Morning Update

Last call for night market

Morning update: Thursday, Sept. 8

In this newsletter

Happy Thursday, Madison!

Tonight is the final installment of the Madison Night Market, so if you've been waiting the cross the event off your summer bucket list, the time is now.

The market is located along State and Gilman Streets and features a variety of local vendors, food trucks, and entertainment. It kicks off at 4 p.m. and closes up at 8 p.m.

Don’t miss the LAST Madison Night Market of the season this Thursday!

Includes special visiting food carts, pop-up restaurant experiences, and live music from @LittlePriest5, @MrGetYourBuzzUp and @djpain1, and Edi Rey y su Salsera!

More here: https://t.co/6BSQ1J8XQy pic.twitter.com/zgXfe0YS8P
— Mayor of Madison (@MayorOfMadison) September 7, 2022

— Hayley

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💰 What's inside the 2023 capital budget.

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway Tuesday proposed a record $368.4 million capital budget for 2023 with a heavy emphasis on housing and infrastructure. The capital budget funds large-scale projects and programs, while the operating budget — which will be released next month — funds services.
Housing: The budget increases the city’s investment in affordable housing to $60 million over six years. As announced last week, the budget also includes an additional $3 million for a permanent men's homeless shelter on the far east side. Notably, $21.6 million will go to reconstructing John Nolen Drive, a project that's set to begin in 2026.
Transportation: A highlight of this budget is $23 million in federal funds to purchase a fully electric, 46-bus fleet for the new bus rapid transit system (BRT). Another $10.3 million has been allocated for the east-west BRT line and $7 million for the second north-south route, which is set to be built in 2024. The budget also carves out $350,000 to plan for (eventual) Amtrak service in the city.
Other big items: The budget gives $15 million to build the library’s Imagination Center at Reindahl Park; $5 million to expand the Warner Park Community Center; $15.8 million to reconstruct the stretch of Atwood Avenue from Fair Oaks Avenue to Cottage Grove Road to a three-lane boulevard; $22.2 million to support flood mitigation efforts.
What's missing? The budget did not include any additional money for the public market, which is facing a $5.2 million budget gap.

Multicolored parrots — Photo by Honey Fangs / Unsplash

🦁 The Henry Vilas Zoo equity report is out.

Some context: Following allegations of racism and toxicity in the workplace at the Henry Vilas Zoo, the county Board of Supervisors ordered an independent evaluation of its equity and access.
The county contracted with Keen Independent Research to conduct interviews, surveys, and public meetings. The group gathered input from nearly 600 residents to find out who is and isn't visiting the zoo, what barriers they face, and identify solutions to those barriers.
The findings: In its 95-page report, Keen offered nine recommendations for the zoo to implement. The key themes of the recommendations include the need for "leadership to spearhead equity efforts and set clear expectations" and a "cultural shift from focusing solely on stewardship of the land and natural living world to welcoming diverse communities and individuals that use and experience them."
The nine recommendations are: embed top-down equity plan, offer information and signage in multiple languages, improve experience for persons with disabilities, strengthen inclusion for LGBTQIA+ community, expand local partnerships, strengthen family and youth programming, embrace unique dietary choices, celebrate diversity, and develop mechanisms to gather and respond to feedback and measure outcomes.

📄 Oath Keepers in Wisconsin.

The Anti-Defamation League Center on Extremism identified 609 Wisconsinites on the membership list of the the far-right extremist group the Oath Keepers, including six elected officials, one of whom is District 17 Ald. Gary Halverson.
Halverson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he joined the hate group without vetting it first. "I thought I joined an organization that welcomed veterans who cared about our democracy," Halverson told the news outlet. "I was misled and I terminated the membership two months later in Aug 2020."
The mayor responded to the news on Twitter saying "The Oath Keepers are not a veteran's group. This is not OK." She then tweeted a link on how to run for City Council.
Some context: The Oath Keepers are accused of playing a key role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Dozens of the group's members have been charged with crimes related to the attack on the capitol.

🎓 Welcome class of 2026.

Wednesday marked the first day of class for University of Wisconsin students. This year, the university welcomed 8,600 freshmen — the largest freshman class in the university’s history.

🥩 Knoche’s butcher shop is on the market.

The historic west side shop is up for sale after 84 years in business. Cap Times reports owners Steve and Stephanie Knoche are ready to retire.
The owners hope a new buyer will be able to carry on the Konche name and business. The property listing includes not only the building, but the company name, inventory, customer lists, equipment, and vehicles.

🎨 Your lunchtime read: Chazen Museum exhibit examines and interrogates anti-Black violence and its consequential trauma.

Via Madison365: "Trauma disrupts. It fragments, perforates and scrambles.

That’s one of the many messages of Quanda Johnson’s exhibit 'Trauerspiel: Subject Into Nonbeing, an autoethnographic meditation on anti-Black violence and its consequential trauma that is now on display at the Chazen Museum of Art in downtown Madison.

The exhibit uses interdisciplinary creative making to explore three arenas of white-dominated violence against the Black body/psyche: the violence of ridicule, the violence of the mob/vigilante, and the hegemonically instigated violence that seeps into some 'safe Black spaces.'"