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Brought to you from the Big Water Cafe on the shore of Lake Superior...

8/26/2010
Volume 3 - Issue 35 - Circulation 5,000 - Week of 8.26.10 to 9.2.10
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9/9/2010
Volume 3 - Issue 36 - Circulation 5,000 - Week of 9.2.10 to 9.9.10
Online at WisconsinDevelopment.com - Searchable at Search WDN. Edited and compiled by Ken Harwood.

Wisconsin 1/7/2010 Happy birthday to me! Wisconsin Development News is entering it's third year of production and I have a new position. For the record, as of Monday, I am the Executive Director of the Lafayette Development Corporation - 665 square mile of heaven in southwest Wisconsin. I will continue to produce this publication - in fact WDN will be bigger and better in 2010. WisconsinDevelopment.com (the website for the publication) has a brand new look. We have scheduled our first two TOURS of significant projects in the state and will host one tour each month in 2010. Thanks for the interest in both the Epic tour in January and the Arbor Gate tour in February. If you have a project that you would like a hundred or so of your best friends to visit, give me a call. The FutureWisconsin.com project...

Ken Notes: Should be a GREAT year...

Madison - 1/21/2010 Over the last year, Madison Economic Development Director Tim Cooley's smooth but provocative style has pleased business interests but strained relations with staff and City Council members. Hired by Mayor Dave Cieslewicz in January 2009, Cooley leads economic development initiatives in the wake of a recession and in a city sometimes seen as hostile to business...

Ken Notes: The balance is there, it's Tim vs. the elected and that is not a bad thing. He advocates for a growing community and a smoother path for development they advocate for less traffic, neighborhoods, and social responsibility. If either wins outright - Madison looses.

Madison - 1/27/2010 The latest skirmish in the long-running battle over the $93 million Edgewater Hotel project is about a proposal to change Madison's zoning code so that shoreline setback decisions for commercial projects would be decided by the city's Planning Commission rather than the Zoning Board of Appeals...

Ken Notes: For a nice history search Edgewater at Wisconsin Development News.

Madison - 2/2/2010 A study this week on the economic impact of the Overture Center will undoubtedly say the arts center on State Street has had a huge and underestimated financial impact on Madison in part by drawing attendees from far away and has indirectly benefitted city taxpayers by enlarging the tax base...

Ken Notes: This should not be a surprise, Overture is great for business, development, and our community. Can I pitch my article on the subject "...balance between architecture, economics".

Madison - 2/17/2010 In a major concession to critics of a controversial plan to renovate The Edgewater hotel, the Hammes Co. on Wednesday unveiled plans to move a proposed eight-story hotel tower farther from Wisconsin Avenue. The move, along with new plans to build a second parking structure for the hotel, got good reviews from critics and members of the Urban Design Commission, although questions remain about the tower's height...

Madison Area - 3/4/2010 The Madison Area Builders Association (MABA) has been watching with great interest the recent progress and deliberations of the Capitol Area Regional Planning Commission (CARPC) regarding the Future Urban Development Area (FUDA) mapping process....

Ken Notes: The Legal Opinion is here.

Middleton - 3/9/2010 The Willy Street Co-op is close to completing a deal for its long sought-after second grocery store, with plans in place to open this fall in a former Walgreens store in Middleton...

Ken Notes: Great adaptive reuse of the space - Congrats!!!

Wisconsin - 3/11/2010 I recently Googled the terms layoff and profit to get some idea of where we actually were in our fight on the economic battle field and what I found was depressing very depressing. Some companies were starting to move slowly back to the positive side of the ledger sheet but often these were the companies that fought the battle by devastating their own armies. More layoffs are in front of us and success stories are often from overseas....

Ken Notes: My take with some real local heroes. Thanks for reading! You can flip through the rest of the Capitol Regional Business Journal form here as well.

Madison - 3/18/2010 By the slimmest of margins early Thursday morning, the citys Urban Design Commission gave what backers of a controversial plan to renovate the historic Edgewater hotel have been wanting for months a victory. The commission, charged with making recommendations on the architectural appearance of new developments, voted 5-4 in favor of initial approval for the Hammes Co. proposal...

Ken Notes: What can I say, great projects are tough, if they weren't they wouldn't be great projects. My article on the subject (CRBJ January) appears here.

Madison - 4/2/2010 Neighbors are nervous about a proposed office-retail development that could start within the next year with construction of a six- to seven-story hotel, a restaurant and a five-story medical clinic on 15 acres at University Avenue and Whitney Way...

Ken Notes: This is a good site for mixed use and -- as I have suggested for some time -- a great transit system on University Ave. makes HUGE sense! User friendly bus rapid transit every 5 minutes from Middleton to the square. Alternative fuels like hydrogen, natural gas or diesel / electric and BRT make this obvious.

Madison Area - 4/14/2010 I may be prejudice, but there are a lot of great articles in this issue. CRBJ sets forth a diverse set of opinions and some great articles on area businesses, including Jacobson Deli and Local Dirt.

Ken Notes: My article (Health Insurance) is in the middle, as am I.

Madison - 4/22/2010 How does one restore a "sense of place" when there is little evidence of what the original looked like? Architectural detective work, attention to quality, brilliant - meaning both bright and intelligent - solutions and persistence were brought to the task of restoring the Library Reading Room at the Wisconsin Historical Society's campus headquarters...

Ken Notes: Thumbs up... WAY UP... The project's architect was Isthmus Architecture, and general contractor was J.H. Findorff & Son. Check this out!!!!

Madison - 7/1/2010 The state has chosen its Department of Administration building at 101 E. Wilson St. for a new Downtown train station to facilitate the city's planned redevelopment of a multi-block area, officials said Thursday. More detailed preliminary designs and a cost estimate for the station should be available by the end of this month, state officials said...

Ken Notes: Actually, not a bad plan. May I mention I talked about this building three years ago. Now lets take the ramp across the street and enlarge it with the market on the top of it and build the transit links to the airport and hotels.

Wisconsin - 7/22/2010 Rod Nilsestuen, who has led the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection as its secretary since 2003, drowned Wednesday evening while swimming in Lake Superior off Michigans Upper Peninsula...

Ken Notes: WDN extends our deepest sympathy to friends and family.

Madison Area - 8/19/2010 ...here is a laudable proposal by Madison Area Technical College to spend up to $150 million in the next couple of years on building projects to accommodate students in programs that lead to family-supporting jobs in IT, software engineering, health care, public safety and many other fields. There are now long waiting lists for admission to many of these programs... the toxic tea party terrain of 2010 where any public institution asking voters to pay even a little more in taxes for a greater long-term good $20 to $40 per year on an average home for the next 20 years seems chancy.

Ken Notes: This project will need a great public relations campaign to move it forward but if MATC can listen and be flexible I think the can get it done. I hope they can get it done.

Madison - 9/1/2010 Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz says he thinks approval of a plan to restructure the citys tax incremental financing districts in order to deliver $16 million in TIF funding to the Edgewater Hotel developer should be a slam dunk. The mayor is wrong. The citys TIF Review Board should ask tough questions about a financing scheme that has never inspired confidence....

Ken Notes: I aggregate articles and opinions regardless of my personal views -- as seen here. The editorial does make some very good points, but the focus at this point should be on the developers agreement that guarantees the tax revenue from the project. If there is a strong legally binding agreement in place the actual financial feasibility of the project is a matter for the other stakeholders.

Madison - 3/20/2010 When it came to major development projects, building a new Central Library in downtown Madison was Job 1 for local officials. Unfortunately, as time and energy was squandered on the Edgewater Hotel renovation project, the plan to have the Fiore/Irgens team build an especially appealing library on West Washington Avenue fell apart....

Ken Notes: I am commented out on this project - but I do want to thank the Mayor and Fiore for staying at the table when it was tough to do so. I still believe that public private development has a great deal to offer our community.

Madison - 5/12/2010 Madison has the ninth strongest economy in the U.S., according to Policom Corp.'s 2010 rankings. The survey examines 23 measures of economic strength over a 20-year period. Data from 1989 to 2008 involving 366 metropolitan statistical areas was considered for the latest report...

Madison - 5/19/2010 After a year of passionate, polarizing debate and a final marathon meeting, the Madison City Council approved the Hammes Co.'s proposed $98 million redevelopment of the historic Edgewater hotel. The council, after an eight-hour public hearing featuring an A list of movers and shakers, historic preservationists, hoteliers and residents, and four more hours of questions for staff and debate, cast five separate votes to move forward one of the most controversial developments in recent city memory...

Ken Notes: I hope I get an invite to the groundbreaking. You can search WDN HERE for every story on this project. Use Edgewater as search term.

5/19/2010 After 13 hours, the council passed all five measures...

Ken Notes: Chanel 3K has nice images and video...

Shorewood Hills - 6/2/2010 Looks like the people of Shorewood Hills may have hundreds of renters as new neighbors after all. The village board on Feb. 15 voted down a proposed 69-unit apartment building, amid concerns that there wasn't enough time to study the impact it would have on the character of the wealthy, mostly owner-occupied enclave. But now a new developer wants to build a 96-unit apartment house right across University Avenue in the city of Madison, where neighbors thus far have been receptive.

Madison - 8/15/2010 Madisons most attractive gateway, John Nolen Drive, is targeted for new upgrades, but city officials say that doesnt mean theyve forgotten promises to fix up its three less attractive siblings. More progress must be made on the East Washington Avenue, South Park Street and University Avenue corridors, so they dont undermine the central citys most enduring claim to fame its beauty, officials say....

Ken Notes: Wouldn't it be nice if each of these gateways had an efficient cost effective mass transit corridor to bring people into the city.

Madison - 9/7/2010 Mayor Dave Cieslewicz wants to capitalize on a Downtown high-speed rail station by funding a public market, new Government East parking garage and more planning for the area southeast of Capitol Square in a $238 million capital budget for 2011....

Ken Notes: To truly get in the spirit my laptop is playing Johny Cash... I here the train a'comin...

Madison - 1/13/2010 Several large projects serve to define Madison, and more are on the brink of redefining our community. The challenge of building structures that speak about a city is that they rarely are good business and often are most controversial. Of course, if these projects werent able to produce the discussion, passion and controversy that great architecture often does they would not be significant enough to say something about the community....

Ken Notes: Pulitzer????

1/28/2010 Wisconsins high-speed rail projects will receive $822 million in federal stimulus funds, according to an announcement from the states U.S. Senators, Democrats Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold. Of that total, $810 million will be directed to the Madison-Milwaukee corridor and $12 million to the Milwaukee-Chicago corridor. Last July, the state of Wisconsin signed a deal with Spanish train manufacturer Talgo, to purchase two new train sets at a cost of $47 million The 14-car passenger trains will replace Amtrak Hiawatha trains running from Milwaukee to Chicago...

Ken Notes: I wish we had $822 million to create jobs, develop new technologies, strengthen small businesses and develop agriculture. But a train is not a bad thing. Now we need a plan to move the people around once they get here.

Madison Area - 2/25/2010 Wounded Market Will Begin to Heal in 2010 The resiliency of Madisons office market was put to the test in 2009 as increased unemployment and overall uncertainty wreaked havoc throughout the area. Fundamentals weakened the Office sector as vacancy jumped to 17.3 percent and asking rents remained largely unchanged. Landlords provided unprecedented levels of concessions as negotiating power swayed significantly towards tenants. Despite the increase in vacancy and the headwind of the recession, absorption was, remarkably, still a positive 56,000 square feet. The outlook for 2010 is more upbeat. Developers, reacting...

Ken Notes: A very special thanks to Chris Richards & Christian Caulum for sharing these with us.

Madison - 3/24/2010 Mayor Dave Cieslewicz has proposed an ambitious schedule to renovate the central library amid discontent over the collapse of talks with a developer that would have delivered a new $37 million library and second phase of private development...

Madison Area - 3/26/2010 Dear Editor: Having taught environmental management at the University of Wisconsin for 30 years, I was concerned to see comments from Greg Hull and other County Board candidates opposing the concept of shoreland zoning. Critical claims that property values and tax base are reduced completely miss the point. It is widely proven that clean lakes and protected shore lands increase, not decrease, property values. Shoreland zoning rules apply only to rural unincorporated towns, not cities and villages, as Hull and others contend...

Ken Notes: I have seen the results of restored lakes and the success of major efforts to improve both water quality and shoreline development, but these project were never accomplished with mandates or rules. The effort will require far more pro active involvement on the part of all parties. It will take education and cooperation. It will take comprehensive planning and the involvement of several jurisdictions and units of government as well as the private sector. There are examples to follow but easy fixes just don't exist.

Madison - 4/6/2010 Concerned delays could be costly and even threaten prospects for a state-of-the-art central library, the Madison Public Library Board on Monday unanimously endorsed a proposal to renovate and expand the existing facility...

Ken Notes: We could wait a little. This is a great opportunity for the corridor and will have a long term impacts on the entire area.

Madison - 4/14/2010 Spectrum Brands has a new CEO and is moving its headquarters back to Madison. The company -- formerly Rayovac -- announced Thursday morning that Dave Lumley has been named chief executive officer, effective immediately, succeeding Kent Hussey, who is retiring...

Ken Notes: WELCOME HOME!

Wisconsin - 5/12/2010 In the May issue of the Capital Region Business Journal, read about the many ways that the new health care reform law will affect your business, and how to prepare for the upcoming changes, including a Legal Advice column on the topic from William Toman of Quarles and Brady. In addition, you...

SUN PRAIRIE - 6/15/2010 The Gospel according to the economic development Gods says that an anchor store is vital to drive traffic to any shopping mall or commercial area, but Sun Prairie's new Prairie Lakes commercial development will have two such traffic generators, and perhaps a third depending on how you count. One anchor is already there; another fell into the developers' laps, and the third would represent a regional draw that isn't even part of the 100-acre development....

Ken Notes: Neil Stechschulte may well be one of the best economic leaders in the state. His commitments to planning, the future, alternative energy, and working with developers is one reason SP is on everyone's radar screen. I am a little jealous.

Wisconsin - 8/1/2010 Wisconsin needs a new economic development organization, armed with at least $500 million in bonding authority and authorized to steer a unified strategy to boost the state, a new study says. The 46-page report titled Be Bold Wisconsin calls for a quasi-public group to be established, separate from the state Department of Commerce, to be called Accelerate Wisconsin...

Ken Notes: Why not spend the same 500 million working with the organizations already supporting growth in the state and create a comprehensive strategic plan to get them all on the same page. Commerce is not a bad department, it just fails to bring the current resources into the tent. It is quite a list - WEDA, The ED regional groups, Chambers, Wisconsin Development news, developers, local government bodies, media outlets like Discover Wisconsin and business pubs, the Universities, and the legislature. I am not sure we need another unit -- we need a general to lead the troops.

Madison - 9/8/2010 Continuing economic woes caused the equalized value of property in Dane County to drop 3 percent last year, driven in part by a drop in the average value of homes. Those numbers have county officials worried. County departments are requesting a 9 and a half percent levy increase from last year, due to rising costs....

Ken Notes: New tune - Beatles... Yesterday...

Madison - 1/5/2010 Developer Robert Dunn said Tuesday he supports a proposal to delay a City Council vote scheduled for Tuesday night on whether to overturn a Landmarks Commission decision that effectively blocks his companys proposed $93 million redevelopment of the Edgewater hotel...

Ken Notes: I hope we continue to work with the creative people who are bringing great brick an mortar to the community. I still think the public terrace will be stunning! Good luck.

Madison - 1/12/2010 Dan Walsh is vice president of a Chicagoland company that develops senior housing and is well aware of Madison's reputation as a tough place to do business. "It's all true," he says with a smile. Now that his Naperville, Ill.-based Ryan Cos. is looking to break into the local market, Walsh is getting a close-up view of what happens when new urbanism plannin...

Ken Notes: I am a fan of new urban, but agree if you are a car society keeping them in the neighborhood is tough. You need a great mix and a lot of investors up front. We may need focus on this density where the retail is already in place. Lets rebuild the malls for example. Bayshore Town Center is a perfect example! If the city wants new urban it may want to partner up more on the front end like Sequoya Commons or the new library. Again if we can't land the project in the city I'll bet Sun Prairie, Verona or Middleton will take them. And for the record we would love them in Lafayette County, lets do lunch!

Madison - 2/4/2010 Madison's Urban Design Committee gave initial approval to a Target store at the Hilldale Shopping Center. Alder Chris Schmidt told WISC-TV the project now goes to the Plan Commission Feb. 22, and if approved it goes to the common council March 2...

Ken Notes: Yea! This is a great fit and will eliminate many trips to the edge of town or the burbs. Now a good mass transit option from campus to Hilldale, downtown and the convention center and then the train station to the east. Baby steps...

Madison - 2/25/2010 Its been 14 years since Paul Reilly retired, but the man known as a stickler for accuracy as Madisons chief financial officer is wading into the sprawling debate on the Edgewater Hotel redevelopment with a warning for city taxpayers...

Madison - 2/24/2010 Long ago William T. Evjue, the founder of The Capital Times, wrote that developers are people who come to make over a neighborhood, and when theyre finished changing the lives of the folks who live there, they go back to their homes in Maple Bluff...

Ken Notes: I remain confused - I thought we as a community asked for more hotel rooms downtown. We need to decide if we really want a more vibrant convention and meeting destination. If the answer is yes, we need a plan to get there. I would think that this project would be a part of that plan.

Madison - 2/23/2010 Now that the developers of the Edgewater Hotel project are radically altering their plans in a manner that is expected to be far more satisfactory to the community, it is important to remember who the real heroes of this long debate have been. When Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and his allies were trying to secure approval for a seriously flawed and highly controversial project...

Ken Notes: Again I am confused, we have less architectural excellence, less public access, less space for events, and less lakefront improvements - and we are celebrating?

Madison Area - 2/25/2010 Market Deteriorates; Recovery in 2010? Madisons industrial market was hammered by the global recession in 2009 as downsizing, consolidations and plant closings pushed vacancy above 7 percent on the heels of 604,000 square feet of negative absorption. The outlook for 2010 and beyond is considerably more optimistic as we expect the Industrial sector to be at the forefront of the economic recovery....

Madison - 3/10/2010 After several relatively quiet weeks in city government, the Edgewater Hotel debate looks like it will begin again in earnest. The Hammes Co. submitted revised plans on Wednesday that will be taken up in one week by the Urban Design Commission. According to an e-mail from Brad Murphy in the city Planning Division, the new schedule for the development's approvals will be: Urban Design Commission (PUD Initial approval requested) -- March 17Plan Commission (Public Hearing PUD and Conditional Use, 1965 Ord.) -- March 22 Common Council (Public Hearing PUD, other items) -- April 20...

Ken Notes: Please vist Kristin's post above or click here for plan details and new perspectives.

Madison - 3/10/2010 Developer Robert Dunn has submitted revised plans for the redevelopment of The Edgewater hotel, restarting a review process that could culminate with final decisions by the City Council on April 20. The revised plans, submitted Wednesday, reflect ideas unveiled to the Urban Design Commission mid-February....

Madison - 3/16/2010 The Madison Common Council tackled a 125-item agenda Tuesday night. Alders gave the official go-ahead for developers to construct the Hilldale Target and Westgate Hy-Vee grocery store. Alders also approved an ordinance to create a 25 cent fee, anytime citizens make an online payment to the city. Proceeds would help re-coup the costs of the program...

Middleton - 4/6/2010 Middleton is one of 27 cities -- and the only one in Wisconsin -- selected as finalists in the 2010 All-America City competition. The 10 winning cities will be announced in June in Kansas City by the National Civic League, organizers of the competition since 1949....

Ken Notes: Congrats and its close to Lafayette County! No really...

Madison - 4/15/2010 For the first time, a developer is failing to pay the city everything it owes under an agreement for taxpayer financing used to help build a project. The city is negotiating with Monroe Neighbors LLC, developers of the $22.9 million Monroe Commons mixed-use project, 1802 Monroe St., to recover $182,700 owed for 2008. The money was due August 2009...

Ken Notes: We may see more of this as developers who have worked through the recession by burning savings and past profits are just now running out of funds. These are often great people with sound business plans trying to make it work in a very challenging economy. I hope the community can work with the developers to keep these projects whole. If we force too much they can walk away and start over elsewhere and the new values effect the rest of the market.

Madison - 4/22/2010 Madison city officials sent a clear message Tuesday night: They do not want a high-speed rail station at the Dane County Regional Airport when options closer to downtown are available. But, amidst all of the criticism of an airport station, the high-speed rail resolution the City Council passed Tuesday night foreshadows future tensions over choosing between the three other locations proposed by the state Department of Transportation...

Ken Notes: I know this is an old drum, but would we be so upset if there were a transportation system in place to serve the airport. Failure to plan on the part of the city council does not constitute an emergency on the part of the federal government...

WARRENS - 5/1/2010 WARRENS A corporation created by members of the Dippen family has an agreement with a court-appointed receiver to buy the closed Three Bears Lodge hotel, indoor water park, restaurant and convention facility in Warrens, Jason Dippen said today. Assuming a judge approves the sale June 3, the transaction will be completed June 7 and the 93-room hotel would reopen June 11, Dippen said. The restaurant would reopen about two weeks after that, and a new pub would open in another two to four weeks. We dont anticipate opening the indoor water park until summer 2011, he said. Theres some work that needs to be done on it. And we need to make sure the revenue is there to support that overhead....

Ken Notes: This is very good news, congrats to Madison's Brian Wolff and CBRE who helped put this deal together.

Madison - 5/20/2010 Hundreds of good-paying construction jobs by the end of the year. Tens of millions of dollars in higher tax base for the city and school district. A beautiful public terrace overlooking Lake Mendota with restaurants and easy access to the water's edge...

Ken Notes: I agree the project will be very nice and good for the city. I am concerned that developers with great projects but interested in the path of least resistance will see Madison as difficult. I hope I am wrong.

