DNR Public Notices Legislation by Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Control and Prevention. get of the Milwaukee County illion for high informational speaker, Dr. Kelly not having policy in the budget,” “I have repeatedly said that Going without a helmet Board. It would also cut county w firms to work Hagenbuch, D,C,M,H, (Master state Sen. Rob Cowles, R-Allouez, state budgets are about priorities. (equals) freedom; requiring a hel- supervisors’ terms from four to oors devisingAmery Let’s make our 870,000 publicfrom Herbalist). Dr. Hagenbuch is an told the Milwaukee Journal Sen- Copy metoriginal (equals) totalitarianism. It is two years. Free Press 05/21/2013 Reduced to %d%% to fit letter page state legislative integrated herbalism practitioner tinel. “What happened to that school students the first priority.” a comfortingly black-and-white The Republican supporters of ny public input in Taylor’s Falls, MN. who earned promise?” His answer: “They pile way of looking at the world. It the bill are convinced the board ymander lines her Chiropractic degree in 1988 things into the budget so they can also bears no resemblance to the won’t tackle the problems itself, The public in- and practiced for 20 years, includ- hide them, and they don’t have to actual world we live in. therefore the need for the heavy art of the equa- ing extensive work with chronic take responsibility for their acIn the real world, there are hand. However, Milwaukee rats controlled illness. She has used her unique tion.” By The Associated Press real public costs to irresponsible County residents have the power ey would have methods with herbal medicine in One controversial policy item Don’t let DNR behavior. Ambulances, medical to do something — they can run ng. supporting chronic Lyme recov- in Walker’s budget would bar loskip public notice care, disability; all these things for county office or go to the votult of the 2011 ery since 2008. Dr. Hagenbuch cal governments and school disWisconsin State Journal, come from the public coffers. Ac- ing booth, preferably both. ess? None of suggests that there is no magic tricts from imposing residency May 13 cording to the CDC report, the The Assembly’s decision to dical districts can pill for sufferers, but herbal med- rules on their employees. This has Here we go again. estimated economic burden of tate how the county is run and to nsidered com- icine’s ability to address multiple been decried as a meddling attack On a cycle as regular as spring injuries and deaths from motor- centralize more of the power with in our state factors in the chemistry of the on local control and as political rains followed by summer hu- cycle-related crashes was $12 bil- one person runs counter to what s in 2012 only body and of the Lyme spirochetes payback to police and fire unions midity, we can count on some lion in 2010 alone — much more we expect in a democracy. e Senate elec- life cycle means that it should be in Milwaukee that have support- elected official or government if higher insurance rates and lost But the state isn’t stopping ive and in the included in the arsenal of meth- ed Walker. agency proposing bad ideas tax revenue are considered. there. It’s also intent on setting a ly 14 of the 99 ods to combat it. At a May 8 press conference in about public information. It’s not just a dollars and cents statewide residency requirement s fell into that Our Savior’s Lutheran Church the state Capitol organized by the This time, again, it’s the De- issue. We set safety standards and for municipal workers. The bigtricts were ut- is located at 217 Deronda Ave. League of Wisconsin Municipali- partment of Natural Resources, impose norms on all sorts of be- gest impact would be felt in Milive and were in Amery, across from the old ties, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Bar- trying to peddle in the state bud- havior, because it’s in the public’s waukee, where city and school mary instead of Amery Hospital. We welcome rett called the proposed change get another version of a tired idea interest to do so. Consider: We district workers must live within tions. anyone wanting to learn more “horrible public policy” that that was rebuffed in the 2011 leg- require drivers training and li- the city limits. rm the redis- about this potentially devastating could never pass as stand-alone islative session. censes. We set speed limits. We The Joint Finance Committee y adopting the disease. Thank you. legislation. The broad issue is about public prohibit driving while impaired has approved the residency rule has been using Sincerely, Another speaker, Beloit City notices of various government by alcohol or drugs. We don’t al- as part of Gov. Scott Walker’s , a non-partiAnn Krisik Manager Larry Arft, said local activity. In this case, the topic in low pedestrians to walk along in- 2013-15 budget bill. (It still needs ncy is charged Amery communities want to make sure question is the sale of timber land terstate highways. And, of course, to pass both the Assembly and congressional their employees are “sharing the in Wisconsin, and the DNR’s re- we mandate seat belts in cars. Senate.) e district lines destiny of the residents that are sponsibility to let the citizenry Do these things compromise Regardless of what you think without politipaying their salaries.” And Two know when and where such sales the freedom of an individual who about Milwaukee County or ressideration and Rivers City Manager Greg Buck- are to occur. might like to take a stroll along idency rules, the local municibility to draw By Bill Lueders ley said it’s a good to have municLast time around, the topic was the freeway or drive at 120 mph palities should be able to set their hat keep com- Wisconsin Center for ipal workers living nearby “when water regulations and oversight after a few beers? Yes, of course own policies and govern their est intact that Investigative Journalism the crap hits the fan or when it of the state’s navigable waters. they do, under a facile defini- own boards. Those municipalities Legislature can Some campaign promises build starts backing up in your base- Other like-minded attempts in tion of freedom as the right to do can then enforce their policies or o on the plan in a bit of wiggle room. The one ment.” the past involved the minutes of whatever you want all the time. grant exemptions as they see fit not change or made by candidate for governor The Joint Finance Commit- school board meetings, the votes They also help to ensure ev- on a case-by-case basis. eir own parti- Scott Walker to “Strip policy and tee, meeting the next day, large- taken, and wrong-headed at- eryone else’s freedom — like the That was what the city of Green e result is as- pork projects from the state bud- ly ignored such concerns. It tempts to limit the publication of freedom to drive on safe road- Bay did when it hired its police a has far more get” did not. kept intact the ban on residency that information. chief. Green Bay department ways. ns for both the This unequivocal pledge, post- rules while allowing only disSome elected officials and pubDon’t worry, helmetless rid- heads are still required to live and for Con- ed on Walker’s campaign website, tance-based rules for certain lic agencies want to keep public ers: No Wisconsin lawmaker on within the city limits, but when in and the cost committed the candidate to es- emergency workers. information under wraps. They either side of the aisle has intro- the Police & Fire Commission virtually noth- chewing both parties’ longstandDuring that same meeting, the would expect citizens to ferret duced a bill that would require wanted to hire Tom Molitor as wa and would ing practice of using the budget Finance Committee added a new out important records on their helmets. That hasn’t stopped police chief, the City Council . to make policy changes and re- non-fiscal budget provision — own by digging through various ABATE from making regular granted him an exemption beRay Anderson ward special interests. forbidding any municipality from government websites. lobbying trips to Madison, just to cause he lives in Abrams, an River Falls In April 2011, less than four banning the sale of large sugary Whether it’s DNR plans for make double-sure that nothing Oconto County community 20 months into Walker’s term, the drinks. timber sales or changes to wa- changes. minutes north of Green Bay. truth-testers at PolitiFact WisBill Lueders is the Money and ter rights, or the minutes from a While we believe Green Bay Intensely interested single-isconsin branded this a broken Politics Project director at the school or city council meeting, sue groups like ABATE not only should look at ending its residenself from tick promise. It noted that the nonWisconsin Center for Investithose records should be easily have a right to make their voices cy policy for department heads, proper repel-treated cloth- partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau gative Journalism (www.Wis- obtainable and quickly accessible heard; they also have a real role we believe it’s up to the local govconsinWatch.org). The project, by citizens everywhere. had identified dozens of non-fisto play in our democracy. The ernment, not the state, to deter“Repel” -which a partnership of the Center and And the best way to do that is to federal Highway Safety Act first mine that policy. m http://www. cal items in the governor’s budMapLight, is supported by The publish such legal notices in local pushed states to enact mandatoget repair bills and first biennial If you believe that these proposusing a spray Joyce Foundation. newspapers, from the smallest in ry helmet laws in 1966; as a feat als are aimed at only Milwaukee T on your skin, budget. The Center collaborates with the state to the largest. Newspa- of political organizing, it’s to the County, consider this: another Walker’s latest executive budcolored clothWisconsin Public Radio, Wis- pers also post government notic- anti-helmet activists’ credit that it budget proposal prohibits mucks pulled up get, for 2013-15, included what consin Public Television, other es online, where they are search- has been able to maintain domi- nicipalities from banning food or ) are good pre- the Fiscal Bureau identified as news media and the UW-Mad- able on a single website. nancy in this debate for going on drink sales based on portion size. s. However, if 58 policy items and 15 pieces of ison School of Journalism and Part of Wisconsin’s great her- 50 years now. Again, regardless of your view of k has attached pork — that is, expenditures or Mass Communication. All works itage in good government is our breaks with specific beneficiaries. this issue, the fact that the state But they are still wrong. hould you proThe Legislature’s Joint Finance created, published, posted or dis- open records and open meetings They’ll be wrong during this wants to dictate this seems like an seminated by the Center do not law. Our law is among the stron- summer’s driving season, when overreach. Plus it’s a distraction Committee removed only a dozin mind that necessarily reflect the views or gest and most useful in the coun- some number of helmetless mo- from the important budgetary nfected. These en policy items. Spokesman Tom Evenson, opinions of UW-Madison or any try. And it requires third-party torcyclists will die or sustain inju- items, as are all non-fiscal polimost importof its affiliates. publication of important public ries which the public will pay for cies contained in Walker’s spendonths of May asked if the governor had a information. with tax dollars. And they’ll still ing plan. the fall. There change of heart about his campaign vow, said in an email that That third-party role, a func- be wrong next year, when legisAs state Rep. Jane Bewley, “home remeWalker has turned a $3.6 billion tion effectively filled by local lators once again decline to men- D-Ashland, told Wisconsin Pubt simply won’t budget deficit into a projected newspapers for generations, re- tion this issue or do anything to lic Radio: “When I see the overuse rning it off or moves the “fox guarding the hen- change the law. of power in Milwaukee County, jelly). These $560 million surplus and made gains in job creation. I fear for my own counties, my onsidered safe MADISON — State Superin- house” scenario that would exist “We’re better off than we were own cities, my own villages, my use tweezers tendent Tony Evers issued the fol- if government entities were able two years ago, and sound fiscal own towns, and each and every k close to its lowing statement regarding state to simply post their information management is allowing us to person in this room should do so close to your budget revenue projections being on their own websites, as suggestinvest in our priorities and move as well.” and S-L-O-W$575 million higher than recently ed by the DNR. Wisconsin forward, ” Evenson Sure, newspapers make monoutward until projected. wrote. careful not to “We have a tremendous op- ey from public notices, and we It’s hard to deny that Walker is Afterwords apportunity to strengthen Wiscon- would prefer to keep that revenue doing pretty much exactly what the bite. sin’s future by investing in our coming in. But far more importeasiest to treat he promised to stop. But that children and our public schools. ant is the concept of open, accesReaders are invited to submit letters to the editor. There are no doesn’t mean the pork projects uring the early With the Legislative Fiscal Bu- sible governmental bodies and a guarantees that letters will be printed. The identity of the author n to experience and policy items included in his reau’s announcement related to free flow of public information. and contact information must be submitted for verification purBurying that public informaheadache, fe- budget are bad ideas. additional state revenues now toposes. Among the identified ear, muscle and taling nearly $1.8 billion higher tion on government websites ight have be- marks, a.k.a. pork, are $10.6 than estimated a year ago at the would be a giant step backward Emails will be accepted at ameryfreepress@yahoo.com. FAX 715d should seek million for a Milwaukee facility close of the last legislative ses- for Wisconsin. 268-5300. U.S. Mail: Amery Free Press, P.O. Box 424, Amery, WI cal attention. to serve families affected by do- sion, we can reverse the major 54001 or delivered in person at 215 S. Keller Ave. d your doctor mestic violence, $5 million for a cuts to public education that were os and cons of Wisconsin Maritime Center of imposed in the current budget. Excellence in Marinette County,

