Eli Judge

The mayor called earlier today and gave me the committees that I would be serving on. They are all listed below, along with a hyperlink to a page with more information.

1. Public Safety Review Board
2. Downtown Coordinating Committee
3. Housing Committee
4. Joint Southeast Campus Area Committee
5. Regent St. - South Campus Plan Steering Committee
6. James Madison Park Property Planning Committee
7. State Street Design Project Oversight Committee

Overall, I am pleased with the outcome. The "Safety vs. Downtown vs. Campus" feel of it all makes me confident that I will be able to focus on, and be involved in, things that are important to students.

Also, if you are interested, the first council meeting is tonight at 6:30! Tune in to channel 12 and see the maiden voyage of the 2007-2009 Council. If you are with the brave of heart, you could come down to the Council Chambers (210 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Room 201) and see it all firsthand.

Hello again everyone. The trials that the end of the academic year provide, coupled with the continuing orientation to the council, have left me with little time to sit and write. Recent events in the 8th district also gives us much that I feel needs to be discussed.

The most important point to comment on is the terrible tragedy that took place on State Street last Tuesday night. The shooting death of Austin Bodahl by Daniel A. Kelly has left the 8th district in a state of concern and many have questioned the level of safety we have in downtown Madison.

To address this event I must first start with a public commendation. When I arrived at the scene, and, along with Alder Mike Veveer, was briefed on what had occurred, we were told of some truly heroic acts performed by The City bar’s security. Although both the victim and suspect had not been patrons at the bar, the bouncers took decisive action in the altercation and made me proud to see that we had such courageous people living and working in our city. In that same motion, I applaud the
Madison Police Department for their reaction to the shooting. By quickly controlling the scene and apprehending the suspect, they may have prevented further violence.

With that said, we are left with the discussion of how a shooting on State Street affects our lives. The most important issue in the 8th district is a strong concern over campus and downtown safety. With common muggings, street level crime, and sexual assaults, students find themselves afraid to walk home at night. With all of that being the case, I will say I feel that Tuesday night’s event was an extremely unusual occurrence. Homicide is a word one does not associate with downtown or Madison at large, and given the size of our growing city, we should be extremely grateful that that is the case.

We are left with a discussion as to what the city’s next step is. I was overjoyed to see that Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, in his press release in the wake of the shooting, showed support for the growing Neighborhood Watch Programs being set up in the campus
area. Groups of students are banding together to patrol their own streets in an effort to eliminate street level crime and sexual assaults. I hope that, in the coming months, Mayor Dave and I will be able to work together to not only increase the Downtown
Safety Initiative (which has proved to be hugely beneficial to campus and downtown businesses) but also help facilitate and support the crucial public safety tool that are the NWP’s.

The downtown of Madison is the heart of our city, so it is our obligation to do what we can to protect it. Students are empowering themselves to retake their neighborhoods and I feel the City of Madison can play a terrific role in maintaining and building on their success.

If anyone has any questions or comments regarding these points, feel free to send them to district8@cityofmadison.com.

On another note, I have set up my schedule for “office hours”. I’ve established these times for any student or resident of the 8th district to come and have a chat with me. I urge you to bring your wants, concerns, or interesting stories to me when I am there. I will be in Lakefront on Langdon (in the Memorial Union) at the time specified. I will also do my best to create a sign so I am easily found:

Every Monday from 11:45am to 1PM
The first Thursday of every month from 6pm to 7:15pm

As more times open up I will post their availability. These dates are also only effective until the fall semester begins. Rest assured, a new schedule will be posted at that time. As always, if you ever need to contact me, feel free to send an email to
district8@cityofmadison.com, or call at (608) 322-6358.

There have been many developments over the past couple weeks, quite a few of which affect students in my district directly. Please have patience with what will inevitably end up a rather long post.

As many of you have probably heard, Jeff Erlanger, a long time city activist, passed away two weeks ago at UW Hospital. Though most in Madison knew him primarily for his phenomenal work advancing the rights of those with disabilities, Jeff also spent a lot of time working on student issues. As a strong advocate for improving the Langdon Street neighborhood, Jeff sought me out immediately after the election to discuss issues that were important to him. At the meeting he described his hopes of bringing students back to the “city table” so that all of Madison could become stronger with their voices. When I learned of Jeff’s death, I realized that all students had lost an incredible friend. He will be terribly missed.

Aside from the somber news, there have also been developments at the Common Council. The June 5 meeting was my longest yet, stretching to nearly 11 p.m. Among the many issues discussed were Neighborhood Conservation Districts (NCDs) and the first round of discussions about Alder Brandon’s “Clean Elections” ordinance. I found the deliberations about NCDs particularly interesting. For those unfamiliar with the concept, NCDs generate a zoning overlay in which new development or construction would be required to “fit in” with surrounding buildings. As an example, a distinguishing characteristic of the Vilas Neighborhood is the prevalence of porches. Establishing a NCD would preserve this tradition by requiring new construction and developments to include porches. After lots of questions for city staff, it became apparent that these districts would require a lengthy vetting process with multiple safeguards and would only be handed out in areas of broad community support. Also, staff confirmed that density would not be threatened. After hours of debate, the ordinance passed with 13 affirmative votes, mine included.

