UP: Leslie Peterson. Although she lost her bid for Madison Common Council last week, Peterson wins a $19,000 settlement from the state for a July 2011 incident involving Ronald Blair. He's the Department of Administration employee who popped the red balloon she was holding in the Capitol with a pocket tool, accidentally cutting himself. Peterson's attorney, Jeff Scott Olson, tells the Wisconsin State Journal: "This wasn't a prankster with a pin popping a balloon. This was an out-of-control adult with a knife blade who was so reckless he stabbed himself…. She could have been stabbed."
DOWN: Oshkosh Corp. The defense contractor announces that it plans to lay off 900 workers this summer, reducing its workforce to fewer than 3,000. The company, which makes military vehicles, is facing a loss in business as the United States continues withdrawing from Iraq and Afghanistan.