Excerpts from recent Wisconsin editorials

Non-fiscal budget items draw flak

icks

Revenue projection opens opportunity for Fair Funding

Submit letters

May 22, 2013 12:44 pm /

Appleton, Post-Crescent 05/18/2013

of medical procedures at hospitals can vary wildly, even between hospitals in the same area. GANNETT WISCONSIN MEDIA

o everyone who has contributed so far to the PostCrescent’s Do It! campaign to help senior citizens. The “Serving Seniors” Community Chalnefits Clarity Care, a nonganization dedicated to prorvices for people with difficircumstances. “Serving will help Clarity Care proome care for senior citizens. Crescent Media’s fundraising 0,000. The J. J. Keller Founs offered a $10,000 matching

fort is off to a great start but use your help. Please connating by the end of the camJune 23. You can donate by www.claritycare.org.

o the data on hospital costs across the nation released by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. It shows the ridicuarity of costs for the same

treatment, not only based on geography but even within a given area. As the New York Times noted, gallbladder removal surgery at a hospital in St. Augustine, Fla., cost $40,000, while the same surgery cost $91,000 in Orange Park, Fla. That’s the average cost for the procedure that the hospitals charge Medicare — and it’s despite the fact that Medicare often reimburses hospitals much less than the amount charged, sometimes 20 times less. There are a lot of factors that contribute to the disparity — teaching hospitals have higher costs, so they charge more, for example. The byzantine relationship between health care providers and insurers is a major problem, too. The result is an incomprehensible system that drives up costs. Health care won’t truly be reformed until this system is untangled.

o the state Department of Natural Resources, for trying to skirt making public notices of meetings. The DNR wants a

provision in the state budget that would eliminate the requirement that it post legal notices in local newspapers when it wants to sell timber land. Public notices are an important part of transparency in government. We should be requiring more openness, not allowing less. And, as a policy item, this proposal has no business being in the state budget.

o a University of Wisconsin-Madison advisory committee recommendation that Minnesota students be charged out-of-state tuition. Currently, Minnesota and Wisconsin have a tuition reciprocity agreement. While the goal of the committee to increase the number of in-state students at Madison is one we support, this proposal will also ultimately cause Minnesota to respond by making Wisconsin students pay outof-state tuition, too — perhaps disrupting the education of many students. Though well-intentioned, the idea is short-sighted.

SILVER PEN LETTER

inition of traditional marriage matters

Pen ges ng, ght and ness

f discussions regarding samesex couples are to be more rational, words that unnecessarily inflame emotions need to be addressed. An analogy illustrates the problem. If the label of a product through time and usage has a specific meaning, it’s inappropriate and can be illegal to use that label on a different product. That’s a major reason for trademark laws. The word “marriage” is such a label. It has commonly meant a solemn vow by a man and woman to join together for mutual pleasure and comfort, in prosperity and adversity, and for the procreation and nurture of children

if desired. Traditional marriage is of inestimable value to a culture. It provides children and provides parents uniquely qualified to train these children on such matters as morality, ethics, values and traditions, which are the glue that holds a culture together. Government studies estimate it costs parents at least a quartermillion dollars to birth and raise a child to age 18. Governments recognize this by providing certain economic benefits to married couples. Is it logical to provide these marital benefits for samesex couples who cannot birth children or provide both mom and dad training?

(+1

Watering down the definition of marriage robs a culture of a pillar of its strength and is disrespectful to married couples who strive to live up to their vows. Small wonder discussions are emotional. Conversations on controversial matters would be more productive if words with long-standing usage were not changed. That would not only eliminate a major source of contention in such discussions but would leave discussions on matters such as benefits for same-sex couples to be decided on the value of their contribution to the culture.

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Jim Dickson, Neenah

ALL

BERGSTROM LOCATIONS!

May 20, 2013 1:38 pm /

Baraboo News Republic 05/18/2013

OPINIO

Copy Reduced to %d%% from original to fit letter page

Baraboo News Republic

OTHER VIEWS WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL

Public notice an important function Here we go again. On a cycle as regular as spring rains followed by summer humidity, we can count on some elected official or government agency proposing bad ideas about public information. This time, again, it’s the Department of Natural Resources, trying to peddle in the state budget another version of a tired idea that was rebuffed in the 2011 legislative session. The broad issue is about public notices of various government activity. In this case, the topic in question is the sale of timber land in Wisconsin, and the DNR’s responsibility to let the citizenry know when and where such sales are to occur. Last time around, the topic was water regulations and oversight of the state’s navigable waters. Other like-minded attempts in the past involved the minutes of school board meetings, the votes taken and wrong-headed attempts to limit the publication of that information. Some elected officials and public agencies want to keep public information under wraps. They would expect citizens to ferret out important records on their own by digging through various government websites. Whether it’s DNR plans for timber sales or changes to water rights, or the minutes from a school or

city council meeting, those records should be easily obtainable and quickly accessible by citizens everywhere. And the best way to do that is to publish such legal notices in local newspapers, from the smallest in the state to the largest. Newspapers also post government notices online, where they are searchable on a single website. Part of Wisconsin’s great heritage in good government is our open records and open meetings law. Our law is among the strongest and most useful in the country. And it requires third-party publication of important public information. That third-party role, a function effectively filled by local newspapers for generations, removes the “fox guarding the henhouse” scenario that would exist if government entities were able to simply post their information on their own websites, as suggested by the DNR. Sure, newspapers make money from public notices, and we would prefer to keep that revenue coming in. But far more important is the concept of open, accessible governmental bodies and a free flow of public information. Burying that public information on government websites would be a giant step backward for Wisconsin.

Baraboo Ne Next week’s question: Will you visit Circus World Museum this season? To vote, www.baraboonewsrepublic.com

the true national debt

Did you expect me to discuss America’s national debt in reference to Memorial Day? Well, our national debt is certainly not my favorite subject. It’s depressing, and it’s become almost beyond our comprehension. I read horrendous debt figures May 20, 2013 1:40 pm / in newspapers and magazines, hear them on TV.

Respect freedom of

n n n n

A — Yes.............. B — No............... C — I don’t know C — I don’t care.

work hard to get to provide for th lies. It seems ma interpret land of as “America owe am entitled.” Let one thing clear: fact about Amer there is help for who actually nee America does no everyone. Everyo America. What our nati actually should b

It’s time for the former chairman to start complying with the request for electronic files Eagle River, Vilas County News-Review 05/08/2013 of those email responses, lest his four years in office be clouded by a controversy over open records.