Last Tuesday’s Council meeting proved a bit more relevant to students. The big issues of the day were the Law Park alcohol ban, some Human Resources issues, and the legalization (at least to a degree) of small electric vehicles.

I went into the Law Park issue strongly against making the park dry. The impetus for the ban is a transient group of people being very disruptive, publicly intoxicated, and, at times, verbally and physically destructive in and around the park. The problem I had with the ordinance was the fact that we, as a city, have been shuffling a very specific group of people from park to park with little attention paid to solving the underlying problem. I was frustrated by the ordinance because I felt we were simply perpetuating the cycle. I was of the opinion that the city had to find a time to put its foot down and stop issuing familiar band-aids to parks as they became trouble spots.

While we were on the floor, I brought up these points and they were echoed by others. I had urged Alder Veveer, the sponsor of the ordinance, to possibly add a sunset clause, so that there might be pressure to fix the problem on a more long-term scale. I felt comfortable with that decision, particularly in light of Alder Bruer’s perspective. He described this as a “crisis situation” in the 4th district. While I was hesitant to approve the ordinance, Bruer made it clear that the situation that was in place at Law Park at the time may have already been beyond any position of repair (at least with what the MPD is forced to deal with in other areas of policing at the same time). The drain of dealing with the situation in its matured form would have cost the MPD many hours of scrutiny and would have drained their ability to keep other neighborhoods safe. Seeing as students are already complaining about the need for a stronger presence in the realm of street crime deterrence and sexual assault prevention, giving the MPD a break may help to free up essential resources to ease the growing demand for service.

The Council unanimously voted in favor of the new form (complete with a 1.5 year sunset) with the understanding that Alders Clausius and Schumacher would be taking leadership in the Parks Subcommittee designed to deal with this issue specifically. I voted yes in the hope that this gambit we made towards stopping this migrating pattern of disruption will be the last one. Come next December, if it turns out we are planning on banning alcohol in another park I will probably not be sympathetic toward such an action.

One thing should be brought to people’s attention: Although general alcohol consumption in Law Park has been banned, it should be clear that, with a permit from the Parks Department, groups can still enjoy a drink down by the lake.

While we are on the topic of alcohol, I wanted to let readers in on the progress of the Alcohol Density Plan. It was scheduled to appear before the Alcohol License Review Committee (ALRC) Wednesday night but the meeting ended up lasting nearly six hours. I had intentions to attend the Madison Blogger Roundup that evening, but because of the lengthy meeting, I was unable to make it. A thousand apologies!

The Density Plan was referred to the July ALRC meeting, but one comment that was made during the night really struck a chord within me. The reason the meeting had gone on so long was due to a controversy over the new establishment trying to replace the Kamia Lounge, “Lucille’s.” Droves of downtown residents came down to testify against it, including State Senator Fred Risser. All involved were either living in close proximity to where the new lounge would be, or knew of Kamia’s past reputation. At the end of all of the testimony (and final referral * eye roll *) Chair Rearick stopped the proceedings and talked directly to the audience. She observed that many of the speakers and testifiers made an allusion to downtown being equivalent to any typical neighborhood. The truly refreshing reminder she made was that downtown is not a residential neighborhood. It is a mixed use, multifunctional area of our city. It is the beating heart of our entertainment and cultural centers while also home to one of the biggest universities in the country. All of these things come together to make Downtown Madison what it is. To draw a parallel between downtown and a sleepy suburb, in my opinion, is an action that requires quite a bit of renewed scrutiny and understanding of urban life.

With that out of the way, we can talk about these go-cart “things.” The Council referred making “electric street vehicles” legal to a later meeting due to a slip-up in Legistar, the city’s legislative database. The university has just recently procured a fleet of these devices and is hoping to use them on campus. A funny point on these from the Public Safety Review Board: one of the members of the committee asked about the probability of these vehicles becoming as popular as mopeds. I smiled at the MPD representative and asked how much they cost. Unless people are feeling like finding parking, getting a special license, and forking over $10,000 for one of these mini-cars, I think Langdon Street drag races are safely out of the question. Personally, I thought jousting tournaments would be fun, but the MPD rep didn’t agree.

That’s it for now. As always, I encourage you to stop by my office hours at 11:45am on Mondays at Lakefront on Langdon or email me at district8@cityofmadison.com.

Here is some essential move-out information for you if you are moving over the course of the week. The Density plan post is in construction at the moment and, seeing as I am moving out as well, will try to get it posted by the end of the week.

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These are guidelines (as written by the Madison Police Department) that you should use over the next week:

1.) Pile your trash at the curb in an orderly manner.
2.) Do not put trash in cardboard boxes. Boxes must be flattened for recycling.
3.) Put loose trash in plastic trash bags or trashcans. Don't just dump it on the curb.
4.) keep furniture and other large items separarte from your other trash.
5.) Large appliances, computers and microwaves require an appliance fee. Call 267-2626 for information (Or see below)
6.) Put your bottles, cans and paper in your green recycling cart.
7.) Do not put trash in the green recycling cart!
8.) Most metqal items can be recycled. Put small appliances, pots, pans, etc in a separate pile so they can be recycled. Don't put them in the green recycling cart.

