Saturday, August 13, 2011

The Ames Straw Poll, Where Ticket Buyers Go Full Circle in Their Looniness (1987-2011)

Eventual nominee highlighted in orange.  All screenshots are from Wikipedia.






GOP candidates face early test in 2012 campaign. (My Way, 8/13/2011)

Excerpt: Those willing to shell out $30 for a ticket were eligible to vote, though some campaigns paid for tickets they distributed to backers. Some also organized bus caravans to bring backers to the event. Turnout in the past has ranged from 14,000 to 23,000.

The poll results are nonbinding, amount to a popularity contest and offer candidates a chance to test their get-out-the-vote organizations. Nonetheless, the outcome probably will provide a road map for the Iowa campaign heading into the caucuses that are just four months away
.


"Take a Book Leave a Book" at the Little Library


Little Library supporters find that if you build it, they will come. (Wisconsin State Journal, 7/31/2011)

Excerpt: The brainchild of Rick Brooks of Madison and Todd Bol of Hudson, the Little Library has found a home in more than 20 spots in the Madison area since last summer and is spreading to communities in states from Minnesota to New York. In an era of laptop screens and eBooks, happening upon a Little Library can have its own special magic.

Essentially a tiny house on a post, the Little Library is still such a novelty that its mere presence can stop traffic. Walkers and runners stop in their tracks to gawk, peek inside and examine the box with curiosity and disbelief
.

Expanded Library Hours for A Community "Desperate for Access to Knowledge and Technology"


Brooklyn Public Library expanding its hours despite budget crunch. (New York Daily News, 8/11/2011)

Excerpt: The Brooklyn Public Library is launching a big expansion of its hours despite the city's budget crunch - and it isn't costing a dime.

Branches will open their doors for 21% longer starting next month - with many adding Saturday service and others adding extra hours without spending extra cash.

"I'm actually doing business with [$1.2million] less and I'm still doing all of this," said interim Executive Director Linda Johnson, who was brought in last year to overhaul the system after the past two directors left amid controversy. "We're seeing a community that is really desperate for access to knowledge and technology."

Librarians have traditionally come in as many as two hours before branches open to the public to count cash from fines and do other administrative work, Johnson said.

It's a system that lingered even after those tasks were automated. Johnson decided to scrap it and have librarians on the clock only while libraries are open
.

A Real Tea Bagger Quote? Call Me a Skeptic

From Friday evening, August 12, 2011.


Kilbourn Public Library 2012 Budget Development


Library asks for same amount from city of Dells. (Wisconsin Dells Events, 8/12/2011)

Excerpt: The Kilbourn Public Library Board approved asking the city of Wisconsin Dells for the same funding it received last year, but is still waiting to see how much it can plan to budget with from funds from the Village of Lake Delton.

At a meeting Aug. 4, Library Director Cathy Borck presented a budget that asks for $247,737 from the city. It is the same amount that was budgeted for 2011, and the board decided to request the funds even though the city clerk is asking departments to decrease budgets by 5 percent this year.

Borck said she figured on increases in cost of fuel, water and light and alarms. Fuel is budgeted at $3,500, and water and light at $14,610. In 2010, fuel cost $2,673 and water and light cost $10,138.

The board believed before that it would be limited in paying back its $2.5 million bond for the library addition with only monies coming from the surrounding counties that also support the library. But Borck said when the maintenance of effort requirement that required municipalities to fund their libraries at an average of what they funded them at for the previous three years was discontinued, it also gave libraries more flexibility on which monies can be used to pay back borrowed funds.

Borck said even though the state law regarding maintenance of effort was ended, she expects the library to be funded at least by the three-year average of previous year funding because it is written into the agreement between the city of Wisconsin Dells and village of Lake Delton.
  [Emphasis added.]

Borck also said the library is being asked to compare what it spends on janitorial services now to what the bids coming in show for how much it would cost to contract with a service. The city of Wisconsin Dells is considering contracting out for certain services
.

