UP: Dick Wagner. The civic leader wins the city's first Civility in Public Discourse Award. The award was created in honor of Jeff Erlanger, a disability activist who died this summer. Wagner served 14 years on the Dane County Board of Supervisors, including a stint as board chair, and was instrumental in building Olbrich Gardens and Monona Terrace.
DOWN: Dane County. A Washington-based advocacy group ranks Dane County third in the nation for racial disparity in jails. The study shows that Dane County sends 97 black drug offenders to jail for every one white offender, although both demographic groups have about the same level of drug activity. Dane County was judged among 198 counties nationwide that have populations of 250,000 or more. So much for being progressive.
