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Minnesota lawmakers are deadlocked on their budget and the state could experience a government shutdown on Friday, as the holiday weekend gets underway.
Regardless of any shutdown of non-essential services in a neighboring state, our state wouldn’t think of taking advantage of their misfortune. So says Wisconsin Department of Tourism Deputy Secretary Dave Fantle. [Read more...]
A former UW Madison chancellor will serve in that post until a replacement is found for Biddy Martin. UW System President Kevin Reilly announced that Chancellor Emeritus David Ward has agreed to serve as UW-Madison’s interim chancellor following the departure of Martin, who left the Madison campus to become president of Amhurst College. The British born Ward served as UW-Madison chancellor from 1993 to 2000 and led the American Council on Education in Washington D.C. for seven years. Ward received his PhD from UW in 1963 and served on the faculty for more than 30 years, chairing the geography department and serving as associate dean of the Graduate School. Reilly identified Ward as the person who could provide effective leadership while a search is launched for Martin’s permanent successor.
Dane County takes a new approach to dealing with drunk driving. County Executive Joe Parisi said it’s a huge problem: 2009 saw 451 alcohol-related crashes and 19 people killed. In addition, Parisi noted that 50 percent of the county’s jail inmates are serving charges related to alcohol. Judge John Markson will preside over the new Dane County OWI Court, a pilot program dealing with third offense drunk drivers who either refuse a blood test or have a BAC of .20 or higher. Participants in the program will serve two weeks in jail, after which they’ll be assessed and placed in treatment. They’ll be closely monitored and offered the option of taking a drug to reduce alcohol cravings. In addition, after completing the one year program, participants will serve two years on probation. This pilot program, paid for in part with state funding, will have a caseload of about 40 offenders.
It appears Republicans may try to push redistricting through before July’s Senate recall elections. It’s the first time in fifty years that redistricting has happened with a single party holding both chambers of the legislature and the governor’s office. State Representative Mark Pocan is a Madison Democrat. “We have one party and one party alone using taxpayer dollars to pay for the drawing of partisan maps,” said Pocan. “That’s the worst I’ve ever heard of for redistricting.” [Read more...]
US Senator Ron Johnson says in a time of a major deficit, it’s time for true fiscal discipline. “Our financial situation in this country is urgent, we don’t have years,” Johnson recently told reporters.
The Oshkosh Republican also issued a statement this week saying “Washington is broken.” The statement contained a backhanded compliment to President Obama for “finally” getting involved in bi-partisan economic [Read more...]
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