Guaranteed income, no strings attached

Good morning, Madison!

If you found yourself without cell service at all yesterday, you're not alone.

Verizon wireless reportedly suffered an outage last night due to a cut fiber cable.

Everything should be back to normal now. The company confirmed to WKOW that engineers have been able to resolve the issue but you can always check and report outages here.

— Hayley

💰 The city will pilot a guaranteed income program.

• Applications opened Tuesday for the Madison Forward Fund, a guaranteed income program that will give 155 families in Madison $500 per month for one year, no strings attached.
• The fund is part of a larger organization, Mayors for a Guaranteed Income, which advocates for national guaranteed income and is funded by a donation from former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.
• The program has two main goals: To help Madison's most vulnerable residents navigate this period of inflation and financial strain, as well as build momentum for a sustained federal program to support families.
• To qualify for the program applicants must be Madison residents 18 years or older, have at least one child (under 18) living with them, and have an annual income of less than 200% of the federal poverty line.
• Applications for the program are open now through July 3 and can be completed online here.

💚 Dane County is going green.

• County officials in Cottage Grove broke ground Tuesday on a massive 90-acre solar project that will provide electricity in all county facilities.
• It's officially titled the Yahara Solar Project and will help Dane County become the first in the state to use 100% renewable electricity at all county facilities.
• According to a statement from the county, the project is set to begin operations next year. The site will be home to over 33,000 solar panels and produce more than 31,000 megawatt-hours of renewable electricity per year — enough to power 3,000 homes.

🛍️ Keeping track of downtown's business scene.

• It seems like every week there's a new business opening, closing, or moving around town. Thankfully, someone has been keeping track of all the changes happening in the downtown business scene over the past few months.
• Madison Magazine put together a list of all the "newly opened, reopened or moving soon businesses" downtown.
• Among the newly opened are Alobudra Spiritual Apothecary, Diamond’s Cafe, Eat the Best Pizza, Jewelers on State Street, Mom’s Bar, and more. You can check out the full list here.
• Related: 11 Madison-area restaurants that closed or relocated this spring (Cap Times)
• Further related: I recently wrote about Mom's Bar for Tone Madison. Check it out.

🎨 Cast your vote for the newest Willy Street Co-Op mural.

• The west side's Willy Street Co-Op location has partnered with Dane Arts Mural Arts to paint a mural on the side of the store. The grocer has narrowed down the mural designs to three contenders and now wants your help choosing the winner.
• Check out the designs here then stop by the Willy West location and cast your vote by July 1.

🏥 UW Health announced plans for a new west side clinic.

• The healthcare provider announced it will soon begin construction on the new University Row Clinic, next to the UW Health Digestive Health Center at 750 University Row.
• According to the State Journal, the new clinic will provide primary care and urgent care. It will replace the UW Health West Towne Clinic, which will be closed and sold when the new space opens in 2024.

🧵 Mend your clothes at the library.

• Did you know Madison's Central Library offers free mending sessions? Every Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon folks can stop in for help with almost any sewing project.
• This summer, every second and fourth Wednesday through July 13, Hawthorne Library will also offer sewing help from the Sewing Machine Project. These sewers can handle just about any fabric-related repairs (but no zipper projects).

🦅 Your lunchtime read: Peregrine falcon nesting program helped fuel raptors' return to Wisconsin.

• From WPR: "Wisconsin's population of peregrine falcons has reached a healthy level, with dozens of nesting pairs around the state. Most rely on human-made nests placed high atop structures like bridges, tall buildings and power plants."
• Bonus: Take a look at Madison's own peregrine falcons via live stream here.