Things going on around town.
Stop the Cuts – Save UW Rally, February 14th
Madison, WI–On February 14, the anniversary of the first large demonstration in response to Act 10 in 2011, a group of UW faculty and staff, under the banner of UW Faculty Organizing for Change, will demonstrate in opposition to Governor Scott Walker’s budget proposal, which includes a $300 million cut in funding to the UW System. The “Stop the Cuts–Save UW” rally will be held at noon on Library Mall, and organizers expect a large turnout. Invitations to the event have circulated widely on social media.
At the rally, several speakers will address the crowd:
Rep. Chris Taylor
Karma Chávez (faculty, UW-Madison)
Lane Hall (faculty, UW-Milwaukee)
Deshawn McKinney (undergrad, UW-Madison)
Jeremy Beloungy (staff, UW-Madison, AFSCME 171)
Bob Peterson, Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association President
Representatives from United Faculty and Academic Staff and Wisconsin University UnionThe unprecedented cut, $300 million over two years, poses a grave threat to the future of the entire UW system. This radical reduction in state funding, which has been declining steadily for forty years, will prevent Wisconsin’s public universities from providing high quality and affordable education.
“The state of Wisconsin is at a crossroads,” said Professor Karma Chávez. “We need to decide whether affordable and high quality public universities are the vital resource they have always been to Wisconsinites, or if the UW System is worth giving up, to be replaced by something inferior or to shut down access in some parts of the state altogether. Clearly, the Walker administration has chosen the latter.”
The group also expressed concerns about changes to tenure and shared governance for faculty, staff, and students.
The proposed legislation would move authority over those matters from state law to the Board of Regents. Under Walker’s proposal, the Board of Regents would become a “public authority” with the power to modify or revoke tenure and faculty governance. These rights are currently protected under state law. Sixteen of the board’s eighteen members are appointed by the governor. All sixteen will be Walker-appointees by 2017.
“The conversion of the University of Wisconsin System to a public authority represents a major power grab by the governor,” said Professor Richard Grusin, director of the Center for 21st Century Studies at UW-Milwaukee. “Under Walker’s budget, virtually every aspect of university governance – curriculum, personnel, facilities, tuition and fees – will be at the whim of the governor-appointed Board of Regents.”
Stoughton TIF Referendum Needs Help!
Hello Central WI Grassroots Folks!
Can you help feed the roots some fertilizer and I don’t mean BS.
We have 7 days left to gather 400 signatures on the petition for this referendum question:
Question: Should the City of Stoughton adopt the proposed ordinance requiring the City to conduct a referendum when the City proposes borrowing more than $1 million for a proposed or approved Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) district? Yes __ No __
Statement of General Purpose of the Proposed Ordinance: The ordinance will require 1) that the city will have to ask voter approval in a referendum of all proposed Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) borrowing that exceeds $1 million, 2) that any borrowing proposed for a large scale retail or commercial TIF development will require that an economic and fiscal impact analysis (EFIA) be prepared regarding the development and presented to the voters prior to a referendum, with specific standards established for the EFIA, 3) that the city must follow a citizen input and transparency process, 4) that the city must decide that the proposed development is “in the best interests of the city” by a two thirds vote of the council prior to conducting the borrowing referendum, and 5) that the city is required during the Joint Review Board (JRB) approval process to provide the data and justify that the city has met each of the JRB “standards of review” recommended by the WI Department of Revenue.
Grassrooters can you help us for an hour or so to phone bank starting Thursday or Friday? We are trying to stop massive corporate welfare here in Stoton.
Below is my call for volunteers!
Thanks and Peace!
Buzz Davis, Stoton Fwd., 608-239-5354******
Hello Dems & Progressives!
We need to make a simple reminder call to about 650 homes regarding the petition drive.
If you are willing to make some calls, I can send you a list of 50 names and tel. numbers. You call in the next few days. Most will not answer so you just leave a message to remind them to sign and circulate their petitions.
Just email me back if you with to made such an investment in advancing democracy here in Stoton.
