3-6-14 governor's race-burke ad

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democrat Mary Burke's first television ad in the race against Republican Gov. Scott Walker touts her background with bicycle maker Trek while also attacking Walker's record on jobs.  The ad released Wednesday by Burke's campaign comes eight months before the November election and signals that the race is heating up.  Walker's campaign has yet to release an ad but the Republican Governors Association launched a pair of spots last month.  Burke is a former Trek Bicycle Corp. executive and former state Commerce Department secretary.  Burke's ad goes after Walker's record on jobs and says unemployment is up. In supporting material, Burke's campaign notes that statewide unemployment was never higher than 4.8 percent when Burke was Commerce secretary but it's never been lower than 6.2 percent under Walker.

3-6-14 gay marriage

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal judge has asked the American Civil Liberties Union to reconsider its request to temporarily block Wisconsin's gay marriage ban.  The American Civil Liberties Union wants U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb to issue a temporary order nullifying the ban while she weighs the organization's lawsuit challenging it.  Crabb said Tuesday a number of federal courts have stayed such temporary orders in similar gay marriage lawsuits. She said it would serve little purpose to issue one just to stay it.  She said ACLU attorneys have until March 11 to file a brief persuading her that the injunction would be appropriate in light of the other cases and whether an expedited court schedule would serve the same purpose.  ACLU attorney John Knight the organization will file the brief by the deadline.

3-6-14 state capitol briefly evacuated

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Police briefly evacuated the Wisconsin state Capitol building after a state senator's light bulb began to smoke.  Fire alarms began ringing throughout the building around 10:45 a.m. on Wednesday. Police ordered everyone out.  A spokeswoman for the state Department of Administration said a light bulb in state Sen. Dale Schultz's office popped and began to smoke. She says it didn't catch fire, though, and authorities re-opened the Capitol shortly before 11 a.m.

3-5-14 fatal crash-sentence

A Plymouth woman will spend additional time behind bars  for causing  a fatal crash on Highway 23 east of Fond du Lac last summer.  At a sentencing hearing Wednesday in Fond du Lac County Circuit Court, Judge Dale English placed  51 year old Laurie Garcia on probation for four years with one year in the county jail.  The judge ordered a withheld sentence of three years in prison and two years extended supervision. As a condition of probation Garcia must perform 50 hours of community service each year that includes speaking to students about the dangers of inattentive driving.  The judge also made Garcia approach the victim’s family

In the courtroom and  apologize to their faces.  Garcia  was convicted of homicide by negligient operation of a motor vehicle for causing a crash that claimed the life of  Kathleen Fee of Fond du lac.  Before she was sentenced Garcia apologized to the Fee family and said if she could trade places with the victim she would

3-5-14 west bend man injured by wayward bullet

WEST BEND, Wis. (AP) — A West Bend man has been injured when he was struck by a wayward bullet. Police say a man on the first floor of an apartment building was handling a rifle when it shot through the ceiling last night. The bullet hit the second-floor resident in the stomach. Officers arrested the man handling the rifle.

3-5-14 sheobygan county woman faces animal cruelty charges

CASCADE, Wis. (AP) — A woman is charged in Sheboygan County with leaving her dog to die in her foreclosed home. A mortgage company employee checking the house in Cascade found the 8-year-old dog frozen on a pet bed inside Kimberly Fidlin's former house. Fidlin is charged with felony animal abandonment and five misdemeanors.

3-5-14 state senate approves governor's tax cut plan

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Senate has approved Republican Gov. Scott Walker's $504 million tax cut plan.  The proposal would send $406 million to technical colleges to reduce their property tax hit and cut income taxes by $98.6 million. The plan would shrink property taxes on a median-valued home by $131 on this December's bills and save the typical taxpayer $46 in income taxes.  The Senate passed the bill 17-15 Tuesday. The Assembly passed the measure last month but the bill has to go back to that house because the Legislature's budget committee tweaked it before the Senate took it up.  The Senate also unanimously approved another Walker proposal Tuesday to create $35 million in job training grants. That bill now goes to Walker for his signature.