On Smoke sharing ends in purse snatching

Posted on October 14 at 12:28 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

One would think, living in fourth ward, one would have stranger danger ingrained in their head... BUT apparently this resident must be "new to the block" lol. Moral of the story, not all unsuspecting thugs wanna sit and chat up the current events peacefully with you over a smoke, especially when said purse is visable.... AND common sense is apparently not common knowledge.

On Couples seek middle ground on chores

Posted on October 7 at 8:18 a.m. ( Suggest removal )

The only reason this is even worthy enough of being a "story" now-a-days is because of the fact that more women are in the workplace today that ever in history. As its true today, it is harder for families to survive on one income more and more traditional chore-doers(women) are no longer there to do the chores thus this issue of who's gonna do it, comes into play. However the 20 and 30-year olds today are not the first generation to witness the sharing of these social roles, so it's not "wierd" or "new" to us. Our parents, atleast mine and many of my friends', did the same thing, shared responsibilities. It's not as common anymore for women to stay home with the children and take care of the home, and couples are forced to figure out how to accomplish many things without both getting completely burned out. I know in my household, where we both work full-time, raise three kids, and both attend school, life is chaotic and its amazing we get everything done, but we work together to help each other. I generally want to make things easier on him, and he the same. If we can do something to help each other, we do. It's called loving someone, and supporting them. Your significant other shouldn't have to be asked to do something, they should WANT to do it:) In my opinion, of course. Or maybe I'm just spoiled :)

On Wis. father charged in death of infant son

Posted on September 3 at 11:52 a.m. ( Suggest removal )

OH..... MY..... GOD..... This is horrible! Let's bash his head into a wall until there are cracks in it. I want first dibs!

On As if lung cancer wasn't enough: Smokers tax going up

Posted on August 31 at 7:42 a.m. ( Suggest removal )

As a former smoker(just 6 months ago) I cannot believe how high this tax is! Even if I WANTED to smoke now, I couldn't AFFORD it!!! It wouldn't even be possible! So it's actually keeping me from ever starting again. I am a huge fan of WI going smoke free next year. Even as a smoker I used to HATE going into any bars or bowling alleys knowing what I would smell like when I came home. And now its unbearable. I am glad now in about a year, I can go to a bar and enjoy a drink without leaving smelling like an ashtray. Go WI! And way to go smoke free!

On Officials go all out to track sex offenders

Posted on August 12 at 10:13 a.m. ( Suggest removal )

Concerned.... it is true that there are mis-applications of the registration laws, and that there are some negative consequences, though the accountability the registry provides, keeps offenders knowing that they are being kept an eye on. It also helps to assure that when there is another sex offense committed, and they need to find the suspect, they have pertinent information to sort through (a current list of possible suspects) instead of combing through just the general public, as it is known that past behavior COULD potentially forsee future risks of recidivism. My question is, how can we completely predict someone's danger level? Offenders lie all the time to appear less dangerous, and people do things unexpectedly, whether they appeared dangerous or not. It happens more than you think.

getinto.... it is true the registry gives you information as to where these offenders live, though one should be realistic enough to say, I'm not going to live where "they" live. Honestly, there are so many sex offenders living in all cities/states now-a-days, it would be theoretically impossible to live completely away from ALL of them, unless you were on a desered island! However knowing an offender's past can help you to make sure that if there is an offender in your neighborhood, you might not allow your young children outside alone to play, or you would adequately teach your children common "stranger danger" to include these individuals. But thinking that you are "safe" because you don't live near an offender of any kind, is ridiculous. Beware of the person standing behind you in the grocery store, the well-dressed, even-mannered-looking person that is really thinking how to lure their next victim away by his/her charming looks/personality. People just need to practice safe community social skills and be aware of possible illegal/criminal behavior.

