Wednesday 6.13
Mid-West Family Broadcasting announces it will sponsor the Fourth of July Fireworks at Elver Park. They had been canceled after numerous corporate sponsors, including Clear Channel, backed out. Mid-West will pay about $65,000 for the event, with the city of Madison kicking in additional funding.
The Catholic Diocese of Madison finds retired priest Kenneth Klubertanz guilty under church law of molesting boys in the 1960s and '70s and orders him never to celebrate Mass again. That'll teach him.
Friday 6.15
State employee Georgia Thompson files a request with the state Claims Board seeking $360,000 in legal fees and other expenses. Thompson was convicted of steering a state contract to one of Gov. Jim Doyle's campaign donors, but a federal appeals court freed her from prison in April, saying there was no evidence she committed a crime.
Saturday 6.16
An 11-year-old boy finds a long-barreled handgun while swimming at Warner Beach. The gun isn't loaded and is covered with seaweed. Police are investigating whether it was used in a crime.
Sunday 6.17
The body of 26-year-old Cory Walker is recovered from Lake Mendota, near James Madison Park. Walker drowned after falling overboard the night before while boating with friends. The Sheriff's Office says alcohol was a factor.
Monday 6.18
In an unanimous vote, the Madison school board overturns an earlier decision to name a new elementary school after retired Hmong Gen. Vang Pao. The board changes its mind after Pao was arrested in California on charges that he'd plotted to overthrow the communist government in Laos. The naming has also been controversial because Pao is accused of drug trafficking and summary executions while he fought for the U.S. during the Vietnam War. The board says it will start the naming process over from scratch.
Hundreds of Hmong rally downtown in support of Vang Pao. The protesters, who come from all over the state, want the 77-year-old former general to be released on bail.
Tuesday 6.19
A state appeals court in Milwaukee rules that Wisconsin's W-2 program must provide cash benefits to clients who can't find work. Under Wisconsin's welfare reform program, people who were classified as "job ready" could get some services, but not a monthly stipend.
The Madison Common Council bans alcohol in Law Park until the end of 2008. The park along John Nolen Drive has seen an increase in alcohol-related police calls this year. The council also votes to honor Madison firefighter Lt. K-Tal Johnson, who died in a car crash last year, renaming fire engine No. 1 at Fire Station No. 1 on West Dayton Street after him.
Compiled from local media
