Racine---According to a criminal complaint, the man whose pick-up rear-ended a car carrying three members of a family, killing two of them, apparently had been up all night working a third shift job, then had been drinking for much of the following day at a hockey game and at a strip club. The accident on Four Mile Rd. last Friday happened just before five p.m. In court Monday, 25 year-old Levi Ruohonen of Racine was formally charged with two counts of homicide by the intoxicated use of a vehicle. Bond was set at $50,000.
Chicago---The transgender student who's fighting Kenosha Unified over its bathroom usage policy has won another court battle. A federal appeals court is letting stand a preliminary injunction against KUSD that had been issued at the district court level in Milwaukee. The injunction will remain in place until the appeals court in Chicago issues its final ruling. Because of the briefing schedule, and the fact that judges usually take their time in deciding cases, it's possible that a ruling won't come until after Ash Whitaker walks across the stage in June to receive his diploma. One of Whitaker's attorneys said in an email that the Tremper senior was pleased with the Seventh Circuit's decision and that he's doing "really well" this year at school.
County clerks across Wisconsin are making preparations for the statewide recount of ballots cast in the presidential race. The recount has been requested, and is being paid for, by the Green Party. In Kenosha, County Clerk Mary Schuch-Krebs cut short an out-of-town vacation to fly back to lead the effort. The massive ballot-by-ballot hand count is expected to begin at the Job Center this Thursday. As of Monday evening, Racine County Clerk Wendy Christensen was still trying to get a hold of a member of the Board of Canvassers to finalize procedures in her county. In Elkhorn, Walworth County officials put out a news release Monday seeking volunteers for their recount.
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