2.27 Wednesday
Patrice Smith, 22, of Madison, pleads guilty to second-degree reckless homicide for stuffing a sock in her baby's mouth to quiet her. Six-month-old Nataria died in December, after spending two months on life support. Smith faces up to 15 years in prison.
Sabi Atteyih, 44, the former owner of the Casbah restaurant downtown, is sentenced to a year in prison for income tax evasion. Atteyih underreported his income from 2002 to 2005 by nearly $350,000.
2.28 Thursday
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office upholds one of the patents on stem cell research held by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. The foundation has three patents that are currently being contested by research groups in California and New York. The groups say they will appeal the decision.
3.1 Saturday
Rita Adair, a Dane County social worker known for bringing Hurricane Katrina refugees to Madison, closes down her downtown nightclub, Adair's Lounge. The club, which offered live blues and jazz, had been open for less than two years.
3.2 Sunday
Adam Nickel, 27, collapses and dies after crossing the finish line at the Little Rock Marathon in Arkansas. Nickel was a pharmacy student at UW-Madison. An autopsy is pending to determine cause of death.
3.3 Monday
Despite emotional testimony from dozens of upset parents, the Madison school board unanimously approves a plan to change the boundaries for elementary and middle school attendance in the Memorial High School attendance area. The changes affect more than 400 students, including 60 who will be moved from Chavez Elementary to Falk Elementary.
Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard decides not to file criminal charges against one or two drivers who caused a chain-reaction crash in January involving 100 vehicles. Two people were killed in the crash on Interstate 39-90, which was covered with dense fog at the time. Blanchard says there is not enough evidence to prove negligence.
3.4 Tuesday
Lance Armstrong, seven-time Tour de France winner, appears at a rally with Gov. Jim Doyle to push for a statewide smoking ban. More than 1,000 people at Monona Terrace hear Armstrong, a cancer survivor, say the battle should not be political: "The fight against cancer doesn't care if you're a Republican or you're a Democrat."
Susan Mehlert, 43, of Milton, is charged with fraud and theft for allegedly stealing $1,900. Mehlert, a former administrator of Martin Luther Christian Day School in Stoughton, allegedly took money that students had collected for charity.
The state of Wisconsin goes into mourning when Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre announces his retirement. Favre, 38, a three-time MVP, played for 16 seasons in Green Bay.
Compiled from local media