Former Yonkers Public Library Employee Allegedly Steals $163,200 from Fines


Former Yonkers library employee denies stealing $163G. (LoHud.com, 8/10/2011)

ExcerptReed worked in the library's business office and was responsible for collecting fines and other revenue from the three branches of the Yonkers Public Library System.

She was also responsible for handing over the library's revenue to the Yonkers Finance Department for deposit.

County prosecutors say she stole the money between July 7, 2004 and Dec. 7, 2010, from One Larkin Center in Yonkers.

Police said she had a key to the library's locked deposit bag and used it to pilfer cash. She also is accused of altering business records to hide the missing funds.

District Attorney Janet DiFiore said the stolen money could have been used to buy reading materials and computers for Yonkers libraries
.

Friday, August 12, 2011

Free Copies of Slaughterhouse-Five to High School Students Where Book Was Banned


The Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library in Indianapolis is giving away free copies of Slaughterhouse-Five to high school students in Republic, Missouri, where the school board banned the book from the curriculum and library.

Make a KVML bookban donation here.

Computer in Libraries: You Can't Please Everyone

Today's selected tweets.


Bob Bocher's "School and Library Broadband and Internet Access in Wisconsin" Background Paper, With Links and Screenshots (Part 3: Recent Developments)

The deep dive concludes.


Recent Developments
The move to broadband threatens the telecommunication carriers’ historic reliance on income from plain old (voice) telephone service (POTs) because people are canceling their landline phone service in favor of cell service and other broadband voice services, like Skype.

[Footnote #29. AT&T stated this succinctly in a December 2009 filing with the FCC: "With each passing day more communications services migrate to broadband, leaving plain-old telephone service (POTS) as relics of a by-gone era. With an outdated product, falling revenues, and rising costs, the POTS business is unsustainable for the long run".]

COMMENTS OF AT&T INC. ON THE TRANSITION FROM THE LEGACY
Thus the carriers realize that broadband is a major source of their future business and they will take whatever actions necessary to protect that business. In protecting their business the carriers have long viewed the UW and WiscNet as inappropriately intruding in their market, and the CAN grants significantly increased the carrier’s angst. This concern is reflected in a June 7, 2011, Access Wisconsin press release: "We take great offense at the idea that taxpayer money should be used to subsidize [30] a government agency such as UW-extension to duplicate and compete with our services. This is wasteful and inappropriate." 

[Footnote #30.  In relation to taxpayers subsidizes, Access WI does not mention that its members and other carriers receive $24 million annually in TEACH subsidies or that in 2010 Wisconsin carriers received $131 million in direct federal telecommunication subsidies. Both subsidies are ultimately paid by taxpayers.]  (Emphasis added.)

First page of Access Wisconsin news release.

Access Wisconsin also states that in some small communities the school district is the carrier’s largest customer—implying that the district should feel some type of obligation to remain a customer even if it means paying more for less service.  [Emphasis added.]

In an attempt to protect their market by legislation the telecommunication carriers once more successfully lobbied the legislature to take action. As a result, in early June the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee (JFC) passed a motion—with no public hearing, notice or input—to amend the biennial budget bill as follows:

1. Prohibit the UW from participating in the three broadband grants and require that the funds be returned;

2. Prohibit the UW from providing telecommunication services, including Internet and broadband, to any other entity when such services are available from a carrier.

3. Prohibit the UW from having any relationship with any entity that provides telecommunication services, Internet or broadband unless that entity only provides these services to the UW. (While clearly aimed at severing the WiscNet – UW relationship, taken at face value this language would likely have prohibited the UW from getting Internet access or even basic voice phone service.)  [Emphasis added.]

4. Require the Legislative Audit Bureau to conduct a program and financial audit of the UW’s use of telecommunication services and its relationship with WiscNet

After considerable objections from the UW, the CAN grant participants and the broader education and library communities—and including the citizens who utilize these institutions—the final budget bill that passed will allow the UW to proceed with its grants.  It will also delay the imposition of prohibition #3 above until July 1, 2013. The bill allowed Joint Finance to remove #3 but Governor Walker vetoed this and thus the full legislature will need to act by July 1, 2013, to remove this prohibition.