Madison - 5/27/2010 When the Overture Center trust fund was liquidated in September 2008, city officials calculated that the worst-case scenario for Madison taxpayers would be paying $1.95 million in 2011, with financial guarantees from philanthropist Jerry Frautschi and the centers operating body covering loan and interest payments first...

Ken Notes: We need to be way outside the box on this one. Charter School of the Arts? Wisconsin Performing Artists Hall of Fame? Private Management? A regular Big Show, Feldman or Big Top? TV? Stronger ties to the convention center, with a transit system?

Madison - 5/27/2010 A standing-room-only crowd showed up to a public meeting in Madison Tuesday evening to hear, "the train is coming." The first question was by high-speed and commuter train opponent, Bill Richardson, who asked, is this a done deal? He received an affirmative response from State of Wisconsin DOT representatives...

Madison Area - 6/9/2010 I have often commented that greater Madison needs a comprehensive transportation system to connect the airport, surrounding communities, hotels, and shopping areas with the Downtown. Now we have a high-speed rail system potentially bringing even more people into the Downtown and when they step off the train they will step into ... almost nothing. Mass transit Madison is clearly not for the masses...

Ken Notes: My article - Thanks for looking!

Madison - 6/23/2010 State environmental officials adopted sweeping regulations Wednesday to control phosphorus pollution in Wisconsin waters, hoping to slow runaway algae growth and preserve water-based tourism and recreation. The package creates new restrictions on a wide range of potential sources, from farm fields and barnyards to large-scale wastewater producers. The Natural Resources Board adopted the regulations unanimously after about four hours of discussion...

Ken Notes: In Lafayette County we are seeking a grant to work with farmers and business to improve water quality. The DNR standards must be balanced with support for the farmers and so far my experience with the DNR suggest they are more than willing to help. As for me, consider me a pro farmer, pro business partner in improving water quality in Wisconsin!

Madison - 7/1/2010 The next Great Wolf Lodge resort will be in California, less than two miles from Disneyland. Great Wolf is not building the resort but the Madison indoor waterpark company will get a minority share of ownership as well as ongoing fees for licensing and operating the resort in Garden Grove....

Ken Notes: Still wish they would build a park near Madison. Epic alone need 500 rooms per week. Bring the family, while mom or dad gets trained, the kids play at night we all win. Just a thought. I do like using the brand and call center with outside ownership, could be a great franchise. Have you thought about selling your existing holdings???

National - 7/1/2010 In a 409-5 vote, House lawmakers have passed a standalone bill that would extend for three months Wednesday's deadline for closing on a home purchase in order to claim the federal homebuyer tax credit...

National - 7/13/2010 After reading my article last month headlined Allow me to share with you an excellent mass-transit plan, where I presented mass-transportation options for Madison using alternative fuel vehicles, a friend called and said, Ken I never knew you were such an environmentalist. To be honest, I never knew I was an environmentalist. I try to use this column to advocate for profitable business ventures, fiscal responsibility in government spending, partnerships between the public and private sectors, and sound long-range planning. These are not the usual foundations for tree-hugging, whale-saving, car-banning environmentalism....

Ken Notes: Remember opinions included in this newsletter are not those of the editor... oh wait, I guess they are in this case. I would not mind this getting reprinted if you know someone send them a copy...

Madison - 7/21/2010 It was the 1960s, and Madison, like many other cities, was caught up in the urban renewal movement...

Ken Notes: A great read... To steal a phrase (stolen in the first place), It takes a village to create a village. I hope that this is the Allied Drive story 40 years from now!

Madison - 7/28/2010 With the Cieslewicz administration racing to draft new rules aimed at streamlining the approval process for new development, some are wondering "What's the hurry?" It's not like developers -- the Edgewater's Hammes Co. notwithstanding -- are lined-up to fill local tax coffers. Private financing can be hard to come by these days and city funds are pretty tapped out...

Ken Notes: The problem is that the most controversial project are the ones that have the potential to bring architectural excellence to our community, and are the most difficult to put together financially. We will never know what project we miss because the process has moved them elsewhere. If you doubt this, drive through Verona, Dubuque, Middleton, Sun Prairie, Milwaukee...

Madison - 8/5/2010 What do you want to see in the new Madison Central Library? Public input is encouraged during a series of four scheduled public meetings to look at the design plans for the new library, which will cost between $27 million and $31 million. The meetings all willl be at the Madison Senior Center, 330 W. Mifflin St., beginning at 7 p.m. They will be on Aug. 5, Sept. 9, Oct. 14 and Nov. 4...

Ken Notes: The library needs to be a center for excellence in technology, media, and research. The Library may be the last available link between those who have access to the new media and those who do not. We need to partner with the private sector to make this happen. I would sponsor an iPad station for accessing local news on economic development for example...

Wisconsin - 8/12/2010 A year and a half ago, at the beginning of the economic downturn and the beginning of the multitude of stimulus packages, I wrote that we had failed to stimulate four things: retirement funds, mortgages, employment and consumer debt. The editorial ran in a number of papers, including the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and The Capital Times...I do want to point out that many of these problems still exist and we are doing little to address them even today.

Ken Notes: My working title was the brilliance factor, let me know what you think Send comments here. Also the entire Capital Region Business Journal is HERE. A great resource!

Madison - 8/26/2010 City officials have a plan to deliver $16 million in tax incremental financing to the project, but a bid to increase the size of the State Street TIF district to include the Edgewater, necessary to access money to help repay the loan, is in jeopardy. A majority of a five-member panel representing taxing entities called the TIF Review Board that must approve the district expansion is voicing concern and is undecided about its votes...

Ken Notes: It is on the discussion topics for today's Plan Commission meeting. Let's hope we stay on track-- Maybe the wrong analogy for some of my readers but you get the idea.

Madison - 9/9/2010 Henry Vilas Zoo Childrens Barn Timberframe Raising September 9, 2-4 pm (rain date Sept. 10) Located at the Childrens Zoo (near the carousel)...

Ken Notes: This may be a bit of a commercial, (Jeff, I accept cash, checks, or steak diners) but if I were a little closer I would be there. I love timberframe and would love to see this project. Take lots of pictures...

Madison - 2/24/2010 While much focus in town has been on filling vacant land at Hilldale Mall or the squabble over the downtown Edgewater Hotel, a big development is coming to the far west side that has sort of floated under the radar -- the addition of a second University Research Park, or, as its backers call it, "URP2."...

Ken Notes: There were a lot of issues on this project, the difference is the UW is very good at not airing its dirty laundry in public. They identify discuss and resolve issues and move forward. They also have a planning model that should be the envy of everyone.

Madison Area - 3/6/2010 In Monroe, land with rail service can be had for $1 an acre. Easy access to Highway 18-151 is one of the draws for those considering land in Verona. And in Portage, the city is scheduled to break ground in May on a 30,000-square-foot business incubator...

Ken Notes: I should mention that in Lafayette County we will transfer the land for a dollar as well as help find funding. This is a tough market but there are great opportunities!

Madison - 3/23/2010 No dirt has been turned and no permits have been issued, but it's looking like the votes are there for the Madison City Council to eventually approve the Edgewater hotel redevelopment. Of course it might take another few months to reach that point, as several hurdles remain....

Madison - 4/1/2010 As Mayor Dave Cieslewicz pushes to quickly renovate the central library, an influential Downtown group wants to revisit a more ambitious proposal by the Fiore Cos. to build a new $37 million central library with a second phase of private development on the existing library site. Meanwhile, Hovde Properties, a major Downtown developer and landowner, is offering to help make the grand vision possible...

Madison - 4/1/2010 Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is pushing ahead with plans to rebuild Madison's Central Library on the existing site, though some are asking the city to slow down with plans. Brad Chaimson reports....

Ken Notes: Video at this link.

Madison Area - 4/16/2010 There's new evidence the deep national recession has taken a toll on Madison: the value of all real estate dropped by 3.1 percent for 2010, the first decrease in at least 35 years, according to data released by the city Friday. Falling values do more than reduce the net wealth of property owners. Along with a slowdown in construction, they mean that under current tax rates, fewer dollars will be available to fund the rising costs of city, school and other public services 2011...

Ken Notes: See...

Madison - 1/26/2010 A high-rise student apartment building is coming to one of the most congested spots on the UW-Madison campus with no new parking spaces. Monday night, the Madison Plan Commission on a 5-2 vote approved a proposal from landlord Patrick Corcoran for an eight-story apartment tower at 621 Mendota Court...

Ken Notes: The UW has developed a nice precedent for discouraging cars on campus and I believe this is a good thing. We now need to create a transit system that allows the students to get away from campus. I see a RT / Bus shuttle to the new Target and other stores at Hilldale as a start.

Madison - 3/22/2010 There is little question that Wednesday's Urban Design Commission vote in favor of the Edgewater Hotel redevelopment was a big decision in the future of the controversial plan. How big that decision was, however, is something that remains to be seen as the Plan Commission, ...

Madison - 5/20/2010 Key approvals for the proposed $98 million redevelopment of The Edgewater hotel are secured, but the project still faces a series of smaller hurdles and a possible court challenge before construction begins late this year...

Madison - 5/27/2010 A Madison public market is just the latest project proposed for an area east of the Capitol Square that could look radically different by the end of this decade. The three square blocks roughly bordered by King, Wilson, Doty and Carroll streets are already being eyed for a train station that would serve the new Milwaukee-to-Madison high-speed rail line, an 820-space underground parking garage, and a possible hotel on the block with the Madison Municipal Building...

Ken Notes: Why isn't revamping city hall on the list.

Madison - 7/29/2010 Fear's a factor in Saturday's summit of Madison neighborhood leaders. Feeling shunned by Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, some neighborhood advocates are trying to defuse what they believe is an attempt to diminish the role of neighborhoods and their associations in approving new development projects in the city...

Ken Notes: If I were a community leader, I would view this as an opportunity to develop a plan for my neighborhood that will serve as a pre-established foundation for concerns regarding a project. If an area is developable you need to do more that reserve the right to just say no. This may actually attract the development you would like. Just a thought...

Wisconsin - 8/11/2010 Spot-checking carnival rides. Certifying plumbers. Inspecting elevators. Tracking underground fuel tanks. What does any of that have to do with business development in Wisconsin and attracting the jobs of the future?...

Ken Notes: I like this plan - but do not want to exclude or ignore the existing organizations in place to promote economic development. We need a partnership to attract business and we need to also focus on growing the existing businesses in the state or we will loose them!

Madison - 3/24/2010 Returning to the place of its biggest setback, the Hammes Co. on Wednesday morning said it will seek approval from the city Landmarks Commission on its revised proposal for a $93 million-plus redevelopment of the historic Edgewater hotel....

Madison - 5/3/2010 After 18 months of meeting with neighbors, Apex Enterprises is moving forward with a major $8.5 million redevelopment at the corner of Merry and Winnebago streets along the Yahara River. The project in its current form involves tearing down one house on Merry Street, moving the Victorian home from 1628 Winnebago to Merry Street, building another house to match it and building 23 new units that would either be rented or sold as condominiums....

Madison - 7/2/2010 You can almost hear that train a comin. And it will stop at 101 E. Wilson St. in downtown Madison. Thats what Gov. Jim Doyle announced Thursday and were satisfied that he and state and local transportation planners -- with input from the 200 people who attended public workshops hosted by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to discuss the station plan -- have chosen the right location...

Ken Notes: The photo gallery is HERE.

Madison - 7/21/2010 You might have thought Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and the battalion of movers, shakers, Chamber of Commerce board members and editorialists who bulldozed passage of the dubious taxpayer-subsidized Edgewater Hotel remodeling would count themselves lucky and move on quietly. You would be wrong....

Ken Notes: Laws, Sausage, and Madison Development. For the record my take is not to mute the neighborhood groups or landmark commission but rather establish a fixed time-frame for the process and a balance so that a small group of objectors can not derail an entire project. Oh, and a plan would be nice...

Madison - 8/15/2010 A citizen group is hatching a plan to upgrade John Nolen Drive, that long curve of parkside pavement that affords a stunning view of Downtown reflecting in Lake Monona....South Park Street...East Washington Avenue...University Avenue....

Madison - 9/1/2010 Now we have an obscure tax district panel throwing up yet another roadblock to the Edgewater hotel redevelopment...

Ken Notes: Sort of a ying yang between the papers here. They should hire me to moderate. Or I could do it for free from an old house in Lafayette County -- where land is free and TIF is good. A little history, the first capitol was here in Lafayette...

Madison - 2/11/2010 I just got an e-mail from the City Council president, Ald. Tim Bruer, announcing a special meeting for the council on Feb. 24. The Edgewater Hotel redevelopment is intended to come before the council on Feb. 23, and with several votes to be had on the rezoning for the project, conditional use for waterfront development, tax increment financing agreement and a change to the city's zoning ordinance, council leadership seems to be trying to avoid a repeat of the Dec. 15 council meeting that ended at 5:30 a.m. on Dec. 16....

Ken Notes: The "I" in the article is Kristin Czubkowski author of Laptop City Hall.

Madison - 2/9/2010 Supporters of the stalled $93-million redevelopment of the Edgewater Hotel have won at least one round in their effort to keep the controversial project moving forward. On a 5-4 vote, the Madison Plan Commission Monday night backed changing city ordinances to exempt the hotel project from shoreland zoning rules. It took a tie-breaking vote from chairwoman Nan Fey to snap the deadlock. Under existing city ordinances, the developers could build no closer than 140 feet to Lake Mendota without a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals....

Ken Notes: I have suggested for years planning should trump mandates and the new shoreline mandate is a prime example of why.

Madison - 2/17/2010 The developer behind the proposed Edgewater Hotel expansion project is reducing the height of the tower in the plan, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. The shorter tower would open up a wider view of the lake...

Madison Area - 3/4/2010 The Dane County Regional Transit Authority Board at its first meeting Thursday pledged not to raise a sales tax for local transit without voters first approving a referendum...

Ken Notes: November may be too soon. Have I mentioned the need for a comprehensive long range plan for all transportation...

Madison - 4/13/2010 Anyone on a Downtown stroll might be forgiven if they walk into the new Hyatt Place hotel and mistake it for a cafe or coffee shop. That's precisely the point. The 151-room Hyatt Place Madison/Downtown, which opened Tuesday, is the first Hyatt brand hotel in the city and a relatively new concept for the corporation....

Ken Notes: It is very cool!

Madison - 4/9/2010 The city's plans to transform aging public housing on Madison's east side are nothing if not ambitious. A proposed $60 million project unveiled two years ago would update apartments and replace townhouses near Madison Area Technical College and add market-rate housing to the site. And now Madison's Community Development Authority is preparing to broaden its scope further through a federal grant program that would leverage local spending and has the potential to be "transformational."...

Madison - 4/28/2010 Quarnalla Smith's family shuddered when she rented a new, city-built townhouse in the heart of once-notorious Allied Drive. Now, six months later, Smith, a single mother of three, is comfortable in Allied and hopes to soon buy one of the houses that will be part of the next phase of private redevelopment in the area...

Madison - 5/19/2010 Kristin Czubkowski covers the whole meeting blow by blow sort of fun to look at... isn't the old adage if you like sausage don't watch... I am nominating Krinstin for a Pulitzer.

Madison - 5/19/2010 The 20-member Madison City Council took five votes on the project...

Madison - 5/17/2010
A grand addition to Downtown
The Edgewater does not make economic or civic sense
Letters to the Editor for May 18
Commission won't compound mistake
Edgewater is beautiful, but wrong time for it
Upon final review, Edgewater vote should be a no

Madison - 6/2/2010 State officials wisely prioritized ridership in picking Downtown Madison as the best of several locations for a passenger train station. A station near Monona Terrace should provide passengers from Milwaukee, Chicago and elsewhere with easy access to the state Capitol, State Street, UW-Madison and related sporting events - as well as buses and cabs to get elsewhere in the city....

Ken Notes: Not bad, but why not address the rest of the transportation issue at the same time. How do I get to Camp Randal after getting off the train on game day???

Madison - 9/2/2010 As co-chairs of the "obscure" tax district panel...It is a necessary part of the TIF process to ensure that expenditures are appropriately used in our community and statewide...

Ken Notes: The middle ground here is that they not vote on the merits of the project but on the financial interests they were appointed to represent.

Madison - 2/11/2010 As an elected official, I have always applied a simple test to spending money. Before I spend it, I ask myself, Is this the best possible way to spend this money in my community and how would I spend the money if it came directly from my pocket? That said, I am a fan of high-speed rail. I would love to see a corridor between Milwaukee and Madison that would improve mass transit between the communities. Provided I could get to where I needed to be at the end of the line, I would use the train. But would I spend $810 million of my money on it?...

Findorff, builders of Madison's finest projects!

Madison - 1/26/2010 When asked how often the city has amended its zoning code to accommodate one project, city zoning administrator Matt Tucker has an immediate answer: "It happens all the time. All the time. There are amendments to the text that relate to projects regularly."...

Ken Notes: We have a problem here in that, in Madison, there are many ways for a small group to block a project wanted by a majority of the people. We then change the code to accommodate the majority. Of course in the future a small group will arise to create a new policy that will start the cycle all over again.

Madison - 2/1/2010 Thursday's big news was the announcement that some $810 million will be spent in Wisconsin to create high-speed (110 mph) passenger rail service between Madison and Milwaukee in the next several years. Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is pumped, and the squabbling between the "why-are-we-paying-this-ridiculous-sum-of-money" and the "time-for-rail-has-come-again" crowds has already begun. Thursday's Journal main story racked up some 69 comments in that vein....

Ken Notes: Forget the station, regardless of where it is - How do we move the people who get off the train into the city?!!

Fitchburg - 2/11/2010 The presentation will be a Power Point with illustrations, maps and diagrams pinned up around the room for review. After the formal presentation, there will be an open microphone for public comment / critique, offering the team additional feedback to fine tune work moving towards a draft for the next phases of the Citys public process.

Ken Notes:OPEN HOUSE DROP-IN HOURS TODAY 2/11/10 1-2:30 pm - Charrette Final Presentation Friday, February 12, 6-7:30 pm --- This is a interesting process, other community leaders may want to follow this process and check out the results.

Madison Area - 2/17/2010 Residents on Madison's southwest side can learn more about the Verona Road expansion project at a public meeting Thursday evening. The meeting will run from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the Boys and Girls Club at 4619 Jenewein Road, and a free fish fry will be held for attendees....

Ken Notes: Wait a minute, as a member of the MPO I have had to sit through several long meetings on Verona Road - and I NEVER got free fish!

Madison - 2/23/2010 Changes in zoning for a proposed two-level Target at Hilldale Shopping Center were approved Monday night by the citys Plan Commission and will move on to the City Council. Under the rezoning, the store, which would be Madisons third Target, would have its own planned unit development (PUD) site at 4609 University...

Ken Notes: I hope this gets in the dirt soon. This will help create a destination for shopping close in.

Madison - 3/3/2010 If you blinked, you might have missed it last night: the Madison City Council voted to approve the development plan for a Target retail store at Hilldale Mall on the city's near-west side in a Tuesday night meeting that lasted about 20 minutes, at best. And that time included the council passing a resolution to make members of the band Wilco honorary citizens of Madison as well as dispatching with dozens of other business items. The quick passage Tuesday night included a few glowing words about the process that Target went through to get to the City Council -- words that certainly stand in stark contrast to the lengthy, sometimes-painful process that the Edgewater Hotel redevelopment is going through currently...

Ken Notes: Yea team. This will reduce runs to the beltline by students and expand the mix at Hilldale. Now we need a user friendly rapid transit option between Hilldale, campus and downtown.

Madison - 3/5/2010 A Dane County judge ruled Friday against a move to take the Hilldale Shopping Center out of the hands of Chicago owner and developer Joseph Freed and Associates in a foreclosure case involving the upscale shopping area. Freed also is more than 30 days late in paying property taxes on Hilldale...

Ken Notes: I am glad the Judge was willing to allow the developers to continue with this project...

Madison - 3/30/2010 On Nov. 10, Madison historian Stu Levitan gave one of the most rousing speeches of the dozens heard by the City Council during 2010 budget deliberations, earning a spontaneous round of applause for his praise of the proposal to build a new, $37 million Central Library on West Washington Avenue...

Ken Notes: I was quiet -- and disappointed last week when this project stalled. In January I wrote about both the importance and difficulty of significant projects. HERE. I would love to see the project continue, but as I suggested, I understand the balance and challenges ahead. My advice, not that anyone cares, is to continue the dialog and be patient. Either project will be here long after we are gone -- lets get it right.

Madison - 4/6/2010 Just one day before their case was scheduled to go to trial, the owners of Brothers Bar and Grill agreed to stop fighting the UW Board of Regents attempt to condemn their bar. Owners Marc and Eric Fortney dropped their lawsuit Tuesday against the university and said they would accept the Regents offer of $2.1 million, allowing UW-Madison to build its new School of Music facility on the property....

Wisconsin - 4/14/2010 I used to think that Oregon Republican Brett Davis was one of the few Wisconsin legislators with a modicum of common sense. Now Im not so sure. Davis, who is running for lieutenant governor, has decided to take the lead on an ill-advised crusade to stop the approved plans to expand passenger rail in Wisconsin, in effect waving bye-bye to more than $817 million in federal funds...

Ken Notes: I was recently quoted as an anti train guy and need to point out that it was taken well out of context! I want the train, I like the train, we need the train -- BUT we need a comprehensive plan for local transportation in place for those who get off the train! I may have also suggested we prioritize our spending a little. We can't print new money -- oh wait...

Wisconsin - 5/1/2010 ...When we examine all the current problems in government and the private sector, we can attribute every single problem to one thing: We do not play for the same team. In fact, we are often on such opposite sides of an issue that we fail even to recognize the players. We fail as government and businesses to realize that when one wins by hurting another, we all lose...

