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Madison Police report shows racial disparities
Meredith Opie, Madison Commons, Nov. 29, 2021
A Madison report revealed that nearly half of incidents of police force are directed at Black residents, despite making up 9% of the Madison population. Chief Barnes believes these biases exist both inside and outside of the police force. Madison mayor, attorney hit back at Michael Gableman’s 2020 review
Allison Garfield and Jack Kelly, The Capital Times, Dec. 3, 2021
Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich respond to threats of jail time by former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman over a review of the state’s 2020 presidential election.
Volunteers feed unhoused Madison residents one care package at a time. Volunteering at a church before 8 AM is not how most college students spend their mornings. But for members of the UW-Madison Social Justice Hub, volunteers say it’s how they help deliver hope to the community. “It’s just a really great effort to be able to give back and do something good with my week,” said Hunter Weber, a student volunteer.
Volunteers gathered at First United Methodist Church on Tuesday morning to package over 120 emergency food packages plus 75 hygiene kits for the homeless.
Each food bag contains three meals, snacks, towelettes, and two bottles of water. The hygiene packages hold various sanitary items, including dental care, feminine hygiene products, trash bags and toilet paper.
“When you’re an individual suffering loss of home, these are lifelines,” said Karen Andro, director of outreach ministry.
The bags are then distributed to different outreach groups in the area who deliver materials across the city.
Andro says the initiative is not just about putting the bags together, it’s about building trust with the homeless community to bring them what they need to survive.
Black residents subjected to higher rates of use of force
Racism and policing are deeply intertwined in the United States… and Madison, Wisconsin is no exception. Shon Barnes joined the Madison Police Department in February 2021 as Chief of Police. Chief Barnes said racism and biases exist within their police department because they exist within society. “Systemic racism isn't just in police departments. We recruit from the human race.
Students from different backgrounds come together in harmony through Jewop, a UW–Madison campus A capella group. This story was originally produced for The Badger Report, a newscast by students in Journalism 425: Video Journalism at UW–Madison. View more from the Badger Report. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UsCP3GhIdY
TRANSCRIPT
Will Sobol: “We are a culturally Jewish A capella group, which means that we do music by Jewish artists or whenever we can we do traditional Jewish music as well.”
Lauren Langeberg: “A capella is a way of performing music without instruments, so we sing all of the parts that instruments would usually make up in a song.”
Will Sobol: “I just love that kind of music, and classical, I suppose, classical genres like that, there’s not any other a cappella group on campus that does that.”
Will Sobol: “I found what I was looking for here.”
Lauren Langeberg: “It wasn’t so much the focus on Judaism. It was just the people that were involved.
Madison School Board renames Memorial High School after Vel Phillips, Scott Girard, CT, November 22; Madison School Board votes unanimously to change Memorial High School to honor Vel Phillips, Elizabeth Beyer, Wisconsin State Journal, November 23. COVID-19
111 COVID positives Nov. 17-24 among Madison students, staff, Scott Girard, Capital Times, November 27. Unvaccinated Madison poll workers can work elections with negative COVID-19 test, Mitchell Schmidt, WSJ, November 24. Mask mandate extended in Madison, Dane County through Jan.
Waunakee defeats Homestead 33-21 while Sun Prairie falls to Franklin 17-38
Dane County was represented by both Waunakee and Sun Prairie at the WIAA football state championship this weekend, winning one state title.
The Waunakee Warriors took home the WIAA Division II State Championship for football, beating Homestead High School 33-21. Waunakee’s momentum was fueled by a 97-yard kickoff return by senior Ben Farnsworth late in the second quarter. Farnsworth fumbled the kickoff prior to the one he returned for the touchdown. “We are always talking about the clean slate mentality,” Farnsworth said. “We just went out there with a clean slate, followed the blockers, and took it to the house.”
The return came right after Homestead was able to march down the field to tie the game 7-7.
'Really overwhelming': First residents move into tiny shelters in Madison just ahead of winter, Dean Mosiman, Wisconsin State Journal, November 20. COVID-19
Unvaccinated 15 times more likely to die from COVID-19 in Wisconsin, Dave Wahlberg, WSJ, November 16. Madison and Dane County
Touting transparent process, Dane County Board approves new redistricting map, Allison Garfield, Capital Times, November 20. Madison police oversight board mulls thousands of dollars in honorarium payment for director, members, Chris Rickert, WSJ, November 20. Madison Fire Department expects new fire chief to be chosen in March, Lucas Robinson, WSJ, November 19.
Edgewood College play gets inspiration from 1940s radio
Edgewood College Theatre staged an unusual production that combines the unique elements of theater, radio and film. The play, done in the style of a 1940s radio show, blended shortened versions of some of director Alfred Hitchcock’s famous films. This story was originally produced for The Badger Report, a newscast by students in Journalism 425: Video Journalism at UW–Madison. View more from the Badger Report. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHhTW63RECs&t=1s
TRANSCRIPT
Olivia Rose: “‘Vintage Hitchcock: A Live Radio Play’ is a combination of shortened versions of Alfred-some of Alfred Hitchcock’s published movies.”
Olivia Rose: “In the style of a radio show set in the 1940s.”
Benson Gilkison: “I’ve worked on a bunch of shows here, but we’ve never had live foley art.”
Benson Gilkison: “So this is a really new experience for me and I definitely wanted to be a part of it.”
Olivia Rose: “I’m a big fan of Alfred Hitchcock’s work.”
Olivia Rose: “I really like the suspense that keeps you hanging on throughout the entire…I guess…work that you’re watching.”
Jeanne Leep: “What drew me to this play was that it had flexibility to deal with all the conditions that we have in our world right now.”
Jeanne Leep: “This show is one that we could do live in front of an audience or we could do it as a radio play.”
Olivia Rose: “This is a modem that I’m not familiar with, so just learning more about the craft in itself is expanding my knowledge in what it already is.”
Benson Gilkison: “I think it just opens a bunch of new doors for me. I’ve always been in the booth.
Madison clerk responds to subpoena for 2020 election records, Jesse Opoien, Capital Times, November 12. Madison City Council approves 2022 budget, Nicholas Garton, CT, November 12; Madison City Council adopts 2022 budget, adds $51 in taxes to average home, Logan Wroge, Wisconsin State Journal, November 11. 2022 Madison City and Dane County budgets explained, Carousel Bayrd, "A Public Affair," WORT-FM, November 10. COVID-19
UW-Madison tells all employees to get vaccinated, citing Biden's federal vaccine mandate, Kelly Meyerhofer, WSJ, November 11. UW Health requires COVID-19 vaccination for transplant patients, Dave Wahlberg, WSJ, November 11.
Pandemic relief program hampered by application backlog and other issues
High demand and technical difficulties have hindered a rental assistance program the city organized to provide financial aid to Madison residents facing housing insecurity following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the nationwide eviction moratorium expires and rental assistance applications continue to pile up, activists and community leaders are sounding the alarm. They warn of the potential for an exasperated housing crisis and further backlog in aid rollout if substantial reforms to housing policy are not made. Approximately 8.8 million renters fell behind on rent payments across the United States in 2020 — a burden that fell disproportionately on Black and Latino tenants. Congress and the Centers for Disease Control moved to stop the bleeding in 2021, implementing a rent moratorium and dispensing rental assistance funds through the CARES Act.
