Mifflin, Priuses and Revelry
The Herald’s staff writers speak out on what could be a disjointed May 4 in Madison. OPINION | 5
THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1969
THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2013
Terrace opens for spring As more normal spring weather approaches, the University of Wisconsin Union Terrace is now open to the public and will soon regain its campus hotspot title for drinking beer and enjoying live music. Photo by Andy Fate
Volume XLIV, Issue 113
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Walker calls for 2-year tuition freeze Madeleine Behr Reporter Gov. Scott Walker is now calling for the Legislature to freeze tuition for a twoyear period at all system schools after legislators discovered millions of dollars in University of Wisconsin System reserve funds. Contrary to Walker’s proposal for a tuition freeze,
UW System President Kevin Reilly asked last week for a 2 percent increase in tuition in the next two years, after larger tuition increases that have occurred since 2007. State legislators and students expressed anger toward the 2 percent tuition increase after an independent memo from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau revealed the system holds $648 million in
its cash reserves. Tom Evenson, a spokesperson for Walker, said the UW System has raised tuition by 5.5 percent every year since 2007, and a tuition freeze is necessary to give middle-class families help in paying the cost of higher education. High tuition is often necessary to have a great public university, Clifton
Conrad, UW professor of higher education, said. “Part of the cost is that we want a great university, and that means the tuition will be a little bit higher,” Conrad said. “There are going to be some tradeoffs.” Mike Mikalsen, spokesperson for Rep. Stephen Nass, R-Whitewater, said tuition increase proposals are out of line
for Reilly and UW System because of the current economic climate. Mikalsen said Nass, who also serves as chair of the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities, proposed a four-year tuition freeze and is hoping Walker will increase his initiative from two to four years as well. He added, however, that Nass is generally satisfied with
Walker’s proposal. “[A tuition freeze] sends a message to people that we get it, the elected officials finally get that middle-class families are overstressed,” Mikalsen said. In addition to his proposal for a four-year tuition freeze, Nass has called for Reilly to resign or be fired as president
WALKER, page 3
Senate disputes Milwaukee County Board bill overhaul Proposal would cut budget, staff in half; may reduce board salaries 20 percent Noah Goetzel State Politics Editor
Andy Fate The Badger Herald
Local establishments fear food carts that operate late at night near their restaurants take away from their business. The carts located around Pita Pit and Silvermine Subs will now have fewer spaces to park during hours of operation.
Committee comes to food cart compromise Restaurants come to agreement with vendors that limits parking spaces Allie Johnson City Life Editor Late night food carts may soon have fewer places to park after a city committee unanimously voted to approve a compromise between vendors and restaurant owners at a meeting Wednesday. The Vending Oversight Committee gave final approval to a city ordinance amendment that would eliminate several parking spaces in front of the restaurants Asian Kitchen and Pita Pit on the 400 block of Broom Street. The compromise
was designed to reduce tensions between the owners of the restaurants and the food cart vendors after restaurants complained that vendors parked in front of the establishments were harming their late-night business. The compromise was temporarily approved at their previous meeting in March, but could not be officially approved until the map detailing exactly where vendors could park was finalized. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said the amendment changed the perimeter of latenight vending on Broom Street to eliminate the parking spaces in front of businesses on the west side of the street, including Asian Kitchen and Pita Pit. The perimeter still allows
vendors to park on the east side of the street, as well as in the loading zone of Riley’s Wines of the World, he said. The remaining 10 parking spaces will be on a first-come, firstserved basis, according to Verveer. Steve Lawrence, owner of Fried and Fabulous, sets up his food cart in the affected perimeter. He said while the amendment was not perfect, he is satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. “I think this is a balanced approach that directly responds to the complaints brought up by restaurants while allowing food carts to remain in business,” Lawrence said. “My one drawing line in the sand has always been that food carts go
FOOD CART, page 2
State lawmakers, Milwaukee County Board supervisors and concerned county residents continued a heated debate on a bill designed to restructure the board at a public Senate committee hearing Wednesday. During the hearing of the Senate’s Committee on Elections and Urban Affairs, disputes on the Milwaukee County Board’s budget, oversight, supervisor salaries and clarification of legislative and administrative roles resurfaced. Arguments turned personal when Milwaukee County
Supervisor Deanna Alexander, District 18, brought up the board’s recently uncovered prohibited labor union negotiations, while Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, criticized Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele’s inability to get along with board members. The bill, introduced by Sen. Alberta Darling, R– River Hills, cuts board funding by two-thirds, reallocates board authority to the county executive and potentially halves the salary of supervisors. Neither Sen. Mark Miller, D-Monona, and Sen. Lena Taylor, D-Milwaukee, nor board supervisors could agree on whether to support a contentious Assembly bill’s Senate equivalent. The overhaul proposal endorsed nearly unanimously by Milwaukee Board supervisors cuts the body’s budget and
staff in half while allowing Milwaukee residents the option to restrict the salaries of supervisors by 20 percent in a referendum vote next April. Additionally, the board’s overhaul would require mandatory trainings every two years on the responsibilities of county governance. Milwaukee County Board Chair Marina Dimitrijevic said the board’s overhaul passed at the committee level Monday and said the whole board will pass it Thursday. Rep. Joe Sanfelippo, R– West Allis, said he remains hesitant about the board’s desired changes to the bill he and Darling are cosponsoring. “We have to question the sincerity of an effort that is put out in the 11th hour when all other hope is lost in derailing and putting this bill to death,” Sanfelippo said.
BOARD, page 2
Crime down 3.4 INSIDE percent in 2012 Bennet Goldstein Reporter Statistics released by the Madison Police Department Wednesday indicated a decrease in the overall level of crime throughout the city for 2012. Chief Noble Wray released updated statistics of crime in the city on his blog and reported a 3.4 percent decrease in crime incidents from 2011 to 2012. Specifically, the number of robberies, homicides and fraud
© 2013 BADGER HERALD
decreased last year, the post said. While some types of crime decreased, incidents of property damage, burglary, aggravated assault and forcible sexual offenses increased from their 2011 levels, the blog post said. The number of property damages increased by 8.5 percent, burglary by 10.3 percent, aggravated sexual assault by 18.5 percent and forcible sexual offenses by 23.9 percent, the post said. Ald. Mike Verveer,
CRIME, page 2
Sheffield settles at UW
Volleyball coach continues to find niche one year into tenure in Madison.
SPORTS | 9
Choosing a craft brew Thirsty Thursday gives the lowdown on choosing the right beer for your palate.
ARTS |6