Donate your useable goods and clothing Aug 11-14:
Holy Redeemer Parking Lot (E. Gorham and Henry)
UW Lot 51 corner of Regent and Mills
Corner of Mifflin and Broom

Questions? Go to www.cityofmadison.com/streets or call 246-4532 (east) or 266-4681 (west). For recycling information call 267-2626.

Also, a shout-out to Mary Carbine at the Buisness Improvement District for the following:

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FYI, a message from the University Book Store Digital Outpost re: computer and electronics recycling during student move out/move in:

Please let everyone know that the University Book Store’s Digital Outpost @ 673 State Street will be accepting computers and electronics for recycling now through August 19th. There is no charge to students, staff or faculty of the UW. For non-UW people there is a $5 charge for each monitor. Everything else will be free.
This equipment will go to Cascade Asset Management for recycling. Hard drives will be shredded for security. If there are any questions call our store at 255-2647.

Website: http://www.uwcomputerstore.com/

University Book Store’s Digital Outpost @ 673 State Street:
Hours: M-Th: 9:00 am - 7:00 pm,
F-Sa: 9:00 am - 5:30 pm,
Su: 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm

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Mary Carbine
Executive Director
Madison's Central Business Improvement District (BID)

I'd like to commend Mayor Dave for announcing that adding 18 new police officers to the streets and addressing safety concerns will be his top budget priorities this year. If approved by the Board of Estimates and City Council, these new officers would mark the largest single increase in MPD’s recent history. This announcement came on the heels of two spirited neighborhood meetings that revealed with cold immediacy the public’s concern about the safety of Madison’s streets and sidewalks. I encourage Police Chief Wray and Mayor Dave to allocate at least some of these new police resources to the campus and downtown areas, particularly the crime-prone Langdon and State St. neighborhoods. In addition, I continue to strongly advocate for the addition of a community police officer to the Spring St. neighborhood.

Expect a detailed post following the Sept. 4 Common Council meeting, where we will discuss, among other things, the Regional Transit Authority and Allied Drive redevelopment.

I’ve gotten a chance to sit down and figure out when I’ll be holding my Alder Hours over the course of the next semester. The first day they will be held is September 3rd and will continue till finals week in December. The time slots are as follows:

Every Monday from 11am till 12:15pm.
Every first Thursday from 5pm till 6:15.

As usual, they will be held at Lakefront on Langdon Café on the first floor of the Memorial Union. My Alder Hours are for students and 8th district residents who have questions or concerns with regards to local issues and City Council business. If, at any time, you have an issue that comes up and the dates provided wont work for you, feel free to send me an email at district8@cityofmadison.com or call at (608) 322-6358 (and please use the area code) and we can set up a separate meeting.

The lights have regained their shine in Sellery Hall windows, and that can only mean one thing: UW students are back on campus. Here is quick recap of the summer’s events:

A homicide on State St., along with the kidnapping and eventual murder of UW-Whitewater student Kelly Nolan, propelled campus and downtown safety into the national spotlight. During the flurry of media activity and the large outcry from the public, Mayor Dave announced his plan to increase the Madison police force by 18 new officers and gave his support to the creation of student neighborhood watch programs.

To develop the logistics for the Neighborhood Watch Program, Kelly Arendt, chair of the ASM Safety Committee, and I have been meeting with UW administration, the downtown business community and downtown neighborhood associations. The Dean of Students Office will be providing $2,000 to pay for a student position aimed at coordinating the “nuts and bolts” of the program. The Business Improvement District and its leader Mary Carbine, along with Downtown Madison Inc. and its president Susan Schmitz, have both proven to be incredible friends of the student body through their support in these important planning stages.

Students moved in and out of apartments and houses about two weeks ago. Waste Management and the Streets department did a phenomenal job dealing with the astounding amount of trash this event produced. While my personal move-in experience on Langdon (complete with holes in the kitchen floor and trash piled in the corners left by the previous tenants) left me with a bad taste in my mouth, the general move out experience seemed to be efficient and orderly.

The Alcohol Licensing Density Plan has been making its way through the Alcohol License Review Committee and will be considered before the Common Council on Sept. 18. With our upcoming marathon council meeting scheduled for this Tuesday, the plan’s referral to the 18th was a welcome adjustment.

I encourage all students who have been following the Density Plan and have e-mailed me their thoughts to attend the Council meeting on Sept. 18. I can only tell my colleagues a limited number of times why this plan will negatively affect us. I encourage my friends at ASM to assist me in galvanizing the student body against the Density Plan, as it directly affects the quality of life in downtown Madison. I have yet to meet a student leader who supports this misguided measure.

Budget season is quickly approaching. This year’s city budget process is unnecessarily complicated by a vicious battle in the state legislature’s conference committee, which is forcing municipalities like Madison to guess how much state aid they will receive in the coming year. Over the past few weeks, Mayor Dave has been holding public forums to gather input for the budget that he will propose to the Common Council. I remain optimistic that city leadership understands the need for a strong commitment to public safety and increased lighting in the campus area.

