More Things Going on Around Town . . .

There was a lot, lot more . . . might have to do this again tomorrow!

PARK(ing) DAY 2012 – BLINK ART
PARK(ing) Day 2012

City of Madison Arts Commission Blink Temporary Art Project

On September 21st in cities around the globe, artists, activists and citizens will temporarily transform metered parking spaces into public parks and other social spaces, as part of an annual event called “PARK(ing) Day.”

Originally invented in 2005 by Rebar, a San Francisco-based art and design studio, PARK(ing) Day challenges people to rethink the way streets are used and reinforces the need for broad-based changes to urban infrastructure. “In urban centers around the world, inexpensive curbside parking results in increased traffic, wasted fuel and more pollution,” says Rebar’s Matthew Passmore. “The planning strategies that generated these conditions are not sustainable, nor do they promote a healthy, vibrant human habitat. PARK(ing) Day is about re-imagining the possibilities of the urban landscape.”

Locally, Aaron Williams with SAA Design Group, a Madison based landscape architecture, engineering, and planning firm, will transform a prominent isthmus parking location (100 Block of MLK Boulevard) into an urban oasis for the Madison Arts Commission’s Blink temporary art program. The park will be equal parts provocation, art and civic function while challenging the notion of ‘artificiality’ in the landscape. PARK(ing) Day will allow for a truly honest gesture of civic engagement and creative expression while stimulating thought regarding the value of our civic spaces.

Since 2005, the project has blossomed into a worldwide grassroots movement: PARK(ing) Day 2010 included more than 800 “PARK” installations in more than 180 cities in 30 countries on six continents. This year, the project continues to expand to urban centers across the globe.

PARK(ing) Day is an “open-source” user-generated invention created by independent groups around the globe who adapt the project to champion creative, social or political causes that are relevant to their local urban conditions. More information regarding local PARK(ing) Day activities can be found at http://my.parkingday.org/profile/SAA and a global map of all participating cities are available on the PARK(ing) Day website, at parkingday.org.

BLINK is an opportunity for experimental, ad-hoc, temporary works of art to sprout up throughout the community and vanish leaving residents and visitors eager to see what is next. Madison neighborhoods and urban areas are open canvases. The possibilities for creations on open spaces, construction sites, and public parks will provide a glimpse of how the world looks through an artist’s eyes. The next Blink application deadline is October 1, 2012.

About SAA (www.saa-madison.com). As professionals committed to innovative practices of landscape architecture, planning and engineering for over 25 years we strive to provide clients with a uniquely collaborative team that identifies comprehensive and holistic project solutions ranging from public parks to urban development planning.

About Rebar (www.rebargroup.org). Founded in 2004 in San Francisco, Rebar is an internationally recognized art and design studio operating at the intersection of art, design and ecology.

RETIREMENT CRISIS MEETING IN STOUGHTON
Many retirees live without having enough money. Many live in poverty. Today’s retirees are the most financially secure retirees we have ever had in the US. That is we are the richest retirees America has even seen except for the super rich that always exist.

But this wealth is NOT going to last. Why? Because many Baby Boomers and younger workers do not have pension systems where they work. Or the companies may only offer a 401(k). Most 401(k)’s are inadequate to obtain financial security.

The best solution to the problem is that ALL private sector workers need to be in a defined benefit retirement system like the WI Retirement System for all public sector workers.

The private sector has proven that is does not want the responsibility of managing pension systems. Thus government must do it.

Join us Thursday, Sept. 27th, at 6:30PM at the River Bluff Middle School, 235 N. Forrest. We will have a town meeting to discuss the coming retirement crisis and talk about what can be done. The state can set up a WI Pension System for All private sector workers and over the coming years vastly improve the financial security for all workers.

But this can only be done by people like YOU taking action. So join us a week from Thursday, bring you kids if you are a retiree, bring your family if you are a worker and discuss and learn what can be done to solve this problem.

Below is the press release I sent out today. I will be leading the discussion and making the presentation.

Please forward this to all your email friends. The room can hold many, many people.

Thank you!