Fishing scene from yesteryear

DNR wants to sidestep public notice requirement While were on the issue of open government, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is once again proposing to sidestep newspaper public notice requirements when announcing the sale of state-owned timber. The DNR’s proposed budget includes a proposal to allow the agency to post such timber sales on its website, eliminating the current process of providing newspaper notice in the county where the timber is being sold. We oppose the plan because it reverses a basic government responsibility. It is the government that serves the public, and it is the responsibility of government to ensure proper notification on its actions — not the other way around. Allowing the DNR to simply post public notices on a website removes the third-party oversight that is provided by the newspaper. It removes any independent proof of publication.

Behind the editorial ‘we’ Members of the Vilas County NewsReview editorial board include Publisher Kurt Krueger, Editor Gary Ridderbusch and Assistant Editor Anthony Drew.

While all th row a angle Lake

Beautiful is THERE IS PERHAPS no more pleasing sound than that of a trout stream roistering its way over rocks and around logs in early spring. I must confess I have gotten away from trout fishing on the few area streams which harbor native brook trout in my own bailiwick, but given that there was no available fishing on any lake for 40 miles around for this year’s opening weekend, I found myself back in the water where I cut my fishing teeth, that of Plum Creek. I failed to fish for even a minute on opening day, but Sunday evening, unable to stand it anymore, I strapped up my insulated waders, slung the creel and woodenhandled trout net around my shoulders and stepped into icy-cold water a hundred yards above what we natives call Brooker’s Bridge. There was no way I was going to wield a fly rod on my maiden trip of this cold, cold spring, especially with the water level as high as I

May 15, 2013 9:17 pm /

have eve nearly 6 this cree Inste my secre row, bru streams ultra-lig a reel lo pound te ness end stream s ther Ma tail, two hooks cl Almo stepping water I accurate bye wav lards wh behind a exposed yards up With

Don Huebscher

Gary Johnson

Localfrom News Editor Eau Claire, Leader-Telegram 05/15/2013 Editor Copy Reduced to %d%% original to fit letter page STATE VIEWS

Don’t let DNR skip public notice law

n a cycle as regular as spring rains followed by summer humidity in Wisconsin, we can count on some elected official or government agency proposing bad ideas about public information. This time, again, it’s the Department of Natural Resources, trying to peddle in the state budget another version of a tired idea that was rebuffed in the 2011 legislative session. The broad issue is about public notices of various government activity. In this case, the topic in question is the sale of timber land in Wisconsin, and the DNR’s responsibility to let the citizenry know when and where such sales are to occur. Last time around, the topic was water regulations and oversight of the state’s navigable waters. Other like-minded attempts in the past involved the minutes of school board meetings, the votes taken, and wrong-headed attempts to limit the publication of that information. Some elected officials and public agencies want to keep public information under wraps. They would expect citizens to ferret out important records on their own by digging through various government websites. Whether it’s DNR plans for timber sales or changes to water rights, or the minutes from a school or city council meeting, those records should be easily obtainable and quickly accessible by citizens everywhere. And the best way to do that is to publish such legal notices in local newspapers, from the smallest in the state to the largest. Newspapers also post government notices online, where they are searchable on a single website. Part of Wisconsin’s great heritage in good government is our open records and open meetings law. Our law is among the strongest and most useful in the country. And it requires third-party publication of important public information. That third-party role, a function effectively filled by local newspapers for generations, removes the “fox guarding the henhouse” scenario that would exist if government entities were able to simply post their information on their own websites, as suggested by the DNR. Sure, newspapers make money from public notices, and we would prefer to keep that revenue coming in. But far more important is the concept of open, accessible governmental bodies and a free flow of public information. — Wisconsin State Journal (Madison)

❏❏❏

QUESTION OF THE WEEK FEED

Is morning-afte an assault on pa The question: What are your thoughts on the “morning-after pill” now being available over the counter to those 15 and older? This ruling is probably the most flagrant undermining of parental authority and responsibility I’ve seen in my 74 years! I challenge anyone to give me one good reason our federal government should give this responsibility to a 15-year-old girl at the same time a school requires written parental approval to give an aspirin to a student. I guess the federal government thinks this kind of access to an abortifacient makes sexual activity among children “safer.” Unbelievable. The next logical step is for the federal government to make it legal for 15-yearolds to drive a car, vote, smoke cigarettes and pot, serve in the military, get married, drink alcohol, and generally be allowed to be their own parent. LANE JACKSON Eau Claire

I’m afraid that some 15-year-olds would be more likely to experiment with sex if they thought they could remove all dangers by taking a pill in secret. As parents, we know it’s not that simple. Then I thought of all the unwanted pregnancies that result when there is a barrier to obtaining a remedy to a forced or foolish encounter. These teens fear that their parents or their community would find out what had transpired. In some cases, a predator in their own household is responsible!

Even job applicants deserve privacy May 15, 2013Voice 9:11 pm / of the People The practice of companies asking job appli-

Fort Atkinson, Daily Jefferson County Union 05/15/2013

Don’t drop public notices Here we go again. On a cycle as regular as spring rains followed by summer humidity, we can count on some elected official or government agency proposing bad ideas about public information. This time, again, it’s the Department of Natural Resources, trying to peddle in the state budget another version of a tired idea that was rebuffed in the 2011 legislative session. The broad issue is about public notices of various government activity. In this case, the topic in question is the sale of timber land in Wisconsin, and the DNR’s responsibility to let the citizenry know when and where such sales are to occur. Last time around, the topic was water regulations and oversight of the state’s navigable waters. Other like-minded attempts in the past involved the minutes of school board meetings, the votes taken, and wrong-headed attempts to limit the publication of that information. Some elected officials and public agencies want to keep public information under wraps. They would expect citizens to ferret out important records on their own by digging through various government websites. Whether it’s DNR plans for timber sales or changes to water rights, or the minutes from a school or city council meeting, those

records should be easily obtainable and quickly accessible by citizens everywhere. And the best way to do that is to publish such legal notices in local newspapers, from the smallest in the state to the largest. Newspapers also post government notices online, where they are searchable on a single website. Part of Wisconsin’s great heritage in good government is our open records and open meetings law. Our law is among the strongest and most useful in the country. And it requires third-party publication of important public information. That third-party role, a function effectively filled by local newspapers for generations, removes the “fox guarding the henhouse” scenario that would exist if government entities were able to simply post their information on their own websites, as suggested by the DNR. Sure, newspapers make money from public notices, and we would prefer to keep that revenue coming in. But far more important is the concept of open, accessible governmental bodies and a free flow of public information. Burying that public information on government websites would be a giant step backward for Wisconsin. — The Wisconsin State Journal.

China questions Japan rule over Okinawa, trying to boost claim BEIJING (AP) — China is trying to strengthen its claim on tiny, uninhabited, Japanese-controlled islands by raising questions about the much larger Okinawa chain that is home to more than a million Japanese along with major U.S. military installations. The tactic, however, appears to have done little but harden Tokyo’s stance. Japan refuses to offer any concessions to China over Tokyo’s control of the uninhabited East China Sea islands, which are called Diaoyu by China and Senkaku by Japan. Tokyo issued a formal protest to Beijing over the comments about Okinawa, made last week in the ruling Communist Party’s flagship newspaper, the People’s Daily. Scholars in Japan and elsewhere, meanwhile, warn Beijing may be shooting itself in the foot by arousing fears of a creeping campaign to nibble away at Japanese territory.

bought the islands in September to preempt Tokyo’s pugnacious former mayor from doing so. Although the Japanese government purchase was ostensibly aimed reducing tensions, the move was seen in China as an attempt to solidify Tokyo’s sovereignty over the islets. Outraged Chinese staged violent street protests and attacked Japanese property, while the government backed up its objections by dispatching patrol boats to confront Japanese ships and sending a surveillance plane into Japanese airspace. While the sides have avoided clashes, the situation remains tense and neither side has backed down. The comments about Okinawa appeared in a scholarly editorial in People’s Daily, in an apparent attempt to weaken the historical basis of Japan’s claim to the Senkaku islands by questioning the legitimacy of its control over the entire Okinawa chain. Its authors, Li Guoqiang and Zhang

ing Beijing a say in its political status, although the ruling Qing dynasty was too weak at the time to oppose Japan, the two wrote. “Not only is Japan obliterating the truth about the Ryukyu issue, but it is doubling its aggressiveness and making provocations over the Diaoyu issue. Therefore it is necessary to revisit the Ryukyu issue,” Li wrote in a follow-up article in a sister newspaper, Global Times. Neither scholar said what, if anything, China should do about the Okinawa chain. Japan added the Senkaku islands to its territory in 1895, but China refuses to consider them a part of Okinawa. It claims that they were always part of Taiwan, the self-governing island claimed by Beijing. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said last week that the Chinese remarks about Okinawa were “totally unMay 17, 2013 2:03 pm / acceptable to us.” China’s increasingly combative

Each d live an

By Sen. Tim Culle

15th state Senate Distr

In 1962, U.S. Presid Kennedy issued a pr designating May 15 a ficers Memorial Day. T which May 15 falls is as Police Week. Language from th mains true and inspi day. In signing the law Kennedy noted that cer Memorial Day reco service given by the women who, night and guard in our midst to Thirteen months a dent Kennedy signe tional Peace Officers Day proclamation, h own life in the line o day of honoring our fa serves to remind u some, democracy tak mate toll. This week, the en will be honoring of have fallen in the line well as the families o cers who must const the burden of the sac loved one made. Nati Week offers us a chan on those with the co conviction to put the

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A group of rich Rep raising money to sup sex marriage. By doi reveal a fundament conservative ranks b very different philoso On one side are W

dards and impose norms on all sorts of behavior, because it’s in La Crosse Tribune 05/15/2013 the public’s interest to do so. Consider: We require drivers

still be wrong next year, when legislators once again decline to mention this issue or do anything to change the law.

