Could cheaper prescription medications for patients put the hurt on Wisconsin’s local pharmacies? A bill exempting prescription drugs from the state’s Unfair Sales Act, or “minimum markup” law passed the Assembly Committee on Health and Healthcare reform this week. La Crosse Democrat Jennifer Shilling voted for it, but worries what will happen to community pharmacies that aren’t located within “big box” stores. “We’ve had some cuts to the average wholesale price, we’ve done some things that were detrimental in the budget, regarding SeniorCare,” said Shilling. “This is just another nail in the coffin to them, that makes it very difficult in a profession they find very challenging.”
An environmental literacy plan for Wisconsin schools
October 31, 2009 By
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers says, despite Wisconsin’s strong outdoors heritage, too many school age kids aren’t spending enough time outdoors. Evers has asked the No Child Left Inside Coalition to develop an Environmental Literacy Plan for for Wisconsin’s pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade schools, paying special attention to creating more opportunities to get children outside.
AUDIO: Bob Hague reports (1:15 MP3)
Evers says that in addition to benefitting kids, there may be some money federal in it for the state. “If the No Child Left Inside legislation passes Congress, states that do have this type of . . . environmental education plan in place would be elegible for additional money.”
Schools would not be mandated to adopt any of the environmental education recommendations. The Department of Public Instruction also is in the process of hiring an environmental education consultant, which was approved through the 2009-11 state budget.
Smelling smoke is not enough
October 31, 2009 By
Wisconsinites continue to be killed by fires in which they could’ve had earlier warning. Between 2000 and 2006, 311 people in the state were killed in blazes in the home, according to a FEMA fire official.
“That’s still a significant number of people. Those were family members of someone and they’re still too high,” says Kelvin Cochran, Fire Administrator with USFA.
He cites numbers from the National Fire Protection Association, between 2003 and 2006 almost 2/3 of fire deaths in the US resulted in homes that either had no smoke alarms or had non-working alarms.
Cochran says it’s important to have working smoke detectors on every level of the home, near sleeping areas and to properly inspect them. They range in cost from $5 to $20 but Cochran says most fire departments will donate to families who cannot afford them.
Ho-Chunk buy land slated for Chippewa casino
October 30, 2009 By
Wisconsin’s Ho-Chunk Nation has purchased property in Beloit, in the midst of land designated for a casino to be built by another tribe.
Chippewa tribal spokesman Joe Hunt says it doesn’t stop the project being pursued by the tribe’s St. Croix and Bad River bands. Hunt says he hopes the two tribal councils can discuss how it will affect the casino plans. In a press release, the Ho Chunk Nation says they “have federally-recognized aboriginal ties to Beloit and the region, which is a critically important element of casino approval by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.” The Chippewa casino has been tied up in the court system, and oral arguments in a case against the federal government are expected November 13th.
WCLO’s Beth Wheelock contributed this report
Obama to speak at Madison school
October 30, 2009 By
Madison's J.C. Wright Middle School
The White House has confirmed that President Barack Obama will be in Wisconsin on Wednesday, for a speech on education to be delivered in Madison.
The speech at J.C. Wright Middle School in Madison marks the President’s first trip to the Badger State since June, when Obama stopped in Green Bay to unveil his plans for overhauling the nation’s health care system, and his first Madison stop since the campaign.
According to the White House, Obama will meet with students, teachers and school officials and deliver remarks on strengthening America’s education system. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will travel with the President to Wisconsin. The speech will be by invitation only; the audience will be comprised primarily of students, teachers, parents and local officials.
