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CITY NEWS

If you haven’t registered to vote, Tuesday is your chance

By Gina Heeb | Sep. 25, 2017

UW-Madison students can grab a slice of democracy at Ian’s Pizza restaurants and other locations near campus this week as city officials host voter registration drives. As a part of a national effort to increase turnout on election days, Madison officials will offer opportunities Tuesday for members of the community to register to vote at about two dozen locations throughout the city.

CITY NEWS

Body-worn cameras could become a part of Madison police uniforms

By Gina Heeb | Sep. 24, 2017

The Madison community could be one step closer to seeing body-worn cameras on its police officers, despite privacy concerns that have raised contention among citizens and lawmakers in the past.

Madison will accept a $1.3 million grant from the Federal Transit Administration to allow Metro Transit to implement the use of three battery-electric buses.

CITY NEWS

City hopes buses can go green through new grant

By Katie Kalvelage | Sep. 24, 2017

Whether the 80, the 22, the 44 or some route in between, chances are most UW-Madison students have utilized a public bus. Now, the city is hoping to make those buses more sustainable through a new metro transit grant.

37-year-old Curtis Langlois will stand trial on charges of first-degree intentional homicide and attempted first-degree intentional homicide.

CITY NEWS

Madison man charged with murder, attacking a Dane County deputy ordered to stand trial

By Brandon Brown | Sep. 22, 2017

A Madison man charged with shooting a man to death and wounding another on the south side in August will stand trial, a county judge ruled Thursday, after he also threatened to kill a county deputy at the Dane County Jail this week.

Mayor Paul Soglin plans to officially announce his candidacy for governor next week, entering a crowded field of Democratic hopefuls.

CITY NEWS

Soglin says new national tax code could hurt Madison

By Cailynn Hensen | Sep. 20, 2017

When Congress rewrites the tax code, hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin residents could see higher taxes and lower home values, but Mayor Paul Soglin says cities could take the hardest hit. In a press conference Wednesday morning, Soglin discussed the effects of eliminating the state and local tax deduction, a possible move for Congressional Republicans as they vote on a proposal next week. The state and local tax deduction is claimed by taxpayers across the spectrum.

Hate crimes in Madison like the vandalism near a synagogue in James Madison Park have increased dramatically since 2015.

CITY NEWS

Swastikas spray-painted on historical marker near Jewish synagogue

By Nina Bertelsen | Sep. 20, 2017

Joel Despain, public information officer for MPD, told The Daily Cardinal that as of right now the tentative charges are defamation of property. Once they find the perpetrator, it could rise to the level of a hate crime. He said that if they find the perpetrator and their action was motivated “by a hatred of the Jewish Faith,” it would meet the intent requirement under Wisconsin State Statutes.

A judge set a $1 million price tag on bail for 59-year-old Steven Pirus, who told police he intentionally caused his Madison home to explode after shooting his wife in the head.

CITY NEWS

Man who blew up Madison home to cover up murdering wife gets $1 million bail

By Gina Heeb | Sep. 19, 2017

A man who admitted to shooting his wife and intentionally blowing up their Madison home last week in an attempt to cover up the homicide was booked on $1 million bail Tuesday at a hearing. Following further investigations into the murder and explosion by state officials, law enforcement and firefighters, Steven D.

The Frequency, a music venue in downtown Madison, suspended hip-hop performances at its venue twice in three years.

CITY NEWS

Nearly a decade of hip-hop controversy fuels new music task force in Madison

By Gina Heeb | Sep. 18, 2017

After at least eight years of perceived inequity for hip-hop artists in the Madison music scene, city officials are looking to address the problem formally.

CITY NEWS

21-year-old woman choked near campus, loses consciousness

By Noah Habenstreit | Sep. 18, 2017

The woman was standing with friends on University Avenue when a man made conversation and, after a short interaction, attacked her.

St. Raphael’s Parish erected a “Way of the Cross” on the ground where their church stood before it was burned down in 2005.

CITY NEWS

A Madison parish has an unknown friend in the state Legislature. Religious freedom advocates don’t like it.

By Noah Habenstreit | Sep. 17, 2017

Churches are exempt from paying property taxes. But what if the church is gone and only the property remains?

A memorial for fallen law enforcement officers was recently spray-painted with #Justice4AnthonySmith.