The final bill requires the Legislative Audit Bureau to complete its audit by January 1, 2013. [Footnote #32.  Audit language in budget bill.]

The language also required the UW to have all ―uncommitted’ grant funds approved by Joint Finance. The only grant funds not committed by mid-June were for the Wausau CAN and Joint Finance approved this funding unanimously on July 19, 2011. [Footnote #33.  Legislative Fiscal Bureau 3-page memo to Joint Finance. ]

During the June debate several legislators encouraged the UW and the carriers to try and reconcile their differences and the parties did meet once in early July.  However on July 20, the day after Joint Finance approved the Wausau CAN funding, Access Wisconsin filed a lawsuit in Dane County circuit court which halted any further conversations. The suit was filed against the UW, WiscNet, and CCI Systems and the state Department of Transportation.

[Footnote #34.   As a telecommunications carrier CCI Systems is not prohibited by law from providing telecommunications services. Rather they are being asked to return the grant money that they have been already expended because of the alleged "llegal" UW activities. The suit wants to enjoin the Department of Transportation from providing to the grant the rights-of-way permits needed for the middle-mile, long-haul fiber routes.]

Access Wisconsin claims that its members will be ―irreparably harmed by the defendants’ conduct‖ in implementing the CAN broadband grants. While the suit is based on several claims, a primary one is that UW’s participation in the broadband grants violates the statute(36.585[2]) prohibiting the UW from providing telecommunication and broadband services outside of its own campuses or mission. The UW very much believes that it is acting wholly within the law, in part because it is acting within its mission.


On July 21, 2011, the circuit court denied a request by Access Wisconsin for a temporary restraining order to stop any further work on the CAN grants. Another hearing will be held on August 30.  [The hearing is now scheduled for Thursday, September 15.   The WistNet lawyers requested a 2-week delay in order to have more time to gather background docments for their case.]



Depending on the outcome of the August hearing, the losing side can appeal and thus this issue could remain in the courts for many months. The UW and its private sector telecommunications partner, CCI Systems, have already invested millions of dollars in the CAN projects and they are proceeding.

For Further Information
If you have any comments, suggested edits or need further information, please contact Bob Bocher, 608-266-2127; robert.bocher@dpi.wi.gov.

Part 1.
Part 2.

Related WiscNet/BCCB posts:
About the Access Wisconsin lawsuit.  (8/5/2011)
Case summary with names of defendants' attorneys.  (8/4/2011)
An example of how advocacy works.  (7/31/2011)
From Peter C. Anderson's Court Official Calendar for Dane County.  (7/24/2011)
Lawsuit update and summary.  (7/22/2011)
Judge Anderson denies UW broadband restraining order.  (7/21/2011)
Plaintiffs v. Defendants.  (7/20/2011)
Telcos whine while Wisconsin falls behind.  (7/20/2011)
Access Wisconsin news release.  (7/19/2011)
LRB clarifies WiscNet veto. (6/30/2011)
WiscNet:  Moving Forward.  (6/30/2011)
Walker's WiscNet veto:  What does it mean?  (6/27/2011)
Rest assured they'll be more fights in this battle.  (6/24/2011)
Wisconsin Senate passes budget.  (6/17/2011)
Amendment update.    (6/16/2011)
Assembly passes budget at 3:05 a.m.  (6/16/2011)
Wispolitics budget blog.  (6/15/2011)
Wisconsin ranks 43rd for broadband Internet coverage.  (6/15/2011)
Ron Kind news release.  (6/15/2011)
Assembly 8.  (6/15/2011)
Highest level alert.  (6/15/2011)
This is what democracy looks like.  (6/15/2011)
WSTA's day of disappointment.  (6/14/2011)
They can hear us now.  (6/14/2011)
Appleton Post-Crescent editorial.  (6/14/2011)
YouTube video.  (6/14/2011)
Hedberg Public Library promotes WiscNet.  (6/14/2011)
League of Wisconsin Municipalities press release.  (6/14/2011)
UW General Counsel opinion.  (6/13/2011)
Ars Technica WiscNet coverage.  (6/13/2011)
Wausau Daily Herald editorial.  (6/13/2011)
If your representative is Robin Vos...   (6/13/2011)
Baraboo School Board unhappy with JFC WiscNet action.  (6/13/2011)
WiscNet debate from the NE WI prospective.  (6/12/2011)
David Weinhold letter to editor.  (6122010
Rep. Moelpske's statement. (6/11/2011)
COLAND letter to Sen. Fitzgerald.  (6/10/2011)
Rhonda Puntney's op-ed piece.  (6/10/2011)
Nass letter to Fitzgerald and Vos.  (6/9/2011)
CINC response.  (6/9/2011)
UW response.  (6/9/2011)
Manna from heaven.  (6/8/2011)

