INSURERS LOSE FOX PCB CASE; OTHER NEWS

Dear Reader --

Milwaukeeworld has scooped up quite a grab bag of goodies for you today, ranging from PCB contamination to historic gay sex offenses -- and more! Thanks for visiting, and why don't you drop a line or give me a call some day?
Michael Horne
Editor / Publisher
1 414 978-8039
horne.milwaukeeworld@gmail.com

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld.com

By Michael Horne

JURY TO INSURANCE COMPANIES: $700 MILLION FOR PCB CLEANUP

A Brown County jury found on Monday, March 17tth, 2008 that insurers were liable for some $700 million in cleanup costs for the Fox River PCB pollution caused by a number of paper companies from the 1950s to the 1970s. The damages were assessed to Appleton Papers, Inc., now known as Appleton. The news was reported by the Green Bay Press Gazette this morning. The case, Brown County 2005CV00036 will likely be appealed. There were 781 court record events, and over 30 attorneys in the enormous case.

NO WISCONSIN LICENSE FOR NEW MIDWEST AIRLINES GC

Midwest Airlines has named David Sislowski as its new Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, the exact same title he held at Frontier Airlines in Denver. Sislowski is licensed to practice law in Colorado. However, he is not a member of the Wisconsin Bar Association at this time. Milwaukeeworld asked Michael Brophy of Midwest whether the new counsel will bother to register with the bar of the Dairy State, or whether he will be among the dwindling number of general counsels who take advantage of this state’s leniency in licensure for the most highly paid of corporate attorneys. We haven’t heard back yet, which is not a good sign. … In other legal news, we are waiting to hear from the office of Governor James E. Doyle, Jr. [Harvard ‘72] about which Continuing Legal Education classes he has taken to maintain his law license, which is active and in good standing. Judges are exempt from continuing legal education credits – governors aren’t from what we can tell here. This simple request also has taken several messages, which is usually a sign that we’re on to something.

GANNETT PUBLISHES PARDON INDEX

Gannett newspapers provides the public a wonderful service by digitizing gubernatorial pardons in Wisconsin for the past 20 years. These documents are kept in a paper format in the Secretary of State’s office, in a cardboard box, with a paper index. People ask for pardons for a number of reasons. For example, one guy wanted a pardon so he could go deer hunting again! Another wanted to run for public office, which is the inverse order to how these things usually work. Governors grant pardons for a number of reasons, and Gannett’s index will give us a chance for the first time to see if there is any connection between pardons and political contributions to the governor. Won’t that be interesting? … Doyle’s first pardon, issued in 2003, was to Joseph Dube, convicted at age 21 in 1957 of the then-offense of having sex with a man. Doyle’s pardon notes that is no longer a crime in Wisconsin. Well, then, pardon me! It makes for quite a pickup line, though – “sex with me is not illegal anymore!”

TINY TAP UPDATE

Joel Cecil Cain remains in jail on $25,000 bail on charges of Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Cain is a suspect in the murder of Pam Roberts at the Tiny Tap on February 26^th, 2008. His wife Sara Cain popped into the Swingin’ Door, 219 E. Michigan St. for the first time ever on Friday afternoon, and met with some friends during a teary reunion. She’s moved elsewhere in her old neighborhood, and is living with a friend but might have to move again since her landlord is a Brookfield cop who is not too thrilled with the idea. She’s telling friends that Cain’s father will pony up the bail money, but as of Tuesday, March 18^th, 2008, he had not done so. She also said she had family members in the law profession who would fly to Wisconsin to defend Joel, but as of Tuesday’s hearing in circuit court, Cain still has no lawyer. Sara was dressed quite casually. She was held by police for a number of days for questioning. The police got a warrant for almost all of her possessions, including items in a storage locker, while they look for evidence in what is still a circumstantial case. That left her with just a couple of changes of clothing. Joel Cain has a no-contact order for three people, including the husband and wife neighbors whom he robbed. They tell friends they are convinced he is involved in the crimes being investigated. Sara Cain still loves him, though.

SHEPHERD CANS PHOTOGRAPHER IN FAVOR OF CANNED PHOTOGRAPHS

The Shepherd Express no longer is using the photographs of David Bernacchi on its Expresso news page, and instead is letting readers submit pictures to fill – for free – the space that earned Bernacchi a whopping $50 a week for the past ten years. No explanation was given to Bernacchi, not even the obvious one that publisher Louis Fortis wants to save money wherever he can – as long as it is at the expense of the workers who do not meet his ideal of perfection. The perfect workers at the Shepherd Express seem to be down to two – Lisa Kaiser and David Luhrssen. In a final, and painful irony, the first issue to not feature a Bernacchi photograph in its usual spot, included a picture he had taken of Brett Favre that Louie ran as the background illustration for his weekly, lame poll. Bernacchi pointed out that he, not Fortis, owned the rights to that picture, and to all of the work he had published over the years.

MORE IMPORTANT NEWS

Eve, the red nightclub at 718 N. Milwaukee Street has closed. A sign on the door tells us to go across the street to Kenadee’s. The closure will not have any material effect on the social life of this writer. Management will reopen it as a Japanese fusion sort of place. … Next door, Three, 722 N. Milwaukee St. renamed itself Fibber McGibbons, “Milwaukee’s Newest Fake Irish Bar.” Alas, like so much at Three, it was merely a one-night stand, just a little quickie for St. Patrick’s Day. Good stunt. … Just down the street, the Bianchini family is planning an Enoteca & Fromaggeria at the former Nectar Café in the Curry Pierce building.