DESPITE LOSS, ALVAREZ FACE OF UW Nick Korger talks about how the Wisconsin Athletic Director remains the identity of the football program, so many years later SPORTS C3
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Appellate court upholds controversial 2011 legislation curtailing collective bargaining Polo Rocha Senior Legislative Editor A federal appeals court upheld every provision of the contentious collective bargaining law that brought tens of thousands of protesters to the Capitol in 2011 in a decision released Friday. In a 2-1 decision, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals said all parts of the law were constitutional. The decision went against last year’s federal district court decision that struck down two parts of the law, but had upheld the limits on collective bargaining. The court found all three challenged parts constitutional, agreeing with the earlier court that collective bargaining limits were valid. It disagreed with the earlier court, however, by upholding annual recertification elections where public employee unions have to win the majority of votes of all members, not just those who vote in the elections. The appeals court also upheld a restriction for most unions to get their employees’ dues collected from government employees. The reforms, the ruling said, were adequate because unions have proved to be “too costly”
for state budgets. It also said the distinction between some unions, like some public safety unions that were exempted from some of the changes, was valid. The impact the new ruling will have is not yet clear. In the state courts, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Juan Colas ruled in September that the law was unconstitutional in a different case. Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen hinted toward some uncertainty, although he said he hopes this decision will guide future rulings. “While there are no guarantees, it is my hope that this decision will pave the way for resolving any remaining challenges in a manner that supports the legislative decisions made by our elected officials,” Van Hollen said in a statement. The Wisconsin Education Association Council, the state’s major teachers’ union and a plaintiff in the case, is still evaluating the impacts of the new ruling as well as whether they will appeal this ruling, spokesperson Christina Brey said. WEAC President Mary Bell said in a statement After freezing over earlier this month, ice fishers flocked to Madison’s lakes to enjoy a Wisconsin pastime
UNION LAW, page A3
Jen Small The Badger Herald
MENTAL HEALTH AND GUN CONTROL University responds to recent shootings with new staff, looks to expand resources Colin Kellogg ArtsEtc. Content Editor In line with a series of new gun control laws introduced on the national scale and a
number of mass shootings leaving the country on edge, the University of Wisconsin will bring on two new staff members specifically to aid in threat assessment efforts on campus, but the threat assessment team remains understaffed. Kevin Helmkamp, associate dean of students and co-chair of UW’s Threat Assessment and Response Team, said a potential threat
is reported to his team almost weekly. The team is responsible for processing any potential threats against the university or campus community and responding to them before they reach fruition. With this volume of concerns being brought before the team, Helmkamp said the Dean of Students Office is in the process of hiring two new employees
whose sole role in many respects will be to reach out to students in crisis and students of concern. The new hires, Helmkamp said, will ensure ongoing contact between the at-risk students and the university. The staff additions will also make it easier for the team to see the students are doing what they need to, per the decision of the threat assessment committee.
Despite the addition of these positions, Helmkamp said TART is still understaffed. “I think we have fewer assistant deans to deal with students in crisis and students of concern than we have basketball assistant coaches,” he said. When evaluating a threat, Helmkamp said there are a variety of criteria, including whether the person in
question has a specific plan and if that plan is doable. Additionally, when a violent or threatening Facebook rant is reported, the first step would be to ask the student what they actually meant. “If we intervene and the behavior doesn’t stop or gets worse, well then we know we have a threat situation that’s very real, and we need to have
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Group begins final search for chancellor Committee gets 70 applications, begins interview, selection process Lauren Tubbs Megan McCormick The Badger Herald file photo
Wisconsin’s new Legislature will tackle a number of issues likely to be controversial in spite of new promises of bipartisanship. Partisan divisions have plagued the Assembly and the Senate.
Legislature readies to take on income tax cuts, jobs, mining Polo Rocha Alice Coyne Senior Legislative Editor & State Politics Editor Wisconsin’s new Legislature was sworn in the first week of January, and the group has begun to focus on a number of issues early. With Gov. Scott Walker’s
campaign promise of 250,000 private sector jobs created by 2014 not yet complete and the skills gap issue getting more attention, Walker said in his State of the State speech the Legislature’s main priorities should be jobs and education. This semester, the Legislature will largely focus on the 2013-2015 biennial
budget, which, with a $342 million surplus, starts better than the $3.6 billion deficit the last Legislature began with. Walker will release his proposed budget next month, and the Legislature will then work on it and eventually pass it as a regular bill.
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Reporter The process of hiring a new chancellor for the University of Wisconsin will continue into the upcoming semester as the Chancellor Search and Screen Committee moves forward in narrowing the list of candidates. According to committee Chair David McDonald, because the soft Dec. 21 application deadline for the position has passed, the committee is now looking to narrow the number of candidates to a short list to present to the UW System Board of Regents. However, the committee received about
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70 applications, with a few more applications submitted over the holidays. Because the search process began with public forums to involve campus and community members, McDonald said the committee was then able to set its own expectations for the new chancellor based on this information. “From all the discussion, we reached a rough consensus on what we all agreed the campus and community want in a candidate applying to be the next chancellor,” McDonald said. Despite some contention surrounding input from state business leaders in the search process, David McDonald said the business community has been a “strong supporter” of the university and recognizes the key role it plays in the city. McDonald said he
hopes the committee can reach a “long shortlist” of people to interview for the position in the next couple of weeks. Through this process, McDonald said the committee will try to have a list of about five finalists to present to the Board of Regents sometime after the beginning of February. UW System Spokesperson David Giroux said the names of the finalists will be announced to the public once the UW System president and the Board of Regents agree on the candidates chosen by the committee. Giroux said the board and its own committee, the Regent Selection Committee, which is designated to help with the process, will then gather additional insight on each of
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UW system faces audit with overpayments Sean Kirkby Senior Reporter Lawmakers plan to audit the University of Wisconsin System after a state financial audit showed the system overpaid more than $30 million in retirement and health insurance premiums during the 2011-12 fiscal year. According to a letter sent from State Auditor Joe Chrisman to a state committee Jan. 10, the UW System did not establish adequate procedures for reconciling health insurance premiums with coverage of the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds, which oversees insurance and retirement funds.
The letter said the UW System estimated it overpaid health insurance premiums by $15.4 million from May 2011 through September 2012 and $8 million went to health insurance premiums for 924 terminated employees. According to the letter, provisions in the contracts between the state and its health insurance appear to limit the UW System’s ability to recover all overpayments and if the System cannot recover all overpayments, it would have to find an alternative funding source to cover them. David Giroux, UW System spokesperson, said in an email to The Badger Herald the UW System
has recovered $2.4 million. He said UW staff first identified the overpayments and reported them to the Legislative Audit Bureau. According to the LAB letter, the UW System also overpaid $17.5 million to the Wisconsin Retirement System for the fiscal year. The Department of Employee Trust Funds identified the overpayment and credited the system. In a Jan. 11 statement, UW System President Kevin Reilly said the system would pursue both internal and an external reviews by an independent auditor, focusing on assessing the risks of the Human Resources System where the errors occurred.
“We are taking this matter very seriously, and I am confident that our corrective actions will resolve its root causes,” Reilly said. “I am nonetheless highly embarrassed and very disappointed by these errors and the resulting overpayments. I pledge to our Wisconsin taxpayers, legislators, students and staff that we will fix this problem so that it does not happen again.” Giroux said regardless of whether LAB pursues its own review, the System will continue with its own audit, adding the System will inform the UW System Board of Regents and Legislature about their findings. Joint Legislative Audit
Committee co-chairs Sen. Robert Cowles, R-Allouez, and Rep. Samantha Kerkman, R-Randall, scheduled a public hearing for Tuesday at the Capitol. They also directed LAB to prepare a memo outlining the parameters of a proposed independent LAB audit of the System’s payroll and benefits processing, including the new Human Resource System. “I see the concerns regarding the HRS as major problems within the UW System,” Cowles said in the statement. “The need for a full independent audit by LAB to address the reoccurring theme of financial mismanagement by the university system is absolutely necessary.”
City allows open data, increases transparency Allison Johnson City Life Editor City officials are vying to engage students and other Madison residents in new ways after approving an initiative that opens up access to all city documents and records to the public via an online portal. Madison is now the second city in the country to pursue an open data initiative, which allows citizens electronic access to all city documents and records. The initiative is meant to allow citizens the same access to city-related data as city officials, according to Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8. The City Council adopted the open data ordinance in June, just three months behind New York City, which was the
first to adopt such a policy, he said. According to Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, the data that will be available on the new website will include things such as a map of Madison Metro Transit bus stops, Madison Public Library locations, building inspection information and information on crimes that occur in certain neighborhoods. Resnick said he proposed the policy because he wanted to do something innovative that would improve the look and feel of Madison. “[The open data ordinance] will help us improve ourselves as an innovative city,” he said. Maniaci said the ordinance was meant to initiate transparency with the city
government and to allow the public the opportunity to put city data to use. However, the City Council particularly hopes the technology community will take advantage of the access to city data, she said. According to Resnick, the new policy was also intended to encourage developers and programmers to develop useful applications that will benefit Madisonians. As an example, Resnick suggested a programmer could develop an iPhone or Android application that tells people where they can park their cars during a snow emergency, using a document available on the website explaining the city’s snow emergency guidelines. Maniaci said she hopes the new ordinance will drive an
entrepreneurial spirit that is lacking in the city. “People are going to build apps that are useful in everyday lives,” Maniaci said. “We’re giving citizens the opportunity to really create something that will benefit the community.” Maniaci anticipates the new policy will be particularly beneficial for University of Wisconsin students. Students are some of the most advanced technology users, Maniaci said. She said one possible benefit of the ordinance to students is the increasing availability of information on where to rent safe and affordable housing. Resnick agreed the ordinance will be positive to students. “I am positive there are
students on campus that will make an impact on campus with this data,” Resnick said. In addition to using the data for personal reasons, there are a lot of students who are programmers and might want to get involved with open data and creating apps, according to Resnick. Overall, Maniaci said she believes the new policy has the potential to really open up efficiency and good government practices. “My hope is by having this open data ordinance, we will see apps and other things that will really be able to connect previously disconnected groups of citizens and inform that about City Hall issues,” Maniaci said. All data can be found at data.cityofmadison.com.
