A closely divided Senate voted Wednesday in favor of opening Alaska's arctic wildlife refuge to oil drilling, bringing a long-sought goal of the Bush administration within striking distance of being realized.
The action marks the first time the Senate has signaled support for drilling in the ecologically sensitive area since Bush took office. Drilling advocates said they were close to achieving their decades-long drive to tap billions of barrels of oil beneath the 1.5-million-acre coastal plain.
By 51 to 49, the Senate thwarted an attempt by most Democrats and some Republicans to strip a wildlife refuge drilling provision from the congressional 2006 budget resolution. By giving the drilling proposal the protection of the budget rules, GOP leaders have effectively curbed opponents from using a filibuster to block a final vote on the proposal.
Amid tight security and sounds of explosions, Iraq's new parliament met for the first time Wednesday. Iraqi politicians and citizens alike urged lawmakers to stop bickering, form a new government and tackle the country's numerous problems, particularly the violent insurgency.
The explosions rattled windows in the auditorium inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, where lawmakers gathered at 11 a.m. for the first meeting of a freely elected parliament in Iraq in almost 50 years.
The UW System has partnered with the Association of American Colleges and Universities in an effort to promote the importance of liberal education for students both in Wisconsin and nationwide, according to a UW System release.
The partnership is part of an ongoing System initiative, \The Currency of the Liberal Arts and Sciences: Rethinking Liberal Education in Wisconsin.""
""We are honored to collaborate with [AAC&U] to further promote our shared goals to make college accessible and purposeful for all students,"" UW System President Kevin Reilly said in the release.
The national advocacy initiative, ""Liberal Education and America's Promise: Excellence for Everyone as a Nation Goes to College,"" for which the UW System is piloting programs, is designed to promote the value of a liberal education.
Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott McCallum will be the new president and CEO of Aidmatrix, a non-profit company, according to Wispolitics.com.
Aidmatrix provides Internet-based software to increase efficiency and reduce waste in the delivery of humanitarian aid.
McCallum was Wisconsin governor for two years, filling out Tommy Thompson's fourth term before losing an election to Jim Doyle.
Mayor Dave Cieslewicz called out the Urban Design Commission Wednesday for approving ""C+ to B-"" quality buildings for Madison.
""Architecture should be timeless,"" Cieslewicz said, citing Lakeshore dorms as examples of stylish, respectable Madison buildings.
Cieslewicz said the UDC has approved ""inoffensive"" buildings in recent years that do not reflect a distinct Madison style.
""I think we ought to be a little more edgy,"" Cieslewicz said. He added he thinks great architecture does not stand out like Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, but should reflect the community's interests and needs back to them.
Although Cieslewicz said he was reluctant to list his least favorite buildings, he said he is excited to see Ogg Hall demolished.
Additionally, the UDC made its final approval of the Goodman Public Pool on the condition that the pool architects look into more environmentally friendly practices, such as solar heating.
Community members told the commission that such tactics would be cheaper in the long run, saying solar heating would cost less after five years than using gas. However, Madison Parks Director Jim Morgan said it would take decades to see the financial benefits.
""We are in agreement on this stuff, we just have different numbers,"" Morgan said.
The pool proposal will go to the Planning Commission Monday.
The Wisconsin state Senate defeated an attempt to change campaign-finance laws Wednesday.
By a 20 to 13 vote, the Senate shot down a bill that would have banned fundraising during budget deliberations, created a fund to answer attack ads from special-interest groups and increased the amount taxpayers can earmark on their taxes for campaign funds from $1 to $5.
While some lawmakers, such as the bill's sponsor Sen. Mike Ellis, R-Neenah, feel the current system of campaign fundraising is corrupt, others were worried about the potential impact of Ellis' bill. Sen. Neal Kedzie, R-Elkhorn, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Wednesday the bill would have created a ""campaign welfare"" system for candidates not motivated enough to raise their own donations.
The vote was an unusual split of the Senate, with 12 Democrats and eight Republicans voting against the bill.
Ellis told the Journal Sentinel he would submit the bill again in the fall legislative session.
The state Assembly failed Wednesday in an attempt to override Gov. Jim Doyle's veto of the property tax freeze bill. On Friday, Doyle vetoed the plan passed through the Legislature several weeks ago by the Republican majority. The bill placed limits on how much local governments can raise property tax levies. Doyle supports a property tax freeze, but he vetoed the bill because it did not provide additional funding for education that would be lost due to caps on property taxes.
As with many votes in the Assembly, the override attempt was a party-line vote, with 59 Republicans voting for an override-one Republican was absent-and 39 Democrats voting against it. A successful override needs 66 votes to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority.
Republican leaders were not concerned over today's voting, and said they will include the freeze in the budget they present to Doyle in June.
