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• St. Croix County adjusts leave processes for H1N1
• Barrett enters governor's race; state briefs

By Judy Wiff

While employers and coworkers don't want people coming to work with H1N1 symptoms, workers who have little accumulated paid time off may be reluctant to stay home and lose income.

St. Croix County's human resource manager and its Finance and Personnel Committee reached agreement on that problem last Thursday by deciding to allow employees to use donated PTO time for H1N1 or related illnesses.

In early 2007 the County Board set up a program that allowed employees to donate some of their accumulated PTO to other workers dealing with life-threatening illnesses or injuries.

Later that year, the standard for qualifying for the PTO donation was changed to "seriously incapacitating illness/injury."

Human Resources Manager Tammy Funk said employees will be encouraged to stay home if they are sick and told they may be sent home if they come to work with symptoms.

But being required to miss work can mean financial hardships for people who don't have enough accumulated PTO, she said.

To avoid that, some employers allow workers to borrow paid leave time, said Funk.

"This type of policy can be of great need to some employees and create loyalty to the employer," said Funk. "However, you are allowing employees to basically go in debt of their paid leave time."

She warned that going that route complicates recordkeeping because advanced PTO time would have to be deducted from future accruals and from paychecks if the employee quits.

Employers that have allowed workers to borrow PTO time have regretted it, said Funk.

"I think the negatives outweigh the positives, agreed Finance Committee Chairman Daryl Standafer. He suggested using the PTO donation policy to cover flu sick leave.

Funk also said she has advised supervisors not to require the usual doctor documentation when workers stay home with flu.

County policy says supervisors or department heads may ask for a physician's documentation when PTO is taken for illness and there hasn't been prior approval for time off.

But, said Funk, medical personnel don't want everyone running to the doctor with H1N1 symptoms. People with the illness are asked to stay home while sick and for 24 hours after the fever breaks.

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett says he's making his second bid to become Wisconsin governor.

He'll run to replace incumbent Jim Doyle, who isn't running for re-election.

Barrett lost to Doyle in the 2002 Democratic gubernatorial primary. At a news conference attended by some of his supporters Sunday, Barrett talked about what he hopes to do differently in next year's race.

Barrett made his campaign kick-off announcement with his family in full view of the television cameras.

The mayor says that at church Sunday, a man who identified himself as an independent, came up to him and said he appreciated Barrett talking with his family before deciding to run for governor again.

-- Chuck Quirmbach, WHAD-Delafield/Milwaukee

History suggests Barrett faces long odds to win

Tom Barrett's decision to enter the governor's race comes despite historic trends that suggest next year could be a difficult one for his party.

Mid-term elections are often tough for the party in power and Republicans are hoping next year will be another 1994. That was the first mid-term of President Bill Clinton's presidency when the GOP won big in both national and state elections.

UW-Milwaukee Political Science Professor Mordecai Lee says he's sure Barrett has considered what he's facing. Lee says Barrett likely understands history is against him, but believes the race is winnable.

Madison-based Democratic pollster Paul Maslin did work for Barrett during his first Mayoral campaign. Maslin says that for all the talk of 2010 being a tough year for Democrats, Barrett is poised to do well.

He says "Wisconsin produces close elections, but they're generally won by a Democrat."

Maslin points to Jim Doyle's two wins as governor; Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold's combined seven wins for U.S. Senate; and Democratic wins in Wisconsin's last six Presidential races.

But Wisconsin Republican Party Director Mark Jefferson says there's a notable exception to that list. Jefferson says the most popular governor in state history was Republican Tommy Thompson. He says something is happening with an electorate that is demanding a change right now.

Jefferson says either Scott Walker or Mark Neumann would match up well against Barrett in the general election.

-- Shawn Johnson, WHA/WERN-Madison

GOP questions Barrett's will to be governor

The State Republican Party says Tom Barrett has yet to show anyone that he actually wants to be governor.

Barrett's announcement Sunday ended months of speculation that began when Gov. Jim Doyle announced in August he would not seek a third term.

State GOP Director Mark Jefferson says Barrett's reluctance to enter the race means he'll have to prove to people that he's up to the challenge.