Ken Notes: Let me know what you think...

Verona - 5/7/2010 Not only is Epics unfinished Campus 2 already running out of room to house the companys employees, its 3-year-old Learning Center has started to feel the squeeze, too. So the 650,000-square-foot facility is getting an addition that will bring it up to almost 800,000 square feet by the end of next year....

Madison - 6/17/2010 Walgreens representatives may be wishing they had never changed their policy on selling alcohol in their drug stores after spending more than three hours in front of the city's Alcohol License Review Committee Wednesday night only to end up with two "nos" and three "wait and sees" from the committee. The ubiquitous drug store chain was at one time the nation's top alcohol sales outlet...

Ken Notes: There may be more than a little politics at play here, but that said Walgreens aggressively fought to lower their tax burdens and has cost the state millions in revenue and established a guideline for others wanting to do the same. Since the license is a privilege not a right I hope that they are forced to comply with the toughest of standards.

Madison - 6/22/2010 Overture Center officials and banks have agreed to a deal to eliminate $23.6 million in debt, the biggest impediment to a stable financial future for the arts facility. The debt is being settled with a combination of Overture funds, contributions from a group of private donors led by philanthropist W. Jerome Frautschi, who gave $205 million to build the arts center, and banks forgiving part of whats owed, Overture officials said Monday evening...

Madison - 7/7/2010 If Madison takes ownership of Overture Center, city taxpayers wouldnt face any additional costs to run it if a new nonprofit operator can increase ticket sales and roughly double fundraising for the venue to $1.5 million a year, according to a consultants report...

Ken Notes: Next article has details. I wonder if we could pay the consultant based on future accuracy???

MINERAL POINT - 7/14/2010 The main mission of the Hodan Center is to assist adults with disabilities. The addition of the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen will lend a hand to the rest of the community, too. "This is a big shiny spaceship that has landed in rural Wisconsin," said Rick Terrien, executive director of the Iowa County Economic Development Corp...

Ken Notes: ...and do not forget that Green and Lafayette counties have Greenco Industries another great facility. In fact there are several facilities in the state. These are fantastic resources for entrepreneurial businesses in Wisconsin. You design and market a product and these facilities can handle the manufacture and fulfillment from A to Z. Lets do a Wisconsin Development News -- Cheese BBQ sauce... Wait "big shiny spaceship" I think Rick has been celebrating with some of the herbs Innovation Kitchen packages...

Shullsburg - 8/4/2010 Swiss Valley Farms and Emmi-Roth Kse USA announce White Hill Cheese Co., LLC, a joint venture to manufacture cheese in Shullsburg, WI. The Shullsburg site has been owned by Swiss Valley Farms since 2005 and consists of a 24,000 sq. ft. cheese manufacturing plant, a 50,000 sq. ft. warehouse, and a waste-water treatment facility. The joint venture will allow the two entities to increase production of Baby Swiss, No-Salt-Added Swiss and other varieties....

Ken Notes: WELCOME to Lafayette County!

Grub and Ellis Report for 2010 Madisons increased unemployment, economic uncertainty, and the introduction of more than 300,000 square feet of new construction pushed vacancy in the office market over 17 percent...

Ken Notes: 2011 is coming...

Madison - 1/12/2010 Three years ago, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz earmarked $70,000 for a new Downtown Master Plan aimed at bringing more jobs, visitors and year-round residents to the central city. So far, only about $17,000 has actually been spent and theres little to show aside from a website and an office in the basement of the Madison Municipal Building...

Ken Notes: Interesting ideas. Madison has far more potential than we realize.

Madison - 1/11/2010 While all eyes have been fixed downtown on a certain lakefront hotel in recent weeks, another major development project has quietly been making its way to the city approval process. According to city records, plans for a Target retail store on the site formerly approved for a Whole Foods development at Hilldale Shopping Center will be heading to the city's Urban Design Commission on Jan. 20 and Plan Commission on Feb. 22...

Ken Notes: I love this idea. Hilldale is very close to the new urban concept critical mass that will be attractive to residents and make it a destination for urban consumers. Have you seen Metcalfe's it is very cool.

Madison - 1/14/2010 Developers of the hotel across from Camp Randall Stadium have put the stalled 48-room project on the market. Owner Bob Sieger is seeking partners to invest a minimum of $2.5 million in the project. "Bob has put a lot of time and energy into this and is looking for a partner," said listing broker David Baehr....

Ken Notes: This one has to get done. Put me down for $ 100 only 24,999 more to go. I do still like this project and the location is prime.

Madison - 1/18/2010 When Chicago-based Freed & Associates first unveiled plans to redevelop the Hilldale shopping center, it proposed a public greenspace featuring park benches, flowers and shade trees along Frey Street. But the developer has now abandonded that idea and plans to repave the existing 90-space parking lot on Frey Street...

Ken Notes: I am not so sure the title is fair here - Freed has done a good job in very tough times. This project is really the only large "new urban" project in the dirt and has been a tough go. I would point out a faster approval would have meant a new Whole Foods and other projects on the site. Of course they did get rid of Chocolate Shop and that was a mistake...

Madison - 1/28/2010 In a special meeting of the Madison City Council on Thursday night, the developer of the $93 million Edgewater project said although the project's details are changing daily, he wants to preserve the design and historical character of the hotel...

Fitchburg - 2/10/2010 The Fitchburg Zoning charrete is officially under way. Consulting firm PlaceMakers gave a presentation on what form based code is Monday night to a large group of residents of around 70 at the Community Center. After the presentation, those in attendance were split into groups, given maps and asked to decide what would be appropriate development for areas on the map. ...

Madison - 3/4/2010 ...Garrison Keillor explained the lengthy process of changing a light bulb in Madison. "It takes many people to change a light bulb here," Keillor said. "A committee to propose changing it, another committee to conduct a four-year study, thousands of people to march in protest against the change, another committee to draw up a compromise by which the committee agrees to have an equal number of tulip bulbs and dim bulbs and to recognize other light bulb traditions, including incandescent, three-way, long-life and tinted, as equally valid paths to luminescence. And then, late one night, somebody sneaks out and changes the bulb. Which then turns out not to work, but nobody notices because they're busy protesting a Starbucks on State Street."...

Ken Notes: Thanks for sharing Doug! Here is my answer: How many Madisonians does it take to change a light bulb? Answer one more than half sometimes two thirds but only at 3am after 6 hours of debate and 5 or 6 redesigns until the bulb no longer produces light, of course a committee must first be created to see if light is really needed (they will then rule based not on the need for light but on the lights impact other bulbs in the vicinity) and then a ordnance must be drafted to circumvent their findings. Finally the bulb is changed - in Middleton...

Madison - 3/18/2010 Rumors of the death of the Central Library project are greatly exaggerated, according to Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz. I spoke to Cieslewicz on Tuesday afternoon and he took issue with the State Journal's article calling the project "probably dead." "The city will build a new Central Library on time and on budget," he says...

Ken Notes: Great project are tough they require a lot of give and take. In this case the negotiations are proceeding with the interest of the community front and center. Plan B here is not as good for the community or the Library. Thumbs up Mayor Dave...

Madison - 3/24/2010 Once all but dead, the proposed $93 million-plus redevelopment of the Edgewater hotel has quickly won approvals from two key city committees and is moving toward a final City Council vote April 20. "It does create a sense of momentum, which is real," said Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, a strong supporter. "But it still would be a mistake to take anything for granted."...

Madison - 4/8/2010 While the UW-Madisons effort to condemn property owned by the Brothers Bar & Grill chain has grabbed plenty of attention, a prominent campus-area landlord is also bumping up against the universitys thirst for real estate. For months, Otto Gebhardt has been seeking city approval for a new 87-unit, high-rise student apartment building at 1208 Spring St. Three aging rental houses on the property now would be torn down. Gebhardt and others have been quietly redeveloping other properties in the area between Randall Avenue and the Park Street viaduct...

Ken Notes: After we toured the U Square project it is obvious that student housing has changed a great deal. I am wondering if I could go back to school. These are buildings built for long term excellence.

Wisconsin - 4/14/2010 The Marquette interchange in Milwaukee cost more than $800 million to rebuild between 2004 and 2008, and few people seriously questioned whether that subsidy of Wisconsins highway transportation system would pay for itself many times over. Milwaukees Zoo interchange, the mixmaster for I-94, I-894 and Highway 45, could cost $2.3 billion to rebuild once work begins in 2012....

Ken Notes: No arguments here and Tom places the project in a very nice perspective. I would just add that DOT worked on both of these project for decades as part of a very comprehensive plan.

Madison - 4/21/2010 Six years ago, local developer Gary Gorman proposed a 10-story building with a contemporary, glass-dominated design for the 800 block of East Washington Avenue, currently home to the Don Miller Budget Outlet, a car dealership. The tower was part of a whole-block redevelopment called Avenue 800 and was to feature more than 300 condominium units, lush landscaping, a private street, a pedestrian walkway and about 15,000 square feet of retail space...

Ken Notes: There is no doubt that this corridor will present a great opportunity for growth. Th question is what does the city want and how effectively can government work with developers to get a project started. The developers coming out of recession will gravitate to the path of least resistance and largest return.

Madison - 5/11/2010 Converting the aging coal-burning Charter Street Heating Plant into one of the greenest facilities of its kind is coming at a price. The new facility, which received initial approval from the city Plan Commission Monday night, will have the capacity to burn wood chips, corn stalks, switchgrass pellets or other biomass. But including biomass in the fuel mix has added at least $50 million in cost to the estimated $250 million power plant, the most expensive single project in UW-Madison history...

Ken Notes: The UW is a gift to economic development in the area. Let me be one of many to say thanks. By the way MGE is also doing their plant, Madison could go from black to green on the fast track. "Fast Track" get it...

Madison - 5/16/2010 Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is working with Overture Center officials on a plan that would result in city ownership of the $205 million facility and a nonprofit to run it. Menwhile, the city is now disputing its liability on up to $5.8 million it faces paying on the arts facilitys $23.6 million debt...

Ken Notes: We need to look for the handful or 2K seat PAC's that are running profitably and copy their mix. This will involve a business model as well as an artistic one. I have some examples if anyone is interested.

Madison Area - 5/27/2010 Now is the time for all the young at heart to come to the aid of their Childrens Museum. The greatly expanded new museum at 100 N. Hamilton St. is undergoing its finishing touches and will open to the public with a gala grand opening the weekend of Aug. 14-15...

Ken Notes: I could not agree more. Great project good people, one of the things Madison can be very proud of! The Museum website is here...

Madison - 6/1/2010 Heres how six citizens answered this weeks question posed by Capital Times freelancer Kevin Murphy. What do you think? Please join the discussion...

Ken Notes: Unfortunately the real answer is that they may not have a choice in the matter. I am not sure a private concern would buy it for a dollar...

Oregon - 6/16/2010 The Oregon Village Board Monday turned down the Walgreens Companys application for a license to sell beer and wine. And in a special meeting last Wednesday, the board repealed a moratorium on issuing new liquor licenses in the village...

Madison - 6/22/2010 At a press conference this morning, Overture Center and city officials announced that a handful of private donors -- including original donor Jerry Frautschi -- stepped up in recent weeks to help solve the center's remaining $28.6 million in debt. The donors will provide $15.1 million, enough for the center's lending banks to agree to forgive the remaining $13.5 million...

Madison - 7/7/2010 Steven Wolff of AMS Planning and Research, the national arts administration firm that has served as a consultant to the Overture Center, presented to board members a model of what the Overture Center's future could look like now that the debt has potentially been settled (pending City Council approval of ownership). The model outlined five years of transition and operation starting in 2012 as a partnership between a public owner and private, non-profit operator...

Ken Notes: I like the model presented here but still think some major nontraditional uses for the building are needed. School, business meetings, art sales, more special events, state events, ties to convention center. Having to raise 1.5 million also take funds available to other non profits.

Iowa County 7/13/2010 Surviving tough times is challenging enough for any business. Mix business with social service and the hurdles are more daunting. Yet for 38 years, the Hodan Center has managed to do both while finding ways to grow. Sunday's grand opening of the Wisconsin Innovation Kitchen marks another chapter in the not-for-profit organization's history of mixing its mission of serving adults with disabilities with business and work opportunities....

Madison - 7/21/2010 Although detailed design work is only starting, the new Central Library may not get a fresh facade or a third floor as touted by Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and others. The plans for a reconstructed library may evolve because of budget constraints or a more informed assessment of what's really needed, city officials and the architect said....

Ken Notes: I still think we let the better project slip away. I do get nervous when directors say "My impression is, anything's possible" with little sense of fiscal reality -- which is why the first project failed. This time we have know one establishing financial priorities and architectural excellence.

Madison - 8/5/2010 What he should seek is an operational plan based on a successful working PAC in another market similar to ours...

Ken Notes: What he should seek is an operational plan based on a successful working PAC in another market similar to ours. I reviewed the current plan and we seem a little top heavy staffing wise. I do agree that failure is not an option...

Madison Area - 8/12/2010 Madison Area Technical College leaders have been coy in recent months when pressed for details about when the school hopes to move forward with ambitious expansion projects outlined in the school's facilities master plan (HERE). . Indeed, even after Wednesday night's MATC District Board meeting, they remained vague when speaking about the college's future...

Ken Notes: I vote yes, but would like to see more adaptive reuse of existing buildings. I would love to see a fine arts program in the Overture Center for example. Students could gain hands on experience by helping staff the facility, produce some events outright, and work with other arts groups in the area. A classroom wing could be added to the new library if needed.

Madison - 8/25/2010 Real estate developers had long approached the owners of the Badger Bus Depot about selling their property at the corner of West Washington Avenue and Bedford Street. Just two blocks from the Kohl Center and within walking distance of the State Capitol, the one-acre site is considered a prime redevelopment location in the Bassett Neighborhood...

Ken Notes: Welcome CVS - Let's hope they don't buy the best locations and then fight the assessments costing the communities of Wisconsin millions...

Verona - 8/25/2010 At Epic Systems Corp.s Verona campus, the four new buildings that comprise Campus 2 are open and occupied. Workers are finishing interior design touches in Isis and Heaven, the latest of the buildings, and Epics landscape crew is working to fill the center area with plants...

Ken Notes: WOW! We may need to tour again...

Madison Area - 9/9/2010 Madison Area Technical College hosted a public hearing Wednesday night to garner input on its proposed $133.8 million expansion plans. Considering this proposal could hit the local homeowner in the pocketbook, one might assume the event drew a decent number of concerned citizens....

Ken Notes: Could be a tough time for this on the ballot, but they have done a lot of homework and the plan is interesting. I would vote yes but alas I live now just outside the district. This project could also be very nice for the construction industry while other projects remain slow.

Madison - 2/1/2010 Downtown residents seeking info on the revamped plans for the controversial Edgewater Hotel redevelopment project are invited to a neighborhood meeting this Thursday. The meeting, called by Ald. Bridget Maniaci and Mike Verveer, will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday at the MATC Downtown Education Center, 211 N. Carroll St....

Milwaukee - 3/16/2010 Mayor Dave Cieslewicz e-mailed City Council members this morning detailing the city's negotiations with the Fiore Cos. about rebuilding Madison's Central Library and intimating that the full-scale rebuilding may no longer be in the cards....

Ken Notes: The full text of the Mayors email is found at the above link...

Wisconsin - 5/12/2010 Economic development leaders across Wisconsin are hoping that a series of bills Gov. Jim Doyle signed into law on Monday will help to spur job growth and help companies locate and expand in the state. But critics say the bills don't do enough to address the state's flagging economy and high joblessness rate which was at 8.8 percent in March...

Madison - 6/9/2010 From watching the discussion of the proposed BioLink business incubator at Monday's Board of Estimates meeting and Wednesday's Madison Development Corporation board meeting, it's almost as if the people involved were talking about two completely different projects...

Ken Notes: I like this project but like all things Madison it may take some spainin'.

Madison - 1/5/2010 Fresh Madison Market, a new grocery store at University Square, will open Saturday. The 18,000-square-foot store at 703 University Ave. will be a full-service grocery that emphasizes fresh foods such as meat, produce, deli and bakery...

Ken Notes: Congrats! Downtown needs this.

1/28/2010 Wisconsin will receive $810 million in federal stimulus money to establish high-speed passenger rail from Milwaukee to Madison and to study the possibility of extending it to the Twin Cities, President Barack Obama's administration will announce Thursday...

Madison - 3/17/2010 After years of hope and planning for a new Madison Central Library, a proposal for a new $37 million, six-story glass and stone facility may be dead. Construction was supposed to start this fall, but negotiations between the city and the developers, the Fiore Cos. and Irgens Development Partners, have broken down over costs....

Ken Notes: This is the article that caused concern. As a writer, I have often questioned why the headline are always written by the editor not the author. The answer by the way is that editors are charged with selling papers.

Madison - 3/30/2010 The City Council and Madison Public Library Board may not be the only people Mayor Dave Cieslewicz has to convince that renovating the Central Library is a good idea. As I briefly touched on in my story today, many (though not all, as you can note in the comments) downtown stakeholders and library fans are not happy about the switch from building a new Central Library to renovating the existing one. One of them, Downtown Coordinating Committee chairman Troy Thiel...

Madison - 4/22/2010 Location, location, location thats the foundation of all good real estate development. At best, the current central library location should be a branch library, but its a poor location for Madisons main library. Spending $27 million to $30 million on remodeling the current library without adding parking or creating any additional area-wide value is a waste of public dollars....

Ken Notes: Interesting idea. You could also build a new City Hall and County Facility as well as other government buildings on East Wash. Jump start Central Park and redevelop the old buildings to support conventions at the Terrace.

Madison - 5/17/2010 Kids from Dane County and beyond are in for a real treat later this summer when the Madison Childrens Museum opens in its new location on the north side of the Capitol Square. I was given a preview of the creatively designed facility earlier this month and, to put it bluntly, I was blown away....

Ken Notes: I agree 100% with Dave - This could be a sign of something...

Madison - 6/22/2010 The city of Madison would get the $205 million Overture Center for free under a plan announced by Overture officials Tuesday, but details of what owning the facility would cost city taxpayers going forward were scarce...

Ken Notes: In my 20 years of holding public office, I have developed a love hate relationship with theaters, swimming pools, and libraries.

Madison Area - 7/24/2010 Madison's office market is struggling to recover from what landlords and brokers call the worst spell of vacancies in decades. And at least one expert said it will be 2011 before the market starts to come back. Others said things are starting to improve, if only slightly...

Ken Notes: Some great bargains out there, we need to do a little economic gardening...

MATC Madison Area - 8/12/2010 Signaling that a referendum is likely, the Madison Area Technical College district board will vote next week on a resolution of intent to borrow up to $150 million to fund an ambitious building expansion. To borrow such a large sum would mean putting the question before district voters. Under state law, technical colleges must hold referendums before completing any capital project that costs more than $1.5 million....

Madison Area - 1/1/2010 A spate of closings at the tail end of 2008 seemed to bode poorly for 2009 in terms of fledgling restaurants in the Madison area. Would we even have any new restaurants to review in the next year, I wondered? But it's turned out to be a somewhat hopeful year for the Madison food scene. Certainly, there have been many closings. There have also been enough restaurants opening that it's been a task (though a pleasant one) to get to them all...

Ken Notes: mmmmmmmmmm...

Pittsburgh / Madison 1/13/2010 A Wisconsin water park company has announced plans for a facility near a struggling Pittsburgh-area mall. Great Wolf Resorts Inc., of Madison, Wis., says Zamias Services Inc. will develop a hotel-water park resort near The Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills. Zamias owns the mall in Frazer Township, about 20 miles northeast of Pittsburgh along Route 28. The mall has struggled with vacancies since it opened in 2005, though the water park could make the mall a regional attraction....

Ken Notes: Pittsburgh? GW you live here, you like it here, we need rooms, you build rooms. When mom or dad is meeting with officials, attending a conference or seeing RENT why can't the kids splash around a little...

Madison - 4/28/2010 First, a quick recap: About four weeks ago, Edgewater opponents filed an appeal of the Plan Commission's March 22 decision to grant the controversial hotel plan a conditional use permit for waterfront development. Days later, assistant city attorney Kitty Noonan declared the appeal invalid, saying that there were not the required number of signatures. The appeal needed 20 percent of property owners notified by the Planning Division about the proposed development to sign on, and Noonan determined the opponents only have six valid signatures of the 31 property owners, or less than 20 percent. (For those of you who are new to town...

Ken Notes: For those of you who are new to town let me tell you about stress free, politic free, Lafayette County only an hour away....you'll need it...

Madison - 4/28/2010 Emerson Elementary School found out Wednesday that it's one of 32 schools in the nation that will receive a library makeover this summer, courtesy of Target Corp. and The Heart of America Foundation, a national literacy nonprofit. At the announcement at the East Side school, Target employees in red shirts and khakis mingled with about 15 to 20 third-graders in the cramped library...

Ken Notes: Maybe they could help with the downtown library. Seriously though thanks!...

Madison - 5/5/2010 I've often joked about needing a clone or two to attend all the city meetings I want to on a given night, but it's still pretty rare to see two meetings about the same high-profile subject set for the same night. But, such is the case with Monday, May 10. The Board of Estimates (the City Council's financial committee) and the Landmarks Commission both have regularly scheduled meetings that night and both will be taking up major potential approvals for the multi-million dollar Edgewater Hotel redevelopment proposal....

Ken Notes: I will make a contribution to the Clone Kristin fund the new economy has limited the press audibility to get to all these meetings and we should all thank her for keeping us in the loop,

Mount Horeb - 5/25/2010 A Mount Horeb-based green consulting firm on Tuesday unveiled what it says will be Dane County's first true Net-Zero Energy home, or one that uses no fossil fuels in its energy consumption. "We want people to see what's possible," said Robin Pharo, president of Healthy Homes, which specializes in sustainability, green product development and affordable green building for single-family homes and apartments...