Northside Planning Council Update
The Northside Planning Council (NPC) was pleased to host a Mayoral Candidate Forum on Feb. 9th with over 100 attendees. We apologize to the yoga class that moved to another room for us! All the candidates shared their ideas and clearly all have a passion for our great city. After the forum, NPC received a few questions, and we are grateful for the opportunity to provide some more information.
The city’s Community Development Block Grant office did channel federal funding that helped build the FEED Kitchens, which is owned and operated by NPC. With a model as innovative and unique to Madison as FEED, we were not able to accurately predict the first year’s revenue and expenses, a risk we understood when taking on this project. Our recent decision to layoff our executive director was a proactive measure to ensure that we could put our resources towards making FEED sustainable during these early stages. It was unrelated to any city policies or actions.
We are very proud of the work of the NPC, including FEED, the Northside News, recent Race to Equity Forum, Youth Council, and multiple other projects. We are proud that we have the continuing support of the members of our community, the city, and our partners. Thank you all for your continued support.
We are always open to collaborating with the city to help improve the quality of life for all Northside residents.
Hope that’s helpful.
Sincerely,Nikki Sanders, NPC Chair and the NPC Board of Directors
Safe Annual Breakfast Communities Breakfast
Thursday March 12, 2015 from 7:30 AM to 9:30 AM
Goodman Community Center – 149 Waubesa StreetThe Safe Communities Annual Breakfast Meeting is a time for those with a stake in community safety to gather for a short check-in over breakfast to reflect upon the accomplishments of the previous year, plan for the future, refresh and celebrate.
We hope you will be able to take time out of your busy schedule to join us! Registration is open now, please click the link below to register and RSVP.
Get more information Register Now! I can’t make it If you have any questions about how to register or for more information, please contact Safe Communities at 608-441-3060, or e-mail info@safercommunity.net
We look forward to seeing you at our event!
Sincerely,
Cheryl Wittke
Black Lives Matter Speakers Series
Opal Tometi
The #Blacklivesmatter Praxis: Why We are the Ones We Are Waiting ForFriday February 13th at 5:00
750 University Ave
UW Elvehjem Room L160Hope you can come and see Opal as part of the Black Lives Matter Spring Series put on by Young Gifted and Black, Comparative US Studies, and the Haven’s Center.
Opal Tometi is the Executive Director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), an organization that educates and advocates for immigrant rights and racial justice with African-Americans, Afro-Latinos, African and Caribbean immigrant communities. As a first generation Nigerian-American who was born and raised in Arizona, Opal has been active in the migrant rights movement for more than 10 years.
Along with Alicia Garza and Patrisse Cullors, Opal founded Black Lives Matter as a call to action for Black people after 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was posthumously placed on trial for his own murder while his killer, George Zimmerman, was not held accountable for the crime he committed. Opal was the 2012 recipient of the ‘Unsung Hero for Justice’ Award by the African American Legislative and Leadership Conference of Arizona.
Opal will deliver “The #BlackLivesMatter Praxis: Why we are the ones we’ve been waiting for” on Friday, Feb 13 at 5 pm in Elvehejm L160.
This talk is free and open to the public. Please email Karma at krchavez@wisc.edu with questions.
Lets Eat Out, Mad City Bazaar, Public Market
(this was considered at Parks Commission last night)
Hello, TLNA neighbors!
One of the projects I’m involved with is MadCity Bazaar an urban pop-up flea market. This season, MCB will operate in the parking lot of the Fiore Shopping Center in the heart of the planned Madison Market District. MCB is being consciously promoted in collaboration with the City as the beginning of the Public Market.
I recently joined the board of Let’s Eat Out! which will organize food cart vendors for MCB events this season. LEO has also planned these Burr Jones Sessions which will be discussed at the Parks’ Commission meeting tomorrow.
MCB and LEO are 100% committed to making sure these events add value to the neighborhood and to reducing any negative impacts on neighbors. These events are meant to raise money to support LEO’s food cart mentoring program that recruits at-risk youth to learn the business. Just to be clear, the scale of LEO’s events is much smaller than these other well-established multi-day neighborhood festivals that draw fairly large crowds.