MALLARDS FIREWORKS VIOLATIONS

Wild Warner discovered this summer that the Madison Mallards exploded fireworks outside its ballpark, into the woods and wetland of Warner Park, and increased the number of 3-inch shells. This is a problem in our view, for a number of reasons.

Our group voted to ask the city to keep the fireworks within the ballpark, where they have been for years.

Our statement, with photos presented to the city Parks Commission, is on our blog  You can read it here.

MOVIE ON HEALTH AND NEIGHBORHOOD DESIGN
Movie Event Spotlights Connection Between Health, Neighborhood Design

Capital Region Sustainable Communities (www.CapitalRegionSCRPG.org) and Public Health Madison & Dane County (www.PublicHealthMDC.com/) will host a movie screening and discussion next Tuesday for people interested in the connection between community health and neighborhood design. Are you working to improve community health? Do you wonder how the design of the places where we live, work and play affects our health?

The public is invited to watch the film “Social Policy in Concrete” on Tuesday, September 25 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the Goodman South Madison Branch Library, 2222 South Park Street. The film is part of the PBS series Designing Healthy Communities, which looks at the impact our built environment has on key health outcomes such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, asthma, cancer and depression.

Social Policy in Concrete” connects community design with growing health costs, and highlights some innovative ways that people are addressing these health crises. Learn how community leaders across the U.S. are making the connection between health and neighborhood design, and discuss ways to use this information here at home. The narrator claims that “it is every citizen’s right to live in a clean, healthy environment.” What do you make of this claim? Come and join the conversation!

Capital Region Sustainable Communities (CRSC) is a growing partnership of 36 organizations, governments, and businesses that promotes collaborative efforts to foster sustainable and resilient communities in Dane County. CRSC’s educational events are funded through a three-year, $2 million Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), secured and led by the Capital Area Regional Planning Commission. Read more about the partnership at www.CapitalRegionSCRPG.org.

SOUTHSIDE COMMUNITY NIGHT
South Madison Promise Zone Community Night

Please join us for the Urban League’s South Madison Promise Zone Community Night on Friday, Sept 21 from 7-9 pm at the Urban League (2222 S. Park St). The event is a free community event to be held the third Friday of every month for the whole family.

Please bring your family and join us in watching a children’s movie, playing games, getting your face painted, eating popcorn, reading a book to your child, and getting to know your neighbors. Refreshments and pizza provided!

Meet and Greet the South Side Raiders and Monona Warriors football teams at 6 pm.

For more information please contact Hedi Rudd, hrudd@ulgm.org or 729-1268

UNORTHODOX APPROACHES TO CRIME
NOTE: I don’t know anything about this guy – it could be good approaches or bad, either way, its good to know what he says.

A Talk by David Kennedy

Thursday, Oct 4, 1 – 2:15, Madison College – Truax Theatre

David Kennedy has thought a lot about the problem of crime and why many more young black men are murdered every year than white men. He has spent decades creating new, unorthodox ways of stemming crime – methods that have dramatically cut murder rates in cities from Boston, Pittsburgh, Memphis, High Point, to San Francisco.

Kennedy’s tough, but compassionate strategy stands in sharp contrast to conventional approaches that have resulted in high levels of incarceration, racialized anger and distrust. It’s a strategy that has reset the relationship between police and community.

Come hear about the evolution of this strategy, the human story behind it, and how it’s being implemented in cities and police departments around the country, including Madison.

If you’d like to read more on Kennedy, see NPR’s Fresh Air, The New Yorker and Commonwealth:

http://www.npr.org/2011/11/01/141803766/interrupting-violence-with-the-message-dont-shoot
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/06/22/090622fa_fact_seabrook
http://www.commonwealthmagazine.org/Voices/Conversation/2012/Summer/001-Hold-your-fire.aspx

Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and author of Don’t Shoot: One Man, A Street Fellowship, and the End of Violence in Inner-City America.

