Going meta

My bicycle post was quoted on the home page of our groovy local free paper, the Isthmus (analagous to City Paper, for those in DC):


The first mention (Madison Guy) is a blog post associated with a Flickr photo that I had seen among my RSS feeds and commented on earlier in the day. The building he photographed is, in my opinion, one of the least attractive in the city, but it's a great shot.

Yes, but he could've been a Packer

Heard on the local NPR news this a.m.: in reporting President Gerald Ford's death, the first biographical bit mentioned was not the unprecedented manner in which he took office, nor that he pardoned Nixon. The first thing you learned from NPR this morning about Ford was that he was a star football player that turned down an opportunity to join the Green Bay Packers.

Activist girls

I told you about my appearance in the Wisconsin State Journal; one of Susan's comments was noted by The Capital Times:

One resident said the water killed her plants, while another angrily accused the Water Utility [sic] of not doing its job to provide safe drinking water for children. Still others voiced concerns about how contaminated water might affect people with already-weak immune systems, such as people with liver problems or those infected with HIV.

[Full article]

I'm in the newspaper. :-)

Susan and I attended a meeting with water utility and health officials discussing issues with the well that serves our area. My comments were well-received, and a Wisconsin State Journal reporter asked for my name afterward. He didn't quite get it right (I had written the mayor questioning the director up public health's approach, not called Schlenker directly), but it's close:

...residents at the meeting remain uneasy about what they perceived as the city's lack of response to health concerns. Deb Hanrahan, from the Marquette neighborhood, said she called Schlenker last summer and asked if the health department planned to track potential illnesses that might have been caused by exposure to manganese. She was told only that the department is keeping track of phone calls from people with concerns, she said.

"I was very disappointed," Hanrahan said. "There's a real lack of confidence here."

[Full article]

NYT: Madison is "the new Berkeley"

From Sunday's New York Times Magazine article, "THE NEW LIST: FALL '06"

Madison, Wis., is the new Berkeley, Calif.
This picturesque university town on an isthmus between two lakes has a progressive vibe, great restaurants featuring local produce (check out Harvest) and the new Cesar Pelli-designed Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (www.mmoca.org).

It's official!

We live in a Great Neighborhood -- Madison Magazine says so!

Marquette -- East/Isthmus

When outsiders think of Madison, the Marquette neighborhood is most likely what they have in mind.

Banners along Williamson Street trumpet the Isthmus neighborhood as "A Place for All People."

Bumper stickers push peace symbols and less-than-flattering impressions of the current administration. Traditional two-stories and bungalows are painted every color of the rainbow.

It's the best place in the city to spot an original Volkswagen Bug.

The Marquette Neighborhood Association has a special section on its web page just for festivals. Attend any one of them and you'll witness how residents here revel in the fleeting good weather, music, food and fun. Each September, the Willy Street Fair offers the best people- (and dog-) watching in the city, hands down.

New condominium developments are providing more housing options in the neighborhood, but even though (at press time) the city requires fifteen percent of new units to be lower cost, residents who take pride in the neighborhood's diversity worry that a booming real estate market will drive them toward homogeneity.

Bordered by East Washington Avenue and Lake Monona on either side, Marquette also includes an old railroad corridor that is the site of Madison's proposed Central Park. The plan calls for seventeen acres of green space including a public market, a skateboard park and an open lawn and picnic area.

Signs of Marquette's past are visible around the neighborhood, like the brick-wall advertisements from days gone by painted on the side of some buildings along Williamson Street. Orton Park, a popular spot for children because of its playground and for brides and grooms because of its picturesque gazebo, used to be the site of one of the city's first cemeteries (the bodies have since been relocated). In the late 990s, the Madison Ghostseekers Society discovered what it called "ectoplasmic mist" when it conducted an investigation of the park.

Schools: Lapham Elem., Marquette Elem., Lowell Elem., O'Keefe Middle, East High

Amenities: Orton Park, Yahara Place Park, Willy Street Fair, La Fete de Marquette, Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center, Atwood Community Center

Neighborhood website: www.marquette-neighborhood.org

What will your neighborhood look like in 50 years? "Central Park will become a vibrant jewel linking downtown to the Yahara River Parkway ... A light rail/streetcar will stop at Baldwin Street, connecting Madisonians to the year-round public market in the renovated Marquip building and to the thriving green, sustainable employment district in the rail corridor. My fear is that a 1,400-square-foot house ill cost a million dollars, limiting the housing opportunities for young families. Neighborhood schools close as a result. The Willy Street business district gentrifies to satisfy the new residents, and long standing businesses providing basic goods and services leave because they can't afford the rent or taxes."
Marsha Rummel, Marquette Neighborhood Assoc.
president

UW-Madison had to settle for #4...

The University of Texas at Austin was named America's best party school in a new ranking out Monday.

The school beat Pennsylvania State University, West Virginia University and last year's winner, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in the Princeton Review survey of 115,000 students at campuses around the United States.

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