Sauk County Officials Ask for Input on 120 Services


Sauk County Board seeks taxpayer input. (Reedsburg Times-Press, 8/6/2011)

Excerpt:    Like all local governments, Sauk County is facing budget challenges in 2012 and beyond.

To help direct county officials in making most of their budgets, the Sauk County Finance Committee has created an online survey and invites county residents to participate so that their voices can be heard.

The finance committee and Sauk County Board will consider the input from surveys when reviewing programs and services provided, so that the most important services are offered with the best quality possible
.

Wondering how many people will actually weigh in on the entire list of 120 services.  (If I were a Sauk County resident, I'd take a selective approach.)
  • Public safety  (17 categories)
  • Judicial (8)
  • Health & social services - Aging and disability programs (12)
  • Health & social services - County health (6)
  • Health & social services - Human services (12)
  • Other health & social services (5)
  • Health & social services - Housing authority (4)
  • Transportation (13)
  • Parks, education, & economic development (17; "Libraries" included here)
  • Land use/Land records (8)
  • Conservation (8)
  • General government (10)

Each of these 120 services can be considered according to the following:

Portage Public Library Moves Forward with Building Expansion


Plan for Portage library expansion moves ahead; board approves consultant for fundraising.  (Portage Daily Register, 8/9/2011)

Excerpt:    Portage Public Library board members threw their support and the library's resources behind a 6,000-square-foot building expansion, voting Tuesday to hire a consultant to help raise $1 million to $1.25 million through a nine-month community fundraising campaign.

"So that's a big forward step," board President Rich Davis after the vote.

Money for the expansion at 253 W. Edgewater St. would come from several sources:

• Up to $300,000 from the Bidwell Foundation, a local charitable institution that helped fund the original library building's construction with a $750,000 grant in 1995.

• Several hundred thousand dollars from the city of Portage. Library board members plan to make an appearance before the Common Council on Aug. 25 and present a case. Library Director Shannon Schultz said the idea was to pay for the expansion without new taxes.

The rest of the money would come from the community. To guide it in its fundraising efforts, the board voted to pay Madison, Ind.-based Woodburn, Kyle & Co. $90,000 plus some expenses such as partial cost of air travel. In return, the consulting company will provide its expertise as well as services and items such as volunteer training, campaign materials, a donor database, assistance in writing corporate proposals and news releases
.

Related posts:
Board approves feasibility study for library expansion.  (7/1/2011)
Board reviews estimates for expansion project.  (6/22/2011)
Library expansion plans continue to develop.  (2/9/2011)
Library expansion to focus on youth services.  (10/15/2010)
Putting together the financial pieces for building expansion.  (5/12/2010)
Library seeks community input for expansion.  (1/13/2010)
Board discussion rental property options.  (11/11/2009)

Fond du Lac Reaches Fundraising Goal for Branch Library


Community comes through for new FdL Library branch. (Fond du Lac Reporter, 8/11/2011)

Excerpt: The Fond du Lac Public Library has surpassed its fundraising goal for a branch location near Festival Foods.

Eight weeks ago, library officials said they needed to raise $40,000 from the community to open a branch location

"This is just phenomenal," said Library Director Ken Hall in a news release. "We now have the funds to open and furnish what will be a real asset to our community. We're bowled over and very grateful."

