If you’ve seen me lately, you may have noticed I”ve been unusually quiet (except for the terrible hacking cough) . . . cuz I pretty much lost my voice and have been sick for the last two weeks. This sucks. And so do my round ups . . . but I’m starting to feel better and will try to keep up!
STUDENT NEWSPAPER HELL IS BACK
In the last 24 hours, I’ve counted 5 errors in the 5 student newspaper articles I have read, 3 of them in the headlines. I seriously worry about the three years I spent on campus reading the paper and how messed up my world view is as a result of relying on the papers. Here’s my 5 errors from the past (less than) 24 hours, that I happened to notice, not that I even tried to find them, several of them are fixed.
1. This headline originally talked about “Edgewood” not “Edgewater”
2. This headline made it sound like the TIF amendment failed at Board of Estimates, but it has been fixed, it originally said “Council members deny TID expansion” now it says “TID expanded at Board of Estimates meeting”
3. This article talks about . . . well, several things poorly, but it was the North Transfer Point, not the East Transfer Point. I find it interesting what they sometimes focus on and then completely miss the news part of the meeting.
4. This headline says that there is $18M in TIF, but its $16M. Hopefully they can fix that.
5. This article, I’m quoted wrong, among other things, like 21 days from August 15th is not Tuesday, it was a week ago.
I really avoid reading the student papers, especially in the beginning of the year, to avoid brain damage. I know they are students and have to learn some how, I just wish it wasn’t so painful and the rest of the students weren’t victims of it. And, its extra dangerous now, as they cover a whole lot more than the Wisconsin State Journal and the Cap Times and sometimes are the only source of news on local issues. I really appreciate all their effort in that regard, I just wish is was a little more accurate.
DARN
Well, at least I don’t have to make the difficult decision about Dianne Hesselbein (who I endorsed before Manski announced) and Ben Manski, but I think it would have been a great race focused on the issues that are important. Now . . . well, I’m pretty disappointed in the message coming out of the Hulsey camp which appears to be nothing more than you have to vote for me, I’m the Democrat. I’m especially disappointed in Spencer Black’s comment.
MANIACI IN TROUBLE
Apparently, the Mayor thinks so. And telling the press.
He also said Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, will likely face a tough challenge in April 2011’s election as a result of her controversial support of the Edgewater project.
MOVE TO AMEND!
This opinion probably isn’t surprising coming from the Cap Times, but important nonetheless. They need help getting the signatures, so sign up!
MESSAGE SENT BY HARLEY DAVIDSON EMPLOYEES
I think the message is . . . in this economy, you can get the unions to do about anything to save their jobs . . . corporations should strike now. And according to the State Journal, government should also keep the handouts for businesses coming. Are you feeling trickled on . . .
BEST WATER IN THE STATE?
Not Madison.
OPEN ENROLLMENT AND MADISON SCHOOLS
I like Ed’s explanation:
Board members expressed their discomfort with the recommendation for a 3% cap on students leaving through open enrollment. We are much more interested in addressing the concerns that prompt families to open enroll out of their neighborhood schools than we are in trying to tell some families that they can’t pursue the school options that they believe are best for their kids.
CITY SPENDING OUT OF CONTROL
Wow, the mayor likes his legacy projects . . . check out how spending has increased during his tenure for capital projects (i.e. things he can point to and say “I did that.”). $33.6 million? 88.7 million? What’s the difference?
MONKEYS, ARE IMPORTANT, BUT SO IS IMMIGRATION . . .
Ok, monkeys are important, but where’s the pressure for the Board to vote on the Immigration Task Force Report that seems to have disappeared . . . .
SHOW ME!
Ok, where’s the 90 page report? Sorry, I’m not falling for the sales job, where is this agreement between Hammes and the Unions? I have asked for it . . . but I didn’t get a serious response from Dunn, or the report. Let’s see it and see how good it really is, now that the press conference is over and people are done congratulating themselves.
MAHONEY’S STAY AT THE SPA
Yeah, you should pay for that! Too bad it takes complaints to get people to do the right thing . . .