He says it looks like Mayor Barrett is doing this out of an obligation to his party, but it doesn't look like he wants to lead.

Barrett said that injuries he sustained this summer while defending a woman in distress made it physically impossible for him to consider the governor's race for part of this year.

-- Shawn Johnson, WHA/WERN-Madison

Dane County opens first H1N1 clinic

MADISON -- Tomorrow Dane County will have its first big public flu clinic against H1N1. And shots and nasal spray are intended only for the most vulnerable.

The vaccinations will be held in one of Dane County's biggest venues: the Alliant Energy Center. Madison-Dane County Health Director Thomas Schlenker says they will distribute 5,000 doses.

He says there will be no camping overnight and doors to the Alliant Center will open a half-hour before the clinic starts.

A mass vaccination against H1N1 will also be held on Wednesday for target groups. Schlenker says clinics are for those without health insurance and those with access to a private doctor should go to their doctor.

He says school H1N1 clinics will resume at some point, when the county gets more vaccine.

--Shamane Mills, WHA/WERN-Madison

Feingold supports public option in health reform

Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold says he wants the health care package moving through Congress to have a strong option for public insurance.

He says he hasn't seen the Senate version yet, but is skeptical of talk to delay a public option until there's a so-called "trigger."

Feingold says it's possible the Senate will pass its bill by the end of the year. Then, the House and Senate versions would go to a conference committee. Feingold says the goal should be to get a measure to President Obama by the time of his State of the Union speech in late January.

-- Chuck Quirmbach, WHAD-Delafield/Milwaukee

Coalition supports high speed rail through La Crosse

Supporters of high speed rail in southwestern Wisconsin have formed a coalition to push for a route from Chicago to the Twin Cities that follows Amtrak's line through La Crosse.

The Empire Builder line -- otherwise known as the Western Route -- sees a ridership of about 2,500 passengers a month at its La Crosse station. Bob Fisher, of the Wisconsin Association of Railroad Passengers, says that number could double or even triple if high speed rail were to come through the area. He says it would be possible to travel to and from Chicago or the Twin Cities several times in one day.

Fisher, a member of the newly formed La Crosse coalition, says it's a better route for high speed rail than the Union Pacific line running through Eau Claire. He says the Eau Claire route wouldn't have as many passengers and it wouldn't serve Minnesota, which the La Crosse route does.

Scott Rogers disagrees. He's co-chairman of the West Central Wisconsin Rail Coalition in favor of a route through Eau Claire. Rogers says the passenger rail infrastructure is already in place and there would be less freight congestion on the Eau Claire route.

Either way, train passenger Prem Girdhari says high speed rail would benefit the state. Girdhari says it will pave the way for future regional development no matter what route is chosen.

More than 40 applicants nationwide are competing for $8 billion available for high speed rail projects to be awarded next spring.

-- Danielle Kaeding, WLSU/WHLA-La Crosse

Doyle vetoes DNR secretary appointment change

Gov. Jim Doyle has vetoed a plan that would have stripped future governors of the power to appoint Department of Natural Resources Secretaries.

The plan would have returned to the system that was in place for several decades in Wisconsin, where the Natural Resources Board appointed the DNR Secretary. Proponents said going back to that system would insulate Secretaries from political influence when they make long-term decisions involving the environment.

Doyle never promised to veto this bill, but his move Friday was hardly surprising. Even though he used to support this change, the governor has said he opposed the idea for most of this year.

But the bill's Assembly author, Spencer Black, D-Madison, said he was still disappointed. Black says he'd hoped the governor would notice that virtually every Democrat in both houses of the legislature supported this and return to the position he had when he was attorney general, that it was important to have an independent DNR.

Black will ask the Assembly Speaker to try and override the governor, a move that would take a two-thirds vote in both the Assembly and the Senate.

That margin is questionable in the Assembly, where support dropped off after senators changed the plan to require Senate confirmation of DNR secretaries.

In Doyle's veto message, the governor said that the major environmental steps the state had taken in the past seven years, including expanding the stewardship program and toughening mercury standards could not have been achieved by a Board-appointed Secretary.

Doyle also said a secretary appointed by the governor ensures a direct line of accountability for citizens concerned about natural resources.