Ken Notes: Thumbs up! I would like to do a carbon neutral development / neighborhood / research facility in Lafayette County.

Madison Area - 6/2/2010 Richard Lathrop, a UW-Madison limnologist, noticed last summer that the long pier in front of the limnology lab on Lake Mendota trapped the mats of blue-green algae that blossomed with the warming weather...

Ken Notes: Sure beats mandates. We need these "sessions" on transportation, the Overture Center, and the Library. Great people presenting great ideas. Allow everyone an elevator pitch and prioritize the best ideas. I'll facilitate for free...

Madison - 6/9/2010 A business incubator on Madisons Southeast Side is still in line to get $2 million in city loans after the Board of Estimates recommended Monday to remove a requirement that half of the facility space be pre-leased before loaning the money. The city committed the money to the Midwest BioLink Commercialization and Business Center...

Wisconsin - 7/22/2010 Should local governments in Wisconsin consider regulating the sale of French fries and cheeseburgers the way they control the sale of alcohol and cigarettes? State public health officials think so. Wisconsin's new 10-year public health plan, released Wednesday, suggests that municipalities use zoning regulations to limit the number and density of fast food restaurants, particularly in low income neighborhoods....

Ken Notes: I am not positive obesity is a zoning issue. Jobs are a zoning issue and jobs in low income neighborhoods are a good thing.

Madison - 7/28/2010 Madison Area Technical College leaders are using an online survey to ask faculty and staff for feedback on the school's ambitious facilities master plan....

Ken Notes: The master plan website is HERE. As I have mentioned before, I hope they continue to look at adaptive reuse of existing buildings as part of an expansion, specifically I applaud the west side facility. I wonder if they could find a theater on State Street, I know of a couple, hmmmmm...

Madison Area - 8/2/2010 Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, County Executive Kathleen Falk and the Regional Transit Authority board itself have all pledged to hold a referendum on any commuter rail plan before taking any action, but that's not enough for the die-hard opponents. It's become obvious that they don't want to discuss the issue period....

Ken Notes: What BOTH sides are missing is that transportation is an area we can grow into rather than jump into. We can dramatically improve our bus system. We can dip our toes in the water with rail before committing millions. We can advance technology without starting over and we can demonstrate to the auto lover the advantages of mass transit by providing a reliable convenient system. I wrote about it HERE.

Madison - 8/17/2010 As the Dane County Regional Transit Authority begins to flesh out the details of its transit plan, more municipalities are putting a transit sales tax advisory referendum on their local fall ballot...

Madison - 9/1/2010 Madison is a great place to visit and stay. But our city often makes a bad first impression. Three of the citys four main gateways to Downtown are, to be polite, less than attractive...

Ken Notes: I agree, we could do better. I always liked Monona's sails. We also need a three to one tree replacement plan, cut one - plant three. Of course not fruit trees in the parks because...

MATC Madison Area - 9/9/2010 Only a day before Madison Area Technical College is to host a public hearing on the school's ambitious expansion plans, the college is revealing some additions and subtractions to its proposal...

Ken Notes: Lots of details in this article and the priority sheet is HERE.

Madison - 1/6/2010 Madison Ald. Michael Schumacher introduced a resolution Tuesday seeking purchase of 23 acres of land at Cherokee Park from owner Dennis Tiziani. City officials say the $1.7 million purchase, which still needs approval from several committees and the City Council, is crucial to fully protect Cherokee Marsh from future development....

Madison - 2/1/2010 Since 2003, Madison has been stingy with its Affordable Housing Trust Fund, hoping to build a $10 million endowment to help developers and nonprofits acquire and build low-cost housing. But the city will soon consider a proposal to more aggressively invest the fund, which stands at $4.1 million...

Ken Notes: Again, allow my quick pitch for public private partnerships to get diverse neighborhoods with diverse housing stock on the market. In the end the "fund" could actually profit from the venture. We could also jump start Mayor Dave's greener new urban centers with affordable projects. Just a thought...

Wisconsin - 2/6/2010 With the credit market so tight, you might think companies wanting to expand in Madison would jump at the chance to borrow millions of dollars at a low interest rate. But so far, none has emerged to claim a share of the $12.2 million in local bonds available under last years federal stimulus bill, which authorized $15 billion in new tax-exempt bonds for the private sector to stimulate job creation...

Madison Area - 2/13/2010 What should be done about Madison's development review process? Eliminate the Landmarks Commission's 200-foot rule for visual compatibility for projects. Remove the supermajority requirement. zoning code and Downtown Plan. Streamline the process. Change the city's attitude..

Ken Notes: It is almost as if someone actually reads my comments as I have suggested a few of these for quite a while now. There is one idea still missing, we need a plan for how we get to one million people living in the region. Where do we place high density, low density, gardens, farms, estates, transportation, low income homes, big boxes, small retail, new urban, traditional neighborhoods, green environments, and new businesses.

Shorewood Hills - 2/16/2010 A controversial plan to build six stories of affordable housing in affluent Shorewood Hills in the nearly vacant Pyare Square building was torpedoed by the village board 6-1 Monday night. Village Board President Mark Sundquist, who supported the plan that would replace the 14-story cylindrical tower at 4610 University Ave. just west of the UW-Madison campus, said the other members of the board were concerned that it would be difficult to provide fire services to the 69-unit residential apartment building....

Madison - 2/16/2010 To answer the headline question, the deadline for getting the Edgewater Hotel project before the council on Feb. 23 is not quite blown yet, although things are starting to look... complicated... to say the least....

Madison - 5/1/2010 Developers turned in the long-awaited application for city financing for the controversial Edgewater Hotel on Wednesday, setting up the financial aid package to be introduced at the May 4 City Council meeting and come before the city financial committee on May 10....

Madison - 1/5/2010 Longtime park planner and golf course architect Arthur "Art" Johnson, who left an indelible mark on Madison's green spaces over 40 years of planning and building parks, died Saturday, three days after suffering a heart attack while helping take down a large tree at his Wisconsin Dells home. He was 82...

Ken Notes: I have to admit the Madison Parks are second to none! We will miss him.

Madison Area - 2/22/2010 Regarding the Stone House senior housing project on Mineral Point: Im not sure what the neighborhood is afraid of. My mother lives in another Stone House development near my own home in Madison, and it is an extremely quiet, attractive building with very little traffic in and out of the parking lot. Im sure there would be more traffic if that half a block were filled with single-family residences...

Ken Notes: I agree...

Madison - 3/3/2010 A proposed grocery store project on the Far East Side could kick start development in a neighborhood that has planned for it all along. Plans for a Copps store in the Grandview Commons development were brought before neighborhood residents last week...

Madison - 3/27/2010 Mayor Dave Cieslewicz says he will seek City Council approval before moving ahead with an ambitious schedule to renovate the Central Library. Cieslewicz quickly pivoted to a renovation costing an estimated $31 million after talks with the Fiore Cos. suddenly collapsed last week. Fiores plan would have delivered a new $37 million library and a $50 million second phase of private development....

Madison - 5/4/2010 The company seeking to redevelop the historic Edgewater hotel is proposing to give the city control over the public portion of the $98 million redevelopment as part of a request for $16 million in public assistance. Under the proposal, The Hammes Co. would build, operate and maintain a terrace overlooking Lake Mendota, a staircase to the waterfront, and a waterfront walkway and other public elements of the project, but the city would get permanent easements ensuring access, use and preservation of the view...

Madison - 5/10/2010 If a rezoning amendment approved Monday night by the Plan Commission moves forward, UW-Madisons Charter Street Heating Plant will be renovated and expanded to burn biomass and natural gas instead of coal. The $250 million project will transform the plant that has been burning coal since the 1860s, said Alan Fish, UWs associate vice chancellor for facilities...

Madison Area - 8/19/2010 RTA Board Chairman Dick Wagner drafted the following 10 points as a starting point for creating a regional transit plan. A final version will eventually include detailed financial information. 1. Expand Transit to a truly regional service using existing providers and selected new providers where needed....

Ken Notes: And yet they didn't even mention my plan.

MATC Madison Area - 9/8/2010 The MATC Part Time Teachers' Union has not yet taken a position on the nine-figure building referendum the Madison College District Board appears posed to put before the voters this November. Our current disputes with the administration notwithstanding, the part-time faculty does support the statutory mission of the technical college...1) What is the projected impact of the new construction on the district's operating costs?...2) How much capacity would be added by the construction, and to which programs?...3) How much capacity is needed and how does the college validate its student projections and space needs?...4) How will the additional buildings improve the graduation rate at the college?...

Ken Notes: I'll bite, good questions although some seem a bit loaded. Graduation rate????

11/17/2009 Recent commercial property listings from PropertyDrive.

Madison / Milwaukee 1/17/2010 An intercampus program is designed to foster cooperation and attract more grant money. Looking for a bigger piece of the grant pie, UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee will mingle research ideas that support cooperation and promote partnerships among faculty, chancellors of the states two doctoral-research universities announced Saturday....

Ken Notes: Have I mentioned we could learn a lot from the UW system.

Madison - 1/27/2010 The State Journal last week took a look at how the first year has gone for Madisons new economic development director, Tim Cooley. Cooley, it turns out, gets high grades from the business community, but hes not so revered by some of the politicians. Some of the citys alders complain that hes too dismissive of the way Madison has traditionally operated and that hes too critical about some of the processes that have been put in place through the years...

Ken Notes: I said similar things last week. That Dave Zweifel and I see eye to eye is proof that debate is good for all parties. Now Dave about the hotel...

Madison - 4/22/2010 Madisons new Hy-Vee grocery store has won a LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for high standards of design, construction and operation of a green building. Gold is the second-highest level of certification under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design system, and the Madison store was the companys first LEED application...

Ken Notes: Not bad for a K-Mart flip...

Madison - 5/2/2010 Thirty-five years ago The Capital Times (Nov. 18, 1975) printed two large photographs of the first historic district to be proposed in Madison. One showed the National Guardian Life Insurance Building and the landmark Keenan House next door; the other was a photo of the old governors mansion (also a landmark), described in the caption as all but overwhelmed by the huge CMI Investment Corp. building....

Ken Notes: Why do none of these articles address the current condition of the Edgewater property. I seems to me the do nothing option is far worse than any of the proposals.

Madison - 5/25/2010 Madison ranks seventh among 100 large U.S. cities on a new Forbes.com list of "America's most innovative cities." Forbes compiled its ranking on the basis of patents, venture capital investment, tech and science jobs, and "creative" jobs, all adjusted per capita...

National - 6/28/2010 The market for selling affordable housing tax credits, which developers sell to raise equity financing for apartment projects, has improved after hitting a low point in 2008...

National - 7/1/2010 Nearly two years after a Wall Street meltdown left the economy reeling, the House on Wednesday passed a massive overhaul of financial regulations that would extend the government's reach from storefront thrifts to the executive suites of Manhattan. Senate support for the far-reaching bill remained in flux, however...

Wisconsin - 1/14/2010 It is time to act in bold ways to improve Wisconsins business climate and create jobs. The quality of life we enjoy in Wisconsin hinges on assuring a strong economy with a growing job base. The global economic recession has hit Wisconsin hard. More than 120,000 jobs have been lost in our state during this recession, and beyond this many people are underemployed. Most experts are now predicting it may take years to restore the jobs lost during this deep, lengthy recession. As the national economy improves, Wisconsin will have to compete with other states to be sure jobs are retained, and new jobs created in our state...

Ken Notes: We should use the upcoming election to get the new administration to commit to jobs and business growth and retention. More cooperation with local government would help. We need to look at what we are getting for our investments at the government level by evaluating every program.

Madison - 1/25/2010 Madison is rethinking its approach to building a $37 million central library, which could affect the project's price tag - positively or negatively - and delay its start....

Ken Notes: I have a very interesting perspective here, as a school board member we were able to use design build, as a mayor I had to use the bid process. The key in BOTH cases is putting together a good team and strong project management. I hope that the Library is built by the right team with great leadership. If in the end there is finger pointing you have problems.

Madison Area - 2/11/2010 For the first time in nearly 40 years, passenger trains will soon be coming to downtown Madison. The only question is: Will they stop here? When Amtrak trains return to Madison, they will come in from the east and travel parallel to East Washington Avenue before hooking around the Fiore Shopping Center and going to the airport. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation seems to think that it makes sense to put the train depot at the Dane County Regional Airport -- miles from where most passengers would like to get on or off the trains. The DOT plan all but guarantees that rail will fail in Madison...

Ken Notes: I sort of agree but for other reasons. I think we have a project in place before the plan is done. Any architect will explain the folly of this process. I hope we rapidly address these issues and other transit options for the community. Of course we have had the airport without a transit link for years, so much for progressive.

Wisconsin - 3/1/2010 As our nation begins to transition toward increased clean energy generation, Wisconsin has a great opportunity to play a leadership role in this emerging industry. But time is running short for the Wisconsin Legislature to pass meaningful legislation that would ensure our state is positioned to take advantage of these opportunities...

Ken Notes: If we could get past the politics and bring business to the table we may have a win win option yet it seems more popular to point fingers and label everyone. By the way those looking in from other state and countries are looking elsewhere...

SUN PRAIRIE - 3/11/2010 The massive field house inside Sun Prairies new high school, which is scheduled to open in the fall, is a facility that can serve a great number of purposes. As athletic director Jim McClowry is quick to point out, its primary benefit is that of a spacious classroom for physical education...

Ken Notes: Way cool!

Madison - 3/10/2010 In early September, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz stood on the steps of the downtown Central Library with labor leaders and the potential developers of the new Central Library and Edgewater Hotel projects to trumpet the importance of the city's financial contribution to both as job creators in a tough economy...

Ken Notes: This has to be a very tough project to put together but I think the results will be fantastic. Hang in there everyone.

Madison Area - 3/18/2010 Its been nearly a year since Madison Area Technical College got approval for its ambitious facilities master plan, but before any of its multimillion dollar projects can become reality, voters will have to approve a referendum giving MATC the green light to increase the amount it collects in property taxes....

Ken Notes: I hope that MATC continues to look at existing brick and mortar, I love the use of the Famous Footwear for example. The master plan is HERE.

Wisconsin - 3/15/2010 Faced with a drop in gambling revenue, states are adding games, considering new casinos and increasing lottery options _ anything to keep their cut of the profits rolling in...

Ken Notes: Why not allow low stakes poker or other card tournaments in Wisconsin's local bars that could be taxed at 5 or 10%. Progressive tournaments could be created to eventually stake players in the national televised tournaments. Everyone wins local revenue, tax revenue, no competition for site selection, no agreements with the tribes. Limiting stakes to say 25 or 50 dollars eliminates problem gambling.

Madison - 3/24/2010 Madison is the second most expensive home ownership market in the Midwest, according to a new study by the Center for Housing Policy. The study compares and ranks housing costs in 210 metropolitan areas with salaries for 60 or more occupations...

Madison - 4/5/2010 Edgewater opponents filed an appeal of a Plan Commission decision on the Edgewater Hotel late last week, setting the City Council up for yet another voting item when they debate the project. The appeal is related specifically to the commission's decision on the conditional use permit (required for all waterfront developments), which ordinarily would not go before the City Counci...

Madison - 4/15/2010 The wave from behind the camera signaled that less than a minute remained in my guest appearance on Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's city cable television show for March, so the final question and answer had to be succinct. What issue was off the public radar but would soon be front and center? Overture, the mayor quickly answered....

Ken Notes: I do not envy the Mayor on this on -- it will be difficult and painful -- BUT keeping the center fully operational at the highest standards is good for the community and region. We need to look at every 2K seat facility in the country and figure out a performance mix that generates the most profitable return. There are success stories -- Just not many!

Madison Area - 4/22/2010 Madison city officials sent a clear message Tuesday night: They do not want a high-speed rail station at the Dane County Regional Airport when options closer to downtown are available. But, amidst all of the criticism of an airport station, the high-speed rail resolution the City Council passed Tuesday night foreshadows future tensions over choosing between the three other locations proposed by the state Department of Transportation...

Ken Notes: The eventual location will have a significant impact on development as well. Should we as a development community weigh in here?

Madison - 4/28/2010 Madison is not merely a transportation hub. It is a great American city, with a rich history, a bright future and a vibrant heart. That heart is downtown, on the isthmus that separates Lakes Monona and Mendota. The point here is not to suggest that the citys neighborhoods to the north, east, west and south are not vital to its character and future. But cities need central reference points, and the isthmus is that for Madison. So the Madison City Council was right to signal that the coming high-speed rail line must have a downtown station...

Ken Notes: The station is in fact a small part of the picture. When I get off my plane or train in most great American cities I know how to get to where I am going...

Dane County - 5/5/2010 Dane Countys financial situation is showing signs of improvement, but officials preparing the 2011 budget are still digging out of a deep hole. According to a nearly completed annual audit, the countys general fund ended last year with a $2.8 million deficit, the first time the countys rainy day reserve has recorded a deficit since voters began electing a county executive in 1973....

Ken Notes: Not good because the last time I looked out it was still raining!

Madison - 5/11/2010 Once again, the Madison Landmarks Commission has refused the Hammes Co.'s proposal to redevelop the historic Edgewater hotel, threatening prospects for the $98 million project. But in a separate meeting, the city's finance committee narrowly endorsed $16 million in public support for the project...

Madison Area - 5/19/2010 Though still playing coy on the question of a referendum, Madison Area Technical College administrators appear to be laying the groundwork for asking taxpayers to help fund some of its $350 million facilities master plan...

Ken Notes: I hope that MATC considers the use of existing brick and mortar in addition to the expansion plans. I love the Famous Footwear campus and I dream of a fine arts school or program at the Overture Center. Think Glee meets Idol meets Fame with a Charter!

Madison - 5/26/2010 Supporters of the Edgewater project have finished high-fiving and everyone involved is caught up on sleep after last weeks City Council all-nighter, but some of us think that the wrong dramatic vision for downtown Madison won...

Ken Notes: Very interesting perspective, I hope that it was not one or the other, I agree that the Library project was visionary and would have done much to create the destination downtown that people are drawn to. My October op-ed (here) touched on this.

Madison - 6/1/2010 Ryan Martin had never been in a pawn shop before so he wasnt sure what to expect when he entered the new Pawn America, carrying a Fender guitar amplifier to sell. But instead of walking into a dimly lit store in a seedy part of town, dealing with a guy behind iron bars wearing a visor, Martin was inside the former Circuit City big box at East Towne...

Ken Notes: Is this a sign of the times or the apocalypse...

STOUGHTON - 6/4/2010 Over the past three years it closed two manufacturing plants and laid off some 500 workers. But nearly half way through 2010, things are looking up for Stoughton Trailers, the Stoughton-based truck trailer manufacturer...

National - 6/16/2010 You never heard of the world's greatest -- and most unlikely -- environmentalist, Mike Duke. While Sen. Joe Lieberman and Sen. John Kerry ponder what to do about carbon in our atmosphere, Duke has done more to take more carbon out of more lives than any person on the planet. And in the next five years, he will do even more...

Ken Notes: The good news in this story is that the changes are for the economic good of the company and were not mandated. While I hate the fact that WalMart is leading the charge, when going green means more green we will be green.

Madison - 6/21/2010 Only in Madison! Say it with heartfelt pride or a snort of frustration, it attests to the power of place, especially a distinctive place. Think of the gilded glory of the state Capitol, the Dane County Farmers Market on Saturdays, sunsets over Lake Mendota and the human-powered pleasures of Ride the Drive or Paddle and Portage....

Ken Notes: thanks to all my readers who supported this project!

Madison - 7/7/2010 ...when the span over the westbound lanes was removed, it fell in a way that caused minor damage to a middle support structure, Gust said. As a result, a decision was made to remove the remaining span over the eastbound lanes. "There's a slight risk the other span could have fallen," Gust said. "The chances were very slim we would have a problem, but we didn't want to take a risk with that."...

Ken Notes: May I just say thank you! If BP had said "The chances were very slim we would have a problem, but we didn't want to take a risk with that.", we would not have had a gulf disaster. Well done! In fact we should all send Department of Transportation Southwest Region Supervisor Jeff Gust a brief note of thanks his email is jeff.gust AT dot.wisconsin.gov.

National - 7/7/2010 Coming on the heels of its ranking of the major markets that offer the best quality of life in America as part of its provocative new U.S. Uncovered series, Portfolio.com a national business news site for small and mid-sized business (SMB) executives revealed a companion study on the best mid-sized markets. The study compared 109 medium-sized markets with populations between 250,000 and 750,000 in 20 statistical categories. Markets given the highest scores have healthy economies, moderate costs of living, light traffic, impressive housing stocks and high-powered educational systems....

Ken Notes: Madison in top 10!! Please credit WDN when reporting this story...

Wisconsin - 7/8/2010 Real estate developers are avoiding millions of dollars in property taxes using a Wisconsin law aimed at providing tax relief for farmers, auditors say. In just 14 municipalities, developers and other land owners saved $4.7 million in additional property taxes in 2009, according to a report issued Thursday by the Legislative Audit Bureau. The tax liability of other property owners in those areas would have been lowered by the same amount...

Ken Notes: Do not blame the developers, they buy and hold land for future development. The holding costs are huge and many developers fail, others build the businesses and offices that will employee our kids. If we want to revisit these laws we need to do it with a comprehensive plan in place. As an elected official I was fully aware of how developers managed their holdings in fact I often worked with developers to acquire land the community wanted to develop in the future. If government and developers worked together we could plan for the development we want.

Dane County - 7/19/2010 Another Dane County referendum for the November ballot has been proposed, this one asking for public input on whether to borrow $25 million to buy land over the next five years...

Ken Notes: I like the idea of buying land but the purchases are often political and of land that would never change anyway. Lets vote on WHAT land to purchase and really make a difference.

