Category: UW-Madison Related

A new park will get prime lake frontage on the UW-Madison campus, displacing about 70 parking spots and resculpting the lakeshore along Memorial Union ? one of a handful of major changes planned for the campus landmark. The Wisconsin Alumni Association announced plans Wednesday to donate $8 million for a park between the union and the Red Gym, adding a pavilion and temporary boat parking for the public on Lake Mendota.

A 21-year-old Madison man was mugged while walking on Park Street early Wednesday morning, Madison police reported. The mugging was reported at 1:59 a.m. Wednesday at 35 N. Park St., according to a police news release, which reported that the victim heard voices and footsteps behind him.

Local law enforcement agencies, fire departments and military units will gather Sunday morning on the rooftop of Monona Terrace to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America on Sept. 11, 2001.

An Iowa man who apparently didn?t want to be arrested during a melee in a block of bars on University Avenue early Saturday morning ended up having himself and five friends who tried to help him in his struggle getting arrested. Daniel Rodgers, 22, Dubuque, was tentatively charged with battery to a police officer, criminal damage to property, disorderly conduct and resisting following his arrest at about 2:23 a.m. Saturday in the 600 block of University Avenue, Madison police said.

Detectives from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department said they have arrested a suspect in connection with a substantial battery that happened outside the Red Gym early Thursday morning.

A sexual assault investigation is under way, according to the University of Wisconsin Police Department.

Officers and detectives from the UW-Madison police department are investigating a sexual assault that took place in the UW-Madison Arboretum at 2:30 a.m. on Thursday. Neither the victim nor the suspect are affiliated with the university.

“Most of us are very far from home, so these are our surrogate families,” said Arij Beshish, 29, a researcher at UW Hospital who grew up in Libya. “We?re one big family, showing our love for each other.” Families will exchange gifts and friends will dine together.

Sadam Issa, 30, a Ph.D. student at UW-Madison, said he will call his family in Jordan and wish them well, then enjoy lots of coffees and teas with friends. Tuesday?s larger gathering was the perfect start, he said.

“It shows we are one community, that we are one group despite our different ethnicities,” he said.

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

Quoted: Gary Brown, UW-Madison’s director of campus planning and landscape architecture.

James Perry?s bosses at the University of Wisconsin decided that Perry could no longer be the dean and campus executive officer at UW-Fox Valley in Menasha because of his actions on a UW-sponsored trip to Namibia.

For more than 40 years, Paul Soglin – born and raised in Illinois – has been an almost constant presence in the city?s affairs. He was a leader of student demonstrations in the 1960s at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, member of the city council, and later mayor over 14 years in two stints, one that began in 1973 and another that began in 1989.

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

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

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

A $25.2 million redevelopment of a prominent and long-blighted site is stalled before the city?s Urban Design Commission, largely over a parking lot demanded by the main tenants of the project for safety reasons.But Ghidorzi Cos. of Wausau, which has been working with the commission since May, has already altered its proposal for parking and most recently sought a three-story, 235-space garage and 70 surface spaces. The surface spaces, which are cheaper, are needed because the clinic for safety reasons wants a well-lighted lot next to the office building for use by physicians and patients, said Alan Fish, vice chancellor for facilities at UW-Madison.

A woman now serving her third stint in prison for a 1996 fatal drunken driving crash was convicted Tuesday of her third drunken driving offense, which happened during a brief period of freedom earlier this year. Lori Kasten, 45, of Madison, was back behind bars on April 23, when she was arrested in a UW-Madison parking lot. Her blood alcohol concentration was 0.25 percent, just over three times the 0.08 limit for Wisconsin drivers without a previous drunken driving conviction.

The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee has gone public with its efforts to contact about 75,000 people to let them know they may have had their names and Social Security Numbers accessed by cyber-criminals.

The abrupt retirement earlier this year of the dean and campus executive officer of the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley was due to misconduct on a study-abroad trip to Africa, Gannett Wisconsin Media is reporting.

The abrupt retirement earlier this year of the dean and campus executive officer of the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley was due to misconduct on a study-abroad trip to Africa, Gannett Wisconsin Media is reporting.

