willochowicz.bsky.social

Madison is crushing it on early voting. So far 10.8% of registered voters have returned a ballot. Get yours in. You can also register at the poll.

"Everyone who's in public service pays a price. For me, the price has gotten too high." Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway won't run for re-election after all, and she talked with me about it, for @isthmusmadison.bsky.social. isthmus.com/news/news/rh...

Madison Mayor @satyaformadison.bsky.social announces she is reversing course and NOT seeking a third term, citing "credible threats" to her safety. "Everyone who's in public service pays a price. For me, the price has gotten too high." More from @chalipittman.bsky.social: isthmus.com/news/news/rh...

At about 6:38 am on Wednesday morning, following a 12 hour meeting, the Madison common council voted to terminate the contract of Madison's interim independent police monitor, effective immediately.

The 2027 IBC has been officially published, and it allows single-stair apartment buildings up to four stories! See the new section 1006.3.3.2 codes.iccsafe.org/content/IBC2...

would someone mind dumping a gallon of apple juice on whatever rack this thing lives on

Live footage of me watching this game right now.

WhY dOn'T peOPle jUSt dO It tHe lEGal WaY?!

Getting a better sense of the "civility" problems in Shorewood Hills. Barford sends out request for forester protective gear, Van Asten objects, Barford asks him to call her. Instead he tells her to put on "big girl pants," says the forester is "underqualified," a friend of her's, & should be fired.

Madison police are seeking a federal grant to fund a "drone as first responder" pilot program. If Madison gets the grant, and the council approves, the drone would respond to 911 calls on the west side. — New from me for @isthmusmadison.bsky.social Read: isthmus.com/news/news/se...

Madison City Council member Ellen Zhang, who is a student at UW-Madison, said the proposed policy changes would "change the game" for students.

I’m honored to have your support in this race, @barackobama.bsky.social. Vote on November 3rd.

“This recent dump of papers on Tuesday destroyed the careers of early-career mathematicians. We've had whole research programs wiped out on Tuesday by their dump … they have all the mathematicians research programs in their training data” - Tristan Buckmaster on OpenAI solving unsolved math problems

one of the ways the media shows which side they prefer, is which politicians they quote uncharitably out-of-context and which they clean up for even when what they actually say and do is offensive (the Biden story ran on the front page less than a week before the 24 election)

Tonight Madison Plan Commission unanimously approved the demolition of the "Wonder Bar" at 222 E Olin Ave. Some public comment even seemed to backfire, with Com. Heck saying that he wasn't convinced by arguments mostly based in nostalgia and worry that the city is changing.

You're gonna need a bigger chart

Project owner says it's to be the first completed under Dallas' new 8-unit IRC. My only quibble is that this was already possible under Dallas' adoption of the IEBC (I've done a 2-to-5 unit conversion) but it may be that going through the IRC permitting process is simpler than the IEBC.

Come down to the Madison is for People, Downtown Area Plan Feedback session - Wednesday at 6pm, Madison Municipal Building. I'll be there! RSVP here: actionnetwork.org/events/madis...

Brian Mooney, the village administrator of Shorewood Hills, has resigned. He says he can no longer tolerate "perpetual turmoil" alongside "constant personal attacks." Eight others admin staff have resigned in the last year. — for @isthmusmadison.bsky.social isthmus.com/news/news/sh...

A possible romantic relationship between a president and one of his aides isn’t something the public needs to know about. by Ken Starr and Newt Gingrich

It's quite the results so far in Wisconsin: Francesca Hong is leading in her home county (Dane County, Madison) by an uninspiring 41/38. But somehow David Crowley is leading in the county he leads (Milwaukee) by an also uninspiring 46/44. Crowley is up 42% to 39% overall, with 44% reporting.

The Kelsey (disability-forward housing developer) is leading the Elevator Reform Coalition. If you belong to a YIMBY/AARP/AIA/NAHB group, or are just interested, RSVP for the kick-off (9/16, 1 pm ET) here: form.jotform.com/262106622196... ...general group here: form.jotform.com/262085033647...

Truly crazy that the leading git repository hosting site, owned by a trillion dollar company, has one 9 of uptime on actions

States are loosening building codes—single stairways, fewer required breakers—to make small-lot multifamily housing cheaper to build. Pew's 12-year data shows single-stair buildings are just as safe. The payoff: smaller housing types become buildable again. stateline.org/2026/06/22/s...

It's Madison Common Council tonight. Budget season is in full swing. Historically the levy limit was the primary constraint on spending, but our higher levy limit (from ref.) and higher inflation means that we are running up to a state expenditure restraint limit, could mean losing $8M if we go over

New blog post on the CfB website from yours truly, discussing our four story single-stair proposal that will be in the 2027 IBC. Encourage anyone interested in single-stair to take a look, even if your city/state has already passed it!

I have no opinions on Carvana as a business, but if they somehow manage to destroy car dealerships, they will have done more good for this country than most institutions could ever dream of.

If you're reading this, my cat and I have boarded a one-way flight out of the United States. The Trump administration wrongfully denied my work permit renewal; after months of demanding that they follow the law, we have run out of legal recourse, and I have no choice but to leave the country. (🧵)

I don’t know what to tell you, man. I’m a medieval historian, and, in my field, if you don’t check your sources (and your sources’ sources) you are just asking to be taken for a ride by some bored 19th C. aristocratic English antiquarian with a penchant for inventing history.

What an absolute gift from @chittimarco.bsky.social Go read it now: tpa.transitcosts.com/journey/speed

I can't imagine thinking it's a good idea to give a middle management speech on using AI agents at a commencement. Those poor graduates are going to have 30 years to suffer through those. Give them a break!

Amid the drama of Shorewood Hills ousting its village president this week, there's a parallel crisis: six staffers have resigned since October, and the administrator says they're "somewhat lost at sea." isthmus.com/news/news/a-...

Shorewood Hills removes President Imes by a 4-3 vote.

👀

Madison 🤝 trains

Hiawatha West website went live 👀

Worth pointing out that a class C apartment is less nice than a new affordable unit but still a great win

i mean ngl i fuckin love beans

I don’t want NYC to become a museum. It should be a living, breathing testament to the working people of our city.

Madison Plan Commission tonight. We'll get to the "Master Hall" demolition, but first they approved amplified sound/outdoor seating request/resturant for the old Funk Factory at 1602 Gilson, a new hipster cafe. Staff backed them down to Amp sound Sat. only until 8pm. Alder Evers supports.

Kevin Luecke, the city’s Pedestrian & Bicycle Administrator, joins @fayeparks.bsky.social to outline their long-term vision for a more walkable Madison. www.wortfm.org/madison-seek...