Date: 1/30/2009
By DINESH RAMDE and TODD RICHMOND
Associated Press Writers
MILWAUKEE (AP) — A man sentenced to life in prison for killing a woman in 1984 had his conviction overturned and was released Friday on a personal recognizance bond after spending 23 years behind bars.
Robert Lee Stinson, 44, of Milwaukee, walked out of the New Lisbon Correctional Institution in street clothes and hugged his sister and members of the Wisconsin Innocence Project. A judge vacated the sentence after the Project argued that bite-mark analysis and DNA evidence that didn’t match evidence from the crime scene, defense attorney Byron Lichstein said.
Stinson was convicted in 1985 of first-degree murder in the death of a 63-year-old Milwaukee woman. Evidence suggested she had been raped, and her body also had eight different bite marks, Lichstein said.
Stinson still faces a charge of first-degree homicide related to the woman’s death, Lichstein said. A status hearing is set for July 27, according to online court records.
At trial, two forensic odontologists testified that Stinson’s teeth were a match, even though Stinson was apparently missing a tooth in a place where the bite marks indicated a tooth, Lichstein said.
Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm said in a statement Friday that Stinson’s conviction was not wrongful, and that he was convicted based on “state-of-the-art scientific evidence available at the time of his trial.”
“The question today is whether there is newly discovered evidence in this case to warrant a new trial, and we agree that such evidence exists,” Chisholm said. The statement did not specify the evidence.
Milwaukee County Assistant District Attorney Norman Gahn said he has six months to decide whether to retry Stinson.
Lichstein, who last spoke to Stinson on Thursday, said his client was happy but in shock.
“I don’t think it had completely sunk in,” Lichstein said. “Personally, I feel a real sense of relief. It’s been a long time coming for Mr. Stinson.”
Stinson’s conviction was based almost exclusively on evidence suggesting that bite marks matched Stinson’s teeth, Lichstein said. The lawyer said he did not know why special technology was necessary if the missing tooth could have indicated there was no match.
“I wish I could tell you. I wasn’t around back then,” he said.
Steven Kohn, Stinson’s trial attorney, said he didn’t remember the details of the prosecution but recalled that the two state experts had discussed the case at a conference for forensic odontologists, leaving them unable to serve as defense witnesses. Kohn said he was forced to rely on an expert whose expertise was in dental records, not forensic odontology.
DNA taken from saliva on the victim’s sweater also did not match Stinson.
For a decade, attorneys and even some forensic experts have ridiculed the bite-mark identification as sham science and glorified guesswork.
Critics say human skin changes and distorts imprints until they are nearly unrecognizable. As a result, courtroom experts end up offering competing opinions. But odontologists insist the science is sound if applied properly.
Since 2000, at least eight people in five states who were convicted largely on bite-mark identification have been exonerated, according to the Innocence Project.
Stinson attended a celebratory reception with family and other Innocence Project lawyers Friday afternoon. He previously told lawyers the first thing he wanted to do as a free man was to eat shrimp, which he did later at an Applebee’s restaurant in Wisconsin Dells.
He maintained his innocence and said he planned to work on a book about his experiences, adding: “I’m finally out and I’m going to enjoy my life.”
___
On the Net:
Wisconsin Innocence Project, http://tinyurl.com/dcurlt
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Hudson crash co-pilot hopes to fly again in weeks
Date: 1/29/2009
By TODD RICHMOND
Associated Press Writer
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The co-pilot who helped to safely crash-land a passenger plane into the Hudson River hopes to fly again in a few weeks and praised everyone involved in the rescue.
Jeff Skiles, of Oregon, Wis., was in the cockpit of the US Airways plane assisting pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger when it landed in the river Jan. 15 after bird strikes apparently knocked out its engines. All 155 passengers and crew were rescued.
Skiles, 49, said he and the rest of the plane’s crew were lucky that things turned out as well as they did.
“I’d just like to say we were all very fortunate that things went our way and there were a lot more people involved than just me,” Skiles said. “Flight attendants in back who evacuated the airplane, all the first responders who were there with the boats, the New York Fire Department, the New York Police Department, all had a role in the successful outcome. We were quite fortunate.”
Skiles visited the state Capitol on Wednesday to receive a commendation for heroism from the state Senate. He also appeared as Gov. Jim Doyle’s guest at his State of the State address Wednesday evening.