City plans to enforce 2012 Mifflin rules for May event Julia Skulstad Senior Campus Editor With the start of second semester underway, the Mifflin Street Block Party plans continue to engage those at the campus and city administration levels to address concerns regarding the
event and its future. Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said he would like to see Mifflin be a student-led and student-focused event this year. Resnick cited problems of sexual assault and violence as examples of concerns and added that in the past, those responsible for such actions have not been UW students. “UW students know how to drink responsibly,” Resnick said. “Others don’t.” According to Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, the police this year will again utilize last year’s tactics, including keeping Mifflin Street open and enforcing ordinance violations. He said anything from underage drinking to open intoxicants and trespassing will be vigorously enforced by the police. Verveer mentioned a UW student who was almost murdered at the block party in 2011 who, he said, was stabbed and could have lost his life. He added he never wants to see anything close to the violence that has occurred at Mifflin block parties in the past. At the end of last semester, University of Wisconsin’s Associated Students of Madison voted in favor of
a proposal for a Mifflinalternative festival, an event which will add to the Mifflin Block Party discussion. According to ASM spokesperson David Gardner, Student Council voted to approve the event to be one that will bring people together before finals. ASM Vice Chair Maria Giannopoulos said the event will be held May 4. She said the group sees the event as an opportunity to celebrate the year as Badgers. Gardner said he thinks it is the student government’s job to work for the students. “A lot of what people want is to see something from their student government that will impact their campus,” Gardner said. “To make sure the student voice is heard is always a priority of ASM.” Giannopoulos said while the May 4 event does coincide with Mifflin, it is completely separate and has nothing to do with the block party. She said ASM is only one source of support and cited the Wisconsin Union, the University of Wisconsin Police Department and the Chancellor’s Office as some examples of involvement. ASM is engaging in
Lukas Keapproth The Badger Herald file photo
Students take part in typical Mifflin festivities at 2012’s block party. Students and city officials are discussing the future of the event as well as an ASM endorsed alternative planned for May 4. conversations with Frank Productions, a promotional team that helps with the artists and bands at Freakfest, Giannopoulos siad. Verveer said he fully appreciates the Mifflin Street Block Party as something many students look forward to. He said that weekend, no matter what happens with the Mifflin alternative or how the police treat those on Mifflin Street that day, will always be marked in the eyes of many students as a “party weekend.” “I fully acknowledge that the Mifflin Street Block
Party has long become a campus institution that has been going on for decades now in one form or another,” Verveer said. “It is not a campus tradition that will die easily, and its longevity has proven that.” In the city’s eyes, Verveer said, what goes on at Mifflin Street, even though it has been going on since 1969, is not a legally sanctioned block party. He said the city expects people on Mifflin Street the first Saturday in May, but believes encouraging people to party at a more appropriate venue makes a lot of sense on many levels.
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City Council takes on gun control in wake of tragedy Allison Johnson City Life Editor As President Barack Obama moves forward with his plans to pursue significant national gun control measures, Madison’s City Council added its voice to the national conversation when the body unanimously adopted a resolution calling for stricter gun control at its Jan. 8 meeting. According to City Council President Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, District 5, the resolution highlighted the council’s position on the issue and urged the U.S. Congress and Obama to establish a ban on assault weapons and high capacity ammunition. In light of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School late last year, BidarSielaff said the council felt it had become too increasingly common for U.S. citizens to be attacked by people with military-style weapons and
UNION LAW from 1 although the ruling is a “setback,” union members will continue the fight for “restoring their rights” to negotiate with employers. After the decision, Republicans praised the decision and the impact the law has had on government budgets in several statements. “Today’s court ruling is a victory of Wisconsin taxpayers,” Gov. Scott Walker said in a statement. “The provisions contained in [the act] ... were vital in balancing Wisconsin’s $3.6 billion budget deficit without increasing taxes, without massive public employee layoffs and without cuts to programs like Medicaid.” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said in a statement the decision shows Colas’ September
ammunition clips. “Weapons of that caliber have no purpose in civil society,” Bidar-Sielaff said. Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, emphasized the events in Newtown, Conn., could have occurred in Madison. He said the council felt it was necessary to encourage Congress to act rapidly to ensure other cities do not fall victim to a similar fate. The resolution emphasized the best way to protect children and adults in Madison schools, malls, theaters and other public places is to ban these types of weapons, Bidar-Sielaff said. “As a council, we feel that weapons that can pierce body armor should not be sold to the general public,” Resnick said. “They have no purpose other than to cause destruction.” While the City Council does not have the power to determine how gun control should take shape in Madison, Ald. Bridget
ruling was based on a “political, not a legal, decision.” On the other hand, Democrats showed their disappointment in the ruling. Rep. Nick Milroy, D-South Range, pointed to favoritism in the law, noting the act was “designed to attack” Walker’s political foes. Senate Minority Leader Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, said in a statement the ruling was an “immense setback” for the middle class. “After half a century of labor progress in Wisconsin, upholding this divisive legislation will only hurt Wisconsin’s working, middle class families,” Larson said in the statement. “The 7th Circuit’s determination that the calculated protection of political favorites and the targeting of political foes is constitutionally permissible is a sad deterioration of our Wisconsin values.”
Maniaci, District 2, explained it was important for the city leadership to establish its position on the issue. Maniaci said the City Council produces these kinds of resolutions on a regular basis in order to address policy issues, both large and small, that they feel are important. “[This resolution] shows that elected officials take these issues seriously and are
able to go on record about gun violence in America,” Maniaci said. Resnick explained the purpose of the resolution was to send a clear message to other elected officials this was an important issue locally. It is one of the few things a unified council can do to take action on an issue, Resnick said. “Hopefully it helps send a message to Congress that the
time for action is now, not to delay and not to compromise,” Resnick said. On Jan. 16, Obama publically announced his plans to address the issue of gun control in the country, including placing limits on high ammunition magazines and issuing a ban on assault rifles. In a statement issued in response to the president’s agenda, Mayor Paul Soglin
voiced his opinion on the new measures. The statement said the founding fathers did not envision high capacity weapons in the hands of irresponsible persons when they drew up the second amendment. “I support President Barack Obama’s plan to make our country safe and to issue these very reasonable firearm controls,” Soglin said in the statement.
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Officer cleared in Paul Heenan shooting case Allison Johnson City Life Editor After a series of investigations, the Madison Police Department ultimately ruled to clear a police officer who shot and killed a city resident late last year of any charges, sparking controversy and protests within the city. Paul Heenan, 30, died as the result of a physical confrontation with MPD officer Stephan Heimsness Nov. 9, 2012. Heimsness was responding to a 911 call of what was believed to be a burglary in progress when he encountered an intoxicated Heenan. Heimsness shot Heenan three times after Heenan reportedly attempted to grab the officer’s firearm. MPD Chief Noble Wray said the internal investigation determined Heimsness’s use of deadly force to be reasonable and that he acted in accordance with MPD policy and training. “[Heimsness] believed he was in danger of being disarmed and that his life was in imminent danger,” Wray said. “Heimsness determined that his only option to protect
his life at the time was to use deadly force.” However, some members of the community, particularly Heenan’s family and friends, were not satisfied with MPD’s decision to exonerate Heimsness. Samuel Stevenson, a former Badger Herald columnist and a Heenan family friend, helped to organize a rally Jan. 12 that addressed the family’s concerns. “Our goal was to really bring into the public discourse the serious issues we have in the way the MPD conducted their investigation,” Stevenson said. Stevenson said many people felt there was subjectivity in the police report, as well as inconsistent information that led them to believe MPD was either withholding information or did not do its job in the investigation. At the rally, members of the community called for an independent investigation to be conducted by an unbiased third party. According to City Attorney Michael May, however,
independent reviews of the case had already been conducted. He said Wray had asked the Department of Justice to do their own review of the matter to ensure MPD was not missing anything. Additionally, May said, Wray asked the Dane County Sheriff’s office to follow the investigation, in order to have another law enforcement agency overlook the process. Despite this, May said he understands members of the community would like to see the process be even more independent, given the relationship between the district attorney and MPD. Stevenson said he believes the case has done a lot of damage to the relationship between the Madison community and MPD. According to Stevenson, Heenan’s neighbor said he would never call 911 again after what happened. “People shouldn’t have to fear for their lives from the Madison Police Department,” Stevenson said. “I think that makes the community less safe if people feel that law enforcement cannot protect them.”
Higher education systems attempt to close skills gap Polo Rocha Senior Legislative Editor
As the new legislative session begins with a major focus on addressing the skills gap, higher education institutions throughout the state are playing their part in attempting to close these discrepancies. A number of reports released last year have outlined the main problem: employers have available jobs, but see a lack of skilled applicants to fill them. Bill Smith, state director of Wisconsin’s National Federation of Independent Business branch, said fouryear institutions and technical colleges must work to overcome the skills gap now or face a worse problem years down the line. “We really do need to aggressively develop policies to close the skills gap,” Smith said. “The problem is real.” Much of the short-term focus is on skilled trades that may not necessarily need a four-year degree, such as welding or certain health care jobs. However, Gov. Scott Walker said in last week’s State of the State address, the state must prepare graduates to succeed in jobs “not only of today, but of tomorrow.” Competitive Wisconsin, Inc. released a report focused on long-term education based on “skills clusters,” or broad skills that can be used in multiple fields. “These are all fields where
you’re definitely talking about the capacity of our four-year institutions to educate more students for the future,” University of Wisconsin System spokesperson David Giroux said. In his speech last week, Walker highlighted one of the UW System programs aimed at closing the skills gap: the flexible degree program. Giroux said the online degree program will allow non-traditional students to get a UW System degree in a “much more convenient way.” “[The program] will be especially appealing to certain adult workers who want the flexibility to complete the degree at their own pace and their own convenience, but also apply what they’ve already learned [through] work experience,” Giroux said. The program is beginning this fall in a few campuses and will expand to others when they develop their degree programs. The pilot courses this spring have already seen large numbers of applicants, Giroux said. For current university students, a report from former Bucyrus CEO Tim Sullivan emphasized the importance of completing a four-year degree on time, an area where the UW System has seen some improvement in recent years. Between 1981 and 2007, the four-year graduation rate in UW System institutions climbed from 18.9 percent to 28.5 percent. Giroux said the UW System remains focused on improving the four-year graduation rate. One of the ways to improve
this trend, the report said, is to make transferring credits within public institutions easier. The UW System already has a website where students can look at whether a class will transfer from one institution — including technical colleges — to another. A “more sophisticated version” of that website is currently being pilot-tested for UW transfers, Giroux said. In that version, students can choose a degree — rather than a class — at the Madison flagship and see what courses count toward the degree requirements, which vary widely, even within schools. Giroux said if successful, the UW System hopes to expand the website to any UW campus. The chair of the Assembly’s Committee on Colleges and Universities, Rep. Stephen Nass, R-Whitewater, thinks Wisconsin’s higher education institutions are no longer “keeping their finger on the pulse of the economy,” according to his spokesperson Mike Mikalsen. “Rep. Nass is very concerned both in the shortterm and long-term that both [universities and technical colleges] are not meeting the needs of employers,” Mikalsen said. The Wisconsin Technical Colleges System is “excited” to have a conversation about the skills gap, spokesman Conor Smyth said. In its budget request, WTCS is asking for an $88 million increase over two years to help fund their programs.
