Morning Update

Monday musings

Morning update: Monday, Aug. 22

In this newsletter

Gooooooood morning, Madison!

Happy Monday, we've made it to a new week and I'm glad you're here with me.

First things first, a bit of housekeeping. I made a mistake last week, friends, and sent out a link you couldn't access.

For anyone who tried to submit a floof via the fancy new form I created but was met with access restrictions, my bad. Here's a link that should actually work.

Now on to the news.

— Hayley

P.S. A quick reminder that today is the last day to take the family planning survey we produced with Tone Madison. Learn more here.

🚨 Police are investigating a body found in Lake Mendota.

At approximately 6 a.m. Friday morning, a passerby called 911 to report a body floating in Lake Mendota near Alumni Park and the Memorial Union.
University of Wisconsin Police responded to the scene and pulled a man's body out of the water. He was pronounced dead at the scene. At this time, investigators are working to identify the person and why they were in the water.
UWPD spokesperson Marc Lovicott told Channel 3000 authorities do not believe there was any foul play.

🧋 Two more Madison restaurants are closing.

Brasserie V: Known for its unique Belgian menu and beer selection, Monroe Street's Brasserie V will close its doors for good Aug. 27. The spot first opened in 2007 and announced its closure on social media without citing any specific reasons.
Jade Mountain: The East Johnson Street Café announced that after nearly 12 years of serving traditional Taiwanese bubble teas, their last day of business will be Sept. 3. In an Instagram post, the café noted it's not shutting down due to any Covid-19-related hardships, rather, the owners "are just exploring other opportunities in life." The post also notes that there is a possibility Jade Mountain Café might return in the future.

🧑🏽‍🏫 Staffing shortages at MMSD persist just days before school starts.

The Madison Metropolitan School District is still short 135 teachers going into the 2022-23 school year.
Why? In Madison, this situation has been "a long time coming," according to Michael Jones, the president of Madison Teachers, Inc., the union that represents teachers in Madison. Jones told Madison365 that legislative decisions not to increase state funding to keep up with inflation have contributed to the district's struggle to attract and retain talent. This issue, coupled with the pandemic, has led to the highest number of vacancies the district has seen in five years.
Want to help? MMSD is hosting two job fairs this week, a virtual fair today, and an in-person event Thursday. Learn more here.

"Not only is there a shortage, there’s an exodus. It’s just been a long time coming." — Michael Jones, president of Madison Teachers, Inc.

🎨 The controversy at MMoCA.

A collective of artists from the 2022 Wisconsin Triennial penned an open letter to the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art calling out the museum's alleged repeated failures to protect them and their art.
The letter calls for the termination of museum director Christina Brungardt, financial restitution, and public apologies. So far, 10 out of 23 artists have pulled their work from the 2022 Wisconsin Triennial, “Ain’t I A Woman?,” Cap Times reports. The museum has issued some apologies through media but the artists say none go far enough. Many of the artists also say they worry about their work's safety in the museum.
Some context: Madison artist Lilada Gee's work was defaced at the museum in June. Prior to that, Gee faced discrimination when she and Annik Dupaty, director of events and volunteers at MMoCA, were barred from entering the museum's back door by an Overture Center staffer.

"The stress is immeasurable, as all artists and their work is susceptible to being vandalized without consequence under the watch of MMoCA. My 1 of 2 works is not on display due to poor management of this situation." — Anika Kowalik, artist

📂 Epic users, Epic users everywhere.

It's that time of year again — Epic's User's Group Meeting, better known simply as UGM, kicks off today. The event runs through Aug. 24 and brings physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other Epic users to the health care company's Verona campus to talk shop.
What can you expect? Like any other event that brings hordes of people to the isthmus, expect traffic and busy restaurants.

🩺 Your lunchtime read: Wisconsin’s 173-year-old ban allows only life-saving ‘therapeutic abortions.’ No one knows what that means.

Via Wisconsin Watch: "Physicians attempt to reassure their patients that they will receive treatment if their water breaks too early or they suffer a miscarriage — all while working with lawyers to determine the circumstances in which they can provide abortions without risking a felony.

'There is no clarity currently, and no consensus,' says Dr. Wendy Molaska, president of the Wisconsin Medical Society.

In the absence of statutory or administrative guidance from the state, professional associations, health systems and hospitals — even physicians themselves — are developing policies to guide pregnancy-related care."

Photo by Hayley Sperling/Madison Minutes

Has the fall of Roe v. Wade impacted your decisions about family planning? Tell us.

We've partnered with Tone Madison to produce a survey that will help us better understand and offer our readers a fuller picture of how the ruling is affecting people across the Madison area. Learn more and take the survey here.

Take the survey