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Madison Recycling System sets ambitious goals while educating public on services

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Before the first Earth Day celebration in 1970, the City of Madison established the first curbside recycling collection in the nation when it began collecting newspapers in 1968. During the past half-century, the waste management program in Madison continues to grow and change, but there is still need for improvement. “Nearly 60 percent of all the waste we generate as a city is recycled, which is fantastic. But that also leaves plenty of room to get better,” said Bryan Johnson, the City of Madison Recycling Coordinator. According to the EPA, the United States recycles about 35 percent  of the waste it creates.

City Life

Media Digest March 15, 2018

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Youth plan a walkout Wednesday in honor of the victims of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting. 

Education

Madison middle school students will get an hour more to sleep in the morning under a plan to move the start time to 8:40 a.m. in the fall. A high school music concert is about more than the performance; it’s about the composition.  Graduation rates for black students increased between 2016 and 2017. Development

An affordable-housing development doesn’t have money to get started, but it does have the required permits. Hotel Indigo, which will be on the site of an East Washington warehouse, got the funding it needs to move forward.

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Golf Subcommittee to decide fate of Madison city courses

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After years in the black, up to half of the greens in the Madison could be shuttered. Faced with a steep bill for needed renovations, a subcommittee will decide the future of golf operations in the city this Spring. If it can’t get a subsidy for golf course improvements, the committee will look for funding in hole closures. “The crux is that the city doesn’t fund capital improvement projects like this, so we’ve fallen behind. The sprinklers are 40 to 50 years old,” said David Wallner, Madison Parks Commission president and Golf Subcommittee member.

City Life

Media Digest March 8, 2018

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A Madison-based electronic monitoring company for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections was told of problems and unnecessary jailings five years ago, but the problems have continued and the number of people under GPS monitoring has doubled. Education

The Read Up Madison program thrives because of donors, and fundraising is underway now.  Madison schools are promising security upgrades as part of the continuing conversation on school safety following the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida. Crestwood Elementary class is getting recognition for its stop-motion movie project. Development

Residents are fighting the planned extension of the electrical grid through Madison and the Driftless area.

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At Madison’s Truax Field, New F-35 Fighter Jet Prompts Questions of Economics, Politics, Livability

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On a quiet Saturday in October, Ed Blume was working in the yard of his home, raking the leaves that had begun to fall from the trees in his neighborhood, a residential community just south of the Dane County Regional Airport. Suddenly, a piercing crescendo broke the calm of Blume’s afternoon. Blume saw pedestrians on the sidewalk clamp their hands over their ears as the noise grew louder, rising to an abrasive wail as a flight of three F-16 fighter jets tore over Blume’s house at low altitude. Having lived in this east side home for ten years, Blume is no stranger to the noise of these aircraft – and he’s not the first generation to learn to live with them. Combat aircraft have been a regular presence in the skies over the Isthmus since the 1942 activation of Truax Field, then a military training facility for aircraft technicians.

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City of Madison seeks community input regarding 2018 draft of Future Land Use Map

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The final opportunity to share thoughts on the 2018 draft of the Future Land Use (FLU) map in Madison is approaching. As part of the Imagine Madison public listening campaign, the City of Madison is seeking input on long-term plans that focus on issues of equity, health, sustainability, and adaptability.  With this in mind, the City of Madison developed the 2018 FLU map for Madison to designate areas for development efforts. “The map is not yet final and staff and the Plan Commission continue to listen to residents who have input, ideas, concerns about the FLU map,” Ledell Zellers member of the Madison City Council said. After reviewing public comments received in early 2017, the planning committee developed an updated version of the FLU map.

City Life

Media Digest February 28, 2018

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Alliant Energy Center will be renovated and upgraded after the selection of a firm to develop a master plan for the facilities. Education

Students and faculty are joining with public officials to ask for a special legislative session to consider gun control changes. A program at Bird Elementary is focusing on mindfulness. When a parent walked into Shorewood Hills Elementary and handed a teacher a cardboard sign that said “gun,” he sparked a debate about whether he exposed security lapses or caused students and staff unwarranted stress. Development

Spectrum Brands combined with a New York holding company that was its largest shareholder. Sprecher’s closed its West Side pub after eight years and is considering relocating to Columbus.

City Life

Media Digest February 20, 2018

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The Wisconsin Historical Museum and its partners aim for what could be a $240 million redevelopment project along the Capital Square. Education

All Madison public schools will have at least one all-gender bathroom soon. The gym at East High School will be renovated with a mixture of public and private money. High schools had to respond to students and staff Thursdayafter threats of violence at the schools were made one day after a deadly school shooting in Florida. About 70 culinary students competed at Madison College for a chance to move onto nationals.

City Life

Media Digest February 14, 2018

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More than 100 changes to landlord-tenant laws have made a big difference to Madison renters. 

Education

Education is the starting point for the high-demand field of nursing. Madison Teachers Inc. had a request for union voting records denied by the state Supreme Court. The Rape Crisis Center has 16 students to help them map out community steps they can take to stop sexual violence. Development

In hot Madison neighborhoods like Olbrich Park, it’s a sellers’ market where buyers can have 15 minutes to make a decision on a new home. Wisconsin Workforce Development will help employees transition after new company bought two pharmacy locations and a health care supply business.

City Life

Media Digest February 6, 2018

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The county is looking to keep the population of incarcerated people low. Education

Students and employees of Madison College have reported an increased number of sexual harassment cases. School children completed 10,000 acts of kindness this week. East High students will talk about human rights in week of activities. Development

University Research Park is growing and adding more service spaces.