Morning update: Wednesday, Sept. 8

Good morning, Madison!

We're halfway through the week. Today we're talking about everything from booze, to felonies, to sports, to fashion, and more! Read on to get in the know.

— Hayley

🍻 Y'all been drinking? Tax data says yes.

Alcohol taxes collected in Wisconsin jumped nearly 17% in the last fiscal year, which ended June 30, data from the the nonpartisan Wisconsin Policy Forum shows.
This is largest jump since 1972, when the drinking age was lowered to 18, the Wisconsin State Journal reports.

🏘️ UW is launching an Eviction Defense Clinic.

In response to a rising need for the service, the University of Wisconsin Law School's Economic Justice Institute has been awarded funding to provide legal assistance for eviction services.
Funding for the program comes in part from the $16 million federal aid funding package the city accepted in August. The clinic is set to open this fall.
Related: Worried about being evicted in Dane County? Start here.
Further related: 5 ways to help renters facing eviction in Dane County

💸 A U.S. Senate candidate is facing multiple felony charges she claims are based on a "mistake."

Milwaukee Alder and U.S. Senate candidate Chantia Lewis has been charged with defrauding the city of Milwaukee and her campaign of more than $20,000. Lewis is facing four felonies and one misdemeanor charge.
The 43-page criminal complaint alleges Lewis of "double dipping" in money from her city and campaign accounts to fund business trips, pocketing thousands of dollars in the process. Lewis is scheduled to appear in court Sept. 29.

🔌 As part of a settlement, Madison Gas and Electric is reducing its monthly fees.

While flat rates will decrease, customers can expect to pay more for the electricity they actually use, the State Journal reports. Residential consumers can expect to see an average increase of $4.10 on their monthly bills in 2022 (with no increase the following year).
MGE will cut monthly service fees by $2 in each of the next two years, bringing it to $15 by 2023.

⚽ Blowouts all around.

Forward Madison beat the Minneapolis City Soccer Club 6-0 at home last night.
Meanwhile, the Brewers shut out the Philadelphia Phillies 10-0 yesterday. Yay teams!

🩰 Meet KLJ Movement, the Madison area’s only Black, female-led dance studio.

Kyra Johnson opened the Monona studio in May, saying "I wanted to create a space that I needed growing up, and that I want as I grow older." In an interview with Isthmus, Johnson says she hopes to increase Black representation in dance and "underscore the contributions that dancers of color have made to the field."

🐦 Your lunchtime read/watch: Watching the chimney swifts at dusk.

This Wisconsin Life piece looks at the spectacle that is Madison's chimney swifts: "At one minute before sunset, the flock’s loose swirling picks up energy, like water circling around a drain, and suddenly they’re pouring themselves down the chimney, as if down a funnel, and vanishing."

👖 Singlestich is bringing vintage streetwear State Street.

Mitch Hammes, 21, opened his vintage shop at 214 State St. over the weekend but has been selling clothes graduating high school. The thrifter told Isthmus he's always had an affinity for fashion and first opened his first store, La Crosse Vintage, in La Crosse in 2019. When his lease expired in La Crosse, he made the decision to open on the isthmus. Singlestitch features vintage streetwear from mainly the 1980s and 1990s.