After receiving his award, Skiles told reporters he can fly commercially again immediately and hopes to get back in the air by the end of February.
Asked if he wished he’d done anything differently the day of the crash, he replied: “No. Not really.”
Skiles, his wife, Barb, their three children and Skiles’ parents stood along the side of the chamber as the Senate chief clerk read the commendation. Skiles seemed a bit uncomfortable with the attention, clasping and unclasping his hands and looking down at the ground and up, smiling at times.
He did not address lawmakers. When it was over, the entire Senate rose and gave him an ovation. Senators then went over to him and shook his hand. He and his family posed for photographs by senators’ aides as well as a photographer for the Wisconsin Blue Book, a biennial directory of state lawmakers and agencies.
Doyle ended his State of the State speech by introducing Skiles as a hero who exemplified a never-say-die attitude and thanked him on behalf of the state.
“Jeffrey, your heroism and heroic actions of your fellow crew members have made all the difference in the world for your passengers and all their families,” Doyle said.
The packed state Assembly chamber gave Skiles a bipartisan standing ovation marked by cheers and whoops. Skiles, flanked by his wife and Doyle’s wife, Jessica, in the balcony, stood up quietly in acknowledgment.
Last week, Skiles attended President Barack Obama’s inauguration.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
By TODD RICHMOND
Associated Press Writer
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The co-pilot who helped to safely crash-land a passenger plane into the Hudson River hopes to fly again in a few weeks and praised everyone involved in the rescue.
Jeff Skiles, of Oregon, Wis., was in the cockpit of the US Airways plane assisting pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger when it landed in the river Jan. 15 after bird strikes apparently knocked out its engines. All 155 passengers and crew were rescued.
Skiles, 49, said he and the rest of the plane’s crew were lucky that things turned out as well as they did.
“I’d just like to say we were all very fortunate that things went our way and there were a lot more people involved than just me,” Skiles said. “Flight attendants in back who evacuated the airplane, all the first responders who were there with the boats, the New York Fire Department, the New York Police Department, all had a role in the successful outcome. We were quite fortunate.”
Skiles visited the state Capitol on Wednesday to receive a commendation for heroism from the state Senate. He also appeared as Gov. Jim Doyle’s guest at his State of the State address Wednesday evening.
After receiving his award, Skiles told reporters he can fly commercially again immediately and hopes to get back in the air by the end of February.
Asked if he wished he’d done anything differently the day of the crash, he replied: “No. Not really.”
Skiles, his wife, Barb, their three children and Skiles’ parents stood along the side of the chamber as the Senate chief clerk read the commendation. Skiles seemed a bit uncomfortable with the attention, clasping and unclasping his hands and looking down at the ground and up, smiling at times.
He did not address lawmakers. When it was over, the entire Senate rose and gave him an ovation. Senators then went over to him and shook his hand. He and his family posed for photographs by senators’ aides as well as a photographer for the Wisconsin Blue Book, a biennial directory of state lawmakers and agencies.
Doyle ended his State of the State speech by introducing Skiles as a hero who exemplified a never-say-die attitude and thanked him on behalf of the state.
“Jeffrey, your heroism and heroic actions of your fellow crew members have made all the difference in the world for your passengers and all their families,” Doyle said.
The packed state Assembly chamber gave Skiles a bipartisan standing ovation marked by cheers and whoops. Skiles, flanked by his wife and Doyle’s wife, Jessica, in the balcony, stood up quietly in acknowledgment.
Last week, Skiles attended President Barack Obama’s inauguration.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Litigant rapper gets poetic justice in Wis. court
Date: 1/24/2009
By RYAN J. FOLEY
Associated Press Writer
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Justice might be blind, but apparently it likes good rhythm.
A Wisconsin appellate court ruled in favor of a trombone player who filed his legal brief partially written in the form of a rap to argue he shouldn’t have to pay $3,750 in fees.
Gregory Royal, 47, is not an attorney but represented himself in a dispute with La Crosse County officials stemming from his divorce. He filed a federal lawsuit against county officials who recommended their two children spend most of their time with his ex-wife, but the case was thrown out because the federal courts do not intervene in such domestic disputes.
A county lawyer then asked a circuit court judge to order Royal to pay fees for bringing the case, which the judge later found frivolous.
But Royal, who lived in Wisconsin and now resides in Washington, said he wanted to convince the appeals court in a creative way that he was being treated unfairly.
