Quoted: “The ballot is very heavily regulated real estate,” said Kenneth Mayer, a UW-Madison political science professor. Griffin will probably lose her battle, he said, because the ballot “is not designed as a platform for candidates to give political statements.”
A slain University of Wisconsin-Madison student?s fiance cannot sue authorities for mishandling her 911 call or the couple?s landlords for lax security because he doesn?t have the legal standing, a court ruled Thursday. The District 4 Court of Appeals dismissed two lawsuits filed by Jordan Gonnering, whose fiancee, Brittany Zimmermann, was stabbed and strangled by an intruder in their Madison apartment in April 2008. The killing remains unsolved.
Quoted: Barry C. Burden, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor, said voters would be reminded of the attack at the sentencing and again during televised debates in fall when it will be obvious he can?t fully use his hand. He compared it to former GOP presidential candidate Bob Dole, who didn?t have use one of his arms because of war injuries. “I think those kind of personal factors get more weight for voters who are paying peripheral attention and right now that?s most Wisconsin voters, frankly,” he said.
Rod Nilsestuen, the head of Wisconsin?s Department of Agriculture since 2003 who died while swimming in Lake Superior, was remembered Thursday as a consensus-building, bipartisan, visionary advocate for farmers. He earned a law degree from UW-Madison.
Quoted: Nilsestuen?s “passionate commitment” to preserving agricultural land will leave a “towering legacy of his influence,” said Molly Jahn, dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison?s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
Quoted: Barry C. Burden, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor, said voters would be reminded of the attack at the sentencing and again during televised debates in fall when it will be obvious he can?t fully use his hand.
Noted: Of course, those who follow campaign finance issues know that holding down spending suppresses turnout. Studies by UW-Madison professor Ken Goldstein and others have found that in races where there?s more spending, voters are more knowledgeable about the candidates and turn out in higher numbers.
The UW Center for Nonprofits will study how nonprofits may have contributed to a dramatic decline in Dane County?s black infant mortality rate in recent years, the center announced. The center received a $50,000 grant from the UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research to look at nonprofits? influence on black babies surviving their first year. The county?s black infant mortality rate declined in 2002 to 2007, a decrease that gained national attention, but rose in 2008 and remained higher last year than the earlier years. ABC for Health, Access Community Health Centers and the South Madison Health and Family Center-Harambee are among the agencies that will be analyzed, said Jeanan Yasiri, executive director of the UW Center for Nonprofits.
Noted: An Illinois man accused of helping gang-rape a college coed more than a decade ago doesn?t deserve a new trial, the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. The 4-3 decision clarifies that criminal defendants can?t use civil statutes to request new trials. It also means Dimitri Henley must return to prison to finish the last half of a 20-year sentence, said his attorney, Wisconsin Innocence Project co-director Keith Findley.
A fatal crash following police pursuit in Madison early Wednesday morning was the second such incident in less than five months for UW-Madison Police. In Wednesday?s incident, Michael J. Benkert, 24, of Waunakee, was killed and his passenger was injured after he tried to elude police. The agency is still reviewing the incident and has asked the Madison Police Department to conduct an independent review.
Also quoted is UW-Madison law professor Michael Scott. “The general trend across the country has been pretty consistently toward more restrictive policies on pursuits,” Scott said.
Quoted: “Wolf recovery has seen a gradual expansion of what we?ve defined as wolf habitat,” says Adrian Treves, an environmental studies professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “They?re starting to form breeding packs in areas where we didn?t think, 20 or 30 years ago, that they could.”
Noted: By comparing consumption data from the national Health and Retirement Study, Thomas DeLeire of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Ariel Kalil of the University of Chicago found that spending money on leisure activities, which include vacations, movie theater tickets, and hobbies, improve happiness levels. (Happiness was measured by asking respondents to describe how they felt about their lives.)
Quoted: Both campaigns say they don?t want the contest to revert to mud-slinging, but it could be a nasty few months until November, said Dennis Dresang, emeritus professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: Earwigs have been in Wisconsin only a couple dozen years, and they?ve only worked their way to the northern parts of the state in the last decade, according to Phil Pellitterri of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Insect Diagnostic Lab.
