Set your trash out TONIGHT, Meeting on traffic safety to be scheduled in December, Lock your cars - guests too!, Announcements and events

Hello neighbors,

Please note that, due to the Thanksgiving holiday this week, you should put your trash cans out TONIGHT (or at least before 6:30am tomorrow) for pickup. Check your collection schedule calendar to determine if you should have your recycling cart to the curb along with your trash cart.

Due to campaign finance laws, the subscription service to this blog will be disabled from December 1 until the April election, so you will have to navigate directly to this website to see these updates during this timeframe.

Traffic Safety

I am currently working with the Regent Neighborhood Association to schedule a community meeting with the Traffic Engineering Department to discuss neighborhood concerns and suggestions related to traffic safety. We are hoping to schedule this meeting in mid-December. Stay tuned for information on this meeting in the coming weeks.

Property Protection

New Mid-Town District Captain Shannon Blackamore has shared that there has been an uptick in thefts from vehicles in the area. This is truly a perpetual problem, so please, especially if you are having guests this week and through the next month, make sure that everyone locks their car doors and keep garages closed.

Updates and Notices

City Offices are closed on November 28 and 29. Administrative offices are closed on November 28 and 29, 2024 for Thanksgiving and Ho-Chunk Day. Emergency services will be open; please call 911. Use Report a Problem for non-emergencies.

Winter Parking Rules. Alternate side parking is in effect until March 15, 2025. Sign up for daily alternate side parking reminders by text.

Announcements and News Releases

• Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard and Doty Street Closures – Concrete Restoration: Starting Tuesday, November 19, R.G Huston will continue concrete pavement restoration within the Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard and Doty Street intersection.
• Promise kept: City of Madison secures lease for Maurer’s Market on S. Park St.: The City of Madison and Maurer’s Market have signed and executed a lease agreement that will ensure people living in South Madison will still have access to a full-service grocery store in the area for years to come.
• Pertussis (whooping cough) is currently spreading in our community. Please learn more from Public Health Madison and Dane County. Make sure that you and your children are up-to-date with the DTaP vaccine (for children) and Tdap vaccine (for adolescents and adults). If you were vaccinated in Wisconsin, you can check vaccination records on the Wisconsin Immunization Registry (WIR).

Please visit the City news webpage to find additional news and announcements and to subscribe to receive notification of news releases as they are posted.

Events

• Holiday Fantasy in Lights Monday, November 25 through Sunday, December 1: lighted holiday themed displays set in beautiful Olin Park. Drive through anytime Dusk until Dawn to enjoy this magical light show for free, brought to you by The Electric Group.
• Public Health Offices Closed, Thursday, November 28 through Friday, November 29: Our offices are closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.
• Green Friday - Cleanup at Garner Park Friday, November 29: Green Friday at Garner Park in Madison is a family-friendly alternative to Black Friday shopping! Just show up and be ready to lend a hand! Gloves and supplies will be provided.
• Downtown Madison has a lot to offer this holiday season:
  • On November 29 – December 1, enjoy holiday shopping specials at downtown businesses and use the free Holiday Trolley to travel to your next destination. Downtown Madison gift bags will be available on the trolley while supplies last! Jingle-SHOP around downtown throughout the weekend.
  • Live Music at Top of State:
    • Friday, November 29 - 12-2pm: Eric De Los Santos; 2-4pm: Idledaze
    • Saturday, November 30 -12-2pm : Eric De Los Santos; 2-4pm: Wend O'Lynn
    • Sunday, December 1 - 12-2pm: B.J. Fisher
• Updates from Monroe Street Library:
  • Happy Thanksgiving! All Madison Public Library locations will close this Thursday and Friday. We’ll open Saturday as usual.
  • Our Friends group will host a mini book sale as part of Holiday Glow on Monroe, Dec. 6 and 7. Come by Friday from 4 - 6, and Saturday 9 - 1. Here’s a reminder that we always welcome your donations of gently used books, CDs and DVDs.
  • We will host a discussion of this year’s Go Big Read book Sitting Pretty: The View from My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body by Rebekah Taussig Sat., Dec. 7 at 1:30 p.m. We have copies of the book and discussion questions for you to check out.
  • Saturday morning art workshops with Maria have been great. She’ll host two more drop-in sessions in December from 10 a.m. - noon. On Dec. 14: make holiday cards. On Dec. 21, make holiday gifts with all our cool art supplies. These workshops are for kids and adults.
  • This week’s big temperature drop means one thing: it’s officially jigsaw puzzle season. Donate gently used puzzles you’ve completed, and swap them for ones on our shelves. Winter is coming.
  • Lili and Roxy, Alliance Therapy dogs, had an excellent time at last week’s Read to a Dog. They heard lots of stories and a POEM from lots of readers and they loved EVERY single one. They’ll be back Wed., Dec. 18 from 3 - 4:30 and would love to hear more. Reading to dogs is such a confidence builder for emerging readers! Win-win all around.
  • Tuesday morning storytimes wrap up for the year on Dec. 17. Stay tuned for our 2025 schedule. In scavenger hunt news, this is the final week for November’s musical instruments hunt. December’s will begin in, you know, December.
• District 11 Book Club with Stu Levitan, Wednesday, December 11: For our next District 11 Book Club on December 11th, Stu Levitan will give an illustrated talk on Madison in the 1970s, adapted from his forthcoming book, Madison: The Illustrated Sesquicentennial History, Volume 2, 1932 to 1979.
• Updates from Bird and Nature Adventures:
  • Sun Dec 01 1:30 "Winter Native Plant ID" Bird and Nature Adventure at Cherokee Marsh North Unit - Eva Roos
  • Sat Dec 07 1:30 "Fun Winter Birds" Bird and Nature Adventure at Tenney Park Beach - Paul Noeldner
  • Sun Dec 08 1:30 "Magic of Winter" Bird and Nature Adventure at Turville Point - Andria Blattner/Sean Gere
  • Thu Dec  12 1:30 "Gifts for the Wild" Senior Bird and Adventure at Warner Park CRC - Kathlean Wolf
  • Sat Dec  14 1:30 "Nature as a Classroom" Bird and Nature Adventure at Owen Park - Beth Whitaker
  • Sun Dec 15 1:30 "Winter Solstice Walk" Bird and Nature Adventure Warner Park - Kathlean Wolf/Robin Kling
  • Sat Dec 21 10am "Winter Tree ID" Bird and Nature Adventure at Landsness Lot 538 McCormick - Eva Roos
  • Sun Dec 22 1:30 "Favorite Places" Bird and Nature Adventure at Lakeshore Nature Preserve - Paul Noeldner
  • Sat Dec 28 10am "Nature's Gifts" Bird and Nature Adventure at Aldo Leopold/Edna Taylor - Paul Noeldner
  • Sat Dec 28 1:30 "Winter Solstice" Bird and Nature Adventure Pheasant Branch Encampment - Kathlean Wolf/Robin Kling
  • Tue Dec 31 6:30 "New Year's Eve Family Walk" at Aldo Leopold Nature Center - Julie Melton

Additional upcoming events can also be found on the City events calendar.

Wishing you and yours a Thanksgiving full of gratitude,

Regina Vidaver