One goal of these MCB and LEO events is to help prompt more community based discussions about the planned Madison Market District. While sited mostly in the Emerson East neighborhood, the broader “district” concept now emerging suggests development may occur at locations all around the Fleet-n-Fiore properties. TLNA neighbors, especially those at the ends of Mifflin and Dayton, need to be empowered to make sure their voices are heard as things move forward.
Regarding folks’ immediate concerns, we can definitely keep the volume down and respect neighbors’ reasonable expectations in that regard. Maybe we could start a decibel monitoring project to measure our sound levels at different points in the area as events are occurring. I’m thinking there’s got to be an easy way to check it using a smart phone app or something, right?
More broadly, TLNA and the other NAs adjacent to the site need to begin thinking about how they want to shape development of this District. I met with EENA last week and they are currently working with the Alders and City to develop some citizen engagement events in March and April. I’m happy to attend an upcoming TLNA meeting to share more information about all this stuff if folks want.
Rest assured, we consider TLNA a critical community partner and want to ensure you have a voice in this whole process. I’m happy to act as a point of contact for the group or individual neighbors to stay in the loop on all this if that’s helpful!
Thanks in advance for your interest and support!
Yours most sincerely-
Joe Mingle
332-1493
249-9699
Cornucopia
Open Daily 10 – 3
The good news for adults that are experiencing homelessness and mental health challenges is that Cornucopia is no longer charging dues! Cornucopia is located at 2 S. Intersoll, phone number is 249-7477.
Our hours are Monday through Friday 10 am until 3 pm, and a group on Sundays for those that identify as being a woman from 11 am until 3 pm. This is an excellent way to get out of the cold during the day, do some art, get support and social connections.
Have a great day!
Karen Herro, BSN, RN, CPS
Warner Park Bird and Nature Walk
Bird and Nature Walk • Sunday, February 15
• 1:30-3:00pm • Warner Park Shelter
Free, family-friendly, nature, recreation, and education! To celebrate Madison being formally recognized as a Bird City, Madison Parks, in collaboration with other organizations, will offer free monthly bird and nature walks.Meet at the colorful Warner Park Shelter by the lagoon near the Warner Park Community Recreation Center. Parking is available nearby. Free, family-friendly, winter, nature, recreation outing! Have a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy the wild side of Warner Park in winter from the natural lagoon ice rink to the upper prairie sledding hill. Bring the kids and your choice of nature recreation gear for sledding, snowshoeing, skating, and cross-country skiing. Dogs are ok on this walk, but must be on a leash unless in the dog park area. Volunteer co-leaders welcome. Contact: Paul Noeldner (608) 698-0104. Walks at Warner Park are the 3rd Sunday of every month, and are co-sponsored by Madison Bird City partners: Wild Warner, Madison Audubon, and Madison Parks.
Sandhill Crane Hunt/Expanded Dogs on Bears Southward in WI and more/Annual DNR 82nd Election of SOLE ADVISORY TO LEGISLATURE Monday April 13
Here is the upcoming Monday, April 13, 2015 questionnaire and question # 24 is again to propose a hunting season on sandhill cranes, then expand the area of the state run by dogs on bears to kill them southward throughout central Wisconsin, trapping expansion to 24 hours on all public lands ( devastating to wildlife ), endless fishing “refuge” removals and fish season tweaking to get through before citizens can vote on issues of more importance to them ( it is all important but the hunters try to discourage those who are not in their camp by boring them to death with fish):http://dnr.wi.gov/About/WCC/
Documents/spring_hearing/2015/ 2015SpringQuestionnaire.pdf QUESTION 24
Sandhill crane hunting season (360114, 550114)There are 700,000 sandhill cranes in North America and 17 states have hunting seasons including two statesin our flyway: Kentucky and Tennessee. A management plan approved by 31 states and Canadian provincesin eastern North America established that the Eastern Population of sandhill cranes was large enough to behunted and established a process for a state to apply for a limited quota based hunting season. In Wisconsin,the state legislature must approve a quota–based hunting season on sandhill cranes before the DNR candevelop a season.24.Do you think Wisconsin should have a sandhill crane hunting season?24.YES____NO__
