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Category: State news

UW System publicly opposes gay marriage ban

Daily Cardinal

Citing the need to compete as the university loses faculty due to its lack of partner benefits, the UW System Board of Regents voted Friday to oppose the proposed gay marriage amendment.

Regent President David Walsh said the amendment might further limit benefits for same-sex domestic partners.

Student vote could decide referendum

Daily Cardinal

Even though a statewide survey revealed a majority of Wisconsinites plan to vote in favor of the same-sex marriage ban, Students for a Fair Wisconsin is mobilizing the UW-Madison community to vote no and sway the final outcome of the Nov. 7 referendum.

Regents oppose marriage vote

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

In a move that further damaged its rocky relationship with the state Legislature, the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents passed a resolution Friday opposing the proposed constitutional amendment on gay marriage, saying it was the right move no matter what the political consequences were.

UW regents vote to oppose ban on gay marriage

La Crosse Tribune

MADISON – University of Wisconsin System regents voted Friday to oppose the Nov. 7 referendum banning gay marriage, saying it will hurt their ability to recruit and retain gay and lesbian employees.

Regents, who govern the UW System of 13 four-year universities and 13 two-year colleges, said the amendment would threaten the state’s ability to provide domestic partner benefits.

Stem cell plan spurs state growth

Daily Cardinal

Gubernatorial candidate Mark Green equates stem cell research with leaving the ââ?¬Å?moral compassââ?¬Â behind. On the other hand, incumbent Gov. Jim Doyle equates stem cell research with an industrial compass that will bring scientific breakthrough and job market expansion to Wisconsin.

UW System to vote on opposing marriage ban today

Daily Cardinal

Emphasizing the need for increased diversity, the UW System Board of Regents met Thursday at UW-Platteville for its first monthly meeting of the 2006-Ã?¢ââ??‰â??¢07 academic year.

The Business, Finance and Audit Committee passed a resolution to take a formal stance opposing the proposed constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriages and civil unionsÃ?¢ââ??‰â?¬Âthe full Board is considering the resolution today.

Workers to get living wage

Daily Cardinal

After negotiations spanning over a year between labor groups, UW-Madison administration, workers and student government, UW-Madison limited term employees have secured a living wage and, potentially, full-time positions.

State program can’t nix religious charities

Capital Times

A state-run program allowing employees to donate part of their paychecks to charity may not exclude religious charities on grounds that the groups use religion as a basis for employment or membership on their governing boards, a federal judge has ruled.

The Association of Faith-Based Organizations, a coalition of faith-based groups based in Springfield, Va., filed the lawsuit in the spring. It challenged an annual program, called State Employees Combined Campaign, that allows state workers to direct payroll deductions to charities that are deemed eligible by a state committee.

Christian student group sues UW

Capital Times

A Christian organization at the University of Wisconsin-Superior has filed suit against the university, claiming it wrongly de-recognized its campus chapter.

The university notified the campus chapter of the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship that it could not be recognized for the current school year because it required its leaders to take a religious vow. The UW System has stated that under a United States Supreme Court decision, it cannot allow student organizations to discriminate.

Charity plan can’t exclude faith groups

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Madison – An annual program that encourages charitable giving by state employees may not exclude religious charitable organizations from participating if the groups use religion as a basis for employment or board membership, a federal judge has ruled.

UW-La Crosse student found in river

Capital Times

LA CROSSE (AP) – The body of a 21-year-old University of Wisconsin-La Crosse student was found in the Mississippi River this morning, police said.

Lucas G. Homan was last seen around 2:30 a.m. Saturday after he celebrated Oktoberfest downtown, police Capt. Robert Abraham said.

The La Crosse Police Department and Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigations are continuing their investigation of his death, a statement from La Crosse police said.

Party lines hazy on stem cell research

Daily Cardinal

With recent shifts in stem cell support, voters could be confused by each candidate�s political rhetoric laced with scientific information in their campaigns. Traditionally, Republicans have not supported government funding of stem cell research, but U.S Rep Mark Green has taken a more progressive approach after announcing a $25 million plan to fund adult stem cell research.

Barrett, Fetzer discuss attacks

Badger Herald

University of Wisconsin lecturer Kevin Barrett and University of Minnesota-Duluth professor James Fetzer took time Sunday afternoon to explain their Sept. 11 theory that has been the source of recent widespread media attention and legislative debate.