I also remain hopeful that Mayor Dave and I will be able to work together to protect the downtown area with an increase to the Downtown Safety Initiative and continued support for Neighborhood Watch Programs. I feel that these efforts will do far more than any alcohol licensing density plan to ensure that the people living in our city will be able to feel safe while walking down the street.

With this morning’s freshman convocation behind us, along with Mayor Dave’s apparent basketball career, we’re off to the races. Many may notice a large increase in police coverage on State St. and in the Langdon area this weekend. Hopefully this enlarged, Downtown Safety Initiative driven, visible deterrent to street level crime will maintain its focus on preventing sexual assaults and violence in the campus area. I certainly hope it will make a noticeable improvement in the lives of students. I invite you to let me know what your reactions have been to any changes you have seen.

As always, feel free to contact me, regardless of what district you live in, with any questions or concerns you might have. My phone number is (608) 322-6358 (please use the area code) and my email is district8@cityofmadison.com.

Remember, a lonely “Alder Hours” table is not fun for anyone. Look at the previous listings for the dates and times I will be available so you might come share the wonderful view from Lakefront on Langdon.

Oh, and of course...

Go Badgers!

This just in from Capt. Mary.

For all those not privy to the lingo, TITU means Today in the Union. There are sheets posted around the Union that you can consult to see what room we will be in.

Hope to see you then.

Like many of my peers, I have fallen down the dark pit of midterms over the past two weeks. That, along with the time demands of the ongoing budget process, are what I present as excuses for my extended hiatus from blogging. With that said, let’s touch on a few topics of interest to the campus area.

At the Sept. 25 council meeting, I designed and introduced a new tool to enhance tenants’ rights, which I am calling the Photo Ordinance. This new provision would “require landlords to obtain, maintain, and provide or make available, upon request, photographic evidence of damage, waste or neglect being charged against a tenant’s security deposit.” Since I took my chair as the 8th district representative, I have seen several cases in which unscrupulous landlords have charged tenants for items that don’t fit the scale of the damage or never existed in the first place. The end result is that tenants lose a portion -- or in some cases all -- of their security deposit. This ordinance ensures that some degree of accountability will be placed on these unfair charges which often fall on the backs of low-income, check-to-check students and families.

The proposal also stands to help landlords in the long run. Landlords can find themselves in court with a fraudulent tenant claiming that the charges pressed against them were false. This ordinance will make sure that landlords have the proof necessary to make sure that dishonest tenants (claiming innocence when they did, in fact, do harm to their unit) will themselves be held accountable for damage they caused. Earlier last week, the Daily Cardinal brought up the important question of the possible burden this could place on landlords with regards to the cost of cameras/storage systems. I take this point very seriously due to the large group of good operators we have in our city. I believe that the savings of court cases deterred by this ordinance will, in the long run, more than cover the costs of the tools needed for its enforcement.

To address the concern that very little time would be provided to take and document the needed pictures, I provide the case of the massive, twelve story Embassy Apartment building on University Avenue. In a recent conversation I had with Mr. Orosz, the owner of the property, he described his system of documenting damage done to his units. He is, as far as I can tell, already in full compliance with the Photo Ordinance. He also brought up a case in which the photos he took of a damaged property actually saved him from going to court. If a twelve-story apartment building can implement this procedure during the 48-hours of move-out and move-in, any landlord can.

The ordinance should appear on the Housing Committee’s agenda for November 7th. I’m planning to meet with representatives of various student, apartment, neighborhood, and landlord associations before then. I hope that any suggestions, be it from my constituents or colleagues on the council, be sent to me so we can make amendments if necessary.

Moving on. Several major 8th district construction projects have grabbed the media’s attention recently. Whether it is the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery near Union South or the Hillel redevelopment on Langdon St. (both of which are phenomenal projects),
our area will see a bunch of cranes over the next three years. While these projects, once they begin construction, may provide headaches in the form of traffic and noise, both developments will be great assets for years to come.

Students may have noticed the addition of some wonderfully-bright pedestrian scale lighting in Concrete Park (the space between Statesider and Towers). I hope that the dramatically increased visibility afforded by the lights will help residents get home safely and deter street-level crime. If you know of an area that you think could benefit from increased lighting, please let me know! My advocating for our lighting to alders and traffic engineering will only be effective if I know where you think it needs to be aimed!

That’s it for now. As usual, feel free to stop by my “Alder Hours” (every Monday from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and every first Thursday from 5 to 6:15 p.m. at Lakefront on Langdon), e-mail at district8@cityofmadison.com, or call (608) 322-6358 (use area code) to have a chat.

Since some attention has been recently paid to the upcoming photo ordinance, I felt it proper to give a quick update regarding its progress. I appreciate Kate Maternowski’s thoughtful comments on this issue in Friday's Badger Herald.

Over the past couple weeks, I have discussed the language and potential effects of the ordinance with people on both sides of the debate. I am pleased that students, tenants, advocates, and several alders have shown great enthusiasm for the new law. Understanding that the best suggestions for altering a proposal often come from its strongest opponents, I asked for a meeting with Nancy Jensen, the president of the Apartment Association of South Central Wisconsin, to discuss what I expected to be grave concerns about the ordinance.

