New Chief Mike Koval wants Madison Police to be a force for good
In 1983, Mike Koval was an eager young police officer, fresh out of the academy and ready to save the world. But he quickly realized not everyone on the Madison Police Department shared his zeal....
View ArticleOccupy Madison closes on property in Emerson East neighborhood for tiny house...
Occupy Madison officially closed on property at 2046-2050 E. Johnson St. on Thursday, clearing another hurdle for its tiny house village for the homeless. "Occupy Madison owns property. Is that some...
View ArticleColectivo Coffee looks to expand in Madison with shops on State and Monroe...
Colectivo Coffee, which opened its first Madison coffee shop on the Capitol Square last year, is expanding here with at least two more locations in the works.
View ArticleCity owes departing Madison parks director Kevin Briski $86,000 for unused...
Kevin Briski drew a fair share of criticism during his six-year tenure in Madison. But say what you want about the guy: he didn't take much vacation.
View ArticleFaced with criticism, Monona Terrace omits data from 2013 annual report
Every year, Monona Terrace releases a report touting the amount of economic activity the convention center generates here. Last year, "Isthmus" and others questioned the veracity of its data, pointing...
View ArticleWhat should Madison do with its student-housing eyesores?
Brett Eby is not fond of the Highlander, the 10-story apartment building at 121 W. Gilman St., which he has called home for the past year. "It's overpriced for what you get," he says. His main...
View ArticleSixty-one couples wed at Dane County clerk's office after Wisconsin's...
Renee Currie and Shari Roll have been a couple for 10 years, but they didn't feel the same security that legally married couples have always taken for granted. What if something should happen to one of...
View ArticleCitizen group concedes push for referendum on Judge Doyle Square likely to fail
A citizens group collecting signatures for a petition to force a referendum on Judge Doyle Square conceded Wednesday that it likely won't be able get the more than 16,000 signatures needed to force a...
View ArticleJust married! How we got to this point in Wisconsin
The way Donna Burkett sees it, it is nobody's business whom she marries. It's why Burkett and her partner, Manonia Evans, went to the Milwaukee County Clerk's office to get a marriage license. But...
View ArticleJust married! Meet six same-sex newlyweds in Dane County
Renee Currie and Shari Roll were stunned to be the first in line at the Dane County clerk's office on Friday afternoon. When word broke that Wisconsin's amendment banning same-sex marriage had been...
View ArticleScott Resnick for Madison mayor?
Ald. Scott Resnick encountered something of an anomaly recently: a person who remembers what Madison was like before Paul Soglin, the city's enduring mayor. In Resnick's time in Madison, the political...
View ArticleFrank Productions plans a major music venue along the Capitol East corridor...
Frank Productions announced today that it is planning a 46,000-square-foot music venue in the 1000 block of East Washington Avenue, next to Breese Stevens Field. The venue, which does not yet have a...
View ArticleProgressive Dane takes over petition drive against Judge Doyle Square
In May, Christopher Daly heard about a campaign to force the Common Council to hold referendums whenever the city wants to subsidize projects with more than $10 million of tax incremental financing....
View ArticleOccupy Madison begins hard work at its new tiny house village
Last Saturday afternoon, a handful of Occupy Madison members gathered at the group's recently acquired property on East Johnson Street to begin cleaning the old auto shop, which it plans on turning...
View ArticleCity fees could deter backyard apartment units in Madison
When Madison officially legalized the construction of "accessory dwelling units" -- backyard cottages often called "mother-in-law apartments" -- Pamela Porter and Mare Chapman rolled up their sleeves...
View ArticleDane County Board could weigh in on Judge Doyle Square
In February, the Madison school board sent a letter to the city, asking it to close the tax incremental finance district that the city intends to use to pay for the Judge Doyle Square project. Soon the...
View ArticleMadison ceases enforcement of buffer zone because of U.S. Supreme Court ruling
In light of a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, Madison will no longer enforce its buffer zone law that restricts protests within 100 feet of an entrance to a health clinic.
View ArticleCar2go eyes Madison, but Wisconsin law is obstacle to car-sharing service
A new type of car-sharing service, car2go, wants to do business in Madison. But just like Uber and Lyft, car2go faces legal hurdles to operate here. Car2go is a car-sharing service similar to Community...
View ArticleBridget Maniaci criticizes Paul Soglin's style and agenda in her run for...
Bridget Maniaci had high hopes that she would be able to work with Paul Soglin when he was returned to office in 2011. Soglin had endorsed Maniaci for the Common Council in 2009 when she upset the...
View ArticleDeveloper Bob Dunn seeks $44.6 million in city aid to build Judge Doyle...
Developer Bob Dunn wants the city to pony up $44.6 million in order to build a $111 million, 318-room hotel behind the Madison Municipal Building as part of the Judge Doyle Square project. Dunn is...
View ArticleMark Clear and Lisa Subeck battle for liberal cred in west-side Assembly race
Lisa Subeck and Mark Clear sometimes end up on the opposite sides of battles on Madison's Common Council, but they are friends. When Clear, 50, was handcuffed and ticketed at the Capitol for singing at...
View ArticleJudge Doyle Square price tag for city of Madison swells to $77 million
Developer Bob Dunn submitted his TIF request for the second block of the Judge Doyle Square project Friday, showing he needs another $32.3 million from the city, on top of an earlier request for $44.6...
View ArticleMGE's proposed rate change dismays conservationists
In 2006, Kurt Reinhold invested $20,000 installing solar panels on the roof of his home. A former high school science teacher, he was concerned about climate change and wanted to reduce his carbon...
View ArticleThe high cost of Judge Doyle Square
Madison Common Council members say the city simply can't afford what developer Bob Dunn wants it to pay for the controversial $174 million Judge Doyle Square project. Dunn is seeking $75.5 million from...
View ArticleReimagining the Madison Municipal Building
Although the Municipal Building remains gorgeous to look at from the outside, the inside has been carved up and covered over. Its heating and air-conditioning systems are in terrible shape, and it's...
View ArticleJust how accurate are Wisconsin's vote counting machines?
Karen McKim, who is active with the Wisconsin Grassroots Network, is raising alarm about whether the state's voting system is accurate and trustworthy. As the United States turns its vote tabulation...
View ArticleMadison official's claims for new Monona Terrace hotel questioned
As the Madison Common Council continues to wrestle with the question of whether it should subsidize a hotel to the tune of $44 million, the debate lingers over what benefits that hotel may or may not...
View ArticleEdgewater Hotel races to finish for official September opening
Since construction began on the Edgewater Hotel in the fall of 2012, its owners have projected an opening date of August 2014. But anyone who has seen the hotel would likely be skeptical that goal will...
View ArticleLisa Subeck's win means female domination of Madison's seats in the Assembly
Lisa Subeck said her grassroots campaign and experience helped her win the race. "People do want a fighter," she said at her victory party at Schwoegler's bowling alley.
View ArticleCan Madison be a hotspot for bike tourism with Bikabout?
Megan Ramey loves to travel, but she prefers to explore on bicycle rather than with a big, clunky, gas-guzzling car. So whenever she takes trips, she researches a city's bicycle options, trails and...
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