Here & Now; 519

December 1, 2006

Here and Now, Target Practice in Great Lakes, Last August, the U.S. Coast Guard announced plans to run regular machine gun target practices using thousands of live ammo rounds on the Great Lakes. The announcement was followed by six weeks of public hearings around the Midwest. 80 great lakes city mayors as well as officials from two Canadian provinces have spoken out against the plan. John E Crowley, Jr. offers the coast guard's point of view on the subject. (Includes Lake Superior b-roll), Target Practice in Great Lakes, One of the 80 Great Lakes area mayors speaks out about his and others' opposition to the coast guard's plan to have machine gun firing practices in the Great Lakes region. (Includes full-screen graphic showing shooting sites on the Great Lakes), healthcare report, A new report prepared by the Wisconsin Hospital Association says getting perscription medications is going to be harder and harder, due to a shortage of licensed pharmacists in Wisconsin. The report also looks at the status of other healthcare occupations in our state. (Includes pharmacy b-roll), Jim Doyle has appointed Mike Morgan to be the new Secretary of Administration, replacing Steve Bablitch. He begins his new post January 1. On Wednesday the governor spoke in support of a policy that allows lawmakers to convert unused sick days into healthcare and retirement benefits. Some legislators want to get rid of the policy since the Journal Sentinel reported Monday that six former lawmakers convicted of crimes in office are eligible for those perks. Earlier this week, we went to the mall and asked some of you how many days you called in sick last year. Here's what you said. Entrepreneur of the year, Ken Hendricks. He owns ABC Supply, a roofing and gutter company based in Beloit. He's Inc. Magazine entrepreneur of the year. (Includes full-screen magazine cover graphic), Do you have any dollar coins in your pocket or purse? Here's what you said. Doller Coins, The U.S. Mint has a new idea for a new dollar, a new coin pressed with the images of past U.S. presidents. Wisconsin Public Television news producer Art hackett likes the idea, but betss a dollar he has a better one. For some closing thoughts on this week's coin of the realm, here's Art Hackett. (Includes full-screen graphics of proposed dollar coins)