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.

Rhythm & Booms grudgingly allowed to continue

After some discussion and a push to cancel the event, Rhythm & Booms is moving ahead for this summer. The city agreed to contribute $55,000 in police and other services, but will require organizers to cover costs above that amount.

To provide some context, that is 3% of the subsidy Madison taxpayers provide to the Overture Center, for an event that draws as many people in one night as Overture's free community events do over the entire year.

A better North Sherman...this summer!

Updated 2/18

Last fall, Ald. Rhodes-Conway held a community meeting to discuss residents' problems with North Sherman Avenue. The city's traffic engineering department has completed its report to recommend Sherman be reconfigured with bike lanes, pedestrian islands, and two auto traffic lanes plus a center "TWLTL" turning lane.

Rhodes-Conway is already charging ahead, having introduced the plan last week on a fast track to committee review and approval. Reading my earlier post, you'd probably think I approve, and you'd be right...mostly. It still needs a bit of work.

Rhythm & Booms...& Bust?

Rhythm & Booms is up in the air again, with financial pressures likely scaling back this year's show to fireworks only, and environmental activists pressuring the city to cancel the event altogether. Thursday before last, Alds. Weier and Rhodes-Conway held a packed meeting at Warner Park that emphasized the lack of unanimity in our neighborhood over the future of this event.

I was unable to attend the meeting, but here's what I'd have said had I been able to be there:

Ending Rhythm & Booms at Warner Park basically means canceling it for good, which would be a serious blow to the community as a whole. There is simply no other event that brings together all of Madison the way Rhythm & Booms does, and the lack of attention this aspect of the discussion has received illustrates the great divide below our Portlandesque public image.

Neighbors meet future alder, Occupiers

Tonight's Sherman Neighborhood Association meeting featured both candidates for District 12 alderperson and a delegation from Occupy Madison presenting their Fordem Avenue project. Overall, it was a successful 90 minutes (props to SNA co-chair Megan Maguire for keeping the discussion moving and on-topic!) that left attendees with a better sense of who's seeking to represent them and what's going on in our community.

Recap and early reaction after the jump...

District 12, Occupy Fordem updates

Following up on a couple of recent items...

• A second candidate emerged late in the filing period for the District 12 city council race. Leslie Peterson, owner of the Amsterdam boutique off State Street and a freelance medical interpreter, declared her candidacy on December 28 and filed her papers right under the wire. She was briefly in the news last year during the Capitol protests, when a DOA maintenance worker went after her balloon with a knife. Ms. Peterson has been invited to Monday's neighborhood association meeting (Ald. Larry Palm has already confirmed he will attend).
• I won't take credit for it, but Brenda Konkel (possibly joined by other Occupy representatives) will also be meeting with the neighborhood on Monday. Here's hoping they'll take the opportunity to engage with us, rather than try to overwhelm the meeting.

Come see all the excitement this Monday the 7th at 6:30 p.m. at Warner Park CRC!

Occupy Fordem Avenue

Update 2/2/13: News broke this week that the owners of 2132 Fordem couldn't wait for Occupy to get its financing together and sold to another buyer.

Original post:

Thursday's Isthmus broke the news that the "Occupy" group is working to buy the vacant commercial building at 2132 Fordem Avenue. Chief spokesperson/organizer/strategist Brenda Konkel was rather displeased that word got out before the deal was done. Once again this small and vocal group is the topic of conversation on the Northside.

So why would anyone have a problem with this? Can we write off voices of concern or criticism as nothing but NIMBYism? I don't think so. There are two major issues that the new Occupy Madison Inc. must address if they want the neighborhood to be a partner in this project: standards and image.

District 12 race over before it starts?

Six years ago, District 12 had probably the hottest city council race of the year, with a four-way primary spanning the ideological spectrum. Current Ald. Satya Rhodes-Conway won a close 52-48 victory, marking a turning point in the declining fortunes of Northside conservatives. With Rhodes-Conway stepping down, will voters get a repeat of that bellwether contest?

