Madison Media Digest: Policing, Budgets, Education

Here’s what we were reading while getting ready to drive faster:

Tony Robinson and the Police

On Tuesday, Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne will announce whether Madison Police Officer Matt Kenny will be charged for shooting Tony Robinson during a Mar. 6 encounter on the Isthmus. Last week, Robinson’s family expressed frustration over how long the decision was taking. Robinson’s death started a larger conversation about policing in Madison. Chris Rickert says the police should at least see what a proposed task force on the department’s use-of-force policies says before dismissing it outright. Retired Madison police lieutenant Wayne Strong analyzed the debate about police shootings. Kaleem Caire said the message of Baltimore is to resist hopelessness. A program at Madison’s Preschool for the Arts focused on how to talk about race with children. Forward Lookout printed a letter saying Police Chief Mike Koval has been misleading on this topic. David Blaska thinks the debate over policing misses the entire point.

Budgets

Mayor Paul Soglin asked city department heads to identify 10 percent in cuts due to concerns about the city’s borrowing costs. The city’s Engineering Department recommended a $30M renovation to the Madison Municipal Building. In contrast, Brenda Konkel points out that the city cannot seem to find $2M for a day shelter. The city, county and non-profit groups seek to reach out to homeless Madisonians in what they say is an effort to better deliver services to those most in need. The Madison Area Chamber of Commerce opposes the proposed $300 million cut to the UW system in Gov. Scott Walker’s state budget. Proposed state cuts to Madison’s Access Community Health Centers could see the group turning away low-income patients and sending them emergency rooms. The Capital Times calls the cuts penny wise, but pound foolish. Enbridge Energy wants the full Dane County Board to reverse a decision by a zoning board that would require the company to carry a $25M insurance policy in the event of an oil spill.

Education

A conservative legal group asked a court to void the extended contract between the Madison School District and the teacher’s union, which it claims violates Act 10, the controversial 2011 law eliminating virtually all collective bargaining rights for public employees. The union says the contracts were signed while the law’s constitutionality was being determined by the courts and therefore not in effect. The first participants in the city’s AVID-TOPS program are starting to graduate from college.