To date, the library has received just over $42,000, including $20,000 from Fond du Lac businesswoman Judith Berger and $10,000 from an anonymous contributor who challenged the community to match that amount.

The $42,000 will be enough to paint, carpet and furnish the library branch
.

Related post:
East side branch to open in fall.  (6/8/2011)

Marathon County Ranks Services to Address $500,000 Budget Shortfall


Marathon County mulls which programs will face cuts amid $500,000 budget shortfall. (Wausau Daily Herald, 8/12/2011)

Excerpt:    North Central Health Care's Mount View Care Center and aquatic services and Marathon County Public Library are among the programs that could be cut as the county tries to fill a $500,000 hole in its budget.

To help determine where cuts can best be made to the county's $130 million budget, County Board and administration officials recently ranked all services provided by the county. The health care center and library initially came out near the bottom again, as they did the last time the county conducted such an exercise. But during a Thursday night retreat at the county courthouse, the County Board moved up the public library from a lower priority to somewhere in the middle.

To determine the rankings, county officials considered whether a program is mandated and the consequences of eliminating it, whether a program leverages outside funding and the chances that the county could outsource it, among others.

Marathon County Administrator Brad Karger said his top priority is to look for efficiencies and save money, but he told the County Board on Thursday he's confident the county can avoid eliminating programs.

"We're in an environment where we may not have to eliminate programs, but we will have to reduce programs," he said
.

Other county and municipal budget news.
City of Beloit faces a challenging budget process.  (8/8/2011)
Fond du Lac city manager sez Governor's tools not enough to offset cuts.  (8/2/2011)
Manitowoc mayor asks department heads for 10% budget cuts.  (8/2/2011)

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Speaking Up for the Toronto Public Library


Toronto’s libraries keep us connected in a wireless world. (Toronto Globe & Mail, 8/10/2011)

Excerpt: Why do Toronto libraries have such a loyal following in an era when books on paper seem to be going out of style? One reason is that today’s libraries provide much more than books. They have evolved into vital community hubs, offering everything from language training to employment services.

Walk into a Toronto Public Library branch and you might find a new immigrant typing up his résumé, a teenager researching a school project on a computer and a group of young mothers practising their English. Libraries offer courses that help newcomers prepare for the citizenship test. They help young adults achieve financial literacy. They offer tutoring for schoolchildren struggling to read.

Consider the St. James Town branch at Sherbourne and Wellesley, on the east side of downtown. It is named after the thicket of apartment towers nearby that house thousands of the city’s poorest residents, many of them recent immigrants. Along with shelves of books in English and French, it offers volumes in Chinese and Tamil, with smaller collections in Russian, Tagalog and Spanish (not to mention some DVDs in Hindi).

When I visited on a midweek afternoon, a little girl read a book on a ledge in the children’s section, a woman in a hijab typed on a computer as her daughters looked on, and a librarian taught an elderly woman how to use the Internet. In one corner of the pleasant, light-filled space, men pecked at their laptops on tables equipped with electrical plug-ins
.

Related posts:
Toronto councillors not lining ujp to support mayor's call to close libraries.  (8/6/2011)
Library rallies its supporters.  (8/6/2011)
Toronto mayor Doug Ford goes hyperbolic. (7/29/2011)
Toronto councilor uses his position to bully Margaret Atwood  .(7/27/2011)

Christine O'Donnell, You're 15 Minutes Are Up

#52,071 on Amazon
Hardly anyone remembers who you are. And those who do are definitely into satireChristine O’Donnell’s Amazon page ‘bombed’ with dildos. (The Raw Story, 8/11/2011)

Levi's "Go Forth" Ad No Longer Running in the UK

National Conference of State Legislatures Doing Telcos' Bidding


NCSL Voting on Community Broadband Resolution. (Community Broadband Network, 8/11/2011)

Excerpt: The National Conference of State Legislatures is currently meeting and today will vote on a resolution relating to community broadband networks. The resolution calls for NCSL to fight any federal effort to implement the National Broadband Plan recommendation that all communities be empowered to decide locally if they should build a network.

