UP: Central Library. Plans for a new downtown library get a boost when Mayor Dave Cieslewicz includes $1.7 million for the project in his proposed 2009 capital budget. The funding must still be approved by the Common Council. Developer Terrence Wall has proposed demolishing the current library and replacing it with a $45 million, nine-story building that includes ground-floor retail, three stories for the library and office space.
DOWN: Zach Brandon. Shortly after being named to the No. 3 spot at the state Commerce Department, the Madison alderperson pays a $2,483 fine for failing to buy worker's compensation insurance for his employees at Laundry 101, a combined bar and laundromat he owns downtown. Brandon, who owed the money for three years, paid a day after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel asked about the fine. Brandon delayed paying in part because of a disagreement over how much he owed. He says his company accidentally dropped the coverage when it switched insurance carriers.
