Morning Update

New and newsy

Morning update: Monday, July 18

In this newsletter

Good morning, Madison!

Did you catch yesterday's events newsletter? ICYMI, we've got some exciting news.

We've officially launched our new interactive events calendar. There are dozens of events already live and ready for you to see. For now, however, the calendar is only available to paying Madison Minutes members.

Ultimately, we want everyone to have access to this community resource. But we also have to keep our books balanced — it has taken a lot of time, energy, and money to make this calendar a reality. And there's of course still more work to be done.

So here's the pitch: right now there are just under 150 paid Madison Minutes members (thank you, thank you, thank you!). Once we reach 200 paying supporters, we will take down the paywall on the events calendar and make it accessible to everyone.

Count me in!

Until then, we'll share regular updates on the progress. And don't worry, the events newsletter isn't going anywhere.

Now let's dig into the news.

— Hayley

💰 The county is looking to extend its hotel shelter program.

Last week the county announced it will add $3.1 million in funding for the Pandemic Emergency Hotel Shelter Program to extend the service into next year.
Some context: The program began in March 2020 as a way to provide shelter for people experiencing homelessness and those who are at higher risk for severe illness from Covid-19. To date, Dane County has spent $23.1 million on the program, Cap Times reports.
The additional funding will provide post-program support through September 30, 2022, and isolation and quarantine shelter through February 28, 2023.

🩺 The ripple effects of overturning Roe v. Wade on UW medical students.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and put Wisconsin in a legal gray zone when it comes to providing abortions, the University of Wisconsin is being forced to reconsider how it trains its medical residents on abortion procedures.
The State Journal reports neither public funds nor money from the UW Hospitals and Clinics Authority can be used to to perform abortions. To work around those restraints, the school formed a partnership with Planned Parenthood, which paid UW doctors for work at their Wisconsin locations.
But now that Planned Parenthood has been forced to stop providing abortions in Wisconsin, it's not clear how the university will provide abortion training opportunities to residents in the long term. The State Journal reports some students have already run into trouble trying to study abortion procedures out of state. And some local medical officials leaders speculate changes in training opportunities for OB-GYN medical students will worsen the shortage of those specialists in the state.
Related: U.S. Supreme Court eliminates constitutional right to abortion. What does that mean for Wisconsin? (Wisconsin Watch)

🐘 Milwaukee is one step closer to hosting the RNC.

Over the weekend, a selection committee unanimously recommended Wisconsin's largest city over Nashville, TN to host the 2024 Republican National Convention.
The Republican National Committee would still need to approve the location but the outlook is good for Milwaukee, whose city leaders have enthusiastically embraced the prospect of hosting the massive political gathering.
The bigger picture: Milwaukee was supposed to host the 2020 Democratic convention, but those plans (like many others) were canceled by the Covid-19 pandemic. Hosting the RNC gives the city another chance to be in the national political spotlight.

📱 Now you can dial 988 for the national Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline allows people anywhere in the country who are experiencing suicidal thoughts or mental health crises to get help just by calling or texting 988.
The hotline service is modeled on the 911 system and is free and confidential to use.
The local hook: Wisconsin Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin was one of four senators who introduced the legislation, WPR reports.

Photo via Madison Public Library Instagram

⚒️ In the mood for some DIY but your toolbox is lacking? Head to the library.

Did you know you can check out project kits from the library? From sewing and quilting to home decor, the library has plenty of tool kits available to help you move those projects from "to-do" to "done."
The kits are only available at Pinney Library on a first-come, first-served basis (aka no holds allowed).

⚽ For Forward Madison's "Unified Team" it's all about the love of the game.

Last week, the Madison 'Mingos signed 17 players to short-term contracts to play on its Unified Team in a two-game series against Union Omaha later this month.
The team is a partnership effort between the soccer club and Special Olympics Wisconsin. As Madison365 reports, roughly half of the players on the new team have developmental disabilities and half do not. "Side by side, no difference, no distinction of athlete or non athlete,” Unified Team Coach Tommy Jaime told the news outlet. 'It’s so it’s really about kind of promoting inclusion, bringing people with intellectual disabilities together with people without and showing that anybody can play together.'
The team will take to Breese Stevens Field July 26 and August 30.

🥪 Your lunchtime read: Meet the Reddit user behind those posts reviewing Italian beef sandwiches in Madison.

Via Wisconsin State Journal: "Anyone who is a frequent visitor to the Madison subreddit might be following with bated breath the recent posts of a user with a mission: Review every Italian beef sandwich in Madison.

The user, known as Bombznin, has so far reviewed 19 different Italian beef sandwiches. The popular posts are often coupled with pun-loving captions, most recently: 'My country tis of meat, sweet land of drippy beef.

But like most Redditors, Bombznin has been anonymous in his culinary quest — until now."