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• State plan to allow former felons voting rights has broader support; state briefs

Supporters of a state bill to grant ex-felons in Wisconsin the right to vote are applauding a national petition to bring the issue before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

The petition sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under the Law wants hemispheric hearings on felon voting rights in all member countries of the Organization of American States from Argentina to Canada. The petition's goal is to force all member countries to comply with the OAS charter that calls for universal voting rights regardless of criminal status.

Attorney Marcia Johnson Blanco is a spokeswoman for the Lawyers Committee on Civil rights. Johnson Blanco says felon disenfranchisement laws as practiced in the U.S. fall under international human rights norms and in this case particularly the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man. We argue in the request that the felon disenfranchisement laws in the U.S. violates that treaty.

The proposed Wisconsin law would allow ex-felons to vote as soon as they are released from prison instead of waiting until they have completed their parole requirements. Bill co-sponsor State Representative Joe Parisi of Monona says the effort to involve the OAS is an important step.

Opponents of the bill say ex-law breakers need to prove they are responsible citizens before they are allowed to vote.

-- Gil Halstad, WHA/WERN-Madison

Proposal to ban cell phone use among new drivers

STATE CAPITOL -- New drivers who have instruction permits or probationary licenses would be banned from using cell phones behind the wheel under a proposal at the state capitol.

The plan would cover both texting and talking on phones. It would apply even if the phone is hands-free.

Democratic Assembly Sponsor Sandy Pasch of Milwaukee says the legislature should discuss banning everyone from using a cell phone while driving. But she says covering younger drivers is a good place to start. Pasch says young people are using (cell phones) and texting much more often than some of the older drivers. They are at much, much greater risk for being distracted, for having poor judgment, for being new on the road and for having injury.

A similar plan died in the legislature last session. A State Senate panel approved a different proposal last week that would ban school bus drivers from using cell phones.

-- Shawn Johnson, WHA/WERN-Madison

Wisconsin Shares task force

MILWAUKEE -- The state and Milwaukee County prosecutors have set up a fraud task force to try to police child care fraud in a troubled government program.

The Wisconsin Shares program was set up in the mid-90s to help low-income families with child care assistance, as parents went to work under the state's W-2 program.

But State Department of Children and Families Secretary Reggie Bicha says the program was set up in a very decentralized way.

The state contends the old structure made it tougher to track abuse of the system and some recent newspaper reports have shown some child care providers have been cheating taxpayers out of as much as several million dollars.

Bicha and Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm have set up a task force to investigate and prosecute fraud cases. Chisholm concedes the attempted crackdown comes as state workers face furloughs and some counties face staff cutbacks. But, he says if the task force leads to more offenders being punished, it may reduce staff workloads.

About 35,000 families get assistance from Wisconsin shares. It's a $350 million a year program.

Chuck Quirmbach, WHAD-Delafield/Milwaukee

Lake Superior clean-up partnership

A group of 12 organizations has gotten together in the Chequamegon Bay area to get millions of dollars for Lake Superior programs. They hope that by joining forces, the otherwise small communities will be able to compete with the large cities for Great Lakes clean-up money.

The Chequamegon Bay Area Partnership is applying for $5-$8 million from the federal government for environmental programs. Marc Barbeau of the Sigurd Olson Institute in Ashland says this is a group of state, county, tribal and citizen organizations. They hope to get a nice chunk of the possible $475 million pie Congress is expected to approve for Great Lakes clean-up.

Barbeau says together, we will have a better chance to succeed for the benefit of the Bay rather than looking at it as we'll compete against each other for these dollars.

The Red Cliff and Bad River bands of Chippewa are also part of this group. Bad River Watershed Association Director Michele Wheeler says getting together to apply for grants is important for their rural communities.

Wheeler says Great Lakes-wide we think this is going to be enormously competitive and hope that it will be. It's important that in spending taxpayer dollars we're spending that in a good way so we absolutely anticipate it'll be competitive.

The grants would pay for river restoration going into Chequamegon Bay, the fight against invasive species in Lake Superior as well as educational and conservation projects.

-- Mike Simonson, KUWS-Superior

Civil debate on health reform

WAUSAU -- A Wisconsin Public Radio debate on President Obama's health care initiative was not just notable for what was said, but for how it was said.

Democratic state representative Donna Seidel of Wausau says universal health care is the most important priority of her constituents. Seidel says every single day, 14,000 Americans lose their job. That could be us, our neighbors, our friends and when we lose our job, most often we lose our health care, so anybody can be just a day away from a catastrophic situation.

Wausau area heart surgeon, Dr. Fernando Riveron, is a Cuban refugee whose experience with Communism leads him to question a government solution to health care problems.

Riverson says leaving Cuba, my father was a doctor and he lost everything and came here to this country, had to retrain as a physician. The word "socialism" was anathema. To even consider government top down bureaucratic control of something as personal as health care is difficult with my upbringing.

Seidel favors President Obama's plan for a public option. Seidel says it won't be offering a Cadillac plan, but it will be giving an opportunity for the people in this country without any insurance an ability to buy something they can afford.

But Riveron fears a public option would drive other insurance companies out of business. Riveron says you would have a public plan that has to compete with private insurance companies but is funded by the government, controlled by the government, it's not a level playing field.

Riveron and Seidel debated their differences on health care for an hour on Wisconsin Public Radio's Route 51 regional talk show with civility and respect and without ever raising their voices.

-- Glen Moberg, WHRM/WLBL-Wausau

Flu isolation available at some UW campuses

MADISON -- Two campuses in the University of Wisconsin System are making an extra effort to keep sick students isolated as a precaution against spread of the H1N1 flu.

UW-Madison has four different spaces for overnight isolation in its dorms and graduate housing. Housing director Paul Evans says there are also two other rooms set aside for sick students waiting to be picked up by family so they can recover at home. Students go to the isolation rooms if they experience flu symptoms; they're not tested so it's not known if they have the flu or what kind. Evans says the number of students changes day to day, as students get well and leave, other students get ill and have to stay, so it's very much a moving number.

The close proximity of thousands of people in one place has prompted campus officials to drill the message of prevention into students and faculty. Provost Aaron Brower says so far, the cases on the UW-Madison campus have been mild.

Brower says we're hoping that through the prevention measures where students are doing a lot of hand washing and being careful about what they're touching and being conscious about the touching their hand to their face that we can keep the number of people sick at any one time to a manageable number.

UW Milwaukee housing officials have also set aside rooms for students with flu symptoms. A spokeswoman says so far no one has used them.

-- Shamane Mills, WHA/WERN-Madison

GOP lieutenant governor candidate announces

SUPERIOR -- Superior Mayor Dave Ross is running for lieutenant governor of Wisconsin.

So far Ross's only announced challenger for lieutenant governor is Milwaukee County Alderman Anthony Zielinski.

Ross told supporters that Madison needs the same kind of fiscal responsibility that his administration in Superior has shown.

Ross says everything we've done in Superior is the opposite that's happening in Madison. They're borrowing extraordinary amounts of money, over $3 billion in new borrowing in Gov. Doyle's last budget.

This is not the direction the state can go and continue to grow jobs and continue to attract investors and continue to have a healthy economy here in the state of Wisconsin.

Ross has already made tracks through much of the state gathering support for his campaign. Ross says he would like to run with Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker in the governors race but isn't sure how this election will play out.

-- Rich Kremer, KUWS-Superior