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Dave Zweifel: Lawmakers need schooling on UW’s contributions to the state
To be sure, over the years the school has on occasion floundered, and it needs to be called out when it does. But it remains a key to Wisconsin’s economic and educational future. And state legislators need to understand that.

John Torinus: Finally, UWM scores health sciences win
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican legislative leaders, in a welcome bipartisan compromise, included UWM in the capital budget with $189 million for the long overdue renovation of the old Columbia Hospital, known as the Northwest Quadrant. UWM bought it 15 years ago.

Noria Doyle: Wallace in Wisconsin: The 1964 campaign that tested America’s soul over the politics of identity
In April 1964, Alabama Governor George Wallace entered the Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary as a defiant challenger to the mainstream liberal consensus.

Spencer Black: Trump’s bill is an environmental catastrophe
Environmentally, the grossly misnamed “big beautiful bill” is ugly as sin. The recently passed legislation is an ecological disaster.

Fabu: Now more than ever, Black history must be celebrated
Our ancestors’ response to their delayed independence was to creatively turn previous mourning into new-found joy by starting the Juneteenth Celebration on the actual day of their release, June 19, now a federal holiday.

Kenneth Zagacki and Richard Cherwitz: Something to learn from JFK’s Cuban Missile Crisis speech
In today’s highly charged political environment, in which a president’s handling of international crises, however competent or inept, is immediately subject to hyperbole and sanctification by supporters and in press conferences and tweets — sometimes by the president himself — it’s important to remind ourselves how some American presidents spoke publicly about past crises with clarity, humility and measured prose.

Steven Walters: New legislative districts led to bipartisan budget
For first time in 14 years, Republican leaders needed Democratic votes.

Katherine Loughead: Wisconsin’s retirement income exclusion will shift tax burdens to working families over time
The expanded retirement income exclusion will undermine the tax code’s neutrality and shift burdens onto working families over time, while yielding far less “bang for the buck” than other more pro-growth reforms.

Nate Gilliam: It’s time to overturn Act 12. Milwaukee deserves better.
ACT 12 is cementing anti-Blackness in legislation in a place that has suffered deep organized abandonment. It must be reversed.

Tom Barrett: Johnson voted for the Trump bill he called immoral. His choice will devastate Wisconsin.
In an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal, Johnson said he could not support the bill ‘in its current form’ because it increased annual deficits. He voted for one that increased it more.

Gregory Humphrey: UW-Madison graduate students feel impact of Trump’s federal grant cuts
Without a reversal in federal policy, the long-term impact could be dire, not just for Wisconsin, but for the nation’s standing in global scientific leadership.

Judith Davidoff: A time of upheaval for public media
Managers say the struggle to survive hinges on the ability to adapt.

Michelle Bryant: No one should ever accuse Trump of acting like a daddy
NATO’s Secretary General Mark Rutte has repeatedly called Trump “daddy” during and since the organization’s recent summit in The Hague.

David Blaska: You want fraught? Try the 1950s
Finished reading over this Independence Day weekend a book that explores the meaning of patriotism: “A Good American Family; The Red Scare and My Father.” David Maraniss wrote his 12th book about his parents, especially his father Elliott, edotor of The Capital Times.

Dan Shafer: Wisconsin passed a budget with Democratic votes. But is it enough?
Dianne Hesselbein and Senate Democrats proved critical in achieving major wins in a compromise deal. But overall, did Evers and Democrats press hard enough with newfound leverage?

Dave Zweifel: We should hold lawmakers to the standards they force on UW
In their latest attempt at micromanaging an institution for which their support ranks 44th among the 50 states, the budget contains a provision that requires faculty members to teach at least 24 credit hours per year, a number that is reduced to 12 credit hours for the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Kathryn Dicks: Wisconsin needs child care funding now
The child care crisis has been ongoing for several years and demonstrates market failure. The costs are too high for families, and providers struggle to keep their businesses open and pay fair wages.

Richard Moore: Of surrender and sovereignty: A tale of two Republican parties
Just in case anybody is still wondering why Wisconsin Republicans lose statewide elections all the time, look no further than the GOP’s legislative leadership for a quick explanation.

Eve Galanter: Don’t cut funding for public television, radio in Wisconsin
This funding was approved in the past. If it goes away, it would leave many in Wisconsin and across the nation without access to the critical services and educational programming public media provides.

Bill Kaplan: Trump and GOP sullied July 4th
The GOP-led Congress narrowly passed the “Big Beautiful Act”, to kneel before Trump on July 4th, sullying our sacred day.

WisOpinion: ‘The Insiders’ Special Edition: Chuck Chvala and the late Ted Kanavas remember less partisan times
WisOpinion marks the Fourth of July weekend with this rebroadcast of the final Insiders segment with then-co-host former state Sen. Ted Kanavas, who passed away July 3, 2017. In the episode, the two discuss political civility and the meaning of Independence Day. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association and the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership.

Rewind: Your Week in Review for July 3
On this week’s episode of “Rewind,” WisPolitics.com’s JR Ross and Wisconsin Public Radio Capitol Reporter Anya van Wagtendonk discuss the state budget, the state Supreme Court’s abortion ruling and more.