Fabiola Carrion of Progressive States Network is there and put together a community broadband factsheet [pdf] and a call to action for people to oppose this wording
.

Gee, I wonder where the wording of this resolution came from.  If not AT&T, then

Curses!  Foiled again!

Not one to be deterred.......
You'll find the full Word document at MuniWireless.   Although the NCLS resolution doesn't parrot the ALEC model legislation word for word, the two documents are certainly in clear alignment with private telcommunications providers.

Striking while the iron is hot.

Here is a map showing the majority party in the lower houses (i.e., the Assembly in Wisconsin) of the 50 state legislatures.

And the upper houses.

Reading: The Cheapest Alternative

Deciding on a Book, and How to Read It.  (The New York Times, 8/11/2011)

ExcerptFor the last chapters of the book, I read the paperback. It took barely a paragraph for me to feel frustrated. I kept looking up things on my iPhone, and forgetting to earmark my page.

In the end, it might come down to a personal choice based on the type of phone you own. I was torn between the Kindle and the iPad 2. The Kindle is light and costs much less, but it is also limited in that it can’t connect to the Web. The iPad 2 costs much more, but has so many added features it seems worth the added expense.

But if money is tight, go for print. My used paperback cost only $4.


The cheapest alternative.  Check out a copy for free at your local public library.



Skipping Page 7 in "The Story of Babar"


When we shield our kids from scary stories, who are we really trying to protect? (Boston Globe, 8/11/2011)

ExcerptOn the seventh page of “The Story of Babar’’ by Jean De Brunhoff, the little elephant is riding on his mother’s back when something awful happens: “a wicked hunter, hidden behind some bushes, shoots at them. The hunter has killed Babar’s mother!’’ The pictures tell the rest of the story - we see Babar happily atop his mother in one scene, crying by her side the next. The first dozen times I read the book to my son, when I reached that two-page spread, I would pinch the pages together to turn as one, and then skip on ahead. One night, though, when I was out of the house, his father read him “Babar’’ at bedtime.

“You skipped page 7, right?’’ I asked.

He looked at me blankly. “I read the book,’’ he said.

We exchanged some unpleasant words, and I was left to ponder why I’d been so afraid to read my son this page of “Babar.’’


[snip]

Judith Schickedanz, professor emerita in the school of education at Boston University and a consultant to PBS children’s programming, says, “It’s really important to keep in mind that the child from 4 to 8 is really old enough to have quite a bit of information about reality - that adults can die and that includes their parents - but what they don’t have is a sense of probability.’’ It’s up to parents, she says, to provide a context to help their children handle ideas that both fascinate and terrify them.

Tatar urges parents not to overthink it; kids are “wonderfully curious. They are more intelligent than we give them credit for.’’

Public Policy Forum Research Brief: Satisfaction with Municipal Services


Notes on survey data and methodology.  (See page 2.)
  • 391 respondents (which seems like a small sampling to me) are somewhat representative of the four-county Milwaukee area population of 1.5 million,
  • Whites over-represented, African-Americans under-represented.
  • Women, college graduates, and people over 50 over-represented.

The only mention of libraries occurs on page 5, under the heading of "Impressions of Existing Shared Services".  The Milwaukee County Federated Library System receives the highest ranking.

Excerpt from this section of the report.  Differences in opinion about these shared services are associated with respondents’ ideological leanings and political affiliations. Those who consider themselves conservative are significantly less likely to have a favorable impression of each service, as are those who identify themselves as Republicans.

More about The People Speak poll.

    Municipalities Feel the Squeeze of Declining Property Values


    Declining property values put squeeze on municipalities. As values decline, area tax rates are rising. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, 8/10/2011)

    Excerpt: Henken, the [Public Policy F]orum president, said the decline in values will pose challenges to government officials when combined with new limits on property tax increases that the state has imposed.

    The state budget limits tax levy increases to the value of new construction.

