There's No Place Like Home...

Only in Madison on Halloween...

'Flying monkey' allegedly punches man; victim in critical condition

Anyone who's seen The Wizard of Oz knows that flying monkeys are dangerous and should be avoided at all costs.

The flying monkey is still at large. I wonder if Stephen Colbert will do another "Monkey on the Lam" segment. It seems appropriate, since the case that inspired the series also happened in Madison.

No Joy in the Hoosier State

Not only did the Boilermakers get TP'd by the Badgers yesterday, but the Hoosiers looked for a while like they might win their game before the Hawkeyes cruelly dashed their hopes.

It must be a tough weekend to be a football fan in Indiana. Maybe the Colts will make it up to them.

Halloween Prank?

I'm beginning to think that an area high school football team is dressing up as the Purdue Boilermakers for Halloween, and that the real Purdue squad are all nursing hangovers after a night on State Street.

Bielema's Toughest Challenge Yet

With a 24-0 lead going into the second half, this will be the toughest test yet of Bret Bielema's run-out-the-clock-and-piss-away-the-lead strategy.

Can Bielema's Badgers piss away a 24-point lead against a Purdue team that doesn't understand the basics of clock management? It will be an uphill struggle, for sure.

Not a Drop for Maine's Youth

The State of Maine recently decided that a British soft drink called Fentiman's Victorian Lemonade, which contains a trace amount of alcohol (less than .5%) is an "imitation liquor" and thus cannot be sold to minors.

One wonders if they keep root beer and gingerale away from impressionable youngsters in Maine (not to mention vanilla extract and mouthwash).

Lawton's Springboard to a New Career?

It was reported today that Barbara Lawton's car was vandalized while parked in her residence's security-locked underground garage back in June. The story was not considered newsworthy at the time it happened, but this week anything Lawton-related is guaranteed to generate hits.

Mentioned in passing was this little nugget:

A staff employee at Lawton's state Capitol office on Thursday said that Lawton was en route to New York to attend an invitation-only event in her official capacity.

Matt Dulak said that Lawton had been invited to a dinner of women venture capitalists by Springboard Enterprises. The firm connects female venture capitalists with women who are in the process of starting their own small business or interested in attracting capital for it. Lawton spoke at a forum for Springboard Enterprises on Oct. 1 at the Fluno Center.

There is a press release on the LG's website about that October 1 event.

Maybe she suddenly dropped out of the Governor's race because Springboard made her an offer she (and her family) couldn't refuse. If she accepts a highly-paid position as a "consultant" with Springboard Enterprises, I won't be surprised. It will be interesting to see how much the Lieutenant Governor concentrates on recruiting women-led life sciences companies to Wisconsin during the rest of her term.

She could hardly be criticized for it. After all, Gov. Doyle just proudly announced that several biotech companies are moving to Wisconsin (from the Twin Cities and the Boston area) thanks to some special tax incentives. He bragged about growing our biotech economy and bringing jobs to the State. Who could blame the LG for doing the same?

A Funny Idea of Progress

The Hammes Co. has scaled back its plan for the Edgewater redevelopment, from $109 million to $90 million. However, they are still asking for the full $16 in TIF funding that Mayor Dave Cieslewicz included in his capital budget.

"It represents progress," Cieslewicz said.

Really? Going from 15% taxpayer funding to 18% taxpayer funding for a private hotel project that is expected to cannibalize business from other hotels rather than bring more business to Madison is progress?

I'm surprised nobody's tried to sell Mayor Dave a bridge. Maybe it'll be in next year's capital budget.