Don’t let state DNR skip public notices The following editorial was published in Monday’s Wisconsin State Journal: Here we go again. On a cycle as regular as spring rains followed by summer humidity, we can count on some elected official or government agency proposing bad ideas about public information. This time, again, it’s the Department of Natural Resources, trying to peddle in the state budget another version of a tired idea that was rebuffed in the 2011 legislative session. The broad issue is about public notices of various government activity. In this case, the topic in question is the sale of timber land in Wisconsin, and the DNR’s responsibility to let the citizenry know when and where such sales are to occur. Last time around, the topic was water regulations and oversight of the state’s navigable waters. Other like-minded attempts in the past involved the minutes of school board meetings, the votes taken, and wrong-headed attempts to limit the publication of that information. Some elected officials and public agencies want to keep public information under wraps. They would expect citizens to ferret out important records on their own by digging through various government websites. Whether it’s DNR plans for

timber sales or changes to water rights, or the minutes from a school or city council meeting, those records should be easily obtainable and quickly accessible by citizens everywhere. And the best way to do that is to publish such legal notices in local newspapers, from the smallest in the state to the largest. Newspapers also post government notices online, where they are searchable on a single website. Part of Wisconsin’s great heritage in good government is our open records and open meetings law. Our law is among the strongest and most useful in the country. And it requires third-party publication of important public information. That third-party role, a function effectively filled by local newspapers for generations, removes the “fox guarding the henhouse” scenario that would exist if government entities were able to simply post their information on their own websites, as suggested by the DNR. Sure, newspapers make money from public notices, and we would prefer to keep that revenue coming in. But far more important is the concept of open, accessible governmental bodies and a free flow of public information. Burying that public information on government websites would be a giant step backward for Wisconsin.

In 1602, English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold and his ship, the Concord, arrived at present-day Cape Cod, which he’s credited with naming. In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed an act establishing the Department of Agriculture. Austrian author and playwright

thes uph O orga to t said inte tive ther T no Dep AP. its obta It men to w mat stor CIA an a bom the T lishi gove wou rity.

YOUR VIEWS Don’t forget uproar over global cooling

ply m T war nex By DOUG VANCE war La Crosse and us t This past winter was one of agai the coldest in about 30 years. ques In the 1970s, many environmentalists predicted global starvation, drought and global cooling by the 1980s. If you were alive during this time, you may remember the myth that the By L Earth will get very cold, result- La Cr ing in global disasters. R Newspapers, magazines and television shows reported the of it fear of global cooling back then Fou much the same way ideas of Cau global warming are discussed Part today. In 1954, Fortune Con Magazine printed an article Phil frien about the Earth’s cooling. A When the first Earth Day was held in 1970, the big concern was stat about global cooling. Early Earth Milw Day celebrations included tables econ ruled that Standard Oil Co. was a and displays that were meant to to th monopoly in violation of the inform visitors and ask for their tion Sherman Antitrust Act, and financial support to help stop betw ordered its breakup. Rep global cooling. In 1930, registered nurse Ellen Growing up in Northern “Th Church, the first airline stewCalifornia, I remember people wait ardess, went on duty aboard an walking around town with coffee just Oakland-to-Chicago flight operatcans collecting money while othe ed by Boeing Air Transport. reciting fear-provoking scenar- chan May 17, pm / global cooling. Where trac In 1972, Alabama Gov. George C. 2013 2:08 ios about Wallace was shot and left paraL all the money went that was

THIS DATE IN HISTORY The Associated Press

Press is disturbing, chilling and needs to stop. Let’s start with the term abridging the freedom of the press. Obtaining phone calls and collecting records of a news organization could be construed as major abridgment. There are additional concerns about Fourth Amendment protections against search and seizure, guaranteeing the rights of people to be secure in their homes, papers and effects. Extra scrutiny deliberately directed at groups identified by terms such as tea party and patriots without cause is a violation of someone’s freedom of speech. Steven Miller, the IRS’ top official, has issued an apology and said that it has established new procedures to “ensure the mistakes won’t be repeated.” Blame was placed on low-level employees in the Cincinnati office, but Miller conveniently did not brief Congress last year

Fou par

ment went too far in secretly obtaining phone records from See us onlline at www.htrnews.com Manitowoc, Herald Times Reporter 05/17/2013Copy Reduced to %d%% from original to fit letter page the Associated Press that covered parts of two months and more than 20 separate lines. The department says it needs the records to investigate how AP uncovered a story about a foiled terrorist bomb plot in Yemen. And White House press secretary Jay Carney was correct in saying “a balance needs to be struck” between two competing interests: the country’s right to know and its right to be safe. But on this one, the Obama administration Here we go again. On a cycle as regular as spring rains followed by lost its balance and crash-landed. summer humidity, we can count on some elected Here’s Michael official or government agency proposing bad ideas Steel, a spokesman for about public information. Washington’s top ReThis time, again, it’s the Department of Natural publican, House SpeakResources, trying to peddle in the state budget er John Boehner: “The another version of a tired idea that was rebuffed in First Amendment is the 2011 legislative session. first for a reason. If The broad issue is about public notices of varithe Obama administration is going after reous government activity. In this case, the topic in porters’ phone records, question is the sale of timber land in Wisconsin, they better have a and the DNR’s responsibility to let the citizenry damned good explanaknow when and where such sales are to occur. tion.” Last time around, the topic was water regulaAnd here’s Sen. Pat tions and oversight of the state’s navigable waters. Leahy, the Vermont Other like-minded attempts in the past involved Democrat who heads the minutes of school board meetings, the votes the Judiciary Committaken, and wrong-headed attempts to limit the pub- tee: “The burden is lication of that information. always on the government when they go Some elected officials and public agencies want after private informato keep public information under wraps. They tion, especially inwould expect citizens to ferret out important recformation regarding ords on their own by digging through various govthe press or its confiernment websites. dential sources. ... I am Whether it’s DNR plans for timber sales or concerned that the changes to water rights, or the minutes from a government may not school or city council meeting, those records have met that burden. should be easily obtainable and quickly accessible I am very troubled by by citizens everywhere. these allegations and want to hear the govAnd the best way to do that is to publish such ernment’s explanalegal notices in local newspapers, from the smallest in the state to the largest. Newspapers also post tion.” This bipartisan outgovernment notices online, where they are searchrage is totally justiable on a single website. fied. The role of the Part of Wisconsin’s great heritage in good govpress as a watchdog Mike Seeber » Lowell Johnson » Pat Pankratz

OTHER VIEWS

Don’t let DNR skip public notice

ernment is our open records and open meetings law. Our law is among the strongest and most useful in the country. And it requires third-party publication of important public information. That third-party role, a function effectively filled by local newspapers for generations, removes the “fox guarding the henhouse” scenario that would exist if government entities were able to simply post their information on their own websites, as suggested by the DNR. Sure, newspapers make money from public notices, and we would prefer to keep that revenue coming in. But far more important is the concept of open, accessible governmental bodies and a free flow of public information. Burying that public information on government websites would be a giant step backward for Wisconsin. WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL

and whistle-blowe more vital than ev The White House rapidly growing a to bypass the med filter and commun cate directly with public. This White House has raised power to a whole level by creating might be called th OBN, the Obama Broadcasting Net which uses a com tion of tweets, tex Instagram, Pinter and Facebook to f favorable informa to its supporters. That’s a positiv trend when it eng citizens more dee the democratic pr ess. But it has a d side. Direct comm cation is not scrut nized and not acco able. Questions go unasked, facts un checked, biases u revealed. It falls to indep dent journalists to that asking, check and revealing. In to perform that ro they sometimes h to rely on anonym sources who fear bution if their ide ties are disclosed a Justice Departm that raids reporte phone records on a massive scale ca

LETTERS

Even good driver If you think that you don’t need to buckle your safety belt because you’re a good driver, remember that you’re likely sharing the road with bad drivers, who cause crashes when you least expect it. Once a crash occurs, it’s too late to buckle up. Fastening your safety belt every time you drive or ride in a vehicle pro-

vides proven protect against serious and f injuries. Buckling up is quick and easy, so hard to understand w approximately one o five Wisconsin moto does not wear a safet To increase safety use, law enforcemen officers throughout consin will be patroll city streets, rural roa

Thanks to city

May 20, 2013 1:42 pm /

A4 Monday, May 20, EagleHerald 2013 Marinette,

Opinion

05/20/2013

EagleHerald www.ehextra.com

Copy Reduced to %d%% from original to fit letter page

Dan White, vice president, EagleHerald Publishing

Dan Kitkowski, editor

Don’t let DNR skip public notice

GUEST OPINION Wisconsin State Journal Madison, Wis.

