Wednesday, 11.17
A consultant hired by the city submits a report concluding that another consultant's focus model for the Overture Center, in which the city would buy it and a nonprofit manage it, is "realistic." But Dana Chabot, who resigned as treasurer from the Madison Cultural Arts District in September, tells the Common Council this model could leave Overture underfunded by up to $500,000 a year.
Common Council president Mark Clear unveils another Overture Center proposal, which would keep the arts center in private hands but guarantee that the city will provide $2 million in funding annually. This would avoid putting the city on the hook for costly capital improvements years down the line, but would leave the current workers without civil service protection.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood tells a crowd in North Carolina that they can expect to get some of Wisconsin's federal rail money should Gov.-elect Scott Walker go ahead with his pledge to kill Wisconsin's project. When was the last time the people in North Carolina were cheering us on?
Thursday, 11.18
Police arrest a 15-year-old boy at Madison East High School for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl in a stairwell the day before. The boy denies the attack.
Saturday, 11.20
Train supporters hold rallies in Milwaukee, Madison and Oshkosh urging Gov.-elect Scott Walker not to kill the high-speed rail project that would connect Madison to Milwaukee.
Wisconsin folk hero Laurie "Bambi" Bembenek - a former Milwaukee police officer who was later convicted of murder and then escaped prison - dies of liver failure in Portland, Ore. She was 52.
The Wisconsin State Journal reports that federal prosecutors in New York have dropped counterfeit drug importation charges against pharmacist Marla Ahlgrimm, owner of Women's Health America in Madison, while leaving open the option to re-file.
Monday, 11.22
Two dogs and two puppies escape a garage fire on the city's southeast side. A third puppy is found in the ruins, wet and shaking but uninjured.
The UW-Madison announces it has picked ., to design the university's new $43 million music school performance center at University Avenue and Lake Street.
Public Health-Madison and Dane County reports an increase in incidence of norovirus, a virus that comes on quickly and causes vomiting and diarrhea. The department recommends frequent hand-washing, as do many moms.
Eric Brady, 30, of Middleton, who is serving time for battery but allowed out to work, does not return to jail. Dane County Sheriff's deputies are searching for him.
Tuesday, 11.23
The State Journal reports that 4-year-olds in Madison's poor neighborhoods will have to travel several miles to participate in the school district's new 4-year-old kindergarten program, partly because schools near them are at capacity.
Compiled (in part) from local media
