State Senate Votes On High Capacity Wells, Hacking Spiked Near 2016 Elections, ‘Dear Carol’ Advice Columnist

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• Senate Vote Loosens High Capacity Well Regulations

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  The state Senate this week passed a Republican bill that would weaken high-capacity well regulations in Wisconsin. The debate around high-capacity wells has been contentious for quite a while. We look at how the new bill will impact competing demands between agriculture and others who use and depend on the state’s lakes and streams.

• Hacking Peaked In Wisconsin Near 2016 Elections

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  We learn about a recent report showing alerts of hackers targeting state government systems in Wisconsin spiked near the April and November presidential elections last year.

• 'Dear Carol' Advice Columnist Shares What's Changed In Her 20 Years Giving Advice

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  For more than two decades, Carol Weston has been the Dear Carol advice columnist for Girls’ Life Magazine. In the course of answering thousands of letters seeking advice, she’s had a behind-the-scenes look at the teen and preteen mind. She shares what she’s learned in writing the column for over twenty years…and what’s changed in the world of teenage girls.

• 'Dear Carol' Reflects On 2 Decades Of Providing Advice To Girls

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  For the fans of Girls’ Life magazine, the “Dear Carol” column has been a consistent and longtime friend.

  As author of the column, Carol Weston has doled out advice to teenage girls for more than two decades. During her time as a sort of sage older sister, she’s had a front-row seat to the anxieties and hopes of girls from all walks of life.

  Weston said while a lot has changed, girls throughout the years have needed answers to the same questions.

  These range from how to handle fights with parents, how to pursue crushes and how to cope with their changing bodies. But while the questions remain timeless, adults frequently forget life as a child can be complicated.

  “It’s never been easy to be a girl,” she said. “It’s not that hard in our adult minds, but for them it’s confusing, and that hasn’t changed too much (over time).”

  While unrequited love and growing apart from best friends have plagued the girls who have sought Weston’s advice over the years, she has noticed social media has had a tremendous impact on teenagers.

  She points to sexually explicit material that’s easy to find on the internet to cyberbullying being a minefield young women have to navigate at a sensitive time in their lives.

  But beyond consuming the internet themselves, Weston said she has fielded questions from girls about how they can deal with their parents who themselves can’t unplug.

  “Sometimes the questions that kids have about social media is more, ‘Mom won’t put down her device’, ‘Dad’s always online,’ or ‘They’re both always working,’” Weston said. “It’s important for parents to realize that they’re role modeling. If they can’t get through family dinner without checking their own email, you know, God help you when your own kids get a tiny bit older.”

  She also cautions girls who are anxious about their friends’ social media posts to remember the lives people lead online don’t always tell the full story.

  She points to the fact that people generally only show themselves being happy or engaging in fun activities on social media. She advises girls to keep that in mind if they head down the path of self-doubt.

  While many of the concerns girls have trusted Weston with during the years have remained constant, the world around them has not. But throughout the years, one piece of advice Weston has always given to girls as they learn about relationships and the world around them is simple. That advice is to always remember to “slow down.”