Tonight on “Here and Now,” our Budget Watch series continues with two reports on proposed policy in Governor Scott Walker’s 2013-15 budget concerning expanding the school choice program throughout the state.
Reporter Zac Schultz travels to Green Bay, one of the school districts under consideration for voucher schools.
I visit Racine, where the school choice program launched two years ago. How is it working in that district?
These in-depth reports tonight on “Here and Now,” statewide at 7:30 p.m.
Budget Watch: Education
Giving a skeptical listen to NPR
I feel I now have a better idea of what it’s like to completely mistrust the media, to think there’s a wide ranging conspiracy and what is reported little more than made up. It’s because I was listening vigilantly to All Things Considered yesterday, April First.
I had been primed to be on the lookout for spurious claims, first by the UW’s claim that famed Bascom hill would soon feature an escalator. Then the Cap Times ran a tribute to its erstwhile master of the phony boloney April First story, Mike Miller.
I knew All Things Considered was famous for the fake story, delivered with sobriety and understatement. As I ran errands after work, I was ready to cry foul on what came from my car radio.
The problem was I began to doubt nearly everything I heard. OK, the terrible news of prosecutors killed in Texas I wished were false, but knew there would be no joking about that tragedy. Then, a seemingly ridiculous story about reintroducing bison to Germany. Bison in Germany? Not only that, but it was being done by a prince, with a preposterous accent. “Oh, come on,” I was saying to my radio.
But, somehow, despite the improbable elements, the story never reached those sublime heights of true ridiculousness that eventually give it away. When I reached my final destination, I didn’t know what to believe.
It took a bit of research to track down the true false story, but here it is, and true to form, it also involves an iconic animal.
Quiet Supreme Court Election
This spring’s Wisconsin Supreme Court election between incumbent Pat Roggensack and challenger Ed Fallone has been relatively quiet.
Obviously any race would feel small and quiet compared to our last Supreme Court race, which came in April of 2011 between incumbent David Prosser and challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg. That race started out quiet but was quickly swallowed up by the protests over Act 10 and the political upheaval at the Capitol. That race became a proxy recall election for Gov. Scott Walker when Prosser was tied directly to the Republican administration. Of course Prosser won a narrow victory when he survived a statewide recount.
There are some connections between that race to this race in that after winning Prosser and Roggensack were two of the four justices to overrule a Dane County Judge’s injunction of the publishing of Act 10, allowing the bill to officially become law. In the process of releasing that decision Prosser was accused of choking one of his colleagues during an argument. Roggensack was a witness to that incident and eventually recused herself from a disciplinary case against Prosser, essentially derailing the disciplinary process.
Fallone has tried to use that incident and Roggensack’s role as his main reason why Roggensack should not receive another ten years on the court. We will find out Tuesday night whether that message is resonating with the voters, but it’s clear the public in Dane County is not as engaged in this race as they were in the Kloppenburg/Prosser race two years ago. Yard signs in Dane County for Fallone are not a common sight, and that is where a challenger supported by liberal groups needs to do well. In 2011,turnout in Dane County was 48%, and the vote went for Kloppenburg by a 73%-27% margin. It took equally large numbers in the conservative Milwaukee suburbs for Prosser to win.
In 2013, the Government Accountability Board is projecting only 20% turnout statewide, which is average for a spring non-partisan election, but it’s not close to the massive 34% statewide turnout from 2011.
Wisconsin saw a string of record-setting elections that may never be broken. The 2010 fall elections, the 2011 spring elections, the 2011 senate recalls, the 2012 recalls for governor and senate and the 2012 presidential election; all set records and/or led to historic power shifts. Republicans at the Capitol have been referring to election fatigue for more than a year, and we may finally see it.
This Supreme Court election is very important. On the biggest cases the conservative block of justices hold a 4-3 advantage and Roggensack is at the center of that block. Liberal interest groups and Democrats clearly think Fallone would be a better Supreme Court Justice. There are some huge cases coming up, including a battle over Voter ID that has been simmering for quite some time. But the public doesn’t seem that interested.
Polar Opposites
Tonight on “Here and Now,” the candidates for Superintendent of Public Schools. Incumbent Superintendent, Tony Evers, is challenged by Republican Representative, Don Pridemore, (R-Hartford).
The pair respond to questions about their positions on Governor Scott Walker’s state budget and its funding for K-12 education, the expansion of the school choice program in Wisconsin, new accountability measures for schools and teacher unions. The election is April 2.
Watch tonight at 7:30 p.m. on Wisconsin Public Television.
Television drama
Unlike a lot of my colleagues, I haven’t done a lot of live television. One job I think I don’t have the temperament for is that of live television director, the person who chooses which camera to take from several options. I just don’t make decisions that quickly.
I know one reason some people like live television is there’s an element of danger. Something could go wrong. Well, at WPT’s most recent live production, “The Final Forte,” something did go potentially quite wrong.
This concert and competition has become an annual programming staple. Some of the best young musicians in the state compete for a chance to play with the Madison Symphony Orchestra during a live joint radio and television broadcast. Each year only four make the cut to be in the program, and they compete to be honored as best by a panel of judges.
This year Adam Schrager and Lori Skelton were hosts, introducing the musicians and short taped intros that allowed the audience to get to know them a little better. But when technical difficulties threatened the broadcast, the best hosting they might have done was by remaining absolutely quiet.
The show’s producer, John Gerbig, shared a nice account of what happened with WPT staff, and with his permission, I’d like to share it with readers of this blog:
We have no mics!
Yes. Four words you definitely DON’T want to hear when you’re in the middle of a live concert broadcast. Kind of heart-stopping, really. But thanks to the quick thinking, quick hands and quick feet of Marv Nonn, Curt Sorensen and Russ Awe, disaster was narrowly averted last night when Marv’s audio board went kaput, just as the final soloist was sitting down to begin Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 2 in G minor. So what did the plucky engineers do, you ask? They brought up the only mics that were still working: the two host mics, sitting off-stage in a (luckily) non-soundproof ad-hoc announce booth. Luckily, Curt had the presence of mind to get on Adam and Lori’s IFBs and say, “Don’t say anything! Your mics are open!”
Over the next few minutes – while Adam and Lori held their breath – the stage mics were unplugged from the dead board and re-routed directly into the WPT Remote Truck. Once that was finished, everyone in the truck breathed a sigh of relief. And Adam and Lori just breathed.
To the listeners and viewers at home, it may have sounded a little strange, like the piano and orchestra were in a different room. But to those sitting in the audience, watching the concert – they never had any idea of the tension, the scrambling, the under-the-breath swearing that was going on backstage. All they saw was the skill of the soloist and the members of the orchestra. But there was also a lot of skill, determination and experience on display behind the scenes… as there always is when the folks at WPR and WPT produce a live broadcast.
So, thanks and congratulations to all who worked on last night’s concert. It was a memorable experience, to say the least. Everyone on the crew did a great job, and it looked and sounded fantastic – even the part that was a bit… distant. I’m certain Christopher Eom will never forget how he felt when he sat down at the piano, just before starting the Concerto. And neither will those of us who were backstage or in the truck! But whereas he will surely strive to repeat that feeling, again and again, I’ll be happy if it’s a one-and-done experience, thank you.
So there you go. Even for those who enjoy the drama of live television, this was a little much.
The Here and Now team brings you the latest Wisconsin news, political updates and other timely insights throughout the week on the Here and Now Update.
Watch Here and Now at 7:30 p.m. Fridays on Wisconsin Public Television, 9:30 a.m. Sundays on Milwaukee Public Television or online anytime at wpt.org.
