Park Towne : News & Notes

Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is assembling what he calls the most difficult budget in memory. Soon he'll announce details, and it will go to the City Council for debate and a vote. The mayor sat down for a question-and-answer session last week. Read what he's thinking about taxes and city services, then go online at madison.com/wsj and put together your own spending plan. WSJ: What's your line in the sand for taxes on the average home and for overall taxes the city collects?

Cleaning up local lakes and reducing effects of future flooding are major goals in Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk's budget for 2009.

And a manure digester for farmers in northwest Dane County will be a big part of her $15 million proposed investment in water quality improvement and flood prevention.

Ground might be broken by the end of the month on the new $2.8 million headquarters for the Urban League of Greater Madison in south Madison.

Designs for the 36,000-square-foot, three-story building on South Park Street at the Villager Shopping Mall won quick approval Monday from the Madison Community Development Authority. That was the final city nod needed to begin construction.

It was envisioned by city planners as a gateway to the downtown with a "landmark structure" featuring attractive facades and a dynamic streetscape. But instead, the corner of South Park Street and Wingra Drive is quietly becoming the biggest park-and-ride lot in the city of Madison.

In just 95 days, the affordable housing ordinance that was the cornerstone of Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's first term in office could be gone, but he says he doesn't regret fighting for it and won't stop now. "Inclusionary zoning," which requires developers to reserve a percentage of new housing units for lower-income buyers and originally for renters, too, has never been without controversy.

Those who regularly watch radar-tracked storms heading toward Dane County know that many attack from the southwest, often from Iowa through the Cassville area on the Mississippi River. That point has not been lost on local officials who oppose a proposed Wisconsin Power and Light power plant in Cassville that could produce 2.9 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, as well as fine particulates that are already causing health advisories in Dane County.

Meriter Hospital, which has kept a low profile in recent years while Madison's two other main hospitals have expanded, is on the move. Meriter plans to construct four buildings at its Park Street campus over the next decade and add at least two buildings at its newer campus on Madison's Southwest Side.

The final 2.5 mile section of the Starkweather Creek bicycle trail in Madison, connecting the East Rail bike path to the MATC campus, will be on the road to completion thanks to a $1.3 million federal award, part of $17 million in funding for transportation enhancement and bicycle and pedestrian facilities projects announced Tuesday from Gov. Jim Doyle's office. The Starkweather Creek path money is the biggest slice of the federal Surface Transportation Program funding pie out of 47 projects getting funds in 2008.

State officials have thrown out a strict policy requiring preference for minority firms in state building contracts after a major project was awarded to an out-of-state company at a cost of $1.3 million over the lowest bidder. In an announcement to agency staff earlier this week, state Department of Administration officials said they are returning to an earlier practice that allows them to show preference to minority contractors but doesn't force them to do so.

Credit unions are thriving in south-central Wisconsin despite the struggling national economy. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has taken over about a dozen failed banks this year while one credit union has failed, but none were in Wisconsin.

Rockwell Automation will cut 600 jobs worldwide, or 3 percent of its global work force, a move the Milwaukee company expects will save $75 million in fiscal 2009. The provider of industrial automation equipment said Tuesday the cuts will affect sales and administrative jobs. Chief executive Keith D. Nosbusch said fourth-quarter revenue is in line with expectations, but the restructuring was prompted in part by anticipated market conditions. As a result of the restructuring, the company will incur a pretax charge of about $50 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE: The Conference Board said Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index is now at 59.8. That's up slightly from a revised 58.5 in August and higher than analysts expected. But it's still about half what it was a year ago and near the lowest since the index registered 54.6 in October 1992 when the economy was coming out of a recession. The index, based on a sample of 5,000 U.S. households, measures how much faith people have in the job market and in the economy now and over the next six months. The responses don't reflect Monday's stock market plunge. HOUSING INDEX: A closely watched index showed home prices in 20 cities from Boston to Phoenix to Miami fell by the sharpest annual rate ever in July. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city housing index also showed the rate of monthly declines is slowing, but analysts said that wasn't evidence that real estate prices were bottoming out.

The state of Wisconsin is awarding $7.3 million in grants and loans to 24 energy companies. The money is coming from the Wisconsin Energy Independence Fund, which is part of Gov. Jim Doyle's Clean Energy Wisconsin initiative.

Agribusiness innovation in Wisconsin got a boost Monday with $380,000 in state grants awarded for 17 different projects, ranging from walleye raising to the production of curly leaf spinach. Gov. Jim Doyle announced the Agriculture Development and Diversity grant winners Monday. The governor is in Germany at a climate change conference.

Wisconsin will get $39 million in federal money to help stabilize neighborhoods hit hard by home foreclosures and to stem the decline of house values of neighboring homes, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Tuesday. The program is part of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program within the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Two hearings in Portage on Tuesday over a proposed Alliant Energy coal-fired electric power plant brought forth vastly divergent perspectives on the issue. In the first hearing, most of those who testified said the plant, if built at Cassville, would bring in much-needed economic development to southwestern Wisconsin and would take the lead in renewable energy by generating up to 20 percent of its power from biomass, such as wood, corn stalks and switchgrass.

