Posted: Saturday, March 2, 2013 -- 3:50 a.m.
BALDWIN-ASSAULT WEAPONS
Democrat Baldwin a liberal skeptic on weapons ban
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, a supporter of gun control for a decade in the House, has shied away from talk of a proposed ban on assault weapons, disappointing some gun control advocates.
The Wisconsin liberal Democrat's cautious path shows the altered thought process of a new senator now representing one of the nation's most politically balanced states--one with a strong hunting tradition--rather than just one of its most left-leaning congressional districts.
It also illuminates the rocky road ahead for the provision in the Senate.
Six Democratic senators from Baldwin's neighboring states have either declared as co-sponsors or supporters of the ban. But Baldwin has stressed the broader support for gun control measures based on expanded background checks.
WISCONSIN RETIREES
Pension payments to retirees dropping 9.6 percent
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Retired public employees in Wisconsin will see their monthly pension payments decrease by 9.6 percent starting in May.
The Department of Employee Trust Funds announced the cut on Friday. It had warned in December that the cut could be as high as 13 percent.
Pension payments are based on the performance of funds managed by the State of Wisconsin Investment Board, as well as other actuarial factors like the number of retirees entering and leaving the system.
Payments to retirees invested in the Wisconsin Retirement System's Core Fund are smoothed over a five-year period, and the declines are the result of a 26 percent loss in investments in 2008.
Payments are expected to increase in 2014.
MISSING WIFE-MINNESOTA
Police set up tip line for missing Minn. woman
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- St. Paul police have set up a tip line to help find a missing Wisconsin woman and to track her husband's movements.
Thirty-year-old Kira Trevino didn't stop in at her job at the Mall of America last Friday or work her scheduled Saturday shift. Her car was found in the back corner of a parking lot at the Bloomington mall.
Prosecutors Thursday charged her husband, 39-year-old Jeffery Trevino, with second-degree murder in his wife's death -- even though her body has not been found. Investigators found blood in the couple's St. Paul home and believe Kira Trevino is dead.
The tip line is 651-560-3277.
Anyone with information about Jeffery Trevino's whereabouts between 9 p.m. Thursday, February 21st, and 9:45 a.m. Friday, February 22nd, is asked to call.
WISCONSIN-OFFICER SLAIN
Wis. cop's husband pleads insanity in her death
(Information in the following story is from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, http://www.jsonline.com)
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- An Iraq War veteran charged with killing his wife, a suburban Milwaukee police officer, has changed his plea to not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect.
Benjamin Sebena will now undergo a mental examination by a court-appointed forensic psychiatrist.
Sebena earlier pleaded not guilty to first-degree intentional homicide in the Christmas Eve shooting death of 30-year-old Jennifer Sebena. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports he changed his plea Friday.
Jennifer Sebena was shot five times in the head while on duty. She apparently was ambushed as she left a Wauwatosa fire station.
According to the criminal complaint, Sebena told investigators he had been stalking his wife and was jealous.
Neither his attorney nor an assistant district attorney spoke after the hearing. Trial is set for July 8th.
WISCONSIN MALL-SHOOTING
Wis. salon shooter asked taxi driver's advice
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- A man who shot seven people before killing himself at a Wisconsin salon asked a taxi driver for advice on how to handle his wife on his way there.
That's according to the Brookfield Police Department, which released hundreds of pages of police reports on Friday, as well as 911 calls and security video.
Radcliffe Haughton fatally shot his estranged wife, Zina, and two other women at the Azana salon and spa on October 21st before killing himself. Four other people were wounded.
Police interviewed the taxi driver who took Haughton to the salon. The driver told police Haughton said he was having problems with his wife, purchased a gun and asked the driver what he would do. The driver said he would do nothing because it "wasn't worth it."
LAKE HURON-MICHIGAN LEVELS
New group wants higher Lake Michigan-Huron level
BAY CITY, Mich. (AP) -- A newly formed coalition is demanding action to raise water levels in Lakes Michigan and Huron.
Restore Our Water International is an alliance of U.S. and Canadian groups worried about declining levels in the two lakes over the past 14 years. Its members represent shoreline property owners and commercial interests.
The chairman is Roger Gauthier, a retired U.S. Army Corps of Engineers hydrologist.
He says dredging and mining in the St. Clair River corridor years ago reduced Lakes Michigan and Huron by at least 20 inches. He says that has combined with a warmer and drier climate to keep the levels abnormally low.
Existing law allows the government to place structures in the river to slow the flow of water out of Lake Huron. But it's never been done.