“Imagine a real attorney who can actually capitalize and perfect that expression and throw some heavy stuff in there,” he said. “It’s like Einstein’s theory of relativity. It’s so short but so perfect there’s nothing you can say about it.”
Among several lines of lyrics in the six-page brief, Royal wrote: “A domestic relations exception, I was supposed to know. Appellee would know too, so why did he spend so much doe?”
The District 4 Court of Appeals ruled Jan. 13 that the judge did not have the authority to order Royal to pay fees, thereby allowing Royal to now seek costs from the lawyer who brought the lawsuit.
Royal said he has already asked for $800.
The court did not mention Royal’s lyrics in its decision but he said he believed they helped him win.
He said he may repeat the technique in another lawsuit, which claims a Canadian rock band improperly interfered with a contract to air a television show that his employer helped produce on the Oxygen cable network.
“I’m thinking about a rap scenario there,” he said.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
By RYAN J. FOLEY
Associated Press Writer
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Justice might be blind, but apparently it likes good rhythm.
A Wisconsin appellate court ruled in favor of a trombone player who filed his legal brief partially written in the form of a rap to argue he shouldn’t have to pay $3,750 in fees.
Gregory Royal, 47, is not an attorney but represented himself in a dispute with La Crosse County officials stemming from his divorce. He filed a federal lawsuit against county officials who recommended their two children spend most of their time with his ex-wife, but the case was thrown out because the federal courts do not intervene in such domestic disputes.
A county lawyer then asked a circuit court judge to order Royal to pay fees for bringing the case, which the judge later found frivolous.
But Royal, who lived in Wisconsin and now resides in Washington, said he wanted to convince the appeals court in a creative way that he was being treated unfairly.
“Imagine a real attorney who can actually capitalize and perfect that expression and throw some heavy stuff in there,” he said. “It’s like Einstein’s theory of relativity. It’s so short but so perfect there’s nothing you can say about it.”
Among several lines of lyrics in the six-page brief, Royal wrote: “A domestic relations exception, I was supposed to know. Appellee would know too, so why did he spend so much doe?”
The District 4 Court of Appeals ruled Jan. 13 that the judge did not have the authority to order Royal to pay fees, thereby allowing Royal to now seek costs from the lawyer who brought the lawsuit.
Royal said he has already asked for $800.
The court did not mention Royal’s lyrics in its decision but he said he believed they helped him win.
He said he may repeat the technique in another lawsuit, which claims a Canadian rock band improperly interfered with a contract to air a television show that his employer helped produce on the Oxygen cable network.
“I’m thinking about a rap scenario there,” he said.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Wis. school’s epic snowball fight flakes out
Date: 1/24/2009
By RYAN J. FOLEY
Associated Press Writer
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — When a whistle blew Saturday afternoon, two teams of University of Wisconsin-Madison students pelted each other with snowballs, but the 45-minute battle won’t be going down in history.
Freshman organizer Mike Basak had hoped the epic snowball fight would break a 2006 record set by 3,700 students at Michigan Technological University, but acknowledged Saturday that the turnout at his school was disappointing.
Basak guessed that 2,000 or more students showed up, but other observers put the total at hundreds of students, not thousands.
“It was definitely huge and it was a great event,” he said.
In advance of the fight, more than 4,000 people had joined the event’s Facebook group, and word continued to spread as rival dormitories got ready to rumble in the center of campus.
School officials also prepared, recruiting a student group of volunteer emergency medical technicians to be on the scene.
Basak said no one was hurt in the melee, although “there were a few bumps and scrapes.”
Some skeptics had said chilly weather and a scheduled school basketball game would diminish an attempt at the record. Temperatures in Madison were only in single digits, and the powdery snow on campus was hard to pack.
Basak said organizers hoped to go for the record again later this winter or next winter.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
By RYAN J. FOLEY
Associated Press Writer
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — When a whistle blew Saturday afternoon, two teams of University of Wisconsin-Madison students pelted each other with snowballs, but the 45-minute battle won’t be going down in history.
Freshman organizer Mike Basak had hoped the epic snowball fight would break a 2006 record set by 3,700 students at Michigan Technological University, but acknowledged Saturday that the turnout at his school was disappointing.
Basak guessed that 2,000 or more students showed up, but other observers put the total at hundreds of students, not thousands.
