Rock County case has statewide implications on maternity coverage
A Rock County Court case is raising a question that could have statewide implications: Should insurance carriers be required to provide maternity coverage to surrogate mothers?
As Seen in Wisconsin. Life in Wisconsin - Fun, weird, festive and happy times!
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Winning lottery ticket sold in Rosendale
One ticket sold in Rosendale matched all five winning numbers Tuesday in the Wisconsin Lottery’s Badger 5 daily jackpot drawing to claim the $111,000 prize.
The winning ticket was sold at Mobil, 108 N. Main St., Rosendale.
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Fond du Lac woman gets $100,000 from state
State Treasurer Dawn Marie Sass will be sending a check for $102,774.70 to a Fond du Lac resident who didn't know the state was holding her unclaimed property.
Under Wisconsin Statutes, after one to five years of inactivity, businesses are mandated to turn all unclaimed money, stocks and safe deposit boxes to the State Treasurer's office for safekeeping.
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Madison's highest paid city employee
Turns out Madison's highest paid public employee isn't the Mayor, it is a metro bus driver!
Joen Nelson earned $159, 258 in 2009... the crazy thing is he earned nearly $110,000 of that in overtime and other pay.
Read the rest of the story at Madison.com
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Madison to increase fines for many parking tickets
Matthew DeFour
The city of Madison plans to increase fines next month for most of the 11 dozen ways motorists can receive a parking ticket.
The city issues about 165,000 parking tickets each year, and about 40 percent of those with fines between $20 and $100 would go up an extra $5.
Read the rest of the story at host.madison.com
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Thousands in county missing out on lottery tax credit
CHRIS RICKERT
If you're writing out a check this week for the first installment of your local property taxes, due Sunday, beware that you might be paying more than you owe.>
Based on a review of Dane County property records, treasurer David Worzala in November said there were about 14,000 homeowners who were likely eligible for the state's lottery tax credit, but not getting it because they never applied.
State officials do not track a similar, statewide number, according to fiscal analyst Al Runde, who administers the credit for the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. But if the trend in Dane County holds true in Wisconsin's 71 other counties, tens of thousands of homeowners could be forgoing millions in property tax relief.
The credit returns a portion of lottery revenues to homeowners. The only requirement for getting it is that your home be your "primary residence" on Jan. 1 of the tax year.
It's not a lot of money, and the amount changes from year to year based on lottery revenues and what school district you live in. But recently it's been about $75 to $100 per property owner, enough for a dinner at a swank restaurant. For 2008 taxes, the state set aside $117.8 million for the credit, Runde said, out of gross lottery revenues of about $474 million.
Read the rest of the story at host.madison.com
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Even the poor make too much to get a public defender
STEVEN ELBOW
So you’re scraping by on minimum wage, and your hours were cut to 25 per week. You managed to put $300 in the bank, and you drive a beater you bought for $2,000. That puts you in the federal poverty bracket. But according to the state public defender, if you’re arrested, you won’t qualify for a public defender. If your boss cuts your hours to nine, you still wouldn’t qualify.
State Public Defender Nicholas Chiarkas calls the standards used to assess whether the poor can qualify for assistance from his office “an embarrassment.” They haven’t been updated or adjusted for inflation since 1987 and are the most stringent in the nation, he says. You have to be dirt poor to qualify.
Read the rest of the story at host.madison.com
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Packers raise ticket prices
The Green Bay Packers announced Friday they will raise ticket prices at least $8 on seats inside the stadium bowl, while suite tickets will increase by $11.
The increase is the first since 2007.
Season tickets between the 20-yard lines (sections 115-124 and 322-330) now will be priced at $83, up from $72.
Other sideline seats (sections 109-114, 125-130, 314-320 and 332-338) will be $73, up from $64.
End-zone seats (sections 100-108, 131-138, 303-312 and 340-354) will cost $67, up from $59.
Lambeau Field suite tickets in 2010 will be $83, up from $72; lease rates for suites and club seat ticket prices are set per client contracts.
The Packers will send invoices to season ticket holders next week, with payment due March 31.
Read the rest of the story at host.madison.com
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Tiger Woods' Libido Has It's Way With Wisconsin Economy
SHEBOYGAN COUNTY, Wis. --
Just days after golf phenom Tiger Woods announced he's taking an indefinite leave from the sport, many are already wondering what the impact will be for the sport and the economic impact its tournaments can have.