Xcel Energy announced Tuesday that it will submit an application to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission to install technology at the Bay Front Power Plant in Ashland to allow it to generate electricity from biofuel in all three operating units. When the $55 million to $70 million project is complete, the plant will be the largest biomass-fueled power plant in the Midwest and one of the largest in the nation, officials of the Minneapolis-based company said.

In a vote that shook the government, Wall Street and markets around the world, the House on Monday defeated a $700 billion emergency rescue for the nation's financial system, leaving both parties and the Bush administration struggling to pick up the pieces. The Dow Jones industrials plunged nearly 800 points, the most points ever for a single day. "We need to put something back together that works," a grim-faced Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said after he and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke joined in an emergency strategy session at the White House. On Capitol Hill, Democratic leaders said the House would reconvene Thursday in hopes of a quick vote on a reworked version.

The Herberger's store in Beaver Dam will move into the former Wal-Mart store next to Beaver Dam's Heritage Village Mall and it will become a new Boston Store. The parent company, Bon-Ton Stores, has signed a lease with 1645 N. Spring St., a Beaver Dam investment group, to take over the 71,500-square-foot space in February. It will open as a Boston Store next fall.

Federal foreclosure aid disappoints mayor. Milwaukee will receive $9.1 million in federal money to deal with the foreclosure crisis, less than the $15 million to $20 million it had expected. But it could receive more money from $38.7 million allocated to the state for foreclosures, officials...

WEDC officials turn tables on mayor, city. They ask: What’s your plan for development?. The lack of a clear economic development plan might lead to the elimination of public funding for Wauwatosa Economic Development Corporation..

Mayor calls for layoffs in proposed budget. Four people would lose jobs, two vacancies to go unfilled. A slumping economy has the Franklin Common Council dealing with a 2009 budget picture as grim as a goblin’s grin...

City panels divided on residential parking plan. Should commercial vehicles park in residential areas?. West Allis officials have spent years trying to improve neighborhoods, and relaxing restrictions for commercial vehicles in residential areas would be a step backward...

Group aims to help start-ups. 50 new firms in two years is target for BizStarts Milwaukee. A new organization that aims to start 50 new companies by the end of 2010 opened for business Tuesday...

Panel OKs condo tower. Project proposed for Goll mansion site. Plans for a condominium tower, proposed for a site directly behind a historic mansion on Milwaukee’s east side, are moving forward after winning approval Tuesday from the Common Council’s Zoning, Neighborhoods...

Condo developer sued over leaks. Water Street Lofts defective, suit says. A Chicago developer who’s built condominiums in Milwaukee is being sued for the second time in seven years on claims of building problems...

Layoffs planned at local Spancrete. Spancrete has announced temporary layoffs that could affect as many as 105 manufacturing employees at its Waukesha facility, 1600 E. Main St..

Downtown Delafield apartments proposed - Planners say zoning issues must be resolved. A proposal to build a 72-unit apartment complex next to City Hall is not being warmly received by some city officials, even though one of the developers of the project contends it could be a boon for the downtown business district.. A proposal to build...

Crisis snags Main Street. Some area banks hesitant to lend, some consumers nervous to borrow in climate. A corporate executive was about to buy a new $700,000 house in Waukesha County last week, but then had second thoughts...

Project development. Irgens Development Partners recently obtained a loan to develop a Milwaukee-area office building, but turmoil in the nation’s credit markets made the process more complicated and expensive, President Mark Irgens said...

Credit crisis: Making sense of the turmoil. This is different: Confidence fails. For most of my professional life, I’ve felt that one of the most underappreciated “laws” of economics was J.B. Say’s maxim that supply creates its own demand. It seems that in projecting where the economy will go...

Credit crisis: The challenges are clear, but how will we respond?. To Warren Buffett, the near collapse of the American credit system seemed like Pearl Harbor. But unlike that day in 1941, this was an attack that the average American couldn’t see, he declared one day last week on CNBC...

Senate approves $634 billion spending bill. Automaker loans in, ban on drilling out. Automakers gained $25 billion in taxpayer-subsidized loans and oil companies won elimination of a long-standing ban on drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as the Senate passed a sprawling spending bill...

Fullhouse anchors new project. Marketing firm to move into South Water Works. The redevelopment of some former industrial buildings in the Walker’s Point neighborhood is getting a boost by landing a major office tenant...

Zilber names organizations to spearhead neighborhood projects. It was a block party celebration with young cheerleaders and a drum corps playing Friday as philanthropist Joseph Zilber handed out the first $5 million in grants to five nonprofit organizations, part of his $50 million initiative to improve poor neighborhoods...

MU faces lawsuit by real estate group. A real estate investors group is suing Marquette University, claiming it interfered with the group’s attempt to sell a commercial building adjacent to university property...

Automakers Bailout: A Big Three mistake. What’s another $25 billion among friends? Compared with $700 billion, it’s chump change, right?...

Auto sales fall 27% on credit squeeze. Industry records worst drop since ’91 as consumers can’t get loans. Consumers couldn’t get loans and remained skittish about buying new cars and trucks in September, as the credit crunch tightened even as energy prices continued to ease...