of timber land in Wisconsin, and the DNR’s responsibility to let the citizenry know when and where such sales are to occur. Last time around, the topic was water regulations and oversight of the state’s navigable waters. Other like-minded attempts in the past involved the minutes of school board meetings, the votes taken, and

wrong-headed attempts to limit the publication of that information. Some elected officials and public agencies want to keep public information under wraps. They would expect citizens to ferret out important records on their own by digging through various government websites. Whether it’s DNR plans for timber sales or changes to water rights, or the minutes from a school or city council meeting, those records should be easily obtainable and quickly accessible by citizens everywhere. And the best way to do that

is to publish such legal notices in local newspapers, from the smallest in the state to the largest. Newspapers also post government notices online, where they are searchable on a single website. Part of Wisconsin’s great heritage in good government is our open records and open meetings law. Our law is among the strongest and most useful in the country. And it requires third-party publication of important public information. That third-party role, a function effectively filled by local newspapers for generations, removes the “fox guard-

ing the henhouse” scenario that would exist if government entities were able to simply post their information on their own websites, as suggested by the DNR. Sure, newspapers make money from public notices, and we would prefer to keep that revenue coming in. But far more important is the concept of open, accessible governmental bodies and a free flow of public information. Burying that public information on government websites would be a giant step backward for Wisconsin.

A bipartisan solution to a partisan scandal T

Afghanistan’s Benghazi: The shoot-down of Extortion 17

rief and politics don’t mix. When raw, aching grief and the dirtiest kind of politics meet, a hot volcano of pain and outrage erupts that is unstoppable. But it is necessary. It is the only way things might ever be clean again. I am thinking of recent casket transfer ceremonies that have taken place at Dover Air Force Base, where senior administration officials have used the solemn occasions — Benghazi, the shoot-down of Extortion 17 — less to comfort grieving families than to lay blame; to establish a narrative; to lie. Think of Sean Smith’s mother. Think of Tyrone Woods’ father. After the Obama administration’s hugs

Diana West

there,” Charles Strange, father of slain SEAL Michael Strange, recalled last week before a rapt audience at the National Press Club, where several Extortion 17 families gathered to call on Congress to investigate. “And President Obama comes up to me

particular landing site, for a mission many believe was in fact unnecessary? Extortion 17 took off three months after the strike on bin Laden, three months after the Obama administration blew SEAL Team 6’s cover in the bin Laden raid, three months after intelligence indicated the Taliban were out for revenge. “The chain of command” was responsible, the families were told. Who were they? No answer. Why was there no gunship escort that night? What happened in the final minutes of Extortion 17? The black box was never recovered, the military insists. Really? What about the seven Afghan soldiers who joined the mission at the last minute, replacing Afghans pre-

he Internal Revenue Service has been the object of jokes for decades. The one that sticks in my mind, because it’s relevant, is Jerry Seinfeld’s TV character talking about being called in for a tax audit. “Have you ever been audited?” he asks Elaine. “It’s hell. It’s the financial equivalent of a complete rectal examination.” What’s funny on television is not at all funny in real life. The power of the IRS to audit and investigate tax returns is nothing short of life-altering. The best summary comes from the Washington Post’s Ezra Klein and Evan Soltas: “The story thus far seems both chilling and cheering.” It’s important to place this in context. The IRS targeted conservative political groups and a liberal Jewish group, among others. This “terrible breach of law,” as Sen. Harry Reid correctly called it, was uncovered by the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. Donna Our inspectors general Brazile are part of a system of checks and balances developed by our Founding Fathers from their rich understanding of humankind. They had witnessed how power corrupted both kings and common people, and they devised built-in safeguards against corruption. Injured citizens who wrote their representatives, who, in turn, began inquiries that were picked up on by the press, which began its own investigating, were all involved in uncovering this egregious overreach. That’s the cheering part. The chilling part is that American citizens exercising the Constitution’s First Amendment right to free speech could be harassed and intimidated by the IRS because of their opinions. What needs to be thoroughly vetted is if these unwarranted intrusions were politically motivated (directed from outside the IRS), or if they were overzealous actions by bureaucrats who were blind to political implications. President Obama fired the acting director of IRS, the Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation, and the president sent his own chill down the backs of those implicated during a short, televised speech: “I will not tolerate this kind of behavior ... especially in the IRS, given the power that it has and the reach that it has into all of our lives. ... It should not matter what political stripe you’re from — the fact of the matter is, is that the IRS has to operate with absolute integrity.” An important part of the context of the IRS scandal is the knee-jerk partisan atmosphere in which it takes place. Congress has been gridlocked for years, but more important, recent polls show the American people are allowing themselves to become more partisanly divided. In the May 7 issue of Forbes Magazine, “neuromarketer” Roger Dooley warns about something called “confirmation bias.” “That’s tendency that influences all of us to put more Maythe 20, 2013 2:35 pm / faith in information that agrees with what we already believe, and discount opinions and data that disagree with our beliefs.”

o ng

ent

Monroe Times 05/15/2013

VIEWS

Copy Reduced to %d%% from original to fit letter page

The Monroe Times Wednesday, May 15, 2013

STATE VIEW

Don’t let DNR skip public notice By the Wisconsin State Journal Madison Here we go again. On a cycle as regular as spring rains followed by summer humidity, we can count on some elected official or government agency proposing bad ideas about public information. This time, again, it’s the Department of Natural Resources, trying to peddle in the state budget another version of a tired idea that was rebuffed in the 2011 legislative session. The broad issue is about public notices of various government activity. In this case, the topic in question is the sale of timber land in Wisconsin, and the DNR’s responsibility to let the citizenry know when and where such sales are to occur.

Whether it’s DNR plans for timber sales or changes to water rights, or the minutes from a school or city council meeting, those records should be easily obtainable and quickly accessible by citizens everywhere. Last time around, the topic was water regulations and oversight of the state’s navigable waters. Other like-minded attempts in the past involved the minutes of school board meetings, the votes taken, and wrong-headed attempts to limit the publication of that information. Some elected officials and public agencies want to keep public information under wraps. They would expect citizens to ferret out important records on their own by digging through various government websites. Whether it’s DNR plans for timber

sales or changes to water rights, or the minutes from a school or city council meeting, those records should be easily obtainable and quickly accessible by citizens everywhere. And the best way to do that is to publish such legal notices in local newspapers, from the smallest in the state to the largest. Newspapers also post government notices online, where they are searchable on a single website. Part of Wisconsin’s great heritage in good government is our open records and open meetings law. Our

JOE HELLER

law is among the strongest and most useful in the country. And it requires third-party publication of important public information. That third-party role, a function effectively filled by local newspapers for generations, removes the “fox guarding the henhouse” scenario that would exist if government entities were able to simply post their information on their own websites, as suggested by the DNR. Sure, newspapers make money from public notices, and we would prefer to keep that revenue coming in. But far more important is the concept of open, accessible governmental bodies and a free flow of public information. Burying that public information on government websites would be a giant step backward for Wisconsin.

Blossoms & Barbs ■ Barbs must be signed and include a daytime phone number and town of residence for verification. Blossoms can be anonymous. ■ Barbs or blossoms aimed at private businesses will not be published. ■ Barbs against private individuals will not be published. Barbs to public office holders or department heads will be included if the barb pertains to actions regarding policy or action taken, or lack thereof, as an official. ■ Blossoms intended as a thank-you to groups or organizations should be general in nature and not list specific individuals. ■ No name calling, profanity or crude references. ■ Blossoms or barbs should be clearly phrased as a blossom or barb. ■ Submissions must be original. We cannot republish works from other individuals or publications. ■ Blossoms and barbs submissions are limited to 75 words. ■ Only one submission per person per week will be accepted. ■ The deadline for submissions is 5 p.m. Thursday for that Saturday’s edition. ■ The Times retains the right to reject any submission, in which case submitters will not be notified. To discuss a blossom or barb, contact the editor.

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May 17, 2013 3:11 pm /

AP NEWS ANALYSIS

ies with nal Platteville Journal 05/15/2013 along two funhe time. e state’s ved, but to get a cess. her died, I dmother severe ome thune car and And then by Matt Johnson ent after it Vernon County Broadcaster, Viroque There was ne of government’s best h — I’d tools for informing the rooted,

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GUEST OPINION

The DNR vs. open records

public is through public notices in newspapers.

Some government agencies try to wiggle out of their public notice obligations by seeking to place public notices on websites. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ proposed budget includes a plan that would eliminate public notices in newspapers announcing the sale of state-owned timber in the county where the timber is being sold. It’s obvious this would harm the residents of the county. County residents don’t comb through state websites to see if timber is being sold locally — they look for that in their community newspaper.