UW Madison - 7/26/2010 Mike Knetter, the dean of UW-Madison's School of Business, has been named the new president and chief executive officer of the University of Wisconsin Foundation according to a press release. Knetter will succeed Sandy Wilcox, who is retiring from his position after 22 years as president of the UW Foundation...

Ken Notes: Mike orchestrated the no name pledge that raised 85 million for the School of Business. I think he is a brilliant choice... and for the record I will gladly take contributions to not rename Wisconsin Development News...

Madison - 8/3/2010 While redevelopment of the Edgewater hotel remains stalled by a lawsuit from opponents, public funding for the project also faces an uncertain future. A five-member TIF Joint Review Board must approve extending the State Street tax increment financing district to include the hotel property several blocks away at 666 Wisconsin Ave. The extension of TIF district 32 is crucial...

Ken Notes: Again thumbs up to the Mayor and others for hanging in there. Once done, this project will set the standard for quality and architecture in Madison. If it were easy it wouldn't be Madison.

UW Madison - 8/12/2010 Compliments far exceeded complaints at a hearing Wednesday night on a plan by the state and UW-Madison to rebuild the Charter Street Heating Plant, eliminating the use of coal and replacing it with natural gas and Wisconsin-grown alternative fuels such as wood chips and switch grass. Nearly 100 people attended the hearing on the final version of the environmental impact statement for the $250 million project...

Madison - 8/10/2010 In an effort to make doing business in Madison more predictable and timely, the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce (GMCC) released several recommendations that will enhance the Citys development approval process. Madisons Economic Development Committee (EDC) is currently reviewing the approval process at the request of Mayor Cieslewicz...

Ken Notes: View the list of GMCC recommendations at HERE.

Fitchburg - 8/14/2010 Home builders will break ground soon on a Fitchburg subdivision that promises to be the Midwests first green-certified community development. To be known as Capitol Heights, the 35-lot, in-fill subdivision off Fish Hatchery Road will sit on 4.5 acres surrounded by 13 acres of restored parkland, developer Bill Schiel said....

Ken Notes: I hope this is very successful.

Madison - 1/1/2010 It was 5:15 a.m. on Dec. 16 when the preternaturally bright-eyed Ald. Lauren Cnare joked that she hoped the City Council meeting, which had begun at 6:30 p.m. the previous day, finished before her 5:30 a.m. yoga class. More than a handful of city staff still at the meeting were asleep or had been at some point since midnight, and the six or seven pizza boxes that were full at 2 a.m. were now being picked over for stray pieces of pepperoni like a zebra carcass in the African savannah....

Ken Notes: The pizza box zebra carcass writing should win Kristin the Pulitzer! Someone let her know!!

Wisconsin - 1/21/2010 Major state agencies are now getting 10 percent of their electricity from renewable sources, but to do it, they paid a premium of $1.4 million last year 29 percent more than expected. The cost figures come as officials concerned about the environment are moving to double the states purchases of electricity from sources such as wind farms and hydroelectric dams by the end of next year...

Ken Notes: I am a huge fan of greener tech BUT we need to look for economically sound ways of implementing it. If we would have spent half of what we spent on mandates for green tech on better UV glass and insulation for existing structures we would have had a win win instead of a loss loss!

Madison - 2/28/2010 Two of four landlords have accepted Madison's offer to buy their worn apartment buildings for a senior housing development on the South Side. The other owners refused offers, so the city will now force acquisition of their properties...

Ken Notes: I want to thank John Lucille and David Hammonds for working with the city on this project. Thumbs up!

Madison - 2/1/2010 Madison Sourdough, 6640 Mineral Point Road, has been purchased by two of its bakers, Andrew Hutchison and David Lohrentz. The business was sold by Cameron Ramsay, who founded the company in 1994. The purchase price was not disclosed...

Ken Notes: This is one of Madison's better kept secretes, they need a destination location like the producers of sourdough in San Fransisco. I have taken a trolley across the city at 6am to fight with the birds over a loaf fresh from the oven by the Bay mmmmmmmmm...

Fitchburg - 2/14/2010 After a week of public input, Fitchburg's weeklong charrette came to a close Friday night with a presentation of designs that gave a glimpse of what the future could hold for the city...

Wisconsin - 2/17/2010 Talgo Inc., the Spanish train company that plans to establish a manufacturing facility in Wisconsin, has considered sites in Milwaukee, Racine, Janesville and Appleton for the plant. BizTimes Milwaukee obtained a list of the sites that were submitted in response to Talgos request for proposals (RFP) for a factory site in the state. Those sites are:...

Ken Notes: No Madison area site???

Madison - 2/24/2010 A new building at University Research Park is open and ready for takers. Known as the Accelerator building, it is intended for use by companies whose success is helping them outgrow smaller spaces, said Greg Hyer, the research parks associate director...

Madison - 2/23/2010 Environmental groups annually spend upwards of $1 billion on projects aimed at restoring streams and former wetland ecosystems to their native states. Yet, there is little solid science to guide these efforts, says Steven Loheide, a University of Wisconsin-Madison assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. "I see this as an opportunity that we're missing out on," he says...

Madison Area - 3/4/2010 Exhibition Hall at the Alliant Energy Center March 5-7 Friday: 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ...

Wisconsin - 3/23/2010 A group representing farmers, environmental advocates and scientists will hold a public meeting to talk about how to handle hazardous manure emissions. The Agricultural Waste Best Management Practices Advisory Group is developing recommendations to mitigate potentially dangerous hydrogen sulfide and ammonia emissions from manure...

Ken Notes: Two words - Regional Digesters!

Madison - 3/29/2010 Stevens Construction Corp. is changing the face of Downtown Madison with multimillion-dollar, mixed-use projects on two of its most visible corners. Even as other high-profile projects have hit snags or collapsed, the two Stevens projects one at Park and Regent streets, the other at the corner of West Washington Avenue and South Bedford Street are on schedule for completion this summer...

Ken Notes: While not recession proof, the UW and downtown redevelopment has kept Madison away from the worst of the decline. My concern back-filling the inventory now vacated as students and retailers opt for newer housing and stores.

Madison - 4/18/2010 After years of speculation as to where a Madison Amtrak station should be located, the state Department of Transportation has narrowed the options to four and they include two possibilities Downtown. They are the Dane County Regional Airport, Monona Terrace, the Kohl Center and a location at First Street and East Washington Avenue known as Yahara Station...

Madison - 5/9/2010 The $98 million redevelopment of The Edgewater hotel wont work without public assistance, developer Robert Dunn says. On Monday, the citys finance committee will consider Dunns bid for $16 million in tax incremental financing assistance...

Wisconsin - 5/27/2010 A GOP source tells The Associated Press that Terrence Wall is dropping out of the Republican race for U.S. Senate. Wall is expected to make his announcement later Thursday. The source asked to remain anonymous because he was told of the decision but not authorized to release it...

Verona - 5/21/2010 City leaders must have been feeling a little dj vu when County Executive Kathleen Falk stepped to the podium last week to argue against allowing development on the southwest side of Verona. Five years ago, Falks strongly worded letter to the state Department of Natural Resources played a key role in holding up the addition of more than 800 acres to the citys urban service area...

National - 6/16/2010 President Barack Obama urged the nation Tuesday to rally behind legislation that would begin changing the way the country consumes and generates energy...

Ken Notes: Why did he not simply suggest most vehicles should be electric by 2020. We have the technology now and Japan, Europe and China are on this path, why not lead the way. Why don't we be the WalMart of the world. I can not believe I said that.

Madison - 7/1/2010 Talk about a perfect fit for Madison. A locally owned and fast-growing solar energy company moves into a vacant building that formerly housed an auto body repair shop...

Ken Notes: This is a nice fit. We should look for a wind turbine company for the old canning plant at Sun Prairie. A lot of these companies have to be growing out of their current spaces.

Madison - 7/15/2010 Links to actual report...

South Central Wisconsin - 8/18/2010 A plan to spend an estimated $1 billion to expand Interstate 39-90 between the Illinois border and Madison is moving forward. Gov. Jim Doyle has announced that he will convene the Transportation Projects Commission this fall to review the proposed project that would replace existing pavement along the 45-mile corridor, add a third lane in each direction, replace two bridges over the Rock River and reconstruct 11 interchanges...

Ken Notes: And we thought the train was pricey...

Wisconsin - 8/25/2010 The quarterly "Wisconsin Economic Outlook" from the state Department of Revenue has some encouraging words. It notes that Wisconsin has added more than 25,400 jobs since December with manufacturing jobs up 10,900. Still, the pace of the recovery is anticipated to slow and job growth will not return to pre-recession levels until 2013, the report says....

Ken Notes: The quarterly "Wisconsin Economic Outlook" is HERE.

Madison - 9/9/2010 Despite news headlines about the city spending for a high-speed rail station and parking, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz gave his capital budget press conference on Tuesday well outside the downtown at the Meadowood Neighborhood Center. There, he was flanked by two southwest-side neighborhood leaders, Meadowood Neighborhood Association President Lisa Veldran and...

Ken Notes: This has to be a love hate relationship.

Madison - 3/29/2010 About the two projects The $9 million Park Regent Apartments will be a six-story, 105,000-square-foot building facing Park Street, with retail tenants including a Qdoba Mexican Grill on the ground floor and 65 apartments aimed mostly at college students on the floors above. Designed by Eppstein Uhen Architects and developed by Degen and Associates, the building is going up on the site of the former Josie's Spaghetti House, which burned in July 2004. Construction began Aug. 19 and will finish by July 15. The $10 million Depot, at West Washington Avenue and South Bedford Street, is a phased project featuring three buildings with a total of 93,880 square feet for 81 apartments and four town homes...

UW Madison - 4/15/2010 UW-Madison students this week voted against a referendum to renovate and expand the Natatorium, a project that would cost them $54 per semester for 30 years, beginning in 2013. More than a third of students voted a record, according the Associated Students of Madison and the Natatorium measure was defeated 8,616 to 5,311. The result means the project likely will not move forward for approval from Chancellor Biddy Martin and the UW Board of Regents...

Ken Notes: Too bad but it is tough to say yes to a project that will not be done until you are gone....

Wisconsin - 8/25/2010 For years this columnist has complained about the national debt and the burden it is likely to bring to bear on our future generations. Until the past three years, it was a debt caused not so much by prolific spending -- the military budget was the major exception -- but by reckless tax cuts mostly in the top income brackets that we were told would come trickling down to average American workers and below. That trickle-down was to cause the economy to hum, which, in turn, would create a balanced budget...

Ken Notes: There is no simple solution. We spent billions on bailouts for companies who laid off millions. This DID NOT HELP THE ECONOMY. You reference the Clinton era this was an economy balanced by liberal ideas and conservative legislators. A balance we currently do not have.

Madison - 2/5/2010 On Tuesday the Wisconsin State Journal reported on a UW-Madison study that found bicycling contributes over $1.5 billion annually to the state economy. What does a $1.5 billion impact really mean for our local communities and our state? It means 13,200 bike-related Wisconsin jobs; vibrant, busy main streets filled with residents and tourists; job creation and workforce development and a high quality of life...

Madison - 3/29/2010 In addition to the two residential/retail projects being done now by Stevens Construction, other ongoing work in or near Downtown includes: City Row Apartments, a $15 million, 83-unit building by Stone House Development at 600 E. Johnson St. UW-Madison-related projects, including the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery at Johnson Street and Randall Avenue; a new student union across from the WID; a new facilities building at 30 N. Mills St.; and the Chazen Museum of Art addition on the east side of campus...

Madison - 7/14/2010 Its likely the landscape at Madison city parks is about to change -- it could become edible. The citys Parks Commissioners voted to drop strict requirements after a late meeting Wednesday night. For much of the evening, it appeared the commissioners would like to see the issue taken up citywide, which would have sent the issue to the fully City Council, WISC reported....

CAMBRIDGE 8/7/2010 Once a popular day-trip destination, this village 18 miles east of Madison is down on its luck. There are three empty storefronts on its three-block Main Street, and the tourists from Illinois and southern Wisconsin are largely absent this year...

Ken Notes: I have Shullsburg with the exact same story. We need to return these communities to the destination map. Could the state and DNR add more camping and/or places to stay near these communities. This sounds like a perfect public private partnership. Think Fish Creek...

Wisconsin - 9/2/2010 ...I disagreed with Tommy Thompson on many things when he was governor, but I've always admired him for his dedication to Amtrak and passenger rail. It was his visionary leadership that set the state on the path that has resulted in this high-speed rail award. It might be helpful if he would share a word or two with the Republican hopefuls seeking the governorship to remind them of the economic, environmental, cultural and community development reasons he worked so hard for it...

Ken Notes: I am sort of in this camp as well, but as I have often stated we need to get our priorities straight first. If we are looking for Thompson's real strengths we should note that he understood how to balance the states spending with tangible results. In this case rail good -- but jobs better and first!

Madison - 1/6/2010 Madison Ald. Marsha Rummel calls the notion that the Ho-Chunk Nation might purchase and redevelop the vacant Union Corners site very exciting. Rummels right. The failed redevelopment of the Union Corners site left a serious blemish ...

Ken Notes: I also like the idea of returning to this project and applaud the tribe for even considering it.

Wisconsin - 1/20/2010 The developers of a sweeping renewable energy bill say the measure positions Wisconsin well if the federal government restricts coal use. Roy Thilly was co-chairman of Gov. Jim Doyle's Global Warming Task Force, which developed recommendations that have become the basis for the bill. He told lawmakers during a hearing Wednesday that the task force wanted to help the state to survive if carbon regulations come down from Washington...

Ken Notes: Aren't we getting the cart before the horse here. Also where were the manufacturers and energy companies while the recommendations were drafted. Simply how would they like us to respond to a new carbon policy from Madison.

World - 2/20/2010 Mercedes-Benz is introducing a "research vehicle," er, concept at the Geneva Motor Show next month that combines hydrogen fuel cells with plug-in hybrid. That means the F800 Style can travel for 18 miles on electric power alone after being plugged in overnight -- and when it runs out of juice it can cruise for another 375 miles on hydrogen. The result: no emissions...

Ken Notes: Just wanted to point out that others are working on hydrogen fuel cells and electric. I hope that Wisconsin can move this direction. We have a number of resources in place to advance this technology. Watch for more large vehicles like buses and trucks to use electric and diesel generators while they wait for advances in fuel cells and hydrogen supply channels.

Madison Area - 2/22/2010 The ad hoc committee of UW-Madison faculty members charged with examining the university's research enterprise finally made its report public. The "Report of the Ad Hoc Committee to Determine the Needs and Structure of UW-Madison's Research Enterprise," which is dated Feb. 19, states in part: "The principal recommendations of this committee are: Retain a close relationship between research and graduate education within the Graduate School; create a new position of vice chancellor for research and dean of the Graduate School;...

Ken Notes: If we are looking for new development in Madison we may have found it. Now we need to develop it here.

Madison - 3/3/2010 Madison is exploring the first use of a new $5 million fund to acquire the blighted Union Corners development site on the East Side. The 11.5 acres at the corner of East Washington Avenue and Milwaukee Street, one of the central citys largest vacant parcels, are assessed at $4.55 million...

UW Madison - 4/7/2010 Despite concerns by city officials about height and size, St. Paul's University Catholic Center is proposing a striking, 14-story facility with a chapel, student center and residences on State Street Mall a project Madison Catholic Diocese Bishop Robert Morlino says is more important than rebuilding the Downtown Cathedral...

Madison Area - 4/20/2010 Maximizing ridership should be the top criteria for where to locate a high-speed train station in Madison. Economic development, neighborhood concerns and sufficient parking and connections to buses and taxis are important...

Fitchburg - 5/13/2010 The city will begin the bidding process for the new library beginning Tuesday, Mayor Jay Allen announced at this week's Common Council meeting. The process will be a closed bidding, meaning the bids are not disclosed until a specific date, rather than when they are made. The city will open the bids June 8, with the council set to review them at its June 22 meeting...

Madison Area - 6/9/2010 Construction of the Edgewater Hotel or Amtrak train station can't come soon enough as a new report shows the Madison area is still losing jobs. The latest figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show the Madison MSA -- which includes Iowa and Columbia counties -- lost 5,900 jobs in the April 2009 to April 2010 period...

Ken Notes: We were slow to enter the recession and we will be a little slow to exit. Watch home prices beyond the spring rush as a good indicator.

Madison - 6/18/2010 Great Wolf Resorts will move its corporate headquarters in September from Downtown to the Far West Side. Great Wolf is moving to 525 Junction Road, the City Center West building that also houses TDS Telecom and Johnson Bank. The 60 corporate employees of the indoor waterpark development company will occupy most of the sixth floor of the eight-story building, with 18,000 square feet of office space, an increase from the 13,000 square feet it has in the Hovde building, 122 W. Washington Ave....

Ken Notes: So 13,000 sq ft of prime downtown space available.

Madison Area - 6/26/2010 TomoTherapy is hoping the sun will shine on the company during the second half of 2010. With several new formats for its specialized cancer treatment radiation technology and the nations economy trying to emerge from a recession, things could align in TomoTherapys favor, company officials said....

Ken Notes: Radiating optimism / sunny future, get it. I often wonder in the editors at WSJ are adding a little something to the coffee.

Madison - 7/21/2010 On behalf of Gateway Project, LLC and the redevelopment team I am submitting an application and associated materials for the proposed Crowne Plaza redevelopment on the Cartex site (and associated parcels) to be located at the northeastern corner of the intersection of Rimrock Road and the West Beltline Highway in the City of Madison. Informational review of the project is being requested at this time....

Ken Notes: First look a a very cool project...

UW Madison - 7/26/2010 Reacting in part to pressure applied by UW-Madison, athletic apparel giant Nike has agreed "to help improve the lives of workers affected by the Hugger and Vision Tex factory closures in Honduras."...

Ken Notes: I have to tip my hat on this one, I was impressed with how this was handled and presented.

Madison - 7/18/2010 A proposed plan for a four-star hotel and convention center in the 2200 block of Rimrock Road would help meet the demand for hotel rooms close to the Alliant Energy Center, according to the plans developer...

Madison Area - 1/21/2010 Born to immigrant parents and raised on a produce farm, Sam Jacobsen went on to found one of the most successful convenience store chains in the Midwest and develop a multimillion-dollar golf course and residential community known for its stunning views and exclusivity...

Middleton / Westport - 2/12/2010 A more than 900-acre development on property between Middleton and Westport cleared a significant hurdle this week with approval to extend public sewer lines to the area. The Capital Area Regional Planning Commission approved the request for the Bishops Bay development with a 8-1 vote on Thursday....

Madison - 2/11/2010 Now that the cash has been officially awarded for a high-speed rail line from Milwaukee to Madison, residents pushing to have the station at the Yahara River by East Washington Avenue, instead of the airport, are hoping officials will see the wisdom of their argument...

Madison - 4/20/2010 Clearly and strongly, the Madison City Council on Tuesday demanded a key role in selecting the location for a new Amtrak station and endorsed three Downtown sites the Kohl Center, Monona Terrace, and a site at First Street and West Washington Avenue called Yahara Station while strongly snubbing an airport site...

Madison - 6/1/2010 With a court decision looming, some Dane County municipalities are frustrated by what they view as an increasingly political process for where and how they'll be allowed to grow. The Capital Area Regional Planning Commission allows municipalities to extend sewer service to new areas essentially controlling where municipalities expand...

Ken Notes: We need a regional plan and regional leadership. Dave and Kathy should switch jobs at least he gets planing.

Madison - 2/14/2010 A 16-screen movie theater complex cancels plans to build on Madison's North Side in favor of Sun Prairie. A developer drops a $58 million redevelopment on East Washington Avenue after a dispute with city officials over taxpayer assistance, leaving in place a used-car lot. And the proposed $93 million redevelopment of the historic Edgewater hotel remains uncertain...

Ken Notes: The good news is that all this drama is a Great reason to read WDN.

Madison - 3/1/2010 Madison's ambitious and powerful Community Development Authority may soon have its own manager. Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and others are proposing a paid executive director for the CDA, which is responsible for big projects like the redevelopment of Allied Drive, Villager mall and Truax public housing. The CDA also runs public housing and the federal Section 8 voucher program for low-income people...

Ken Notes: This is a very good idea. Hopefully the new leadership could form some stronger partnerships with the private sector. I think Mark would bring a lot to the table.

Madison - 4/28/2010 One wonders what average Madisonians think of city leaders these days. By average, I mean those who see themselves as strongly invested in the city, appreciate its many attributes, are generally aware of local public affairs, but do not live in the local blogosphere or know the insider acronyms of city government...

Ken Notes: But Paul, there are no "average Madisonians"...

Dane County - 5/6/2010 It was February 1995, and Madison was basking in an unemployment rate of 1.9 percent -- the lowest in the nation for five months running. Local high-tech firms were advertising nationally for help while fast-food restaurants were griping about having to boost their starting pay to find qualified workers....

Ken Notes: see what I mean.

Madison - 6/9/2010 It's not that anyone at Whispering Woods Condominiums is happy about the way prices on their properties have plummeted over the past few years...

Madison - 7/29/2010 The Edgewater hotel project should break ground this year. The city approval process was incredibly long and arduous. It included a huge amount of public input at dozens of meetings spanning more than a year. Everyone had plenty of chances to have their say. Every issue and concern was thoroughly vetted....

Ken Notes: I just wish we spent as much time, money and energy attracting new businesses to the community.

Madison - 9/9/2010 Community Development Authority Subcommittee saw these plans for the Burr Oaks senior housing project...

Dane County - 1/28/2010 Starting Monday, Dane County residents facing foreclosure will have a new mediation option that could help them keep their homes even as new filings continue to mount. The program, approved recently through an order by Dane County Circuit Court judges, will require lenders in a foreclosure action to provide the homeowner with a court-approved form informing them of the mediation programs existence...

Ken Notes: Thumbs Up!

