Local business owners and city residents voiced concerns over a proposed development at the corner of State Street and North Frances Street at a neighborhood meeting Monday. The mixed-use development, proposed by the Mullins Group and Core Campus of Chicago and called “The Hub,” would be one to four stories on… Read more »

A city committee green-lighted contentious new property lines for a historic city church, along with plans for outdoor volleyball courts at Essen Haus, in a meeting Monday.The Plan Commission approved a plan to separate the property owned by St. Raphael’s congregation into two lots that would divide Holy Redeemer School… Read more »

Well-known author and cartoonist Alison Bechdel shared her experiences on translating her sexuality into a personal narrative as the keynote speaker for an Out and About Month event on campus Wednesday. Bechdel paralleled her writing and illustrating career to the difficulties she experienced coming out to her own parents. Her lecture,… Read more »

Madison Metro Transit and a city commission solicited public comments about proposed changes to provide extra buses on crowded routes during rush hour while avoiding redundant services at a hearing on Wednesday.According to Colin Conn, Metro Transit schedule planner, not enough extra buses are available in the city to provide assistance to… Read more »

Local bar and tavern owners learned about alcohol law and policy at a training session hosted by city officials Wednesday night. According to Mark Woulf, alcohol policy coordinator, the city hosts a tavern safety training session every six months. He said the city held the session to provide guidelines to… Read more »

University of Wisconsin students and community members learned about campus safety and how to prevent and act in dangerous situations from a panel of city and campus officials at a meeting Monday night.The panel included Madison Police Department officials, a city alderman and representatives of UW campus organizations addressed issues… Read more »

A city committee approved a five-year plan with potential for changes in the Metro Transit system at a meeting Wednesday. According to Mike Cechvala, Transportation Planner for the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Transit Development Plan starts this year and will continue through 2017. The plan would continue to study and… Read more »

A city committee unanimously approved a proposal to demolish three residential buildings for the construction of a new apartment complex in the downtown area at a meeting Monday. The Plan Commission weighed a plan to build a 12-story complex at the site of buildings located at 424 West Dayton, 226… Read more »

Owners of downtown area restaurants and late-night vending carts continued to butt heads over location and its effect on their businesses at a city committee meeting Wednesday. The Vending Oversight Committee has been trying to come up with probable solutions to the sudden spike in late-night food carts since last… Read more »

At a Mifflin neighborhood meeting Monday night, attendees debated a proposal to expand the building space for a Madison non-profit organization off the Capitol Square.The Freedom from Religion Foundation has proposed an addition to Freethought Hall, located on 304 W. Washington Ave., Dan Barker, the organization’s co-president, said. The building was… Read more »

A city committee heard new requests and revisited complaints from local restaurants and bars including several State Street establishments Wednesday night. In the ALRC meeting, The Essen Haus, a Near East Side bar, asked ALRC to approve the alcohol-related aspect of its latest venture. Bob Worm, owner of the Essen… Read more »

A historic residential building has one last chance at survival from demolition after a city committee voted to pass a development proposal on the 200 block of Langdon Street.  The Plan Commission unanimously passed recommendations to the City Council to demolish the Theta Chi fraternity house, consisting of 33 bedrooms… Read more »

Local hip-hop artists have one less place to perform after a shooting at a city club led the manager to eliminate hip-hop shows from its bookings. According to a report from the Madison Police Department, a fight broke out between two men and one pulled a gun at The Frequency… Read more »

Langdon Street is one step closer to seeing a new face to the Theta Chi house after the city’s Urban Design Commission approved a modified plan for a new building for the fraternity Wednesday night.  After making many prior adjustments, UDC approved the plan for a new building for the… Read more »

A neighborhood meeting Thursday night allowed students and city residents to voice their opinions about the unknown future of the Stadium Bar. The Opus Group, a real estate development company based in Minnesota, expressed interest in building a student-targeted housing development in place of the Stadium Bar earlier this month. … Read more »

Dane County business opportunities are looking up after a report released Wednesday showed businesses in the county were experiencing bigger sales and profits this year in comparison to last year.The 2012 First Business Economic Survey showed that profitability increased to 48 percent of businesses compared to the 38 percent from last… Read more »

A new hotel behind West Gorham Street’s Aberdeen Apartments is set to open in the fall of 2013.Jeff Kraemer, a representative for property owners Raymond Management Company, said the Hampton Inn and Suites Hotel, located at the intersection of West Johnson and North Bassett streets, will contain 194 rooms and… Read more »

An Associated Students of Madison committee hosted a Financial Literacy Town Hall Wednesday to explore campus options for students seeking financial advising. Mary Prunty, an ASM intern, said the University Affairs Committee meeting was an effort to talk with representatives from the University of Wisconsin Office of Financial Aid, Summit Credit Union,… Read more »

The opening of a temporary homeless shelter may provide refuge to homeless members of the Occupy Madison group with winter not far away. According to Josh Wescott, chief of staff for Dane County Executive Joe Parisi, homeless members of the Occupy Madison group were relocated from Lake View County Park… Read more »

A ceremonial ground-breaking Thursday kicked off the start to renovations at The Edgewater Hotel, a controversial project previously denied funding from the city but now financed through private sources. The ground-breaking served as the start to the construction, Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, said. He said this project was particularly unique… Read more »

A local neighborhood committee met to make future plans for the Mifflin Street Block Party and continued a discussion on the Overture Center for the Arts’ budget Thursday night. At a meeting of the Mifflin Neighborhood Association, Larry Warman, district chair, said Capitol Neighborhoods Inc. plans to coordinate with Mayor… Read more »

A neighborhood meeting Thursday welcomed student resident participation and introduced proposals for two development projects.Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, introduced two new developments, one on the corner of North Bassett Street and West Dayton Street and the other on North Frances Street.Scott Kohler, who represented Capitol Neighborhoods, said the purpose… Read more »

Jeff Dowd, Los Angeles film producer and character basis for “The Dude” in “The Big Lebowski,” visited campus Thursday afternoon to weigh in on his observations and encourage students to vote. According to Dowd, each vote counts, and voting is important for college students because they are helping shape the… Read more »

The majority of Madison’s City Council hopes to allocate more funds toward the Overture Center in the 2013 operating budget after the proposed budget cut its funding by $1 million. The 2012 operating budget allocated $1.85 million to the Overture Center, and Mayor Paul Soglin proposed to decrease its funding… Read more »

The Alcohol License Review Committee went on its first walk-along bar tour of the academic year Friday night to check downtown bars and ensure they are following policy. Some bars and restaurants included on the tour were Segredo’s, Johnny O’s, Wando’s, State Street Brats, Hawk’s, Whiskey Jack’s and Sotto. The… Read more »

Plans to build a new residential development and tear down a single-family house  in the Mifflin neighborhood pushed ahead at a neighborhood meeting Thursday. A new complex at 125 N. Bedford St. will be put in after the demolition of the 150-year-old house that currently sits there as early as… Read more »

The City of Madison Plan Commission ultimately decided approve a renovation of the Mifflin neighborhood at its penultimate meeting Thursday, despite controversy among members. The city approved the long-term Downtown Plan on July 16. Since then, the Plan Commission has been working to collaborate on the plan with the city’s… Read more »

As winter approaches, a new daytime shelter in Dane County will provide the homeless with warmth from early November until April. Dane County plans to partner with Domestic Abuse Intervention Services and Porchlight, a homeless shelter in the county, and allocate funds toward daytime vouchers for hotels to victims of… Read more »