***Please let me know if you can make an educational effort. Some 82 years of special interest control is taking a dire toll on the balance of and existence of life. Lead shot left in the environment kills over a million songbirds in Wisconsin and countless water and predator birds. From the Mass Extinction Underway web site:
http://www.mysterium.com/extinction.html
UN: ACCELERATING BIODIVERSITY LOSS A “FUNDAMENTAL THREAT” TO “SURVIVAL OF HUMANKIND” (U.N./IPBES– 2013)HUMAN ACTIVITY HAS PUSHED EARTH BEYOND 4 OF 9 “PLANETARY BOUNDARIES” INCLUDING SPECIES EXTINCTION RATE (Washington Post– 2015)
EARTH HAS LOST 50% OF ITS WILDLIFE IN PAST 40 YEARS (WWF– 2014)
INVERTEBRATE POPULATIONS DOWN 45% IN LAST 35 YEARS (U.K. Independent– 2014)
SALT-WATER FISH EXTINCTION SEEN BY 2048 (Science Magazine– 2014)
Monday, April 13 at 6:30 p.m. in every county in Wisconsin is the election of 2 of 5 delegates per county to “represent” all citizens in the sole advisory to the legislature, DNR, and Natural Resources Board in governing our public lands, waterways, extraction in mining and fracking, and wildlife. It has been dominated 99% by one special interest: hunters/trappers/hounders. Studies show that wildlife watchers and peaceful citizens have purchased 94% of our public lands, and pay into non-profits 88% of their revenue – yet we are totally not represented. We are looking for humane people who care about the earth and web of life that sustains all of us to run as candidates in every county. If you know people who would run ( 2 per county – a 2-year and 3-year position ), I was a Dane county delegate 1999-2002 and can explain how little time and effort it involves to help nature and wildlife in this time of mass extinction and threat to life on earth. Contact me at Madravenspeak@gmail.com.
For those of you willing to run as candidates, I am thinking we devise a simple questionnaire centered on the sandhill cranes, trapping, bears, and the wolf hunt to take out to the street of major educated centers in our county and as we find people who agree with us, commit them to attending the April 13 election to vote for us. In most counties, just 200 people showing up to vote for a candidate would take that county. In many small rural counties – the attendance is only 20-40 people annually. A couple of weekends of street campaign and conversation should be able to educate and locate those people giving us an email list to build on.
You can look at the 2014 results of voting by county here: http://dnr.wi.gov/about/wcc/
documents/spring_hearing/2014/ 2014_countyresults.pdf ( The first statistic under each county is the total attendance for that county – then you can look at how they voted on issues like white deer and tundra swan kills to see how dominated by hunters – or not – is that county ). The attendance should give an idea of how many people it would take to win election in that county. Add 20 and set to work!
What do you think? Would you be willing to run for election and find a running mate for your county? Would you be willing to campaign for it ?Patricia
Neighborhood House Meal and Movie
Hello!
Neighborhood House presents another Movie and Meal Night this Friday, February 13. Ian’s Pizza will be donating the meal, and we’ll be watching How to Train Your Dragon II. The entire event is free!Meal served at 6:00pm.
Movie starts at 6:30pm.See you there!
MonicaNeighborhood House Community Center
29 South Mills Street
608.255.5337
Midwest Tar Sands and Petroleum Summit February 21 in Madison
Madison Action for Mining Alternatives
Contact: Patricia Hammel (608) 279-4136; patricia@herricklaw.net
Or: Carl Sack (608) 712-8335; carl@wnpj.orgMidwest Summit Teaches About Tar Sands and Bakken Pipeline Risks Feb. 21
Winona LaDuke of Honor the Earth, Minnesota, Jane Kleeb of Bold Nebraska and Ed Fallon of Fallon Forum Iowa To Speak about Oil Transport RisksWhile the conflict over building the last northern link of the Keystone XL pipeline continues in Washington DC and communities in its path, the Midwest is becoming the transportation hub for tar sands oil from Alberta Canada and Bakken shale oil from North Dakota to refineries and ports in the Great Lakes and Gulf Coast of the US. Enbridge Energy’s Pipeline 61, already carrying tar sands “dilbit” across Wisconsin, may triple its capacity and pressure to carry. 1.2 million barrels of tar sands oil daily, even more than the 860,000 barrels TransCanada wants to send through the Keystone XL line across Nebraska, South Dakota and four other plains states. Other pipelines are proposed to cross Minnesota and Iowa.