“It was definitely huge and it was a great event,” he said.
In advance of the fight, more than 4,000 people had joined the event’s Facebook group, and word continued to spread as rival dormitories got ready to rumble in the center of campus.
School officials also prepared, recruiting a student group of volunteer emergency medical technicians to be on the scene.
Basak said no one was hurt in the melee, although “there were a few bumps and scrapes.”
Some skeptics had said chilly weather and a scheduled school basketball game would diminish an attempt at the record. Temperatures in Madison were only in single digits, and the powdery snow on campus was hard to pack.
Basak said organizers hoped to go for the record again later this winter or next winter.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Racine, Wis., mayor resigns after sex-sting arrest
Date: 1/20/2009
By GRETCHEN EHLKE
Associated Press Writer
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The mayor of Racine, Wis., resigned on Tuesday, days after being accused of trying to arrange a sexual encounter with someone he thought was an underage girl.
Mayor Gary Becker resigned, effective 5 p.m. Tuesday, in a one-sentence letter that made no reference to the six felonies he faces.
His attorney, Patrick Cafferty, said Becker decided to resign because “it was in the best interest of everyone involved.” He said his client intends to plead not guilty to all charges during a Feb. 10 arraignment in Racine County Circuit Court.
The City Council had planned to meet Tuesday night to begin the process of removing Becker from office in Racine, about 20 miles south of Milwaukee. Instead, the council’s president, David Maack, said it will meet soon to decide whether to hold a special election or appoint someone to serve as mayor for the roughly two years left in Becker’s term.
“I think it will allow us to move forward as a city and a council. We won’t have this whole removal process hanging over our heads,” said Maack, who had called for Becker’s resignation.
Becker, 51, was arrested Jan. 13 at a suburban Milwaukee mall following a two-week investigation by the state Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation. After chatting online with a state agent posing as a 14-year-old girl, Becker went to the mall to meet the girl and buy lingerie for her, according to a criminal complaint.
During the chat, he offered to take her to a hotel to “have lots of fun,” the complaint said.
The investigation started last month after Becker asked city workers to help him fix a problem with his personal computer. Police said the computer technician found six pornographic images of what appeared to be underage females and alerted authorities. Police passed the case on to state investigators to avoid a conflict of interest.
Investigators who searched Becker’s computer found records of 1,800 sexually explicit chats, District Attorney Michael Nieskes said.
Becker, who is married and has two children, is charged with attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child under 16, possession of child pornography, child enticement, use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, attempt exposing a child to harmful material and misconduct in office. The charges carry a maximum penalty of more than 114 years in prison and $370,000 in fines.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Summary
By GRETCHEN EHLKE
Associated Press Writer
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The mayor of Racine, Wis., resigned on Tuesday, days after being accused of trying to arrange a sexual encounter with someone he thought was an underage girl.
Mayor Gary Becker resigned, effective 5 p.m. Tuesday, in a one-sentence letter that made no reference to the six felonies he faces.
His attorney, Patrick Cafferty, said Becker decided to resign because “it was in the best interest of everyone involved.” He said his client intends to plead not guilty to all charges during a Feb. 10 arraignment in Racine County Circuit Court.
The City Council had planned to meet Tuesday night to begin the process of removing Becker from office in Racine, about 20 miles south of Milwaukee. Instead, the council’s president, David Maack, said it will meet soon to decide whether to hold a special election or appoint someone to serve as mayor for the roughly two years left in Becker’s term.
“I think it will allow us to move forward as a city and a council. We won’t have this whole removal process hanging over our heads,” said Maack, who had called for Becker’s resignation.
Becker, 51, was arrested Jan. 13 at a suburban Milwaukee mall following a two-week investigation by the state Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation. After chatting online with a state agent posing as a 14-year-old girl, Becker went to the mall to meet the girl and buy lingerie for her, according to a criminal complaint.
During the chat, he offered to take her to a hotel to “have lots of fun,” the complaint said.
The investigation started last month after Becker asked city workers to help him fix a problem with his personal computer. Police said the computer technician found six pornographic images of what appeared to be underage females and alerted authorities. Police passed the case on to state investigators to avoid a conflict of interest.
Investigators who searched Becker’s computer found records of 1,800 sexually explicit chats, District Attorney Michael Nieskes said.