The result was very surprising. Ms. Jensen revealed to me that she, along with her organization, believes the ordinance is a good idea. She spoke to the point that it was unfortunate that the government needed to coerce landlords into following a "great business practice," but understood the necessity of writing it into law. Unless there are drastic changes to the language of the ordinance, Ms. Jensen will be actively urging the Common Council to support its adoption.

I am grateful for her bold leadership on this issue; her willingness to disagree with some of her colleagues demonstrates her sincere concern for tenants’ rights, honorable business practices, and the student population at large. While there are hundreds of great landlords, both downtown and elsewhere, some have developed the tendency to generate exaggerated and, in several cases, bogus charges against the tenants with whom they should be serving with honesty and integrity. I echo Ms. Jensen in her regret that government is necessary here but am confident that the tenant-friendly housing providers will understand the need and potential benefits of this ordinance.

As the link at the beginning of this post reminds, the ordinance will see its next attention at the Housing Committee meeting on Nov. 7. I strongly encourage students and my colleagues on the Common Council to join in our discussion next Wednesday evening.

Hey everyone,

Here's a quick post (mostly due to finals related time constraints). The following city meetings have been canceled today due to the storm:

Public Safety Review Board
Housing Affordability Subcommittee
Affirmative Action Commission
Transit and Parking Commission
Madison Cultural Arts District Board Meeting

I will post any changes/additions as things develop over the course of the night.

Expect a much longer post relating to weather, budget, photo ordinances, etc as time frees up. I will not be holding office hours next week (scheduled to be December 17th at 11pm) due to finals week. If you have any specific questions about anything, as always, feel free to email at district8@cityofmadison.com or call me at (608) 322-6358 (please use the area code).

A fire was reported in the west tower of Old Ogg just after 11am today. As of around noon, the fire was under control and no injuries were reported. The fire was on the 13th floor.

Old Ogg has been recently under deconstruction as the university intends to make a different use of the space. Scaffolding can be seen on the sides of the west tower and workers were in the tower at the time of the fire. They were able to exit the building quickly and, again, no one has been reportedly hurt.

Looking out of the window at Gordon Commons, I am happy to say that smoke has stopped coming out of the windows and the Fire Trucks are starting to pack up. The Fire Department did a phenomenal job in reacting to what could have been a very dangerous situation. No doubt, the fire drills they were holding in Old Ogg over the summer seem to have really paid off.

More as I come to know it.

Note: As of 12:42pm, I've not heard any reports with regards to the cause of the fire. I would speculate that it would have something to do with the deconstruction activities currently under way.

I figured it is a good time to cover a few happenings over the past month. This is a good time to let me share a few New Years resolutions that I have made as well.

The Photo Ordinance I authored is moving through committees with some healthy discussion. Recently, the Tenant Landlord Subcommittee made minor changes, including a small addition that says only damages subject to a photo or picture need to be documented. We felt damages like the smell from animals – obviously – cannot have a picture associated with the damage, so it was fair to add such an exemption.

The ordinance has been gaining support from the business community as well. Nancy Jensen, the representative of the Apartment Association that I blogged about in past posts, made an appearance at our meeting to tell the committee why she, and her organization, felt this ordinance both a good idea and better business practice. From there it moves to the Housing Committee, which will be meeting February 6th at 5pm. There will certainly be a few house cleaning amendments to it, so stay tuned for that blog post update.

I strongly believe which ordinance balances the needs of tenants – many of whom are students – and landlords at the same time. This is a win-win for students and the Madison business community.

Aside from the Photo Ordinance, other activity has been happening around Madison. It does not take a meteorologist to notice that snow has hung around for a good part of the winter so far. It makes for great fun down Observatory Hill, but causes a few headaches on Madison’s roads and highways. In response, the downtown alders, along with Ald. Rhodes-Conway, met with several city division heads and staff to further clarify our plans for dealing with snow removal and emergency reaction in the case of a major storm.

As our conversations and meetings continue, I have been working with campus area alders in trying to find ways to reach out to students and keep them informed on the city efforts. One of the methods we came up with was the creation of a Facebook group that not only spells out the city’s policies towards snow, but also has the capacity to alert the members of the group when an emergency is declared. I also hope the student papers will continue to post emergency information on their respective websites. I have also begun to consult with the office of the Mayor and University staff to develop a plan for campus wide emails in order to get the message out as quick as possible.

Now as for those resolutions. With 2008 finally here, I thought it would be proper for me to end this long awaited blog post by sharing my newly formed Eli Judge Alder Resolutions. If you have any comment on my list (along the lines of suggestions as to how I might get things done/ what needs to be done), or anything else for that matter, always feel free to contact me at district8@cityofmadison.com or call me at (608) 322-6258 (please use the area code!).

