Author Archives: dave cieslewicz

Downtown Madison is in for a big change. The Evers administration is proposing the sale of GEF 2 and GEF 3 on Webster Street, and the old State Office Building that houses the Department of Human Services’ central office at 1 West Wilson St. If it happens it would represent a dramatic, historic reduction inContinue reading “A New Downtown”

I’ve been watching a lot of basketball this weekend. I like to watch the tournament on my iPad because it’s easy to swipe between games. Also, I avoid the big screen because Dianne finds the whole thing annoying, especially the guys on the analysis shows during the breaks. Me, I love Charles Barkley! In fact,Continue reading “All The Way With Marquette”

I like Joe Biden. I think he’s been a fine president. And I wish he wouldn’t run again. The problem can be summed up in one word: age. Biden has had stubbornly low approval ratings for most of his term, despite tremendous legislative successes in a split Congress, despite a resilient economy and despite slowlyContinue reading “Drop Kamala Harris”

I’ve emerged from my daily eight hour darkness retreat to find the Packers still trying to come up with a deal with the Jets for Aaron Rodgers. My advice: take anything you can get and move on. The YSDA Sports Bureau up on the 39th floor has put together the following observations on the RodgersContinue reading “Get What You Can for Rodgers”

A lot of environmentalists are furious over Pres. Joe Biden’s decision to allow some drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. I’m one environmentalist who’s not. Here are my reasons. It’s called the National Petroleum Reserve. This implies that the area is set aside for oil production. ConocoPhillips has held leases on some ofContinue reading “Biden Did the Right Thing on Willow Drilling”

Last year, in response to a series of dangerous incidents in and around Madison schools including two melees outside of East High School, the Madison school district responded by creating a committee… which was the third committee of its kind created in five years… which took months to get organized… which, for some reason, expandedContinue reading “A Year Wasted for Madison School Safety”

One of the ways to deal with the angst over college debt is to not go to college. More to the point, one good way to deal with it is for employers to eliminate a four-year degree requirement for jobs where it’s not needed — which is to say the vast majority of them. OnContinue reading “Rethinking College”

There will be twists and turns in the effort to give the Milwaukee Brewers’ billionaire owners what they want to keep them in the city for another decade and a half. But you can be sure that in the end they’ll get a couple hundred million dollars or so of the public’s money whether theyContinue reading “Brewers Deal Is All About Milwaukee”

Greg Gard wouldn’t commit. When asked, in the wake of the Badger’s worst performance of the season and their one-and-done in the first round of the Big Ten tournament, whether he’d accept a bid to the NIT, he wouldn’t say. I get it. It’s like you’ve been expecting a free trip to Paris and thenContinue reading “Go To The NIT”

Let’s start this morning with a quiz. Why has Speaker Robin Vos’ rejected Gov. Tony Evers’ proposal to give the Milwaukee Brewers $290 million? (Choose two.) A) It was Evers’ idea. B) His caucus hates all things Milwaukee. C) It’s horrible public policy. If you selected A and B you win a free years’ subscriptionContinue reading “Vos Rejects Evers’ Brewers Payoff”