Now it's Frugal Muse

Frugal Muse announced last week they're closing their Northgate location, confirming six months' rumors of their demise. I can't say I was surprised -- the store has been in more and more disarray over my last few trips, no doubt a result of cutting staff costs to the bone. I'm sorry to see them go, despite how active they've been in the "No TWLTL" campaign.

When asked about the closure, co-owner Andrew Gaylor had a familiar story:

Gaylor said recent improvements to Northgate, while welcome, didn’t seem to increase customer traffic, which started falling noticeably for Frugal Muse about five years ago, he noted, and accelerated in the last year or two.

“We’re not blaming anybody,” Gaylor said. “We understand the market. We’re in a troublesome business. We’re competing with Kindle and Amazon.”

Tom Dorn gave the same timeframe in May. There's no question the recession hit these stores hard, and our jobless recovery hasn't pumped much money into the neighborhood economy.

I can understand how hard it's been trying to bounce back these past five years, but when you can't beat Amazon on price or selection, service is all you have left. I fear that once the recession pushed Frugal Muse to cut staff, the writing was on the wall.

This has gotten me thinking about the broader economic challenges we face on the Northside. More on that in my next post.

Update 9/25: Maybe Amazon isn't the bogeyman it's assumed to be, at least with independent bookstores. The ones that build themselves into a destination seem to be thriving. Unfortunately for Frugal Muse, they were too far behind the trend.

Crime on Ruskin Street

Monday night's neighborhood association meeting had a full agenda and a packed house. I was glad to see so much interest in what's going on! There are a few things to talk about, but I wanted to start off with this since it hits close to home...

Over the past couple of weeks there have been some concerning incidents in our neighborhood. First, my kitty-corner neighbor observed a large sedan park in front of his house. Four young men with flashlights got out of the car and began casing Manley Street; two of them spent quite a bit of time in the backyard across the way. The observer watched them for about four hours before they left. Now, I know what you're thinking: Why didn't he call the police? Apparently, he called the North District public reception desk, which is only open during business hours. When he got the recording he hung up and waited until the next morning.

A few nights later, my next-door neighbors had their street side kitchen window screen cut. Fortunately, no one broke in, but they didn't find out until the next morning when the perpetrators were long gone. This is a nice couple with a young baby and the mother was naturally quite upset.

Since then my neighbors and I have been "on alert" and there haven't been any more incidents. Monday evening, folks from other parts of the neighborhood shared similar stories from the past year or two.

Over the long term, this is one of those issues where Madison's policy isn't keeping up with Madison's reality. Existing police districts do not reflect the situation on the ground. Residents and alders on the southwest side are demanding a new station in next year's budget. The long-discussed northeast station should move forward as well.

For now, the best thing we can do as neighbors is watch out for each other. If you observe this kind of suspicious or dangerous behavior, don't wait for morning and don't just sit and watch. Take down as many useful details as you can (descriptions, car make/model and license plate) and call the police:

• Emergency -- especially intruders into a yard or house: 911
  
• Non-emergency -- such as suspicious persons: 266-4948

North Sherman and the generation gap

It's been a week since they finished re-striping Sherman Avenue and everyone seems to have adjusted just fine. There's no gridlock, the side streets aren't full of speeding Waunakeeans, turning left onto or off Sherman is no more trouble than before. As far as I can tell, the only people truly inconvenienced are those who felt entitled to speed down Sherman at 40 miles an hour.

But that hasn't stopped former Ald. Dorothy Borchardt and the Northside Business Association from continuing to bloviate over email and talk radio. You might have noticed the "No TWLTL" buttons for sale at some store counters. They've raised money to contract for an "independent" study they're releasing next week.

It seems like this issue breaks down along generational lines, with older residents more opposed and younger residents more supportive. As one of those supportive younger residents, I'd like the folks fighting this to think a bit more about who's going to buy their homes.

It's a fact: younger Americans are driving less. We don't measure livability in lane-miles like our parents' and grandparents' generations did. We'd like the option to walk, bus, or bike around town.Making Sherman Avenue better for pedestrians and bicycles makes our neighborhood more attractive to younger homebuyers. A more attractive neighborhood has higher demand, and higher demand leads to higher house prices.

For someone well into their post-retirement years who has a lot of wealth tied up in their home, it's worth thinking about.

R&B @ Warner Park is dead, long live the Mallards!

First off, I have to recognize the Mallards and their GM Vern Stenman for their proposal to continue Fourth of July fireworks in Warner Park. It's a credit to their organization that they stepped up so soon after Wednesday's announcement of Rhythm & Booms being moved downtown. Despite reports to the contrary, the Mallards' announcement did manage to defuse much of the tension at last night's meeting.

That said, there was still a lot of anger in the room. I give Alds. Palm and Weier credit for keeping their cools and shutting down a few outbursts of outright hostility. But the crowd wasn't buying the official line that this was strictly Madison Festivals' call.

And I don't think the crowd was wrong.

Quick Rhythm & Booms Recap

It's hard to say exactly how much to chalk up to what -- cloudy weather, the move to a work day, cutting back the extras -- but measured by the Mayor's officially stated goals, last night's Rhythm & Booms was a huge success. Compared to the last few years, it was safer, less of a regional draw, and less disruptive to the neighborhood. If those were the real concerns, I think we can go ahead and pencil it in for next year.

We'll find out soon enough if that's the case, or if the folks trying to shut down Rhythm & Booms are going to yank the goalposts again. Two weeks from today -- July 18th -- at 6 p.m. at WPCRC. I'll be there.

Dorn closing is a sign...but of what?

Today's State Journal announced what most of us in the neighborhood have known all week, that Dorn Hardware is closing their Northgate store after 51 years. There have been rumors that a major tenant would be leaving ever since the North Sherman safety project was announced, but the rumors usually identified Frugal Muse rather than Dorn.

I've sort of been expecting a "we told you so" message from the Northside Business Association, but there's been nary a peep all week from anyone, not even on the Northside listserv. Of course, that hasn't stopped the idiots who comment on Madison.com from speculating that the upcoming street reconfiguration has already killed off Dorn Hardware. Has it really?

Tom Dorn, heir to the family business, doesn't seem to think so.

Election day Tuesday...woo-fricking-hoo

Updated 3/31, see below.

Guess what, Tuesday is (yet another) election day and boy am I not at all excited. As much drama as there's been this particular election season, most of the actual races are snoozers and it's been hard for me to get worked up about any of the folks on the ballot (excluding my boss...I'd rather not work for a guy who thinks I'm a rat on a sinking ship, thank-you-very-much!).

From city council to school board, circuit judge to state supreme court, there isn't a whole lot to inspire Northside voters.