Thursday, 2.10
The Wisconsin State Journal gives Madison schools superintendent Dan Nerad a "B-" grade after more than two years on the job, based on an itemized report card by 10 community members.
The state Office of the Commissioner of Insurance announces it will reject $637,114 in federal money to help state residents get health coverage and file complaints. Ted Nickle, a former insurance company exec tapped by Gov. Walker to head the agency, called this spending "duplicative and unnecessary." The move will put other federal funding in jeopardy.
Federal Judge Barbara Crabb sentences Jacob R. Stadfeld, 34, to 12 years in federal prison for his role in a marijuana distribution ring. Stadfeld is considered a suspect in the disappearance and presumed murder of Fitchburg resident Amos Mortier in 2004.
Friday, 2.11
Gov. Scott Walker says he'll seek legislative approval, via a "budget repair" bill, to unilaterally slash the benefits of state workers and neuter state and local public employee unions. One political scientist notes that this will be unpopular. You think?
Sunday, 2.13
A rally against Walker's crackdown on public employee unions occurs on the Capitol Square. One protester arrives dressed in bandages, using a walker, with signs saying "I didn't see it coming" on the front and "I must have been in a coma" on the back, a reference to the governor's claim that anyone who didn't anticipate his power grab must have been "in a coma."
Monday, 2.14
The Wisconsin State Journal runs a lead editorial about a possible reduction in the size of the Dane County Board. Hmm, isn't there some other big issue in the news it might have found worthy of its attention?
The Madison school board agrees to extend superintendent Nerad's contract for only a single year, through June 30, 2012, with two members voting nay.
Tuesday, 2.15
Thousands of protesters flood the state Capitol in opposition to the governor's union-busting scheme. Hundreds more wait to testify against it.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that Wisconsin could lose $70 million in federal transit aid by taking away its workers' collective bargaining rights. Walker's camp disputes this.
The State Journal runs a lead editorial encouraging people to get out and vote in the primary. Most don't.
In spring primary elections, voters narrow the field of Dane County executive candidates for the April 5 general election to two: Joe Parisi and Eileen Bruskewitz, who snare 26% and 22% of the vote, respectively. In the race for Madison mayor, former mayor Paul Soglin edges past Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, 49.5% to 46.3%. And state voters settle on a Wisconsin Supreme Court match-up between incumbent Justice David Prosser and JoAnne Kloppenburg.
Wednesday, 2.16
Madison schools close as teachers flock en masse to another major protest at the Capitol.
The State Journal editorial brain trust finally cottons to there being some sort of issue involving public employees. It weighs in by scolding those who question Walker's plan to "sick [sic] the National Guard" on state workers, calling the use of these troops to break any strike by prison guards absolutely appropriate. Of course, this is a paper that broke its own unions.
Compiled (in part) from local media
