Fountains of sorrow
Last year the fountains on the Capitol Square, part of a $810,000 renovation in 2005, were on the blink well into summer, due to a series of mechanical and plumbing problems. "Everyone involved is...
View ArticleMore bad news for newspapers
While the newspaper business is starting to stabilize as the economy improves, newspaper sales continue to decline.
View ArticleDurian makes a big stink on State Street
One recent day a customer using the bathroom in a common area behind Community Pharmacy on State Street noticed what she thought was the smell of natural gas. Madison Gas and Electric was called and...
View ArticleCrash-test pedestrians
Here's a corollary to last week's "Isthmus" story on police efforts to uphold pedestrians' rights.
View ArticleJudge opens door to criminal charges over UW-Madison sheep experiments
A Dane County judge, siding with a petition brought by the Madison-based Alliance for Animals and national group PETA, has determined that UW-Madison officials may be subject to criminal penalties for...
View ArticleThe problem with regulators
Dan Cassuto of WKOW Channel 27 had another eye-opening report last week on the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. He finally got to the bottom of DATCP's claims, made in a...
View ArticleAmerican Family dumps elderly woman for needing her insurance
Marian Pehowski is certainly not unworldly or unwise. The 85-year-old Madison resident has worked as a features writer (for the "Milwaukee Journal"), section editor (at the "Green Bay Press-Gazette")...
View ArticleAnother Madison atrocity
"I know sometimes you like to write about people who have been wronged by the city," remarks George Dreckmann of the Madison Streets Division, explaining his decision to call Watchdog's attention to an...
View ArticleGo ahead, hit a bicyclist
A couple years back, "Isthmus" wrote about how Madison resident Linda Willsey was ticketed by police after getting "doored" by a car in downtown Madison. That story helped prompt passage of a new state...
View ArticleLoose lips sink Miranda rights in Madison
Some constitutional scholars say a 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court ruling last week fundamentally undermines the rights of criminal defendants being interrogated by police. But the man who trains police in...
View ArticlePotential temporary library site in downtown Madison has asbestos problem
The city of Madison is eying a long-vacant office building as a temporary home for its Central Library, perhaps without a full understanding of why it has been long vacant.
View Article"State Journal" takes odd approach to favorites poll
Believe it or not, there is an ethic to how newspaper favorites' polls are put together. It's considered poor form, in some quarters, to include categories that serve little purpose other than appeal...
View ArticleMetro bus drivers flip the bird
Speaking of the official city bird, Madison Metro transit service manager Ann Gullickson confirms getting two recent reports of bus drivers giving citizens the middle finger.
View ArticleDean Health Plan sued over coverage denial
A Madison law firm has filed a small-claims lawsuit against Dean Health Plan over its partial denial of a customer's medical bills, as detailed in an "Isthmus" article last year.
View ArticleEagon, Maniaci launch "Alder Hours" on WSUM
Local folk who just can't get enough about the workings and dysfunctions of Madison city government -- yes, we're talking to you, Rosemary Lee -- have a new place to turn.
View ArticleIs pig wrasslin' a crime?
As the "Wisconsin State Journal" recently acknowledged, the Madison-based Alliance for Animals has been on something of a roll lately. It's forced the UW-Madison to deliberate the ethics of primate...
View ArticleMarino case gets national coverage
Investigation Discovery, a Discovery Channel (available on the Dish Network and through Direct TV but not regular expanded basic cable), will air an hour-long program on a notorious local crime case...
View ArticleThoreau wouldn't be a-tweeting
I've just finished reading Walden again, for I believe the fourth time. It's been more than a decade since my last visit, and I'm stunned by the widening vastness of the gulf between Thoreau's message...
View ArticleThe problem with regulators
Dan Cassuto of WKOW Channel 27 had another eye-opening report last week on the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. He finally got to the bottom of DATCP's claims, made in a...
View Article"State Journal" takes odd approach to favorites poll
Believe it or not, there is an ethic to how newspaper favorites' polls are put together. It's considered poor form, in some quarters, to include categories that serve little purpose other than appeal...
View Article