Comcast that was driven by the company’s growth in digital subscribers.

In its markets in Big Ten Conference states, Comcast will carry BTN on its expanded basic level from its launch Aug. 15 through the end of the 2008-09 college basketball season. But after that, it will be allowed to move BTN to a “broadly distributed digital level of service in most of its systems in the Big Ten states,” the companies said in their news release announcing the deal.

State Debate: State employee names should be open

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Capital Times

State employee names should be open, says the Appleton Post-Crescent.

Just like anything else in the public domain, state employees’ records should be open and accessible.

This is what the Wisconsin Supreme Court may be deciding following a protracted fight on the part of the Wisconsin State Employees Union to keep its workers names a secret.

City, county officials push UW to ditch coal power entirely

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Capital Times

Madison and Dane County elected officials are adding their voices to the chorus of those pushing the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the state to create cleaner power downtown and around campus.

Nine members of Madison’s City Council and six supervisors from the Dane County Board sent a letter to UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley and state Administration Secretary Michael Morgan last week after the university and state held a town hall meeting to get public input on a long-term feasibility study of potential power sources for the university and state Capitol.

States struggle to deal with nanotech health concerns

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The science of the very small could pose some very big problems for state and local agencies, according to a new report by Wisconsin researchers.

Data gaps in our understanding of the burgeoning field of nanotechnology are forcing unprepared state and local governments to bear the brunt of regulating the new technology’s potentially hazardous risks, the authors conclude.

State moves up in ranking of technology

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

With its investment in biosciences and bioenergy research, and leadership in stem cell research, Wisconsin has continued to expand its knowledge economy, a new report by the Milken Institute shows.

The state ranked 22nd in the instituteâ??s State Technology and Science Index, moving up from 27th in 2004, the last time the report was done

Report: Investment in state start-up companies up 43% last year

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Capital Times

Private dollars invested in Wisconsin start-up companies operating in high-growth sectors — such as biotechnology — grew 43 percent in 2007 to a record high, according to a report released Wednesday.

That exceeds the 1.8 percent national growth estimate provided earlier this year by the Center for Venture Research, the Wisconsin Technology Network reported.

Biddy Martin’s Public Challenge (The Cornell Daily Sun)

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What began as a 231-word blog post criticizing outgoing provost Biddy Martin has escalated into war – well, at least a press release war in the Wisconsin legislature. After The Capital Times reported that an aide to Rep. Steve Nass circulated the blog post among Republicans, the press release war commenced, leading to another article by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and then an article and an editorial from The Sun. While the author of the blog post, Travis Kavulla, has taken the rhetoric down a notch in his response to the whole fiasco, he raises an interesting issue concerning the difference between a public university like The University of Wisconsin – Madison and a private university like Cornell University.

New UW-Madison chancellor to meet with her main critic (Spooner Advocate)

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MADISON– Who would not want to be a fly on the wall during this weekâ??s meeting between flame-throwing University of Wisconsin System critic Rep. Steve Nass and Biddy Martin, the new chancellor at UW-Madison?

Before Martin had a chance to rearrange her office furniture, Nass was defending his background checks on her. Madison Democratic Reps. Spencer Black and Terese Berceau criticized Nass for distributing a National Review Online article about Martin to his GOP colleagues.

State Budgets Are Weakening, and the Worst May Be Yet to Come

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Chronicle of Higher Education

The economy in many states is weakening, and the overall state-budget outlook for the next several years is gloomy, according to a report released on Thursday by the National Governors Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers.

Budget conditions vary among the states, according to the report, “The Fiscal Survey of the States.” But overall growth in state spending has slowed significantly, it says, and an increasing number of states face revenue shortfalls. Tighter state budgets often signal bad news for college officials and students, who face cuts in operating budgets and increases in tuition as legislatures struggle to make ends meet.