Becker, who is married and has two children, is charged with attempted second-degree sexual assault of a child under 16, possession of child pornography, child enticement, use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, attempt exposing a child to harmful material and misconduct in office. The charges carry a maximum penalty of more than 114 years in prison and $370,000 in fines.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Summary
At Wis. Army base, the meals weren’t ‘pleasant’
Date: 1/19/2009
By RYAN J. FOLEY
Associated Press Writer
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Meals at one of the nation’s largest military training bases apparently weren’t very appetizing a few years ago.
If the food came at all, bugs were sometimes companions, and food workers didn’t always follow basic safety rules, according to testimony recently made public.
The Army blames the state of Wisconsin for mismanaging the multimillion-dollar food service contract at Fort McCoy in 2005 and 2006. A state official who oversaw the contract acknowledged problems but testified that shoddy Army facilities were largely at fault.
More than 100,000 reserve and active military personnel from all branches receive training at Fort McCoy every year. The western Wisconsin base has also served as the point of mobilization and demobilization for tens of thousands of troops who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The food problems were made public this month in records related to a federal lawsuit filed by the state asking a judge to throw out a $225,000 arbitration ruling in favor of Janet Dickey, a manager hired by the state to work with food service contractor Blackstone Consulting Inc.
Dickey lost her job at the base in 2006 when the Army canceled the contract. An arbitration panel agreed last year that her work wasn’t supervised correctly, causing the contract to fail.
Fort McCoy spokeswoman Linda Fournier said it was the poor quality of the food, not the outdated buildings, that caused complaints. She said food service has improved under the current contractor and the Army has spent $14 million upgrading older dining facilities in the last two years.
“Fort McCoy is working diligently to provide superior dining facilities and dining services for its soldiers,” she said in a statement.
The dispute began in 2003, when the state Department of Workforce Development won the Army contract to serve meals to thousands of soldiers under a law that gives preference to blind vendors. The state hired Blackstone as a subcontractor to run the operation alongside Dickey, who is blind.
The Army was happy with the arrangement in the first two years, but service started to deteriorate in 2005.
A small and unreliable staff meant dining facilities opened later than they should have or, in some cases, not at all, records show. Soldiers and generals missed some meals and were forced to go to classes or training exercises on empty stomachs or late.
At that time, only two out of 16 buildings where food was served had air conditioning (Fournier said a majority of them now do). In the summers, kitchen workers were forced to open the doors because of the extreme heat but that attracted flies and other bugs.
“As a result, insects, rodents, all kinds of creatures come in through the garrison buildings,” workforce development official Joseph D’Costa testified in the arbitration hearing last year. “And the soldiers started complaining, that this is not a good experience for them to have meals.”
In 2005, a metal bolt that came in a can of pork and beans was mistakenly served to one of the troops. The Army took a picture of it and demanded to know what happened; the manufacturer of the can and a worker who wasn’t paying attention were apparently to blame, according to testimony.
For the Christmas meal that year, hundreds of base employees and their families were nearly served roast beef that had been left in a warmer for 11 hours at an unsafe temperature. Workers were preparing to serve the meat but were stopped after Dickey objected, warning about food-borne illness, testimony shows.
The Army warned the state at least three times that the contract was at risk if they did not correct the problems before it was canceled.
In July 2006, an Army contracting officer documented inadequate staffing levels, inadequate supply of food and instances where undercooked chicken was served. He followed up the next month with a letter adding problems such as employees not washing their hands and not using hairnets.
D’Costa blamed Blackstone for cutting staff to save money and for not training those the company did hire on food safety. “Basic rudimentary rules were not being followed,” he said.
At least two of the workers got in legal trouble with military police — one for possessing drugs on the base and another for driving with a suspended license — and were fired, D’Costa testified.
He also said some delays were caused by a dishwasher carousel that repeatedly broke down, leading to longer lines and the use of disposable plates and silverware. Fournier said the carousel has since been replaced.
The contract is now managed by contractor Austin & Associates but the Army is seeking competitive bids for the deal by June 30.
A coalition of advocates for the blind is lobbying the state to again seek the contract, saying improvements at Fort McCoy mean it is more likely to succeed this time.
But Department of Workforce Development spokesman Dick Jones said the state will not seek the contract because of the past problems. “We firmly believe better opportunities exist for people with disabilities,” he said.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
By RYAN J. FOLEY
Associated Press Writer
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Meals at one of the nation’s largest military training bases apparently weren’t very appetizing a few years ago.