Jen Small The Badger Herald
Gov. Scott Walker addresses pushing middle class tax cuts for the middle class and his focus on jobs in his State of the State speech.
Walker empasizes job creation in state address Polo Rocha Senior Legislative Editor Gov. Scott Walker delivered his third State of the State address last Tuesday night at the State Capitol, where he said he would continue his focus on jobs and push for an income tax cut for the middle class. In a roughly half-hourlong speech, Walker told viewers across the state his top priority continues to be ensuring Wisconsinites have jobs. The governor cited some favorable figures in job creation, including the drop in unemployment during the past two years from 7.8 percent to 6.7 percent. He also cited Wisconsin moving up in a number of publications’ rankings on which states are more favorable to business, the highest of which ranked Wisconsin as 13th-best. Walker reiterated his campaign promise of creating 250,000 private sector jobs by the end of his first term. “With the protests and recalls combined with the slow recovery at the national level, the fiscal cliff and ongoing worries about health care mandates coming out of Washington, [some] say there are plenty of reasons why it has been hard to create jobs,” Walker said. “But in Wisconsin, we don’t make excuses. We get results.” Still, a report from the federal government released this month showed the state gained only 35,381 private sector jobs from June 2011 to June 2012. The 1.5 percent growth in jobs put Wisconsin as the 42nd worst state in job creation, down from 37th in the previous report. In their response speeches, Democrats used that report to criticize Walker on his progress in job creation. Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha,
criticized Walker for giving “rosy scenarios” rather than giving an honest portrayal on how the state was doing. “This is unacceptable,” Barca said. “I don’t think any Wisconsin citizen that’s used to seeing Wisconsin being at the top of the class for things like job creation, things like public education, things like open and transparent government — all the values that we care so deeply about — would be happy with this assessment.” Senate Minority Leader Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, said Walker’s speech was “high on theatrics, but low on substance.” Several unemployed, unionized mining workers accompanied Walker on stage when he called on the Legislature to pass a mining bill soon and reduce the high unemployment rates in northwest Wisconsin. Walker also said he would continue to convince businesses to move to the state, but also wants to help grow local businesses by passing a venture capital bill and reducing “unnecessary regulations,” some of which he outlined in a report he released earlier that night. Education budgeting takes center stage Experts and legislators agree one of the biggest issues facing Wisconsin is the skills gap, in which employers have jobs available, but do not see enough qualified applicants. Fixing that issue, Walker said, would help the state right now as well as in the future. “If we want to help employers grow here in Wisconsin, we must show them there is a steady supply of graduates with the skills needed to fill the jobs — not only of today — but of tomorrow,” he said. At the K-12 level, Walker said his biennial budget, which will be released next month, would have
a performance-based funding plan that would work off the school report cards rolled out last year. He also called for more choices in schools, from traditional schools to other educational methods, such as charter schools, voucher programs, online ventures and home schooling. Regarding higher education, the governor hinted toward including funding for job training in his budget. “The next step will come in the state budget, as we align new resources with our critical needs in the workplace,” Walker said. Walker praised the University of Wisconsin System’s new flexible degree program, which will soon help adults gain UW System degrees in a “less time-consuming [and] less costly way.” Larson said in an interview with The Badger Herald he hopes the new resources Walker mentioned would include giving back the cuts education took in the last budget. “If he doesn’t restore those funds, the surplus he’s touting isn’t actually a surplus,” Larson said. “It’s a values deficit because it was balanced on the backs of our kids.” Since he took office, Walker has cut more than $300 million from the UW System, more than $800 million to public schools and has also cut funding for technical colleges — although he faced a $3.6 billion deficit when he passed his first budget. The last budget, which included decisions that Walker called “tough, but prudent,” has led to the current $342 million surplus and the first-ever consecutive deposit to the state’s rainy day fund — two figures Walker touted as a sign the state is “moving forward.” The upcoming budget, Walker said, would reduce income taxes on the middle class, although he gave few details on how large the tax cuts would be.
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Sustainability Committee set to begin first session In its first semester, new ASM body will focus on addressing environmental issues Julia Skulstad Senior Campus Editor The University of Wisconsin’s student government will introduce a Sustainability Committee to its list of grassroots committees this semester with the aim of fostering a better campus climate on environmental issues. Sustainability Committee Chair Colin Higgins said he campaigned hard to create the new Associated Students of Madison committee because before Student Council approved its creation last semester, no body existed
CHANCELLOR, from A1 the final candidates through public events and interviews. He said after doing so, the final decision will be made. “Then, [UW System] President Reilly and the Regent Selection Committee will agree on their preferred candidate,” Giroux said in an email to The Badger Herald. “That person must be confirmed by the full board.” McDonald said he anticipates the board will announce its final decision sometime in mid-March, with a formal contract to be signed around mid-April. According to Giroux, the person chosen to be the next chancellor will be someone who will continue UW’s tradition as a strong research university which thoroughly prepares students to enter the workforce. “Clearly, UWMadison needs a leader who understands the university’s important
“The biggest challenge [for a chancellor] is being able to speak and listen to the whole myriad of constituencies that are represented on our campus.” David McDonald
Search and Screen committee chair
role in educating students and creating a stronger workforce,” Giroux said. “At the same time, the chancellor must be someone who can provide leadership for [UW’s] research enterprise and public outreach programs.” According to McDonald, the candidate must have a combination of necessary skills, including effective communication, community outreach, approachability to his or her constituents and be able to foster a collaborative and supportive climate. McDonald added the committee has not been impacted by Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to fund education institutions based on how well they prepare students for available jobs in Wisconsin. He said the group will choose a candidate who understands UW and its context well enough to implement such policies in the best way possible if they are approved. “The biggest challenge [for a chancellor] is being able to speak and listen to the whole myriad of constituencies that are represented on our campus,” McDonald said. “There are a great many academic cultures here and an effective chancellor has to be able to speak and relate to each of them.”
to tackle sustainability issues on campus. “Sustainability is a topic that has been getting a lot of press coverage lately, so it’s only fitting that we as students have an outlet within the student government,” Higgins said. ASM Student Council Chair Andrew Bulovsky said it is important for ASM to have a Sustainability Committee to provide the opportunity for students to give their input when it comes to environmental issues on campus. Bulovsky said students expressed a lot of interest in the committee’s creation, adding it exists for students to work on it together. Higgins said the Sustainability Committee will work directly with the UW Office of Sustainability, which is getting off the
ground as well. The partnership between the committee and office reinforces the idea students are behind this issue, Higgins said. But having the administration there shows support on the university’s behalf, he added. ASM spokesperson David Gardner said the most interesting part about the new committee is its partnership with the UW Office of Sustainability. With the ASM Sustainability Committee, Gardner said they will have the opportunity for a more focused push to advocate for students. He said both alone and with their collaboration with the UW Office of Sustainability, the committee will be able to bring together the work of student groups and organizations on campus into one strong voice.
“We always want to encourage collaboration because we can be so much more effective,” Gardner said. “I think the Sustainability Committee will accomplish this for our campus.” Student leader and student program coordinator for the UW Office of Sustainability Meredith Keller said the office sees itself as having a facilitator role for student groups and organizations. Keller said she hopes to make UW a living model for sustainability, and part of her job involves being the liaison between the Office of Sustainability and ASM. Higgins approached the sustainability office with the idea to try to form a committee within ASM and, Keller said, his efforts made it easy to establish the relationship between the two organizations.
Keller said they see the Sustainability Committee as having more of an administrative role whereas they see themselves as having more of a focus on a broad operations, outreach and education. “ASM at UW has a significant influence,” Keller said. “I don’t see how UW will become sustainable without the Sustainability Committee.” This semester the Sustainability Committee will be getting their bearings and getting everything off the ground, according to Higgins. Higgins added this semester they will devote their time to recruiting people. He said, as of yet, they do not have the infrastructure for working on larger campaigns. “We don’t have the name
recognition like some of the other ASM committees,” Higgins said. “After this semester, we will be able to work on larger issues, but this does not mean the issues we will work on this semester are unimportant.” He said he would like to see renewable energy options and creating more avenues for locally grown and organic food in the dining halls as long-term goals for the committee. He suggested the introduction of solar panels and lower-flow showerheads in pre-existing buildings on campus as examples. Higgins said the Sustainability Committee will meet every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. He added their first meeting will be Jan. 22 and added any interested UW student can become a part of the committee.
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UHS urges prevention measures as flu season begins Noah Goetzel Higher Education Editor Sitting in her four-hour lab in late November, University of Wisconsin senior Madeline Krasno suddenly felt achy, shifted between being freezing and boiling hot, then told her teaching assistant she felt like she had been hit by a bus and burst into tears. “It was extra strength Tylenol every four hours that helped me survive it,” Krasno said of her weeklong case of the influenza virus. “It was so bad at one point
I couldn’t even keep water down because it just caused me to gag.” University Health Services told Krasno her case of the flu was one of the first to be documented on campus this season. Prior to winter break, UHS gave flu vaccinations to approximately 10,000 students — 25 percent of the student population and 30 percent of students living in university housing, which UHS director Sarah Van Orman said was encouraging. Krasno never had a flu shot in her life before last
Thursday. She had avoided her flu shots because the illness had never stricken her before. After catching the flu this year, Krasno said it’s possible she will get flu shots in the future, but is concerned it only prevents the flu between 60 and 70 percent of the time. Patrick Remington, the associate dean for public health at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, said people are less likely to take preventative health measures, such as getting a flu shot, if they are in
generally good health. “The challenge with this, similar to many other preventative interventions, is that people don’t have a problem,” Remington said. “It’s very hard to get people to do something when they don’t have a problem.” Remington added the vaccine has never been perfect for the flu, but getting vaccinated is better than doing nothing. While it reduces your risk, it cannot eliminate your risk of getting the illness, he said. According to Van Orman, many students who have
never had the flu are weary about getting vaccinated. It is easy to think the symptoms are similar to a cold, she said, but in reality, they will be home from work or class for at least five to seven days and do not feel back to normal for several weeks. UHS will begin offering free vaccinations to students again Tuesday, but encouraging students to get flu shots is no longer UHS’ main effort, Van Orman said. According to the UHS website, the department is focused on communicating to students that they should
stay home if they have flu symptoms. The university is also encouraging students to take preventative measures, including asking students to wash their hands and cover their cough. Van Orman said this year’s flu season is moderately severe and hit early. She added a lot of the nationwide shock comes from the fact the country has not seen a flu season this severe in more than five years. “I stress to people that this is normal in the flu,” Van Orman said. “This is nothing we haven’t seen before.”