Fullhouse Media Inc. plans to move its headquarters from Milwaukee’s Historic Third Ward four blocks southwest to 24,000 square feet of office space in a former Transpak Corp. building.

UWM chooses Mandel Group to build dorm along Milwaukee River. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Real Estate Foundation has selected Mandel Group, Inc., to build a 700-student dorm at the old Hometown gas station site on the Milwaukee River corridor off North Ave...

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Real Estate Foundation announced that it has selected a site at the northwest corner of East North Avenue and North Cambridge Avenue, proposed by Milwaukee-based Mandel Group Inc., for a new 700-student dormitory.

Modine Manufacturing Co. announced today its restructuring will continue with the elimination of 15 percent of its managerial workforce at its Racine headquarters.

The Zoning, Neighborhoods and Development Committee voted to recommend approval of re-zoning request for the 26-story condo tower that Milwaukee-based New Land Enterprises LLP plans to build behind the historic Goll Mansion

A group of real estate investors has a contract to purchase a five-story building in the Third Ward and eventually plans to build a 14-story building next door.

Credit unions are thriving in Wisconsin, despite the struggling national economy. While some Wisconsin banks have struggled with quarterly losses,the state's credit unions showed overall increases in assets and net income during the first half of 2008. Read more in SBT's daily roundup of headlines from newspapers across the state.

Madison residents could soon find a its own version of a small-town Main Street on the city's far east side with an announcement today from the Marcus Theatres Corporation about an entertainment complex planned near Highway 151 and Nelson Road. The announcement firmed up details regarding the complex, which will feature a new 16-screen movie theatre to replace the outgoing Eastgate Cinema, in-theatre dining, a bowling alley and a sports bar.

Wisconsin 's unemployment rate for August was 4.7 percent, easily better than the national rate of 6.1 percent, the state Department of Workforce Development reported. The state rate was unchanged from August 2007 and down 0.1 percentage points from July. The national rate was up 0.1 percentage points and up 1.5 percentage points from August 2007.

Three years ago, Curt Brink stirred Madison's imagination with the tallest, biggest and most expensive development project in city history.

But Brink never submitted a formal plan for his proposed $250 million, 570-foot-tall, mixed-use Archipelago Village.

The idea for a public market in Madison may be shelved for at least a year after the city's financial committee voted narrowly Monday night not to give the project funding in the 2009 capital budget. Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, who broke a 3-3 tie among Board of Estimates members against adding $250,000 in funding, said he still supported the project, which would bring more than 40 permanent vendors as well as day tables selling everything from produce to cheese to arts and crafts in a daily indoor market. But with big-ticket items such as the Central Library, Central Park, Allied Drive and the Villager Mall redevelopments in this year's budget as well as in future years, Cieslewicz said he was afraid of the city "spreading itself too thin."

Wisconsin Power and Light Co., the state utility unit of Alliant Energy, is hosting an interactive, one-day workshop "Economic Gardening: Growing Your Own Jobs and Wealth" on Wednesday at the Alliant Energy Center Exhibition Hall in Madison. The session, which also will be held in Belmont on Tuesday, is designed for elected officials, economic development professionals and boards and community/business leaders in Midwest communities.

The federal government has given the Wisconsin Department of Commerce an $800,000 grant to help counties recover from this past spring's floods. The money comes from the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development. State officials say they'll use it to hire recovery coordinators to help affected businesses and communities restore operations.

It's just piles of rubble now, but hopes are high that the long-planned redevelopment of a block of worn-out apartments on Allied Drive will jump-start a transformation of what has been Madison's most notorious neighborhood. That project - complex, expensive and crucial - is in the hands of the city's Community Development Authority, a quasi-governmental agency that for years has operated under the radar - too free of scrutiny, say some city officials - without a written budget or single development staff member of its own.

Two groups hoping to stem what they see as a Badger state "brain drain" are encouraged by the results of a recent survey showing nearly 60 percent of UW-Madison graduates now living in five out-of-state metropolitan areas would consider moving back to Wisconsin. The survey is part of a broader effort by the Wisconsin Alumni Association and Competitive Wisconsin Inc., a private group that promotes economic development, to increase incomes and match UW-Madison graduates with employers.

Bad loans on a handful of high profile projects have caused Wisconsin banks to toughen credit standards for developers. The banks haven't stopped making commercial loans, but they're demanding higher interest rates, more sales or leases prior to construction and lower loan-to-value ratios, which requires more investment capital.

Here's what James Thomson, the UW-Madison researcher who ushered in the era of stem cells, igniting a fierce ethical debate and encouraging the hopes of millions of patients, wants you to know about him: nothing. "I want my work to be known and widely understood, but I'd prefer to be invisible if I could be," said Thomson, 49.

Contracts for future construction in the Madison metro area were well down in August compared to a year ago, indicating no looming pick-up in the sluggish construction industry, McGraw-Hill Construction reported. New contracts totaled $66.3 million August, down 23 percent from $86.1 million a year ago.

