THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1969 Monday, October 24, 2011
www.badgerherald.com
Volume XLIII, Issue 35
City proposes $1M in extra spending News Reporter Members of the Madison City Council are proposing to add $1 million in spending to the mayor ’s budget for 2012, $500,000 of which will go
to the Overture Center. The council proposed 29 amendments that will add a total of $1 million of spending to Mayor Paul Soglin’s $250.4 million budget for 2012, which mainly focuses on the development of the Overture Center and other
community services. Ald. Lauren Cnare, District 3, said a major part of the increased spending would fulfill the city’s commitment to funding the Overture Center. The proposed $500,000 is in addition to the initial $1.35 million
$500,000
$400,000
Overture Center funding
Other community projects
Sex charges on alder dropped Kaylie Duff y News Reporter The Dane County District Attorney’s office believes a city employees’s accusation that she was sexually assaulted by a Madison alder, but will not pursue the case because of insufficient evidence. Assistant DA Shelly Rusch said Solomon although the district attorney’s office will not follow up on the allegations of sexual assault made by assistant city clerk Elena Berg against Ald. Brain Solomon, District 10, she believes the accusations are true. “There is no doubt in my mind that Ms. Berg did not consent,” she said. Despite Rusch’s convictions, a jury of 12 would have had to unanimously agree beyond a reasonable doubt for the allegations of sexual intrusion to be pursued, a letter sent by Rusch to the state Department of Justice said. Solomon denied all allegations. “[They are] false accusations,” he said. “I deny any wrongdoing, and it is a horrible thing to have happened.” According to the letter,
if the allegations had gone to trial, the defendant’s attorney would have presented the jury with a list of “reasonable hypotheses” consistent with the client’s innocence. The letter went on to say that both Berg and Solomon were engaging in social drinking the night before the alleged assault in the early morning hours of April 14. Both were highly intoxicated. Rusch also wrote the defense attorney could have argued Berg accepted a ride back to her house from Solomon, even though another coworker volunteered to drive her home. Consensual kissing occurred on the walk back to the car and on Berg’s bed. The letter said at about 5 a.m. the following morning, Berg found Solomon penetrating her with two to three fingers. Later that morning, however, personnel at the City County Building witnessed the two together and said that Berg was “tipsy” but not incapacitated. The two also appeared equally affectionate, Rusch said. Solomon and Berg had contradicting accounts of the morning of April 14, Rusch said. Berg said that the digital penetration “really hurt,” while Solomon claimed Berg
Library
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CITY BUDGET AMENDMENTS: BY THE NUMBERS
$100,000
Andrea Choi
allotted in the mayor ’s budget. “It’s likely that some amendments will get approved and incorporated into the progress and some of them will fail,” said Cnare, the council’s president. “I think it’s difficult to say which of that is going make it to the process. We take care of services such as removing snow on the road. We also want to make sure we get proper and sufficient payments for these services.”
One amendment suggested to improve services was the addition of three employees to work on snow removal at bus stops, Cnare said. Another suggested project is adding an additional $100,000 to the library budget, Cnare said. The extra funding would allow Madison libraries to spend extra on library materials like books and CDs for 2012. The proposed increase in the library budget is due to a survey published on
the City Council website, where 71.8 percent of people surveyed ranked books, eBooks and digital collections in public libraries as “very important” services for the community. In terms of the Overture Center, 48.2 percent of surveyed subjects ranked it as “highly important” to the community. Cnare said City Council members are looking very carefully into all
SPENDING, page 2
Hard to swallow Wisconsin defensive tackle Patrick Butrym looks on as all of Michigan State rejoices in the Spartans’ improbable game-winning Hail Mary, which bounced around the endzone before falling into the arms of Keith Nichol at the 1-yard line. UW seemingly ensured overtime after scoring two late touchdowns, but watched its second chance disappear in dramatic fashion.
Megan McCormick The Badger Herald
FOR FULL STORY SEE SPORTS, page 8
ALDER, page 2
DOR: State not on track to create 250,000 jobs by 2015 Fall 2011 report on economic stance shows governors’ promise unlikely Matt Huppert State Editor Gov. Scott Walker may not create the 250,000 jobs by 2015 as promised as a keystone of his campaign, according to a Department of Revenue report released Friday. The report, which reflected on the economic progress made during Fall 2011, said the government will have created 136,000 private sector jobs by 2014. Since the recovery period began in February 2010, 42,800 jobs were created, and about onefourth of those were lost in the recession. In recent months, recovery has slowed in Wisconsin and the nation, according to the report. The report also said that by 2015 there will be 200,000 more people living in the state, but the same number of jobs as in 2008. Zhao Lim The Badger Herald Jay Heck, director of Gov. Scott Walker’s administration admitted Friday it would likely not meet its campaign keystone promise of creating 250,000 new jobs throughout the state by watchdog group Common 2015. While critics say Walker has not spent enough time committed to jobs, Walker and his peers said the administration has made leaps in beginning progress. Cause in Wisconsin, said © 2011 BADGER HERALD
“We all know that the report shows that Walker focused on issues there’s still work to be other than job creation done, but we’re moving during his first months in the right direction,” in office. As such, Heck Welhouse said. According to the report, said, the numbers for new the current economic developments are lower. predicts an “Walker ’s central forecast unemployment promise rate of 7.7 was to percent in 2011 create “These forecasts and 7.8 percent jobs in change every in 2012. Wisconsin, Welhouse and he time; they’re said spent an obviously not economic the awful lot of set in stone. It’s predictions are time doing other things just a projection, susceptible to rather than and we hope the change. “These creating things we’ve been forecasts jobs,” Heck said. doing will turn change every “Perhaps into results that time; they’re obviously not if he spent more time are better than the set in stone,” expectations.” Welhouse doing what said. “It’s just he promised projection to do, the Andrew Welhouse a report Spokesperson and we hope Senate Majority Leader the things would have been been more Scott Fitzgerald we’ve doing will turn optimistic.” into results Andrew Welhouse, spokeserson that are better than the for Senate Majority Leader expectations.” Welhouse said the Scott Fitzgerald, said the special report highlighted the first Legislature’s year of growth after three session is focusing on creating an environment years of decline. The report forecasted for businesses to grow a 1.1 percent increase in WALKER, page 3 employment for 2011.