Wednesday, 12.9
Hundreds of UW students, with a day off because of the blizzard, stage a massive snowball fight on Bascom Hill. A few go to the hospital with eye injuries, as their moms always warned would happen.
Seven people are treated for severed fingers from snow blower accidents.
Cornelius Cooke, 78, who lived out of a Winnebago, splitting his time between Florida and Wisconsin, dies at St. Mary's Care Center. The lanky Cooke, often seen walking around town, had a passion for planting walnuts.
Thursday, 12.10
John Scocos, fired last month as Veterans Affairs secretary, sues the state, seeking reinstatement and $500,000 in damages. "I intend to prove by example once and for all that veterans are not second-class citizens," he says.
Dane County Circuit Judge David Flanagan sentences Courtney Cowins to 29 years in prison for raping a Madison woman in her home at gunpoint in 2006. "You're simply despicable," the judge tells Cowins.
Friday, 12.11
Mayor Cieslewicz apologizes for poor road conditions following the blizzard. The mayor made the decision to try plowing neighborhood streets more quickly, which meant less salt on the main arteries as temperatures dropped, creating icy conditions. He later orders a full review.
Justin M. Simpson, 21, of Fitchburg is sentenced to eight years in prison and 10 years of extended supervision for several armed robberies last March to support his heroin habit. Simpson became known as the "parka bandit" for robbing gas stations and other businesses while wearing a puffy hooded coat.
Lee Enterprises announces signs of a turnaround - improved ad sales for three months in a row. Lee, half-owner of Capital Newspapers, which publishes The Capital Times and Wisconsin State Journal, expects ad sales to be down 14% to 15% for the fourth quarter, far better than the 20% drop in the first three quarters.
Monday, 12.14
Deputies at the Dane County jail find a 20-year-old man with a sheet wrapped around his neck, but prevent his suicide attempt. The man is taken to a hospital for evaluation then returned to the jail on suicide watch.
Tuesday, 12.15
A jury convicts Stephen Bottila of obstructing justice over a May 26 incident in which he was pepper-sprayed and Tasered by Madison police. Bottila, who has epileptic seizures, had refused to leave a McDonald's restaurant with his service-animal dog.
Wednesday, 12.16
In a marathon session that lasts until almost 5:30 a.m., the Madison Common Council fails to overturn a decision by the Landmarks Commission rejecting the Edgewater Hotel expansion project. The council needs 14 votes to overturn the Landmarks decision, but musters only 12, with three members absent. One of them, Ald. Michael Schumacher, says he'll ask the council to reconsider.
Compiled (in part) from local media
