News August 28, 2011

About 100 people protested outside a Milwaukee Catholic prep school where Governor Scott Walker read to second-and-third graders this afternoon. Police said they arrested one of the demonstrators for beating somebody outside of Messmer Prepatory School. And investigators reviewed a video of a vandalism incident at Messmer late last night in which somebody super-glued eight locks to the building – four in front, and four in back. Police spokeswoman Anne Schwartz said the vandal drove a light-colored compact vehicle – but because the video was so grainy, officers could not determine the suspect’s gender. School officials said it was unfortunate that people protested Walker’s politics – even though they had nothing to do with his visit. Messmer’s principal, Father Bob Smith, said people should quote, “start acting like adults.” But Michael Thomas, head of Milwaukee’s Service Employees Union, said protestors need to keep the fire under Walker – regardless of what he’s doing at the time. Thomas said people need jobs, and the Walker administration is not delivering. The protestors were not allowed inside the school, where Jim Bender of School Choice Wisconsin said the protestors had no impact on the classroom activities. Afterward, Walker said the protestors had a right to demonstrate – but not to vandalize.

The husband of State Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley wanted her to seek a restraining order against fellow Justice David Prosser, after he touched her neck during a confrontation in June. But according to investigative reports released today, Justice Bradley rejected the option. And she wanted the incident handled internally instead. Dane County sheriff’s detectives released 117 pages of investigative records about the June 13th confrontation, after a special prosecutor decided not to file criminal charges. The records showed that Bradley read a three-page statement to her fellow justices in July when they met with Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs. She said her husband Mark wanted the restraining order, but she asked that Prosser seek counseling. Bradley told her colleagues that Prosser was wonderful at times and abusive at others. It was at that meeting when Bradley called the dispute a matter of “workplace safety” – and if the court didn’t address it, she’d look for outside ways to handle it. Tubbs was quoted as telling the justices that a man can never put his hands on a woman in a workplace. The confrontation occurred the night before the court released its opinion that upheld the limits of public union bargaining. Prosser said he did not mean to touch Bradley’s neck – but she charged at him first, and he responded by what he called “total reflex.” Bradley said she was not hurt physically – but it did

bother her emotionally.

A well-known journalist and public relations official in southeast Wisconsin was found dead in his car today as it was parked outside Kenosha’s main post office. Kenosha Police are investigating the death of 60-year-old Dennis Shook – and police say it does not appear to be suspicious. His body was discovered around 7:30 this morning. Shook is a former newspaper reporter and cable T-V host in Kenosha and Waukesha, among other places. He also served as the southeast regional communications manager for the state Transportation Department.

Master Lock Company reports it will keep its headquarters in Milwaukee after it is spun off by its parent company. Fortune Brands, Incorporated, has announced it is going to split into three separate companies. Fortune plans to keep its liquor business, has just sold its golf products division and plans to sell the home-and-security division in a deal to be finalized in October. It says there are no plans for any changes at Master Lock. The 90 year old company employs 380 workers in metro Milwaukee, with a factory in the 30th Street industrial area and corporate headquarters and engineering in Oak Creek.

Vacation was cut short for a former supervisor with the city of Beloit. The FBI reports Timothy Kosier was at a vacation rental home in Hawaii when he was arrested. Kosier was to have a detention hearing yesterday in Honolulu. He is accused of stealing at least five thousand dollars worth of Beloit city property. Kosier was a maintenance supervisor in the city’s water resources department. City officials are quoted as saying the items stolen and the unauthorized use of city credit lines could be worth 150 thousand dollars or more. Kosier was arrested on the island of Maui, then taken to a facility in Honolulu.

It’s good to have the Super Bowl champions in your back yard. First of all, you get to see the opening game of the N-F-L regular season, either on T-V or in the stadium. And today, the league announced a free concert to be held on the afternoon of Thursday September eighth, a couple blocks east of Lambeau Field where the Packers will play the New Orleans Saints that night. Fans do not need a game ticket for the concert – and they’ll start being admitted at 3:15 on game-day off Holmgren Way. The show will have three acts, and the N-F-L will announce the performers next week. Fans can sign up for a chance to be in a “casted audience” to watch the concert next to the

stage. But the league says fans in that audience cannot have game tickets – because they’ll be in a T-V segment from the concert leading into the 7:20 p-m kickoff on N-B-C.