ALZHEIMER’S WALK

• We are the first Alzheimer’s organization to host a Memory Cafe in Wisconsin. So much more than a support group, Memory Cafes are places where people with mild cognitive impairment or early-stage Alzheimer’s disease can enjoy the company of others facing similar challenges and learn, laugh and visit together. We offer two cafes – one in Sauk City meeting the third Thursday of each month and the second coming to Middleton on October 5.
•  Our staff presented 237 education programs to 6,400 people, from ABCs of Alzheimer’s & Dementia to We All Forget: Is it normal aging or should I be concerned?
  
• We answered almost 1,800 telephone calls for help and conducted 808 one-on-one care consultations providing personalized, in-depth support.What’s more, those we consult with are grateful that they can talk with the same family care specialist time and again, providing the opportunity to develop and foster a relationship that lends itself to greater support.

HAVE AN EXTRA BIKE?
Dear Neighbors,
Does anyone have an adult bike in good working order that they are willing to donate to some Bhutanese refugees in our community so that they can have transportation to their gardens, shopping, and work? I was introduced to a group of 6 wonderful men this summer who needed community service hours so that they could earn a bike from Wheels for
Winners. I agreed to transport and supervise their work at Vilas Beach removing weeds at access points of the lake and cleaning up the park. After many weeks of hard work they earned their 15 hours of community service making them eligible for a free bike. However, when we went to pick out the much sought out bikes we found that Wheels for Winners, an organization that has been in operation for 20 years, is in dire need of volunteers and had no adult bikes in good condition available. This was very disappointing for these young men. I thought I would reach out to our neighbors hoping to find some bikes that might not be needed. If you have a bike in good working order and are willing to donate it please contact me at 695-7851 (cell) 238- 7177 (home) or send me a note by email. I will make arrangement to pick it up and pass it on to our friends who have helped out our neighborhood. I will also be glad to put you in contact with the recipient of the bike, if you would like.
Thank you very much,
Debi Leeper

TIMEBANK BUILDERS WORKSHOPSM
You are invited…
to two participatory presentations and workshops to explore how we can cooperate to make our local economy more resilient, sustainable and enjoyable while strengthening our own local businesses.

Healthy Community Economy Part I: Building Blocks
Thursday, September 20, 4-6pm
at the US Bank Conference Room, 1 S. Pinckney, Madison

What tools are available now to make a healthy economy that creates abundance and values everyone? Business-to-business mutual credit, timebanking, community-directed granting and lending, community currency, and many other tools are being used around the world. We’ll learn what works for what purposes, identify our own local needs and begin a discussion about how we’ll connect and expand on various kinds of cooperative economic tools to make a more stable, abundant and sustainable local economy.

Followed by:
Healthy Community Economy Part II: Building
Thursday, October 18 4-6pm, 1 S. Pinckney

How will we use those tools to create inclusive abundance here? This workshop will be a very interactive process where we’ll take steps to operationalize our new healthier economy.

Hosted by Dane County TimeBank and Build For the World

Please rsvp to info@danecountytimebank.org. If you forget to rsvp feel free to come anyway!

WHAT’S UP WITH THE BIKE BOXES ON WILLY
From Arthur Ross – Ped/Bike Coordinator for the city:
The red material used for the bike box was wearing out and needed repair. Green is the only federally approved color that we can use for bicycle facilities, so (1) the red is being replaced with green, and (2) we are using a different material that is (a) less slippery when wet, and (b) easier to install and repair as it wears. The material is colored recycled glass (no, it won’t cause flats, it is not sharp) embedded in an epoxy/glue type base. This is the same material we have used in the bike box on Dayton and Park, and in the eastbound bike lane on University Avenue in the campus area, and similar to that used at the intersection of the Southwest Path at Monroe/Regent Streets. Let me know if you have further questions.

RIVER FOOD PANTRY GETS PACKER PACKAGE FOR CHARITY AUCTION
UNIQUE PACKER GAME EXPERIENCE DONATED TO THE RIVER FOOD PANTRY’S CHARITY AUCTION

Madison, Wis. – Monday, September 17, 2012: One lucky Green Bay Packer fan will have the opportunity to attend the tailgate party of a lifetime with the winning bid at The River Food Pantry’s upcoming Harvest Dinner for Hunger on Wednesday, October 10.