Not bloody likely.

The only declared candidate is District 15 alder Larry Palm, whose Carpenter-Ridgeway neighborhood was shifted into District 12 along with the rest of Eken Park. He's done a good job of clearing the decks and lining up endorsements, enough to scare off potential challengers on his end of the ideological spectrum. Palm's overall record is firmly within the Madison council's progressive majority, with most of his focus and attention in the Eastmorland and Atwood areas. His first lit piece transposes some fairly standard boilerplate -- Larry likes clean water and libraries! -- onto the district, but Palm's specific plans or ideas for the Northside remain a mystery.

Meanwhile, Dorothy Borchardt's old supporters seem to have given up on her former seat. I can't say I'm surprised, since Dane County conservatives have proved time and again they'd rather lose extreme than build a competitive coalition. But it's too bad that city politics have become so ideologically monotonous and focused upon which developers want to do what downtown.

There's still a week before nomination papers are due, but with so little chatter about the race before the holidays I'd be shocked to see another candidate emerge. Despite the overall uptick in interest for this spring's elections -- all three school board seats contested! five people who will never live up to Brenda Konkel's expectations for her district! -- it seems like we on Ruskin Street will have to sit the city races out.

4 questions on "Occupy Northside"

The Northside "Occupy" encampment was removed from Lake View Hill Park just before the Thanksgiving holiday, and this being Madison there is a community meeting scheduled tomorrow night to debrief. Like most Madison public meetings, it's scheduled at a lousy time for working parents so I won't be there, but if I could go here are the four questions I would ask:

1. Is there a concise statement of what the "Occupy" group wants?
2. What is it specifically about these 15-odd people that they aren't being served by existing supports -- how are they different from the hundreds of other homeless individuals served every night? Are there systematic problems causing this one small group to fall through the cracks, or is this an idiosyncratic group?
3. If there are systematic issues, how do we address them without falling into a "San Francisco trap" of spiraling costs, assumption of the entire region's homelessness problem, and loss of our public spaces?
4. Does the expectation of responsibility go both ways -- if the community as a whole is responsible for supporting those in the "Occupy" group, do they have a reciprocal responsibility to meet reasonable conditions upon that support (e.g. observance of shelter rules, participation in treatment programs, etc.)? I mean this as a general question, not a debate over whether specific conditions in specific places are reasonable -- without the premise, discussion over a particular policy or provider becomes meaningless.

Occupy Northside?

Like most Northsiders, I was surprised to hear that the long-term homeless group Occupy Madison had decamped to Asylum Hill last night. There was some question as to where they'd go after the City kicked them off the Don Miller site they'd taken over last winter, and the County's initial plan to open up a site on Wright Street ran into stiff resistance after being proposed a couple of months ago.

It's hard to know exactly what's going on with this specific group of folks, with conflicting information filtered through multiple sources. Both Mayor Soglin and County Executive Parisi have stated that housing is available for the members of the original encampment, but former Ald. Brenda Konkel - who has taken on the role of the residents' chief spokesperson - insists otherwise. No one has said for sure if this is the same core group from last year's Occupy Madison encampment, or if the sobriquet is being used to brand this new group.

Did these folks fall through the cracks, or are they the most chronic of the chronic homeless? Have they been kicked out of Porchlight or other shelters, or are they languishing on a waiting list? Is this a savvy, self-organized group looking to better themselves, or a stunt organized by Konkel and others? Given the involvement of several high-profile individuals on Madison's political scene, it's difficult to see through the agendas.

The only clear fact we have is that there isn't a simple solution. But I will say that, as long as they're occupying the hill, the residents of the tent encampment need to be good neighbors...or whatever goodwill they have on the Northside will evaporate quickly.

