Wednesday, 3.11
The deck shuffles at The Capital Times. Judy Ettenhofer steps down as managing editor, news editor Chris Murphy takes her place and assistant news editor (and Isthmus alum) Judy Davidoff takes his. Davidoff's position will not be filled; everyone must just work harder, like the horse in Animal Farm.
The Madison Parks Commission approves a master plan for Olbrich Park that includes expansion of the botanical gardens and elimination of two softball fields. These moves are unrelated to April 7 referendum to turn the Garver Feed Mill into an arts incubator.
Thursday, 3.12
An early morning fire destroys a house on Monroe Street. Residents, who heard no smoke alarm, escape with minor injuries; a cat dies. Heightened city standards for smoke alarms in rental properties take effect Aug. 15.
The Madison Professional Police Officers Association launches a billboard campaign favoring challenger Bridget Maniaci over incumbent Ald. Brenda Konkel in the April 7 Common Council elections.
Friday, 3.13
Ee Lee, the 25-year-Madison woman found mentally incompetent to stand trial for torturing her six-week-old infant to death, is charged with bail jumping for allegedly visiting her other child. A judge clarifies that she is to have no such contact.
Saturday, 3.14
P.J. Hill, the former UW-Madison star running back, is arrested for drunk driving after leading police on a short chase that ended with a crash, sort of like his hopes for a professional football career. He faces multiple charges, likely including some felonies.
Sunday, 3.15
In separate incidents, a carbon monoxide leak at Trinity United Methodist Church in Madison sickens more than a dozen people, sending five to the hospital, and a fire at Lake Waubesa Bible Camp in the town of Dunn causes $150,000 in damage.
James R. Graham, 54, is arrested for allegedly being one of two men who held a 46-year-old woman captive for three days, taking turns raping her, again and again.
Monday, 3.16
A carbon monoxide leak at an east-side Madison duplex sends another five people to the hospital. Hundreds of area residents add "carbon monoxide detector" to their shopping lists.
Tuesday, 3.17
The temperature in Madison hits 71 degrees, two shy of the record set in 1966. Spring has sprung. Can baseball be far behind?
Michael L. Simmons, 28, of Chicago, a wheelchair-bound paraplegic, is sentenced in federal court to six years and three months in prison for his role in a Dane County bank robbery last year. Simmons was paralyzed in 2003 when he was shot during a carjacking.
The Madison Common Council makes it illegal for drivers to open their parked vehicle doors without checking to see if it's safe. Yep, until now it wasn't. In fact, as Isthmus reported (Madison.gov, 8/15/08), a bicyclist injured last year by a thrust-open car door was ticketed by Madison police.
Compiled (in part) from local media