The course for the Madison Mini-Marathon runs slightly uphill for much of the middle segment of the race and passes by the Capitol, Kohl Center, Camp Randall Stadium and Arboretum before finishing at UW?s Memorial Union. ?That?s definitely why I chose to do it, because I enjoy the course,? said women’s winner Katie Howrey. ?You start and finish at the Union, and that?s one of the great ways to showcase the Madison area.? UW graduate student Francis Eanes followed up on his Madison Marathon victory by claiming the men’s and overall title.

MENASHA ? The abrupt retirement of James Perry as dean and campus executive officer of the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley in February stemmed from misconduct weeks earlier in Africa, The Post-Crescent has learned.

A 20-year-man was arrested in connected with a stabbing near the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus on July 16.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison has developed a Web presence, a portal and mobile apps for the iPhone and Android platforms. And the university may consider a mobile-optimized website.

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

Motorists on West Dayton Street will have to deal with more construction for the near future, probably up to the first Wisconsin Badgers football game on Sept. 1.

Officials at UW-Green Bay want to position the school to better attract prospective students. This fall the school is launching an in-depth study to identify its strengths, and then market them.

A 21-year-old Madison woman was sexually assaulted early Saturday morning while she was walking on West Dayton Street, Madison police reported. Police said the assault happened around 3 a.m. in the 500 block of West Dayton Street and was reported about 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

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

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

The US University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is notifying 75,000 students and staff that their personal information may have been exposed in a breach of one of the institution?s IT systems in May, but the delay is highlighting the need for more timely breach notifications.

Madison police chief Noble Wray said the number of what are called “pattern robberies”  has been decreasing in the city,  but the crimes remain concerning because they?ve included violence and are random.

Madison Police Chief Noble Wray said Thursday he believes the police are making progress in stopping a series of “beat down” robberies occurring around the city this summer.

A computer system at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee was hacked and bugged with malicious software, potentially exposing the names and Social Security numbers of about 75,000 students, faculty and staff, the school announced Wednesday.

A computer system at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has been hacked and bugged with malicious software, putting at risk the Social Security numbers of 75,000 students, faculty and staff.

For some reason the UW athletic fields were being watered at 11 a.m., when mid-day watering is known to be inefficient because most of the water evaporates before falling to the ground. To make matters worse, a GMC Suburban was driven along the path to monitor the watering…In the future, I hope to see the fields being watered in the early morning and a more fuel-efficient vehicle in use, such as an electric car or even a bike.

Braveheart?s remarkable recovery will be on display on UW-Madison Day at the Wisconsin State Fair in West Allis on Wednesday, Aug. 10. In addition, Braveheart, along with UW?s Bucky Badger will lead the daily parade around the fairgrounds that day.

Longtime state Rep. Spencer Black has returned to his roots – in more ways than one. Black, 61, retired in January from the state Assembly after spending 26 years fighting though the maelstrom that is politics in Madison. These days, if Black is not in his garden (his biggest passion), he is teaching an urban and regional planning class at UW-Madison.

Richard Lyman Cates, who rose from childhood years in an orphanage to become a successful Madison lawyer and played a key role in the Watergate impeachment inquiry that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon, died Wednesday. He was 85.

Three teenagers were arrested by Madison police early Saturday morning for allegedly smashing out car and house windows with baseball bats. A UW-Madison police dog assisted Madison police in tracking the suspects.

Noted: He later moved to the U.S. where he obtained a master?s degree from the University of Wisconsin and a doctoral degree in Business Management from Ohio State University.

Wisconsin Sen. Rob Johnson is wrong to hold up the nomination of Victoria Nourse to the federal appeals court that serves Wisconsin.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison announced three finalists for its dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences opening on Wednesday, and none of the candidates currently work at the university.

…. (Peter) Hanson does have strong ties to UW-Madison as he earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. in veterinary science from the university. Hanson also has been a member of UW-Madison’s CALS board of visitors for the past three years.

LA CROSSE ? Janet Kirsch spent six years juggling students, research and committees to meet the yearly demands of her job as a chemistry professor.

The Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA) brought the community together July 28 for its inaugural celebration of campus and community leaders and advocates in a gathering titled ?A Celebration of Campus and Community Connections? at the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center.

Disabled students and advocates for the physically challenged criticized UW-Madison?s plan to eliminate more than fifty handicapped parking stalls on campus beginning Sept. 1.

Disability advocates are questioning a move on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. Right now there are 73 free disabled parking spots on campus. Over the next year and a half that number will be cut to 16.