Wisconsin Public Power Inc. is seeking proposals for grants to help fund the construction of up to three net zero energy homes within WPPI member utility service areas through its GreenMax Home program. The Sun Prairie-based utility co-op's GreenMax program will help customers build highly efficient, environmentally friendly homes.

City officials are saying the liquidation of the Overture Center trust fund will not cost taxpayers more money anytime soon, but they are already talking about how to ramp up fundraising and expand the range of uses for the arts center to make up for the money the trust fund was supposed to provide. We have known for months that there may be a scenario that we would not have to depend on the trust fund eventually, and we're prepared to plan for that. And that happened sooner than we thought, but it has happened," said Overture Center President Tom Carto. "Like I said, it's not a big surprise, especially with the financial crisis that we've seen over the past couple of weeks."

The Overture Center trust find created to pay operating and capital expenses will be dissolved in coming days in the face of the national financial crisis, an Overture statement said Friday night. The statement said the fund's principal had dropped below $97 million, the minimum required to sustain the fund's payment of construction debt. From Friday's statement: "The trust fund supporting Overture Center for the Arts has succumbed to financial market turmoil and will liquidate its assets over the next few days. Recently, the fund's principal dropped below 97 million dollars, the minimum level required to sustain the fund's payment of Overture's construction debt. A consortium of banks, led by Chase Bank, made the decision on Friday to convert the trust fund's investments to cash, and use the proceeds to pay off a substantial part of the outstanding debt.

Scroll to the bottom of the page for a timeline detailing the Overture Center's trust fund.

City officials are saying the liquidation of the Overture Center trust fund will not have an impact on the Center or Madison's taxpayers anytime soon, but that doesn't mean they're going to wait on finding ways to protect them in the future.

Construction of a $1.5 million addition that will hold an iron and manganese filter for Well 29 on Madison's East Side will begin next week, according to the Madison Water Utility. The well has experienced problems with groundwater minerals since its startup in 2005. The concentration of these minerals can discolor the water and stain laundry or plumbing fixtures, but it is not considered a health concern.

Madison taxpayers may yet have to bail out the Overture Center before it refinances its debt in 2012, city officials warned Monday. Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said he hopes the city can avoid paying as much as $1.9 million pledged to cover interest payments on $27 million in outstanding loans if other sources of revenue don't materialize.

First Weber Group Realtors came together more than a dozen years ago over coffee with Jim Imhoff, then head of First Realty, which began in 1971, and Bob Weber, then president of Weber Realty, which began in 1972. "We did the napkin thing and asked why we were beating each other up when philosophically we ran about the same," Weber said.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke bluntly warned reluctant lawmakers Tuesday they risk a recession with higher unemployment and increased home foreclosures unless they act on the Bush administration's $700 billion plan to bail out the financial industry. Despite the warning, influential lawmakers in both parties demanded changes in the White House-backed proposal, and conservative Republicans recoiled at the prospect of federal intervention into private capital markets

"Like an out-of-control forest fire" - that's how Scott Anderson, senior economist with Wells Fargo Economics in Minneapolis describes the nation's financial crisis that mushroomed this week. Anderson said while he has qualms about the federal government "running our financial system," the Federal Reserve Bank and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson were right to step in.

City housing authority receives 100-unit grant. The City of Milwaukee’s housing authority will receive $6.7 million in federal Hope VI money to build 100 new housing units...

County Board rejects health complex move. But Walker vows to fight on for St. Michael plan. The Milwaukee County Board Thursday voted to reject County Executive Scott Walker’s plan to move the Mental Health Complex to a remodeled St. Michael Hospital...

Unemployment on rise in metro Milwaukee. Companies back off hiring, survey finds. The Milwaukee area continued losing jobs last month while the unemployment rate rose to its highest mark for August in four years, the state Department of Workforce Development reported Wednesday... .

Governments, farm methods key to dairy farming future. Economics and land-use planning will play a big role in how Wisconsin dairy farms fare in the future in urban fringe areas such as New Berlin and Muskego, Alan Turnquist, outreach specialist for the Program on Agricultural Technology Studies said... .

Support for preserving local woods growing. Group awaits results of grant applications. More grants are being sought to protect Seminary Woods, a 60-acre nature and wildlife preserve that some worry is in danger of being sold for development

Apartment living beats out retail. Plans for a 22-unit apartment complex in the same building as 15,000 square feet of retail shops in the Brookfield Junction project have been scrapped in favor of an all-residential building..

Panel OKs rezoning of Percheron Square development. A large-scale development proposed for the 66-acre former Ruby Farms parcel along Calhoun Road took another step forward this week...

CVS Pharmacy architecture accepted by panel. At a special meeting Sept. 18, the Franklin Plan Commission unanimously approved an extensively revised site plan for a proposed CVS Pharmacy in the Fountains of Franklin development...

Farmland would be preserved to increase density of project. The Mequon Planning Commission approved a conceptual plan for a single-family home and condominium development for Wauwatosa Road at its Sept. 22 meeting...