Need-based aid will increase diversity

Daily Cardinal

In the state of Wisconsin, minorities�including Blacks, Latinos, American Indians and Asians�comprise 9.8 percent of the population. At UW-Madison, the flagship of the UW System, minorities comprise a comparable 10 percent of the student body. And yet university administrators continue to vigorously strive for greater diversity.

Court rules A.G. can defend state in partner-benefits lawsuit (AP)

St. Paul Pioneer Press

Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager can defend the state against a lawsuit in which gay state employees are seeking benefits for their partners even though she has expressed sympathy for their cause, an appeals court ruled Thursday.
The District 4 Court of Appeals rejected claims that the Department of Justice’s ability to defend the case was compromised by Lautenschlager’s statements or her appearance at a gay pride rally with activists who are suing the state.

Regents chief: State needs to invest more in UW schools

La Crosse Tribune

Decreasing state funding is making it difficult for low-income families to send their children to University of Wisconsin schools, Board of Regents President David Walsh said Thursday.And it�s going to become even harder if the state does not start putting more taxpayer money toward public higher education, Walsh told members of the La Crosse Downtown Rotary.

Stem-cell license waived in-state

Wisconsin State Journal

Companies sponsoring stem- cell research exclusively in Wisconsin will no longer have to buy a costly license to use the technology under an agreement announced by Gov. Jim Doyle on Thursday.
Doyle said the agreement between his administration and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, which holds patents covering embryonic stem- cell research, will give the state a significant advantage in attracting biotechnology companies and research dollars.

State gets edge in stem work

Capital Times

The Doyle administration has reached an agreement with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation that will give Wisconsin stem cell researchers a considerable competitive advantage over those in other states.

Gov. Jim Doyle announced today that WARF, which holds patents and royalty rights on some of the world’s most promising stem cell lines, has agreed that companies conducting research in partnership with nonprofit and academic institutions in Wisconsin will receive a free research license under the stem cell patents held by WARF.

Doyle calls for energy savings

Badger Herald

As part of Democratic Gov. Jim Doyleââ?¬â?¢s effort to reduce the stateââ?¬â?¢s reliance on energy, four University of Wisconsin System schools will be part of an ââ?¬Å?off-the-gridââ?¬Â pilot program to become energy independent by 2012.

Republicans renew call to fire UW instructor (AP)

Duluth News

MADISON – A Republican lawmaker and gubernatorial candidate renewed their call Tuesday for the University of Wisconsin-Madison to fire a part-time instructor who believes the U.S. government orchestrated the Sept. 11 attacks.
The calls by GOP gubernatorial candidate Mark Green and Rep. Steve Nass of Whitewater came after they learned a UW-Madison academic unit was sponsoring a lecture on Sunday by Kevin Barrett titled: “9/11: Folklore and Fact.”

Barrett to talk on 9/11 belief

Wisconsin State Journal

UW-Madison lecturer Kevin Barrett will talk Sunday at the university about his controversial belief that the U.S. government was complicit in the 9/11 attacks, prompting two elected officials on Tuesday to again call for his termination.

Barrett’s Planned 9/11 Lecture Brings Backlash

WKOW-TV 27

A Republican lawmaker says UW-Madison instructor Kevin Barrett’s plan for a special lecture on 9/11 on campus Oct.1 should get him fired.Barrett has been teaching a course on Islam this semester, with strict university instructions to contain discussion of Barrett’s theoryÃ? the 9/11 tragedy was orchestrated by the government.Ã? 

Governor unveils $80M push for renewable energy

Capital Times

Gov. Jim Doyle was set to announce a plan today to invest $80 million in state funds in an effort to encourage the development and use of renewable energy.

The governor says the state money would help leverage an additional $370 million in private investment and put the state at the forefront of the national movement to find alternative sources of fuel.

The plan includes a $50 million fund to give loans to companies expanding their use and production of renewable fuels and energy, tax credits to prod more gas stations to add ethanol-based gasoline and millions of dollars in grants for energy researchers.

Wife’s kidney gift is a first for UW

Capital Times

WAUSAU (AP) – A Wausau man has become the first patient in the University of Wisconsin transplant program to accept a transplanted kidney from a donor with a different blood type and to overcome antibodies that make organ rejection likely.

