Wednesday, 7.22
Madison police release some good news: Burglaries, car thefts and reported rapes fell significantly in the first six months of 2009, compared to the same period the year before. Overall, violent crime is down nearly 10%. Holding their own, though, are the categories of aggravated assault and theft.
Thursday, 7.23
Wisconsin Family Action, which helped pass a state ban on same-sex marriage by insisting it would not be used to go after domestic partner benefits, asks the state Supreme Court to strike down the state's new domestic partnership law on grounds that it is "precisely the type of marriage imitation that the constitutional amendment approved by Wisconsin voters was intended to prevent."
Friday, 7.24
Channel 27 reports that an advisory committee that reviewed applicants for three open Dane County judgeships did not include former prosecutor Amy Smith among its list of finalists. But Gov. Jim Doyle added and picked her anyway. As Isthmus reported last week, Doyle picked the three applicants (from among 28) who gave the most money to his campaigns, with Smith being the largest donor.
Saturday, 7.25
Ruth A. Johnson, 81, dies in a fire at Sun Valley Apartments in Fitchburg. Officials say the blaze likely started in Johnson's third-floor unit. The 24-unit building lacked sprinklers, which should have been installed when it was sold in 1990.
Sunday, 7.26
A man in a parked car on Madison's southeast side kills himself after being approached by police. "We tried to establish a line of dialogue with him," says MPD spokesman Joel DeSpain. "It did not have the desired effect."
Monday, 7.27
A 15-year-old boy who helped cause the May 29 crash of a stolen car on Milwaukee Street, killing two 14-year-old girls, is deemed delinquent and sentenced to a year in juvenile corrections.
Tuesday, 7.28
A report by the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families finds that the state's child poverty rate rose from 12% in 2000 to 14% in 2007, with Dane County seeing an increase from 8% to 11%.
Brett Favre, after months of self-absorbed indecision, says he'll not be playing for the Minnesota Vikings after all.
Wednesday, 7.29
[Dean it's 3 o'clock and I have to step out. As of right now, Favre has not changed his mind about his retirement. Please check the web before the paper goes to the printer at 4 and remember to remove this message!]
Compiled (in part) from local media