Badger Bullies (The Cornell Daily Sun)

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As an administrator, former Provost Biddy Martin was devoted to improving the lives of students, faculty and staff. As President David Skortonâ??s first deputy officer, she pioneered initiatives to increase financial aid, appoint new deans and increase communication and cohesion across our large and disparate University. Itâ??s because of her stellar academic and administrative record at Cornell that weâ??re disappointed to learn of the controversy surrounding her appointment as the new chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Two weeks ago, a blog post on the National Review Online criticized Martin as a â??self-indulged, theory-laden, post-modern scholar.â? And after Wisconsin State Rep. Steve Nass circulated a link to the blog within the State House, state representatives have made public a debate over Martinâ??s administrative qualifications.

Extreme makeover: Violent weather spurs redesign of infrastructure

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Capital Times

The heavy rains, strong thunderstorms and fierce tornadoes that have attacked the Midwest in recent weeks are a sign of the future, and communities will have to adapt to more frequent occurrences of extreme weather, experts say.

It could be an expensive process.

Ken Potter, a UW-Madison engineering professor who helped review the New Orleans hurricane protection system after Hurricane Katrina, said Wisconsin engineers will have to consider how to redesign structures to prevent flooding and events such as the draining of Lake Delton after extremely heavy rains.

(Several other UW-Madison experts are also quoted in this story.)

State initiative gets climate change discussion rolling

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Capital Times

Given that most scientists agree the climate is changing, experts and officials are trying to get ready for possible effects — in order to avoid harm to people, places and things.

For instance, what kind of measures could prevent health effects from heat waves? What can the state do to protect the tourism economy, which depends on snowmobiling, skiing, fishing and boating? How could the paper industry react if warmer-climate trees change northern forest composition? How can stormwater be managed?

The state Department of Natural Resources and the University of Wisconsin-Madison have started the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts to explore potential effects and find answers to those and other questions.

Wis. Supreme Court asked to take open records case

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Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court has been asked to decide whether state government must release the names of union employees.

The Department of Administration says employment contracts prohibit the release of information identifying union workers.

Class action status given to Wis. bar exam lawsuit

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Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A judge has granted class action status to a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s policy of allowing in-state law graduates to become lawyers without passing the bar exam.

U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb says anyone who applies to practice law in Wisconsin within 30 days of graduating from a law school outside the state can join the lawsuit.

Obama leads McCain in new poll of Wisconsin voters

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Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain by 13 percentage points in a new poll of Wisconsin voters.

Half of the respondents said they would vote for Obama if the election was held now. Thirty-seven percent would choose McCain.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Political Science/WisPolitics.com poll surveyed 506 randomly chosen likely voters by telephone from June 8-10. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

Bitter “Biddy” Battle in Madison

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Ever since an aide to Rep. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) started circulating a reprint of this conservative blog post deriding UW-Madison’s chancellor-to-be Carolyn “Biddy” Martin, a bitter battle about the university has emerged between Nass and some of the Democrats on the state legislature.

Editorial: No way to win public’s trust (Beloit Daily News)

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Here we go again, with the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents demonstrating its arrogance and contempt for the taxpayers who foot the bills.

The board approved whopping raises for top UW officials. The new UW-Madison chancellor, Biddy Martin, was hired with a salary of $437,000 a year, more than $100,000 higher than her predecessor John Wiley was paid. President Kevin Reilly was granted a raise of nearly $80,000, moving from $342,000 a year to $421,500 annually by next June.

The UW Board of Regents has persuaded me to run for state superintendent (wispolitics.com)

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Everyone agrees that for Wisconsin to flourish in the 21st century the UW System must at minimum remain one of the worldâ??s foremost educational and research institutions.

Unfortunately, the Board of Regentsâ?? decision last week to provide exorbitant pay increases to top administrators, drastically increase tuition rates for students, and provide minuscule raises to UW System faculty and staff, demonstrates that they misunderstand the economic realities distressing Wisconsinâ??s residents and the political and organizational imperatives facing the UW System.