Supreme Court refuses to address voter ID case Alice Coyne State Politics Editor Wisconsin’s highest court reiterated its stance on the legal controversy surrounding a previous voter ID ruling last week by refusing to address the unconstitutionality of the bill before the appellate court does. With one month before the state’s non-partisan primaries, Wisconsin’s
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Supreme Court denied Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen’s request to consider the voter ID bill without a challenge in the appeals courts for the third time. Van Hollen, whose Nov. 7 suggestion also included joining the two voter ID cases before the Supreme Court, said such an amendment to the process would allow for a resolution to be reached before the next election. The last time the Supreme
Niess Flanagan permanent places injunction temporary injunction
Court denied his request, Van Hollen tried to get the law in effect for the November elections. “We are continuing to aggressively defend what represents the will of the people of Wisconsin and do so on a basis that enables a resolution before the next set of elections,” Van Hollen said in a November statement. However, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin Executive Director Andrea
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Kaminski said her group wants “the full review” of the bill, including challenges in the appeals court. According to Kaminski, by denying Van Hollen’s request, the high court also signaled support for a complete review process. Kaminski added her organization, along other voter advocacy groups and most Democrats, are opposed to a voter ID requirement, as they see no necessity
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Supreme RECALL Flanagan Court refuses ELECTION permanent case injunction
2 /201 9/27
for such a law and say it disenfranchises voters. A new law that does not disenfranchise voters might see more support from her group, she said. “We would not support [a new law] unless all voters have the same opportunity to get an ID that’s acceptable,” Kaminski said. University of Wisconsin political science professor David Canon agreed with Kaminski, adding the law
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places a burden on those without IDs, such as elderly individuals born outside of hospitals and without a birth certificate. Two different Dane County circuit court judges struck down the voter ID requirement last year. According to Canon, by letting the case be argued in the appeals courts first, the Supreme Court is likely to agree with these circuit court rulings.
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Feminist pioneer, UW department founder dies at 92 Noah Goetzel Higher Education Editor Gerda Lerner, the founder of University of Wisconsin’s Gender and Women’s studies graduate program, died this month at age 92, leaving behind a strong history and legacy with her students and the university. Lerner, who was formerly a
UW women’s studies professor, Holocaust escapee and author, died Jan. 2 in an assisted living facility in Madison, according to longtime friend and UW Professor Florencia Mallon, who chairs the history department. “Gerda Lerner was the single most important person in the creation of women’s history as a field,” New York University professor and colleague Linda
Gordon said. Gordon taught with Lerner from 1984 until Lerner’s retirement from UW’s Program in Gender and Women’s History in 1991. The two continued working together until 2000. According to Gordon, Lerner began her efforts to create a women’s history field before coming to UW, but made the biggest impact in Wisconsin. At UW, Lerner established a graduate doctorate women’s history program that produced a whole generation of scholars who are now the leaders in the field, Gordon said. “They were
extraordinarily successful,” Gordon said. As directors of UW’s women’s history program, Gordon and Lerner produced more than 40 graduates, the majority of which are professors at other colleges and universities. Gordon said Lerner’s students’ achievements helped overcome what she said were the sexist undertones of opposition to her program. Lerner, who was born to a Jewish family in Vienna in 1920, and was imprisoned by Nazis before immigrating to the U.S. in 1939, began as a pioneer in the field of women’s studies in the late 1950s, according to Mallon.
Earning her masters and doctorate from Colombia University in 1966, Lerner became a founding member of the National Organization of Women, Mallon said. “She was really one of the first people who studied women’s history, who considered the possibility women’s history could be a field,” Mallon said. “She was the kind of person who basically made the path for the rest of us. She essentially led the charge to create the field itself.” The opportunity to initiate a women’s history program at UW opened when the university needed to fill its vacant Robinson Edwards Chair
in the history department, which was reserved for a female, Mallon said. Having already established a women’s history program at Sarah Lawrence College, Lerner emerged as the best candidate for the position. Mallon said to this day, and largely because of Lerner’s legacy, women’s history remains an integral field of study for UW and other colleges worldwide. “[Women’s history] is about half of the human race,” she said. “It’s about the story of half of the human race that for many, many years was sidelined or marginalized, and whose story is absolutely central to how human history has evolved.”
MENTAL HEALTH, from 1
Helmkamp said. Mental Health: A component of the violence While the team largely makes initial decisions based on students’ actions, Helmkamp said mental health focus is also a component of the team’s evaluation. Mental health and caring for the mentally ill became a hot button issue following the slew of recent shootings, particularly after a gunman killed 20 elementary students in Newtown, Conn., in December. In the Associated Students of Madison’s upcoming session, mental health wellness is prominent on Chair Andrew Bulovsky’s agenda. During the fall 2012 semester, ASM partnered with several different organizations to put on a Mental Health Fair. Bulovsky said he wants to put on the fair again this semester and eventually make a
recurrence on the ASM calendar. Bulovsky said he hopes to bring speakers to campus and to expand the focus to include physical health. Bulovsky said many students are not aware of the free mental health services available to them, which are already being paid for by student segregated fees. However, there is still a shortage of staff and resources to accommodate the students who are already taking advantage of these services. Recently, ASM provided funds for UHS to hire an additional mental health counselor. “There’s always more that can be done in terms of services,” Bulovsky said. The lack of mental health resources is a problem that extends to the rest of the state and is felt beyond the campus level. According to Darold Treffert, UW professor
and former president of both the State Medical Society of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Psychiatric Association, Wisconsin’s mental health system is excellent compared to other states. However, he believes treatment and care options are not adequately funded. Treffert said in the 1970s, there was a movement toward treating patients closer to home, in smaller treatment centers, instead of state-funded hospitals. However, money that would normally go toward state institutions did not follow the patients when they relocated. “We need the dollars to follow the patient,” Treffert said. Treffert said public schools and universities often do well at identifying individuals with mental health issues, but it is difficult getting care for these individuals.
a stronger threat response,” Helmkamp said. “The goal of threat assessment is to be proactive, to make sure they don’t hurt anybody.” Although TART aims to protect students from potentially dangerous peers, the team also works to make sure the individuals deemed risky get the help they need. Helmkamp said the university wants to see these students improve and eventually graduate. Despite the several gunrelated incidents that have occurred elsewhere in the nation over the last few months, Helmkamp said both the threat assessment team and the university value an open campus and UW is no more of a target than anywhere else. “We don’t want a campus ruled by fear, we don’t want a campus where everyone is going through checkpoints,”
friday, january 25th 3:00pm monday, january 28th 7:00pm Join the Herald staff for a meet and greet! All majors welcome and no experience is needed. 326 W. Gorham above Silvermine Subs
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ASM to focus on affordability, mental health Sarah Murphy Reporter As University of Wisconsin’s student government begins the semester with a full agenda, the body expects a focus on lobbying student issues at the university, city and state levels. According to Associated Students of Madison spokesperson David Gardner, education affordability continues to be a major focus for the body. “We lobby for issues that students are struggling with, so, for example,
tuition is always on the forefront of the ASM agenda,” Gardner said. “We will always have campaigns to look at how affordable our university is, and tuition is really the biggest portion of that.” Gardner also noted the importance of the state’s annual budget, adding the state will be looking at the UW System’s budget to determine how much funding the school will receive. The state’s funding not only impacts the affordability of UW’s education, but also
influences the quality of instruction, Gardner said. “One of our really huge goals this spring is to make sure we’re lobbying the state and the Legislature on UW being funded at a level that provides a quality education, and also education that is affordable for students,” Gardner said. In addition to looking at the state’s annual budget, according to Gardner, many of the issues that will be addressed by ASM this semester will also be angled on diversity. Such topics include a new preferred name policy, he said.
There will also be a new committee working on the issue of how environmentally friendly UW is. “We have a new ASM Sustainability Committee that will be starting this semester,” ASM Chair Andrew Bulovsky said. “The Sustainability Committee will provide another element for students to talk about climate issues here on campus, and we believe we’ll be able to make Madison more environmentally friendly and encourage more recycling.”
Jobs data shows mixed picture
Gardner said the Sustainability Committee will be an asset on campus, as it will reach out to similar sustainability student organizations and encourage them to collaborate and participate with ASM’s committee. Bulovsky also said ASM will maintain strong involvement with student mental health, noting the success of the ASMsponsored Stress Reduction Fair last semester. Through lobbying such issues as mental health, sustainability, diversity and affordability, Bulovsky
said he hopes ASM will be able to increase outreach and the visibility of opportunities on campus throughout the upcoming semester. “We want to focus on outreach, emphasizing on areas of student life like student health,” Bulovsky said. “We just want to really focus on letting students know what opportunities are available to them. ASM is there to help provide them and help students know where they are and how they can actually utilize the services that they have for them on campus.”
Unemployment Jan 2012
WI 6.9
National 8.3
February
6.9
8.3
March
6.8
8.2
April
6.7
8.1
May
6.8
8.2
June
7
8.2
July
7.3
8.2
August
7.5
8.1
September
6.9
7.8
October
6.6
7.9
November
6.6
7.8
December 2012
6.6
7.8
State figures indicate increase of 4,500 last month, federal report says state ranks 42nd on issue Polo Rocha Senior Legislative Editor About two weeks after a report ranked Wisconsin the 42nd worst state in private sector job creation, monthly jobs data found Wisconsin gained 4,500 private sector jobs in December 2012. The total number of jobs gained in December, however, was 1,300 jobs. The 4,500 private sector jobs gained was offset by 3,200 government jobs lost. The monthly report — which comes from a survey of 3.5 percent of the state’s employers — is often revised significantly. November’s total job gains estimate of 10,600, for example, was revised down to 6,300 in this monthly report. A quarterly report is also available, though it comes with a significant time lag. This report is formed from a survey of about 95 percent of the state’s employers and is studied in yearlong spans. The latest quarterly data, which the federal government released earlier this month, showed the state’s job growth was the
42nd worst in the nation from June 2011 to June 2012, down from 37th worst in the previous quarter. The state fared much better in manufacturing, though, with the 20th best manufacturing job growth in the country, according to the data. Democrats used both reports, particularly the quarterly figures, to criticize Gov. Scott Walker’s performance in job creation. Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate said the reports show Walker’s performance is not “good enough” to meet his campaign promise of 250,000 private sector jobs by the end of his term. Walker’s supporters, however, countered such claims, including the business group Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce. Jim Pugh, WMC’s spokesperson, characterized Walker as one of the most pro-jobs governors in the country, calling his reforms “nothing short of historic.” Pugh said Wisconsin’s contentious political
climate, which saw an unprecedented number of recall elections and brought economic uncertainty to the state, is beginning to fade. As a positive sign of a
“We’re positioned for growth because we have such a large manufacturing sector in the state.” Jim Pugh WMC spokesperson
recovery, he pointed to the state’s 6.6 percent unemployment rate, which is lower than the national rate of 7.8 percent. He also said the state has climbed closer to the top in a number of rankings on which state is the most business-friendly. “We’re positioned for growth because we have such a large manufacturing sector in the state,” Pugh said. “When manufacturing comes back, it’s going to
come roaring back.” Laura Dresser, associate director of the liberalleaning Center on Wisconsin Strategy, said while she does not believe the governor has much control over the economy, Walker has made that a measuring tool. “If [he wants] to be judged on that, then the only grade you can give the governor is a bad one,” Dresser said, adding the state must have multiple positive jobs reports to change the poor quarterly numbers. While Walker and Pugh’s group are pushing for income tax cuts — especially because most small business owners file as individuals — Dresser said there are more effective methods to stimulate the state’s economy. Among those methods are keeping the state’s unemployment insurance program strong. Dresser said beneficiaries spend that money in the state, contrasting to upper-income people who are more likely to save or spend their tax cut outside the state.