If the food came at all, bugs were sometimes companions, and food workers didn’t always follow basic safety rules, according to testimony recently made public.
The Army blames the state of Wisconsin for mismanaging the multimillion-dollar food service contract at Fort McCoy in 2005 and 2006. A state official who oversaw the contract acknowledged problems but testified that shoddy Army facilities were largely at fault.
More than 100,000 reserve and active military personnel from all branches receive training at Fort McCoy every year. The western Wisconsin base has also served as the point of mobilization and demobilization for tens of thousands of troops who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The food problems were made public this month in records related to a federal lawsuit filed by the state asking a judge to throw out a $225,000 arbitration ruling in favor of Janet Dickey, a manager hired by the state to work with food service contractor Blackstone Consulting Inc.
Dickey lost her job at the base in 2006 when the Army canceled the contract. An arbitration panel agreed last year that her work wasn’t supervised correctly, causing the contract to fail.
Fort McCoy spokeswoman Linda Fournier said it was the poor quality of the food, not the outdated buildings, that caused complaints. She said food service has improved under the current contractor and the Army has spent $14 million upgrading older dining facilities in the last two years.
“Fort McCoy is working diligently to provide superior dining facilities and dining services for its soldiers,” she said in a statement.
The dispute began in 2003, when the state Department of Workforce Development won the Army contract to serve meals to thousands of soldiers under a law that gives preference to blind vendors. The state hired Blackstone as a subcontractor to run the operation alongside Dickey, who is blind.
The Army was happy with the arrangement in the first two years, but service started to deteriorate in 2005.
A small and unreliable staff meant dining facilities opened later than they should have or, in some cases, not at all, records show. Soldiers and generals missed some meals and were forced to go to classes or training exercises on empty stomachs or late.
At that time, only two out of 16 buildings where food was served had air conditioning (Fournier said a majority of them now do). In the summers, kitchen workers were forced to open the doors because of the extreme heat but that attracted flies and other bugs.
“As a result, insects, rodents, all kinds of creatures come in through the garrison buildings,” workforce development official Joseph D’Costa testified in the arbitration hearing last year. “And the soldiers started complaining, that this is not a good experience for them to have meals.”
In 2005, a metal bolt that came in a can of pork and beans was mistakenly served to one of the troops. The Army took a picture of it and demanded to know what happened; the manufacturer of the can and a worker who wasn’t paying attention were apparently to blame, according to testimony.
For the Christmas meal that year, hundreds of base employees and their families were nearly served roast beef that had been left in a warmer for 11 hours at an unsafe temperature. Workers were preparing to serve the meat but were stopped after Dickey objected, warning about food-borne illness, testimony shows.
The Army warned the state at least three times that the contract was at risk if they did not correct the problems before it was canceled.
In July 2006, an Army contracting officer documented inadequate staffing levels, inadequate supply of food and instances where undercooked chicken was served. He followed up the next month with a letter adding problems such as employees not washing their hands and not using hairnets.
D’Costa blamed Blackstone for cutting staff to save money and for not training those the company did hire on food safety. “Basic rudimentary rules were not being followed,” he said.
At least two of the workers got in legal trouble with military police — one for possessing drugs on the base and another for driving with a suspended license — and were fired, D’Costa testified.
He also said some delays were caused by a dishwasher carousel that repeatedly broke down, leading to longer lines and the use of disposable plates and silverware. Fournier said the carousel has since been replaced.
The contract is now managed by contractor Austin & Associates but the Army is seeking competitive bids for the deal by June 30.
A coalition of advocates for the blind is lobbying the state to again seek the contract, saying improvements at Fort McCoy mean it is more likely to succeed this time.
But Department of Workforce Development spokesman Dick Jones said the state will not seek the contract because of the past problems. “We firmly believe better opportunities exist for people with disabilities,” he said.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Mayor accused in sex sting to skip inauguration
Date: 1/17/2009
RACINE, Wis. (AP) — Racine Mayor Gary Becker’s plans to attend Tuesday’s inauguration have been canceled after he was charged in an Internet sex sting.
Becker had planned to attend a U.S. Conference of Mayors event in Washington over the weekend and then stay for the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.
But that was before he was arrested Tuesday night at a suburban Milwaukee shopping mall. Authorities said he went there to meet what he thought was a 14-year-old girl but actually was a state agent.