New UW chancellor will face skeptical legislators

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Wisconsin State Journal

Biddy Martin hadn’t finished signing her contract to be the next chancellor of UW-Madison before inflammatory e-mails about her began flying around the state Capitol.

“An obscure, self-indulged, theory-laden, post-modern scholar, ” read the National Review Online commentary circulated by an aide to Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, chairman of the Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee.

The message came on the heels of a press release Nass issued the day Martin was named, saying he was “cautiously optimistic ” about her appointment but asserting the people of Wisconsin “don ‘t want a university promoting the liberal indoctrination of young minds at the altar of political correctness. “

Editorial: Undergrads shouldnâ??t shoulder load

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Racine Journal Times

A year ago University of Wisconsin and state technical college officials cautioned legislators that unless there was a funding mechanism for a proposal to give free tuition to Wisconsin veterans, state campuses would have to bump up tuition for underclassmen.

So it was not surprising this week when the UW System Board of Regents stood with a tin cup in one hand and a larger tuition bill in the other as they adopted an operating budget for 2008-2009 academic year.

Under the Regentsâ?? vote on Thursday, tuition at the stateâ??s four-year campuses would go up by 5.5 percent â?? adding $265 to $350 to the tuition bills of undergraduates. More than half of that tuition hike will go to pay for the underfunded veteransâ?? benefit which, according to news reports, is going to sap the UW System of about $31 million over the next two years.

Editorial: Undergrads shouldnâ??t shoulder load (Racine Journal Times)

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A year ago University of Wisconsin and state technical college officials cautioned legislators that unless there was a funding mechanism for a proposal to give free tuition to Wisconsin veterans, state campuses would have to bump up tuition for underclassmen.

So it was not surprising this week when the UW System Board of Regents stood with a tin cup in one hand and a larger tuition bill in the other as they adopted an operating budget for 2008-2009 academic year.

State to take physicals of people for research project (AP)

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Racine Journal Times

MADISON â?? Wisconsin is getting a physical.

Starting this week, researchers will be knocking on peopleâ??s doors and taking physicals of Wisconsin residents.

Federal officials say the effort by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health marks the nationâ??s first such in-depth probe of its kind.

Badger raises

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WKOW-TV 27

University of Wisconsin-Madison Athletic Director Barry Alvarez and men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan are getting big raises from the Board of Regents.

The board agreed Friday to raise Alvarez’s salary from $600,000 to $750,000 for the school year that officially starts July 1.

Ryan’s pay will increase from $950,000 to almost $1.2 million for the year.

UW regents criticized for OK’ing raise in private (AP)

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MILWAUKEE â?? The University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents drew criticism Friday for voting in private the day before to award President Kevin Reilly a $73,000 raise.

The regents approved the 21 percent raise in a closed-door meeting at UW-Milwaukee. The board also agreed to hire Biddy Martin as the next UW-Madison chancellor, with a salary of $437,000. Neither action was approved in open session.

UW System spokesman David Giroux said the moves did not violate the state open meetings law, but advocates for open government said the law was uncertain on that point.

Editorial: Thumbs Up and Down

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Appleton Post-Crescent

Thumbs Up: To University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly, for his generosity to help students in need.

The UW Board of Regents last week voted Reilly a huge raise, from $341,864 a year to $414.593. The increase was in part to put him closer to the middle of the pay range for leaders at peer public universities and part because new UW-Madison Chancellor Carolyn Martin is going to make $437,000.

Lawton leads drive to make state film incentives more competitive

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Capital Times

MILWAUKEE — The state film’s incentives have been successful by anyone’s measure: They’ve attracted a big-budget Johnny Depp movie, independent films and TV shows. Businesses supporting the industry also are popping up.

But the architects of the 25 percent tax break for filmmakers want to rejigger the law to attract even more productions.