Settlers Square office building plan stuck in zoning muck. Two-story building would be too large for Cedarburg Road. A conceptual plan for a 10,000-square-foot office building at Settlers Square fell into a zoning limbo at the Mequon Planning Commission’s Sept. 22 meeting...

Barrett suggests replacing library. Villard site would also have housing. The Villard Avenue Library could be replaced by a new building that combines affordable housing with computer-oriented learning facilities, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said Wednesday...

Virent nabs sweet success. ‘Green’ sugar fuel can be made competitively. A Madison-based biofuels start-up company has reached another milestone in its quest to produce gasoline from the sugars found in plants such as switchgrass and trees, a company founder said Tuesday... .

Stark Investments postpones new buildings in St. Francis. Hedge fund operator Stark Investments has postponed plans to expand its St. Francis corporate campus by developing new office buildings overlooking Lake Michigan, a company spokeswoman said Monday...

Career program beckons UW grads. Competitive Wisconsin Inc. and the University of Wisconsin Alumni Association are teaming up to lure talented Badger alumni back to the state...

Biotech cluster should create more start-ups. Jim Leonhart has a great job. As head of the Wisconsin Biotechnology Medical Device Association, Leonhart serves as head cheerleader for what may be the fastest growing cluster in the state. One knock on that emerging Wisconsin cluster has been that...

WHEDA proposes rules to help troubled homeowners. As the U.S. Department of Housing and Economic Development (HUD) begins to draft the rules for the new Neighborhood Stabilization funding provided in the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA), the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development...

Madison hosts World Stem Cell Summit starting today. Rapidly evolving industry is creating public forum. With their field riding a wave of discovery and change, researchers, financie and policy-makers from around the world will arrive today for the 2008 World Stem Cell Summit in Madison, the city where...

Reflecting the major slowdown in the commercial construction industry, The Spancrete Group Inc. has informed the state that it could lay off 231 employees in Wisconsin by the end of the year. Spancrete Industries, the Waukesha-based supplier of pre-cast and pre-stressed concrete products, plans to lay off the majority of its workforce in Waukesha and Valders, west of Manitowoc. Spancrete laid off 28 employees in Waukesha on Sept. 16, and the company could lay off a total of 105 there by Dec. 12, said Gary Noel, director of employee relations with the company. Before the layoffs, Spancrete had 166 employees in Waukesha.

The Pleasant Prairie Village Board recently approved a $25.3 million increase in its tax incremental financing (TIF) district #2, brining the revised total TIF investment in the district to $79.2 million. Of the $25.3 million in additional TIF funding, $11.2 million will be used for site-related improvements for the new Uline Inc. headquarters that will be built southwest of I-94 and County Highway Q, $8.5 million will be used for roadway and utilities related improvements, $3.1 million will be used for land acquisition and $2.5 million will be used for additional costs.

The Freedom, the nation's first littoral combat ship, built in Marinette by Lockheed Martin with assistance from Marinette Marine, a subsidiary of The Manitowoc Company Inc., was delivered late last week to the U.S. Navy. The 378-foot Freedom, capable of speeds up to 40 knots, will be deployed on missions including mine, anti-submarine and surface warfare. The ship is also suitable for humanitarian and disaster relief or maritime interdiction.

Construction on the Freedom started in February 2005, and it was christened and launched in September 2006. The ship completed its sea trials in Lake Michigan last month. The Freedom will be commissioned in Milwaukee on Nov. 8 and will eventually be taken to its home port in San Diego, Calif.

The Dane County Board is expected to vote Thursday on a measure that would create a registry for same-sex or other nonmarried domestic partners and require companies that contract with the county to make benefits available for their employees' domestic partners. The measure, introduced in July, has generated relatively little opposition, said Sup. Chuck Erickson, a main sponsor, and he remains "cautiously optimistic" that it will pass.

City administrator Mike Davis says Electronic Theatre Controls has had "a very good effect on Middleton, both with employment and (with) contributions to our library and charitable events." Middleton provided a $2.6 million incentive package to the company in 2002 to build its headquarters and the Middleton Area Development Corp. came through with a $1 million loan.

Plans from the Wilde Automotive Group of Waukesha for a new Honda dealership on Madison's far east side have hit a few snags. The Madison Plan Commission on Monday night delayed action until at least November on the proposed $10 million, 45,000-square foot facility at the intersection of High Crossing Boulevard and Nelson Road.

Residents of Madison's east side stood up to the nation's largest retail pharmacy, letting CVS know that they have no interest in seeing a 15,000-square-foot store open at the corner of East Washington Avenue and Milwaukee Street, a mere block from a Walgreens store. The Rhode Island-based pharmacy chain, with 6,700 stores nationwide, plans to open seven or eight locations in Madison and is about to open a Middleton store.

Millions of gallons of treated wastewater, now disposed of in Badfish Creek and flowing eventually to the Mississippi River, could be returned instead to the Yahara lakes watershed under plans being discussed that would guide the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District for the next 50 years. The idea is among a number of important issues being considered as district officials put together a master plan that could have broad implications for the region on everything from development and growth to water quantity and quality.

