NEWS AND NOTES ON A WEDNESDAY

* Ripon College president David Joyce is the only Wisconsin college president so far to sign on to the newly formed Amethyst Initiative, a collection of about 100 university leaders who say the 21-year-old drinking age is not working and that it has created a culture of dangerous binge drinking on their campuses. According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the group’s Web site does not go so far as to blatantly call for lowering the drinking age to 18, but the statement by the group’s signatories does say that raising the drinking age has had negative effects. The statement encourages public debate on the issue.

I actually commend Doctor Joyce for signing this initiative. There is nothing wrong with debating this issue. It will be polarizing, but I have always wondered why an 18-year old can vote, pay taxes, fight for our country, and not have a drink legally. And I have never heard an answer that completely satisfies my curiousity.

* The Fond du Lac County Board last night voted to not take a vote on a much-discussed Comprehensive Countywide Diversity Initiative statement. Supporters claim the statement is intended to stimulate economic growth and attract a varied work force to Fond du Lac County, while opponents have argued that county government has no business regulating diversity issues. They also have raised questions about whether the statement is simply a measure aimed at advancing the gay and lesbian rights movement and promoting the hiring of illegal immigrants. The board voted 12-6 to table the issue, following several hours of debate. A standing-room-only crowd witnessed the discussion in the Legislative Chambers of the City County Government Center in Fond du Lac.

I am glad the board voted to table this measure, which has certainly been a blog favorite on some local websites. There are WAY too many questions about this proposed statement, and I simply do not know how you can legislate diversity. I would like someone to show me a community where a similar statement has produced measureable results. Finally, there has been some conflicting statements about the county funding a diversity position. If this is true, this is a tremendous waste of tax dollars. I have no idea how you can set any "goals" for this position.

* Verlyn Adamson and his wife won't have to split his 350-thousand dollars in winnings from a SuperCash lottery ticket. Judith Adamson has her own 350-thousand dollar check from the state lottery. Judith had reportedly asked her husband if she could play the same numbers he was going to choose. He evidently said yes. Verlyn Adamson bought his winning ticket at a Mineral Point gas station, while his wife got hers at a store in Barneveld. Playing the same numbers means they both won. There's a side story: Verlyn Adamson says he has a secret formula that has resulted in him actually making money in the lottery over the last two decades. Nothing, he admits, like this big winner.

Some people have all the luck....