I see this issue from both sides, and trust me I am NOT biased either way, just realistic and knowledable of the subject area, as I am in a relationship with a registered SO. This person's registration requirement effects me and my family(children) daily, and has it's good and bad points. To top it off, I am a criminal justice student, so I know both the social pros and cons to the issue, and the legalities of it. No system/tactic will ever be perfect, but this is a valuable resource to law enforcement and community safety, not just a punishment. Commnity safety is first and foremost, and if we can prevent just one more victim, then it is worth it!

On Janesville police seek robbery suspect

Posted on June 30 at 1:09 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

I cannot believe the only thing it takes to rob a bank in this city is a note telling someone at a bank that you are demanding money and to give it to you. You don't have to show a weapon or anything else. Unbeleivable!

On Home will support former inmates

Posted on June 9 at 3:54 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

I have witnessed how difficult returning to a "normal" life from prison, can be. Even for the strongest, with NO drug addicitions and a support network behind them, the reintegration into society and relearning to how maintain a normal daily schedule and be responsible for minimal life skills is a challenge for ex-inmates. I applaud this organization for helping provide these individuals with a better chance at success. Put it this way, if she succeeds, it's one less prisoner I am paying taxes for, one less child(her child) that is in the welfare system(and living off of our tax dollars), its a stepping stone to something bettger. If even half of our ex-inmate population had the support of a program like this, we might start to see our prison populations decline, as less offenders would be reincarcerated on technical violations of their release(i.e. lack of employment, lack of adequate shelter, etc). Perhaps this is the one push they need to help them recover from their addiction and become law-abiding citizens. And most programs like this are strict. If you mess up, you're out. We'll give you the tools you'll need to succeed but we will NOT do it for you. They still have to work for recovery, rehabilitation, reintegration. We're just not making it more difficult for them by throwing them back out on the street with nothing. Think about it people, this is the stability and an investment of our community's future! I would much rather know that people who are going to be released to my community regardless have a stable and structured environment to transition into/from than nothing at all!

On Police: Stalking often leads to violence

Posted on May 27 at 8:56 a.m. ( Suggest removal )

Many times these women go back to domestic violence situations because they feel they have very little options. If it involves living in a shelter with their children because they do not have friend/family that are willing to help them and support them while they pick themselves back up after leaving these monsters, for the least chaos in the lives of their children, they'll continue to take the abuse until they HAVE the resources they need to leave and be self-sufficient. Sometimes they just feel like they have no other choice but to go back. And by the time these women are going back to these men for 4 or 5 police calls, the men have beaten their self esteem down so far that they feel they couldn't stand on their own two feet even if they had an ARMY behind them. Police returning to these domestic violence situations should never place the blame on these women. Realize there are so many more emotional dynamics to these situations than "why does this stupid woman keep going back to this jerk?" We almost always wake up eventually... for some of us, it just takes longer and more serious abuse, than others.

On UPDATED: Cat caused the power outage

Posted on May 21 at 11:52 a.m. ( Suggest removal )

When my lights flickered I was NOT thinking, "stupid cat".... craziness! How did a cat get to the wires again? Don't they have them like closed off or something? Strange.

On Rock County bar owners see both sides of smoking debate

Posted on May 9 at 3:43 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

I think the statewide smoking ban is FANTASTIC. Even when I used to smoke, I used to HATE how smokey it was in bars. Even as a SMOKER I used to barely be able to enjoy a drink because my eyes would be burning so horribly. Now as I am proudly 84 days from quitting smoking, I cannot wait to see the bars in Janesville go smoke-free so that I won't have to travel to Madison to visit a smoke-free bar! I'm glad that soon I will be able to have a supportive atmostphere to stay quit, and still be able to go out and enjoy a cocktail with friends. I like whoever used the bathroom analogy. You can't just go to the bathroom wherever you please, because it is not socially acceptable, nor is it sanitary, so you shouldn't be able to do something as equally gross as smoking anywhere you want. You should have to use the designated area, OUTSIDE! Not tryin to be one of those bossy ex-smokers, but please people, this is a public health issue!!!