Category Archives: Willy Street

Burrito Drive and Players Robberies ‘Likely Related’

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Police say chemical irritant was used during recent incidents

Players Sport Bar (left) and Burrito Drive were robbed recently through the same combination of guns and a chemical irritant sprayed on the victims.

Players Sport Bar (left) and Burrito Drive were robbed recently through the same combination of guns and a chemical irritant sprayed on the victims.

Madison Police are saying they believe that two armed robberies in the last three days on the Near East Side are related. Late Sunday night (May 4) at 10:50 p.m. two men wearing masks and carrying handguns stole cash from Burrito Drive, a restaurant near the corner of Brearly and Williamson Streets.

Last night (May 6) at 12:40 a.m. two men (one was armed with a handgun) with a similar general description entered Players Sport Bar & Grill on Winnebago east of Schenk’s Corners, ordered all employees and patrons to floor and stole an undisclosed amount of money. The strongest tie between the two robberies aside from the number of assailants and weapons was the use of a chemical irritant which was sprayed on victims during the incident.

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Taste of Willy Street Tonight

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Tickets still available at the door for the 22 restaurant extravaganza

TasteOfWilly_CropedThe Taste of Willy Street is a local culinary event not to be missed that showcases more than a dozen neighborhood food businesses and includes everything from appetizers to desserts. Due to the popularity of this event, there will be two seatings: 5:30 pm and 7:00 pm. Tickets are now only available at the door and seating is limited, so don’t delay!

The Greater Williamson Area Business Association and Common Wealth Development’s Youth Programs are collaborating to present the 13th annual Taste of Willy Street on Tuesday, May 6 at the Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center, 953 Jenifer Street. This is an annual fundraising event for GWABA that also greatly benefits Common Wealth Development’s Youth Programs.

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Ice Cream May Close Jackson Street

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Chocolate Shoppe debut bolsters effort to close street for public space initiative

The makings of a public space, spurred on by the opening of Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream's new Atwood Avenue location. Courtesy: Marsha Rummel

The makings of a public space, spurred on by the opening of Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream’s new Atwood Avenue location. Photo by: Marsha Rummel

By all accounts the opening weekend for Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream’s Atwood Avenue location was a great success. Lines of people were observed in front of the shop no doubt encouraged by a very clever social media post Friday (May 3): “We’re opening our walk up window and serving single cones and dishes at 2302 Atwood Avenue at 12pm today!! And just a hint, if you stop by before 9pm you may not need a wallet…”

By Sunday warm temperatures and sunshine brought out the bicycles and soon every piece of open grass around the store was occupied by ice cream fans. “It was fabulous,” said Josh Connelly, retail and marketing manager for Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream. “The neighborhood welcomed us with open arms to say the least.”

Connelly says that work will begin this week on construction and landscaping of the rear area of the property to transform it into an outdoor dining room with tables, chairs, lighting, and bike racks. For Sixth District Alder Marsha Rummel, the apparent initial success of this business on this corner will bolster her plans to temporarily shut down a section of Jackson Street, between Atwood and Saint Paul Avenue, as part of a national movement called “placemaking.”

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MNA Opposes 702 Williamson Development

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Letter to Landmarks says height does not conform to BUILD II plan

The proposed six-story multi-family and commercial development at 702 Williamson. Courtesy: The Rifkin Group, LTD.

The proposed six-story multi-family and commercial development at 702 Williamson. Courtesy: The Rifkin Group, LTD.

The Marquette Neighborhood Association is opposing the height of a proposed commercial and multi-family development at 702-706 Williamson Street. The Rifkin Group, Ltd., which owns the current structure on the property is seeking permission from the City of Madison to demolish the building and build a six story one in its place with commercial use on the first floor and sixty (60) apartments above.

As with its central objection to the height of the 722 Williamson project, MNA said in a letter to the Landmarks Commission that the massing of the proposed buildings on this block do not fit within the BUILD II plan created by the neighborhood and threatens to block out residential views of the capitol building.

The proposed demolition and development is on the agenda for this afternoon’s (May 5) City of Madison Landmarks Commission meeting.

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Blake Rickert Fundraiser Sets Blueprint for Low-resource Organizers

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Donations triple expectations during auction event

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Donation jars at the ready for the Help Blake Beat Burkitt's Fundraiser. Bartenders also donated their wages and tips. Photo by: Brett Williams

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Gallery photos by Brett Williams and Willy Street Blog 

 

Nearly three months ago, when organizers started planning the Help Blake Beat Burkitt’s fundraiser, they never thought they would nearly triple their even most ambitious monetary goal. But thats what happened when approximately 200 people packed the Atomic Koi in Fitchburg for four hours Sunday (April 27) and raised through a silent auction, raffle and donations $13,591 to help offset the cost of 4-year old Blake Rickert’s successful treatment of Burkitt’s Leukemia.

The star of the event was Blake himself who got permission to leave the hospital for a few hours to attend the fundraiser. Despite fighting an illness all week, he was all smiles as he connected with friends and family and was fascinated, as were all the kids in attendance, by the “Balloon Guy”, who fashioned balloon figurines. Other kid favorites included face painting by Blake’s Aunt Stacy Laufenberg Schmidt and temporary tattoos of the “SuperBlake” logo.

