Here’s what we were reading while trying to imagine Gov. Scott Walker in an episode of Happy Days [1].
Politics
Women are making headlines in politics this week; Madison’s Mary Burke (who has funded Madison Commons' education coverage) is the first woman to gain a major party's nomination [2]for governor. Also in the news, Lisa Subeck’s win in the primary election on Tuesday completes a female majority among Madison’s Assembly seats [3].
The Capital City Hues featured an op-ed from state senators [4] Lena Taylor and Nina Turner on federal intervention concerning voter ID laws. Ruth Conniff also commented on the voter ID law for a piece in Isthmus. [5] Turnout in the primary elections was lower than projected, with around 10 percent of voting-age adults showing up to the polls [6]. Deke Rivers at Caffeinated Politics found that many people did not know there was an election [7].
Development
The Marquette Neighborhood Association has come out in support of the potential South Park location for the new Public Market, while a comic from Isthmus shares developers’ views of Madison [8]. A Willy Street development is on hold while seeking almost $6M in public funds [9], and developers of the new Edgewater Hotel race to finish construction [10] for the official September opening.
Community
In order to avoid waste, groups like Goodwill and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul are coordinating large-scale donations with high-rises [11] during the traditional August moving rush. Chris Rickert suggests that food programs, such as one coming to Madison schools this year, should be means tested [12]. A new online tool is making vacationing by bike easier and more appealing [13], and Madison could be one of the app’s featured hot spots for cycling tourists. ForwardFest 2014 will expand beyond the tech industries [14], encompassing music & food.
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Links:
[1] http://addins.wkow.com/blogs/capitol-beat/
[2] http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/mary-burke-makes-state-history-as-first-female-major-party/article_a42d1e24-1ecf-5e73-a505-a32d69261871.html
[3] http://www.isthmus.com/isthmus/article.php?article=43361
[4] http://www.capitalcityhues.com/080714SenatorLTaylor.html
[5] http://www.isthmus.com/isthmus/article.php?article=43372
[6] http://host.madison.com/news/state-and-regional/turnout-in-wisconsin-primary-around-percent/article_da086262-aa44-580c-92e6-72878afe0dc7.html
[7] http://dekerivers.wordpress.com/2014/08/12/thoughts-on-voting/
[8] http://www.isthmus.com/isthmus/article.php?article=43367&sid=9797bafd00991532044d63a258ba04dc
[9] http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/writers/mike_ivey/massive-williamson-street-project-on-hold-over-lack-of-tif/article_d689f3d2-2195-11e4-8d3d-0019bb2963f4.html
[10] http://www.isthmus.com/isthmus/article.php?article=43358
[11] http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/in-push-to-reduce-move-out-waste-groups-focus-on/article_bc54436a-20b7-5b22-9fb8-95b5dcf024d3.html
[12] http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/columnists/chris-rickert/chris-rickert-free-food-for-the-least-needy-most-frequent/article_685d273b-d39b-52b9-82e8-18250e6e8296.html
[13] http://www.isthmus.com/isthmus/article.php?article=43368
[14] http://www.isthmus.com/isthmus/article.php?article=43373