Thursday, 8.25
The state increases payroll deductions from public workers' checks for pensions and health benefits. Protesters mark the occasion with a rally at the Capitol.
Gov. Scott Walker appoints John Scocos secretary of Veterans Affairs. Scocos was fired from the same post in 2009 by the Board of Veterans Affairs for making decisions without its input and raising fees at a veterans' nursing home.
Friday, 8.26
Mayor Paul Soglin asks police to begin implementing a ban on the sale of alcohol to chronic drunks. Soglin had earlier delayed implementation of the law, which was approved last year. He says he'll continue seeking an alternative measure based on treatment. The initial list to be distributed to retailers contains the names of 18 people who have repeatedly used up city resources due to alcohol abuse.
Monday, 8.29
The newly created state Office of Free Market Health Care (which replaces the Office of Health Care Reform, created by former Gov. Jim Doyle) negatively spins a report on how Obama's health care program will affect Wisconsin in an invitation-only press conference. The report's author, Jonathan Gruber of MIT, tells The Capital Times: "They picked out the most negative aspects of the report to highlight. Overall I think health care reform is a great thing for Wisconsin."
Dean Clinic announces that as many as 2,345 patients may have been exposed to hepatitis B and C and HIV because a former diabetes educator improperly reused the handles of insulin demonstration pens and finger stick devices between 2006 and this year. Officials stress that the risk is small.
Former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann (R-East Troy) announces he's running for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Herb Kohl, who is retiring. Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald says Tuesday he will also run. Other likely candidates include former Gov. Tommy Thompson, U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Madison) and U.S. Rep. Ron Kind (D-La Crosse).
Chippewa Falls police jail former state Rep. Jeff Wood (I-Chippewa Falls) on a probation violation for allegedly altering a prescription. Wood has been arrested for driving under the influence three times since 2008. He did not seek reelection last year.
Libasse Sarr, a 19-year-old East High student, dies after crashing his moped at East Washington Avenue and North Sixth Street. Sarr, who was not wearing a helmet, hit his head on the pavement.
Wednesday, 8.31
The Center for Change, a new collaborative effort by six Madison nonprofits, begins operating in an office at 612 W. Main St. The group - which includes the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin Foundation, Community Shares of Wisconsin, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Women's Network and the Wisconsin Nonprofits Association - hopes to save money by pooling resources.
Compiled (in part) from local media.