Keeping the public informed is a solemn obligation. Allowing government to inform the public without objective supervision is perilous. In the last legislative session, the DNR attempted to eliminate water permit notices and navigable water notices in newspapers. The DNR wanted to put those notices on its website. That measure was not approved. Taking away the requirement for governments to post a notice in a newspaper removes the third-party oversight provided by the newspaper and the independent proof of publication for that public notice. The notices published in newspapers are already being put on the Internet. The Wisconsin Newspaper Association augments public notice publication with postings on its websites. Governments, by statute, must adopt official newspapers to fulfill the duty of

providing public notices and informing the public. Changing this aspect of how the DNR handles its notices will lead to the erosion of more public notices. Newspapers are not richly rewarded for providing public notices. The Department of Administration rates for publishing notices barely offsets the paper, ink and clerical time required to print public notices. Newspapers serve an important role watching over government at all levels. Publishing public notices, and protecting them for the citizenry, is a part of this role. The proposal to abandon public notices for the sale of state-owned timber should be eliminated from the DNR budget by the Joint Finance Committee. The DNR’s effort to erode the state’s public notice laws needs to end.

LETTERS

Platteville Journal, P.O. Box 266, Platteville, WI 53813-0266 • journaleditor@centurytel.net

City code enforcement

In 2011 a man claiming to be the city building inspector came to my business in the afternoon. He was dressed in blue jeans and a T-shirt and did not have any proper ID or offer me any other form of identification that he worked for the City of Platteville. He wanted information regarding two cars and a boat located on my property. I removed the boat and vehicles in September 2011. He did not discuss the roof replacement, or painting nor did he refer to any weeds on the property. On April 30, 2012, somebody stopped by the business and handed me an envelope addressed to the Browning Family Partnership. … The city had confused the two properties in the January 2012 letter to the Partnership . From what we could tell, I needed to paint my building, removed the boat and move the cars. The vehicles and boat were removed in early September 2012. I did not re-roof my business since the roof does not leak. I received a call from Ric Riniker on the morning of Sept. 17, 2012. He stated he wanted to speak to me about my property. I told him I was very busy right now as I had 2 or 3 people in my office and it would be better if I came to city hall to talk to him. He asked me if I wanted to call him back and I said yes. I work alone in my shop and was

Information Act all the communications, letters, emails, citations, etc. from City of Platteville employees, council persons and their staff regarding any and all maintenance issues. When getting ready to go to court, we requested the letters and were told we had to pay 25 cents a copy. Many of the copies were duplicated many times adding to our additional expenses. I have an email stating that there are a number of complaints about my property. But when we asked to see these complaints, we received a letter stating there are no such complaints. I had 10 employees at one time in my shop, and if this error would have happened in my business I would have fired someone. We discovered that Resolution 11–13 dated June 14, 2011, signed by the former Common Council president, states that the City Manager as directed by the Common Council should encourage neighbors to turn in neighbors regarding property maintenance code violations. We also discovered that 84 people received maintenance violations letters and many more people received letters regarding weeds. Remember last year, we had a drought. Eighty-four people received letters similar to the one I received. Eighty-four people were not told that they have the right to appeal these violations. Eightyfour people last year did not receive

30 years, we have asked the city to take care of the erosion problem and every year the City promises to do something. As of this date nothing has been done. I have pictures of city properties taken last July that are in need of mowing. The city does not follow their own codes, but every day Citizens receive citations without do process. I have had no problems with the City of Platteville until UW–Platteville wanted to buy my property. The next thing I knew was that the former Common Council president stated the amount of money I wanted for the property was ridiculous. I have been a Platteville firefighter for 45 years, and Boy Scout leader for 30 years. I have donated vehicles to UWP, and the Chicago Bears (which have come back with coffee stains and one with over $500 worth of damage). I have painted school buses for churches and helped buy school buses for schools and donated heavily to the Platteville High School and Middle School. I have been in business in Platteville for the past 45 years. I believe that actions means more than words when you are seeking employers and job creators to come to Platteville. It would be in the best interest of the city to remove the International Property Maintenance Code from the city code. I May 15, 2013 9:24 pm / do not understand why Platteville adopted a code used by European countries. I

Rice Lake, The Chronotype - 2013/05/08 - A004 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

Pat Pankratz

Editorial Page Editor Copy Reduced to %d%% from original to fit letter page

Sheboygan Press 05/17/2013

OTHER VIEWS

Don’t let DNR skip public notice

Here we go again. On a cycle as regular as spring rains followed by summer humidity, we can count on some elected official or government agency proposing bad ideas about public information. This time, again, it’s the Department of Natural Resources, trying to peddle in the state budget another version of a tired idea that was rebuffed in the 2011 legislative session. The broad issue is about public notices of various government activity. In this case, the topic in question is the sale of timber land in Wisconsin, and the DNR’s responsibility to let the citizenry know when and where such sales are to occur. Last time around, the topic was water regulations and oversight of the state’s navigable waters. Other like-minded attempts in the past involved the minutes of school board meetings, the votes taken, and wrong-headed attempts to limit the publication of that information. Some elected officials and public agencies want to keep public information under wraps. They would expect citizens to ferret out important records on their own by digging through various government websites. Whether it’s DNR plans for timber sales or changes to water rights, or the minutes from a school

or city council meeting, those records should be easily obtainable and quickly accessible by citizens everywhere. And the best way to do that is to publish such legal notices in local newspapers, from the smallest in the state to the largest. Newspapers also post government notices online, where they are searchable on a single website. Part of Wisconsin’s great heritage in good government is our open records and open meetings law. Our law is among the strongest and most useful in the country. And it requires third-party publication of important public information. That third-party role, a function effectively filled by local newspapers for generations, removes the “fox guarding the henhouse” scenario that would exist if government entities were able to simply post their information on their own websites, as suggested by the DNR. Sure, newspapers make money from public notices, and we would prefer to keep that revenue coming in. But far more important is the concept of open, accessible governmental bodies and a free flow of public information. Burying that public information on government websites would be a giant step backward for Wisconsin.

WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL

YOUR VIEWS: LETTERS

Even good d If you think that you don’t need to buckle your safety belt because you’re a good driver, remember that you’re likely sharing the road with bad drivers, who cause crashes when you least expect it. Once a crash occurs, it’s too late to buckle up. Fastening your safety belt every time you drive or ride in a vehicle provides proven protection against serious and fatal injuries. Buckling up also is quick and easy, so it’s hard to understand why approximate-

Make ignition i No doubt the Wisconsin Assembly’s 95 to 1 majority vote for prison sentences for seven-time repeat drunken driving offenders calls for one cheer — but only one small cheer. Measures should be taken to ensure that nobody is ever so drunk that he or she is caught as many as seven times. Given the frequently fatal consequences of drunk driving, we need prevention much more than punishment for driving while intoxicated. After a single offense there should be a mandatory igni-

Help to honor L

May 20, 2013 2:00 pm /

online at sunprairie Sun Prairie, Star 05/09/2013 star.com

stop sign?

participate. Help Stamp Out Hunger this Saturday by leaving foodfrom by your mailCopy Reduced to %d%% original to fit letter page I couldn’t believe my eyes. box.

Timberrrr! DNR notices should continue to appear as legals in newspapers To reach The Star:

By e-mail: spedit@ hngnews.com

Phone: (888) 330-6083

Fax: (608) 825-4460

Mail: P.O. Box 645, Sun Prairie, WI 53590

he more things change at the Department of Natural Resources, the more they apparently stay the same. Last session, the DNR attempted to eliminate newspaper publication of water permitting and navigable water notices, instead proposing to place them on the DNR website instead. The Wisconsin Newspaper Association, which represents this and other Wisconsin newspapers, successfully fought to keep the notices in place. This session, the DNR budget includes a proposal eliminating newspaper notices that announce the sale of state-owned timber in the county where the timber is being sold. Simply put, eliminating these notices would begin the slippery slope away from public notices for other municipal governments -- disposal of surplus property and auctioning public property to name a few. Notices published in newspapers are vital to the proper functioning of democratic government. Allowing any government entity to post public notices on a website removes the third-party oversight that is provided by the newspaper, as well as, removing any independent proof of publication (which newspapers provide). Government at all levels should maintain an obligation to keep the public informed. As the economy recovers, and many people struggle to pay their bills, newspapers remain the most economical and accountable way to provide public notice without internet access. While Hometown News Group and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association provide publication of legals on their websites, that placement should not replace the inexpensive access to those legal notices in a published newspaper such as The Star. Plenty of other reasons exist to reject this proposal, but the most important is that it attempts to push bad public policy under the guise of saving money. Contact Joint Finance Co-Chair Senator Alberta Darling at (608) 2665830 or Rep. John Nygren at (608) 2662343 and tell them to remove this from committee consideration.

I am a Crossing Guard at the corners of St Albert Drive, North Bird and Tower in Sun Prairie. In the past 13 years, I have seen many, many vehicles go through my Stop Sign while crossing the children and their parents. I have seen bikes, trucks, vans, school buses and cars not stopping for the street signs much less for my Stop Sign. BUT, I NEVER until today, May 3, 2013, at 7:56 AM saw a Dane County Sheriff Deputy go through my sign while I was walking two boys across. As

and address o submitted afte Star’s Web s anonymous le Thank you al kindness or lished in spec as letters to th lic opinions. D submitted tw to allow the o candidates or Letters may information on

with any other I blew my whis to the Stop Sign kept on going.

