This week in fake news... Senate candidate Tommy Thompson dons a dress! +PAGE TWO University of Wisconsin-Madison
MAJESTIC BIRTHDAY The Majestic Theatre to celebrate fifth birthday with The Hold Steady. +ARTS, page 6
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Weekend, September 28-30, 2012
City Council approves new union contract By Abby Becker The Daily Cardinal
on campus
A slice of fun
Ian’s pizza holds a timed eating contest in Library Mall hosted by emcees from the Comedy Club on State and special musical guest The Mighty Short Bus + Photo by Grey Satterfield
Voter ID law unlikely to take effect before November election By Tyler Nickerson The Daily Cardinal
Wisconsin’s Supreme Court said Thursday it will not immediately rule on lower courts’ decisions blocking the state’s Voter ID law, further suggesting the law will likely not be in place for the Nov. 6 presidential election. Earlier this year, two Dane County judges ruled the law unconstitutional in two different cases. The law, which requires voters to present a valid photo ID at polling places before voting, has not taken effect since the rulings. Republicans argue the law will ensure the integrity of the voting process, but Democrats say it is unconstitutional and disproportionately affects minority, low-income and young voters. The League of Women Voters
and the Milwaukee branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People brought on the two cases. State Attorney General JB Van Hollen, representing Gov. Scott Walker and Republican legislators, filed appeals to the Dane County judges’ decision and asked for a stay on the ruling, so the law would remain in effect until an appeals court or the state Supreme Court hears the case. Van Hollen tried to extradite the case to the Supreme Court rather than going through appeals courts, intending for a decision to be made before the November election. But Thursday the court said it is “not feasible” to hear either case because it would like to
consolidate the two cases into one, and necessary documentation has not yet been filed in the NAACP case. “This court recognizes the importance of the issues raised in [the LWV] and NAACP [cases],” the Supreme Court said in Thursday’s order. “The two cases share a commonality of subject matter, and if we were to grant review, we would hear oral argument in both cases on the same day and would take both matters under advisement at the same time.” Van Hollen said in a statement Thursday he is “very disappointed” the Supreme Court failed to act, especially because it means the injunction “will, in all likelihood, be in effect for the upcoming November elections.”
Local union members cheered from city hall’s meeting room after Madison’s city Council voted unanimously Thursday to approve a contract that will cut wages but likely avoid layoffs. Although the new contract reduces pay by three percent, it protects members of the American Federal of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 60 from from further cuts or layoffs that the state could take away. The contract, which will begin when the current one expires in March 2014, will run for an additional year, prevents further
cuts to union workers and saves the city approximately $900,000, according to Mayor Paul Soglin. Despite the wage cuts, AFSCME Local 60 Vice President Tim Birkley said the union was more than willing to agree to the city’s stipulations because it “[maintains] services and [keeps] Madison efficient and one of the greatest cities in the country.” Local unions have been rushing to finalize new contracts since a Dane County judge ruled Sept. 14 that parts of Act 10, a law limiting collective bargaining for most public employees, were unconstitutional.
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Edgewater cuts jobs due to mid-November renovation Employees at the Edgewater Hotel will be forced to find alternate jobs starting Nov. 19 when developers begin to move forward with renovations. The renovation project involves workers tearing down all ballroom and restaurant space in the hotel, making it impossible for the hotel to stay open and function during construction, according to Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2. “We are moving into the stage now where shovels are going into the ground and it is going to be
a lengthy construction process,” Maniaci said. Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said developers will host a groundbreaking ceremony over the University of WisconsinMadison’s homecoming weekend on Oct. 26. The Edgewater Hotel will close in mid-November, according to Verveer, after many years of Madison’s city Council deliberating how the project would be funded. The project is now completely
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Police arrest suspect in Sellery, Cole Hall burglaries University police identified the suspect in the Sellery and Cole residence hall theft investigations Wednesday. Investigators questioned Nicholas Suarez, a University of Wisconsin-Madison student, as a person of interest in the early evening of Sept. 26. Shortly after questioning, Suarez confessed he committed the crimes. The investigation began in
the late evening of Sept. 20 when several thefts occurred in Sellery Hall. Residents reported a strange man had been breaking in and stealing items from dorm rooms in which the residents were sleeping. Police also reported similar thefts in Cole Hall. The UW-Madison Police Department took Suarez to the Dane County Jail and requested charges for burglary, theft
and disorderly conduct. While Suarez is a UW-Madison student, he is not a resident of UW-Madison Housing, according to the police report. Based on the evidence found in the investigation, UWPD Sgt. Aaron Chapin said UWPD does not have any information to suggest there
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Grey satterfield/the daily cardinal
The Edgewater Hotel renovation project, beginning in midNovember, will terminate about 65 current employee jobs.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”