1. Hold listening sessions, with the help of University and UH private housing, in each of the dorms in the district (Witte, Sellery, Statesider, Towers, and Carson's [for Adams, Tripp, and Slichter]). Further, I intend to hold listening sessions in the Union so students and residents not in University/UH housing can meet with me. In addition, I plan to meet with the executive boards of the UW-Madison Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council to discuss the affairs of Langdon Street.
2. Assist the Neighborhood/Langdon Watch Programs in any way possible to ensure their success.
3. Pass the Photo Ordinance.
4. Maintain my current attendance record at council meetings. I am proud to serve the 8th District and I will continue my perfect attendance at Council meetings, along with my near-perfect attendance at committees.
5. Work with student tenants rights groups, the Tenant Resource Center, and the Apartment Association in the creation of the Ratemylandlord.com website.
6. Get a stop sign at the corner of Langdon and Francis near the Gamma Phi Beta sorority (east/west traffic).
7. Ensure that the 500/600 blocks of the State St. reconstruction goes smoothly for all parties involved (Students and businesses specifically).
8. Maintain this blog. I have received the suggestion of possibly making smaller posts, thus making fresh posts more common. Expect such a change soon.
9. Whatever you think I should do. Send me emails, call me, or Facebook me to tell me what I should do to make this city/district better.

Like always, I will continue to hold office hours. Given the new semester and a fresh list of classes, I will be scheduling new times that work with my schedule. When I get the times finalized, they will immediately go up on this blog. Stay tuned!

Two final notes to pass along:

First, from the Associated Students of Madison blog: help pick the new UW-Madison Chancellor. Two students will serve on the Search and Screen Committee and this is very important work. Besides picking the next leader of UW’s multi-billion dollar budget, this person will be enormously important in maintaining a successful city-UW relationship! You can find all of the details over at the ASM blog.

Second, if you would like to come chat with me, on Monday, February 11th, the Badger Herald will be sponsoring a debate between the College Democrats and College Republicans. Come find me there! The details can be found here and I am sure the parties involved will be promoting this ahead of time. It runs from 7:30 to 8:30pm and will be going down in the Great Hall in the Memorial Union. The turnout for this is expected to be huge. It should be both educational and a good time!

I've listed this semester's Alder Hour schedule below. They will meet at the usual place at Lakefront on Langdon Cafe in the Memorial Union. As usual, if you are unable to make it to these times, or just don't feel like waking up by 11:30, feel free to set up a meeting with me through my email (district8@cityofmadison.com) or call (6083226358, use the area code).

Every Monday, from 11:30am-12:45pm.
The last Thursday of the month, from 12:30pm-1:45pm.

In light of last semester's damaging fire on Carroll St. and the tragic loss of life on Bedford, fire prevention opportunities/ awareness events are going on throughout the campus area. Two thousand 9-volt batteries will be given to students between 10 am and 2 pm tomorrow at Union South. At the same times on Jan. 25th, the batteries will be passed out at the Memorial Union. Check your alarms to see if you could use some new power!

Other events, including free pizza and books (which I will be keeping an eye on given my $450 book purchase this morning), have been listed in this article.

This just in from Al Schumacher (streets division):

"The drizzle is expected to turn into snow anytime now. Wind speeds will continue to pick up. The afternoon commute will not be good. We have 30 salters and 2 sanders loaded and ready to hit the streets as soon as the switchover takes place. We will lose the ability to salt later this evening when temperatures fall below 15 on the way down to an expected low of -7. "

Be careful out there. As of this moment, a snow emergency has not yet been declared. Stay tuned for any changes to that, as I will be checking periodically while I am in class.

And, per the title of this post, lets work together to make sure no one gets hurt.

From Madison Metro:

WINTER WEATHER UPDATE:
Tuesday, January 29; 4:43 PM

Several buses are currently experiencing a 15-20 minute delay due to the weather.

Passengers are encouraged to be at bus stops at regularly scheduled times, but a wait should be expected. Drivers will maintain schedules as conditions allow.
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Also, the meeting of the Water Utility Board has been canceled for today due to the weather.

The message below was released by the streets department a little bit ago. The university also issued this statement. Looking out the window, I must say I find it disappointing that classes were not canceled today.

Metro busses are saying that they are having delays from times by about 15-25 min.

Still no word on the status of city meetings tonight. Stay tuned to see if Housing, among others, will be convening in this winter wonderland.

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The City of Madison has declared a snow emergency. That means that alternate side parking restrictions will be in effect throughout the entire City of Madison including the downtown/isthmus snow emergency zone.

Madison residents are asked to remove all vehicles from the street if possible. Residents who must park on the street this evening should park on the ODD house numbered side of the street. Vehicles parked on the street Thursday evening February 7th should be parked on the EVEN house numbered side of the street. Violations of the alternate side parking rules are punishable by a fine of $20 outside the Snow Emergency Zone and $30 inside.

The Snow Emergency will remain in effect until at least 7 a.m. on Friday February 8th.

Parking is available in the cashiered sections of city-owned ramps in the downtown area. During a declared Snow Emergency you can park for no charge at the City ramps from 9 p.m. until 7 a.m. If you enter before 9 p.m. or leave after 7 a.m. you are liable for any parking charges before 1 a.m. and from 7 a.m. until the time you leave.

