Fed budget woes fuel mud-slinging here; dollars scarce for Madison bio-tech center; gulls descend on Lambeau, plus more state briefs

• Dirty birds

Thousands of seagulls have taken up residence near Lambeau Field to procreate.

Talk about it

The public has no idea who the Republican nominee for president will be but the Republican National Committee is trying to get you to vote for that person instead of President Obama in 2012.

The Republican National Committee, headed by Wisconsin’s Reince Priebus, is running a new TV ad across Wisconsin urging voters to throw out Obama. The ad is part of a four-week national campaign called “Change Direction.”

Priebus said Republicans remain a lot more enthusiastic than Democrats about improving the country and the GOP will try to maintain the wave that swept Gov. Scott Walker and Senator Ron Johnson into office a year ago.

Meanwhile, Democrats plan to use the opposition to Walker’s policies in Madison to convince voters to keep Obama in charge in Washington.

State Democratic Chairman Mike Tate says Walker’s insistence on limiting public union bargaining powers has seriously damaged the Republicans’ chances for victory in 15 1/2 months. Tate says Obama is in a better position to carry Wisconsin again because of Walker’s actions. The latest UW Madison Badger Poll gives Obama a 50 percent approval rating in Wisconsin, one point higher than a year ago. Walker, meanwhile, has an approval rating of just 37 percent.

Johnson said earlier this week that President Obama should have shown leadership on the federal budget instead of playing quote, “a dangerous game of political chicken.”

The Wisconsin Republican joined a dozen other GOP freshmen in chiding Obama for not entering debt negotiations early enough. The White House is trying to get Congress to raise the federal debt limit by August 2nd or else it says it won’t be able to pay all its bills.

Johnson and his freshman Senate colleagues said they were offended when Obama hinted that senior citizens might have to do without their Social Security checks if there’s no agreement on raising the debt ceiling in the next 20 days.

Kentucky Republican Rand Paul said Obama should apologize for politicizing Social Security. Johnson said the president is playing a trump card and quote, “threatening America’s most vulnerable citizens.” The White House did not respond to those claims.

On Thursday, Obama cut off a negotiation session for Friday with congressional leaders – and he told them to gauge the moods of their members.

Obama had planned to give leaders three options for cutting the federal deficit to take back to their memberships. Meanwhile, Senate leaders of both parties are discussing a possible option to raise the debt ceiling while setting procedures that could lead to cuts in federal spending.

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Funding proves scarce for new research center

MADISON -- The Madison Development Corporation is having trouble raising money for a proposed bio-tech agricultural research center. The non-profit group needs $1.5 to $2.5 million soon to cover construction costs or it may lose a big federal grant.

Development group president Frank Staniszewski says there are possible prospects to come up with the local share but the money would have to be found by late this fall in order to meet a deadline of next May to secure a $4.5 million federal grant.

Without the grant, Staniszewski says the whole project would be in jeopardy.

Madison Economic Development Director Aaron Olver said his office is “turning over rocks” looking for potential partners. The city has already provided land and two-million-dollars toward the project and it’s not likely to consider any more.

Besides the research site, officials envision a Wisconsin Ag Discovery Center and showcase facility for the new center

Staniszewski says it would hurt if the project was lost especially since North Carolina just got a private firm to build that state a similar facility.

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State's nuke plants studying Japan’s disaster

A federal task force recommends safety improvements at U.S. nuclear power plants in the wake of this year’s nuclear disaster in Japan but Wisconsin’s two nuclear plants say they’re at least a little ahead of the game.

Spokesman Mark Kanz says the Kewaunee plant has a review team that has made some internal recommendations.

Sara Cassidy at the Point Beach plant in Two Rivers says her company will work with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission but they’ve made some changes already.

An NRC task force says power plant operators should evaluate their risks for floods-and-earthquakes have the ability to deal with problems in more than one reactor at a time while continuing to spent pools of fuel within the plants.

David Lochbaum of the Union of Concerned Scientists says spent fuel that’s at least five years old should be kept in outdoor dry casks instead of in pools inside the plants.

Kanz says some of its indoor radioactive waste is more than five years old but the plant might be willing to change its timetables.

-- Chuck Quirmbach, WPR

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Committee voting Friday on some redistricting plans

MADISON -- A Wisconsin Senate committee is scheduled to vote Friday on the new state-and-congressional district boundaries written by majority Republicans.

The new maps are expected to be recommended to the full Senate for a vote on Tuesday. The Assembly is scheduled to vote on them Wednesday.

Democrats say the GOP rigged the new districts to give them the best chance of keeping their power until the next re-districting is considered a decade from now

Many governments say the proposed state and congressional lines don’t correspond to the lines they drew for Common Council and county board districts and they’ll have to spend extra time and money to re-draw their maps to conform to the state’s proposal.

Republicans counter that they were only doing their jobs, and they insist the maps will eventually be found constitutional.

Gov. Scott Walker has not said if he’ll approve them.

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Gulls descend on Lambeau for nest-fest

GREEN BAY -- There’s a lot of action around Lambeau Field these days – but it has nothing to do with football.

Thousands of seagulls are breeding in the large parking lots in the stadium areas of both Green Bay and Ashwaubenon. They’ve done it before, but never in such large numbers. A sports bar owner says his crews are constantly cleaning up after 5,000- to 7,000 gulls in the lot next to his place. The gulls are also using the roof of the nearby Tundra Lodge for their breeding.

Lori Bankson of the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary says the gulls breed in large flat areas where they won’t be disturbed and young birds will head to the water once they learn to fly. In the meantime however, some baby gulls have been hit by cars.

They used to leave their eggs in downtown Green Bay, until the city used fireworks to scare them away. The big invasion will end next month but until then, there’s not much that can be done.

Green Bay’s public works director, Ed Wiesner, says the gulls are migratory birds that are protected under federal law. He says that once the eggs hatch, nothing can be done until they leave.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Green Bay, Elvis Presley’s favorite roller coaster is attracting a lot more people than expected.

The "Zippin Pippin" had its 200,000th rider of the season Thursday at Bay Beach Amusement Park. That number was the city’s goal for the entire year, and the summer isn’t even half over yet

Ryan Opitz of suburban Milwaukee took the milestone ride early yesterday afternoon. Green Bay spent $3.8 million to bring the ride from a former amusement park in Elvis’s home town of Memphis.

The ride debuted at Bay Beach earlier this year and it will keep rolling through September.

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Blue-green algae sickening some swimmers

MADISON -- Toxic blue-green algae is getting more common in Wisconsin lakes and health officials are urging folks to be on the lookout for it.

Experts say the algae has killed domestic animals and livestock and the toxins can also make people sick.

Blue-green algae often creates a thick and smelly scum on the water’s surface that looks like pea soup or paint. Colors can range from green to blue to brown.

State health officials say the algae normally causes people to have irritated eyes, noses, and throats as well as stomach trouble. Most symptoms last just a few hours, but some hang around for days.

Health officials urge folks to wash with clean water after swimming in any lake or river.

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