A criminal complaint filed against him Thursday included sexually explicit chats he had with the other person. He faces six felony charges and has been freed on $165,000 cash bond.
Becker’s defense attorney did not return a message left Thursday seeking comment on the charges.
City Administrator Ben Hughes said canceling Becker’s airline ticket and a four-night stay in an expensive D.C. hotel will cost the city hundreds of dollars. He said city officials learned this week that Becker chose the most expensive of three options — at $550 a night — when booking hotel accommodations.
The money for three nights will be refunded, and Midwest Airlines agreed to allow the city to use Becker’s $400 ticket for another official’s travel in the next 12 months, Hughes said.
The city also has removed Becker’s picture that had greeted visitors to the Racine Web site.
“With everything going on I felt it was not appropriate for his picture and his welcome to remain on the Web site,” said City Council President David Maack on Friday. Maack is serving as acting mayor.
Top city officials are planning to discuss Tuesday removing Becker from office if he does not resign.
___
Information from: The Journal Times, http://www.journaltimes.com
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
RACINE, Wis. (AP) — Racine Mayor Gary Becker’s plans to attend Tuesday’s inauguration have been canceled after he was charged in an Internet sex sting.
Becker had planned to attend a U.S. Conference of Mayors event in Washington over the weekend and then stay for the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.
But that was before he was arrested Tuesday night at a suburban Milwaukee shopping mall. Authorities said he went there to meet what he thought was a 14-year-old girl but actually was a state agent.
A criminal complaint filed against him Thursday included sexually explicit chats he had with the other person. He faces six felony charges and has been freed on $165,000 cash bond.
Becker’s defense attorney did not return a message left Thursday seeking comment on the charges.
City Administrator Ben Hughes said canceling Becker’s airline ticket and a four-night stay in an expensive D.C. hotel will cost the city hundreds of dollars. He said city officials learned this week that Becker chose the most expensive of three options — at $550 a night — when booking hotel accommodations.
The money for three nights will be refunded, and Midwest Airlines agreed to allow the city to use Becker’s $400 ticket for another official’s travel in the next 12 months, Hughes said.
The city also has removed Becker’s picture that had greeted visitors to the Racine Web site.
“With everything going on I felt it was not appropriate for his picture and his welcome to remain on the Web site,” said City Council President David Maack on Friday. Maack is serving as acting mayor.
Top city officials are planning to discuss Tuesday removing Becker from office if he does not resign.
___
Information from: The Journal Times, http://www.journaltimes.com
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Groups condemn UW plan to perform abortions
Date: 1/7/2009
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Anti-abortion groups condemned a University of Wisconsin plan to provide second-trimester abortions at a Madison clinic and questioned whether it was legal.
UW Health spokeswoman Lisa Brunette said its gynecologists plan to begin performing abortions for patients between 13 and 22 weeks pregnant at the Madison Surgery Center. She said the plan needs final approval from the center’s board, which could take action this month.
The Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona-based conservative Christian legal group, publicized the plan and sent a letter asking UW officials to stop it. The group said the plan might violate a state law that prohibits state or federal money from being used to pay doctors or clinics to perform abortions.
Brunette acknowledged state-paid doctors working for the university would provide the services but she said its lawyers were comfortable the plan is legal. She said the abortions themselves would be paid for by insurance and patient fees, not public money.
ADF lawyer Thomas Bowman said the group was researching the arrangement and would “take quick legal action in the event that any legal violations are uncovered.”
___
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Anti-abortion groups condemned a University of Wisconsin plan to provide second-trimester abortions at a Madison clinic and questioned whether it was legal.
UW Health spokeswoman Lisa Brunette said its gynecologists plan to begin performing abortions for patients between 13 and 22 weeks pregnant at the Madison Surgery Center. She said the plan needs final approval from the center’s board, which could take action this month.
The Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona-based conservative Christian legal group, publicized the plan and sent a letter asking UW officials to stop it. The group said the plan might violate a state law that prohibits state or federal money from being used to pay doctors or clinics to perform abortions.
Brunette acknowledged state-paid doctors working for the university would provide the services but she said its lawyers were comfortable the plan is legal. She said the abortions themselves would be paid for by insurance and patient fees, not public money.
ADF lawyer Thomas Bowman said the group was researching the arrangement and would “take quick legal action in the event that any legal violations are uncovered.”
___
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.