UP: Clive Swendsen. What class this guy has! The famed UW-Madison stem-cell researcher, wooed away to head a medical institute in Los Angeles, doesn't whine about his UW salary or Madison's politics or even the weather. Instead, he says "It was nothing lacking from Wisconsin." Some $500,000 in federal grant funding will be leaving with him. What a jerk. (Kidding!)
UPPER: UW System. At a time when other state functions are taking it on the chin, the Legislature's budget team approves 36 major university building projects, two more than the state Building Commission recommended. Supporters say the $380 million in taxpayer dollars for these projects will stimulate the economy. We can hardly wait.
DOWN: Gunfire-free days. Madison police ask the public's help in curbing a rash of shootings - nearly 20 since January, including nine believed to be related. Some have been in broad daylight, involving multiple rounds.
