Madison's commuinity website, featuring local news, sports and entertainment content from The Capital Times, Wisconsin State Journal and WKOW TV as well as autos, real estate and employment listings en-us http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302641 2008-08-28T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302617 2008-08-28T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302573 2008-08-28T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302552 report on public safety in Madison, it was revealed that Madison Police are $500,000 short in parking fines for the second straight year. It sounds like the issues leading to that shortfall are being resolved -- the parking department had been short-staffed due to injuries and a disciplinary proceeding -- but I think it begs the question, how do you want to pay for police? No one likes getting ... ]]> 2008-08-28T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302534 three fun spots on the east side where the serious student of beer can sample interesting micro and imported beer on tap: Dexter's Pub, Ale Asylum and The Malt House. One of my colleagues and a seasoned suds researcher, Dr. Not, suggested a name for on-going coverage of all things related to beer: Beermuda Shorts. So brew fans, here's an upcoming event to put on the calendar. The annual Quivey's Grove Beer Fest provides an opportunity to sample more than 80 beers from 35 area breweries ... ]]> 2008-08-28T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302490 this blog about Kyle Turris living with Darren Pang and his family in the Phoenix area this year, and one quote was particularly interesting: "The kid is amazing in the kitchen," Pang said. "The first few days he was here he woke up and said 'Panger, what do you like for breakfast?' One day he's got like 10, 11, 12 eggs going in the pan and I had to say 'Easy there Kyle, it's just you and me.' ... ]]> 2008-08-28T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302471 2008-08-27T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302406 "Don't it make you feel good when the girl ain't preggers? Don't it make you feel sad when the girl ain't preggers?" That's the refrain of "The Girl Ain't Preggers," a song off the new EP from Grampall Jookabox, an Indianapolis soul/big beat outfit that sounds a little like Gnarls Barkley but wackier and more experimental. "Preggers" is a clangy, fuzzed-out song with a backbeat that sounds like garbage cans crashing together. The lyrics follow a guy's thought train upon finding ... ]]> 2008-08-27T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302393 salary article. The paragraph in question is: Mayoral spokeswoman Rachel Strauch-Nelson said the mayor has not implemented a hiring freeze for the 2009 budget, but he has told agencies that there will be no new spending. He has also requested budgets with 5 percent contingency cuts from every department except police and fire in addition to the standard cost-to-continue budget, making new ... ]]> 2008-08-27T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302208 speed trap set up yesterday. I'm not against speed traps, particularly near schools, but I think it's evident from the number of times I've seen ... ]]> 2008-08-26T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302206 2008-08-26T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302204 2008-08-26T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302200 Theater and film can be powerful media in the hands of activists and passionate folks of all types, as shown by tonight's event, Timor-Leste: A Mad Goat's Look at a Nation in Transition. Stop by Escape Java Joint, 916 Williamson Street, tonight at 7 p.m. for "an evening of short films and Q&A with Yohan York and Milena da Silva, leaders of East Timor's Bibi Bulak ("crazy goat") theater and film troupe." They're showing excerpts from ... ]]> 2008-08-26T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302190 2008-08-26T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302186 Board of Estimates, 4:30 p.m., Room 260 of the Madison Municipal Building, 215 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Yes, I realize this meeting has already passed, but if you missed it, check out the Madison City Channel Web site. They generally post full videos of city meetings 48 hours afterward, so you can still catch the board's interesting discussions on items such as snow parking fines, the Truman-Olson Army Reserve, water ... ]]> 2008-08-26T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302184 People's Republic of Madison: Madison, WI is the word of the day on www.citydictionary.com. The Web site defines it as the: "Pejorative nickname given to Madison by political conservatives due to its long history of progressive politics. (Also see "60 square miles surrounded by reality".)" Of course, it's now 77 square miles. We know because we checked ... ]]> 2008-08-26T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302164 2008-08-26T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302150 Alejandro Escovedo is performing his song "People (We're Only Gonna Live So Long)" at the Democratic National Convention in Denver on Tuesday evening (5:45 p.m. MST) as part of a program that features a speech from Hillary Clinton. "These are unbalanced times, and great change is needed. To be included in this celebration of the dignity and freedom of women and minorities is an honor," Escovedo said in a statement on his web site. Escovedo was scheduled to perform in Madison earlier ... ]]> 2008-08-25T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302140 2008-08-25T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302091 2008-08-25T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302074 here, unveils her new installation piece today at the Madison Senior Center's 25th Anniversary Celebration. Stop by today at around 2 p.m. to see the work at 330 West Mifflin Street. Johnson will also demonstrate the techniques used to create the piece (technically, it's NanoArt shapes mounted on Plexiglas, backed by rope lighting). Johnson links science and art in her work, ... ]]> 2008-08-25T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302032 2008-08-25T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302031 2008-08-25T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//302003 2008-08-24T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//301977 2008-08-24T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//301792 2008-08-22T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//301772 2008-08-22T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//301769 here at the Madison City Channel Web site, and she starts speaking at around 1:33:00). On whether the Alcohol License Review Committee should have regular or simply ad-hoc ... ]]> 2008-08-22T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//301767 2008-08-22T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//301758 2008-08-22T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//301752 2008-08-22T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//301650 2008-08-21T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//301632 the Resistance Blue Duo plays at 8 p.m. at the Escape Java Joint, 916 Williamson St. With Jeremy Starpoli on trombone and Ben Karetnick on percussion, the duo plays free-form music that blends jazz, experimental and hip-hop and sometimes covers the work of Sun Ra and MF Doom. ... ]]> 2008-08-21T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//301621 You've probably seen JoAnne Pow!ers performing her self-described "frenetic saxophone abuse" on State St. at night. She usually plays solo in front of what's now Ben & Jerry's. Pow!ers moved to Madison from her hometown Racine after high school, and has been here 17 years. I've heard her solo playing many a night walking up and down State St., but I can find no better way to explain what it sounds like than this, her own description: "a ... ]]> 2008-08-21T05:00:00Z http://madison.com/tct/blogs//301607 2008-08-21T05:00:00Z