    New construction in southeast Wisconsin grew at only 0.8% from 2009 to 2010, according to the forum report.

    "With reduced values, policy-makers have little choice but to contemplate raising rates in order to maintain existing levels of service," the forum study says.

    Said Henken, "One of the stories of this report in previous years has been as property values have been going up it did give quite a bit of leeway to local officials to see some better than inflationary growth in property tax collections. I think the combination now of both the declining values and the strict caps has changed that dynamic."

    "I think we are seeing the start of an era in which overall property tax collections are likely to be capped at the 1% to 2% or even less level," Henken said.

    A number of communities already are looking at the prospect of sharing services as a way to deal with cuts in state aid to municipalities and the levy limits
    .  [Emphasis added.]


    Wonder What This Assembly Representative Thinks About the Current "Moderate Republican" Meme

    Here's a hint.

    The Steps to Amending the Wisconsin State Constitution

    Vos: ‘recall the recall elections'. (Racine Journal-Times,  8/10/2011)

    ExcerptOne day after recall elections targeting state Republicans were held, Rep. Robin Vos announced an effort to "recall the recall elections."

    Vos, R-Rochester, said he is drafting an amendment to the state constitution that would require petitioners give a specific reason- such as a criminal conviction or ethics violation - before mounting a recall effort.

    "I don't want recalls to become the norm," Vos said.

    He said in the 1990s there was one recall election in the state, two in the first decade of the 2000s and nine this year.

    "When you vote for someone you say, ‘I trust you to represent me for the next two to four years,'" Vos said.

    He said he fears the threat of recalls will keep state elected officials from making tough decisions if there are not limits, such as a specific, named reason for the recall
    .

    Related post:
    Will the recall elections embolden moderate Republicans? (8/11/2011)

    Will the Recall Results Embolden Moderate Republicans?


    Recall results could usher in rise of moderate Republicans.  (Wisconsin State Journal, 8/11/2011)

    ExcerptThe GOP still controls the state Senate, but that doesn’t mean a power shift isn’t taking place at the Capitol.

    Democrats on Tuesday fell one win short of taking the three seats needed to seize control of the Senate. But any relief felt by Gov. Scott Walker and Republican leadership was tempered Wednesday as the mathematics of passing new legislation settled in.

    If Democrats win their two recall elections next week, Republicans will have a narrow 17-to-16 Senate majority. That means the assembly line of legislation that has marked Walker’s short tenure as governor is probably over.

    That’s because moderate Republicans — essentially pushed aside the past six months — could now be the most powerful and important people in the Legislature. Or as Sen. Robert Wirch, D-Pleasant Prairie, said Wednesday: “(Sen. Dale Schultz) was an outcast in his caucus, and I think with this election he becomes a king maker.”

    Next week Wirch and Sen. Jim Holperin, D-Conover, face their own recalls. Republicans would need to win both to return to the level of power they held before the recalls began.



    RG comment: A Republican win in just one of the recall elections means that Democrats will end up with a net gain of 1 seat in the Wisconsin State Senate, i.e., the Republicans will have an 18-15 majority.   In this scenario, there's little that Dale Schultz can do on his own. In order to be effective, he'll need another moderate Republican to join him. Which begs the question: Is Luther Olsen willing to slip out of his leash?

    Wednesday, August 10, 2011

    Lester Library Director Jeff Dawson Sheds Some Light on WiscNet


    Jeff Dawson/Lester Library: Shedding some light on WiscNet. (Manitowoc Herald-Times-Reporter, 8/10/2011)

    ExcerptWhen I talk to people about WiscNet they invariably ask, "What is WiscNet?" Perhaps I can shed some light on why WiscNet is important to public libraries and education and why it's in the news.

    WiscNet, Wisconsin's Research and Education Network, is a nonprofit organization made up of more than 450 members that include cities, counties, hospitals, universities, K-12 school districts, public library systems and technical colleges. Lester Public Library participates through the Manitowoc-Calumet Library system that shares WiscNet via joint membership with the Eastern Shores Library system in Sheboygan. Our participation offers low-cost, high-speed Internet for the library.