-- Shawn Johnson, WHA/WERN-Madison

New shoreline development rules

The Natural Resources Board has approved changes to shoreline development rules. They're directing counties to come up with ordinances protecting wildlife habitats that fall within 300 feet of the shores of lakes, rivers, and streams.

The board is effectively changing rules written in the 1960's when most waterfront buildings were seasonal cottages.

Some groups like the Wisconsin Association of Lakes say new development since then has harmed water quality and wildlife. Bill O'Connor, a lawyer for the Association, says the newly approved rules will apply to newly constructed patios and driveways.

O'Connor says the rule will have a positive effect on water quality by making it difficult to cover lots within 300 feet of the water with impervious surfaces.

Only 15 percent of land located within that 300 foot barrier could be "impervious." So home owners wanting to add on could not build horizontally, though they could add another story.

The rule changes will have to be approved by the Legislature. O'Connor predicts they will pass since the Natural Resources Board adopted changes already made in the legislative process.

He acknowledges people like living on the water, but stresses, so do animals. O'Connor says things like nesting sites and places animals find food and shelter occurs where the water meets the land.

If the legislature passes the rules, counties will have two years to write new ordinances.

-- Patty Murray, WPNE/WHID-Green Bay

New approach to controlling Asian Carp

Environmental agencies say they'll try to keep Asian Carp out of the Great Lakes during an upcoming maintenance project, by dumping fish poison into a shipping canal.

The primary electric barrier in a suburban Chicago shipping canal will be turned off early next month for scheduled maintenance.

To help guard against Asian Carp getting past a back-up barrier and possibly into the Great Lakes, the fish poison rotenone will be dumped into five miles of the canal, near the barriers.

John Rogner, with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, says the other fish that will die are mostly common carp and gizzard shad, which are not highly valued fish. He says the agencies will try to shock and relocate valuable game fish to locations outside the treatment zone.

Rogner says the poison will be detoxified, so as not to affect fish. Col. Vincent Quarles says the backup barrier doesn't use enough current to hold back the Asian Carp on its own.

The Chicago canal will be closed to all boat traffic beginning Dec. 2 and remain closed for several days. The fish barrier maintenance and poison use will cost as much as $2 million. But the state and federal agencies say Asian Carp getting into the Great Lakes would carry a much higher price tag.

-- Chuck Quirmbach, WHAD-Delafield/Milwaukee

Governor intervenes in water research issue

Gov. Jim Doyle is trying to douse a dispute between the University of Wisconsin System and UW-Milwaukee over water research. Doyle said Friday that he had talked with UW System President Kevin Reilly about news the System will have a staff member coordinate water research at many UW campuses.

Doyle says that doesn't mean work in Milwaukee will dry up.

Doyle says there are no plans to build a $40 million freshwater research building anywhere but UW-Milwaukee. Milwaukee State Rep. Jon Richards said last week that he'll bring the water issue before the next meeting of the UW Board of Regents.

-- Chuck Quirmbach, WHAD-Delafield/Milwaukee

Future of Badger state winter games in question

WAUSAU -- The group that has sponsors the Badger State Winter Games in Wausau has decided to pull its financial support, casting doubt on whether Wausau will continue host the Olympic style events after next year.

Wausau has been the host community for the winter games for 22 years, and for the past 10 years the money has come from the Wausau Central Wisconsin Convention and Visitors Bureau.

But executive director Darrien Schaefer says the games have changed during that time, and it no longer makes sense to pay for them.

Schaefer points to declining participation, not enough out of town visitors, and the decision to decentralize the games by moving events like hockey to Milwaukee.

And he says the money would be better spent hosting athletic events throughout the year that have been organized in the Wausau area.

The Badger State Games are run by the Wisconsin Sports Development Corporation in Madison. Its marketing director, Jessica Gammey says they are already trying to find other sponsors in the Wausau area.

And Gammey stresses that the upcoming winter games will go on as scheduled in Wausau in January and February of 2010, but that no decisions have been made for 2011.

Whether Wausau hosts the games in 2011 may depend on whether another organization comes forward with the more than $150,000 in annual host fees.

-- Glen Moberg, WHRM/WLBL-Wausau