Madison - 9/2/2010 "People get ready, there's a train a-comin'." Curtis Mayfield's 1965 gospel-inspired hit takes an ominous tone when considered in the context of Dane County's fight over commuter rail....

Ken Notes: "All You Need Is Love", John Lennon 1967...

Madison - 9/2/2010 The state Department of Transportation estimates a Madison passenger rail station next to Monona Terrace will cost about $12 million, though city officials are already contemplating additions that could drive up the local share of the cost....

Ken Notes: I still think they should add a new city hall or marketplace to the station...

Madison - 6/9/2010 Mayor Dave Cieslewicz was explaining in a recent editorial board meeting how cool a rail station near Monona Terrace would be. The project would include bicycle parking, the mayor said, adding with a grin that of course the city would need a thumbs up from Steve Nass...

Ken Notes: Rather that verbal warfare lets just prove the critics wrong with action.

Madison - 8/25/2010 Dane County has reached a tentative deal with a developer to buy 131 acres for a key piece of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail in the town of Cross Plains. The $2.6 million for the purchase would come from borrowed money in the Conservation Fund that could be reimbursed by the state....

Madison - 1/9/2010 A series of private discussions - some on the edge of the state's Open Meeting Law - led to the Madison City Council's unanimous decision last week to breathe life into the proposed Edgewater hotel redevelopment...

National - 1/27/2010 President Barack Obama is telling Congress that creating jobs must be its No. 1 focus this year. In his State of the Union speech Wednesday night he said businesses are the engine of job creation. That's why he is proposing that Congress take $30 billion from the Wall Street bailout to help community banks make loans to small businesses....

Ken Notes: May I suggest if the government had read my article over a year ago they would have not been where they are now. Its a Stool, Stupid.

MAZOMANIE - 2/1/2010 A commercial-sized kitchen where farmers and culinary entrepreneurs can sauce tomatoes, pickle cucumbers or bake cookies is up and running in this western Dane County village, and is one of half a dozen "incubator" kitchens in the works throughout southern Wisconsin....

Ken Notes: Wisconsin has the potential to develop a substantial food market and distribution hub in the Midwest. The incubators are a great start.

DODGEVILLE - 2/10/2010 The fields of Iowa County were frozen, snow-covered and windswept, but the discussion here Wednesday was about carrots and onions. A handful of area farmers gathered at Sam & Maddies Restaurant for an informational meeting about a proposed $3 million quick-frozen food processing plant in Highland, in western Iowa County....

Ken Notes: Great things are happening in SW Wisconsin!

Wisconsin - 2/22/2010 Dear Editor: A recent headline in the Wisconsin State Journal reads: Developers, mayor frustrated by pace of review, obstacles to construction. Excellent. The process of law put into place by wise Madisonians of the past to preserve the historical character of Madison is working...

Ken Notes: When these delays lead to scaled back projects or their withdrawal altogether we end up with more sprawl or less significant projects as developers take the path of least resistance. I have yet to see these delays lead to significantly improved projects - Edgewater included!

Wisconsin - 3/3/2010 You might not know from all the breathless stories about biomass, wind power or solar energy, but Wisconsin is burning coal like there is no tomorrow. A new report from Clean Wisconsin notes that while coal use dropped 9.3 percent in the U.S. last year, it was rising in the land of Packer football and factory farming...

Ken Notes: This is clearly a cart before the horse problem. We need a cost effective replacement for coal before we mandate a substantial reduction. I like hydrogen, wind, natural gas, and hydro but there is little or no support from the public sector for developing these.

Madison - 4/1/2010 In a move drawing national attention, Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner Sean Dilweg has taken control of more than $40 billion worth of risky mortgage-related liabilities and other troubled contracts from the insurance unit of Ambac Financial Group, as part of a restructuring plan intended to save the company...

Ken Notes: Of note this company holds 310 billion worth of municipal bond policies.

Wisconsin - 4/4/2010 Imagine being able to travel from Madison to Milwaukee, or vice versa, in only a few minutes, get to where you want to go easily, and do it all for a very reasonable price. Sound like a pipe dream? Well, it is, but Gov. Doyle and a handful of state legislators would like you to think it is reality....

Ken Notes: Please do not place me in the NO Train category - place me in the we need a comprehensive plan camp. Unfortunately I am not surrounded by campers. My article from a few months back is HERE.

Madison Area - 4/14/2010 Don't hold your breath waiting for home prices to bounce back any time soon. The latest Case Shiller Home Price Index predicts that values in the Madison area won't return to their peak until at least 2014. According to the index, home prices in the Madison area peaked in the 1st quarter of 2008 and won't bottom out until the fourth quarter of 2011...

Ken Notes: Ouch...

Madison Area - 4/19/2010 Over the years they havent exactly been political allies, but former Gov. Tommy Thompson and former Madison Mayor Paul Soglin will join each other Saturday night to pay tribute to one of the areas most enduring and successful programs to turn disillusioned and troubled young people into productive citizens...

Madison - 5/5/2010 Some signs just have a way of pulling drivers off the highway. McDonald's. Outlet mall. Rest area. Bobcat? The new Bobcat of Madison showroom, just west of Interstate 39-90-94, is doing just that. A visible location, as well as an inviting design, are bringing in customers who want to find the right machine to get a job done....

Ken Notes: This may be the next great idea of the abandoned new car lots that I believe will grow in the next months. I can see it now Farmer Dave kicking Cat tires and sipping lattes - write er up.

Madison - 5/13/2010 For many in Madison, the Erdman name has long been associated with cutting-edge design. From hospitals featuring luxury rooms to the Middleton Hills residential development, the Erdman group has carried on the tradition of architect Marshall Erdman, a working associate of Frank Lloyd Wright. It has designed projects on a human scale, with an emphasis on the public realm....

Ken Notes: This is a direct impact of the economy. Surface parking costs X and structured parking costs Y which is often X times 5 or 6. If you need to find wiggle room in a project this is a simple place to start. Erdman does great work but doing a project in this economy is tough.

Madison - 5/11/2010 Real cities are served by trains, and those trains stop in their vibrant downtowns. As such, the signal from state officials led by Gov. Jim Doyle that Madisons new Amtrak station should be located at or near Monona Terrace is a sound one...

Ken Notes: I can not argue that this in not a great location, but can we develop the rest of the system that makes us a real city. I have never rented a car or needed to rent a car in DC, Chicago, NYC, or Portland for that matter.

MADISON - 5/13/2010 With a high-speed rail soon heading into downtown Madison, some in the city are hoping to parlay the effort into a push for a new downtown hotel. Officials from the Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau said Madison's tourism outlook got a boost when Gov. Jim Doyle selected to put a new high-speed rail station downtown...

Madison - 5/26/2010 After changing horses in midstream a few times, Madison Public Library Board president Tripp Widder informed City Council members Tuesday evening that a selection team chose the Minneapolis-based architectural firm Meyer, Scherer and Rockcastle to lead the city's massive renovation of the downtown Central Library this year...

Wisconsin - 5/25/2010 This is not a warning to race down to your local bank and take out all your money. Remember: deposits are insured by the FDIC up to $250,000. But an independent ratings firm has put 97 Wisconsin banks and thrifts on a national list of institutions in serious financial difficulty....

Ken Notes: I wish we could separate these into those who supported the local economies and those who speculated at the national and international levels. One created the problem and the other is being punished for it.

Middleton - 6/2/2010 Part of the artificial turf from the Louisiana Superdome is helping KEVA Sports Center become more than just a wintertime indoor soccer facility. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. today to celebrate the opening of an expanded outdoor facility that can be used not just for sports leagues but also with corporate picnics and events for more than 1,000 people....

Madison - 7/13/2010 From the day I first stepped foot in the newsroom of this newspaper some 48 years ago, someone was always deriding Madison for what seemed like its constant state of gridlocked politics. It was the city that couldnt put two bricks together because -- take your pick -- (a) it was too liberal; (b) it was anti-business; (c) it had too many regulations; (d) its neighborhood associations had too much power; (e) it was comprised of a citizenry that didnt want anything to change...

Ken Notes: Wow - once again Dave and I almost agree... Madison does have some nice projects and in many cases the process works - sort of. I would point out that it would work a lot better if we had a real comprehensive plan in place. I would also note that their is little doubt that we have let some great projects get away not to mention the ones we never saw in the first place. In January I wrote this op-ed.

Wisconsin - 7/29/2010 The headline may have struck left-leaning readers as satire worthy of The Onion: "WMC leader laments polarized politics." You know, kind of like "Rush Limbaugh decries caustic talk radio" or "Glenn Beck yearns for cable news objectivity."...

8/2/2010 After residents fought a much larger project, the Mullins Group is proposing a six-story, $15 million to $20 million housing redevelopment on a triangular block where University Avenue meets Campus Drive on the West Side. Mullins wants to redevelop the 2500 block of University Avenue except for Lombardino's restaurant with 110 apartments, eight town homes, commercial space and a 166-space parking garage...

Ken Notes: Nice project, and after touring U Square it is obvious the bar is rising.

Shorewood Hills - 8/17/2010 A wealthy Dane County community with a record of supporting liberal candidates and causes is being targeted by an American Civil Liberties Union complaint alleging racial discrimination. Shorewood Hills discriminated against minorities in February when it rejected a proposed low-income apartment project in the Pyare Square tower, according a federal complaint filed Thursday by the state ACLU on behalf of a village resident....

Ken Notes: I am pretty sure this was not racially motivated. Shorewood Hills doesn't want me either and I am a white economic development and comprehensive planning advocate.

UW Madison - 4/18/2010 Q What's the status of the new cafeteria planned for UW-Madison? A Plans to tear down UW-Madison's Gordon Commons and build a $34 million cafeteria where Ogg Hall once stood are moving forward after the City Council approved recommendations by the Plan Commission on Tuesday....

Madison - 6/20/2010 In November 2008, the notion of building a public market in downtown Madison was hanging on by a thread. After taking money out of the next year's capital budget for the local food-centered project, Mayor Dave Cieslewicz added about $60,000 back in for another location study, but pushed construction out to 2011 at the earliest...

Ken Notes: This could work. We could do a major marketplace with a large parking structure. Place the market on top for views and to encourage people to park on top leaving stalls at the bottom for commuters. The Milwaukee market is a nice model as are Boston and Seattle. It would be fun to give the architecture firms a kick at this and then award the winner a contract you would get some great ideas!

Madison - 7/7/2010 A Madison restaurateur wants to pioneer the antithesis of the drive-in restaurant. Chris Berge, co-owner of Restaurant Magnus, the Weary Traveler and Natt Spil and cofounder of Barriques and the Blue Marlin, plans to build a bike-path-bound cafe on the city's Near West Side that would be inaccessible by car, serve local food, produce zero garbage and cater to the city's burgeoning bicycle population...

Ken Notes: Interesting. It would be fun to see if demand will support this. If yes the mayors community could move faster forward.

Madison - 7/8/2010 The Highlander Motor Inn will close by Jan. 31 under an agreement the motel's owners reached Wednesday with the city of Madison. The motel on the Beltline just east of Verona Road also agreed in the meantime to adopt several measures aimed at curbing drug activity and other problems, including providing the names of its tenants to police, installing cameras and hiring a management company to oversee its operation...

Ken Notes: But it is a landmark...

Madison - 7/13/2010 The Cieslewicz administration is moving quickly to streamline the city review process for new development -- just weeks after a narrow OK of the controversial Edgewater hotel project. A memo from city Economic Development Director Tim Cooley lays out an ambitious timetable that calls for a draft report by Sept. 1 and action by the Common Council on Nov. 8...

Ken Notes: The review standards document is here. Review Standards March 2010.

Madison - 1/4/2010 The University of Wisconsin-Madison is ranked as one of the best values in public education according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance. For in-state students, UW-Madison ranked 14th on the website's list of the "100 Best Values in Public Colleges for 2010." It is the highest-ranked Big ...

Ken Notes: Not bad for the city either. Congrats! Tammy may we tour the new Science building later this year???

Madison - 1/13/2010 Ald Mark Clear will be introducing an ordinance amendment at next week's City Council meeting that would change the city's zoning requirements with regard to waterfront setbacks for non-residential properties. He's pretty upfront about why he's proposing it -- it will directly benefit the Edgewater Hotel proposal, which currently doesn't meet the city's ordinance, but I found it interesting that this has been talked about in terms of the broader zoning code rewrite process. I e-mailed Clear back to ask what the broader benefits of the change are, so I'll try to update with his response when I can...

Madison - 1/9/2010 The Edgewater developers could have their hotel expansion approved quickly if they'd adopt a more rational plan. They could plan a new addition on the east side of the existing hotel similar in size and built in a similar art deco style as the first addition on the west side (only four stories higher than the main building)...

Ken Notes: A quick reminder of policy, I include stories and opinions whether I agree or not. My comments are my only rebuttal. In this case the developer is working with the city on this project and a majority of citizens want it. In the end it is a private business and needs to make money so design by committee will be difficult. As to TIF, it is an investment in improving the area and only spends revenues generated by new development or growth. The city will profit from a new project not suffer because of it and it is unfair to suggest otherwise.

Rock County - 1/21/2010 Worker training programs in Rock County will get part of a $6 million federal stimulus grant to boost training in so-called "green" jobs, U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl's office announced Wednesday. Rock is sharing the grant with Kenosha County. Both have been hit hard by the downturn in the auto industry. Kohl's office said in a statement that the grant will allow the Wisconsin Sector Alliance for the Green Economics to train workers in environmentally friendly methods in the construction, manufacturing and utility sectors...

Madison - 2/1/2010 Madisons storied Greenbush neighborhood is at a pivot point, says Jim Woodward, president and CEO of Meriter Health Services. Unless steps are taken now to stem an emerging trend of property neglect, the neighborhood wont be as good a place to live or do business 10 years from now, he says...

Madison - 2/2/2010 The Madison Area Builders Association (MABA) proudly celebrates a milestone with its 30th annual Home Products Show, to be held March 5-7 in the Exhibition Hall at the Alliant Energy Center. Thousands of products and design ideas will be showcased at the Show. Home builders, remodelers, product suppliers and home service professionals will be on hand to offer their knowledge and advice. In addition to hundreds of exhibit booths, the Show's seminars offer information about many topics related to the home....

Deforest 2/10/2010 Its been four months since DeForest lost one of its two grocery stores, but a new proprietor said that will change by the end of the month. Stan Yerges and construction crews have been working non-stop since December to renovate and update the empty storefront at 302 N. Main St. for the opening of the Red Onion Fresh Market. And dont let the name fool you: Yerges said he is opening a grocery store.

Ken Notes: I missed this last week but I sort of miss the DeForest community so I may have to check this out.

Verona - 2/24/2010 The rush to find new drugs to fight cancer is spurring big growth for a Madison company. SAFC Pharma is moving equipment and staff into a new building in the Verona Technology Park, off Highway PB. It will be the companys second building in the Madison area and is expected to begin manufacturing in April...

UW - 3/10/2010 UW-Madison is partnering with some of the worlds leading business schools to create a first-of-its-kind graduate degree in global real estate. The unique model for the new Global Real Estate Master will start American and foreign students at one of three international schools and then bring all the participants together for a final semester at the Wisconsin School of Business at UW-Madison...

Madison - 3/12/2010 Another potential location for a Madison Amtrak station is under development only six blocks from the Capitol Square. Property owners near the intersection of Williamson Street and South Blair Street are promoting their concept for "Gateway Station," an urban redevelopment with condos, retail, office space, a 1,500-space parking ramp and a high-speed rail station...

JANESVILLE - 3/20/2010 The bird that helped launch Jim Freeman's company has returned. After logging thousands of miles and transporting critically injured or ill patients for the past 10 years, one of the helicopters from Waukesha-based Flight for Life is getting a makeover....

Dane County - 4/13/2010 City and county officials are clashing over how to better disperse Dane County's government-subsidized housing, which a new report shows is disproportionately clustered in Madison and a few neighboring communities. One of the recommendations in the draft report suggests the county should develop a Fair Share Assisted Housing Plan, similar to the work Madison has done over the last 30 years to disperse subsidized housing throughout the city....But Judy Wilcox, chairwoman of the Dane County Housing Authority, said that recommendation is "ludicrous" because the county can't dictate policy to cities and villages and must work cooperatively with them.

Ken Notes: Wait a second Dane can't dictate.. Dane lives to dictate...

Madison - 4/24/2010 The Madison City Council voted 11-8 last week to elect Ald. Mark Clear as its new president. Clear, who represents the 19th District and has served for the past two years as president pro tem of the council, was always considered the front-runner for the chambers top post. But the fact that eight members of the council chose another contender, Ald. Marsha Rummel, 6th District, should serve as a wake-up call for the new president...

Ken Notes: Structured debate and due process is hardly a rubber stamp.

Madison - 5/12/2010 Two geniuses had ideas about how to site a train station at or near Monona Terrace. John Nolen was one. Frank Lloyd Wright was the other. Both are worth considering now that high-speed rail is headed downtown...

Wisconsin - 5/19/2010 MillerCoors says it may have to move some of its 1,500 jobs out of Milwaukee if a steep increase in the cost of water goes through. The Milwaukee Water Works is requesting a rate increase that would boost costs for MillerCoors by up to 22 percent. But thats not what the brewery is opposing...

Ken Notes: This is an opportunity to get a long term commitment from MillerCoors - we can give you water if you promise long term jobs.

Madison Area - 6/9/2010 Madison Gas & Electric is getting a $5.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to help pay for three projects: A test run of a new type of metering system. Upgraded system software to help MGE reroute power if there's an outage. Installing up to 18 public and 25 residential charging stations for electric vehicles...

Ken Notes: I hope Madison can have an impact on the use of electric vehicles.

Madison - 6/15/2010 Is a deal finally coming together on the vacant former Royster-Clark fertilizer plant on Madison's east side? There have been a number of official visitors to the site lately, but nobody's talking much. "We're still trying to work out the final bugs," says Perry Ecton, chief executive officer of Habitat for Humanity of Dane County...

Dane County - 6/29/2010 I was sitting at the city's financial board meeting on Monday, jotting a few notes on my writing pad, when Mayor Dave Cieslewicz suddenly broke out into a vehement speech. "I would not like to place this on file without prejudice. I'd like to place with on file with extreme prejudice. I think this is a very bad idea," he said...

Ken Notes: This is very interesting. I am liking Dave more and more..

Madison - 7/15/2010 A city committee delayed voting on a set of rules for the new Visitors Center in Lisa Link Peace Park Wednesday night due to concerns, mainly that they would discriminate against the citys homeless population. Under the rules that were being considered, those in the Visitors Center must wear shirt and shoes, must not bring more than 2 bags in, must not change or wash up in restrooms, must not be intoxicated, and must not have an offensive body odor...

Ken Notes: So I ride my bike in from Darlington for a business meeting at the Overture Center and because I am a bit sticky and smelly I need not visit the visitor center to clean up. I love politics...

Wisconsin - 8/3/2010 Farm Aid, the quarter-century-old effort to raise money for family farms, sustainable agriculture and rural communities, is coming to Wisconsin. And all we can say is: What took you so long? When Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and their fellow musicians headline Farm Aid's 25th Anniversary concert Oct. 2 at Milwaukee's Miller Park, they will find themselves in a state that has a deep commitment to its agricultural ancestry and to its farming future...

Ken Notes: I am just glad they picked us. I wish we had a venue in Lafayette that could host them...

Madison Area - 8/11/2010 The times they keep a-changin. For the first time ever, the venerable Chicago Tribune/WGN poll shows that a majority of residents in the suburbs have joined their city brethren in believing that expanding mass transit is preferable to spending more on roads and highways. For 30 years now, the poll has been asking the question: Which should have greater priority, improving/adding to expressways and tollways, or to the public transit system? This year, 76 percent of city residents...

Ken Notes: What Dave fails to mention is that the Chicago system works well. I can stay or live outside the beltline and get anywhere I need to go quickly and safely. in Madison not so much. I still like my plan(HERE)...

Madison - 8/17/2010 Plan Commission Reviews New code this week... or Adopting and confirming amendments to the Madison General Ordinances as set forth in attached Exhibit F pursuant to Sec. 66.0103, Wis. Stats. to revise the Citys Zoning Ordinance...

Ken Notes: The link takes you to Legislative File ID 15932. Which has more details than even I, wonk that I am, can digest. I wonder if it has the NIMBY or by the lake clauses suggested by many...

Madison - 8/18/2010 An application for a Capital Brewery-themed restaurant called the Capital Tap Haus at 107 State Street (it would replace the House of Wisconsin Cheese store) from the owners of the Ivory Room...

Ken Notes: From the Alcohol License Review Committee. In fact there are a few new bars on the horizon. See them all under Alcohol License Review Committee in Kristin's laptop city hall report HERE.

Madison - 8/26/2010 More on the expansion of the State Street TIF District to include the Edgewater Hotel site and portions of the surrounding neighborhood. No action expected...

National - 9/1/2010 On Thursday, some of the country's most respected environmental groups - in the midst of their biggest political fight in two decades - sent a group of activists to Milwaukee with a message. We're losing...At two events last week in Wisconsin, environmental groups seemed to be trying two strategies: defiance and pleading for sympathy. Neither one drew enough people to fill a high school gym...

Ken Notes: Here is the problem in a nutshell environmental groups do not get or care about business. Business knows that it is in fact the economy (stupid). When environmental groups start to demonstrate the economic value of sound environmental practices the gyms will overflow...

Madison - 9/9/2010 The great Madison Fruits and Nuts debate could be headed to committee. That's right, committee. That's where Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is leaning, he says, as a forum to clear up concerns over city liability if volunteers are allowed to plant fruit and nut trees on city-owned property...

Ken Notes: I love the idea of fruit trees. But I know having and abandoned apple tree can be a mess so there may be things to talk about. Also how will we control use of chemicals. I wonder if the the city or county could create more public gardens or orchards for growers to have a place to play.