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Man arrested at Capitol for alleged bomb threats Suspect jailed after posting warning on Facebook, accused of weapon possession Polo Rocha Senior Legislative Editor A Milwaukee man is in jail after allegedly making online threats against the Capitol and showing up to the building with what he allegedly said was a Molotov cocktail. Kvon Smith, 20, faces a number of charges and is in a Dane County jail, according to Dane County Deputy District Attorney Chris Freeman. The charges include carrying a concealed weapon and attempting to possess Molotov cocktails. One of the charges could transform into a possessing Molotov cocktails charge once crime lab data comes back on what the materials inside the bottles were, Freeman said. Capitol Police arrested Smith in the Capitol rotunda last Tuesday after the department posted officers at all entrances looking for him. “A tragedy was avoided, and our Capitol remains safe because of the actions of our officers yesterday,” Department Of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch said in a statement the day after the
arrest. Smith posted a video on his Facebook early Tuesday with five alcohol bottles on a counter. A male voice in the video said the bottles were Molotov cocktails he intended to use in the Capitol that day, the same day as the State of the State address. Capitol Police received word of the potential threat and called a number of law enforcement agencies for help, DOA spokeswoman Stephanie Marquis said. The additional help came on top of the already larger police presence in preparation for Gov. Scott Walker’s speech that night. After officers recognized Smith at an entrance, they arrested him in the rotunda, where he allegedly said he was carrying a Molotov cocktail in his backpack. Officers then examined the backpack’s contents in a Dane County bomb squad truck. In the video Smith posted online, the voice said he would use what he described as Molotov cocktails that day. “We’ll see what they have to say when I bring it to the Capitol,” the man said in the video. “If they want peace, they bring it to Milwaukee. If they want peace, I want my money … and justice. … Because I sued the shit out of them.” Dane County court records
show in mid-December, Smith’s sister called police to talk to her brother since he was “not right in his mind.” Smith then allegedly resisted an officer. When he was released, Smith said he was missing his cellphone, and when police told him he never had it in jail, he allegedly hurt an officer. Smith then filed a federal lawsuit Dec. 26 against the state’s elections agency, the Dane County Sheriff’s Office and the Badgers football team. In his complaint, Smith said they conspired to commit bankruptcy and violated privacy and civil rights laws. After talking to Smith’s family, the Wisconsin State Journal reported Smith is schizophrenic and recently stopped taking his medication. Marquis said Capitol Police detained one other man who matched multiple characteristics of Smith’s description, including that he carried a bag. Madison Area Technical College student Colin Bowden, 25, said he was handcuffed in the rotunda. Bowden said based off the mugshot, he does not look like Smith. Marquis emphasized Bowden matched the description and that this was a “very real threat.” She added the officers followed protocol Jen Small The Badger Herald and did an “amazing job” ensuring the Capitol was safe. Members of Dane County law enforcement surround the Capitol. Police arrested a man in the rotunda after he had allegedly said he had a Molotov cocktail.
Final suspect named in Ball battery Sarah Eucalano City Hall Editor The fourth and final suspect in the summer battery against University of Wisconsin football running back Montee Ball has been identified. Joel DeSpain, Madison Police Department spokesperson, said 27-yearold Karlis Griffin remains at large. He said the lead detective on the case is still trying to locate Griffin and is seeking any assistance to try to locate him. Four men attacked Ball on the 500 block of University Avenue the morning of Aug. 1 where he sustained head injuries that caused him to be hospitalized. Griffin has contacts in Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago, DeSpain said. He said the four men’s motivation to attack Ball led
back to an incident that had occurred at a house party earlier in the summer, the night of July 27. According to the MPD statement, UW students and members of the UW football team attended the party. Ball attended the party, but was not part of a large fight that happened there, the statement said. “[The battery was] revenge for what took place a couple of weeks earlier,” DeSpain said. “One of the suspects got into an altercation at a party.” According to the statement, five suspects had attacked Ball. DeSpain said the eyewitnesses of the attack had incorrectly identified five attackers, and only four people had participated in the attack. The other three attackers have been identified as Wendell Venerable, Deonte
Wilson and Robert Wilks, according to the statement. All of them were 21 years old and UW students at the time of the attack, DeSpain said. The three men were each charged with substantial battery-party to a crime. Venerable and Wilks have both been placed in the First Offenders Program, which is run by the Dane County District Attorney’s Office, Assistant District Attorney Michael Finley said. The First Offenders Program is a customized program for young first offenders, and often includes community service and other proponents, Finley said. Finley said Deonte Wilson will most likely be put in the First Offenders Program also. On Jan. 10, Wilson gave the detectives a statement about what had happened. “[Deonte Wilson] had been cooperative with them
about what had happened,” Finley said. Wilson was charged with substantial battery and was probably the least involved in the attack, Finley said. He had his plea hearing Jan. 18, DeSpain said. There are still warrants out for Griffin’s arrest, Finley said. According to a Wisconsin Court System Circuit Court statement, Griffin has been charged for breaking the law in Dane County in the past. Griffin has been found guilty of substantial batteryintend bodily harm, a felony which was filed in 2009, and disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor filed in 2011. Ball played for the Badgers for four seasons and, along with holding a record for rushing touchdowns, has made a touchdown in three consecutive Rose Bowls for the Badgers.
Recess crimes hit downtown STATE STREET: Weapons violation Madison resident Quincy Franklin was arrested for disorderly conduct while armed at Michelangelo’s coffee shop the morning of Jan. 13, according to a Madison Police Department statement. Franklin was having stomach problems and stopped at the coffee shop to use the restroom, the statement said. After occupying the bathroom for an extended period of time, one of Michelangelo’s workers knocked on the door and asked him to leave. Franklin exited the bathroom holding a knife and swearing, according to the statement. He then left the coffee shop, but appeared to have intentions of reentering, which led a worker to go outside and stop him. The statement said Franklin approached the worker with his knife, who then punched Franklin and took him to the ground. The worker’s thumb was cut in the process, it said. The suspect wanted the MPD to arrest the employee for attacking
him, according to the statement. Police believe Franklin’s version of events is false and want him banned from State Street, the statement said. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said he thought intoxication or mental health issues could have contributed to the suspect’s behavior. “The incident was bizarre in that this sort of attack doesn’t occur with any frequency,” he said. “I’m relieved that the injuries were minor because they potentially could have been more serious.” NORTH BASSETT STREET: Battery A 28-year-old Madison man was the victim of battery on the 300 block of North Bassett Street on Jan. 12, according to an MPD statement. A group of four or five attackers, some of whom the victim knew, knocked him to the ground, it said. The victim was taken to the emergency room. A friend was punched after intervening in the fight, but did not need medical treatment,
the statement said. Verveer said MPD likely found out about the battery because it is protocol for the hospital staff to notify the authorities if a patient appears to be a victim of a crime. “It’s important for downtown residents not to be overly alarmed about [the] incident because it was not a random act of violence,” Verveer said. “It was a targeted attack based on a dispute between the suspect and the victims.” WILLIAMSON STREET: Battery According to an MPD statement, 20-year-old Jeremias Robertson was arrested after throwing a Portage man off the deck of Plan B, a dance club, and knocking the victim unconscious. The attack took place on the morning of Jan. 12 after the victim refused to give Robertson a cigarette, the statement said. The man was taken to the hospital to treat his head injury. The statement said a woman also tried to intervene, but was thrown down the stairs. She did
not need to be hospitalized. UNIVERSITY AVENUE: Hit and Run Update A 20-year-old male was hit by a car while crossing the 600 block of University Avenue with his friends in the early morning of Dec. 30, according to an MPD statement. The driver of the car, Paul Magnuson from Sun Prairie, drove away from the crash without stopping or helping the victim. Magnuson arrived at the MPD station with his attorney Jan. 3, where he confessed to hitting the victim with his car, the statement said. It said police arrested Magnuson and charged him with failure to render aid at the scene of the crash. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said by the time Magnuson turned himself in, it was too late to see if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash. “I’m relieved that the victim was not in a lifethreatening situation,” Verveer said. “The victim was released from the hospital. I’m relieved he was not more seriously injured.”
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UW System salaries 18 percent below average Noah Goetzel Higher Education Editor University of Wisconsin System faculty are earning 18 percent less pay than the national college and university average, UW System President Kevin Reilly revealed to the Board of Regents in December. The lower salaries, UW System spokesperson David Giroux said, are creating an environment that limits the System’s ability to compete on a national scale. “These salaries have been lagging for some time, and we believe those lowerthan-average salaries are beginning to have an adverse effect on our ability to hire and keep talented professors in our labs and classrooms,” Giroux said. A detailed comparison by the UW System shows professors from the UW schools, excluding the Madison and Milwaukee campuses, are each year earning $19,300 less than professors at 31 peer colleges and universities in the area of about the same size.
The same data shows professors at other top state universities have salary averages of $28,200 higher than UW professors. UWMilwaukee ranks number 14 out of 15 peer universities in average professor salary. “If you start to look at those gaps, they’re pretty substantial,” Giroux said. “We’re paying less for our faculty than people are paying at competing colleges and universities, and we are indeed competing.” The figures from this data are averages of averages and therefore may not necessarily be the best indicator, Giroux said. Despite the facts indicating UW System faculty compensation is below average, Giroux said Wisconsin’s financial condition remains in a “fragile” state. The UW System cannot count on a significant inflow of money from the state just because it wants or needs it, Giroux said. “Our reputation is our saving grace right now,” Giroux said. “A lot of professors want to come work
at a UW institution because of the UW name.” Rep. Stephen Nass, R– Whitewater, chairs the state’s Assembly Colleges and Universities Committee. His spokesperson, Mike Mikalsen, said there will be new funds available in Gov. Scott Walker’s next biennial budget and the governor has publically indicated he will be supporting the UW System. Yet the area of faculty pay increases remains unknown, Mikalsen said.