UW-Madison will provide the seventh most Teach for America participants among similar colleges and universities, according to a UW-Madison news release. The 70 recent graduates from UW-Madison joining Teach for America is up from 56 last year.

Many in the Vilas Park area are mourning the loss of one of the city?s most magnificent oak trees, which they say was butchered by the city this morning even as neighbors were lobbying to save it. City crews lopped off the tree?s last remaining branches around 8 after park officials deemed them to be a hazard.

Late last week, the top of the tree crashed to the ground in the middle of the night, leaving it looking like a headless torso with arms askew. But it was still alive and it was still beautiful, says Bill Barker, a parks commissioner and a geology professor at UW-Madison who happened to be biking past Friday when city crews first tried to cut it down.

After returning from a summer break, it?s time to catch up on some higher education-related items …

One combatant was stabbed and several others were battered in bar-time fights at University Avenue and Frances Street early Thursday morning, according to Madison police. A Brooklyn man, 27, was stabbed when he tried to break up a fight at about 2:15 a.m. A hospital visit confirmed the injury, which was described as a flesh wound.Two other men reported being battered trying to break up related disputes.

John Drake easily glides the shiny red bike into an open slot at a kiosk near the City-County Building after spending his lunch hour biking around the UW-Madison campus. His cycling jaunts to places like Picnic Point, which he makes a couple times a week if the weather permits, are thanks to B-cycle ? the new bike sharing program.

Letter by Darald Hanusa, Midwest Domestic Violence Resource Center and UW-Madison School of Social Work.

The 1100 block of West Dayton Street will be blocked off from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday so construction crews can move equipment into the refurbished Charter Street power plant at the corner of Dayton and Charter streets.

A man who sublet an apartment downtown was arrested after he allegedly stole two computers from the apartment renter and then tried to sell those computers on Craigslist. Kenneth Reneau, 22, of Madison, was tentatively charged with theft of moveable property following his arrest Monday night, Madison police said.

According to the incident report, the two computers valued at $2,200 were reported stolen on July 9 by the 21-year-old Madison man who had recently returned to Madison and his North Lake Street apartment.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson is single-handedly blocking the nomination of a University of Wisconsin law professor to the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals – a nominee who though likely no ideological soul mate of the freshman senator appears to be well-qualified and who was nominated before Johnson even took office.

Johnson?s single-minded opposition to Victoria Nourse (who teaches at the UW Law School) seems more of a political game than anything else and one that he should put a quick end to.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson?s decision to block the judicial nomination of a University of Wisconsin law professor has drawn a pointed letter of protest by a group of legal academics from around the country.

Johnson has single-handedly held up consideration of Victoria Nourse for the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which reviews federal cases from Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana.

Gov. Scott Walker announced the appointments of two students to the UW Board of Regents Wednesday, his first appointees to the governing body of the 26-campus University of Wisconsin System. Katie Pointer, 19, will be a UW-Madison student this fall after spending one year studying political science, public administration and finance at UW-La Crosse. Troy Sherven, of Oregon, is a student at UW-Stout, continuing his education after 20 years of work. Sherven, 36, will serve a one-year term, filling a vacant seat of the non-traditional student representative.

The newly renovated School of Human Ecology building on the UW-Madison campus will be the first exclusively-academic facility on campus to be named in honor of a woman. Nancy Nicholas Hall is scheduled to open in 2012, named after Nancy Johnson Nicholas, who graduated from the school in 1955 and was the major contributor along with husband Albert “Ab” Nicholas to the building of the new facility.

Chris Taylor almost assuredly will be the new state representative for the 48th Assembly District. Taylor, 43, came out on top of a six-way primary election Tuesday to replace former state Rep. Joe Parisi, who was elected Dane County executive in April. Taylor has a bachelor?s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a law degree from UW-Madison.

A ?beggar? took advantage of a man?s generosity early Sunday morning when he allegedly grabbed all the cash from the donor?s hand when the donor only wanted to give him $1.The robbery was reported at 2:33 a.m. Sunday on Conklin Place downtown, Madison police said.

Five people were arrested for disorderly conduct early Tuesday morning after they allegedly approached and frightened two men in separate incidents downtown. Chi Williams, 17 and Eddie Armstrong, 19, both of Madison, Harold Wilson II, 21, and Kenneth Edwards, 22, both of Sun Prairie, and a 15-year-old male from Janesville were arrested following the incidents near Gorham and State Streets, Madison police said.