From the March 27, 2011 CSI Walworth County Sunday "The Way we see it" column:

As spring finally nudges aside a long, snowy winter, we’re inclined today to set aside thoughts of roiling political debates and recognize some of our friends and neighbors who quietly go about making life better for untold numbers of people.

In the pages of CSI Media publications recently, we were reminded that such people reach out to us from remarkably varied backgrounds with remarkably varied gifts. For example:

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From the March 20, 2011 CSI Walworth County Sunday "The Way we see it" column:

Unions pushing business boycotts

Now that Gov. Scott Walker’s budget-repair bill has been signed into law, public-sector unions are turning their attention to misguided recall efforts and statewide boycotts of businesses they regard as political opponents.

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From the March 13, 2011 CSI Walworth County Sunday "The Way we see it" column:

Recent polls suggest that Gov. Scott Walker has yet to convince a majority of Wisconsin residents that de-fanging public-sector unions is a good idea. If the polls are accurate, Wisconsinites like the idea of public employees paying more for health care and pension benefits, but reining in their collective-bargaining privileges remains a much tougher sell for the governor and Republican majorities in the Legislature.

This is surprising when you consider that Walker’s budget-repair bill ensures public employees still will be able to negotiate for wages and salaries, and will continue to enjoy broad protections under state civil-service law. They will remain, in effect, a uniquely fortunate group of workers.

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From the March 6, 2011 CSI Walworth County Sunday "The Way we see it" column:

Some observations as debate continues over Gov. Scott Walker’s budget-repair bill, and as local governments begin to account for sharp reductions in state-aid payments over the next two years:

• Wisconsin’s public-sector union bosses have said repeatedly over the last two weeks that they’ll accept provisions of Walker’s bill that require government workers to pay half of their pension contributions and 12.8 percent for health care premiums, provided there are no limits on collective bargaining. And yet, across the state, local and county governments — the Janesville and Evansville school boards among them — inexplicably are OK’ing union contracts that require much less from public employees.

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