Madison Media Digest: Education, Community and Government

Here’s what we were reading while riding a snowmobile on a newly opened trail

Education

Madison Metropolitan School District faces an $8.5M budget shortfall, which likely will lead to staff cuts. A school set up to help Madisonians get their GEDs is underperforming. Is Madison welcoming enough to low-income students? A Memorial High School student won Wisconsin’s spot in the finals of a design contest sponsored by Google. Students at Mendota Elementary helped author a City Council resolution. Lowell Elementary is celebrating its 100th birthday. 

Community

Former Madison poet laureate Fabu kicks off Black History Month events at Madison’s public libraries. Is competition holding the city back as it tries to improve its racial climate? A new newspaper, the Ambassador Times Journal will focus on news, announcements and stories by and for neighborhoods of color in Madison. The Northside will have a new grocery store when Pierce’s lease expires.  The Encore Studio for the Performing Arts puts on shows with casts of varying abilities. The Madison Christian Giving Fund awarded $120,000 in funds to faith-based agencies in Madison. We discussed the group’s plans this summer. Madison Ballet can’t afford to continue its season. An East Side development on at a former fertilizer factory has replaced previously contaminated soil with different contaminated fill, adding costs to the project.

Government

A proposed homeless day center faces planning and budgeting issues. Madison will study jail diversion programs. Madison plans a special court to help people deal with fines incurred related to homelessness. Dane County Executive Joe Parisi opposes a proposed renovation of Alliant Energy Center. Madison launched a grant program to help retail businesses along State Street. Maybe Mayor Paul Soglin is right about the availability of alcohol in Downtown Madison, wonders Chris Rickert

The U.S. Postal Service is considering two downtown locations for a permanent new home. A South Side neighborhood group is appealing a decision to allow a development on Broadway, citing density concerns. Chris Rickert says NIMBYism knows no bounds.

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