News in Brief

OBITUARY

Former faculty member in the College of Communication and debate coach Joseph Laine passed away Jan. 3. Laine, 88, worked for the university from 1955 to 1963.

After Marquette, Laine worked in the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s communication department. He served as a professor and department chair for 26 years before retiring in 1989. During his tenure as speech department chair, degrees and course offerings grew along with services provided by the department’s hearing clinic. Laine also served as a president of the Wisconsin Speech Communication Association.

Before coming to Marquette, he earned his master’s degree from the University of South Dakota and his Ph.D from Northwestern.

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DRUNK

Penalties for drunken drivers in Wisconsin could increase under legislation proposed by Republican lawmakers Monday, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

While Wisconsin has one of the highest rates of drunk driving and binge drinking in the nation, its laws are among the weakest.

Assemblyman Jim Ott of Mequon proposed a series of six draft bills to the legislature.

“After much consideration of weakness in our current OWI laws and continued prevalence of repeat drinking and driving in Wisconsin, today I introduced the (bills),” Ott said in a statement, according to the Journal Sentinel.

The new bills would require a court appearance for first-offense drunken driving charges, raise fines for first violations from $300 to $1,100 and second-offense fines from $500 to $1,500, and if the drunken driver kills a person, he or she would be sentenced to at least 10 years in prison.

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EXPLOSION

Repairs began Monday to fix a 15-foot hole around a manhole cover caused by an explosion Sunday night near the intersection of Jefferson and Mason streets. No injuries were reported.

A spokeswoman for WE Energies told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Monday that part of Mason Street between Jefferson and Milwaukee is blocked off for repairs. She said the explosion was caused by a fault in an underground cable.

Firefighters were dispatched to the manhole Sunday evening because smoke was seeping from the cover, according to the Journal Sentinel. The firefighters found smoke and flames inside the manhole at the intersection of Mason and Milwaukee streets. While firefighters began to clear the scene, the other manhole blew up.

About 550 customers lost power Sunday night, and power was restored late Monday morning.

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SUPREME COURT

As the Wisconsin Supreme Court race gets under way, Justice Pat Roggensack reported having more than three times as much money as her next closest challenger, Greater Milwaukee Today reported Monday.

Also among Roggensack’s competitors is Ed Fallone, a Marquette law professor.

Roggensack’s monetary advantage has allowed her to start airing television commercials before any of her opponents.

As of Feb. 4, Roggensack reported that she had $219,000 on hand and had raised more than $201,000 over the last reporting period. Fallone reported nearly $64,000 on hand and raised $75,000 over the reporting period.

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MANHUNT

The Los Angeles Police Department is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to the capture of accused “cop-killer” Christopher Dorner, the L.A. Times reported Sunday.

Dorner is accused of killing three people, including a Riverside police officer, sparking the largest manhunt in Southern California history. Police found Dorner’s burned truck 80 miles east of Los Angeles in the ski resort town  Big Bear but have since said the fugitive “could be anywhere at this point.”

Dorner is a former Navy reservist who was fired from the LAPD in 2008 for making false statements after he accused a fellow officer of kicking a mentally ill suspect on the ground.

In an online manifesto posted on Facebook, Dorner said his firing was a case of wrongful termination and denounced what he perceived to be a culture of corruption and racism in LAPD. Dorner cited these grievances as among his reasons for targeting LAPD officers and their families in his recent shootings.

Among Dorner’s victims are 28-year old Monica Quan and her fiancee. Quan is the daughter of former LAPD captain Randall Quan, who represented Dorner during his disciplinary review and whom he blames for his firing.