Dane County - 4/13/2010 Call it planes, trains and ... bicycles. After flying to Europe, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and 19 other civic and business leaders this week are touring bicycle-friendly cities in Germany and the Netherlands solely by foot, bike and mass transit to learn how to improve the regions transportation systems...

Ken Notes: Dave and Kathleen do Amsterdam... I need to rethink my road trips.

Madison Area - 4/27/2010 When Veridian Homes was pitching its Grandview Commons "new urbanism" development to potential buyers, it vowed something new and different. But some who bought into the environmentally friendly concept now feel they were sold a bill of goods because of plans for a big-box Copps Food Center grocery store where smaller mom-and-pop stores were once envisioned...

Madison - 7/29/2010 McGrath Associates may have failed in its high profile efforts to create Union Corners, the $100-million vision to redevelop one of the city's most blighted corridors. But the Madison-based firm is back in the real estate game, albeit on a smaller scale, with a creative reuse of the former water utility building site in the historic First Settlement neighborhood....

National - 1/5/2010 In September 2008, as the worst of the financial crisis engulfed Wall Street, George W. Bush issued a warning: "This sucker could go down." Around the same time, as Congress hashed out a bailout bill, New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg, the leading Republican negotiator of the bill, warned that "if we do not do this, the trauma, the chaos and the disruption to everyday Americans' lives will be overwhelming, and that's a price we can't afford to risk paying."...

Ken Notes: Were we expecting a different outcome?

Madison - 1/9/2010 The Madison City Council and Mayor Dave Cieslewicz are acting like toddlers who don't get their way and continue to scream until their parents can't stand it and give in. The Landmarks Commission said no to the Edgewater development. Then the council said no with their vote in December. Now they're trying to revive interest in this project and waste more taxpayers' dollars...

Ken Notes: Again many errors here. I have taken issues with the council any number of times, but here they are advocating for what they believe the community wants and needs. I an especially proud of the council members who personally don't care for the project but are working for the greater good. I do strongly agree with the Listen to your constituents line.

Wisconsin - 2/12/2010 Wisconsin residents seeking to buy a home for the first time got a boost Friday when the state's affordable housing agency announced plans to resume lending after a 17-month suspension. The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority stopped issuing mortgages to low- and middle- income home buyers in October 2008, when the economic collapse left no market for the revenue bonds that finance them...

Ken Notes: This is very good news. We also need programs for other buyers who have stable jobs but have lost their "nest egg" for down payments.

Madison - 5/10/2010 Dear Editor: Im starting to think that some politicians are against small towns, freedom and mobility in Wisconsin. Why else would Rep. Brett Davis introduce a failed bill to try and block the planned rail line to Milwaukee? Why would two gubernatorial candidates favor doing the same if elected? Why would anyone want to return $810 million to the federal government when it will connect our communities and increase everyones transportation options? Returning the funding will simply allow some other state to reap these benefits....

Madison - 6/17/2010 A main difference between the Milwaukee Intermodal Station and the proposed passenger rail station in Downtown Madison is the parking. The main parking lot at the Milwaukee station with 275 spaces charges $5 a day, but is often less than half full. Daily commuters to Chicago can find free parking along St. Paul Avenue within a short walk of the station....

Ken Notes: Parking will be a huge issue not to mention the lack of other options. If you missed my mass transit plan it is HERE..

Madison - 7/25/2009 The agreement to eliminate Overture's debt - without taxpayer money - sounds promising. But if the city of Madison is going to take ownership of the gleaming arts center on State Street, it needs to convince the public that the $205 million building will be run more like a business and less like a government bureaucracy...

Ken Notes: Unfortunately very few PAC's have the income stream to run like a business. They are more like a library or city hall. The problem will be maintaining a creative environment for a good performance mix while minimizing costs. Have I mentioned additional uses, School of the Arts, tie to the convention center, more private events... I know old drum, sorry.

National - 9/1/2010 The BlueGreen Alliances 18-state, 37-city bus tour stopped at the Cap Times office last week to spread the word about just how critical it is that the U.S. Senate get off its duff and pass the climate change bill that has been languishing there for months...

Ken Notes: Again the motives are great but the message and the law needs tweaking. This law will create a shift in economies sending jobs to nations with lower standards. Don't believe me, lets talk jobs -- Why is the guy who calls for Fifth Third Bank from Mexico and the tech support computer guy from India?...

Madison - 6/22/2010 A decision on a specific site Downtown for a Madison train station could be made as early as next week, state officials said Tuesday. But first Department of Transportation staff plan to process input from Tuesdays public workshop at East High School and a second workshop Wednesday night at 101 E. Wilson St., one of the two state-owned buildings under consideration for a station. The other is the historic state office building at 1 W. Wilson St...

Ken Notes: Three years ago I suggested a Hotel in one of these buildings. I am glad someone was reading. We really need a comprehensive long range plan for the area. The one piece at a time approach will cause problems. We should address the market, city hall, parking, transportation, and the convention center along with the supporting hotels and businesses.

UW Madison - 9/2/2010 A new UW-Madison program to evaluate and promote sustainable business practices is helping Wisconsin companies earn recognition for going green, cutting waste and being socially responsible...

Ken Notes: See what I mean...The UW gets it, as they often do.

Madison Area - 4/22/2010 Barbara Davis found what she thought was her dream home three years ago when she moved to Madison from St. Louis and bought a home in Grandview Commons, on the city's far east side. Now she worries that the addition of a large grocery store could turn that dream into a nightmare....

Madison - 6/26/2010 Madison is continuing its quest to be a premier cycling city by taking steps to create three bike boulevards on roads that are heavily used by bikers...

Ken Notes: Doesn't riding a bike take balance???

Madison - 8/12/2010 There has been a great deal of talk, including in The Capital Times, about why the RTA referendum question will more than likely not be on the November ballot, mostly pointing at me, the county clerk, for saying it was nearly impossible to do so. Here is my response: Only the RTA board has the authority to call for a binding referendum at a regularly scheduled election. Two conversations with the chair of the RTA board...

Ken Notes: Shouldn't we be able to see a budget, proforma, or business plan from the RTA prior to voting on the issue. Any bank or investor requires these basics before writing checks. Why are the citizens treated differently.

Wisconsin - 9/9/2010 President Obama will speak in Milwaukee this Labor Day, his second Wisconsin appearance in as many months. The presidents attentiveness to the state is notable...

Ken Notes: It is a trend, I rewrote his energy Speech HERE in the Capital Region Business Journal.

Fitchburg 1/13/2010 It will be two more weeks before Fitchburg residents will find out if the public library will be equipped with a geothermal heating and cooling system. After an hour-and-a-half discussion that included participation from several residents, the Fitchburg Common Council voted 5-2 Tuesday night to defer a resolution that would instruct architects to design the library with a geothermal system until Jan. 26. ...

Madison - 1/21/2010

Ken Notes: I love these reports and wanted to than Kristen. Of course by the time I post many of the events are past but I do read them on Monday to know what to look for. Thanks again.

Madison - 1/24/2010 It's 9 a.m. on a chilly January morning but Natalie Albino is warm and cozy inside an older-model Volvo station wagon. Albino, 22, is idling her vehicle along the curb at Madison Area Technical College, waiting for one of the prized front lot parking spaces to open up at the sprawling Truax campus...

Ken Notes: Hmmm near the airport - Amtrak coming - transit needed - I see a solution here.

Wisconsin - 2/8/2010 The state hopes a new initiative to preserve farmland can "cluster farms together" and encourage farmers, businesses and local governments to invest in agriculture, a group of state and county planners explained last week at a four-town meeting at Dunkirk Town Hall. The Working Lands Initiative (WLI), which includes a program that uses "conversion fees" to transfer development rights among landowners, became effective Jan. 1, and about 40 people from surrounding areas packed into the building to hear an explanation of what the new law means to them. ...

Madison - 2/15/2010 A proposed three-story senior-citizen housing development on Mineral Point Road is drawing fire from neighbors who say the building would be too big for their quiet neighborhood. Many residents are angry and fearful that the housing project on the site of the former Mount Olive Lutheran Church would transform the area, said Beverly Flanigan, whose Hammersley Avenue home stands on a lot adjacent to the Mount Olive property....

Madison Area and Vegas - 2/18/2010 A high-flying Madison-area businessman plans to plead not guilty Monday in Las Vegas to running from $3.75 million in gambling debts, a criminal charge brought last week in an indictment that stems from a gambling spree in 2008...

Ken Notes: So much for what happens in Vegas stays in...

Madison - 2/18/2010 Mayor Dave - It would create hundreds of good-paying construction jobs at a time when some trades are experiencing a 30% unemployment rate. It would add a million dollars in annual tax revenue to a shrinking tax base. It would restore an iconic 1940s building and take down an awful 1970s addition, opening up public views of Lake Mendota. And it would dramatically improve public access to the lake with a grand staircase and a rooftop plaza....

Ken Notes: I agree - I would only add that comprehensive planning would have helped the process.

Dane County - 3/10/2010 After a rare decrease in January, foreclosure filings rose sharply in February locally and throughout Wisconsin. Foreclosure filings in Dane County were up 32 percent in February compared to a year ago, with 148 new filings compared to 112 in February 2009, according to court records compiled by DaneCountyMarket.com....

Middleton - 4/1/2010 The Middleton Common Council gave initial approval last week to a 144-unit senior housing development on the corner of Allen Boulevard and Maywood Avenue that supporters say will play a major role in revitalizing the languishing area. The council voted 7-1 in favor of contributing $2.1 million in public assistance in the form of tax increment financing (TIF) for Heritage Middleton Senior Housing Campus, although the loan still requires formal approval...

Madison Area - 5/11/2010 Dear Editor: Theres only one bus route that passes the Monona Terrace train station site. Two roads pass nearby, but how accessible is the site and what are the possibilities for further supporting development in the area?...

6/21/2010 You know the city approval process for major building projects is broken when even Madison's progressive mayor sounds like a disgruntled developer crying foul. "It is just too difficult for someone who wants to make a major investment in our city...

Ken Notes:

Madison - 8/12/2010 From the Spaghetti alla Bolognese at Lombardinos restaurant to the soaring steeple of the First Congregational United Church of Christ, University Avenue has its gems. But the mile-long corridor between Farley Avenue and Breese Terrace, once the main artery between Downtown, UW-Madison and the West Side, lacks an identity, is uninviting to pedestrians and bicyclists, and has lost businesses since the Campus Drive bypass opened to the north in 1968...

Ken Notes: I know that I tend to repeat myself, but why isn't the "focus" a mass transit option for moving people from the West Side and Hilldale to Campus. We missed the boat on East Wash and now seem destined to repeat our errors on University. My suggestion, a simple Bus Rapid Transit Lane or corridor - we could then grow into more efficient vehicles. If we fail to do this now a retrofit will be twenty years off and cost even more. Save this comment because I want to be able to suggest in the future I mentioned this, like in February of 2008 when I wrote this.

Madison - 4/7/2010 Fresh Madison Market, a Downtown grocery that opened at 703 University Ave. in January, will begin offering online shopping and delivery Thursday. Customers can order off the stores website, www.freshmadisonmarket, pay online and have their order delivered within the city limits...

Ken Notes: This store was on our tour last week. It is very nice and a great addition for downtown!

Madison - 1/11/2010 A proposal to build a five-story apartment building on a portion of the parking lot at Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Downtown Madison has been put on hold. Developer Silverstone Partners of Middleton will wait until later this year or early next year to resume the city approval process, said Tim Parks, a city planner. The proposal was expected to be discussed by the city's Plan Commission this month...

Ken Notes: I am thinking on hold is the new mantra for Madison...

Madison - 1/20/2010 More usable waste material such as clean wood and metals from roofing projects, construction sites and demolitions will bypass the Dane County landfill under a Madison recycling law that took effect Jan. 1...

Ken Notes: What I like about this law was that MABA was involved in crafting it. Thumbs up.

Madison - 1/27/2010 For those who have been following the Community Development Authority's proposed Burr Oaks senior housing project on the city's south side, there has been an interesting turn of events in the efforts to acquire several apartment buildings for the project. After receiving some criticism from the owners of those buildings and from former Ald. Brenda Konkel, who attended the last CDA meeting, regarding the below-market prices offered for the buildings, all of which are owned by minorities, CDA member Stu Levitan e-mailed other members and city staff about potentially revisiting the offers....

Madison Area - 2/10/2010 A Milwaukee company with a Madison office has formed a consulting division aimed at helping other companies in the design and construction industry capitalize on architecture's latest interactive trend. The concept, known as Building Information Modeling...

Madison - 3/2/2010 When the largest banks -- M&I and Associated -- in conservative old Wisconsin manage to post 2009 losses of $235 million and $167 million, respectively, you know things are not good. And if the job market is rebounding, how come Congress is fighting over an extension of unemployment benefits?...

Ken Notes: It will get even worse as good businesses and developers try to compete in an artificial marketplace.

Madison - 3/29/2010 When the curtain goes up at East High, the school's talented musicians, singers, dancers, actors and spoken-word artists have a well-deserved reputation for creating an enchanting world onstage. That's good, because East's real-life theater is one of the most awkward, uninspiring performance venues in the county, if not the state....

Ken Notes: Great story and opportunity but performance space is pricey. We need to think outside the box to get this done.

UW - 4/5/2010 Calling it an ambitious goal, University of Wisconsin System President Kevin Reilly said he wants to increase the number of UW graduates by 30 percent over the next 15 years to create a better-educated and higher-paid workforce in the state...

Ken Notes: This makes sense and would do a great deal to improve the states image.

Dane County - 4/11/2010 Manure happens. Farmers know that all too well. Farmers also know that well-managed manure can be a valuable resource instead of being a waste with the potential of polluting lakes or drinking water. Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk has recognized manures resource capabilities, so has championed a novel manure solution. The Dane County Cow Power project, a community digester in the town of Vienna, will take the manure from 2,500 cows and produce electricity...

Ken Notes: Manure happens? Can he say that...

Madison Area - 4/13/2010 A former project manager for a Madison construction firm was charged Tuesday with using doctored permit applications to steal more than $200,000 from the firm over a three-year period. Roberts Construction reviewed all of the projects run by Sean Nemitz, 35, of Sun Prairie, after discovering last year it had reimbursed him for an unneeded, never-issued erosion control permit on one project, according to a criminal complaint filed in Dane County Circuit Court...

Madison - 4/20/2010 Marty Preizler is the new dean of Edgewood College's School of Business, the college announced Tuesday in a press release. Preizler had been serving as interim dean during a nationwide search to fill the post...

Madison - 5/5/2010 House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis., a liberal lion first elected at the height of the Vietnam War in 1969, announced Wednesday he will not seek re-election in November -- a blow to Democratic chances of holding his northern Wisconsin seat....

Ken Notes: We, Wisconsin, will miss the leadership roles that Dave holds. I am not sure that this was about the difficulty of the campaign but rather the opportunity to leave on top.

Madison - 5/11/2010 Squatting. Is it a small-scale land grab? Or a direct action to fight homelessness? A grass-roots group called Operation Welcome Home is raising the issue here. The homeless rights advocacy group helped a single mom and her two small kids move into a west side duplex vacated in a foreclosure...

Ken Notes: Wouldn't working with the banks to occupy these properties in a managed environment for 3 0r 4% of the value with some commitment to maintenance make more sense.

Madison - 5/24/2010 Real estate developers have long yearned to create rooms with a view. Penthouse units or those with the best vista typically command top dollar. But some of the swanky new high-rise apartments replacing the aging rental units on campus offer no view. In fact, many of the bedrooms don't even have windows...

Ken Notes: In the 60's this would have been a good thing...

Madison - 6/2/2010 Dear Editor: Paul Fanlunds column in the Cap Times on Wednesday, May 26, was exactly correct. I was encouraged to read it. I designed the Fiore full-block plan, working very closely with a professional team that developed multiple concepts before submitting our solution to the library disposal subcommittee. We staked our entire effort on the belief that we had an idea that could become a catalyst for a real downtown renaissance in the Capitol West and Overture Arts District. The idea was so good we felt we could defend any challenge. And we did. Until city staff were told to make it happen...

Ken Notes: I sort of agree here -- a rush to judgment is not always the best option and in this case we actually had time to make this work.

Madison - 7/1/2010 Hobbled by a national recession that brought the housing market to a near standstill, the developer of the Union Corners property on Madisons East Side on Monday turned ownership of the site over to a group affiliated with its lender. Todd McGrath of McGrath Associates said the property was relinquished in lieu of foreclosure and emphasized that the mortgage holder, M&I Bank of Milwaukee, never sued to take possession...

Ken Notes: Still a great site...

Wisconsin - 7/7/2010 State transportation dollars should be spent on the state's transportation system. Such a simple argument should be obvious and unnecessary. Yet state leaders have raided about $1.2 billion in recent years from the segregated transportation fund, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau....

Ken Notes: I agree, but to be fair much of what we stole from state funds was replaced by money we stole the federal stimulus package which may be why Wisconsin will recover a little slower than those state that actually stimulated their economies!

Madison - 7/14/2010 Another round of job cuts has hit the storied Erdman architectural and design firm. At least 12 more staffers in Madison were let go recently as part of the latest company-wide downsizing by Cogdell Spencer (CSA:NYSE), the publicly traded real estate investment trust that purchased the Erdman company in 2008....

Ken Notes: This is not good. It is too bad that Erdman was sold n the first place. The new company is using the name and reputation to secure new business while releasing the talent. I hope these guys regroup and eat the parent company.

Mount Horeb - 7/21/2010 For seven years, Duluth Trading Co. customers have had to come to the catalog and online merchandisers annual tent sale in Belleville if they wanted to see clothes or accessories before they purchased them...

Ken Notes: The tent sale is THIS WEEKEND it is way cool. My butt crack will never show again. Best ads on the internet are HERE. I laughed out loud. Make sure you catch the radio ones..

LONE ROCK 7/21/2010 Carl Busjahn has done this before. The first time he opened a canoe shop was in 1970 in his parents' barn near Brodhead. He was a 17-year-old junior in high school and Paul McCartney had just announced that the Beatles had disbanded...

Madison - 7/26/2010 Saying the John Nolen Drive corridor isnt used enough but has enormous potential, a group of residents is developing a plan for the area between Monona Terrace and the Beltline that might include park and other improvements, and perhaps a pedestrian bridge from the Alliant Energy Center to Olin-Turville Park...

Ken Notes: Can I mention that I have been talking about this area for five years now. There have been some interesting proposals over the years but little materializes. By the way don't forget a transit link to the convention center...

Madison - 8/4/2010 Even as manufacturing emerges as one of the few sectors showing consistent life in the nation's struggling economic recovery, experts at UW-Madison stand ready to help Wisconsin businesses get a bigger piece of the action. At UW-Madison's Center for Quick Response Manufacturing, one of director Ananth Krishnamurthy's goals is increased outreach to help state manufacturers be more competitive, by applying center principles aimed at cutting costly lead time in all phases of a company's manufacturing and office operations...

Ken Notes: Interesting resource.

Madison - 7/29/2010 Responding to critics of a passenger rail line between Madison and Milwaukee including the leading Republican candidates for governor who are vowing to stop the project U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Thursday that work is going forward...

Ken Notes: I hear the train a coming...

Madison - Bill Nelson now has the space to crush a 20-foot-long section of a bridge and test the strength of a two-story wall, complete with windows and doors. Down the hall, engineer C.R. Boardman can create, with a few keystrokes, Seattle-like rain or the blistering heat found in Arizona....

Ken Notes: A great project, I just wish it could have gone elsewhere, the new research park for example, leaving more room for campus expansion and creating more of a unique identity for the lab.

Madison - 9/2/2010 A new store opened at East Towne Mall and two more businesses are under construction in a new building at West Towne Mall. Complete Nutrition, which sells nutritional supplements, opened Aug. 20 at East Towne near Boston Store. At West Towne, AT&T and Pancheros Mexican Grille...

Madison - 1/7/2010 Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is scheduled to interview two finalists Friday for the position of City Engineer, his spokeswoman said. Michael L. Pubentz, of Ottawa, Ill., has worked as the Director of Public Works for the Village of Montgomery, Ill., since August 2000. During his time there, he developed the village's first snow removal and ice control plan, as well as the first comprehensive street inventory. Pubentz also worked for the Illinois Department of Transportation for 13 years...

Madison - 1/19/2010 When snow hangs on branches or the leaves are full, tree-lined Old Middleton Road is one of Madison's most scenic corridors. But the well-worn road, which can test vehicle shock absorbers and has no bike lanes or sidewalks, poses safety hazards for cyclists and pedestrians...

Ken Notes: These are very tough calls. I like the trees - is an off street path an option?

Madison - 3/9/2010 When Mid Town Commons was approved by the City Council in 1999, it was widely cheered as Madison's first "new urbanism" residential development. Following the much-hyped Middleton Hills, developers of Mid Town Commons promised the same pedestrian-friendly combination of housing, shopping and public spaces for vacant land west of Elver Park. It was to offer a traditional neighborhood feel, miles from the bustle of downtown....

Ken Notes: I disagree, new urban will work and yes it is tough to site small businesses in this economy but this is true everywhere not just in new urban developments. We need to create options and encourage entrepreneurship on a small scale. Why do we invest millions in large projects but little or nothing in small business...

UW Madison - 4/1/2010 Last year, when Katja Favretto started telling friends in Los Angeles that she was considering a job offer from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the young political scientist says she started feeling apprehensive about a potential move to the Midwest...

Fitchburg - 4/12/2010 Site work has begun at the Orchard Pointe development in Fitchburg for what will be an Aldi discount grocery store scheduled to open this fall. Were anxious to get started, but there is still part of the permit process with the city to complete, Aldi spokeswoman Heather Tarczan said...

