Carstensen has second thoughts about naming school after Vang Pao
Reacting to reports that Pao was linked to war crimes and the heroin trade in southeast Asia, Carstensen said Friday "that information was not something I had access to until after we made the decision."
View ArticleMcCoy challenged on Vang Pao; he fires back
What follows is a letter "Isthmus" received on Tuesday, April 17, from Dr. Gary Yia Lee, a visiting professor at the Center of Hmong Studies at Concordia University in St. Paul. In it, he accuses UW...
View ArticleRewriting Vang Pao's past
I've been thinking of Yurasov lately, amazed at the Madison school board's willingness to engage in its own brand of historical forgetfulness. What else can you make of the board's decision to name a...
View ArticleThe end of Lapham school
What depressing news to read that Lapham School will be merged out of existence. I sent two kids through Lapham, and it was single best experience our family has had with the Madison schools.
View ArticleVang Pao, drugs and the CIA
Who is Vang Pao? Two online sources are helpful if not disturbing in how they portray the Hmong general for whom a new Madison elementary school will be named.
View ArticlePaul Soglin leaves Epic, begins consulting
After a four year tour with Epic Systems, former Madison Mayor Paul Soglin has left the medical-software behemoth to become a consultant on government relations, strategic planning and related matters.
View ArticleBetter late than never
Now that the Willy Street Co-op has settled on Cliff Fisher's Metropolitan Place condos as the site for its second store, a hard question can be asked: Is the co-op late to its own party?
View ArticleIUPAT District Council 7 painters and drywallers on strike
Walking into the "Isthmus" office Friday morning I stumbled on a story: Two picketers stationed in front of the neighboring Block 89 office project.
View ArticleAlfred McCoy responds to "The Capital Times"
On Tuesday, June, 4, 2007, The Capital Times ran a front-page story entitled "Man Of His People." The story recounted how many Hmong people idolize General Vang Pao for his work on their behalf. The...
View ArticleEnd the Vang Pao debacle
But the board's steely refusal to reconsider the naming decision finally began to bend Monday with news that Vang Pao and other leaders of Neo Hom back-to-Laos movement had been arrested on terrorism...
View ArticleEd Hughes to run for Madison school board
The next Madison School Board election is ten long months away, but the first candidate to replace retiring board member Carol Carstensen has already emerged.
View ArticleLearning from Milwaukee
The much-reviled Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) could be a surprising role model for the Madison school district as it begins formulating a plan to refashion its high schools for the demands of the...
View ArticleWork halts at Union Corners housing
"It's a classic case of timing," says developer Todd McGrath. "When we started four years ago, the housing market was strong. But as we went on costs went up, interest rates went up, and the demand...
View ArticleTown of Dunn escapes infection
Good news! Dane County is out of the running for that new $400 million Homeland Security bio-hazard research center. UW-Madison officials are shaking their heads in disappointment that its 200-acre...
View ArticleIndifferent stewards
Early in the morning, I'm at Lake Monona playing fetch with the dog. It's a great way to greet the day and experience the lake. Through the seasons I see it all: the spring melt, the clear water, the...
View ArticleMatthew Rothschild illustrates how "You Have No Rights"
The title of Matt Rothschild's new book -- "You Have No Rights: Stories of America In An Age Of Repression" (The New Press) -- carries a strong whiff of lefty hyperbole. Is the fascist jackboot really...
View ArticleMadison Center for Creative and Cultural Arts to close its doors
One of Madison's major grassroots arts venues is strapped for rent money and will close its doors by Sept. 10. The Madison Center for Creative and Cultural Arts, located at 306 W. Dayton St. behind the...
View ArticleLandlord says he 'couldn't carry' the Madison Center for Creative and...
Landlord John Hutchinson has weighed in on the closing of the Madison Center for Creative and Cultural Arts, saying that the center's finances were even more dire than the operators said last Friday.
View ArticleNo pay, no play
One of Madison's grassroots arts venues is strapped for rent money and will close its doors by Sept. 10.
View ArticleRemembering Dimetra Shivers
The death of jazz singer Dimetra Shivers last week at the age of 95 was the last note of a great Madison figure. Honored as the very first "Jazz Personality Of The Year" by the Isthmus Jazz Festival in...
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