Slow down a

hose of us old enough to remember the lyrics from the Simon & Garfunkel song “Feelin’ Groovy,” will recall the line, “Slow down, you move too fast -- got to make the morning last.” One needs only look at this week’s Reader Forum to find a letter from a crossing guard about a Dane County deputy blowing through a four-way stop sign as evidence that we are all in a hurry. A reader called me earlier this week and told me about an incident in which an employee just getting off work at Prairie

Et Cetera Chris Mertes

Athletic Club w she walked thro walk on North Before the read the female driv the male driver

The Obama

braham Carpenter Jr., a farmer in Grady, Ark., has more insight into human nature than the average sociologist. “Anytime you are going to throw money up in the air,” he told The New York Times, “you are going to have people acting crazy.” Carpenter is quoted in an astonishing 5,000-word Times expose on the federal government’s wildly profligate program to compensate minority and women farmers for alleged discrimination. The government rigged the game against itself and in favor of anyone claiming taxpayers’ dollars. The enormous scam was set in motion by a 1997 class-action

May 15, 2013 9:26 pm /

lawsuit called P Glickman, with alleging that th Agriculture dis against them in The Governme Office and the Department fou of ongoing disc black farmers h unfairly in the This injustic predicate for of tioned fraud am rations for non farmers. The Clinton decided on a $ ment, “more a than a litigation lawyer told the

Three Lakes News 05/08/2013

It’s time for the former chairman to start complying with the request for electronic files of those email responses, lest his four years in office be clouded by a controversy over open records.

Fishing scene from yesteryear

Behind the editorial ‘we’ Members of the Vilas County NewsReview editorial board include Publisher Kurt Krueger, Editor Gary Ridderbusch and Assistant Editor Anthony Drew.

While all th row a angle Lake

May 15, 2013 9:19 pm /

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es at gun shows, for example, would evenly. That loophole — and others — ot always go stay with individual gun sellers in Johnson worries about the tiny must close. o plan, and Tomah Monitor Herald 05/06/2013 bound books. A federal gun registry inconvenience a background check perspective is explicitly prohibited. might cause for some private sellers — Wisconsin State Journal role in getting rse. But don’t r a crooked mply so others live. st concluded by sharing this ay he and s at the One of government’s being sold locally — they of publication for that publishing notices barely wanted to treat best tools for informing look for that in their com- public notice. The notices offsets the paper, ink and . They the public is through pub- munity newspaper. published in newspapers clerical time required to y shops and lic notices in newspapers. Keeping the public are already being put on print public notices. n Bangladesh Some government agen- informed is a solemn obli- the Internet. The Newspapers serve an m. The eventucies try to wiggle out of gation. Allowing govern- Wisconsin Newspaper important role watching ome ice cream, their public notice obliga- ment to inform the public Association augments over government at all levs. tions by seeking to place without objective supervi- public notice publication els. ere around 160 public notices on web- sion is perilous. with postings on its webPublishing public the orphanage, sites. In the last legislative sites. notices, and protecting l ice cream The Wisconsin session, the DNR attemptGovernments, by them for the citizenry, is a urchased, with Department of Natural ed to eliminate water per- statute, must adopt offi- part of this role. dual wooden Resources’ proposed mit notices and navigable cial newspapers to fulfill The proposal to abane ice cream budget includes a plan water notices in newspa- the duty of providing pubdon public notices for the tored in a that would eliminate pub- pers. The DNR wanted to lic notices and informing sale of state-owned timthe children lic notices in newspapers put those notices on its the public. Changing this ber should be eliminated he wooden announcing the sale of website. That measure was aspect of how the DNR from the DNR budget by . The priest state-owned timber in the not approved. handles its notices will the Joint Finance dren did not county where the timber is Taking away the lead to the erosion of more Committee. the spoons being sold. It’s obvious requirement for govern- public notices. The DNR’s effort to ey had never this would harm the resi- ments to post a notice in a Newspapers are not erode the state’s public efore. dents of the county. newspaper removes the richly rewarded for pro- notice laws needs to end. he children County residents don’t third-party oversight providing public notices. he ice cream —Vernon County comb through state web- vided by the newspaper The Department of tting in my Broadcaster sites to see if timber is and the independent proof Administration rates for to visualize 160 ing ice cream time in their with little ons. A smile face. STATE SENATE The Associated Press Roger Bannister broke the fourply so others minute mile during a track meet live. On May 6, 1863, the Civil War in Oxford, England, in 3:59.4. 17th District — Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland ng boys Battle of Chancellorsville in Center, P.O. Box 7882, Madison, Wis., 53707-7882. In 1960, Britain’s Princess ir first comVirginia ended with a Telephone: 608-266-0703 or 800-978-8008 (tollMargaret married Antony t day from a Confederate victory over Union free). Email: Sen.Schultz@legis.wisconsin.gov Armstrong-Jones, a commoner, an country forces. 24th District — Sen. Julie Lassa, D-Stevens at Westminster Abbey. (They made sure they Point, P.O. Box 7882, Madison, Wis., 53707-7882. divorced in 1978.) nt. I doubt ON THIS DATE Telephone: 608-266-3123 or 800-925-7421 (tollIn 1962, in the first test of its he connection In 1840, Britain’s first adhefree). Email: Sen.Lassa@legis.wisconsin.gov. kind, the submerged submarine ssage at their sive postage stamp, the Penny 32nd District — Sen. Jennifer Shilling, USS Ethan Allen fired a Polaris day those 160 Black, officially went into circula- missile armed with a nuclear D-La Crosse, P.O. Box 7882, Madison, Wis., 53707ored their first tion five days after its introduc7882. Telephone: 608-266-5490 or 800-385warhead that detonated above ream was likely tion. 3385 (toll-free). Email: Sen.Shilling@legis. the Pacific Ocean. orable as a In 1882, President Chester wisconsin.gov. In 1987, CIA Director William union. Alan Arthur signed the Chinese J. Casey died at age 74. ply so others STATE ASSEMBLY Exclusion Act, which barred In 1996, the body of former live. It’s all Chinese immigrants from the CIA director William E. Colby was ective. 50th District — Rep. Ed Brooks, R-Reedsburg, U.S. for 10 years (Arthur had found washed up on a southern P.O. Box 8952, Madison, Wis. 53708-8952. opposed an earlier version with a Maryland riverbank, more than a Telephone: 608-266-8531 or 877-947-0050 (toll20-year ban). week after he’d disappeared. free). Email: Rep.Brooks@legis.wisconsin.gov. In 1910, Britain’s Edwardian In 2002, Dutch politician Pim 70th District — Rep. Amy Sue Vruwink, era ended with the death of King Fortuyn was shot and killed in D-Milladore, P.O. Box 8953, Madison. Telephone: Edward VII; he was succeeded by Hilversum, Netherlands. (Volkert L 608-266-8366 or 1- 888-534-0070 (toll-free). George V. van der Graaf was later convicted Email: Rep.Vruwink@legis.wisconsin.gov. nsin — $47.25; In 1935, the Works Progress of killing Fortuyn and was sen96th District — Rep. Lee Nerison, R-Westby, State — $58 Administration began operating tenced to 18 years in prison.) P.O. Box 8953, Madison. Telephone: 608-266nd Foreign by under an executive order signed Ten years ago: Florida Sen. 3534 or 1-888-534-0096 (toll-free). Email: riodicals postage by President Franklin D. Bob Graham launched his camRep.Nerison@legis.wisconsin.gov. mah, WI 54660); Roosevelt. paign for the 2004 Democratic Copy — 75¢ In 1937, the hydrogen-filled presidential nomination by CONGRESS Monitor-Herald) German airship Hindenburg accusing President George W. MayU.S. 15, 2013 9:27 pm / burned and crashed in Bush of retreating from the war 3rd District — Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, 1406 — Chris Hardie Lakehurst, N.J., killing 35 of the on terrorism to “settle old

erald

OTHER VIEWS

Public notices should be public, in newspapers

TODAY IN HISTORY

CAPITOL CONTACTS

Viroqua, Vernon County Broadcaster 05/09/2013

“The theory of a free press is that truth will emerge from free discussion, not that it will be presented perfectly and instantly in any one account.” —Walter Lip

O PINION

Public notices for timber sales should stay in DNR’s budget One of government’s best tools for informing the public is through public notices in newspapers. Some government agencies try to wiggle out of their public notice obligations by seeking to place public notices on websites. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ proposed budget includes a plan that would eliminate public notices in newspapers announcing the sale of state-owned timber in the county where the timber is being sold. It’s obvious this would harm the residents of the county. County residents don’t comb through state websites to see if timber is being sold locally — they look for that in their community newspaper. Keeping the public informed is a solemn obligation. Allowing government to inform the public without objective supervision is perilous. In the last legislative session, the DNR attempted to eliminate water permit notices and navigable water notices in newspapers. The DNR wanted to put those notices on its website. That measure was not approved. Taking away the requirement for governments to post a notice in a newspaper removes the third-party oversight provided

by the newspaper and the independent proof of publication for that public notice. The notices published in newspapers are already being put on the Internet. The Wisconsin Newspaper Association augments public notice publication with postings on its websites. Governments, by statute, must adopt official newspapers to fulfill the duty of providing public notices and informing the public. Changing this aspect of how the DNR handles its notices will lead to the erosion of more public notices. Newspapers are not richly rewarded for providing public notices. The Department of Administration rates for publishing notices barely offsets the paper, ink and clerical time required to print public notices. Newspapers serve an important role watching over government at all levels. Publishing public notices, and protecting them for the citizenry, is a part of this role. The proposal to abandon public notices for the sale of state-owned timber should be eliminated from the DNR budget by the Joint Finance Committee. The DNR’s effort to erode the state’s public notice laws needs to end. —Matt Johnson

