Bielema, who turns 39 on Jan. 13, was hand-picked by UW Athletic Director Barry Alvarez to replace the iconic Alvarez as Badgers coach in 2006. Bielema's debut was one for the ages: the best overall record in program history (12-1), a Top-10 ranking (seventh) and Coach of the Year honors in the Big Ten.
The Badgers opened the 2007 season with five straight wins and were ranked No. 5 in the nation. Since then, the Badgers are 11-9 overall and 6-11 in Big Ten games, prompting debate about whether Bielema is the real deal.
The discussion was particularly heated during the 2008 regular season, one so unnerving to some Badgers fans that a Web site, www.firebretbielema.com, came to life.
Wisconsin had a veteran lineup and was ranked in the Top 10 after a 3-0 start, but went 7-5 heading into the Champs Sports Bowl against Florida State, which pounded the Badgers 42-13 and handed Bielema his second-straight bowl defeat..
The Badgers were plagued by penalties and repeated mistakes that suggested they were either undisciplined or ill-prepared. Criticism for those flaws was directed at Bielema, whose reluctance to accept it publicly was viewed by some as arrogance.
— Andy Baggot
Tough crowd for Overture Center
The business half of show business provides the most daunting obstacle for Overture Center president and CEO Tom Carto. He knows there's no song-and-dance routine to dodge Overture's financial woes, smaller staff and public perception.
A trust fund intended to help handle operations expenses dries up in 2011, and Carto said, "It was never assumed that Overture could operate without that fourth leg of the table."
As a result, Carto will continue to alter Overture's internal structure, work with outside promoters and adjust its programming.
As Carto prepares the 2009-2010 season, which begins next fall, he may reduce booking national dance shows from five to three and shift touring classical music to the Capitol Theater while avoiding pricey major orchestras. Several crowd-pleasing Broadway musicals are on the way, too, in future seasons.
Carto, 51, hasn't given up on Overture's January to May schedule. Despite "very conservative ticket projections," he said some shows such as "Jesus Christ Superstar," are selling well.
What Carto said surprises people is that attendance for free and low-cost events is higher than Overture's ticketed shows.
"In time," Carto said, "the community will embrace Overture as its own."
— Tom Alesia
911 center shadows Falk
Facing some of the harshest criticism in her career following a fiasco at the 911 center this year, Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk is gearing up for the 2009 election by focusing on projects she started more than a decade ago.
When Falk, 57, first took office, she asked farmers how she could address their needs.
Falk calls the answer "cow power." Next year, the county has $1 million to continue work on turning manure, switchgrass and other agricultural waste into fuel for mini-power plants.
"Dane County is unique in being able to take advantage and be at the forefront of what jobs and energy will be in the 21st century," Falk said.
Falk said she decided to run again in early August after Gov. Jim Doyle declared that Madison should no longer rely on coal to fuel its power plants.
In April, she faces former Madison School Board member Nancy Mistele, who has already heaped criticism on Falk for problems at the 911 center that came to light this year. Falk emphasizes the changes she's made in next year's budget — more staff, new equipment and a review of procedures.
Falk won't rule out a future run for statewide office, but she said she has no plans to leave Dane County.
"Things that I've been working on so hard are at really important points and I just want to make a difference on those," Falk said. "I'm hooked on this."
— Matthew DeFour
Steering Janesville to new beginning
It's up to Eric Levitt to try to lift the spirits - and the economy - of Janesville, whose biggest industry, General Motors and its suppliers, ended production Dec. 23. About 4,000 employees have lost their jobs over the past year.
Levitt, 41, became Janesville's city manager Dec. 16. He was hired in October to succeed longtime city manager Steve Sheiffer, who retired. Since then, the U.S. economy has further unraveled. But Levitt said that doesn't mean chances are worse for a new GM product to be made in Janesville, as local and state leaders have pitched to top GM officials.
Even so, GM has anchored Janesville's identity for decades, and that identity is now in question.
With St. Mary's Hospital and Dean Clinic under construction in Janesville, combined with the strength of Mercy Hospital, the health-care industry might help diversify the local job pool, he said. Madison's biotechnology cluster could also spill over into Janesville.
Levitt said he'll work with the City Council on economic development, revitalizing older downtown neighborhoods and providing basic city services. He says Janesville residents love their community.
"A lot of times, attitude and positive momentum can overcome some of the most challenging times that face a city. I think Janesville is in a position to overcome some of those challenges," he said.
—Judy Newman
Trying to fill a big budget hole
It should be no surprise that incoming Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan says the $5.4 billion budget shortfall will be the biggest challenge he'll face next year.
But the 50-year-old Janesville Democrat said his background as a former United Auto Workers local president has prepared him for the kind of leadership and negotiation skills he'll need to help fix it.
"This isn't a Democrat problem or a Republican problem. But it is a problem for both of us and nobody can sit on the sidelines," Sheridan said.
"My style of leadership has always been to work with the other side and try and find the common ground."
Assembly Democrats picked Sheridan to lead them after the party won control of that chamber for the first time since 1993, putting Democrats in control of the Legislature and the governor's office.
Seen as a pragmatic, consensus-building politician on good terms with Gov. Jim Doyle, he'll have to balance the liberal and moderate wings of his party that has only a tenuous hold on power.
And he'll have to do it with just four years of legislative experience, having been elected speaker over a more seasoned colleague.
"Jobs and the economy are the main issues, and making sure we protect our educational system," Sheridan said. "We need to get people back to work and fix this $5.4 billion budget hole."
— Mark Pitsch
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