Author
Author explores gratitude’s dark side — and how being grateful might still rescue us
For the author of a book on gratitude Diana Butler Bass has what might be a surprising admission: Gratitude didn’t come naturally to her. Bass published “Grateful,” her 12th book, five years ago. But before writing it, “I would not have considered myself a naturally grateful person,” she says. “I always struggled with cultivating gratitude, […]
A Madison chef and his crew fix a Thanksgiving meal for those who might go hungry without it
Late Tuesday morning in a former restaurant space on the far west side of Madison, Fiona McTavish was cutting up smoked turkeys and piling the meat in a plastic food storage bin while Jeff Brogan mashed potatoes and Dave Smith cubed slices of bread for stuffing. Those were some of the ingredients being prepared for […]
State agency makes record contribution to school libraries for 2024
Wisconsin school libraries and media resources will share in a record $65 million in the coming year from the state’s Common School Fund thanks to strong investment earnings from the agency that manages the money. The fund is fed by the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands (BCPL), which manages state trust funds that were […]
As expected, Evers vetoes GOP bill that replaced child care and other aid with tax cut
Gov. Tony Evers vetoed the Republican rewrite of his special session bill Monday, declaring it “wholly out of touch with what Wisconsinites, including child care providers, some of our state’s largest employers, working parents, students, and our state’s higher education institutions, are asking for and need.” Evers’ rejection of the bill was widely expected. The […]
Assembly Democrats take aim at climate change in large package of bills
Proposals that cover agriculture, schools, electric utilities and workforce training are among 20 pieces of draft legislation to address climate change that Wisconsin Assembly Democrats began circulating Thursday. “The climate crisis is real, and there is no time to waste in taking action,” said Rep. Greta Neubauer (D-Racine), the Assembly’s Democratic leader, at a Capitol […]
Job numbers ease slightly, but state economist sees little cause for concern
Wisconsin jobs and unemployment figures cooled slightly in October, but the changes weren’t significant enough to suggest the economy is shifting, according to the state labor department. Wisconsin employers reported a projected 3.014 million jobs in October, down about 1,400 from September, the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) reported Thursday. There were 900 fewer construction […]
Assembly Republicans pass rewrite of Evers’ special session bill, sending it to likely demise
The ambitious special session that Gov. Tony Evers ordered in August drew to a close in the Assembly Tuesday, his $1 billion agenda torpedoed and replaced with a $2 billion tax cut that he is expected to veto for the second time. And while some Republican lawmakers defended their decision to replace the governor’s priorities […]
Advocates want a stronger role for family caregivers when patients leave the hospital
Advocacy groups are trying to mobilize lawmakers to write and pass a bill requiring hospitals to systematically inform and train family members or others who care for patients after they’re discharged from the hospital. Family caregivers account for 80% of the care that patients receive at home when they are released from the hospital or […]
New SEC rule aims to put a leash on predatory investors
The shutdown of a Marathon County paper mill a decade ago ended 450 jobs and forced the village of Brokaw, where the plant was located, to close up shop a few years later. “It was kind of a double whammy there,” says Randy Radtke, vice president of the Central Wisconsin Labor Council and former president […]
Milwaukee County stops taking fathers to court to pay back Medicaid for childbirth costs
Milwaukee County is on the verge of ending the practice of demanding that unwed fathers pay back the Medicaid program for the cost of covering the birth of their children. Dane County, which in 2020 stopped going to court to claw back those Medicaid dollars from fathers, is poised to drop pending cases that remain […]
UW Health nurses report problems with patient care to state
Nurses at UW Health in Madison escalated their call for the health care system to address staffing and related issues Thursday, submitting a stack of reports describing problems affecting patient care to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS). The reports, which nurses said numbered about 100, described incidents they have encountered on the job […]
Regulators cut rate increase for Wisconsin Power and Light, put off decision on coal plant
State utility regulators approved a rate increase for Wisconsin Power and Light Thursday that was almost half what the electric power provider sought but put off decisions on two broader issues that had been raised by the company in its petition. The Public Services Commission (PSC) voted to set aside how the cost of a […]