A few darling buds of May news 

Laurel Walker column

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, May 25, 2006

Before you know it, June will be here and we'll have to start all over again. But wait. I've got a May basket full of inspiration from a few blooming news buds, and I'd like to share. May I?

May apples: It's planting time for some Waukesha County inmates who can volunteer to grow veggies for food pantries on garden plots made available by the University of Wisconsin Extension offices.

The idea's caught on with Milwaukee and Rock counties, which will give it a try with Waukesha County, using a shared $21,228 federal grant this year.

My first thought? That $21,228 would buy a lot of food from farmers markets. But I guess that would deprive prisoners of the experience I'd give my best sprinkling can for - more therapeutic digging in my own garden.

Besides, I suppose this is a lot like cutting your own firewood. It warms you twice. Organizers say this teaches prisoners valuable lessons, like discipline, achievement and altruism.

When I was growing up on the farm, my chores included hard work in our huge garden. Some days I felt like a prisoner to the job.

Ahead of the times, I guess.

Mayday: Signaling its distress, Aurora Health Care Inc. has used its Internet site to ask and answer its own "questions" about rival ProHealth Care Inc.'s announced plans to expand and renovate Oconomowoc Memorial Hospital, nearly within spitting distance of where Aurora has so far failed to build its own hospital.

ProHealth plans a $37 million project, including a bigger emergency room, larger patient rooms and 11 more of them. By comparison, Aurora proposes an $85 million, 88-bed hospital in the Town of Summit - an effort that now rests in the courts.

Among the questions it puts to itself is this one:

"How can ProHealth so vigorously oppose plans for an Aurora hospital in western Waukesha County and yet pursue a total renovation of its own hospital in Oconomowoc?" Answer: "All we can say is that the hypocrisy here is apparent to all."

Or this one: "So does this mean that the revamped OMH will be the same as the new Aurora Medical Center?" Answer: "Not even close."

Among the more interesting ones: "Will Aurora oppose the renovation and expansion of Oconomowoc Memorial?" Answer: "We think ProHealth Care should be free to invest in ways that enhance care for its patients."

Huh? Oh yeah, one more thing.

"We believe that Aurora should be allowed to do the same."

Maybe: I'm not so sure that the debate over merging the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha with UW-Milwaukee isn't more about trying to reduce county taxes now spent on UWW facilities than about improving education.

Some, though, say a merger would improve education and the business climate by encouraging more four-year degrees in the work force.

To me, UWW is invaluable to local students who can't compete on the big campus, at first, or who can't afford full college costs. I'd hate to see those advantages lost.

So maybe a task force has a way to accomplish both. Initial reactions to its ideas from Waukesha County Rep. Scott Newcomer (R-Hartland) that its idea is "dead on arrival" before it even arrives, or from Sen. Ted Kanavas (R-Brookfield), who called it a "bureaucratic dive," are both close-minded and premature.

Let's digest it, but first, let's hear it.