Madison West High's (alcohol) test success
Tanya Lawler was taken aback. Her daughter, returning from West High's homecoming dance on Sept. 25, mentioned that students were randomly selected to take a breath test as they arrived, to see if...
View ArticleUW: All news is good news?
The UW-Madison is crowing about a new study of university news coverage that says the university was mentioned 6,995 times in "New York Times" articles between 1945 and 2005. That ranks the UW-Madison...
View ArticleFranklin Center for Government & Public Integrity launching Wisconsin media...
It's fashionable these days to lament the demise of state government reporting, especially investigative stories. And yes, shrinking newsroom budgets have trimmed the size of the press corps assigned...
View ArticlePoll pot: Dane County voters to get say on medical marijuana
Gary Storck of Madison has been waiting a long time for his medicine to be legalized; he knows he has some waiting yet to do. But Storck, the president of Wisconsin NORML and a member of Is My Medicine...
View ArticleTom Barrett and Scott Walker are lying!
Everyone knows the American public has a low opinion of politicians. What's sometimes overlooked is why. And the biggest reason is the politicians themselves -- not what they do, necessarily, but what...
View ArticleFreedom from Religion Foundation ads urge atheists to come 'out of the closet'
The Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation is unveiling a bold new ad campaign that borrows an idea popularized by other movements. "Out of the closet" ads just went up on 13 city of Madison...
View ArticleFeds probe UW-Madison campus animal care violations
A team of investigators from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is looking into the UW-Madison's record of citations regarding the use of animals in research, which could lead to fines or other...
View ArticleThe inadequacy of rules
Last week, nearly two months after being asked, the Madison Police Department released to "Isthmus" records of its internal investigation into a 2006 incident involving then-26-year-old Jacob Bauer,...
View ArticleDetective saw letter, sought charge
What follows is a letter of apology and commendation sent March 15, 2004, by Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard to a Madison woman named Patty, against whom his office previously filed a...
View ArticleSlushie machine gets the boot at O'Keeffe Middle School
A controversial slushie machine installed at O'Keeffe Middle school in Madison is on its way out, after the school's principal joined parents in raising concerns. "They're taking it out of here...
View ArticleHow trustworthy is MacIver News Service?
You don't have to be an investigative reporter to sense something a bit odd about a North Dakota group's interest in setting up news bureaus in Madison.
View ArticleWar and peace at UW's Memorial Union
The letter writer to "Isthmus" made his points clearly and well, in response to an article on the upcoming renovation of the UW's Memorial Union.
View ArticleMadison to reactiviate multi-stall parking meters
Bill Knobeloch, Madison's parking utility manager, says the city is just about to activate its newfangled multi-stall terminals, where parkers can pay with cash or credit. Why does that sound familiar?
View ArticleMore than a dozen Wisconsin candidates diss League of Women Voters questionnaire
There is nothing partisan about the League of Women Voters' mission, to help the electorate make informed choices. There is nothing tricky or unfair in the questions it asks candidates for its helpful...
View ArticleHow committed to healthy choices is the Madison school district really?
At last month's Food for Thought Festival in Madison, Martha Pings attended a panel discussion titled "Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children." Among the panelists was Frank Kelly,...
View ArticleDane County Republicans enjoy triumphant 2010 election night
What a difference two years makes. In November 2008, I hung with Dane County Republicans on the night of the election that brought Barack Obama and the Democrats to power. It was a sad assemblage, with...
View ArticleMadison Ald. Bridget Maniaci seeks source of leak to "State Journal"
Bridget Maniaci is trying to determine who ratted her out to the press. Last Friday, the Madison alderperson initiated an open records request to all Common Council members seeking emails from the...
View ArticleWisconsin Supreme Court undercuts openess
It was like those legal dramas on TV. The judge, ruling from the bench, always starts out paying homage to some legal principle or perspective. Then there's a "but" and the judge shifts gears, coming...
View ArticleGOP warned UW-Whitewater College Republican about dissing Ron Johnson
A junior majoring in political science, Mitch Sands is chair of the College Republicans chapter at the UW-Whitewater. He says that on Sunday, July 19, he had an encounter with the presumed frontrunner...
View ArticleMadison city attorney notices called improper
It may not qualify as the crime of the century, but Madison attorney Erik Guenther suggests it might be a crime. On July 14, Guenther's law firm colleague, Marcus Berghahn, was served a subpoena...
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