Urban Land Interests has cleared a major hurdle in its bid to update the iconic US Bank Plaza building on Capitol Square. The city's Plan Commission on Monday decided that the proposed changes can be approved administratively, meaning staff can give the final go ahead.

Eight Madison-area companies are among the recipients of $7.3 million in state grants and loans for clean-energy projects, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Tuesday. The money will come from the Wisconsin Energy Independence Fund, which is part of Doyle's Clean Energy Wisconsin program.

Steve Varese was working on the railroad when he opened his liquor store in a relatively rural area of the town of Madison. The construction of the nearby Hilldale Shopping Center was five years away and the Cuba Club was nine years into what would become a 40-year run as a supper club on University Avenue.

Late Monday morning, I watched them tear down a great Madison landmark. "It's tragic," Carol Kolb said, when I reached her in New York City. Kolb had already received the sad news via a text message from a friend.

After a pair of daylight burglaries recently, the Dane County Sheriff's Office reminds residents that "back to school" can also mean "back to work" for burglars.

Josh Wendt didn't plan to be a stay-at-home dad. Yet he's been home in Madison with his 14-month-old daughter Josie for 10 months. His wife had switched jobs to cut gas costs, but the payoff for continuing his landscaping work wasn't sufficient. "My wife was making more money than me and it didn't make sense," Wendt said. "It was difficult, but the difference between day care costs and me working was a few hundred dollars a month."

1. Baldwin Street : Street open to local traffic only as construction continues until Oct. 10 between Williamson and Wilson streets. The project includes new sanitary and storm sewers, water main, curb and gutter, and asphalt pavement.

2. Old Sauk Road : Road open to local traffic only as construction continues until Oct. 24 from Prairie Smoke Drive to Cricket Lane. Access to properties will be maintained. The project includes installing new storm sewers and medians and widening the road.

Motorists hoping to get on the northbound Interstate 39/90/94 from Wisconsin 19 east of Waunakee will need to use a different on-ramp because of construction. The on-ramp shut down Wednesday and will be closed through Sept. 27, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

Congested ramps on the Beltline could get some needed relief thanks to road construction projects that have already started or are just ramping up this week. The road work could cause some traffic delays, and two ramps on the far west side will be shut down for several nights as more exit turn lanes are added and auxiliary lanes are extended, so there's less chance for traffic backing up into driving lanes during peak traffic hours.

Beware of lane closures this week on Interstate-94 in Dane and Jefferson counties. Resurfacing work will be conducted on I-94 between state highways 73 and 89.

UW-Madison officials held a press conference Monday to unveil exterior architecture renderings for the new, $82 million South Campus Union. The new building is scheduled to open in the spring of 2011, in time for the National Science Olympiad being hosted by UW-Madison in May of that year.

An addition to the Chazen Museum of Art on the UW-Madison campus will cost about $15 million more than initially projected. The museum expansion, which is now expected to cost $47.1 million, is scheduled to go before the state Building Commission for approval today.

Two anonymous donors have given $20 million to UW-Madison's School of Music to build two performing venues in a prominent campus location, next to the Chazen Museum of Art and three blocks north of the Kohl Center, by early 2013. The financial gift will shift up to 300 concerts each year by faculty and students from the hard-to-find Mills Hall and Morphy Hall - both built in 1969 and tucked in the Mosse Humanities Building - to the new building at the northwest corner of University Avenue and Lake Street.

Q. Whatever happened to the Hy-Vee grocery store that was proposed in the old Kmart on East Washington Avenue? Last fall, it appeared with great fanfare in the Wisconsin State Journal, and then nothing was ever mentioned again.

A. "It is on track," said Peter Hosch, assistant vice president for real estate for Hy-Vee, based in West Des Moines, Iowa.

The sky isn't falling. Stocks initially plunged Monday morning as investors reacted to a stunning reshaping of the landscape of Wall Street that took out two storied names: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co.

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's plan to disperse Madison's pockets of poverty around the county is moving forward this week, though legal issues could limit the mayor's proposal to merge city and county public housing operations. Cieslewicz in April floated the idea to create a regional housing authority by joining the Dane County Housing Authority and Madison's Housing Operations division, which is overseen by the Community Development Authority.

Like blue smoke from a blown engine, controversy seems to follow Goben Cars. Three years ago, the used car dealer had to battle neighbors on the city's east side before getting approval to locate a lot at the corner of Pflaum and Stoughton roads.

Eight Madison area firms will receive a total of $2.5 million in loans or grants from the Wisconsin Energy Independence Fund for research, development, commercialization or adoption of new energy technologies. "From manufacturing wind turbines and solar panels to retrofitting fuel pumps and exploring the latest clean technologies, our future lies in seizing green opportunities that will create good jobs for our citizens and add billions of dollars to our economy," said Gov. Jim Doyle.

Job seekers and job providers have a better way to get connected today thanks to JobCenterOfWisconsin.com. The new Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Web site launched Monday, replacing the old JobNet system.

Sen. John McCain is sharply increasing his number of campaign aides and offices in Wisconsin, where he has worked his way back into a tight presidential race with Sen. Barack Obama. Through a barrage of television ads, campaign events and the selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate, McCain has pulled closer in a state some Democrats hoped would be an Obama stronghold this cycle.

