p >Wednesday 11.28
Dane County Circuit Court Judge Richard Niess rules that a UW-Oshkosh professor's legal challenge to the state's ban on gay marriage and civil unions can continue. William McConkey is challenging the constitutional amendment that Wisconsin voters approved last year. His objection is to amendment language, which he argues should have been phrased as two separate questions.
Juan Manuel Ocampo-Lagunas, 20, is charged with two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child for having sex with an 11-year-old Fitchburg girl. The girl, who went missing but was found after police issue an Amber Alert, told authorities she was planning to run away with Ocampo-Lagunas to Mexico.
Thursday 11.29
The Willows Nursing and Rehabilitation center in Sun Prairie is placed on a federal government list of the worst such facilities in the country. Willows received 37 federal citations and seven state citations in 2006 and 2007. Violations include improper monitoring of drugs, poor facility maintenance and not notifying doctors about changes in patients' health conditions.
Friday 11.30
Gov. Jim Doyle says he'll call the Legislature into special session to vote on campaign finance reforms. Doyle's proposal includes full public funding of state Supreme Court races and a ban on fund-raising during the budget process. But a state Senate committee later decides not to take up the topic until early next year.
Saturday 12.01
A 21-year-old UW-Madison student survives falling eight stories from the balcony of an apartment building on University Avenue. Police say it appears the fall was an attempted suicide.
A winter storm dumps snow and freezing rain on Dane County. A 37-year-old Madison man is killed in a crash on I-90/94 that is blamed on the weather. The storm also causes a jet at the Dane County Airport to slide off the runway; no injuries are reported.
Tuesday 12.04
The town and city of Verona approve holding a referendum this April on whether the two municipalities should merge. If voters agree, the merger would take effect in 2009.
The Madison Common Council approves a measure to reduce the number of parking spots required for new office buildings from 3.3 to 2.5 for every 1,000 square feet of space.
Wednesday 12.05
The state claims board recommends paying Georgia Thompson $228,000 to cover her legal fees. Thompson spent four months in prison after being wrongly convicted of steering a state contract to one of Gov. Doyle's donors. An appeals court ordered her released in April. The Legislature must still approve the payment.
The Madison Police Department fires Kendall Hallett, the Madison parking enforcement officer who was the subject of last week's "Watchdog" column, purportedly for posting MPD records on his personal Website.
Compiled from local media
