Last call for stinky shirts

🌨️ Today's weather: Rainy and cloudy. High: 69° Low: 48°

Happy Friday, Madison!

The time has come. Our stinky flower shirt sale must come to an end. Because, like the corpse flower, nothing lasts forever.

If you've been mulling the idea of a shirt, now is the time to make your dreams come true!

As a reminder, the proceeds will be split between the artist (Jess Draws aka bumblechub) and Olbrich Botanical Gardens. So you can look good and feel good knowing you're supporting the Madison community.

Get your shirt here.

— Hayley

✍️ Dispatches from the Dane County Board of Supervisors.

• Golf course landfill: The board voted Thursday to approve the purchase of half of the Yahara Hills golf course for use as a sustainability campus and landfill. The $5.5 million plan passed with a 27-4 vote. Though, as the State Journal reports, just because the sale passed, it doesn't guarantee the grounds will become a landfill. More public engagement and site evaluations must still take place.
• Abortion support: The board also introduced a resolution that would show support for abortion care in Wisconsin and call on the state to repeal Wisconsin State Statute 940.04, which bans abortion at any stage of pregnancy without exceptions.

🚌 Calls for a more 'equitable' Metro redesign.

• The newly-proposed Metro bus routes have sparked complaints from Southside residents and prompted action from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Dane County NAACP, WKOW reports.
• Residents and advocate groups argue the metro re-design, which would prioritize major routes and cut out less-frequented routes, isn't equitable.
• Nothing in the redesign is final yet. The city is still collecting input. Metro Transit and the Transportation Planning and Policy Board will hold a virtual public hearing about the plan at 6 p.m. May 31. City Council is set to vote on the plans in June.

⚖️ Michael Gableman's election review is getting messy.

• Quick context: Michael Gableman is the conservative former state Supreme Court justice hired by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos tasked with reviewing Wisconsin’s handling of the presidential election.
• A Dane County judge didn't mince words Thursday when she said Gableman appears to have “gone rogue” and “run amok” in refusing to comply with the state’s open records law.
• Dane County Circuit Judge Valerie Bailey-Rihn expressed her frustration to Vos' attorney over the fact that she did not have a signed affidavit from Gableman pledging that he complied with open records request. “It's not like this is Batman that you have to send out the bat single to get somebody to respond,” Bailey-Rihn said.
• The judge threatened to fine Vos for contempt if Gableman doesn't produce the requested records and affidavit showing that Vos asked Gableman for the records. The next hearing is set for June 16.

🚮 The city needs your help naming its new electric compactors and wants you to get weird with it.

• First things first, what's an electric compactor? They do exactly what you'd expect them to do, compact things. In this case, it's trash and recyclables.
• By replacing its old diesel-powered compactors at the east side drop-off site (4602 Sycamore Ave.), the city will save 356 gallons of diesel and prevent 8,000 pounds of CO2 from being emitted. Honestly, we love to see it.
• Like all machines, these bad boys need names. And the city says, "Your puns, no matter how strained, are welcome." They've even offered a few to get the ball rolling: Compactrick McCrunchface & Flatten O’Squishly; Darth Squasher & Emperor Pulvertine; Swole John Oliver & Adam Driver.
• You can email your name suggestions to  dropoff@cityofmadison.com through June 7.

🧪 Layoffs at Exact Sciences.

• The Madison-based cancer screening company laid off about 230 workers Tuesday, including 50 at its Madison locations. The Cap Times reports Exact Sciences employs 3,500 workers in the Dane County area.
• The 3% workforce reduction is reportedly the result of high inflation and a change in the company's priorities. Affected employees have been offered severance packages and as the company continues to hire, Exact is encouraging laid-off employees to apply for one of the open positions.

🥂 Smoky's last hurrah.

• You're probably thinking, "But didn't Smoky's already close?" Yes. The Madison supper club ended its regular operations at the end of February but since then has remained open Wednesday-Fridays offering drinks and food specials.
• Those nights, however, are coming to an end (for real this time) May 27, the State Journal reports. The building is set to be demolished in favor of a five-story, mixed-use building.

