Work is underway on a biomass power plant at UW Madison. Governor Jim Doyle says the $251 million project to convert the Charter Street Plant on the UW Madison campus from burning coal to burning biomass can help lessen the state’s dependence on imported fuels. “This is in our state’s interest,” the governor said during a ceremony Monday marking the start of the project. “Sixteen billion dollars a year (for fuel, mostly coal) leaves our state. If we just kept 25 percent of that ‘spend’ here in Wisconsin, it’s $4 billion additional a year that is going to create jobs here in this state.”
Being careful about campaign signs
October 26, 2010 By
As we approach the final stretch before Election Day, state transportation officials are warning supporters to be careful about where they place political yard signs supporting candidates.
Those signs are a frequent sight this close to an election, but Deb Brucaya with the state Department of Transportation is reminding supporters that it’s illegal to set them up within a highway right of way. The signs are fine though on private property that faces state roads. [Read more...]
New home for Badger Catholics
October 25, 2010 By
Proposed St. Paul's Center PHOTO: WRN
Catholics on the UW campus have unveiled plans for a new facility. The Reverend Eric Nielson is director of St. Paul’s University Catholic Center on the Madison campus, a facility that’s showing it’s age. “Our current chapel, while new and exciting when built back in the sixties . . . no longer has that same freshness to it, and most of our incoming freshmen no longer find it appealing,” Nielson said Monday. The student center is even older, dating to the late 1800s.
Plans call for a 14 story building, which will include a chapel seating 400 to 600 people, a large student center with enhanced study and gathering space, offices and residential rooms and apartments for approximately 175 to 200 people. Nielson was asked whether those students will be expected to live up to a moral code. “Although it’s not going to be limited to Catholic students we hope to engage those students who are most interested in the dialogue between faith and reason, so any student who is interested that dialogue would be very welcome to live in the residence hall,” said Nielson. “And obviously it’s going to be above a church with a couple priests working there so we’d expect that it would have a slightly higher moral code than perhaps other residences would.”
The project is expected cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $45 million dollars “We expect that this project will be funded the way a lot of other projects are funded here at the university and that a select group of donors would give a substantial portion of the funds.” said Nielson. “We’ll be able to offer more programs, provide a positive student housing option, and serve more students and others,” said Scott Hackl, St. Paul’s director of development. Pending approval from the city of Madison, ground could be broken in two to three years.
Wide caterpillar rings predict mild winter
October 25, 2010 By
Forget the Old Farmers’ Almanac, caterpillars are expecting a mild winter. UW-Madison bug expert Phil Pellitteri has been checking out the woolly bear caterpillars, noting the size of the reddish band around their middle. “The ones from this year … I would say it’s approaching 60 percent — 55 to 60 percent — of the total body length, which is a good sign. Whereas if it’s relatively minimal — 20 or 30 percent — that’s not a good sign.” [Read more...]
Exhibit gives Wisconsinites a slice of life
October 25, 2010 By
A display using dissected human cadavers including whole bodies and partial specimens has opened up in Madison. Chief Medical Director of Bodies: The Exhibition Dr. Roy Glover calls is a very personal experience. “Everything you see in the exhibition is all about you, muscles, nerves, blood vessels, organs, they’re all inside of you.”
Glover says young people can see first hand how their lifestyle decisions will affect their health by seeing a lung diseased from smoking displayed next to [Read more...]
