On UW-Madison seeks exemption from open-records law

Posted on May 24 at 2:14 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

Mr. Paine - research done with tax $$ at the UW develop patents that are then owned by the UW - with the researcher usually getting a small share of the profits. So new patents SAVE the taxpayers dollars. You should encourage this one!.

On Edgerton man marks 20th anniversary of heart transplant

Posted on May 23 at 10:19 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

Perhaps his heart regenerated? (joke for Dr. Who fans) Congratulations on 20 years and here is to 20 more!

On Milton school staff morale at ‘all-time low’ over plan, teachers say

Posted on May 20 at 4:54 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

Disregarding all the off-topic bickering about Obama and Walker, I would like to re-focus all of the fiscal hawks (and the rest of you) on the fact that this does not seem to be about insurance as much as it is about Board fiscal policy, and how they are choosing to handle dwindling resources. With a projected deficit of between $800,000 and $50,000 (pretty huge range) the Milton Board is choosing higher number and cutting accordingly, and, apparently, beyond (to the applause of some), but is that what really serves education best? There is the question that needs to be asked! One can watch the bottom line only so much before losing sight of everything else of importance. Balance is more than just a budgetary word.

On Milton school staff morale at ‘all-time low’ over plan, teachers say

Posted on May 18 at 3:12 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

Logical...."spending when they do not have funds"???!! Where do you find that? Certainly not in the article. Quite the contrary - the article mentions cutting when the funds were later found to be available. What would you tell your boss if they came to you and said "We'd like to give you a raise, but we just aren't making any money", then cut your pay to infuse money into the business - then later found they actually had a half-million dollars extra lying around. That is exactly what is happening in Milton from the sounds of it.

On Milton school staff morale at ‘all-time low’ over plan, teachers say

Posted on May 18 at 2:02 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

I can live with staying within budget, WIislady, but what do you do when the budget forecasts are so wildly inaccurate?

On Milton school staff morale at ‘all-time low’ over plan, teachers say

Posted on May 18 at 1:25 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

It is about staying competitive in the marketplace. Many local businesses make sure they are paying their employees fair market rates to make sure those employees don't run to the competition for a job. Milton schools need to do the same thing. I know that my employer gives us occasional "market increases" to make sure we aren't straying - because they value our services and know that the savings of a cheaper employee are more than offset by the cost of training that new employee and the loss of expertise if I (or someone else) leave.

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The other point that most of the teacher bashers are seeming to miss from this article is that the district seems to have a real problem with inaccurate forecasts. From the article: "The district has a history in the last four years of releasing budget estimates early in the year that overstate potential deficits by $300,000 to $500,000, district officials have acknowledged" So every year the district cuts pay, benefits, staff and programs based on these poor forecasts.....and then has plenty of money to pay for them if they had not been cut. Guess you have to fund a new hockey program somehow..... I can see why the teachers are griping. I'm not sure why the community isn't.

On Wisconsin unemployment rate at 7.1 percent

Posted on May 16 at 2:27 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

I don't think Walker's office qualifies as an unbiased source. Let's see, though. 22,000 jobs lost and the rate stayed the same. Must mean 22,000 have left the workforce, or have stopped looking for work. Yep- "It's working", but Wisconsin residents are not.

On With health insurance done, Janesville School Board turns to budget

Posted on May 16 at 9:02 a.m. ( Suggest removal )

I think the key point of complete lunacy in the article is the sentence that says: " if the district doesn’t spend what it budgeted, it would lose state aid". Dumbest rule ever. Coming in under budget should be rewarded - not punished.

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As for the insurance - big win for Mercy. Although I can see the problem. My spouse's employer offers a choice between Dean and Mercy - identical plans, but Dean costs about 12% more...and I think that gap is growing again.

On God's side

Posted on May 10 at 3:55 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

Eternal torture....you mean they have to read the blogs here at the Gazette? Perhaps I see your point ;-)! It is OK if you want to think I'm delusional. I am comfortable with my faith.

On God's side

Posted on May 9 at 10:18 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

C'mon Prounion. We've agreed on a lot of things in the past. Fact is that I am a Christian and you are not. That's OK. I'm not "lying for Jesus" - the phrase is an oxymoron. I am defending the fact that the Bible must be taken as a whole - a whole which is greater than the sum of its parts. I've read through the entire Bible many times and am not always happy with a lot of what is commanded in the OT, but I see the whole picture that includes a NT that frees us from the bondage of the OT Law and offers forgiveness for my own, numerous, shortcomings. In that I find truth and comfort. If you do not, then I respect that, although I wish you did. Can you also respect my faith?