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Help Blake Beat Burkitt’s Leukemia This Sunday

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Fundraiser for a boy who beat leukemia but needs help beating bills

1899955_272627359567181_877352916_nI first met 4-year old Blake Rickert at a birthday dinner for his mother about a year ago and I was impressed with his undying exuberance even though he was the only child amongst ten other adults.

I would see this precocious young man at other friend gatherings from then on, playing with toys that boys often find interesting like trucks and large construction equipment. This fellow has more texture than that as I’m told he also likes gardening, shoveling, and of course, superheros. Just about every superhero needs a sidekick. With the evil foes Blake has been fighting so far in 2014, he is looking for his Robin (Dick Grayson for purists).

It was earlier this year that Blake was diagnosed with Burkitt’s Leukemia, a rare form of cancer that is aggressive (growing in size every 14 hours) but also highly treatable. Since January he has been undergoing an aggressive treatment protocol at the American Family Childrens Hospital with very encouraging results. Recently Blake’s mother Jill announced that a bone marrow biopsy found no leukemic cells and all the tumors are gone.

I guess he has earned a newly bestowed moniker: Super Blake

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Kids Find Easter Treasure in Orton Park

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Over 40 children scour the park for candied delights during 17th annual hunt

Examining their loot after the bing, frantic hunt in Orton Park, April 20, 2014.

Examining their loot after the big, frantic hunt in Orton Park, April 20, 2014.

We could call this the first real day of spring when sunshine, temperatures, and firm soil all collaborated to provide great conditions for the 17th annual Marquette Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt.

Over 40 children and their families gathered mid-morning Sunday (April 20) to share food and race across the park to find plastic eggs filled with all the things kids like in an egg, various forms of candy. Organized this year by Meghan Blake-Horst and Lynn Lee, the gathering harkened back to earlier neighborhood events that were smaller and more organic.

Annette Hansen, one of the egg hunt originators adds a little history event a few weeks after this post was published:

“The Spring egg hunt was started by Karen Lentfer and myself years ago when our children were small, as a celebration of Spring. The kids would design fliers and hand them out to families living near the park and they in turn would share the event with friends. Older kids help the younger children – some years in sunshine, others in rain or snow. It evolved to include a potluck brunch allowing neighbors to get re-acquainted after a long winter. In more recent years, as Karen and my children got older, Georgia Corner’s children helped with drawing and distributing fliers. Now more families with younger children are carrying on what has become an expected tradition.”

This summer’s festivals are still a can’t-miss, but today’s event was just nice, uncomplicated, unamplified, chaotic fun. See the gallery below for images of the hunt.

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Participants are made to run in a circle to make sure they are properly warmed up for the hunt.

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Lapham Kids Retreat to Cargo Coffee Following Suspected Gas Leak

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150 kids given refuge during a temporary evacuation of the school

The entire main floor was teeming with 200 Lapham four year-olds and kindergarteners following a temporary evacuation of the nearby school on April 2, 2014.

The entire main floor of Cargo Coffee (seen here during its grand opening) was teeming with an estimated 150 Lapham four year-olds through first graders following a temporary evacuation of the nearby school on April 2, 2014. -File photo

Lapham Elementary School Staff noticed a natural gas smell in the building around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday (April 2) and a precautionary evacuation was ordered. With approximately 250 children in the school, the nearby Salvation Army building did not have enough space to accommodate the entire school population.

Enter Cargo Coffee East, which just opened in February. Co-owner Lynn Lee (with brother Lindsey) said he received a call from the school asking if they could take some of the overflow. Lee’s daughter Addison is a student at the school and he readily invited the students over. The coffee shop is a veritable educational refuge since the entire east wall of the shop features a large mural depicting a map of the world that was created by Lee who is also an artist.

Approximately 150 students and 25 staff (kindergarten, first grade and four year-olds) were sent to the shop and Lee said he had to “hurry over” to move existing customers to the balcony to accommodate the arrivals. The evacuation lasted half an hour, but Lapham Principal Tammy Thompson Kapp said to Lee in an email that the district is considering adding Cargo East to its evacuation plans. Lee says Cargo will have a written policy for employees to follow should the site be needed again.

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These Kids Are All Right

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East High cultural series hopes to encourage more involvement by neighborhood

The Accidentals play Cargo Coffee on March 21, 2014.

The Accidentals play Cargo Coffee on March 21, 2014.

Jazz music wafting through a coffee shop on a Friday evening is not uncommon, nor impressive unless you were at Cargo Coffee Friday night (March 21). A spoken word performance usually garners an echoey smattering of applause, and maybe a spirited “Woo!” from a patron, but not this night.

It could have been their ages, but more likely it was the polished, inspired, and passionate performances of Madison East High Students that brought enthusiastic applause from supporters and customers during a fundraiser to help make healthy snacks available to students at East.

Hungry students is not just an East high problem but is leading some to raise a larger question: Are Near East Side neighborhoods too detached from East High students? Friday’s event at Cargo Coffee shows there is much young talent to appreciate and support.

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