“I think most people at the state level can agree there are some issues with regards to faculty payment not being where we would like it to be,” Mikalsen said, identifying campuses outside of Madison and Milwaukee as the biggest holes in UW’s faculty compensative system. “But the reality is: Do we have the ability to raise those funds? The answer is no.” The biggest obstacles in the budget preventing increased funding to the UW System
include K-12 education and the state’s medical assistance trust fund, Mikalsen said. Mikalsen said the UW System’s claim regarding an 18 percent salary gap is slightly “misleading” because the data fails to weigh Wisconsin’s faculty pensions — which he called one of the best in the country — and health care benefits in the comparisons. The problem with being unable to recruit or retain top-notch faculty may be overportrayed, Mikalsen added.
The state has been providing the UW System with star faculty dollars, which are additional funds to keep the best faculty within the System and also to recruit new star faculty, he said. “I support that there has to be a pay increase, but I don’t think you can do it all at once,” Board of Regents President Brent Smith said. “It’s going to be maybe a slow comeback, but we’ve got to start the process. We hope that it can start with the year ahead here.”
Courtesy of University of Wisconsin
Downtown housing boom advanced with approval Sarah Eucalano City Hall Editor A proposal for a new student-oriented apartment building received final approval from the City Council Jan. 8, continuing the yearsold housing development boom in Madison. The 12-story building will be located on the 300 block of North Frances Street and is one of the many building projects expected to be built in downtown Madison in the next several years. Other large projects include five-
story apartment buildings, which will be located on Park Street, Drake Street and Bassett Street. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said many changes and modifications were made to the Frances Street building’s design before it received final approval. “I was critical of original design particularly because of the lack of windows,” Verveer said. “That problem went away when they redesigned the building.” Scaling back the building is another change the building faced, which gave
more room to the alley in back of the building and to the sidewalk and pedestrians, Verveer said. He said the living rooms and common areas have changed, along with an increase in closet space. Developers also added green space with a green roof made of shrubs and trees. The modifications also included providing larger units with more amenities, such as a trash and recycling shoot, he said. “The amount of space for the tenants improved in a very positive way,” Verveer
friday, january 25th 3:00pm monday, january 28th 7:00pm Join the Herald staff for a meet and greet! All majors welcome and no experience is needed. 326 W. Gorham above Silvermine Subs
said. Verveer said the developer drafted a management plan to address the city’s concerns. He said it became part of the city’s approval of how the owners would manage the building. Scott Faust, the owner of Boardwalk Investments, LLC., and the project’s developer, said concerns were addressed by adding more moped parking and lowering the density. He said the first floor of the building is commercial space and there will be an outdoor area in front of the building.
The two houses currently located at the site of the future apartment complex need to be redeveloped, Faust said. “It’s a definite improvement and a neat building,” Faust said of the approved project. The construction of the new apartment building will begin this summer, Verveer said. Faust said many factors contribute to the recent increase in housing development in the downtown area, such as low vacancy and interest rates. The newest downtown
apartment buildings plan to cater to Epic employees, the employees of two nearby hospitals and retirees, Ald. Sue Ellingson, District 13, said. She said it usually takes a year for projects of this size to be built. More people living in the city will increase the tax base and will help support shops and restaurants, she said. “Increasing density is a good thing because it gets more people living closer to the city, so then they can bus, bike or walk to school or work and don’t have to take a car,” Ellingson said.
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The Badger Herald | News | Spring 2013 Registration Issue
election PREVIEW Candidates prepare to secure city alder positions
As primary nears, contenders speak on district issues Allison Johnson City Life Editor As the primary election for City Council representatives approaches, the candidates for the 2013-2015 session of Madison’s governing body have solidified their spots on the ballot and begun to address the issues most important to them. District 8 has already seen some controversy with the aldermanic race. The downtown district’s current representative, Ald. Scott Resnick, had his nomination signatures contested by his opponent, Christian Hansen. Hansen claimed the dates on some of the petition’s signatures were unclear. The city clerk rejected
students and supporting a ban on the purchase and use of police surveillance drones. In District 2, which includes parts of downtown, current Ald. Bridget Maniaci is headed to graduate school after two terms serving on the City Council. Her seat is open to any of the three candidates running to replace her: Ledell Zellers, Bryan Post and Dennis DeNure. Post said his platform is mainly centered on issues of smart development, traffic and safety. “I believe we need to develop East Washington and the surrounding lots in a sensible way that will create a vibrant, environmentally friendly and diverse area,” Post said. Maniaci said she has chosen to endorse Post because of his background as a 2008 UW graduate. Maniaci said Post understands what it means to be a UW student
the challenge and Resnick remained on the ballot. Resnick said it represents the first time in city history that a practice typically used in partisan politics was employed in a City Council race. After the controversy had subsided, Resnick secured the endorsements of 18 of the other 19 current alders—an unprecedented number. Resnick said he is focusing on two major issues in his campaign — housing and campus safety. He said he wants to make sure campus is a safe place for entertainment purposes and for students to walk home at night. District 8 is predominantly a student district that encompasses much of the University of Wisconsin campus. Hansen, a former University of WisconsinLaCrosse student, said he is running on engaging homelessness, supporting affordable housing for
was doing a decent job for his constituents. District 4 encompasses much of the off-campus housing students frequent, including the highrise stretch on University Avenue and West Gorham Street, and much of the Mifflin neighborhood. Verveer said he plans to focus his upcoming term on managing growth and new development, public safety and transportation as they relate to the downtown area. City Council President Shiva Bidar-Sielaff, District 5, said she plans to continue to work with the university concerning issues on football game days and issues that happen in the neighborhood as result of football games. “I am delighted to be running again and to represent the district once again,” Bidar-Sielaff said. Three candidates are vying for a spot on the City Council in District 13. Current
and to be in Madison as a young adult trying to work and be successful in the city. Zellers was one of the most vocal opponents of the Edgewater Hotel redevelopment proposal, Maniaci’s most prominent and controversial position during her two terms. Zellers said she is supporting the growth and development of local businesses, public safety and maintaining the quality of the downtown area. Her platform highlights making sure the right development occurs in the right places and that any new proposals for development will add to the positive elements of the district, Zellers said. In Districts 4 and 5, both candidates face no opposition in their bids for reelection. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, has served on City Council since 1995. Verveer said he would not be seeking another term if he did not think he
Ald. Sue Ellingson said the key pillars of her campaign are effective government, a vibrant community and a sound environment. She highlighted the importance of guiding new development and working to keep young families in the city. Edgewood College student Zach Madden said he is challenging Ellingson to advocate for issues concerning the environment, such as lake pollution and community gardening, as well as parking and transit issues. According to his campaign page, UW student Damon Terrell is hoping that as an alder, he can encourage community participation in governance and community development. The aldermanic primary election will be held Feb. 9. After the primary filters the races down to two candidates, voters will choose their alders in the April general election.
Madison Aldermanic District Map District 2 Ledell Zellers Bryan Post Dennis DeNure
District 4 Lake Mendota
Incumbent Mike Verveer 2 Lake Monona
8
District 5 Incumbent Shiva BidarSielaff
District 8
4
5
Incumbent Scott Resnick opponent Christian Hansen
13
District 13 Incumbent Sue Ellington Zach Madden Damon Terrell
Three vie for Supreme Court spot Alice Coyne State Politics Editor Three candidates will face off in February for a 10-year term at the Wisconsin Supreme Court, with two of them challenging incumbent Justice Patience Roggensack. Ed Fallone, a law professor at Marquette University, and Vince Megna, a Lemon Law attorney, have submitted nomination signatures and announced their decision to challenge Roggensack in this year’s Supreme Court race. Roggensack’s campaign advisor Brandon Scholz said she is the most experienced candidate in the race, as she has served on the courts for 17 years, including 10 years in the Supreme Court and two terms on the Court of
Appeals. Seven justices make up the state’s Supreme Court. Roggensack’s strength, Sholz said, is her extensive experience, especially at the appellate level. “The job of the Supreme Court is essentially to judge the judges,” Sholz said. “So it’s important to have experience in this race.” Fallone pointed to what he described as a divided court and said experience on the court is not desired, but rather it is the problem. “Reelecting someone already part of the division is not going to solve the problem,” he said. “As someone who is not part of any faction, my election will help to break those divisions.” Both Fallone and Megna signed petitions to recall Gov. Scott Walker. Fallone said nothing in judicial codes says
judges cannot sign a recall petition, and he added his stance will not result in recusal from participating in cases pertaining to Walker. Megna said he is much different from Fallone and Roggensack because he has always represented individuals. “For 23 years, I’ve represented the average people in the state of Wisocnsin with their consumer problems,” Megna said. “Nobody on the court has a perspective in dealing with just people.” Megna said he would bring a new perspective to the Supreme Court and would focus on making the Supreme Court more transparent and relevant. He said most people “don’t have a clue” lue” about the Supreme Court’s actions and said d the court needs to do a better etter job of reaching out to people, and
Incumbent Justice Ed Fallone, Marquette Patience Roggensack University law rofessor
if elected, his “door is going to be open.” David Canon, a political science professor at University of Wisconsin, said although these sorts of races are technically nonpartisan, they end up being openly partisan anyway. The last Supreme Court race, which came at the height of the 2011 protests against Walker’s collective bargaining act, was divided and partisan and saw large amounts of funding, he said. “These races are only non-partisan in their label, not in their actual conduct,” Canon said. “[This race] is one of the more extreme examples of partisanship in Supreme Court races.” The primary between all three will be held Feb. 13, and two candidates will move forward to the general election that will take place April 2.
Vince Megna, a lemon law attorney
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UW lecturer reflects on years as monk in India Julia Van Susteren Herald Contributor No two paths leading Badgers to the University of Wisconsin are exactly the same, and for UW faculty member Jampa Khedup, the journey to Madison began when he decided to start a new chapter of his life after spending 20 years as a monk in India. After his years at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery, Khedup is now an associate lecturer at UW and has taught modern Tibetan language in the Department of Languages and Cultures of Asia since 2005. In 1959, Khedup’s parents left Tibet in the midst of the Dalai Lama’s escape from Chinese military forces. Trudging through the frozen desert of the Tibetan steppe, refugees wishing to escape must cross the Himalayan Mountains, an almostimpossible feat of will and endurance. After his mother and father settled in India, Khedup was born in Mysore in the southern part of the country.