CITY NEWS

Monument for fallen police officers spray-painted with #Justice4AnthonySmith

By Noah Habenstreit | Sep. 17, 2017

A memorial outside the state Capitol honoring fallen law enforcement officers was vandalized Saturday with a reference to protests taking place in St. Louis.

The state Assembly passed a bill in early September with a controversial provision that could affect how cyclist and pedestrian amenities in Madison are built.

CITY NEWS

Backlash from Madison cyclists as state Legislature tightens land seizure laws

By Gina Heeb | Sep. 16, 2017

A provision quietly tucked into a new Wisconsin transportation funding bill could make it harder to build bike trails and sidewalks throughout the state, including in Madison. The proposed rule bars state and local governments from taking property from private owners for certain projects — a process called condemnation — including cyclist and pedestrian paths, street walkways and other pedestrian spaces.

CITY NEWS

County judge orders Alec Shiva 18 months prison time for sexually assaulting another student

By Gina Heeb | Sep. 15, 2017

Former UW-Madison student Alec Shiva — who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting another student on campus while high on LSD in 2016 — was sentenced Friday to 18 months in prison and three years of probation. Shiva, 19, of Verona, Wis., was charged last year with three felonies including second-degree sexual assault, strangulation and suffocation and false imprisonment.

Members of the community addressed the Dane County Board at a budget hearing Tuesday, calling for improved prison conditions and increased mental health services in the area.

CITY NEWS

Local inmate conditions in spotlight as officials weigh county budget

By Gina Heeb | Sep. 13, 2017

A prison in downtown Madison is taking center stage as officials and community members prepare for county funding plans to be decided next month. Among members of the public who spoke at a budget hearing Tuesday night, all but one of them called for improvements to the Dane County Jail, which is set to be renovated once county officials can agree on a plan for it. Officials have sparred on how to move forward with prison renovations for about a decade.

A new city law that takes effect in January will change where mopeds can be parked in Madison.

CITY NEWS

The meter’s almost up on current moped parking laws

By Brandon Brown | Sep. 11, 2017

Moped drivers in Madison probably won’t be revved up for a new city law changing where the vehicles can be parked. In an attempt by city council to clear the way for pedestrians, moped users will soon not be permitted to park on public terraces or sidewalks.

Richard L. Wasley was arrested early Monday on numerous charges including first-degree reckless endangerment, after attempting pulling a knife on a student near campus.

CITY NEWS

Man pulls knife on student near campus

By Gina Heeb | Sep. 11, 2017

A 36-year-old man was arrested early Monday morning after trying to stab a student on the campus-end of State Street.

Students searching for food carts on the 600 block of University Avenue at night will have to travel elsewhere, after a new ordinance banning them from the area takes effect next weekend.

CITY NEWS

Could moving late night eats curb crime? Some city officials think so

By Gina Heeb | Sep. 10, 2017

In efforts to reduce crime in the area, city officials are tweaking late night vending laws near a strip of downtown Madison bars.

The center traffic lanes of West Washington Avenue will be closed in both directions at the intersection with Bedford Street starting Monday.

CITY NEWS

Lane closures on West Washington Avenue: What commuters need to know

By Noah Habenstreit | Sep. 10, 2017

If you drive to work or school on West Washington Avenue, turn your signal on, because you’re going to have to change lanes.

CITY NEWS

Alec Cook will face seven separate trials in sexual assault cases involving 11 women

By Gina Heeb | Sep. 7, 2017

Former UW-Madison student Alec Cook will face seven separate trials in a sexual assault case involving nearly a dozen women, a county judge ruled Thursday. The case will be separated by victims and the type of charge filed, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Stephen Ehlke wrote in a statement, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

Madison will no longer host the US-Africa Energy Summit 2017 later this month, after several of the event’s speakers were denied entry to the country.

CITY NEWS

International energy conference in Madison scrapped after speakers denied visas

By Brandon Brown | Sep. 6, 2017

An international energy conference scheduled to be held in Madison this month has been cancelled after the Trump administration denied several key Africa-based presenters visas to enter the country. The US-Africa Energy Summit 2017, organized by the UW-Platteville International Business Center, was set to take place at Monona Terrace Sept.18 and 19.

City News