UP: Dane County Narcotics and Gang Task Force. The county's anti-drug team is named Wisconsin's Drug Unit of the Year by the Wisconsin Narcotics Officers Association. The unit won the distinction in part because of a number of record drug seizures, including a shipment of opium-soaked wood chips from Laos.
DOWN: Bus riders. Madison's Board of Estimates repeatedly rejects amendments to eliminate a proposed hike in bus fares from the city's 2009 budget. Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz wants to raise cash fares by 50 cents to $2. The city's Transit and Parking Commission will have the final say.