Pipeline spills have disastrous impacts on watersheds, wildlife and human health. Enbridge’s Line 6B burst in Marshall, Michigan in July 2010 causing the largest online oil spill in US history into the Kalamazoo river. Federal authorities imposed millions in penalties on the Canadian company for failing to clean up their mess. Last month’s spill of Bakken oil into the Yellowstone River in Wyoming and Exxon’s 2013 Mayflower Arkansas tar sands spill tell us that oil companies are still not protecting our land and water from oil spills. Continuing pipeline construction threatens accelerated climate change from fracking and tar sands extraction and destruction of the clean water our communities need to live.
On Saturday, February 21 Madison organizations will hold a Midwest Tar Sands and Bakken Oil Summit from 1:00 to 9:30 p.m. at the Pyle Center on Langdon Street at the University of Wisconsin. The event is free and open to the public. Winona LaDuke, Ojibwe activist and author of Honor the Earth based on the White Earth reservation in northern Minnesota, has been fighting the Enbridge Alberta Clipper tar sands line and the Enbridge Sandpiper line which would send fracked Bakken crude oil across fragile northern ecosystems, and Jane Kleeb, a rancher and director of Bold Nebraska, has mounted a national campaign against Keystone XL led by farmers and indigenous people trying to protect the Oglala aquifer. Other speakers include Ed Fallon of Fallon Forum-Iowa where a Texas company is seeking to build a Bakken oil line across the state, and activists from Michigan and Wisconsin.
Sponsors of the summit include Grassroots Pipeline Awareness Group, Madison Action for Mining Alternatives, 350.org Madison, Milwaukee and Minnesota, 100 Grannies for a Liveable Future, Family Farm Defenders, Four Lakes Sierra Club, Midwest Tar Sands Group, Union Cab of Madison, Midwest Environmental Advocates, Wisconsin Tar Sands Action Coalition and Wisconsin Safe Energy Alliance.
MNA Chili Dinner 2015
Saturday, March 7 at 5:00pm
Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center, 953 Jenifer Street
The Marquette Neighborhood Association will hold its annual Chili Dinner to raise money for the Peat-Piper scholarships on Saturday, March 7st at the Wilmar Center. Dinner served from 5pm-9:00pm. The North Westerns, an old time jazz/western swing band,, will provide music from 7-8:30 p.m.MNA’s annual Chili Dinner offers meat & veggie chilis and all the fixin’s, donated by the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center, Lazy Jane’s, Eldorado Grill, Batch Bakehouse, Madison Sourdough, Smokin’ Cantina, Jenifer Street Market, Star Liquor and Ground Zero. Tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for pre-teens.
The North Westerns, an old time jazz/western swing band,, will provide music from 7-8:30 p.m.
The MNA/Peat-Piper Scholarship Fund awards four $1000 scholarships to students graduating from high school or its equivalent. The scholarships provide money for post-secondary education for children with “significant ties” to the Marquette Neighborhood who demonstrate financial need. Significant ties may include having lived, worked, volunteered, attended school, or participated in community programming in the Marquette Neighborhood.
Hope to see you there!
MIFFLIN NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING
PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AT 114-116 N. BEDFORD STREET
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2015 – 7:00 PM
MADISON SENIOR CENTER – 330 W. MIFFLIN STREETPlease join me for a neighborhood meeting where we will discuss an updated development proposal by CA Ventures. They propose to demolish the Negus Container Company building at 114-116 N. Bedford Street and construct a 256,968 square foot residential building consisting of an eight-story and a ten-story tower. The project would include a total of 191 apartment units. There would be two parking levels with 89 automobile, 36 moped, 220 interior bike and 26 outdoor bike parking spaces. Additionally, the development will include a coffee shop.
I look forward to seeing you on the 16th.
Alderperson Mike Verveer
Madison Common Council
Fourth District
Cell: (608) 576-4355
Home: (608) 255-6498
Office: (608) 266-4071
mverveer@cityofmadison.com