Unlike his parents and members of his community, he had fewer difficulties with becoming a member of Indian society than most of the Tibetan refugees in his area. “It was not as difficult to me compared to those who came from Tibet,” Khedup said. “Especially in the Eastern part of India, people suffered a lot and got sick.” When Khedup was 8 years old, he was enrolled into St. John’s High School in Bangalore City. As a child, he was as ambitious as many of his schoolmates, with dreams about becoming a businessman or being in a position of importance where he could distribute resources to Tibetan refugees. However, his parents had different plans for him. Among Tibetan Buddhists, as a gesture of gratitude, it is a traditional practice that a family of multiple sons would send one to a monastery. “It is a source of pride,” Khedup said. “Since our family has five brothers, they decided to send one to the monastery. And I was the one
they chose. In the beginning, I was not happy, but I was too young to go against my parents’ wishes.” His life as a monk in training was very different from the daily stresses of being a schoolboy in India or the difficulties of teaching a classroom of students in Madison. Khedup said his daily routine consisted of getting up early to go to congregation, which was followed by tea and bread. Members of the monastery would then spend a great deal of the day focusing on memorization and recitation of scripture. “The majority of the time we spent on memorization and meditation, recitation and then philosophy and debate class. Even today, I could go for hours and hours reciting all the scriptures,” he said. While Khedup missed his friends and family as he grew in the monastery, he enjoyed certain aspects of the monastic life. “The people are calm and peaceful and laid-back;
there’s no rush in anything,” he said. “There’s no rush in the monastery to get trivial things done. The environment itself is very soothing, very unlike the Western world.” Though growing up in a monastery is a far cry from the experiences of most, monks are required to participate in the work many people can identify with in the traditional sense, including cooking for the entire community. In addition to their spiritual focus, monks at Khedup’s monastery had to do manual labor to keep their order running smoothly, including working in the government-sanctioned fields to harvest crops. By the time he reached adulthood, Khedup gave up on the idea of returning to his former life and decided instead to focus on studying. He graduated from Sera Monastic University and obtained his Geshe degree in 1997, a PhD in Buddhist philosophy. Aside from fostering his interest in Buddhism and its philosophy, Khedup
attributes his time at the monastery in allowing him to choose the career path that brought him to UW. Fellow monastery member Geshe Thabkey became Khedup’s continuing source of counsel and guidance even after Khedup left the monastic order. “The way he looked after me was really extraordinary. He took care of my spirit,” Khedup said. “Your teacher does more than simply teach you. They are like your parent, guardian, friend and counselor. He is your everything.” Wanting to assist Thabkey in the United States, Khedup came to Deer Park Buddhist Center in Oregon, Wis. in 1998. During his stay at the center, he taught lectures on Buddhism in local schools and community organizations. While Khedup intended his time in the U.S. to be short, he found a passion for teaching and education and a sector of the population that he believed he could help. After spending time in the U.S., Khedup realized he wanted to help Tibetans
in Madison more than he wanted to continue his life as a monk. Khedup now contributes to the local Tibetan community by teaching the Tibetan language at a local school every weekend. “Being a monk is not as important as being a good person,” he said. “What is important is not whether I am a good Buddhist, but whether I am a good person. You have to be one to become the other.” Although Khedup has established himself as a community leader in Madison and has little regret about leaving the monastery, he said he hopes to one day visit Tibet to experience the roots of his teachings. Tibet currently remains under China’s control and foreign visitors are closely monitored. Still, Khedup has hopes one day he will be able to see the holy city Lhasa. “People often say that when you are born outside Tibet and you step on the soil, the land of your ancestors, it’s an emotional thing,” Khedup said.
Obama takes oath at White House Sunday David Espo Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama was sworn in for four more years Sunday in a simple ceremony at the White House, embarking on a second-term quest to restore a still-shaky economy and combat terrorists overseas while swearing an ageold oath to “preserve, protect and defend” the Constitution. “I did it,” a smiling president said to his daughter Sasha seconds after following Chief Justice John Roberts in reciting the oath of office. First lady Michelle Obama and the couple’s other daughter, Malia, were among relatives who bore witness. The quiet moments were prelude to Monday’s public inaugural events, when Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will be sworn in on the steps of the U.S. Capitol before a crowd expected to reach into the hundreds of thousands and a television audience counted in the millions. The trappings were in place — the flag-draped stands ready outside the Capitol and the tables set
LEGISLATURE, from A1 Income tax cuts Walker touted Wisconsin’s budget surplus in his State of the State speech — a figure that serves as an impetus for income tax cuts he and other Republicans have pushed. “I believe that putting more money in the hands of the people — instead of the government — is good for the economy,” Walker said in his address. The National Federation of Independent Business supports such an approach. Bill Smith, Wisconsin state director of NFIB, said the vast majority of the state’s employers file as individuals. As a result, he said, the tax cut would have a dual impact: cutting employers’ taxes as well as employees’ taxes. Andrew Reschovsky, a University of Wisconsin professor who is an expert in state spending and taxation, said the tax cut would stimulate the economy by increasing consumer spending and fostering employment. He added, however, the state must consider that some of that money may not be spent in Wisconsin. Senate Minority Leader Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, said in an interview with The Badger Herald that Republicans must “reprioritize in the things that Wisconsin actually values.” Larson said that would
inside for a traditional lunch with lawmakers. Across town, a specially made reviewing stand rested outside the White House gates for the president and guests to watch the traditional parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. A crowd of perhaps 800,000 was forecast, less than the million-plus that thronged to the nation’s capital four years ago to witness the inauguration of the first black president in American history. The weather forecast was encouraging, to a point. High temperatures were predicted for the lower 40s during the day, with scattered snow showers during the evening, when two inaugural balls close out the official proceedings. The 44th chief executive is only the 17th to win reelection, and his secondterm goals are ambitious for a country where sharp political differences have produced gridlocked government in recent years. Restoration of the economy to full strength and pressing the worldwide campaign against terrorists sit atop the agenda. He also wants to reduce federal deficits and win immigration and gun control legislation
include restoring the more than $1 billion in funding Walker cut from education in the last biennial budget, rather than giving tax cuts to individuals making more than $200,000. Jobs In his State of the State speech, Walker reminded Wisconsinites of his promise to create 250,000 private sector jobs by the end of his term. However, a number of reports have shown the state is far from meeting that promise. A recent PolitiFact analysis estimated job creation so far to be just under 40,000, and federal jobs data showed Wisconsin was 42nd in the nation in job creation from June 2011 to June 2012. The most recent monthly data showed Wisconsin added 4,500 private sector jobs in December. However, with 3,200 job losses in the public sector, the total jobs gained last month added up to 1,300. Among the policies that Republicans will push to create jobs is income tax cuts. Walker hinted to some other job creation measures in his speech, among them a venture capital bill and reducing regulations. But Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, said Walker’s speech was not a “candid assessment” of the state’s job market, citing the report that showed Wisconsin as 42nd in job creation.
from Congress, where Republicans control the House At a reception Sunday night, Obama told supporters the inauguration is a celebration of “this incredible nation that we call home,” not the election results. “Let’s make sure to work as hard as we can to pass on an America that is worthy not only of our past but also of our future,” he said. If Obama needed a reminder of the challenges he faces, he got one from half-way around the globe. An Algerian security official disclosed the discovery of 25 additional bodies at a gas plant where radical Islamists last week took dozens of foreign workers hostage. In Washington, tourists strolled leisurely on an unseasonably warm day. “I’m very proud of him and what he’s trying to do for immigration, women’s rights, what they call ‘Obamacare,’ and concerns for the middle class,” said Patricia Merritt, a retired educator from San Antonio, in town with her daughter and granddaughter to see the inauguration and parade as well as historic sites. “I think he’s more disrespected than any other president,” she added,
Barca is charging Walker and Republicans with not having a “sense of urgency” on job creation, which he said should be the top priority, along with the “lagging” incomes for the middle class. “No more broken promises, no more glossing over real problems,” Barca said. “And I agree with the governor in one respect: No more excuses.” Mining The last Legislative session ended with a failed push for a mining bill, which fell flat when one Republican senator crossed lines and voted against it because of environmental concerns. Last week, Republicans introduced a new version of the mining bill, which many legislators say is similar to the last one. With the Republicans now having an 18-15 majority in the Senate, it is more likely to pass. “This bill has more transparency — more input — from any faction of government, industry and business than any piece of legislation I’ve seen,” Rep. Mark Honadel, R-South Milwaukee, said. Rep. Janet Bewley, D-Ashland, said she thinks the bill still diminishes environmental standards through the permit process and limits citizens’ participation. “It weakens the ability of the people of the state to determine their own quality of life,” Bewley said.
Associated Press
President Barack Obama is sworn in for four more years in office Sunday afternoon. He said “I did it” to his daughter Sasha just after he recited his oath. Obama now looks to restore the economy, reduce federal deficits and pass gun control legislation. referring to his critics. Sean Payton, an operations analyst from Highland Ranch, Colo., said he hoped to hear “a nice eloquent speech that makes people feel good about being an American.” Republicans lent a touch
of bipartisanship to the weekend. “We always want any president to succeed, to do well, that means America does well and Americans do well,” Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Obama took the oath in the White House Blue Room where portraits of Presidents John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and John Tyler grace the walls. He placed a hand on a Bible held by his wife. His daughters stood nearby.
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Sick leave under scrutiny as severe flu season hits U.S. Jennifer Peltz Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Sniffling, groggy and afraid she had caught the flu, Diana Zavala dragged herself in to work anyway for a day she felt she couldn’t afford to miss. A school speech therapist who works as an independent contractor, she doesn’t have paid sick days. So the mother of two reported to work and hoped for the best — and was aching, shivering and coughing by the end of the day. She stayed home the next day, then loaded up on medicine and returned to work. “It’s a balancing act” between physical health and financial well-being, she said. An unusually early and vigorous flu season is drawing attention to a cause that has scored victories but also hit roadblocks in recent years: mandatory paid sick leave for the 40 percent of American private-sector workers — more than 40 million people — who don’t
have it. Supporters and opponents are particularly watching New York City, where lawmakers are weighing a sick leave proposal amid a competitive mayoral race. Pointing to a flu outbreak that the governor has called a public health emergency, dozens of doctors, nurses, lawmakers and activists — some in surgical masks — rallied Friday on the City Hall steps to call for passage of the measure, which has awaited a City Council vote for nearly three years. Two likely mayoral contenders have also pressed the point. The flu spike is making people more aware of the argument for sick pay, said Ellen Bravo, executive director of Family Values at Work, which promotes paid sick time initiatives around the country. “There’s people who say, ‘OK, I get it — you don’t want your server coughing on your food,’” she said. Advocates have cast paid sick time as both a workforce issue akin to parental leave and “living wage” laws, and a
public health priority. But to some business owners, paid sick leave is an impractical and unfair burden for small operations. Critics also say the timing is bad, given the choppy economy and the hardships inflicted by Superstorm Sandy. Michael Sinesky, an owner of seven bars and restaurants around the city, was against the sick time proposal before Sandy. And after the storm shut down four of his restaurants for days or weeks, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars that his insurers have yet to pay, “we’re in survival mode.” “We’re at the point, right now, where we cannot afford additional social initiatives,” said Sinesky, whose roughly 500 employees switch shifts if they can’t work, an arrangement that some restaurateurs say benefits workers because paid sick time wouldn’t include tips. Employees without sick days are more likely to go to work with a contagious illness, send an ill child to school or day care and use
hospital emergency rooms for care, according to a 2010 survey by the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center. A 2011 study in the American Journal of Public Health estimated that a lack of sick time helped spread 5 million cases of flu-like illness during the 2009 swine flu outbreak. To be sure, many employees entitled to sick time go to work ill anyway, out of dedication or at least a desire to project it. But the work-through-it ethic is shifting somewhat amid growing awareness about spreading sickness. “Right now, where companies’ incentives lie is butting right up against this concern over people coming into the workplace, infecting others and bringing productivity of a whole company down,” said John A. Challenger, CEO of employer consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Paid sick day requirements are often popular in polls, but only four places have them: San Francisco, Seattle,
Washington, D.C., and the state of Connecticut. The specific provisions vary. Milwaukee voters approved a sick time requirement in 2008, but the state Legislature passed a law blocking it. Philadelphia’s mayor vetoed a sick leave measure in 2011; lawmakers have since instituted a sick time requirement for businesses with city contracts. Voters rejected a paid sick day measure in Denver in 2011. In New York, City Councilwoman Gale Brewer’s proposal would require up to five paid sick days a year at businesses with at least five employees. It wouldn’t include independent contractors, such as Zavala, who supports the idea nonetheless. The idea boasts such supporters as feminist Gloria Steinem and “Sex and the City” actress Cynthia Nixon, as well as a majority of City Council members and a coalition of unions, women’s groups and public health advocates. But it also faces influential opponents,
including business groups, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has virtually complete control over what matters come to a vote. Quinn, who is expected to run for mayor, said she considers paid sick leave a worthy goal but doesn’t think it would be wise to implement it in a sluggish economy. Two of her likely opponents, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio and Comptroller John Liu, have reiterated calls for paid sick leave in light of the flu season. While the debate plays out, Emilio Palaguachi is recovering from the flu and looking for a job. The father of four was abruptly fired without explanation earlier this month from his job at a deli after taking a day off to go to a doctor, he said. His former employer couldn’t be reached by telephone. “I needed work,” Palaguachi said after Friday’s City Hall rally, but “I needed to see the doctor because I’m sick.”