UW System regents approve 5.5 percent tuition increase (AP)

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MILWAUKEE â?? Most University of Wisconsin System students will pay higher tuition next school year, helping to subsidize free college education for veterans, the Board of Regents decided Thursday.

The regents approved a $4.7 billion operating budget for the UW System that includes a 5.5 percent tuition increase for undergraduates from Wisconsin. Students will pay about $350 more at UW-Madison, $340 more at UW-Milwaukee and $265 more at 11 other four-year universities next year.

About 1,200 Wis. students to receive aid from private fund (AP)

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Chicago Tribune

MILWAUKEE, Wis. – About 1,200 low-income college students in Wisconsin will receive grants for the first time this fall from a private scholarship fund.

The Fund For Wisconsin Scholars says it will give $3,500 grants to about 600 students in four-year University of Wisconsin System schools. Another 600 students attending two-year colleges will receive $1,800 grants.

The fund was created last year with a $175 million gift from University of Wisconsin-Madison graduates John and Tashia Morgridge.

Editorial: Deserving a green light

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

In making his case Thursday to the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents on the need for UW-Milwaukee to become a major research institution, Chancellor Carlos Santiago said Milwaukee desperately needs what cities like Madison, Chicago and Minneapolis already possess – a critical mass of educational candlepower.

A few minutes later, Mayor Tom Barrett put a different spin on those words to help Santiago make his equally powerful case for creation of a school of public health at UWM.

Regents OK UW-Madison leader (AP)

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Appleton Post-Crescent

MILWAUKEE â?? The Board of Regents gave a $73,000 raise to University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly on Thursday, rewarding him for what the board’s president called an outstanding performance.

In a closed-door meeting at UW-Milwaukee, the regents agreed to increase Reilly’s pay 21 percent, from $342,000 to $414,600, on July 1. His salary will go up to $421,500 on June 1, 2009, the board decided.

Regents approve Martin as UW chancellor

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Wisconsin Radio Network

A week after her recommendation for the position, Carolyn “Biddy” Martin has been formally approved as next chancellor of UW-Madison. The UW System Board of Regents approved Martin during its meeting in Milwaukee Thursday. The 57 year-old Martin, currently provost of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., was recommended for the Madison post by UW System President Kevin Reilly and a Board of Regents search committee.

Concealed gun permit given

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Some local police departments have been issuing permits to carry concealed weapons for the past four years under a federal law allowing them to do so. But a host of other state and local agencies have been skittish about doing so because the Legislature has not guaranteed they would be immune from liability in a shooting or spelled out how to implement the federal law.

Among those declining to issue the permits are the Capitol Police, State Patrol, Department of Natural Resources’ Law Enforcement Bureau and University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department.

Pay for UW leaders could be thorny issue for Regents (AP)

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MADISON â?? The Board of Regents will consider raises for top University of Wisconsin System leaders this week, with its decisions sure to face scrutiny and perhaps criticism.

The regents are expected to approve contracts with three new chancellors and consider raises for the system president and other executives during meetings at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee today and Friday.

The decisions could prove controversial in a slowing economy â?? exemplified by this week’s news that General Motors plans to close its Janesville factory by 2010.

UW Regents to okay tuition hikes

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Wisconsin Radio Network

Students on four-year campuses of the University of Wisconsin System could see a 5.5 percent tuition increase for the coming school year. That’s under the terms of a budget plan which the Board of Regents is expected to approve this week.

Article slamming expected new UW chancellor circulated among GOP pols

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Capital Times

Is the state Legislature’s most vocal critic of the University of Wisconsin gearing up to give the new UW-Madison chancellor a hard time?

An aide to Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, circulated a Web link Monday to a National Review Online story slamming Carolyn “Biddy” Martin, the provost at Cornell University, who is expected to be confirmed this week by the Board of Regents.

“Can you be an obscure, self-indulged, theory-laden, post-modern scholar and manage to be an effective university president?” writes Travis Kavulla, a former associate editor of the National Review.