When parking in the ramps overnight, do not park on the top level so this area can be plowed. Be aware that vehicles stored in city ramps longer than 48 hours are subject to being ticketed and towed. Meters in lots and ramps are enforced 24 hours per day, 7 days a week.

NEW, Parking is also available at three central city parks. Residents can park in the lots at Burr Jones Park 1820 E. Washington Av, the boat landing lot of Tenney Park, 1615 Sherman AV (located along the east side of the Yahara River), and beach parking lot at Olbrich Park 3527 Atwood Av.

Madison residents can get complete snow emergency information at www.cityofmadison.com/streets or by calling 261-9111.

The Housing Committee has been canceled for today. Items, like the Photo Ordinance, will be considered at a later meeting.

Madison Metro will be stopping all service today at 7PM! This includes all campus area Safe Ride busses. Below is the message from the UW administration. I wonder if the class cancelation will apply to the class I am in right now (current time: 3:15). :)

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In light of deteriorating weather and road conditions, UW-Madison will cancel all afternoon and evening classes at 3:30 p.m., Provost Patrick Farrell has announced.

However, campus operations will continue to the degree possible. Individual services, such as Recreational Sports, Libraries and Unions may remain open. Anyone planning to attend evening events on campus is encouraged to call ahead to ensure programs are continuing.

Madison Metro buses, including those serving campus, will end today at 7 p.m. Final trips will leave the transfer points at this time. Passengers are encouraged to leave as early as possible to ensure they are able to make these final 7 p.m. trips.

Madison Metro delays should be expected throughout the rest of the day. Most buses are currently experiencing a 5-20 minute delay.

Employees who would like to leave early due to poor road conditions are advised to use their own discretion regarding their health and safety, but are required to use accrued holiday, vacation or compensation time to cover any absences. Please check with your supervisor.

Employees who are unable to reach campus for evening shifts are also urged to contact their supervisors. Employees in these situations are also required to use accrued holiday, vacation or compensation time to cover any absences.

Supervisors are advised to grant approval of all employee-requested leave in this inclement weather situation.

For more information on Madison Metro service and delays, http://www.mymetrobus.com

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Sorry about the short notice, but today's "Alder Hours" are going to need to be pushed back a bit. Instead of its normal mid-afternoon slot, I will be pushing today's session back to 4:30 pm. It will still be at Lakefront on Langdon on the first floor of the Memorial Union.

I'm sorry for whatever inconvenience this causes to anyone. If the new time wont work for you, feel free to give me a call (6083226358, please use the area code) and we can set up a one on one time.

Classes in Van Vleck have been canceled today, I’ve heard, due to flooding. Who says being a math major doesn’t pay off?

Also, this Wednesday, the photo ordinance will be discussed and voted on in the Housing Committee. The meeting is at 5pm in Room LL-110 in the Madison Municipal Building (215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd). I strongly encourage students to come to that meeting and register or speak in support! If there is no way you can make it, you can send an email in support to Meg Zopelis (mzopelis@cityofmadison.com) or me and we will make sure your opinion gets into the hands of the committee members!

(For some background on this post, I suggest you consult some recent articles published in various campus and Madison papers. Some are listed below)

http://badgerherald.com/oped/2008/03/25/its_not_me_its_you.php
http://dailycardinal.com/article/2407
http://badgerherald.com/news/2008/03/12/langdon_plans_capito.php
http://dailycardinal.com/article/2401
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/278040

Over the past couple months, there has been a growing feeling of discontent among the student population towards the group in the downtown area known as Capital Neighborhoods Inc (CNI). CNI, for those not privy to the neighborhood beat, is a conglomeration of several different smaller groups all around the capital square area. The recent catalyst of what could, at times, be described outright anger and rage on the part of most of campus was the “list of ideas” for the downtown that CNI’s Alcohol Issues Subcommittee released to the public in late January. These ideas or proposals included an increase on taxes on alcohol in the city and, more shockingly, the suggestion that all UW students should go through an alcohol issues screening program.

I touched on these issues in my letter addressed to the CNI executive committee (EC) which I am sure will find it’s way onto the internet in short order.

Tonight, the State/Langdon representatives of CNI addressed the EC with the intention of announcing their succession from the central city neighborhood association. Several individuals, including Jess Pavlic (the president of State/Langdon), Josh Monisi, Mikeala Loui, Han Lee (all representatives from the State/Langdon group), and myself, presented a list of grievances to the EC relating to various policy differences, conflicts, and points of contention that the two neighborhoods have. While they didn’t speak, the two-dozen or so State/Langdon residents that attended the meeting listened attentively on the edges of the somewhat crowded room the meeting was held in. A lively, fortunately civil discussion ensued.

A point that was brought up by CNI’s EC centered on the potential lack of longevity that a new student neighborhood could attain. The transient nature of the student population, it was said, would lead to a potential failure of the concept of a campus area group. To that, State/Langdon representatives and I pointed to groups like ASM and the College Democrats/Republicans (all of whom seemed to have an interested representative at this meeting), which, over time, had become institutions of the campus. We felt that the potentially larger territory that a campus neighborhood would encompass would give us a greater pool of people to recruit from and potentially more success in the fight over membership numbers that State/Langdon has had problems with for many years.