The transplant between Chad Stockinger and his wife, Kristin Calhoun Stockinger, was made possible by desensitization, a process that removed those antibodies from Chad’s blood and kept them away with medication.

The UW transplant center is one of about five in the nation to perform the procedure.

Choice of governor could affect research complex

Wisconsin State Journal

As voters select a governor this November, architects will be drafting plans for the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, a $150 million research complex at UW-Madison.
The public-private complex, to expand research on stem cells and related fields, will be built whether or not Republican Mark Green defeats Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, organizers say. It is to open in late 2009 in the 1300 block of University Avenue.

Stem cells a political wedge issue

Wisconsin State Journal

Lois Anderson, a “card-carrying, lifelong” Republican from Madison, isn’t sure who to vote for this November in the race for governor.
The reason: stem cells.

Anderson would normally support Republican candidate Mark Green, whose opposition to much embryonic stem-cell research is shared by her Christian Reformed church.

Scientists fear election of Mark Green could hurt stem-cell research

Wisconsin State Journal

Gabriela Cezar is a stem-cell researcher at UW-Madison, but she’s not studying the cells as potential cures.

She’s trying to come up with tests to detect developmental disorders such as autism.

In her lab, Cezar exposes dishes of embryonic stem cells to the epilepsy drug valproate. Studies have shown that the drug, when taken by pregnant women, increases a baby’s risk of autism, spina bifida and skeletal deformities.

Remember poor kids when you vote this fall

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Between 2002 and 2004, over 18,500 17-year-olds were booked into adult jails across the state – thats nearly double the 2004 freshman admissions to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and UW-Milwaukee.

Thompson Gets Prison Time

WKOW-TV 27

A federal judge sentenced state worker Georgia Thompson to 18 months in prison today for steering a state contract to a company that made campaign contributions to Governor Jim Doyle.

Lawsuit over UWM building bidding tossed out

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A judge threw out a lawsuit Thursday by a developer that claimed an aide to Gov. Jim Doyle improperly scuttled its bid to turn the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Kenilworth building into student housing and retail space.

Hamel no longer interim at film fest

Capital Times

Meg Hamel, who took the reins of the Wisconsin Film Festival as interim director last year, has now been hired as its permanent director.

The UW Arts Institute, which runs the four-day festival, hired Hamel for the position after a nationwide candidate search. She just spent the last week at the Toronto International Film Festival scouting potential films for next year’s event.

Doyle warns GOP on stem cells

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Gov. Jim Doyle thrust the politically charged issue of embryonic stem cell research back onto the front burner of his November re-election race Wednesday with a proposal to free up $2.5 million in state funding for biomedical research in metropolitan Milwaukee.

Hygiene lab names leader

Capital Times

An official with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has been named director of the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, where he started his career almost 30 years ago.

Charles Brokopp has been director of the Division of Select Agents and Toxins at the CDC since 2004. In that post, he directed the registration of about 400 academic, governmental and private entities that possess, use or transfer biological agents.

Research Park’s big impact

Capital Times

University Research Park supports 9,100 jobs and contributes more than $680 million annually to Wisconsin’s economy, according to a new study.

North Star Economics Inc. said its study found that the 114 companies in the 255-acre west side park employ 4,155 people with a total payroll of more than $260 million, based on an average salary of $62,000 a year. More than $170 million of the payroll remains in the state after federal tax deductions and other non-local spending is taken into account.

University must expand reach

Badger Herald

Apparently, the University of Wisconsin System is not quite making the grade. Recently, the Wausau Daily Herald published an opinion piece that claimed the UW System was doing a disservice to students and taxpayers by not doing a better job of creating affordable education opportunities in the state.

Green Knocks Doyle On Tuition

Wisconsin State Journal

In a television ad released Friday, Republican gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Mark Green blames Gov. Jim Doyle for raising tuition on Wisconsin students while decreasing the rates paid by out-of-state residents.

Green, Doyle debate spending freeze

Wisconsin State Journal

WAUKESHA – In the first televised debate of this year’s gubernatorial contest, Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Green promised Friday to freeze state spending without making painful cuts in services, something Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle said couldn’t be done without destructive effects on schools and local services.