Madison Media Digest: Education, Development & Environment, Community

Here’s what we were reading while eating french fries from the UW Hospital Cafeteria while we still can:

Education

Teachers are unhappy with the new school discipline policy, saying students are out of control and the schools haven’t hired enough staff to implement it. Others are optimistic, but believe improvements will take time. Chris Rickert says having the right staff is key to the policy’s success. The school board also approved a tax hike to fund its operations, 6-1, with Mary Burke casting the lone no vote. In a separate vote, teacher’s base salaries were raised. A Madison elementary school teacher also won a $25,000 grant for being an excellent teacher.

Development and Environment

The proposal for the Judge Doyle Square hotel has been scaled back to one with fewer rooms requiring less public subsidy. The proposal is expected to be presented to the council and mayor this spring. Twenty-one acres of state-owned land in the Hill Farms neighborhood may soon be redeveloped. The state issued a request for proposals for a private developer to build a new 600,000-square-foot office building on land that currently houses the Department of Transportation building. A proposed development in Fitchburg is raising concerns about the impact on local water quality. Some are worried about runoff in an area near Lake Waubesa, the Nine Springs E-Way, and Swan creek. A decision on whether or not to move forward will happen in November.

To fight the Emerald Ash Borer, the City plans to remove 1,700 ash trees and treat 6,000 with a chemical injection in 2015. Residents of some neighborhoods have been tying green ribbons on trees in parks to raise awareness.

Community

Springs Window Fashions was featured for its volunteering with groups that focus on hunger and housing. November’s Madison Magazine features the letters seven African American mothers wrote to their children addressing issues of race. Madison Times previewed the upcoming Black Women Rock awards which will take place November 8th.