POLITICIANS MAKE BAD LANDLORDS
Brett Davis isn’t the only one, just the latest and “greatest”. And right on the block I live on!
CITY DOESN’T CARE ABOUT THESE TENANTS
Wow, sounds like these tenants didn’t get much notice, but its hard to tell from the article. I wonder where they will go . . . displacing the tenants will just drive them where . . . and will the problems follow?
25% CLOSE ENOUGH, NOW PAVE IT!
Seriously? Who cares about the artifacts?! Who cares about Wisconsin and native American history? Build the road! That’s just sick.
HELP IMPROVE ATWOOD AND FAIR OAKS
Dear Concerned Neighbors,
We would like to make our voices heard! Please take a moment to read the petition regarding improving safety at the intersection of Atwood Ave. and Fair Oaks Ave. If you support this effort, please sign the petition and forward it to interested neighbors. We are preparing to meet with City officials again and we want to make sure they know how important this issue is in our community.Just click on the following link to view the petition:
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Atwood/petition.html
MedDrop
MedDrop Event, Saturday, October 2
Saturday, October 2, is the date of the next MedDrop event. This is a free, drive-through service where you can bring medicine that has expired or is no longer needed. It will be conducted from 9am to 1pm at three locations: Middleton High School, Sennet Middle School in Madison, and the West Side Community Building in Sun Prairie. This is a safe way to keep unwanted medicines out of the environment and away from children and others who may accidentally take them or abuse them. For more information, check out the attached flyer or go to www.meddropdane.org.
FIRETRUCK PARADE
Every kid’s dream come true!
Sunday, October 3 from 1:00 -3:00 pm over 40 Fire Trucks from Dane County area Fire Departments will parade up State Street. The parade begins at 1:00 pm at State and Lake Streets. The parade will proceed up State Street, finishing at the State Capitol. Children can meet the firefighters and sit on the fire trucks following the parade. Sponsored by Dane County Fire Chief’s Association and the City of Madison Fire Department.
FINAL ROUND OF BRUSH COLLECTION
The Streets Division will begin the final round of brush collection on Monday September 20th. East side crews will start the last round in the Monday refuse collection district while the west side crews will start in the Tuesday area.
“Every neighborhood in the city will receive one more brush collection, starting Monday,” Madison recycling coordinator said. “It is our goal to be done with brush collection by October 15th so we can assign the crews to leaf collection. However, we will continue to collect brush until this final round is done.”
Madison residents should get their brush trimmed and to the curb as soon as possible to avoid missing the final collection of the season. You can get updated information on when crews are expected in your area by calling 267-2088 or by going to www.cityofmadison.com/streets .
Madison residents can also bring their brush to the Streets Division’s drop off sites at 1501 W. badger Rd and 4602 Sycamore Av. The sites are open seven days a week from 8:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. and on Tuesday and Thursday they are open until 8 p.m.
“This was the first year that brush was not collected on a scheduled basis,” Dreckmann said. “Under the old schedule system each neighborhood received seven collections. This year we will provide each neighborhood with eight rounds of collection.”
So far this year the Streets Division has collected 6,095 tons of brush compared to 5,820 for all of 2009.
MEETING ON 113 RECONSTRUCTION NEXT YEAR
Tomorrow night with everything else!
Madison residents will have a chance to weigh in Thursday night on the final design concept for a major street reconstruction project scheduled for the north side next year. The state Department of Transportation will conduct a public information meeting on Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at the Warner Park community room, 1625 Northport Drive. The reconstruction project for Wisconsin 113 will stretch from First and Johnson Streets north on Pennsylvania Avenue to Packers Avenue to Northport Drive, ending at Knutson Road. The work will replace deteriorated pavement and add safety improvements such as bicycle lanes, street lighting and more crosswalks. Maps showing proposed improvement alternatives will be on display at the public information meeting, and state and city officials will be on hand to discuss the project and answer questions. For more information, contact DOT project manager Mike Rampetsreiter at 246-7917. Written comments can be mailed to Mike Rampetsreiter, WisDOT, 2101 Wright St., Madison, WI 53704-2583.