School funding addressed after state aid cuts Scott Bauer Associated Press MADISON, Wis. (AP) — While Gov. Scott Walker and Republican leaders rally behind an income tax cut, Democrats and at least one prominent Republican lawmaker are pushing for an increase in funding for schools after the largest state aid cut in Wisconsin history. The fight over how to spend any budget surplus is likely to be the central debate this year in the Legislature. Republicans have the votes to do whatever they want. And they are talking a lot about cutting taxes and not saying much of anything about putting more money into schools. Except for Republican Sen. Luther Olsen of Ripon. He is breaking with the pack, calling for a $100 million
increase in school aid the first year of the budget and another $200 million the second year. “I’m probably not going to get it but I can’t say nothing,” said Olsen, who is chairman of the Senate’s Education Committee and a member of the powerful budget-writing committee. “If you want something, you have to lay down a marker.” Olsen, in calling for more money for schools, has largely been a voice in the wilderness among Republicans. The conversation from the right has been centered more on finding ways to cut income taxes, which is the priority of both Walker and Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos. Vos said it was too early to know what the income tax cut would look like or how it would affect any increase in school aid. The Legislature
is expected to get a new estimate of where the state’s finances stand any day and Walker will use those updated figures in his budget that comes out next month. “I don’t know the appropriate way to increase money for education at this point until I see where we are,” Vos said. The two co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee, which writes the budget, declined to comment until the latest revenue estimates and Walker’s proposal are released. Walker did not talk about increasing money for school aid in his State of the State speech last week, while he highlighted his intent to push for a middle class income tax cut. Walker, along with the Republican-controlled Legislature, cut aid to public
schools by $800 million two years ago and also reduced how much schools can raise through a combination of state aid and property taxes. Revenue limits are perhaps the single largest factor affecting school budgets because they determine how much money a district will have to spend. Any changes, either up or down, can have a dramatic effect on a school’s bottom line. Under Walker’s first budget, the revenue limit was cut 5.5 percent in the first year, or about $550 per student. That marked the first time the revenue limit was ever reduced. It was allowed to go up just $50 in the second year of the budget, which runs through June 30. Walker cut revenue limits to prevent schools from increasing property taxes to make up for the loss in
school aid. Net property taxes levied in 2011 increased just 0.2 percent and they went up 0.9 percent in 2012. That compares with 4.3 percent and 2.6 percent increases the previous two years. In addition to the $300 million in school aid increase he is pushing, Olsen also wants to raise the revenue limit $200 per student. It is frozen under current law. Walker will face pressure to loosen those revenue limits, but he’s shown no sign that he will. “Gov. Walker will continue to protect property taxpayers,” his spokesman Cullen Werwie said. He wouldn’t reveal any details about what Walker will propose. Olsen said he was confident Walker would increase funding for schools, but the issue was whether it would be
a meaningful amount. Democratic leaders say they think taxes can be lowered along with significantly increasing aid to schools. “There clearly has to be an investment in our schools, there’s no question,” said Rep. Jon Richards, a Democrat from Milwaukee who is on the budget committee. “I don’t feel like tax cuts compete against education any more than corrections would compete against education or any other element of the budget,” said Democratic Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca. “As Democrats we feel like working class people have their wages stagnating or dropping. As a consequence they need some relief.” State Superintendent Tony Evers is also pushing for more money for schools.
Gun advocates counter Obama with rallies Will Weissert Associated Press AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Gun advocates — some with rifles slung across shoulders or pistols holstered at the hip — have rallied peacefully in state capitals nationwide against President Barack Obama’s sweeping federal gun-control proposals. Summoned via social media for the “Guns Across America” event, participants gathered Saturday for protests large and small against stricter limits sought on firearms. Only a few dozen turned out in South Dakota and a few hundred in Boise, Idaho. Some 2,000 turned out in New York and large crowds also rallied in Connecticut, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Washington state.
The rallies came on a day in which accidental shootings at gun shows in North Carolina, Indiana and Ohio left five people hurt. The wounded included two bystanders hit by shotgun pellets after a 12-gauge shotgun discharged at a show in Raleigh, N.C., as the owner unzipped its case for a law officer to check at a security entrance, authorities said. A retired deputy there also suffered a slight hand injury. About 800 people gathered for the “Guns Across America” event in Austin, Texas, as speakers took to the microphone under a giant Texas flag stamped with one word: “Independent.” “The thing that so angers me, and I think so angers you, is that this president is
using children as a human shield to advance a very liberal agenda that will do nothing to protect them,” said state Rep. Steve Toth, referencing last month’s elementary school massacre in Newtown, Conn. Obama recently announced the gun-control proposals in the wake of a Connecticut elementary school shooting that killed 20 first-graders and six educators last month. Toth, a first-term Republican lawmaker from The Woodlands outside Houston, has introduced legislation to ban within Texas any future federal limits on assault weapons or high-capacity magazines, though such a measure would violate the U.S. Constitution. In Arizona, Oregon and
Utah, some came with holstered handguns or rifles on their backs One man in Phoenix dressed as a Revolutionary War Minuteman, completing his outfit with an antique long rifle and a sign reading: “Tyrants Beware - 1776.” “We’re out here because this country has some very wise founding fathers and they knew they were being oppressed when they were a British colony,” said another man at the Phoenix rally, Eric Cashman. “Had they not had their firearms ... to stand up against the British, we’d still be a British colony.” Rallies at statehouses nationwide were organized by Eric Reed, an airline captain from the Houston area who in November started a group called “More Gun Control (equals) More
Megaupload founder starts new site Kristen Gelineau Associated Press
SYDNEY (AP) — Indicted Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom launched a new file-sharing website that promises users greater privacy and defies the U.S. prosecutors who accuse him of facilitating massive online piracy. The colorful entrepreneur unveiled the “Mega” site ahead of a lavish gala and news conference at his New Zealand mansion on Sunday night, the anniversary of his arrest on racketeering charges related to his nowshuttered Megaupload filesharing site. The site Dotcom started in 2005 was one of the most popular sites on the Web until U.S. prosecutors shut it down and accused him and several company officials of facilitating millions of illegal downloads. In Dotcom’s typical grandiose style, the launch
party featured a tongue-incheek re-enactment of the dramatic raid on his home a year earlier, when New Zealand police swooped down in helicopters onto the mansion grounds and nabbed him in a safe room where he was hiding. “Mega is going to be huge, and nothing will stop Mega — whoo!” a gleeful Dotcom bellowed from a giant stage set up in his yard, seconds before a helicopter roared overhead and faux police agents rappelled down the side of his mansion. Dotcom eventually ordered everyone to “stop this madness!” before breaking out into a dance alongside miniskirt-clad “guards” as music boomed. Bravado aside, interest in the site was certainly high. Dotcom said half a million users registered for Mega in its first 14 hours. U.S. authorities are trying to extradite the German-born Internet tycoon from New Zealand, where he is free on
bail. Prosecutors say Dotcom made tens of millions of dollars while filmmakers and songwriters lost around $500 million in copyright revenue. U.S. prosecutors declined to comment on the new site, referring only to a court document that cites several promises Dotcom made while seeking bail that he would not — and could not — start a Megaupload-style business until the criminal case was resolved. “I can assure the Court that I have no intention and there is no risk of my reactivating the Megaupload. com website or establishing a similar Internet-based business during the period until the resolution of the extradition proceedings,” Dotcom said in a Feb. 15, 2012, affidavit. Dotcom argues that he can’t be held responsible for copyright infringement committed by others and insists Megaupload complied with copyrights by removing
links to pirated material when asked. “Our company and assets were taken away from us without a hearing,” Dotcom said. “The privacy of our users was intruded on, communications were taken offline and free speech was attacked. Let me be clear to those who use copyright law as a weapon to drown innovation and stifle competition: You will be left on the side of the road of history.” Mega, like Megaupload, allows users to store and share large files. It offers 50 gigabytes of free storage, much more than similar sites such as Dropbox and Google Drive, and features a dragand-drop upload tool. The key difference is an encryption and decryption feature for data transfers that Dotcom says will protect him from the legal drama that has entangled Megaupload and threatened to put him behind bars.
Crime.” Its Facebook page has been “liked” by more than 17,000 people. At the New York state Capitol in Albany, about 2,000 people turned out for a chilly rally, where they chanted “We the People,” ‘’USA,” and “Freedom.” Many carried American flags and “Don’t Tread On Me” banners. The event took place four days after Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the nation’s toughest assault
weapon and magazine restrictions. In Connecticut, where task forces created by the Legislature and Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy are considering changes to gun laws, police said about 1,000 people showed up on the Capitol grounds. One demonstrator at the rally in Maine, Joe Getchell of Pittsfield, said every law-abiding citizen has a right to bear arms.
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