Regents eye tuition plan (AP)

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Wausau Daily Herald

Most University of Wisconsin System students would see their tuition go up 5.5 percent under a plan released Tuesday, in part to pay for an unfunded mandate giving free tuition to veterans.
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In all, the plan would increase resident undergraduate tuition by $348 at UW-Madison, $340 at UW-Milwaukee and $265 at 11 other four-year schools for the coming academic year. Undergraduate students from other states would see the same dollar increases.

Veteran tuition benefits under funded

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Wisconsin Radio Network

Members of the UW Board of Regents are raising concerns about a program that offers free tuition benefits to veterans.

Under a state law passed in 2006, the University of Wisconsin System must provide those benefits to military veterans, but the program was not fully funded by lawmakers in the current state budget. As a result, UW System spokesman David Giroux says campuses across the state have to absorb the extra cost. State funding is only covering about a quarter of the cost of the program, leaving the UW to cover near $40 million in extra costs.

UW Regents to okay tuition hikes

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Wisconsin Radio Network

Students on four-year campuses of the University of Wisconsin System could see a 5.5 percent tuition increase for the coming school year. That’s under the terms of a budget plan which the Board of Regents is expected to approve this week.

GM news met with sadness: ‘It’s kind of like the death of an elderly parent’

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Capital Times

As manager of Madison’s longest-operating Chevrolet dealer, Tom Thorstad has toured the General Motors plant in Janesville many times and remembers well the friendly faces of those working on the assembly line.

“It’s hard work standing there all day, but they took a lot of pride in what they did,” he said. “I was always impressed how they took the time to look up and wave at you.”

So Thorstad was obviously saddened Tuesday when he got the news that General Motors was closing four truck and SUV plants, including its iconic manufacturing facility in Janesville, which first which opened in 1919. Some 2,600 workers there are expected to lose their jobs over the next two years as the plant is shuttered.

Quoted: Laura Dresser, a researcher with the UW-Madison Center on Wisconsin Strategy

John Nichols: Wisconsin Idea key to UW future

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Capital Times

The great challenge facing the great state University of Wisconsin is to forge a 21st century variation on the Wisconsin Idea — the relationship between the UW and the state that enriched both during much of the 20th century.

That the linkage has been weakened is beyond debate.

While there remain some institutions within the university that are engaged with the state and its citizens — such as the Center on Wisconsin Strategies on the UW-Madison campus — the vital connection that once existed has frayed.

There is plenty of blame to go around.

Newsletter to address psychological aspects of environmentalism

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Capital Times

UW-Madison and the UW Cooperative Education faculty have collaborated to create a free newsletter that will address psychological aspects of environmentalism.

Called “Environmental Communication and Social Marketing,” the newsletter will provide psychology-based strategies to promote behaviors that impact our environment in a positive manner.

Wisconsin Idea key to UW future

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Capital Times

The great challenge facing the great state University of Wisconsin is to forge a 21st century variation on the Wisconsin Idea — the relationship between the UW and the state that enriched both during much of the 20th century.

That the linkage has been weakened is beyond debate.

Judge upholds constitutional ban on gay marriage

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Capital Times

Wisconsin’s gay marriage ban does not violate the state’s constitution, Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess ruled Friday.

In his decision, Niess said the two questions contained in the constitutional amendment “are two sides of the same coin. They clearly relate to the same subject matter” — the preservation of marriage. Niess rejected the argument by plaintiff William McConkey that the amendment violated a constitutional prohibition against a referendum posing more than one question to voters.

….McConkey, a father of nine and an instructor at UW-Oshkosh, filed a lawsuit challenging the amendment in Dane County Circuit Court in July.

Editorial: Chancellor’s challenge

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Under John Wiley, the University of Wisconsin-Madison burnished its reputation as one of America’s leading research institutions and built a broader and deeper pool of resources. The university is an international leader in stem cell research, pre-eminent in biosciences and is poised to be a leader in bioenergy research. Among his major accomplishments, Wiley oversaw planning for the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, a new hub of interdisciplinary learning.