Quoted: While both campaigns say they don?t want the contest to revert to mud-slinging, it could be a nasty few months until November, said Dennis Dresang, emeritus professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: “The difficulty with reproductive control [is] that such a high percentage of the population has to be treated in order to see any affect on the population,” said Scott Craven, a wildlife ecology professor at UW-Madison and an expert on urban geese control. “And it?s fabulously expensive.”
Quoted: Because cities are different, that potential benefit will vary from city to city, said Dr. Jonathan Patz of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A professor in the university?s Nelson Institute and Department of Population sciences, Patz is leading a team doing the same sort of bicycle risk-benefit analysis for 11 major cities in the Midwest.
Noted: The mythology grew and persists, however, in large part because ?in certain aspects, the shoes do work,? says Michael Ryan, Ph.D., the lead author of the study of female half-marathoners and currently a postdoctoral fellow in the department of orthopedics and rehabilitation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Motion-control shoes, for instance, do control motion, he says. Biomechanical studies of runners on treadmills repeatedly have proved that pronation is significantly reduced in runners who wear motion-control shoes.
Thirty square miles surrounded by reality.
Since the phrase was first muttered 30-plus years ago by one-term Republican Gov. Lee Dreyfus, the geographic footprint of the capital city has more than doubled. As Madison?s borders expanded, so did its population and that of Dane County.
In politics, population leads to regional power. The more people there are living in an area, the more representatives those residents are entitled to in the Legislature, which is why news that Dane County?s population has increased by 50,000, enough to warrant greater representation in the Capitol, may be a hard pill to swallow for some lawmakers.
Quoted: UW-Madison political science professor Ken Mayer
With unemployment rates still stubbornly high and likely to stay that way for awhile, the federal government is offering a new program to help those who aren?t working save their homes. And it bears a striking resemblance in concept to a plan advanced months ago by UW-Madison real estate experts. The program is similar to an idea developed by UW-Madison professor Stephen Malpezzi and some others in the university?s real estate department.
Veterinarians are practicing ever more advanced medicine on the nation?s 77 million dogs, 90 million cats and a myriad of other animals — treatments that vie with the best of human medicine. The driving force is “the changing role of the pet in our society,” said Dr. Patty Khuly, a veterinarian at Miami?s Sunset Animal Clinic. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, a new surgical technique to repair torn knee ligaments in dogs was so successful that it?s now being used on NFL players, said Dr. William Gengler, director of Wisconsin?s Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.
Quoted: Exhibit one, said James Kitchell, a professor of zoology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison?s Center for Limnology, is the blood-sucking sea lamprey.
Quoted: Ken Mayer, political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the larger percentage of money from political committees Lassa received isn?t unusual for U.S. House members or candidates.
Quoted: At the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine, a new surgical technique to repair torn knee ligaments in dogs was so successful that it?s now being used on NFL players, said Dr. William Gengler, director of Wisconsin?s Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.
For the longest time, the Earth and the sun lived in harmony. Then, in 1611, Galileo discovered sunspots. “For that period, that was really a big discovery, changing our understanding of celestial bodies,” said Alexandre Lazarian, a professor in the astronomy department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: “A successful mayor of New York with lots of resources and lots of ambition should never be counted out,” said Charles Franklin, political science professor at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and co-founder of pollster.com.
Quoted: After Pasteur?s experiments, people started realizing “stuff wasn?t spoiling because of some mysterious aura around it, but it was due to these contagious ?bugs,? ” says Scott Rankin, a professor in the department of food science at the University of Wisconsin.
Troy Runge holds what could be America?s energy future in his hands — and it looks a little like dog food. A mix of sawdust bound into pellets, it?s Runge?s latest creation in his lab on the UW-Madison campus. There, he?s been trying different combinations of plant materials, or biomass, as a fuel to replace the coal that burns in the Charter Street power plant about a half-mile away. Runge?s work is part of a broader initiative on campus to develop renewable energy sources.