A member of the EC pointed out that support from CNI in such an expansion could be beneficial for both our group and theirs. While that is potentially true, we disagreed in that most students familiar with neighborhood politics, even before the alcohol proposals of last January were released, had a very negative view of CNI as a whole. It had become clear to the State/Langdon representatives that recruiting was being hampered, if not made nearly impossible, by our direct association with CNI. The final straw, so to speak, that the January round of policies created led to the “tainting” of what chances State/Langdon had of growing the campus group effectively while maintaining our connection to CNI.

The discussion brought up an essential truth with regards to the interaction of both campus and CNI territory. It was said that some of the issues that the isthmus faces could be best tackled as a combined front, or united effort, of both neighborhood groups. Issues like safety, for example, could be universally addressed and improved by joint interaction. While this was the case, I was quick to bring up the fact that issues, like safety, do not operate within a bubble. One of the primary motivations behind alcohol policies, CNI’s or otherwise, is to control alcohol intake in order to promote public safety and order. It is my opinion that, while we may all agree that we want a safe, fun place to live, having fundamental differences on how we go about building that neighborhood (and the policies that form it) stands in the face of being effective in combating even the most fundamental of problems.

I fully understand the need, now more than ever, for our two communities to start a discussion about where the downtown is going and how our groups are going to interact with each other. The isthmus is a tiny place and neither of our to communities are going anywhere. State/Langdon and I understood that dynamic and considered, at great length, the possibility of remaining a part of CNI. In the end, though, we firmly felt that something new and separate from CNI would be needed should we hope to find anything resembling long-term success.

Even so, at the end of our meeting tonight, State/Langdon and the CNI EC formed an ad hoc committee that comprised of members of both bodies. This group will serve as a transition entity for State/Langdon into independence and also as the new first step into the improved communications between campus and CNI. This plan was met with approval on both sides of the debate and was given a unanimous vote in favor of its undertaking. While a timeline has not been immediately set for State/Langdon’s full independence, I have great faith that the move will be conducted expeditiously and with great concern for detail. I encourage any resident of the campus area to contact me should they desire to voice an opinion on the formation of the new group (contact info below).

All things considered, I believe this will give the campus area the opportunity it needs to truly make a successful neighborhood organization. State/Langdon will continue, and improve, the discourse it has been having with CNI and, hopefully, will also forge a new group capable of lasting for decades.

I had promised a recap of the meeting tonight, and I hope I have done something resembling that. If you have any questions, or just want a first hand account of what happened, feel free, as always, to call me (6083226358), send me and email (district8@cityofmadison.com), or visit my “alder hours” (Mondays at 11:30am in Lakefront on Langdon in the Memorial Union).

On a separate note, tomorrow's (now today's, the 26th) debate between the two candidates for Dane County Board in the 5th district will be held at Tripp Commons (in the Memorial Union) at 5pm. I strongly urge you to stop by if you haven't had a chance to see either (alphabetically) Manning or O'Hagan.

There have been a lot of questions raised, along with some interesting accusations made, of the State Street reconstruction project, so I felt it warranted a detailed post.

First, to the above poster (Assuming that this isn’t, as was suspected, an April Fools joke), this project is fully funded on both ends of its development. The city has allotted over five million dollars for the streets’ demolition and redevelopment. As an anonymous city official put it when I inquired into the potential truth behind the above poster, he/she said, “The city provides the wonderful service of rebuilding roads after we’ve had our fun destroying them. (Cue substantial sarcasm)”

The project will be completed around September 12th of this year. The project will include street and curb improvements, lighting upgrades, trees that will replace the ones removed during construction, an overhaul of “Concrete Park” (the space between Statesider and Towers private residence halls), the installation of a public art piece in the space between State St. Brats and University Inn, and, finally, bike-rack improvements. In essence, this stage of State St. construction is the continuation of what was done to the first four blocks two years ago.

For your reference, the plans of the project, compliments of the City Engineering division, can be found here.

While this round of downtown construction will certainly be disruptive to the student population and downtown business in general, completing the final stage of this necessary project over the summer, when students, for the most part, will be elsewhere, is best should we hope to keep it’s impact to a minimum.

If you have any questions that weren’t addressed, please feel free to contact me by phone (6083226358, please use the area code) and/or email (district8@cityofmadison.com) so we can clear things up. I also invite you to visit my “Alder Hours” at Lakefront on Langdon (in the Memorial Union) at 11:30 every Monday morning.

*EDIT*

Below, I've added a segment of an email regarding bike racks in the State St. area. Due to the construction, many of the racks in the area had to be removed. The email spells out where new replacements are/may be placed.

"We have taken a look at our options to add bike racks around the State St. project limits and have found/are exploring some options:

1. We are going to add bike racks outside the city ramp in between Hawthorne Ct and Frances St.

2. A city ordinance does not allow us to put bikes on Library Mall, but we are exploring putting some on Murray St, near the intersection of Library Mall.

3. We also are exploring adding some around the Gilman St corner of the job. Perhaps inside Peace Park."