Morning Update: Tuesday, Jan. 4

Good morning, Madison!

It's Tuesday, when was the last time you washed your cloth masks? Here's your reminder to do just that. While waiting for those to dry, it might be time to consider upping your mask game. Wisconsin recently hit a terrifying milestone and recorded its 1,000,000th confirmed case of COVID-19 and right now, there's no sign of the virus slowing down.

Many health experts have recommended folks consider wearing more protective masks like N95s, KN95s, and surgical-style masks to better curb the spread of COVID-19. It can be tricky to find those coveted masks but thankfully, Wirecutter just that.

Additionally, the Food and Drug Administration authorized Pfizer’s COVID-19 booster vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds Monday. For the record, the FDA said kids who received the Johnson & Johnson or Moderna primary vaccine dose may get the Pfizer booster.

Stay healthy, friends.

— Hayley

🍝 After 71 years, Paisan's is closing its doors for now.

• Some context: The restaurant has long operated out of the office building at 131 West Wilson. The building was shut down twice by the city late last year due to structural concerns. Paisan's has sued the building's owners Executive Management, Inc. for damages incurred when the restaurant was forced to shut down.
• Now, Paisan’s Restaurant is moving its staff and operations to its sister restaurant at Porta Bella on Frances street.
• It's not clear what the long-term plan is for the local spot but owner Wally Borowski told Channel 3000 it is "very unlikely” the restaurant will reoccupy the space at 131 West Wilson Street in the future.

🎒 MMSD is offering boxed meals for students in need.

• According to the Cap Times, Madison Metropolitan School District officials have set up food distributions at 41 sites throughout the week, "with boxes containing five breakfasts and five lunches for each student available for pickup."
• To pick up a box, folks must provide a student name, student ID number, and student home school. See the full list of pick-up locations and hours here.

🌽 Get ready for the winter farmers' market.

• The Dane County Farmers’ Market is returning this weekend with the Late Winter Market at Garver Feed Mill. The market will run every Saturday from Jan. 8 through April 9 from 8 a.m. to noon — except for this week when it will run from  7:30 - 11:30 a.m.

📚 Madison residents did a lot of reading in 2021.

• The Madison Public Library system reports checkouts for physical materials nearly doubled from Jan. 1 to Nov. 30, 2021. All in all, Madison libraries rented out 1,324,057 items across all locations.

👮 The person selected to be Madison's first independent police monitor has turned down the job.

• Byron Bishop currently serves as Madison’s Department of Civil Rights Equal Opportunities Division manager. He was offered the job back in December 2020 but the State Journal reports he withdrew from consideration to head up the new office Monday.
• City Council established the Police Civilian Oversight Board in September 2020 after it was listed as a suggestion in an exhaustive consultant’s report on the Madison Police Department.

🐣 Happy Take Me Home Tuesday! Meet Ja Rule and Sisqo.

• From the Dane County Humane Society: January is Adopt a Rescued Bird Month, so we’d like to feature a couple parakeets on this edition of Take Me Home Tuesday. Meet Ja Rule and Sisqo. These cuties were transferred to DCHS from an overcrowded shelter in Baraboo. They’re looking for a new home where they can spread their wings and sing.

✈️ Your lunchtime listen: Living Under Warplanes With Documentarian Nina Berman.

• From WORT: "Communities across the country are living with military fighter jets overhead. Here in Madison, F-35 jets are scheduled to bed down in early 2023, despite public outcry. Documentarian and photographer Nina Berman’s new film 'When the Jets Fly' shows the experiences of people living on Whidbey Island off the coast of Seattle, whose voices are often interrupted by fighter jets."

🦠 Covid-19 Resources

Wisconsin Vaccination Rate: 58.2%

Dane County Vaccination Rate: 76%

Here's where to find a COVID-19 vaccine near you.

Need a COVID-19 test? PHMDC has you covered.

Do you still need your flu shot? Start here.

NEW: Request an at-home testing kit.

📅 Events: Tuesday, Jan. 4

• Rope (1948) screening at Alicia Ashman Library. From IMDb: "Two men attempt to prove they committed the perfect crime by hosting a dinner party after strangling their former classmate to death." 1:30 p.m. 🟠
• Pints and Politics hosted by the Republican Party of Dane County at Pedros Mexican Restauranté. Speakers: Brian Schimming, Scarlett Johnson, Erik Olsen, Ben Voekel, David Varnum, and James Firmani. 5:30 p.m.
• Sun Prairie City Council meeting. 7 p.m.
• Public Domain Movie Night: "His Girl Friday" (1940) at Bierock. From IMDb: "A newspaper editor uses every trick in the book to keep his ace reporter ex-wife from remarrying." 8 p.m. Free.

Wondering what that 🟠 means?

That symbol next to an event listing means that Tone Madison’s team of writers and editors recommends checking it out. Tone knows Madison’s arts and music landscape better than anybody else.

Looking for more? Check out our weekly event roundup here.

📝 Miss a day? Read past newsletters here.

📅 Want to share an event with us? Submit details here.

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📨 Need something else? Email us at contact@madisonminutes.com.

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