Monday's startling financial news may have shaken up the markets, but probably won't have any effect on the average consumer, local experts say. Consumers already are dealing with plenty of their own problems, said Chris Berberet, managing director of Madison Investment Advisors.

When my children come home from school, typically they put their books down and go pour a glass of fresh water out of the kitchen faucet. Increasingly, and internationally, all aspects of that image are in contention -- the glass, the availability and even cleanliness of tap water as compared to bottled water. In America, the issue prompted a congressional hearing last week. Opponents of water bottling argued that the $11 billion that Americans now spend on bottled water can work an unnecessary financial hardship on families when tap water in most communities is already clean. In the process, we pile up 2.7 million tons of plastic bottles, produced with petroleum and resulting in more landfill disposal issues. Other opponents argue that bottling water draws down groundwater resources and harms the environment in the locality where it is bottled.

Wisconsin Sen. Russ Feingold is helping Washington relearn an important skill: how to combine addition with subtraction. Let's hope presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama are paying attention.

General Motors Corp. chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner unveiled the automaker's long-awaited electric car Tuesday and said the turmoil in U.S. financial markets should not affect government loan guarantees that would help the auto industry develop high-tech vehicles. Speaking to reporters at GM's 100th anniversary celebration, Wagoner said the $25 billion in loans were approved last year as part of an energy bill and should now be funded to help the industry build next-generation automobiles and meet government fuel economy standards.

Highsmith, a distributor of school and library supplies headquartered in Fort Atkinson, is closing its facility and will move operations to the Lab Safety Supply facility in Janesville after Lab Safety Supply bought the 52-year-old firm in July. A Sept. 5 Capital Times story reported the Highsmith company in Fort Atkinson was closing, putting 86 employees out of work. Company officials said Highsmith is not closing Nov. 1 but is relocating, and a majority of the 200 employees at the Fort Atkinson facility are being offered positions in the Janesville facility.

A grassroots progressive gathering in Illinois inspired by Fighting Bob Fest in Wisconsin will take place this month in Palatine. The event, called A Better Day 2008, is scheduled for Sept. 20 and will feature speakers, activists and community organizers. The public is invited to learn about and discuss issues, make connections and become involved in social benefit groups.

Often, both economic growth and economic development are measured in terms of new jobs and income. However, economic development is much more than just jobs and income. Economic development can be defined as the process of adding, retaining, and enhancing jobs, income and wealth in a way that improves individual economic opportunities and the quality of human life.

American Superconductor Corp., which has its booming wind power business based in Middleton, on Tuesday announced the launch of its PowerModule PM3000W power converter, which was developed specifically for wind power applications.

A Janesville company that recently purchased Highsmith Co. of Fort Atkinson has informed state officials that 86 Highsmith employees will be laid off.

Lab Safety Supply filed a notice with the Department of Workforce Development that the workers will be permanently laid off Nov. 1.

While this year's city budget for major projects is fairly lean, city budget officials warned of the cost of the city's debt increasing in the first of two capital budget meetings Monday night.

City Comptroller Dean Brasser explained to members of the City Council the potential for the city's debt service to increase significantly in future years as the city pays back record borrowing of more than $92 million from the 2008 budget as well as continues to borrow for major projects in future years, such as the $28 million currently slated for a new downtown library in 2010. While the capital budget incorporates spending for projects and items that will last at least 10 years and often require borrowing, paying back borrowing has a significant impact on the operating budget -- about 12.5 percent -- each year, he said.

Groundbreaking is tentatively scheduled Oct. 1 for SAFC's building at 1101 Kettle Moraine Trail in the Verona Technology Park.

The $30 million project will include a 45,000-square-foot manufacturing building that will be capable of high-capacity production, said Dennis Young, SAFC director of operations. It will supplement the company's 63,000-square-foot building at 645 Science Drive, which will continue to make active pharmaceutical ingredients used in drugs and drug-candidate compounds.

With construction at Hilldale on indefinite hold, attention is now turning to the empty landscape at Union Corners.

That stalled project could be moving forward with a proposal from CVS Pharmacy to put its first Madison store at Milwaukee Street and East Washington Avenue.

Stung by a series of problem loans - including $48 million in a bankrupt downtown Milwaukee condo project - AnchorBank has seen its stock price plummet and its balance sheet deteriorate.

The first part of a retail and housing development on the West Side is nearing completion. A grand opening for the 45 condominium units in Phase 1 of Sequoya Commons, 555 S. Midvale Blvd., will be held from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Eight of the units have been sold and another sale is pending, said Don Knutson, who is part of a marketing team for First Weber Group Realtors.

Existing home sales in Dane County were down nearly 16 percent in July, according to a report by the South Central Wisconsin MLS. The county's 688 sales during the month were down from 818 a year ago. The median sale price of $220,000 was down 1 percent from last year.