🚘 Your lunchtime read: Navigating Madison’s infamous Beltline during rush hour.

• From Wisconsin Life: "You know that bubbling dread you feel as you approach bumper to bumper traffic … or that anxiety and frustration as an aggressive driver cuts you off? It’s safe to say most drivers have unfortunately felt those irritations at one point or another. For writer Mixee Vang of Sun Prairie, nothing brings those emotions out quite like driving on Madison’s notorious Beltline during rush hour."

👕 LAST CALL FOR STINKY FLOWER SHIRTS!

• It came, it stank, and then it left. So long!
• Buy your shirt here. The proceeds will be split between Olbrich Botanical Gardens and local artist Jess Draws (aka bumblechub).

🦠 Covid-19 update

• The upshot: Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations continue to trend upward in Dane County and Wisconsin at large.
• More context: Despite these rising numbers, new cases and hospitalizations still remain far below levels seen with the Delta wave in fall of 2021 and the subsequent Omicron surge in January 2022.
• What you can do: Get vaccinated (and/or boosted), wear a mask in public spaces, order your free Covid-19 tests courtesy of the government.

Wisconsin Vaccination Rate: 61%

Dane County Vaccination Rate: 79%

📅 Events

Friday, May 20

• Artist Reception at Local Motive. Drink drinks, see art on renovated railroad car. 6 p.m.-close.
• Tap Takeover: Third Space Brewing at the Olbrich Park Biergarten. 3-10 p.m.
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Crucible featuring the cast of Madison's Velvet. Show at 12 a.m. $8.

Saturday, May 21

• Record Sale Event at Communication. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 🟠
• Lake Wingra Watershed Gathering with the Dudgeon Monroe Neighborhood Association. Family activities, resources, 30 organizations committed to clean water. 1 to 4 p.m.
• Madison Sharefest at Occupy Madison. Free stuff! Give and take situation. 2 p.m.-11 p.m. Free admission, but wouldn’t it be kinda funny if they charged?
• Wrenclaw, Aaron Scholz at Memorial Union Terrace. 7 p.m. Free. 🟠
• Fitzpatrick/Rosenau/Wincek at Arts + Literature Laboratory. Music at 7 p.m., $15 advance, $20 doors. 🟠
• The Mountain Goats, Will Sheff at Sylvee. Music at 8 p.m. $40. 🟠
• The Arkoffs, Rocket Bureau, Shazy Hade at Mickey's Tavern. 10 p.m., free. Release show for Rocket Bureau's Middle Angst LP. 🟠

Sunday, May 22

• 25th Annual Barrymore Flea Market at – you guessed it – The Barrymore. Local vendors onsite, mainly cash sales. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Free admission.
• WORTstock at Warner Park. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Free.
• Dane County Master Gardener Plant Sale. 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
• Madtown Artisans Third Annual Spring Event at Goodman Community Center. Roughly 40 local artists and makers. 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Free.
• New Music Series: Louka Patenaude at Arts + Literature Laboratory. Music at 5 p.m. Free, donations requested. Read about Louka Patenaude's solo album Testing Your Patience in Tone Madison's feature story from November. 🟠
• Patton Oswalt at the Orpheum. 7 p.m. $45+.
• The Big Big Big Charity Show!: Stand-Up Comedy for a Cause at The Bur Oak. Proceeds of the show will be donated to the American Heart Association. 7 p.m. Madison. $15.

Wondering what that 🟠 means? That symbol next to an event listing means the Tone Madison team recommends checking it out.

🐶 Welcome back to Friday Floof (sorry I forgot to do it last week, I promise I'm trying)! Recognize this face? It's none other than Phillip Hoisington, aka Sam's BFF. Our boy is officially a star. Phillip is featured in Madison Magazine's pet issue, which will print in June.

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