Martin would be first openly gay chancellor to lead UW-Madison

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Capital Times

Back in 1994, Carolyn “Biddy” Martin was part of a Cornell University committee that was in charge of drafting a policy to make health insurance and other benefits available to same-sex partners.

At the time, Cornell was joining a growing number of universities and businesses that were recognizing homosexual couples.

Flash-forward 14 years, and Martin now finds herself days away from being appointed the next chancellor at UW-Madison — the only school in the Big Ten that does not offer domestic partner benefits.

U. of Wisconsin at Madison Hires Cornell U. Provost as Chancellor

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Chronicle of Higher Education

The next chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madison will be Carolyn A. (Biddy) Martin, university officials announced today.

Ms. Martin, 57, provost at Cornell University since 2000, earned her doctorate in German literature at Madison in 1985. She will succeed John D. Wiley in September, pending her approval by the universityâ??s Board of Regents this month.

Quick Takes: Madisonâ??s Next Chancellor

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Inside Higher Education

The University of Wisconsin at Madisonâ??s next chancellor will be Biddy Martin, provost of Cornell University. Martin taught at Cornell before becoming an administrator, but also has roots in Madison, where she earned her Ph.D. in German literature in 1985.

New chancellor recommended for UW-Madison

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Wisconsin Radio Network

A search committee is recommending that Cornell University Provost Dr. Carolyn “Biddy” Martin begin leading the UW-Madison this September, when current Chancellor John Wiley steps down after seven years in the position. Martin says she’s eager to get started working with the faculty, students, and the community surrounding the UW.

Martin has served as the chief academic and operating officer at Cornell since 2000. She received her doctorate in German Literature at the UW-Madison in 1985. If confirmed, Martin would be the first outside candidate to head the university in nearly 20 years, a fact she says should give her a fresh perspective on the problems and challenges facing the university.

Source: Martin Named UW-Madison Chancellor Save Email Print

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NBC-15

Governor Doyle has issued a statement regarding the recommendation of Biddy Martin to the UW-Madison chancellor position:
â??Through wise and dedicated leadership, the University of Wisconsin has grown to become our countryâ??s largest public research institution, and I welcome Dr. Martin to a role that is so vital to our state. I am confident that she will use her expertise to carry UW-Madison, her alma mater, forward.â?

Lawmakers approve smaller raises for state employees

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Capital Times

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin’s budget shortfall will hit state workers in the pocketbook starting in July.

A legislative committee has decided to give thousands of university employees and nonunion workers a 1 percent raise in July instead of the 2 percent bump approved last year.

The Joint Committee on Employment Relations also wiped out a 1 percent raise scheduled to take effect in April 2009. The committee replaced that with a 2 percent raise in June 2009.

Mann’s vision

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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

“Public Enemies,” about gangster John Dillinger, has several of what have become UW-Madison graduate Michael Mann’s signature touches: filming in the area where a story is set, material of a biographical nature and characters that are outsiders.

Investigators Release Report But No Cause Of Med Flight Crash

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WISC-TV 3

MADISON, Wis. — A preliminary report released Wednesday offered no cause for why a University of Wisconsin Hospital Med Flight helicopter crash two weeks ago, killing three crew members.

The National Transportation Safety Board issued the report Wednesday, but it offered few new details. The report indicated that the helicopter collided with trees and terrain southeast of La Crosse on its way back to Madison.

The report said that the flight was conducted in accordance with federal aviation regulations, and gives no indication that there were any violations with the flight plan or equipment on board.

Federal report mum on Med Flight crash cause

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Capital Times

FAn initial report released today by the National Transportation Safety Board gave no indication why a UW Hospital Med Flight helicopter crashed near La Crosse May 10, killing all three aboard.

The preliminary report said the flight of the helicopter was in accordance with federal regulations.