Morning Update

How to help your neighbors this Thanksgiving

Morning update: Thursday, Nov. 17

In this newsletter

Image via Goodman Community Center

Goooood morning, Madison!

'Tis the season for giving and one local organization needs your help.

For more than three decades, the Goodman Community Center has provided families from across Dane County with everything they need to make a Thanksgiving meal at home.

This year, more than 4,000 families have registered to receive a Thanksgiving basket from the Goodman Community Center’s Thanksgiving Basket program — that’s more than 25,000 Dane County residents.

The center will begin distributing those baskets this weekend but before that can happen, they need help on all fronts. That’s where you come in.

Here's how you can help.

Donate food: You can drop off food donations at Goodman Community Center’s gym. Be sure to check out their shopping list first.

Host a food drive: Rally your friends, neighbors, and coworkers together by hosting a food drive. The Goodman Center put together a helpful food drive kit with all the information you'll need for a successful drive.

Donate your money: Financial donations will be used to purchase fresh groceries like veggies, milk, butter, eggs, and pumpkin pie. Click here to donate.

Donate your time: Sign up to volunteer for one of the numerous roles available here.

Use your voice: Word of mouth is priceless. Share this email on social media or with friends and family to help raise awareness.

— Hayley

💰 The Dane County Budget was approved with one major veto.

County Executive Joe Parisi signed off on the record $853 million budget Wednesday but vetoed an amendment that would have scaled back the Dane County Jail consolidation project.
What was vetoed: Last week, the Dane County Board of Supervisors adopted its 2023 operating budget with a scaled-back version of the stalled jail project. The approved proposal outlined plans for a five-story jail facility and allocates $500,000 to criminal justice reform initiatives.
Parisi rejected the proposed plan largely because it would end the nearly completed design work for a six-story jail that the board approved in March. "I feel stopping the thoughtful, detailed design work the county has invested in would be irresponsible, wasteful, and perpetuate the start/stop cycle that’s driven up the cost of this project," Parisi wrote in a memo to the County Board.
Where the project stands now: The veto means the county will revert back to the jail proposal agreed upon earlier this year. But that proposal is still facing a $10 million funding gap.

🦃 Need a Thanksgiving meal but don't want to do the cooking?

Whether you want to dine in, carry out, or take and bake this Thanksgiving, there are plenty of Madison restaurants to help. To make your holiday season a little less laborious, check out this roundup from the Cap Times of 12 local spots that will do the work for you.

🤒 Expect long wait times at area ERs and urgent cares.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) cases have been on the rise in Wisconsin since October. Cases of the illness normally peak later in the winter, so this early surge coupled with Covid-19 and influenza is putting stress on local health systems.
Emergency departments and urgent care units in Madison are experiencing increased wait times due to an influx of patients with various respiratory illnesses, and particularly RSV, according to Channel 3000.
What you can do: Most cold and flu symptoms can be treated at home. If you're feeling sick, UW Health experts recommend contacting your primary care provider or even local pharmacists for treatment options.
Stay protected: Get your Covid-19 booster. Get a flu shot.

🏫 MMSD rejected former Sennett principal's reinstatement request.

Some background: Former Sennett Middle School Principal Jeffery Copeland was fired in September over comments he left on a job applicant’s voicemail. You can listen to the whole message here.
Copeland filed a grievance over his termination Oct. 12 asking for reinstatement or a severance agreement of one year’s salary ($127,857.00) plus attorney fees and a letter of reference. According to documents obtained by the Wisconsin State Journal, school district administrators rejected Copeland's grievance Oct. 24.
What happens next? The school board will be the ones to ultimately decide whether to overturn or uphold the firing decision.

Examples of Sunghee Min's work. Images via City of Madison

🧑‍🎨 Meet the artist and learn more about a new downtown public art project.

The Madison Arts Commission picked Minnesota-based metal artist Sunghee Min to create a pair of sculptures for a new median on the 200 block of South Pinckney Street. The sculptures will flank the crosswalk leading across the median between the NoVo Apartment complex and the soon-to-be-built hotel on the north side of Pinckney.
The city is hosting a virtual artist talk with Sunghee Min today so people can learn more about her work and the proposed sculptures. The talk kicks off at noon, you can register to attend here.

💨 Your lunchtime read (or watch): Madison man collects hundreds of vintage ceiling fans.

Via NBC15: "A Madison man has a massive collection of something most people own, but likely don’t think much about.

'It’s cool to have it going slow enough that you can still see the blades, but fast enough that you can see that it operates,' said Dan Neuman.

Dan, or as his friends call him, 'Spiffy', Neuman has been collecting ceiling fans since he was in the fourth grade."

📬

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