Wednesday 1.10
Spectrum Brands announces it will cut 50 jobs in Madison and Middleton as part of a corporate restructuring.
The Madison School District says it will for the first time accept advertising in gymnasiums and other athletic locations. The district hopes to make about $200,000 from the ads over the next two years.
Thursday 1.11
Dennis Strong, 29, a patient at Mendota Mental Health Institute, sues the state of Wisconsin and 39 workers at Mendota, claiming he was sexually assaulted. The suit says that when Strong complained about a female care giver who was forcing him to have sex, he was moved to a higher-security unit as punishment, and that staff tried to block him from speaking to his lawyer or the press. Strong was sent to Mendota after being found not guilty of battery charges by reason of mental defect or disease in 2003.
Dalarence Goodwin and his mother, Laquitha, file suit against the Madison School District and the Madison Police Department for shooting Dalarence with a taser in 2005. Dalarence was 14 when police attempted to arrest him at Memorial High School on what turned out to be a mistaken warrant.
The state Department of Administration announces it will study alternatives for the Capitol Heat and Power facility on Main Street. The coal-burning plant, which heats government buildings downtown, has not been upgraded since it was built in 1908. Environmentalists have threatened to sue if the aging facility is not replaced.
Monday 1.15
Army Spc. Matthew Grimm, 21, of Wisconsin Rapids dies from shrapnel wounds he received in a roadside bombing three weeks ago. Grimm becomes the 67th soldier from Wisconsin to die in the Iraq war.
Tuesday 1.16
The Madison Common Council passes a resolution, 13-4, that allows those taking the oath of office to formally protest the state's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and civil unions. Elected officials and citizens who serve on city committees must swear to uphold the state and federal constitutions, but they can now add a voluntary statement in which they pledge to work to overturn the ban.
In other business, the city council approves spending $4.5 million to buy about 280 acres near Cherokee Marsh on Madison's north side for conservation. The council also passes an ordinance imposing a fine of up to $250 for anyone interfering with a mother who is breastfeeding in public.
Denise Jackson, a junior at La Follette High, makes it through the first round of auditions for 'American Idol.' The 16-year-old is now going to Hollywood!
Compiled from local media
