Dean Health Plan pays to settle lawsuit
Dean Health Plan, a Madison-based HMO, has settled a lawsuit alleging wrongful denial of an insurance claim. Andrew Erlandson, a local attorney who filed the suit on behalf of Joe "Kay," says the...
View ArticleMore blood to spill at Capital Newspapers
Few Madison institutions have suffered more in recent years than Capital Newspapers, owner and publisher of the "Wisconsin State Journal", "The Capital Times" and other papers. Staff sizes have been...
View ArticleMayor Dave: In the money
All signs are that Dave Cieslewicz intends to seek a third four-year term as Madison mayor next spring. Besides launching campaign-related Facebook and Twitter pages, he's quietly building a campaign...
View ArticleDane County DA Ismael Ozanne speaks to appointment issue
Ismael Ozanne, Dane County's new district attorney, says he was not trying to evade "Isthmus"' questions when he failed to reconnect with the paper prior to its recent story on his appointment. And he...
View ArticleWisconsin Attorney General race between Hassett and Van Hollen pivots on role...
There's a reason state attorney general is an elected partisan position: However much anyone tries to deny it, political ideology is key to how the job gets done. But oh, how they try to deny it.
View ArticleCity of Madison paid off man injured by cops
The city of Madison last year quietly paid $27,000 to settle an excessive-use-of-force claim against Madison police stemming from a 2006 arrest, "Isthmus" has learned. Yet despite this indicator of the...
View ArticleBartender: 'The police almost killed this guy'
On the night of the incident, Elissa Parker, a bartender at State Street Brats, called the Dane County Public Safety Communications [911] Center to report what she felt was unacceptable behavior by the...
View ArticleWhat else we learned about Madison liability payouts
Records obtained by "Isthmus" with the kind assistance of city risk manager Eric Veum show that, between Jan. 1, 2009, and July 31, 2010, Madison paid a total of $1,079,154 in 198 payments to liability...
View ArticleUW changes tune on Primate Center tour invite
The statements seemed clear enough. At a Dane County committee hearing on July 8, Deb Hartley of the UW-Madison's National Primate Research Center proclaimed the facility open to all: "It doesn't take...
View ArticleIt's the stupid season, stupid
The other day I got an urgent call from a campaign staffer for Tom Barrett, the Democratic candidate for governor. It seems that a spokeswoman for Scott Walker, one of Barrett's Republican rivals for...
View ArticleMike May's personal emails
Madison City Attorney Mike May thinks it's no big whoop that the state Supreme Court recently ordered records custodians to prune out the personal content of emails sent and received by government...
View ArticleMove over, Stalin (but hand-signal first)
An actual letter received by "Isthmus", in response to Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's Aug. 13 cover story, "In Defense of Madison": "Your overly glorious portrayal of Madison, together with your arrogant...
View ArticleFred Risser considers the Capitol Square vegetable garden a smashing success
State Sen. Fred Risser, the nation's longest-tenured lawmaker, has found something new to be excited about: the vegetable garden on the Capitol Square's southwest corner, by Inn on the Park. Proposed...
View ArticleDoug La Follette plans to donate $100,000 to create an endowment fund
Doug La Follette, Wisconsin's secretary of state, has been thinking lately about his life and legacy. The 70-year-old Madison resident doesn't have children or some other "obvious choice" to bequeath...
View ArticleMadison Marathon bans runner
Ramona Villarreal considers herself an athlete and an honest person. The 56-year-old Madison resident has competed in Ironman competitions and run at least 15 marathons -- including, she reckons, 10...
View ArticleChad Lee's anti-Tammy Baldwin train: All aboard!
"I'm Chad Lee and I'm and running to defeat Tammy Baldwin," the 27-year-old contender told a somewhat tired assemblage of supporters and media. "We need to get the Second District back on path." That's...
View Article25 years, one book: "Watchdog" by Bill Lueders
In the preface to his new book, a collection of writing from the last quarter-century, "Isthmus" news editor Bill Lueders grapples with the question of "Why now?" "I don't mean to date myself," he...
View ArticleMadison's Raging Grannies are all the rage
Bonnie Block knows how hard it can be. "A lot of times, when you talk about issues, people get angry," says the longtime Madison peace activist. "But when you do it in song, it gets behind people's...
View ArticleDane County rail referendum refuseniks
Dane County Supv. Dave Wiganowsky is just thrilled with the success of efforts in municipalities throughout the county to put an advisory referendum on the Nov. 2 ballot asking whether citizens want to...
View ArticleMadCity Cocktails does it again
Greg Melzer is clear about his goal in life: "I want to have a hobby that pays the bills." Amazingly, he's on the verge of living the dream.
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