This “watchdog” story idea came to me while covering budget hearings in various communities, which were under mandate to purchase handicap-accessible voting machines. I uncovered the fact that an appalling percentage of Wisconsin’s voting sites had significant physical barriers for the elderly or disabled that prevented many citizens from voting, new machines or not. I focused on the City of Milwaukee for this piece, which drew reader mail from as far away as South Dakota, and which led to positive action on the city’s part.

Oconomowoc joins others in state acting to improve water quality. Concerned about the proliferation of weeds and algae in its chain of lakes, Oconomowoc has banned property owners from using phosphorus to fertilize lawns in what one official said is a regional trend.

Although gloomy news about the nationwide banking industry has dominated recent headlines, new bank offices have proliferated in Wisconsin in the last few years, both statewide and in metro Milwaukee – and there’s little sign of easing up. As of June 30, just-released statistics by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. show that Wisconsin has 2,389 bank offices, compared with 2,116 in 2000 – a 13% increase. From 2000 through the end of 2007, the state’s population increased only about 4%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The cities of New Berlin and Milwaukee are now in agreement over extending Lake Michigan water to another chunk of New Berlin, as the New Berlin Common Council voted unanimously late Tuesday to approve the deal. Aldermen expressed unhappiness about paying $1.5 million to Milwaukee and at the prospect of raising local utility rates to cover infrastructure costs. But they agreed that it is the most cost-effective solution to the radium problem in the city’s well water.