Woods drew big crowds when he teed off at the 2004 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in Sheboygan County and many are counting on him to be back when the tournament returns in August.
"Obviously, we want that to happen again and we need a shot in the arm with the economy here," County Administrator Adam Payne said.
Wood's huge following and the attention he brings to a tournament translates into big bucks for the surrounding community, Payne said.
Some worry that his scandal and break from golf might keep him away.
"I know we have people in this community I'm sure that are very concerned about it and what it means for the success of the championship as well as again, what it means for our economy," Payne said.
The head of Sheboygan County's Tourism Alliance told 12 News, "We're watching the situation closely, but it's too early to judge what the economic impact might be."
One thing is already clear, if Woods doesn't play, any economic hit that this community takes is likely to be felt long after that tournament wraps up.
That's because TV viewership dropped 50 percent when Woods sat out with an injury last year. Fewer viewers worldwide would mean fewer people seeing Sheboygan County and its world class golf course.
Local residents said the scandal has damaged Woods' image, but they're still hoping he'll be here.
"I'm disappointed, but hopefully he starts playing before the PGA comes up," resident Greg Weggeman said.
"He'll be here for golf, what he does in his private life, that's for him, that's none of our business," resident Jim Reiffers said.
With millions in local tourism dollars on the line, Woods' private scandal could have a very public impact.
The 2004 PGA Championship had a $76 million dollar impact on the state's economy.
WISN 12 News tried to contact the PGA tournament director for comment but was told he was unavailable.
via wisn.com
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UW System regents defends rate hikes with "Graduate sooner & you save money!"
MADISON (AP) - The University of Wisconsin System will encourage students to graduate faster as a way to save money as some campuses seek tuition increases to improve their quality, its president said Friday.
President Kevin Reilly told the Board of Regents that 29 percent of students graduate within four years, and increasing that rate would allow students to enter the work force faster and free up spots for others.
A student can save $15,000 or more in tuition and room and board by graduating in four years instead of five, Reilly said, and that can be accomplished by taking 15 or more credits per semester. UW-Stout is planning to offer three-year degrees for some programs, and other campuses will likely follow suit, he said.
Reilly said the system would unveil a statewide marketing and communications campaign in coming months to present these options to students and parents. He said the campaign would also stress data that shows students who work too much during college are less likely to graduate and more likely to take longer.
The effort to market cost-saving tips comes as the system is discussing whether to allow more campuses to seek stiff tuition increases to improve academic programs and student services.
Reilly warned that extra tuition revenue is needed as the system tries to graduate more students and provide more financial aid at a time when general state aid remains flat. One way to do that, he said, was to continue allowing campuses to develop specific tuition increases to improve their quality beyond the statewide increase approved every year.
The regents, who govern the system of 13 four-year universities and 13 two-year colleges, earlier this year approved a four-year, $1,000 increase for undergraduate students on the flagship UW-Madison campus to pay for more faculty and improved student services. UW-La Crosse in 2007 won approval of a two-year, $1,000 increase, which allowed that campus to hire 47 more faculty this year despite the economic downturn.
UW-Eau Claire is considering a four-year, $1,200 tuition increase, which was recently backed by its student senate. The campus plans to ask the regents to approve the plan as early as February.
During Friday's meeting at UW-Madison, discussion revealed a sharp divide among the system's chancellors on whether such tuition increases were good public policy.
The chancellors of UW-Madison, UW-Eau Claire and UW-La Crosse, the most selective campuses in the system, argued the increases were justified because their students were willing to pay for the added quality.
But chancellors of UW-Milwaukee and UW-Oshkosh said schools such as theirs could not afford steep tuition increases and should get a larger chunk of state funding instead. Otherwise, they warned, quality would vary greatly by each campus.
For their part, the regents seemed comfortable with the campus-specific tuition increases as long as some of the revenue is used to increase financial aid to help the poorest students afford the higher costs.
Regent Brent Smith, who heads the board's committee that oversees tuition policy, said the UW-Madison and UW-La Crosse increases were popular with students.
"I think those examples show that it is working," he said. "I've liked what we've done so far: each particular campus has their own plan ... I would like to continue looking at it on a one-by-one basis."
via fox11online.com
***Comment from AsSeenInWI: This solution is a joke... You actually don't "save" money by graduating sooner, you spend less. You would save money if you weren't required to live on campus, purchase required meal programs, pay for books that could easily be rented, etc.
The UW regents are using backward logic to defend their position.
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