Dane County threatens little old lady
Some people call Sally Franz "The Puppet Lady" because of the marionette shows she staged for years. Others call her "Aunt Sally." And everyone agrees she's a character. But Franz, an 82-year-old town...
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 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 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 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 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 ArticleLet's not get fooled again
In the hit television drama "The Good Wife", there's a scene where Peter Florrick, a disgraced and incarcerated former prosecutor played by Madison native Chris Noth, is talking to wife Alicia about...
View ArticleFeds throw monkey wrench into UW expansion plans for Primate Research Center
President Barack Obama has not been as good to the UW-Madison as some had hoped. The university's request for stimulus funding to dramatically increase the size of its primate research facilities has...
View ArticleMadison cop allegedly refused woman's request for shirt to cover herself at...
Cesilee Dean knows some folks will say she had it coming. She bared her breasts in public and got ticketed. Boo blanking hoo. But while Dean does plan to fight her citation in court, this is "not" why...
View ArticleLittle old lady updates
Sally Franz, the 82-year-old town of Oregon resident threatened with foreclosure by Dane County Treasurer Dave Worzala, is apparently going to be able to keep her home.
View ArticleMadison gun laws pre-slain
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling last week against local gun control laws does not put any city of Madison ordinances at risk. That's because its ordinances were shot down 15 years ago by the state...
View ArticlePublic info belongs on the Internet
Albert Einstein famously said, at the advent of the nuclear age: "The unleashed power of the atom has changed everything, save our modes of thinking, and we thus drift toward unparalleled catastrophe."...
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