Steve “The Owner” Tate, Madison resident and Packer Superfan, has donated a Packer Game Tailgate Package for The River Food Pantry’s upcoming Harvest Dinner for Hunger charity auction. The package includes one ticket to a December Green Bay Packer home game, the ride to Lambeau Field and a pre-game tailgate. While the face value of the auction item is about $150, for one Packer fan, the experience will be hard to put a price tag on.

Not only will the highest bidder get to attend a game, but, as Steve described it, “The time at Lambeau Field is, need I say…PRICELESS and then there is time with me (The OWNER) and other ultimate Packer fans like Acme Packer, The Ultimate Packer Fan, The Titletown #1 Clown and others.” Dressed in a full Packer uniform, minus the pads, with the NFL OWNER cheese wedge atop his head, Tate is a recognized figure at the games and is often sought out by TV cameras.

Many dream of simply attending a Packer game, but for one lucky winner, this trip will be Packer mania in all its green and gold glory and all for a good cause. All proceeds generated from the Packer Game Tailgate Package, as well as the rest of the auction items and ticket sales for the Harvest Dinner for Hunger, will help The River Food Pantry provide food for thousands of hungry families in Dane County.

Tate has been a long-time friend of The River Food Pantry and volunteers for a pantry session almost every week.

One must attend the Harvest Dinner for Hunger for the chance to bid on the trip. Go to www.riverfoodpantry.org/harvestdinner for more information about the event and to purchase tickets.

The fundraiser comes at a crucial time for The River Food Pantry as the last few months of the year bring food shortages and very high food costs. All proceeds from the event will be used to purchase and distribute food to the hundreds of needy families that come to The River for help each week. The River, Dane County’s busiest food pantry, serves 600 Dane County families every week and distributes 30,000 pounds of food. Every $10 raised will allow The River to give away $100 worth of food.

About The River Food Pantry
The River Food Pantry was created in 2006 to serve the low income neighborhoods concentrated along Northport Drive and the Northeast side of Madison, but the pantry is open to all Dane County residents. They are located in an 11,000 square foot warehouse at the end of Northport Drive at 2201 Darwin Road, Madison, Wisc. The River provides pantry assistance, hot nutritious meals, clothing and household goods and furniture. Serving over 2600 families per month, The River is Dane County’s busiest food pantry. Find out more information at www.riverfoodpantry.org or call at 608-442-8815.

MASQUERADE BENEFIT FOR CANOPY
I’m writing to personally invite you to attend Lift the Mask, a masquerade benefit for Canopy Center (formerly Parental Stress Center). It is on Friday, October 12th, 7:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. at the Brink Lounge (701 E. Washington Ave.) Tickets are only $40 before Oct. 5th or $50 at the door.

We can’t wait for you to see the items we have to bid on at our silent auction!

Some of the incredible items include:

A stunning diamond necklace from Kessler’s Diamonds
An autographed football from the Green Bay Packers
Wine tasting tours from Von Stiehl Winery and Spurgeon Vineyards & Winery
2 VIP movie passes to Sundance Cinema
Concert tickets to the Madison Symphony Orchestra
A one year subscription to Madison Magazine
And lots more!

Entertainment for the evening will be Piano Fondue, a dueling piano group. Ask them to play a song, any song! Market Street Diner is providing the appetizers. It should be an amazing night with good food, great entertainment and lots of fun. I really hope to see you there!

To purchase tickets, learn more about the event, or to see a video of Piano Fondue in action, just go to http://www.canopycenter.org/LiftTheMask/LiftTheMask.aspx.

NORTHSIDE AWARDS
North Star Awards November 2, 2012

Here are three ways you can join the celebration!

1. Nominate an unsung hero!

2. Become a Sponsor!

3. Join us on Friday, November 2 at Warner Park Community & Recreation Center 6-8 pm (tasty hors d’oeuvres served) to celebrate Northsiders!

For more information and forms for NORTH STAR AWARD NOMINATIONS and SPONSORSHIPS please go to
http://northsidemadison.org/north-star-awards-2012