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Michael Barrett and Pamela Barrett: Green efforts stymied by state bureaucracy
Our little neighborhood bar, the Harmony Bar & Grill, attempted to work with the state’s energy efficiency program, Focus on Energy, as we upgraded refrigeration, HVAC, insulation and advanced energy controls to maximal EnergyStar standards. At every turn, Focus blocked these Inflation Reduction Act-eligible energy efficiency investments.

Maya Livni: We can be a plastic-free Milwaukee if we demand action that protects our planet
Plastics are not just a pollution problem — they are a fossil-fuel problem, a public-health problem, and a climate problem.

Michelle Bryant: The power and peril of political rhetoric
Expressing frustration or disappointment is natural, but we must avoid rhetoric that inadvertently undermines our own causes, provides ammunition for those who would use our words against us, and could lead to our own peril.

Bill Kaplan: No Democratic circular firing squad
On Election Day, voters took a big step toward a Democratic wave in 2026. Democratic unity is essential to winning a Democratic-led Congress.

Paul Fanlund: Democrats should just shut up and watch Trump flail
It appears many Democrats never heard the adage, “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”

Arthur I. Cyr: Dem gains may not translate to 2026 elections
Some limited wins are still a long way from decisive victory in next year’s midterm Congressional elections, when the voters will choose the entire House of Representatives and one-third of the members of the Senate.

Gregory Humphrey: Johnson should not collect $500,000 for his January 6th actions
For Johnson to now have the ability for financial compensation from the very government whose democratic processes he sought to disrupt is completely offensive to the principles of public service.

WisOpinion: ‘The Insiders’ discuss a bipartisan vote to audit the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction
The WisOpinion Insiders, Chvala and Jensen, discuss the recent bipartisan Legislative Audit Committee vote to audit the Department of Public Instruction following a series of issues involving the department. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association and the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public leadership.

Erik Iverson: 100 years and counting: WARF dollars spurring innovation
Over the course of our 100 years, through patenting, licensing and investing, WARF has provided more than $4.5 billion in support to the university. That funding has advanced scientific research in every field you can imagine—from life-saving medical treatments to groundbreaking work in energy, engineering, and beyond.

Mark Lisheron: Most UW System schools’ enrollments are stagnant as tech colleges flourish
While undergraduate enrollment in most University of Wisconsin System schools trends downward, there has been a dramatic increase in students choosing the state’s technical colleges since the pandemic.

George Mitchell: DPI dupes Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The Journal Sentinel took DPI’s bait and left its readers with a completely misleading impression of choice school results.


Jamie Stiehm: Dems had the cards, then folded
Just five days after the party triumph in elections swept across the country, eight members of the Democratic caucus found a way to throw the upper hand away in the 40-day government shutdown.

Dave Zweifel: Was Dem capitulation a blessing in disguise?
Whether Democrats — who lately have had a habit of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory — can turn this stunning change in strategy into midterm success next year is still the big question.

David Blaska: Were Democrats blinded by the light?
Mesmerized by the Marxist Mamdani mirage.

H. Carl Mueller: Baby Boomers expected to leave a historic living legacy. Will you?
Legacy giving can provide the support they need for generations to come in the name and living memory of the donor.

Carl Behr: A life lived in language
After five household moves over 90-plus years, my childhood library is still with me.

Sara Finger: National Kindness Day reminds us of the power of community
This National Kindness Day, let’s remember that kindness doesn’t require perfection; it requires participation. It’s checking in on a neighbor. It’s listening with empathy. It’s using your voice to stand up for what’s right, even when it’s uncomfortable.

Ruth Conniff: The government shutdown is over. Who won?
None of the problems that led to the shutdown have been resolved.

Gregory Humphrey: Fallout from government shutdown: Justified Democratic anger, GOP’s unhappy marriage to Trump
The messy ending to the nation’s longest government shutdown was not to the liking of most Democrats, but it was probably inevitable given the state of play in Washington.

WisOpinion: ‘The Insiders’ examine the battle for control of the Wisconsin Legislature
The WisOpinion Insiders, Chvala and Jensen, review the upcoming races to control the Wisconsin Legislature and the issues that favor each party. Sponsored by the Wisconsin Counties Association and the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership.

Rewind: Your Week in Review for Sept. 18
On this week’s episode of “Rewind,” WisPolitics.com’s JR Ross and Wisconsin Public Radio Capitol Reporter Anya van Wagtendonk discuss Tom Tiffany’s plane crash, the U.S. Supreme Court halting President Trump’s mail-in balloting restrictions, oral arguments before the state Supreme Court in two cases challenging the state’s congressional lines and more.