Ken Notes: Couldn't we hold out for a Trader Joe's...

Madison - 4/27/2010 After seeing a few blog posts Monday and Tuesday morning that the increasingly controversial plan to round up and euthanize up to 100 geese at Warner Park had been called off in favor of possibly oiling goose eggs (which suffocates the embryos and prevents the population from growing), I made a few calls to figure out what was going on...

Ken Notes: I have been in local politics for 25 years and have dealt with a goose issue every one of them. There are no solutions but I did love the guy with border collies and the dogs were very cool -- alas he eventually wanted to get paid...

Madison - 7/1/2010 The proposed Union Corners redevelopment project from McGrath Associates is officially dead, with lender M&I Bank taking title to the site at the corner of East Washington Avenue and Milwaukee Street....

Madison - 7/26/2010 The Madison Public Market (MPM) evolved from a grassroots project initiated by Home Grown Wisconsin, a cooperative of Wisconsin farmers, who in 2003 convened the Central Agriculture and Food Facility Group. The following year a preliminary study concluded that Madison could support a stand-alone public market....

Ken Notes: I remain a huge fan of this project and found the report very interesting. I took a group to the Milwaukee market and I think many were impressed. If you haven't been you should check it out.

Madison - 1/22/2010 Developer Bob Blettner believes that the business parks he creates should evoke emotion and that the people who work there should be celebrated through art. Not with just watercolors in an atrium or landscape prints in a conference room, but with big, bold, expressive sculptures...

Ken Notes: I like Bob's way of thinking. Art and design inspire greatness!

Verona - Over 150 professionals joined us for a walk to remember as we strolled through one of the most magnificent office facilities in the country. Thanks again to the Epic Team, Cunningham Architects, any those who came.

Ken Notes: Join us on the 25th as we tour Arbor Gate. If you have Epic Photos please email them to Epic@WisconsinDevelopment.com and I will post them so we can see what we missed!

Madison - 1/1/2010 Madison real estate developer Jason Punzel is exiting the race for state treasurer. Punzel announced in August that he was going to seek the Republican nomination but on Wednesday he said he was pulling out of the race because the time demanded would take him away from his family too much....

Dane County - 2/1/2010 While state lawmakers debate whether to help homeowners in foreclosure with a statewide requirement stipulating that lenders must agree to mediation sessions, in Dane County a similar decision already has been made. "You can't wait for the legislative process," said Marsha Mansfield, who works at UW-Madison's Law School and helped develop the local program. "Sometimes it's too slow, and there are people losing their homes today."...

Ken Notes: I am guessing the lenders will be on board here and this is a great idea...

Whitewater - 2/16/2010 Miron Construction Co., builder of Timothy J. Hyland Hall, the new home of the College of Business and Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, will be recognized Wednesday, Feb. 17, for excellence in construction by the Wisconsin Division of State Facilities. Miron Construction will receive the 2010 Excellence in Construction-New Construction award for its work on the Hyland Hall building project. The Neenah-based company will be honored for its impressive recycling rate, early building completion and clean safety record. The company recycled 98 percent of demolition waste from the three residence halls that were removed to make room for Hyland Hall. ...

Madison - 2/24/2010 Last year Dane County Deputy Anthony Balistreri pulled in $108,547 in pay, nearly $33,000 of it in overtime. That's hardly the $159,258 that recently earned headline treatment for a Madison Metro bus driver, but it's more than the $106,665 earned by the county executive, and nearly as much as the $114,000 earned by Balistreri's boss, Sheriff Dave Mahoney...

Ken Notes: If we want to balance our budgets, expand those with health insurance, reduce unemployment we need to look at an undertime program where a company could reduce the hours of employment for all staff instead of layoffs. Instead we downsize and use overtime to pick up when needed. The sad factor in not that the officer made money but the fact someone is unemployed because of it.

Madison - 2/22/2010 The new building on South Park Street that houses the Urban League of Greater Madison was stuffed to the rafters Friday noon as people from around the city came together to celebrate what could well be a benchmark to the future of south Madison...

Madison - 3/3/2010 It was built as a facility to produce an anti-wrinkle product that would rival Botox. But before it began operations, Mentor Worldwide LLC decided to abandon the Madison lab, which is valued at $16 million. The company announced Wednesday that they would donate it to the Morgridge Institute, a private research partner with UW-Madison...

Madison - 2/26/2010 The plan for Central Park in the heart of Madison's east isthmus heads to the City Council next week, but one critical issue lies beyond members' reach. The conceptual plan hinges on construction of a new crossing over the rail tracks that slice through the site...

Dane County - 3/6/2010 Is Dane County's economy on the mend? Experts say the recession has bottomed out nationwide, but Madison area residents may wonder if the financial corrosion is starting to heal here, as well. The State Journal took a look at key data and talked to several economists, and found there are some positive signs in Dane County:...

Ken Notes: I am still worried about the winners and losers not the overall economy. Many who were able to bail early are now reaping the rewards of buying back in at the bottom while those who stuck it out are now struggling.

UW-Whitewater - 3/10/2010 The UW-Whitewater's Global Business Resource Center will be among the organizations helping Wisconsin businesses get more involved in selling their products to customers in other countries. The state Department of Commerce signed a memorandum of understanding with the Global Business Resource Center on Wednesday...

3/11/2010 Once it was a warehouse. Soon it will be offices. But for one week in mid-March, the third and fourth floors of a 1917 Downtown building on West Main Street will become a temporary art gallery. Delta Properties, owners of the building at 634 W. Main St., will host Cache, an art show featuring 28 local artists...

Ken Notes: Lets see if we can get some more permanent facilities like this!

Wisconsin - 3/24/2010 New York Times columnist Bob Herbert asked the other day, Whats wrong with us? How is it that with all the challenges we face an infrastructure thats decaying, substandard school buildings, millions without health insurance, more millions without jobs the most we seem to be able to accomplish is determining who can scream at each other the loudest?...

Ken Notes: Dave the problem is that the group of people in the middle have no voice except to upset the balance of power every few year and hope that the new admin is rational - ah but out of power for so ling they must make amends and the tea party begins again.

Wisconsin - 4/7/2010 Outgoing Commerce Secretary Dick Leinenkugel has not received the warmest of welcomes after rumors that he plans to run for the U.S. Senate as a Republican were reported Wednesday...

Ken Notes: I would be a supporter in that he understands both business and economics. In addition he seems to be able to build cooperation and consensus.

Madison Area - 4/8/2010 Madisonians who are old enough will recall the golden age of television commercials for Goodman Jewelers on State Street, in which Robert Goodman offered a rendition of Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend that reminded everyone why he had become a jeweler ...

Madison - 4/14/2010 Dane County's high-tech companies added approximately 500 jobs in 2009 over the prior year. Since 2005, the area's total number of companies in the high-tech sector increased from 475 to 605, or 5.5% per year. These findings, part of a recent survey conducted by Madison Gas and Electric (MGE), are found in the 2010 Greater Madison Wisconsin Area Directory of High-Tech Companies...

Ken Notes: Great resource!

Madison - 5/13/2010 What a difference a month makes. After narrowly voting to approve a Dane County Regional Airport request to kill up to 100 geese in Madison's Warner Park last month, the same city Board of Park Commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday night to put the round-up on hold in favor of developing a non-lethal management plan for the city's geese...

Ken Notes: I love a good Goose story - What if we let the local restaurants focused on fresh local fare have access.

Wisconsin - 5/19/2010 Food products tend to outperform other industries during economic downturns because they are essential for survival. This overall market stability, combined with a strong research base and increasing global demand for food and biofuels, positions the agribusiness sector for what could be spectacular growth during the next decade...

DODGEVILLE - 5/27/2010 An appeals court has ruled against the city of Dodgeville in a major tax dispute with its largest employer. The District 4 Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that Lands' End, Inc., paid too much in property taxes in 2005 and 2006 because the city overassessed the value of its corporate headquarters....

Ken Notes: Two words - Developer Agreement!!

Madison - 6/9/2010 Its come to my attention that McDonalds has outlined plans to move from its location on East Washington to the Madison East Shopping Center parking lot in front of the Hawthorne Branch Library. Since then, my attention has been consumed. Why? How? WHAT? Isnt the first location profitable? Is it too far from the payday loan locations? Does McDonalds need to glow its golden landmark a little closer to the Capitol?...

Ken Notes: I love the passion and eloquence of the Madison advocate. I just wish they had money and would develop these properties for the rest of us. We should require that the passionate provide an alternative option...

Madison - 6/9/2010 Virent Energy Systems is ready to rev up hiring and research and move closer to selling its biofuel to the public now that investors have pumped another $46.4 million into the Madison company...

Madison / Dane County - 6/16/2010 My first reporting assignment in Madison three decades ago was covering Dane County government, led at the time by the late George Reinke, a decent, able county executive who was as charisma-free as any political figure I've ever met. The contrast between Reinke, a buttoned-down Greatest Generation administrator, and his mayoral counterpart, Paul Soglin, celebrated nationally as the brash hippie mayor of the Berkeley of the Midwest, was stark, to put it mildly....

Ken Notes: Doesn't this sound like a title for a play by Broom Street Players.

Madison - 7/15/2010 LT McGrath proposes to redevelop the former City of Madison Water Utility Admin building into 21 new apartment units. This story links to the doc submitted for review no article...

Middleton - 7/14/2010 When angry residents organized against the Middleton City Council in 1995 over a plan to put sewer lines through a nature preserve, many people including some of the angry residents thought the group would dribble away once the issue blew over. Instead, the group, Friends of Pheasant Branch Conservancy, is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year after establishing itself as an often tough-minded environmental voice in the community...

Ken Notes: Actually the results a pretty cool...

Madison - 8/19/2010 Kurt Sippel is one of those small-business entrepreneurs who economic development officials dream about. A self-taught computer geek, Sippel launched Applied Tech Solutions a decade ago with $15,000 in savings and the faith that most every company could use help with its information technology systems....

Ken Notes: There is little question that it should be a strong engine but we seem more willing to invest in nanobioecotech than companies that have a sound business plan and a real product. Note: If you use nanobioecotech the name is spelled Harwood.

UW Madison - 8/18/2010 UW-Madison ranked 13th among public institutions and tied for 45th among 262 national doctoral universities in rankings released Tuesday by U.S. News and World Report for this years edition of Americas Best Colleges...

Madison - 8/26/2010 As Mayor Dave Cieslewicz approaches the last six months of his second term, hes been most visible recently on three big-ticket issues: the Edgewater Hotel renovation, the downtown library redo and money problems at the Overture Center. Now, as Cieslewicz shapes the citys operating and capital spending proposals for 2011, it sounds like grandiose is out and damage control is in, due to the grim landscape for state aid and property values...

Ken Notes: I still think Dave gets the balance that will keep Madison growing. We could have a mayor from the special interest groups that would ban cars, coal generated power, and commercial development. So it could be worse - no really it could!

Madison - 8/25/2010 Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is asking the city Ethics Board if he can help raise $280,000 to bring a national group that promotes walkable, mixed-used developments to Monona Terrace in 2011. Cieslewicz, local co-chairman of the Congress for the New Urbanism convention, said the convention promises to have a major, positive impact for the city and wants to be involved in raising money for it to ensure its success...

Ken Notes: This is an example of working on an issue rather than mandating one. I'll contribute a free add in this pub to support the event if there is any interest.

Wisconsin - 9/9/2010 The chances are pretty good you've never heard of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., unless you read the fine-print labels on your prescription drug bottles a lot more closely than most people. If you're a biotech researcher at one of the state's colleges or universities, however, or you're building a fledgling drug development company in Wisconsin, the name Teva may mean something: a potential market for your discoveries....

Wisconsin - 5/14/2009 More than $336 million in federal stimulus money has been allocated to counties, cities, towns and villages in Wisconsin. Of that total, about $124 million has been allocated through the state Department of Transportation for road, bridge and transit projects. And more than $48 million in Housing and Urban Development funds has been allocated...

Ken Notes: Great Resource

Janesville - 1/3/2010 One year ago, Eric Levitt took over as city manager of Janesville, just as the Rock County community was losing General Motors and its suppliers, eliminating more than 4,000 jobs in the course of a year. I think it was a much tougher year than the community expected, Levitt said. Local organizations have formed a support group for those who have lost their jobs...

Ken Notes: Janesville is doing good things. Watch for a comeback!

Madison - 1/7/2010 Ald. Paul Skidmore, a proponent of the $93 million Edgewater Hotel expansion project, thinks its well-publicized troubles getting approval from the Landmarks Commission could lead to a needed "sea change" in how committees operate...

Madison - 2/3/2010 Dogs could be barking, bounding, playing and peeing at two new dog parks on Madison's East Side this summer now that residents and city council members have decided on locations and the Parks Division is moving ahead with formal plans. The proposed sites at Demetral Field and the McCormick greenway still need approval from the Engineering Division and in the case of Demetral, a former landfill the state Department of Natural Resources....

Ken Notes: Cool. Of course if you really need to run the dog may I suggest Lafayette county, 665 square miles of playground.

National - 2/10/2010 NEW YORK Defeat in the Massachusetts senatorial election has deprived Americas Democrats of the 60 votes needed to pass health care reform and other legislation, and it has changed American politics -- at least for the moment. But what does that vote say about American voters and the economy? It does not herald a shift to the right, as some pundits suggest. Rather, the message it sends is the same as that sent by voters to President Bill Clinton 17 years ago: Its the economy, stupid! and Jobs, jobs, jobs. Indeed, voters in Oregon passed a referendum supporting a tax increase...

Ken Notes: Interesting read...

Wisconsin - 2/12/2010 Wisconsin's economy is like a certain hard-shelled reptile, a state official said Friday. "We call it a tortoise recovery, slow but steady," Roberta Gassman, secretary of the Department of Workforce Development, told the Governor's Conference on Economic Development, at Monona Terrace....

Ken Notes: I hope so, but I am seeing several developers who toughed out the first year now running out of resources. Some buyers in the market are finding good value but any real profit remains an elusive target.

Madison - 6/1/2010 In recent weeks, I have traveled through Paris, Venice, Barcelona, Cadiz and Madrid, among other European cities. But I have been most struck by this beautiful European city at the base of the Julian Alps....

Ken Notes: I want John Nichols job...

Madison - 6/3/2010 Dane County businesswoman Lisa Pertzborn-Whiting says a $350,000 loan from the county is a key step toward buying equipment, growing her staff to as many as 35 employees within a year and chalking up revenue that could top $4 million by the end of the year...

Wisconsin - 6/18/2010 Another employee restructuring is under way at Alliant Energy Corp. and when the changes are complete, a net total of 70 to 90 jobs will be gone, the Madison utility holding company said Friday. Spokesman Steve Schultz gave no specific reason for the move. "We're always looking at ways to improve efficiencies," he said. No estimate of the cost savings was available...

Jefferson - 6/26/2010 A Jefferson developer has been sentenced to five years in prison for bank fraud. Brian S. Johnson, 52, was sentenced Thursday for defrauding Evergreen State Bank of Stoughton of $3.9 million by taking out loans under false pretenses...

Ken Notes: Ouch!

Milwaukee - 7/15/2010 A great test of political leadership came after the U.S. Export-Import Bank, which is supposed to use taxpayer dollars to promote American industries, decided to deny several hundred million dollars in loan guarantees to a coal-fired power plant and mine in India...

Ken Notes: Interesting take on this. I hope we look hard at what we need in the form of leadership to find new jobs and new markets. Personally I hope some of this comes from a new direction in industry to rebuild the from the ground up.

Madison - 8/17/2010 In another blow to the beleaguered owners of the Hilldale Shopping Center, the UW Foundation, which built and developed Hilldale, on Thursday sued a group that bought the Foundation's stock in the shopping center for allegedly failing to make interest payments on two promissory notes...

Ken Notes: I still like this development and hope it succeeds. I am guessing the revenues stream is pretty tight and loosing the anchors they lost couldn't help.

Wisconsin - 7/14/2010 Click this link if you are looking for money to expand a business or start a new one? Maybe a Preserve America grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, a loan from the American Sheep and Goat Center, or Madison facade improvement funds would help...

Ken Notes: For help starting a business in Lafayette County or elsewhere try this link.

Madison - 6/16/2010 Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz wants to speed up the process for reviewing development projects after a $98 million hotel plan got bogged down for months. In his "State of the City" speech, the mayor says the process for approving the Edgewater Hotel renovation was too long and difficult...

Ken Notes: It was - but my readership was up 20% so thanks guys. Actually I remain a Dave fan - he gets the balance between government and business and often drags a council along with him even if they are kicking and screaming...

Madison - 8/12/2010 Indoors, 130 employees at Gilson, in Middleton, produce laboratory equipment for researchers and biotechnology companies items such as plastic pipettes and metal robotic devices. But outdoors, with some help from nature, their handiwork is lush, colorful and aromatic...

Ken Notes: Attention Chicago companies, give your employees the opportunity to explore their "green" side. Move to Wisconsin -- In Lafayette county both the land and the garden are free!

Madison Area - 2/11/2010 Money is available for businesses that need it, if you know where to look and whom to ask. Check out this month's issue of the Business Journal to read more. You'll also find area business news and features, expert advice on all aspects of running a business, and a variety of economic indicators to help you understand your market....

http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/education/ca 4/20/2010 In an effort to recognize environmental and sustainability programs at campuses across the country, The Princeton Review and U.S. Green Building Council released a guide to institutions of higher education which have demonstrated an "above average commitment to sustainability in terms of campus infrastructure, activities and initiatives." Locally, UW-Madison and Edgewood College did not make the cut...

JEFFERSON - 1/16/2010 Bob Niebler has seen his community change. The soda fountain at The Drug Store, the downtown pharmacy he started working at in high school and later purchased, was removed in the 1960s. Stoppenbach's is now Tyson's, and instead of making wieners by the millions the plant along the Rock River makes pepperoni for state-based pizza companies....

Wisconsin - 1/26/2010 I stand before you tonight at a difficult time in Americas history. We have been hit hard by an economic crisis -- the depths of which we have not seen since the Great Depression. Our nations unemployment rate has soared to over 10 percent. While Wisconsins rate is one and a half points lower -- it is still far too high. Far too many remain unemployed. Far too many are making do with a paycheck ...

Ken Notes: May I suggest jobs come from a good business environment. I like that a few of the businesses in Wisconsin are stepping up to the plate and working with the governor - we need more if all to follow suit. Complain with the door closed reach out with the door open...

Dane County - 2/10/2010 An oversight in Dane County's plans for the new Badger Prairie Health Care Center near Verona has raised questions about a double standard for public versus private development. The county broke ground last year on the $21 million nursing home for seniors with special needs. The project is half-finished and on schedule to be completed by November....

Wisconsin - 3/3/2010 Bill Kraus, longtime local commentator who was one of the engines behind the late Republican Gov. Lee Dreyfus administration, frequently points out that there was a time in Wisconsin politics when not everyone hated each other...

Ken Notes: Can you say term limits. If you only have 4 to 8 years to get things done you may work with the players on the floor rather than waiting for a change of power!

Wisconsin - 4/1/2010 A group developing statewide standards for wind turbines will meet this week to discuss guidelines for the rules. Gov. Jim Doyle signed a bill in September calling for state regulators to create uniform site regulations for wind farms. The standards will trump any local ordinances...

Ken Notes: We may need to get involved here. I see a lot to weigh in on early in the process.

Madison - 4/6/2010 The Orpheum Theatre is for sale at a cool $1,995,000. That's not news. The historic downtown movie theater went on the market last October. But it stayed under the radar until Dane County supervisor Wyndham Manning posted Keller Real Estate Group's flyer for the property on Twitter this afternoon....

National - 4/14/2010 Govs. Riley, Barbour, Rendell, Bredesen and McDonnell | Governors of Alabama, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia | Posted: Sunday, April 11, 2010 3:30 am | No Comments Posted At the White House jobs summit in December, President Obama told dozens of corporate leaders that he is looking for every demonstrably good idea to put Americans back to work. Heres one. Its an idea that will not only create jobs but also reduce highway congestion, improve safety and take more than 1 million long-haul trucks off the road each year...

Ken Notes: I agree but the rail system once used to set watches now waits for full loads. The system is no longer as reliable as trucks and time is money. Let the manufacturing companies run rail and we would again have a system.

Madison - 4/14/2010 A city cannot have strong branch libraries without a strong central library. As I use the services of the new Sequoya Branch Library, I am aware that my needs could not be met without drawing on the resources and staff at the central library, including technical and computer specialists who serve the entire system....

National - 5/3/2010 Economic stress declined in March in nearly three-quarters of the nation's 3,141 counties, according to The Associated Press' monthly analysis of conditions around the country. The gains were due to an improving job market in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast and a steadying of foreclosure rates across the Sun Belt....

Wisconsin - 5/12/2010 Environmental leader Harold "Bud" Jordahl, who helped to shape some of the most influential state and national policies in the conservation movement, died Tuesday. He was 83. Jordahl worked with Gov. Gaylord Nelson to help create the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and to secure federal "Wild and Scenic River" designations for the St. Croix and Namekagon rivers....

Ken Notes: Great vision - he will be missed.

Madison - 5/19/2010 When Madison resident Royce Williams visits his 99-year-old father in Champaign, he takes a Van Galder bus to Chicago's Union Station, then boards an Amtrak train to the central Illinois city's transportation hub...

Ken Notes: I still think the debate needs to focus on the local system that supports the train regardless of the station location. If I can not get to where I am going when I get off I won't get on...get it?

5/26/2010 Plans for a long-awaited $7.3 million upgrade of University Avenue including improved pedestrian and bicycle access on Madison's West Side are scheduled to be unveiled to neighborhood residents Thursday...

Madison - 5/27/2010 According to an e-mail just forwarded to me, the city will be bringing on a new preservation planner to help staff the Landmarks Commission and provide input on development and preservat