Most allergies ? especially to airborne allergens associated with runny noses and itchy eyes ? come on in the teenage years or early twenties, according to Mark Moss, UW-Madison professor of pediatrics and immunology. Late allergy emergence is a bit of a mystery, Moss said, so much so that late-developing allergies aren?t seen as late-developing at all. If you have the potential for an allergic reaction, it?s probably always been there, waiting for the right mote of dust to waft by.
A new poll shows Wisconsinites are not pleased with state or national politicians. The University of Wisconsin Survey Center?s Badger Poll released Friday shows President Barack Obama?s approval rating at 49 percent, down from 60 percent in November. Only 29 percent approve of the job being done by Congress while 64 percent do not approve.
Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle?s approval rating has hit a new low. The University of Wisconsin Survey Center?s Badger Poll released on Friday shows the two-term governor?s approval rating at just 38 percent. That is down from a high of 52 percent in June 2007.
There?s always a lot of talk about voters from one party or another switching over to wreak havoc on an election, but there?s little evidence to show that it happens in Wisconsin or anywhere else, said Charles Franklin, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor and founder of pollster.com.
Quoted: Mary Prosser, law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said it?s a misdemeanor to fail to prevent an additional crime.
Quoted: There?s always a lot of talk about voters from one party or another switching over to wreak havoc on an election, but there?s little evidence to show that it happens in Wisconsin or anywhere else, said Charles Franklin, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor and founder of pollster.com.
Quoted: University of Wisconsin-Madison entomologist Phil Pellitteri said earwig larvae emerge from the ground every year about Memorial Day, and some earwigs still will linger into September. Before they disappear, they?ll likely munch on marigolds, hostas and aphids.
Poll results released Thursday show Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold has 27 percent support and Republican challenger Ron Johnson has 21 percent in a Senate race in which more than half of those asked say they?re still undecided. About another 1 percent said they would vote for a candidate other than Feingold or Johnson. The margin of error in the University of Wisconsin Badger Poll was plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
“In the scheme of things, they?re kind of pretty,” said UW-Madison entomologist Phil Pelliteri, inexplicably, of house centipedes. But then he added, pretty quickly, “It?s one of those creepy-crawlies that no one seems to like.”
A new poll shows that either major Republican candidate for governor would crush the Democrat should the election be held now. But the University of Wisconsin Badger Poll released on Thursday also shows that most people just aren?t paying attention to the race four months before the election. The poll shows that 32 percent would vote for either Republican Scott Walker or Mark Neumann. Only 15 percent say they would vote for Democrat Tom Barrett.
Most people aren?t paying attention to Wisconsin?s governor?s race, but those who are overwhelmingly favor the Republican candidates, a poll released Thursday showed. The University of Wisconsin Survey Center?s Badger Poll showed that 32 percent of those who responded to the random telephone poll would vote for either Republican Scott Walker or Mark Neumann. Only 15 percent said they would vote for Democrat Tom Barrett.
Quoted: “In general, there?s some research to support the idea that going to the movies to ?have a good cry? is a young person?s game – probably part of the developmental task of exploring intense feelings as well as a way to bond with your peers,” says Prof Marie-Louise Mares, of the communication arts department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Quoted: “Barrett?s got a tough road ahead of him,” said University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist Katherine Cramer Walsh, who worked on the poll. “I?m a little bit surprised by the results.”
Quoted: “So water quality, air quality and heat waves would all be pertinent for Chicago,” said Jonathan Patz, director of global environmental health at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “A lot of the health infrastructure, we need to anticipate more extremes. We can?t do business as usual. We need to plan for more weather variability. Our water systems are failing.”
The American Empire is alive and well — and as expansive as ever. We have established more than 700 military bases across the world, largely encircling the peripheries of Russia and China, which are now central to the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. The Cold War in the aftermath of World War II drove the expansion as we searched for security — and markets, to be sure. Perhaps we now are the largest imperial power the world ever has known.
