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5/5/11 5:00pm |
Legislative Roundup - The West Side delves into the world of Wisconsin politics with the "Legislative Roundup". Topics include pieces of Governor Scott Walker's biennial budget proposal including cuts to education, increased funding for transportation and the possible changes to the states SeniorCare Program.
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4/28/11 5:00pm |
Frac sand mining continues to boom in Wisconsin - The West Side looks at the sand mining boom in the area, with three more frac sand mining operations planned in Chippewa County. Concerns about health and safety for workers at the mines as well as those who live nearby have been raised.
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4/21/11 5:00pm |
Earth Day special - In a pre-Earth Day edition of The West Side we focused on reducing and reusing possessions through consignment and a movement in the Eau Claire area to expand community gardens. Guests discussed using more of their lawn for growing veggies, reasons to grow organically, and using the power of consignment.
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4/14/11 5:00pm |
Overcoming the budget deficit - As he attempts to overcome a $3.5 billion budget deficit Governor Scott Walker is suggesting major cuts in state aids to local municipalities but also included in that budget are changes and cuts to programs run by counties. Programs such as Family Care, Food Share, recycling and land conservation are all being reformed and defunded at the county level. The West Side invited local county leaders to discuss what these changes and cuts might look like in western Wisconsin. We were joined by Eau Claire County Human Services Director Roy Sergeant, Chippewa County Land and Conservation Director Dan Masterpole and Eau Claire County Planning and Development Director Mel Erickson.
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4/7/11 5:00pm |
Underage drinking in Western Wisconsin - The West Side looks at underage drinking and the movement, "Parents Who Host Lose The Most", that has started to bring awareness to the problem. Guests included Dana Brown, Patrol Officer with the Altoona Police Department and Kristin Hildebrand, Coordinator of the Reality Check 21 program in Eau Claire County.
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3/31/11 5:00pm |
Gov. Walker's plan for UW-System - The West Side looks at the proposal by Gov. Scott Walker to split UW-Madison from the rest of the UW-System. Guests discussed the proposed split as well as a hefty budget cut for the UW-System. This plan is also championed by Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin, but the UW-Board of Regents along with 13 chancellors from the rest of the UW-System object to Walker?s plan saying flexibility for one should mean flexibility for all.
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3/24/11 5:00pm |
The West Side Outside - The West Side celebrates the coming of spring by discussing the proposed 2011-2013 budget, which includes a hefty cut to the Department of Natural Resources and a recommendation to scale back phosphorus restriction in lakes and rivers.
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3/17/11 5:00pm |
Efforts to reduce dependancy on fossil fuels - The West Side explored local efforts by governments and residents to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. The program touched on the political climate in our state and how that climate may affect green energy efforts. Other topics included the viability of large, centralized wind or solar farms vs. individual, residential installations.
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3/10/11 5:00pm |
Facing budget cuts - The West Side looked into what local governments and school districts may be facing in the way of budget cuts from Governor Scott Walker's biennial budget proposal. Our guests included Eau Claire City Manager Mike Huggins who commented on the cuts and the Eau Claire City Council's decision to pass collective bargaining extensions for its city workers just hours before the State Assembly voted to cut most collective bargaining rights for public workers.
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3/3/11 5:00pm |
Curbing alcohol abuse in Western Wisconsin - The West Side looks into the alcohol abuse problem in Western Wisconsin among college students. In the last three years, eight UW-Stout students have died in what are being called alcohol related incidents. The Menomonie City Council recently held a seminar to look at possible policy changes to curb alcohol related issues.
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2/24/11 5:00pm |
Discussing the Budget Repair Bill - The West Side tackled Governor Scott Walker's budget repair bill with two state senators on the front lines. Guests include State Senator Bob Jauch (D-Poplar), by phone from across the Illinois border, and Republican State Senator Glenn Grothman of West Bend. Topics from the bill included collective bargaining, changes in Medicare and even the hygiene and behavior of protestors at the camped out at the State Capitol Building.
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2/17/11 5:00pm |
Fighting homelessness - The West Side delved into the issues of homelessness in Western Wisconsin with two guests who work to fight it on the front lines. Mary ClaySantineau of Starting Points in Chippewa County joined us and talked about the delicate process of physically going out into the community and finding homeless, surveying them and offering help. Greg Quinn of the West Central Wisconsin Community Action Agency joined the conversation by phone and talked about funding cuts at the federal, state and local level.
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2/10/11 5:00pm |
Nursing homes in Western Wisconsin - The West Side explored the feasibility of county ownership of nursing homes in our region and throughout the state. We focused on recent debate surrounding the St. Croix Health Center, which uses taxpayer subsidies to remain solvent. Guests include Sharon Norton-Bauman, Kim Dupre, and John Sauer.
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1/27/11 5:00pm |
WI Legislators on improving job and business climate - The West Side looks at what Wisconsin legislators have been doing to create jobs and improve the business climate in the state. Guests included two legislators, Chris Danou and Pam Galloway, who discussed the elimination of income taxes on health savings accounts, tort reform, and more.
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1/13/11 5:00pm |
Health of UW System - The West Side explored the health and status of the UW System and looked into the challenges of increasing graduates with declining state aid. The conversation also touched on how to deal with the disparities between graduation rates of white students and students of color.
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1/6/11 5:00pm |
Multi-year project to improve Chippewa Valley - The West Side updated the multi-year project to make not only the economy, but all aspects of life better for residents of the Chippewa Valley. Host Dean Kallenbach welcomed Juliet Fox, executive director of Visioning Dunn County; Vicki Hoehn, chair of the implementation committee of Clear Vision Eau Claire; and Mike Huggins, Eau Claire's City Manager. They talked about what's ahead for the groups charged with building a vision for the Chippewa Valley in the areas like economic development, education, health care, transportation, civic engagement and quality of life.
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