    WiscNet's mission "is to fortify research, education and public service with advanced communication technologies. It is done in partnership. It is accomplished by strengthening the association, the members, and the communities to which we belong. It is championing the Wisconsin Idea by advancing high-performance networks and services that extend member resources throughout the state and beyond
    ."

    Related WiscNet/BCCB posts:
    About the Access Wisconsin lawsuit.  (8/5/2011)
    Case summary with names of defendants' attorneys.  (8/4/2011)
    An example of how advocacy works.  (7/31/2011)
    From Peter C. Anderson's Court Official Calendar for Dane County.  (7/24/2011)
    Lawsuit update and summary.  (7/22/2011)
    Judge Anderson denies UW broadband restraining order.  (7/21/2011)
    Plaintiffs v. Defendants.  (7/20/2011)
    Telcos whine while Wisconsin falls behind.  (7/20/2011)
    Access Wisconsin news release.  (7/19/2011)
    LRB clarifies WiscNet veto. (6/30/2011)
    WiscNet:  Moving Forward.  (6/30/2011)
    Walker's WiscNet veto:  What does it mean?  (6/27/2011)
    Rest assured they'll be more fights in this battle.  (6/24/2011)
    Wisconsin Senate passes budget.  (6/17/2011)
    Amendment update.    (6/16/2011)
    Assembly passes budget at 3:05 a.m.  (6/16/2011)
    Wispolitics budget blog.  (6/15/2011)
    Wisconsin ranks 43rd for broadband Internet coverage.  (6/15/2011)
    Ron Kind news release.  (6/15/2011)
    Assembly 8.  (6/15/2011)
    Highest level alert.  (6/15/2011)
    This is what democracy looks like.  (6/15/2011)
    WSTA's day of disappointment.  (6/14/2011)
    They can hear us now.  (6/14/2011)
    Appleton Post-Crescent editorial.  (6/14/2011)
    YouTube video.  (6/14/2011)
    Hedberg Public Library promotes WiscNet.  (6/14/2011)
    League of Wisconsin Municipalities press release.  (6/14/2011)
    UW General Counsel opinion.  (6/13/2011)
    Ars Technica WiscNet coverage.  (6/13/2011)
    Wausau Daily Herald editorial.  (6/13/2011)
    If your representative is Robin Vos...   (9/13/2011)
    Baraboo School Board unhappy with JFC WiscNet action.  (6/13/2011)
    WiscNet debate from the NE WI prospective.  (6/12/2011)
    David Weinhold letter to editor.  (6122010
    Rep. Moelpske's statement. (6/11/2011)
    COLAND letter to Sen. Fitzgerald.  (6/10/2011)
    Rhonda Puntney's op-ed piece.  (6/10/2011)
    Nass letter to Fitzgerald and Vos.  (6/9/2011)
    CINC response.  (6/9/2011)
    UW response.  (6/9/2011)
    Manna from heaven.  (6/8/2011)

    Ebooks, Netflix, and Library Building Projects (Part 100, Cesar Chavez Branch, Salinas Public Library)


    Editorial: Full speed ahead on Chavez library expansion. (The Californian, 8/5/2011)

    ExcerptThe city's chief librarian welcomes the references from online commenters that the Cesar Chavez branch library is a "day-care center" and "parking lot for strollers."

    "If families are coming in, perfect ... That's where we want people. These children will enter kindergarten with twice the vocabulary," said Elizabeth Martinez, library director.

    It's too late for naysayers to speak out against the estimated $4.1 million expansion plans for Cesar Chavez Library in east Salinas.

    The stage is set. Most of the money is in hand. The City Council is expected to select a contractor for the project on Tuesday. Library officials are hopeful the job will be completed within a year or so. Add our voice to the chorus of supporters for this important and necessary public project.

    The library will grow by 6,000 square feet to a total of 15,100. It will feature technological and architectural improvements including a teen digital-arts hub, local history room and a specialized literacy and homework room. The expansion job also will provide more seating and meeting space
    .