(Stanley Kutler, a UW-Madison professor emeritus, is the author of ?Judicial Power and Reconstruction Politics? and other writings. This column first appeared on truthdig.com.)
Quoted: “Can you tell I?m disgusted by this?” writes John Hawks, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He noted that the company is perfectly within its rights to sell the kit, since DNA Consultants explains clearly that its product actually doesn?t test your genetics.
Noted: “Johnson has very deep pockets. He could spend $15 million to $20 million of his own money,” said Ken Mayer, a campaign finance expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The rhetoric is heating up between Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold and his leading Republican challenger. A new poll could add fuel to the fire. The University of Wisconsin Badger Poll was conducted between June 9 and July 10. That was before the two campaigns released their TV ads this week but it should still give the candidates an early idea of where they stand.
Quoted: People buy iPhones for emotional reasons, not because they?re the best phones, said Deborah Mitchell, executive director of the Center for Brand and Product Management at the University of Wisconsin.
Charles Franklin, UW-Madison political science professor, said the large number of open seats has him expecting a “huge” turnover in the Legislature.” The open seats will be most of the new members,” he said. “And the turnover and remaking of the Legislature is a question mark.”
“In today?s market, a lot of people are really looking for an opportunity to make a good deal on real estate,” said Tom Landgraf, a senior lecturer in the real estate program at UW-Madison.
Noted: “To my eye at least, it is a baboon, which lives in Africa,” said Christopher Coe, director of the Harlow Primate Laboratory at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. “The more common monkey that lives in that part of the world is a rhesus monkey. They live in India and can also be found in China. But this photo is not [of] a rhesus monkey. … While you could train a monkey to shoot a gun, I certainly wouldn?t want to be anywhere in the neighborhood after that. I rather doubt you could trust its aim,” he said. “In addition, the noise would certainly scare most animals and make them stop.”
Quoted: Sara Goldrick-Rab teaches education policy at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She says nonprofit colleges and public universities deserve a closer look too. Plenty of students graduate from those schools with piles of debt and slim job prospects.
Quoted: The greater number of GOP candidates, from local legislative races to higher-profile statewide contests, reflects an energized conservative electorate, said Charles Franklin, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor.
Quoted: ?Immigration is down the list in terms of voter priorities here,? says UW Madison professor Barry Burden. ?At the top of the list are more immediate bread and butter kinds of issues. Jobs is number one. I think taxes, education, infrastructure, the budget deficit and other priorities are going to come first.”
Quoted: Nutritional physiologist Dale Schoeller of the University of Wisconsin-Madison who was not involved with the study.
A nonpartisan board comprised of retired judges would be given the power to approve how Wisconsin?s congressional and legislative district boundaries are redrawn under a reform plan announced Monday by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett. The idea was also praised by David Canon, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor who studies redistricting.The plan would make Wisconsin look more like states such as California, Arizona and Iowa that rely on independent commissions or groups to handle redistricting, Canon said.
There is, however, a silver lining: Tackling global warming is also a public health opportunity, said Jonathan Patz, director of global environmental health at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, who also participated in the UCS briefing.
Noted: The idea was also praised by Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a government watchdog group, as well as David Canon, a University of Wisconsin-Madison political science professor who studies redistricting.
Noted: Dr. Robert Sapolsky of Stanford University and Dr. Robert Davidson of The University of Wisconsin-Madison are some of the neuroscientists researching stress management, and they contend that people can retrain their brains to combat stress.
Quoted: “It?s kind of like finding high cholesterol” but not having drugs that can lower it, said Dr. Mark Sager, director of the Wisconsin Alzheimer?s Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was involved in a study of a different Alzheimer?s-linked gene that will be reported this week.
Have you ever seen a flash of lightning and not heard the thunder? If so, you have seen heat lightning, say Steven Ackerman and Jonathan Martin, professors of atmospheric and oceanic sciences.
It can be, says Katherine McMahon, a professor of civil engineering and bacteriology at UW-Madison. Some of the floating, single-cell organisms commonly called blue-green algae do produce toxins, she says.