Transition Town-Viroqua

Tip a mug of locally-brewed beer by Mike Frank The last 30 years has seen a growing resurgence of traditional beer styles and microbreweries nationwide, regionally and locally. The introduction of prohibition in the U.S. (1919) collapsed a thriving brewing industry composed of hundreds of local small-tomedium scale operations into a consolidated handful of large companies that struggled to stay afloat until Prohibition's repeal (1933). The aftermath left beer drinkers with a drastically reduced choice of brands and styles of beer. By the end of the 1960s most local breweries in Wisconsin were going, going, gone as centralized, large-scale breweries focused on a national mass-market for lightly “hopped” lager style beer. The slate of collective “beer memory” in this country was pretty much wiped clean. But things began to change in the 1970s when government restrictions on homebrewed beer were lifted resulting in the rediscovery of the rich, wide variety of beer styles that still existed outside the U.S. A few bold entrepreneurial hobbyists took a leap of faith

123 A Street, McGregor, Iowa, 52157; (563) 873-1999. And now there is a new addition to the Coulee Region's microbrewery lineup — the Driftless Brewing Company. Launched this year out of Excelsior, Wis., by Chris Balisteri (brewmaster), Jack Knowles (mechanical engineer) and Michael Varnes-Epstein (public health specialist),DBC offers a growing list of beer styles, including pale ale, golden ale, amber ale, porter, Belgium pale ale and a smoked rye porter. Though initial production batch runs were at 20 gallon,the next few weeks will see batch sizes ramping up to 1.5 barrels (47 gallon) with projected 10 barrel (300-plus gallon) runs by the end of 2014.Five gallon kegs are currently available at the brewery and the beer has sold well at such recent local events as the Crawford Stewardship Project February fundraiser and Kickapoo Earth Day. Within the next few weeks look for DBC beers on shelves at the Viroqua Food Co-op and the Kickapoo Exchange Food Co-op, May 15, 2013 9:15 Gays Mills, and soon afterward local bars andpm / restaurants. For additional information, con-

Letters to the ed Driftless Mu in summer o

Letter to the editor: I am delighted to hear “Jammin' for Vets" three-day tival that is coming to Viroqua Combined with the annual Blu Gospel Festival, this will be a g tion to summer entertainm Driftless Region. For those looking to start a than August, don't neglect to way to the Driftless Music Fes and 7. This is the second an and features The Badaxe Bl local high school musicians,

UW surplu politicos can

Two weeks ago, some denounced of the fact that the U Wisconsin system has a $648 m et surplus. The spin on this is geous and the UW System sho ment immediate tuition cuts. A week later, a nonpart revealed the hastily-created Economic Development C (WEDC) has been operating with checks and balances with million seemingly in limbo. The spin on t graft. The news curve on both the budget surplus and the appropr

West Bend, Daily News - 2013/05/17 - A006 Property of Wisconsin News Tracker and members of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association

my car and forgot to take it with me when I drove away with a group of friends heading to the Blue Goose, near Dell Westby Timesout 05/16/2013 for lunch. Jean Nottestad found my purse in the roadway outside of town and turned it in

Mange Takk to Jean for her honesty and kind heart. Sincerely, Barb Murphy Westby

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday 1-4 p.m.

Guest editorial

Public notices for timber sales should stay in DNR’s budget by Matt Johnson One of government’s best tools for informing the public is through public notices in newspapers. Some government agencies try to wiggle out of their public notice obligations by seeking to place public notices on websites. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ proposed budget includes a plan that would eliminate public notices in newspapers announcing the sale of state-owned timber in the county where the timber is being sold. It’s obvious this would harm the residents of the county. County residents don’t comb through state websites to see if timber is being sold locally – they look for that in their community newspaper. Keeping the public informed is a solemn obligation. Allowing government to inform the public without objective supervision is perilous. In the last legislative session, the DNR attempted to eliminate water permit notices and navigable water notices in newspapers. The DNR wanted to put those notices on its website. That measure was not approved. Taking away the requirement for governments to post a notice in a newspaper removes the third-party

oversight provided by the newspaper and the independent proof of publication for that public notice. The notices published in newspapers are already being put on the Internet. The Wisconsin Newspaper Association augments public notice publication with postings on its websites. Governments, by statute, must adopt official newspapers to fulfill the duty of providing public notices and informing the public. Changing this aspect of how the DNR handles its notices will lead to the erosion of more public notices. Newspapers are not richly rewarded for providing public notices. The Department of Administration rates for publishing notices barely offsets the paper, ink and clerical time required to print public notices. Newspapers serve an important role watching over government at all levels. Publishing public notices, and protecting them for the citizenry, is a part of this role. The proposal to abandon public notices for the sale of state-owned timber should be eliminated from the DNR budget by the Joint Finance Committee. The DNR’s effort to erode the state’s public notice laws needs to end.

May 17, 2013 1:57 pm /

Published Wee

Chris Hardie Dorothy Jasp Eric Leum .. Matt Johnso

Local Area.... Other Wis .... Out of State..

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A11 • Monday, May 13, 2013

“Wisconsin’s independent voice”

OPINION

State Journal Editorial Board

Madison, Wisconsin State Journal 05/13/2013 Copy Reduced toWILLIAM %d%%K. from originalPublisher to fit letter page JOHNSTON • JOHN SMALLEY SCOTT MILFRED Editorial page editor

Editor

The views expressed in the editorials are shaped by the board, independent of news coverage decisions elsewhere in the newspaper.

OUR OPINION

Don’t let DNR skip public notice H

ere we go again. On a cycle as regular as spring rains followed by summer humidity, we can count on some elected official or government agency proposing bad ideas about public information. This time, again, it’s the Department of Natural Resources, trying to peddle in the state budget another version of a tired idea that was rebuffed in the 2011 legislative session. The broad issue is about public notices of various government activity. In this case, the topic in question is the sale of timber land in Wisconsin, and the DNR’s responsibility to let the citizenry know when and where such sales are to occur. Last time around, the topic was water regulations and oversight of the state’s navigable waters. Other likeminded attempts in the past involved the minutes of school board meetings, the votes taken, and wrong-headed attempts to limit the publication of that information. Some elected officials and public agencies want to keep public information under wraps. They would expect citizens to ferret out important records on their own by digging through vari-

The agency’s latest attempt to limit information affects timber sales. ous government websites. Whether it’s DNR plans for timber sales or changes to water rights, or the minutes from a school or city council meeting, those records should be easily obtainable and quickly accessible by citizens everywhere. And the best way to do that is to publish such legal notices in local newspapers, from the smallest in the state to the largest. Newspapers also post government notices online, where they are searchable on a single website. Part of Wisconsin’s great heritage in good government is our open records and open meetings law. Our law is among the strongest and most useful in the country. And it requires thirdparty publication of important public information. That third-party role, a function effectively filled by local newspapers for generations, removes the “fox guarding the henhouse” scenario that would exist if government entities

State Journal archives

Workers clear a trail through trees near La Crosse. The DNR should continue to publish public notices of the sale of timber land.

were able to simply post their information on their own websites, as suggested by the DNR. Sure, newspapers make money from public notices, and we would prefer to keep that revenue coming in. But far

more important is the concept of open, accessible governmental bodies and a free flow of public information. Burying that public information on government websites would be a giant step backward for Wisconsin.

Fighting their imagination

YOUR VIEWS

Be thoughtful when dialing 911 What a bizarre and strangely funny

SEND YOUR VIEWS We welcome your comments of 200

t should’ve been the shot heard around the world. Chances are, you didn’t hear it. An ominous sort of history was made last week near Austin, Texas, but it seems to have largely escaped notice. There was some media coverage, yes, but less than, say, Lindsay Lohan’s latest stint in rehab. LEONARD On May 2, you see, a group called PITTS JR. Defense Distributed, led by law student and self-described anarchist Cody Wilson, accomplished what was apparently the first successful firing of a gun “printed” entirely by a 3-D printer. According to Forbes reporter Andy Greenberg, who witnessed the test, the gun is made almost entirely of plastic, the only metal in it being the nail that served as a firing pin and the bullet it fired. A 3-D printer is a device that can download computer blueprints and use them to manufacture complex physical objects right on your desktop. The one Defense Distributed used is said to have cost $8,000. Amazon has one listed for $1,299. So we now have technology, largely unregulated, with the potential to turn every desktop into an armory. Forbes reports that, in just two days, 100,000 blueprints were downloaded. Hold that thought as you ponder another recent headline. It seems one Adam Kokesh, an Iraq War tainment section where it is reported 15, 2013 pmis/organizing an armed march on and 9:12 activist, that Jim Toth, actress Reese Wither- Mayveteran Washington for Independence Day. Participants — he spoon’s husband, was charged with claims 2,500 so far — with loaded rifles slung across first-time drunken driving in Georgia.