Recent reports of fisticuffs between members of the Supreme Court call to mind a violent day under the Capitol dome in 1842, when one lawmaker gunned down another on the floor of the Legislature.

During debate, Charles Arndt of Green Bay implied that fellow member James Vineyard had lied on behalf of a political appointee. According to the press, Vineyard responded with "violent and insulting language."

The session was quickly adjourned, but during the break Arndt approached Vineyard's desk and "requested him to retract, which he refused to do, repeating the offensive words." Arndt then raised his hand and hit Vineyard in the head.

Concealed carry was the status quo in territorial Wisconsin, and before anyone could stop him Vineyard "stepped back a pace, drew a pistol, and shot him dead." Arndt reeled back and fell to the floor, dying where he had fallen, about five minutes later.

English novelist Charles Dickens was touring the United States at the time and cited the incident in his book, American Notes, as an example of the "revolting evidences of the state of society" on the American frontier.

The Territorial Council expelled Vineyard, but after a change of venue from Dane County to his own district in Green County, he was tried and acquitted the next year.

Despite having murdered Arndt, Vineyard was elected to represent the Lead Region at the 1846 Constitutional Convention and was re-elected to the Legislature in 1849. In 1850 he followed the Gold Rush to California, where he died in 1863.

- Wisconsin Historical Society, www.wisconsinhistory.org

Two Madison brewpub businesses have stopped selling MillerCoors beers in support of other craft brewers who fear the effects of the beer distribution provisions in the state budget.

MillerCoors is a key supporter of the legislation, along with the Tavern League of Wisconsin and Wisconsin Grocers Association. 

Though brewpubs apparently won't be affected by the legislation, Great Dane Pub and Brewing Co. and Vintage Brewing Co. confirmed this week they had ended sales of MillerCoors brands such as Miller Genuine Draft, Miller Lite, Leinenkugel's, Blue Moon and Molson.

Eliot Butler, Great Dane president, said the Dane's four locations have dropped MillerCoors indefinitely "in solidarity with the (Wisconsin) Brewers Guild and with the craft brewers of Wisconsin."

Sales of MillerCoors were modest at Vintage's West Side brewpub, said Robyn Klinge, spokeswoman and brewer's assistant, but Vintage Spirits & Grill, a traditional bar/restaurant Downtown, sold 18 barrels of MillerCoors a week.

"We wanted to make a statement," she said. "If you hurt them, you hurt us, as far as we're concerned."

A federal regulation that prevents most small meat producers from shipping their products across state lines is being relaxed, and Wisconsin officials are happy.

Meat producers, however, said they're not sure what to make of the new rules.

Donna Gilson, a spokeswoman with the state's agriculture department, said the change will help Wisconsin because it has more small meat producers than any other state does. She also said Wisconsin makes bratwurst and other specialty products that will sell well in other states.

If Milwaukee area retailers want to sell cut-rate alcohol, they better not call it discount liquor, no matter how common or ubiquitous that may sound.

Three stores so far have been ordered to remove the phrase from their signs and names as part of a trademark enforcement campaign by the grandaddy of the genre, Discount Liquor. 

The well-known store on 5031 W. Oklahoma Ave. (the company also has a store at 919 Barstow St. in Waukesha) has been in business since 1968. But last year, it began hearing about some confusion among suppliers, customers and advertisers who thought new stores springing up might be affiliated.

Lawyers from Maistelman & Associates sent out some cease and desist letters and, when those failed to generate compliance, followed with lawsuits.

Frank Greguska, an officer of Discount Liquor, called litigation a last resort.

“However, we could not stand by and allow customers to continue to be confused about whether our business was in any way connected to these other “Discount Liquor” stores,”  he said. 

“We could not risk any damage to our business’s excellent reputation that may have been done by the operator of an unrelated store with a confusingly similar name."

Wisconsin’s official dessert would be the oh-so-sweet cream puff if a bill being circulated in the Legislature gets passed and signed by the governor.

The cream puff movement is being pushed by a fourth-grade class from Clarendon Avenue School in Mukwonago. The students convinced Republican Sen. Mary Lazich to introduce the bill, which she is circulating.

The students started a Facebook page to generate support for the idea, which has gotten the backing of bakeries across the state.

A city ordinance in Hayward that banned outdoor music after 10 p.m. has been ruled unconstitutional. Attorney Glenn Stoddard calls it a victory for live music.

He represents Molly Scheer, whose wine bar was raided while a band was performing outside her establishment two nights after the ban was adopted in September of 2007.

Stoddard says local governments can limit decibel levels in general but cannot ban a particular type of sound like music. He says music is protected as free speech under the First Amendment, but that doesn’t stop communities from limiting both outdoor and indoor music.

Meanwhile, Hayward taxpayers might be left on the hook for compensation. Stoddard says a trial is set for late September on Scheer’s claim of lost profits and reputation damage. The city has not commented.

When a barking dog complaint brought Waunakee police to Robyn Lebron’s home in July, officers learned she had four pets — one more than the village allows.

Not ready to give up cat Gabby or one of three dogs, Natasha, Cleo, and Gizmo, Lebron fought the law and was granted a temporary reprieve. Now village officials are reconsidering the pet limit ordinance that has been in place since the 1980s.

“We thought, why not take a look at the whole dog gone thing,” said Village President John Laubmeier. “We wanted to be as fair with her as we possibly could.”

For her part, Lebron, who could still be forced to surrender one of her pets, said she and her husband never considered pet limits when they moved to Waunakee from Madison about five years ago.

Protections for Wisconsin's cave bats, threatened by a deadly disease that has wiped out some bat populations in the eastern United States, were approved Wednesday by the state Natural Resources Board.

The board voted to declare the state's cave bats threatened and also to designate the fungus that causes the disease a prohibited invasive species. Votes on both measures were unanimous.

White-nose syndrome is a disease characterized by a white fuzz that grows on the bats' fur. It has not shown up in Wisconsin but has been found in Missouri and Ontario. The disease, which first appeared three years ago in New York, weakens and kills bats during the winter while they are hibernating in caves and mines. Wisocnsin has the largest cave bat populations in the Upper Midwest.