Yard Waste Sites Will Close Sunday

Posted on November 30, 2012 by TheEastSider

Saturday and part of Sunday, minus the Packer game, is all the time that is left to clean up your yard and dispose of it before spring. The City of Madison yard waste drop off sites will close for the season at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday December 2nd. The Site at 402 South Point RD will be closed permanently.

Residents with leaves and yard waste who do not get their material to the sites this weekend can still bring material to the Sites at 1501 W. Badger Rd or 4602 Sycamore AV, compost material at home or hold it until spring. Continue reading →

Willy Kids Listserv Hopes to Connect Neighborhood Families

Posted on November 15, 2012 by TheEastSider

Neighborhood resident Melody Niwot has begun an online email listserv called Willy Kids to help connect families with young children in the neighborhood. The email group is intended to serve families with young children in the Wil-Mar and Atwood Neighborhoods, facilitating community and allowing families to share resources and information. Continue reading →

Free Mulch and Compost Available from Union Corners

Posted on November 8, 2012 by TheEastSider

Garden project ends to make way for expected development

Courtesy: http://deurbanization.com

Joe Mingle, leader of the Union Corners Garden project invites residents to take advantage of mulch and compost that will no longer be used for urban gardens at the Union Corners site. Joe writes that the huegelkultur beds installed by the Permaculture Guild did great despite the drought.

A good crop of lettuce was had in the Spring. But the extreme summer heat and drought took its tol and “working the raised beds on the cement slab was like gardening on some desolate moonscape.” Continue reading →

Capital City Bike Path Closure Starts this Month

Posted on November 7, 2012 by TheEastSider

Path across Starkweather Creek and eastward to close until March

The Capital City Trail will close at the end of November from Sugar Avenue to Walter Street until March 2013.

Contractors for the City of Madison will begin a project to stabilize the drainage ditch along the Capital City Path from Starkweather Creek to Walter Street in late-November, 2012 (Contract 6469). This work will require the path to be closed to all bicycle and pedestrian traffic from Sugar Avenue (Olbrich Gardens) to Walter Street. There will be a marked bicycle detour beginning at Fair Oaks Ave and continuing on Ivy St, the path in OB Sherry Park, Starkweather Drive and Hargrove St to Walter St. Continue reading →

Interview: District 2 Alder Bridget Maniaci

Posted on October 24, 2012 by TheEastSider

Madison District 2 Alder Bridget Maniaci. Courtesy: District2MadisonBlog

City of Madison District 2 Alder Bridget Maniaci decided politics was for her after observing then Mayor Dave Cieslewicz run for re-election while serving as his press intern.

After studying journalism for a time, Maniaci switched to politics, completing internships at the State Capitol and with Mayor Cieslewicz.

While exploring journalism she worked for the Capital Times, The Daily Cardinal, and WSUM-FM. Bridget is also pretty good at sailing, serving as Vice-Commodore of the UW Hoofers when she was a student.

Maniaci graduated from Sun Prairie High School in 2002 and the University of Wisconsin in 2007 with a degree in Political Science and Economics. She was elected to the Madison Common Council in 2009. Outspoken at times, according to some, but she is energetic about Madison. Maniaci has a rare command of local public policy, with facts, figures, and grounded analysis often at the tip of her tongue…

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Editor’s Note: When we talked with Ald. Maniaci, funding for ice rinks and lifeguards in the City Budget was still in doubt. The Board of Estimates restored that funding at its meeting on October 22, 2012; with Maniaci supporting an amendment to restore funding for lifeguards. The Budget still needs final approval from the Common Council, which will likely vote on it in November.

Budget Cuts Could Sink B.B. Clarke Swimming Platform

Posted on October 21, 2012 by TheEastSider

Quality-of-life, big city priorities clash during budget process

B. B. Clarke Beach circa 1951. An early version of the diving platform can be seen. Later version paralleled the shore and were located approximately 150 yards off shore.

As the Madison Mayor Paul Soglin prepared his budget for the coming fiscal year he asked all departments to make a five percent cut in their operational budgets. At the Parks Department they arrived at those cuts in part by eliminating and consolidating some very popular services in some parks; specifically the elimination of nine seasonal ice rinks and focusing lifeguard services at regional beaches.

In a city known for year-round recreation probably the most sacred of activities is ice skating and swimming. It is almost a cruel irony that a community whose water-borne identity is intrinsic should have to cut back on this celebrated quality-of-life benefit. Continue reading →

New MNA Board Members Elected

Posted on October 20, 2012 by TheEastSider

Best-ever attended membership meeting covers a lot of ground

The 2012 MNA Membership Meeting was held at Marquette Elementary on October 18, 2012.

The Marquette Neighborhood Association Membership Meeting this past Thursday (October 18) was a celebration of both robust participation and an infusion of new blood. An estimated 50 members attended the meeting which included approval of the budget, election of new board members, awards, a presentation from Downtown Madison Incorporated (DMI), and a farewell from outgoing President Scott Thornton.

Before reflecting on his tenure as president, Thornton noted that the attendance at the meeting seemed to be the largest he has ever seen at a membership meeting. Present were stalwarts from the beginning of the organization as well as many new faces. Many enthusiastically ratified the work Thornton has done for the organization with a standing ovation. Continue reading →

Fresh Meat

Posted on October 4, 2012 by TheEastSider

Underground Food Collective to open butcher shop on Willy

Courtesy: Underground Food Collective

A traditional butcher shop will be opening at 811 Williamson street by the end of the month. The Underground Food Collective which offers catering, cured meats, and also operates the recently opened restaurant Forequarter on Johnson street; looks to offer meats supplied by farmers who take a caring approach to their animals and crops.

The location, which according to UFC was originally the Williamson Blacksmith building for which Williamson Street got its name, will also serve as a retail outlet for UFC’s other items such as jams, pickels, mustards, and krauts.

You can find out more information at UFC’s blog

Interview: Marsha Rummel – 6th District Alder

Posted on October 4, 2012 by TheEastSider

Madison 6th District Alder Marsha A. Rummel

Marsha A. Rummel has been Alder of Madison’s 6th District since 2007, and in that time she has seen lots of change. Before being elected she had been active in the Marquette Neighborhood Association and was interested in such issues as urban planning and affordable housing and decided to run when Judy Olson retired after 12 years in office.

Rummel helped found the Rainbow Bookstore Cooperative 1989. The progressive-minded (left of center) store provides books and resources to social movements as well as textbooks to the University of Wisconsin. The co-op is also meant to be a salon for the issues of the time.

Recently, at the Willy Street fair (September 16), we took a few minutes to talk about some of the issues facing her district which has now expanded to nearly five square miles due to a recent redistricting. Its a fun and challenging time on the near East Side with redevelopment in several key areas like the Captiol East district and Union Corners taking center stage.

Continue reading →

Educator Erik Anderson Remembered During Hangar Service

Posted on October 1, 2012 by TheEastSider

A water cannon salute to Erik as Taps is played on the violin. N953BL, an RV-6 that Erik built with Bob Lang, basks in the sun. Photo by: Joseph van der Sanden

Family and friends of Kjell Erik Anderson gathered this weekend in Madison and Wautoma to pay one last tribute to a man who has filled so many people’s lives with happiness with his selfless personality and ways. On Saturday (September 29) over 300 people attended a memorial service in a hangar at the Dane County Regional Airport.

The event was filled with flourishes that would have made the Swede proud. Foremost, the event was held at an airport in a hangar which immediately put everyone at ease. A large spread of fruits, cheese, crackers, salami, and of course Swedish Meatballs was served. Just to make sure that no one took the session too seriously, ice cream was also dispensed.