Our water infrastructure

In the wake of Super-Stormicane Sandy, much of the East Coast has far too much water on its hands. Yet water may be the most threatened resource for the millions of Americans affected by the storm:

The Scariest Thing About Sandy: Guarding the Water Supply

With Sandy bearing down upon us...[w]hat we all should be worrying about is plumbing. It’s not the water lashing the beaches that matters; it’s the water in your faucet and toilet.... More than email or mass transit or your favorite diner, all of urban life depends on plumbing—defined in practical terms as the effective provision of clean water for drinking and the regular removal of waste to a place nowhere near the source of clean water....

Yet most of today’s survival tips out there have only to do with keeping your food from spoiling or your ice icy.... But the problem is not one of food shortages but, alas, one of excrement. Raw sewage. Shit. In your water supply.

Flooding is the most common way a water supply can be compromised—for example, the Midwest floods of 1993 cut off my Des Moines relatives' water supply for nearly three weeks. But there is another way that the author hints at with his reference to Milwaukee's cryptosporidium outbreak of 1993: inattentiveness to our water infrastructure.

A better North Sherman Avenue?

(I wanted to put a nice picture at the top of this post, but Google couldn't find one. Apparently there's no such thing as a nice view along North Sherman Avenue. How appropriate!)

Tonight, Ald. Satya Rhodes-Conway convened a community meeting at Warner Park to share data and collect resident input on traffic and safety along Sherman. The meeting was well attended (I'd estimate the crowd at 70-80, although the crowd skewed older) and came hot on the heels of a resolution she pushed through the Common Council just last week on this issue.

Is Rhodes-Conway reopening the fight over our neighborhood's Main Street?

Be a Northside Partner in Giving

The annual Partners in Giving campaign started today for state and UW employees throughout the Northside. Last year the campaign raised almost $2.5 million for local, statewide, and national charities. If you're someone like me who prefers to direct your dollars to individual charities, there are a number of participating organizations who work right here in our neighborhood:

• Domestic Abuse Intervention Services (1115): Offers support to domestic violence survivors and their children through a 24-hour crisis line, legal advocacy, shelter, support groups, crisis response, outreach, and community education.
• Friends of Madison School & Community Recreation (1183): Values Madison School & Community Recreation as a vital community resource. Friends support public recreation to enrich the lives of individuals and the community.
• Habitat for Humanity of Dane County (1196): Builds simple, decent homes with families of limited means. Volunteers, training, cash and in-kind contributions, sweat equity, and zero-interest mortgages make the American dream a reality.
• Kennedy Heights Neighborhood Association (1153): Provides a focal point for the low-income community of Kennedy Heights through social, recreational, and educational activities for all ages at no charge to community members.
• North/Eastside Senior Coalition (1156): Provides programs, advocacy, and resources to help senior adults remain independent, active, and influential in the community.
• The River Food Pantry (1232): Provides food, hot nutritious meals, and clothing to those in need. We treat those we serve with respect and build them up through hope and encouragement.
• Vera Court Neighborhood Center (1182): Provides programming for children, families, and the entire Vera Court community. Empowers community residents and responds to community needs as they develop. Programming reflects the strengths and diversity of the Vera Court community.
• VSA Wisconsin (506): Provides arts opportunities in music, dance, visual arts, drama, and creative writing for children and adults across the disability spectrum.

(The numbers in parentheses are codes to enter on your pledge form.)

Of course there are many other charities doing great work with our Northside neighbors, but these eight stood out to me. Have more ideas? Please share them in a comment!

FEED Kitchens Coming to Northgate?

At last month's SNA meeting, Ellen Barnard of the FEED Kitchens project gave us a status update...and it turned out to be a lot more than we expected! Ever since the project was first announced, their intent was to build the facility on Pankratz Street (the frontage road between Packers Avenue and The Bridges, where the new Ale Asylum and Lakeland College buildings have been going up). However, Ms. Barnard shared that they'd been in discussions this summer with Alexander Co., owners of Northgate Center, about building in the parking lot and were close to a deal.

Why is this great news?