Public hearing on Madison's budget
Tuesday, Aug. 12, 6 p.m.
East District Police Station, 809 South Thompson Dr.
So apparently, less than a dozen people showed up at Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's first public hearing on the budget last week. That could be either because the meeting wasn't well publicized (it wasn't even included on the city's weekly meeting list) or because it's hard to testify about a budget you haven't seen yet. Cieslewicz has asked city departments to propose 5% in cuts, though he says this is merely to give him options. The public might have some ideas of its own. If you can't make the hearing on the 12th, there will be another one on Aug. 18 at Central Library.
School referendum hearings
Tuesday, Aug. 12, 6 p.m.
Warner Park Community Center
Thursday, Aug. 14, 6 p.m.
Memorial High School
Debate for Dist. 81 Assembly candidates
Wednesday, Aug. 13, 7 p.m.
Concourse Hotel
This will likely be your only chance to see a debate among the six Democrats vying to replace Rep. Dave Travis. No Republican is running, so whoever wins the Sept. 9 primary wins the seat. Dist. 81 includes the north side of Madison and the eastern edge of Middleton, as well as Waunakee, Black Earth, Mazomanie and the town of Burke.
The candidates are: Justin Sargent, a legislative staffer; Kelda Helen Roys, former head of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin; Peng Her, owner of Taste of Asia restaurant; Eric Englund, a retired insurance lobbyist; Tim Kiefer, an assistant district attorney; and John Laubmeier, president of the village of Waunakee.
Neighborhood Meeting on Villager Mall
Wednesday, Aug. 13, 6:30 p.m.
Villager Mall
Ald. Tim Bruer and the Burr Oaks Neighborhood Association are holding this meeting to update residents on redevelopment plans for the Villager. When Bruer ran a meeting on the Villager last spring, residents accused him of being a bully, monopolizing the meeting with long monologues and refusing to call on people who weren't from the immediate neighborhood (see "Bruer Called a Bully on Village Plan," 4/10/08). Inexplicably, this meeting is also scheduled at the same time as the Urban Design Committee's presentation on the Villager's design. You might ask Bruer why he did that, if he lets you.