Historian, radio talk-show host, labor mediator, volunteer city official - Stu Levitan wears a closetful of hats. A former Dane County Board supervisor, Levitan, 54, has taken strong stands on some hotly contested issues. Q: As chairman, you were on the losing end of a 5-1 Community Development Authority vote to allow Porchlight Inc. to build 38 apartments for the homeless on the East Side rather than on a federally owned parcel on South Park Street designated for that use. Why did you support the Park Street site?

From a distance, Monona Terrace and the Madison skyline float like tantalizing eye candy above the water.

But up close, the lakefront is less sweet, the setting soured by the back sides of buildings and parking garages and surface lots and weeds.

Conservatory volunteers\ Olbrich Botanical Gardens, 3330 Atwood Ave., is recruiting volunteers who are interested in answering questions, informing visitors about the Bolz Conservatory animals and the blooming and fruiting plants, and helping increase awareness about tropical forest issues and respect for the environment. An initial orientation will be held Monday 6-8:30 p.m. Registration is required. Ongoing in-service training is provided throughout the year. Volunteers must be able to schedule two three-hour shifts each month on weekends. Shifts are 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and 1-4 p.m. A minimum six-month commitment is expected. Contact Marty Petillo, volunteer services manager, 246-5807.

The way to restore a sense of balance to a person who's wobbly or to help a blind person to see may be right on their tongues.

At least, that's the vision of the BrainPort devices being developed by Wicab, 8476 Greenway Blvd., Middleton.

The latest in healthy, soy-based foods could someday sprout from a lab here in Madison.

Japanese dignitaries came to University Research Park on Tuesday to dedicate the Kikkoman USA Research and Development Laboratory, to be created at the MGE Innovation Center, 505 S. Rosa Road.

1. Baldwin Street : Street open to local traffic only as construction continues until Oct. 10 between Williamson and Wilson streets. The project includes new sanitary and storm sewer, water main, curb and gutter and asphalt pavement.

After the Madison Area Builders Association selects a house for a free green makeover and determines what work is needed, MABA members and others interested in philanthropy, environmental protection and energy conservation are recruited to donate services, products or funds.

Donors to this year's Green Build Home Makeover include: Advanced Health & Safety, LLC American TV & Appliance/Kennedy-Hahn AnneMarie Design, LLC Aprilaire Braatz Heating & Air Conditioning Budget Blinds of Madison Building Services & Consultants Capital Custom Curb, LLC Chase Lumber Co.

Home building in Dane County in August remained at the lowest level since MTD Marketing began keeping records in 1999.

Just 68 permits were issued for new homes and duplexes in Dane County in August, well below the 124 and 111 in August the last two years, as well as the range of 162 to 219 for August from 1999 to 2005.

This year's blizzards and floods have caused Dane County to delay $690,000 in highway projects until next year, county officials said.

"This is not routine," Dane County Public Works Director Jerry Mandli said. "We hope these types of severe events will not be the norm."

History's most ambitious science experiment was scheduled to begin today on the Swiss-French border in Europe in a giant underground particle smasher called the Large Hadron Collider. As is true of many scientists, Terry Millar, UW-Madison's associate dean for physical sciences, can hardly contain himself when he starts talking about the groundbreaking nature of the knowledge that could come from the 17-mile, $8 billion loop of steel and magnets and seven-story particle detectors.

As you probably imagine, Travis Beckum is itching to get back in the lineup for the University of Wisconsin football team.

"I'm so excited," Beckum, who has missed the first two games of his senior season with a hamstring injury, said of the prospect of playing Saturday when the No. 10 Badgers (2-0) play at No. 21 Fresno State (1-0).

Midwest Airlines, the Milwaukee-based regional carrier that slashed almost 1,200 jobs from its workforce in July, will lay off another 186 employees in November at its hub base at General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee.

The notice of the layoff was announced Tuesday by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

The term "useless" is probably a bit too generous a description for the Wisconsin Department of Commerce.

To suggest that the department that is responsible for encouraging the creation and retention of quality jobs in Wisconsin is merely WITHOUT VALUE might create the false impression that it does no great damage.

Two land conservancy groups honored U.S. Rep. Ron Kind on Wednesday for his support of tax breaks for people who donate conservation easements on their land.

The Mississippi Valley Conservancy and Gathering Waters Conservancy presented Kind with the award at a ceremony on behalf of the Land Trust Alliance. Land owners who enter conservation easements retain ownership of their land but guarantee it never will be developed. A law that offered tax deductions for the value of that foregone development expired in 2007, but Congress recently reauthorized it. The Land Trust Alliance, a support organization for local groups that administer conservation easements, recognized Kind for his support of that bill.

Workers are scheduled Monday to start rebuilding Highway A, which was washed out when Lake Delton drained in June, and hope to reopen the road by December, state officials say.

Gov. Jim Doyle signed a $3.63 million contract Friday to begin construction on the road, which acts as an embankment for Lake Delton. Plans include filling the breach caused by the flooding, rebuilding roads and restoring the dam embankment, according to the state Department of Transportation.

The hiring trend by U.S. employers continues to decline, according to the latest employment outlook survey from Manpower Inc.

Of 14,000 employers surveyed, 22 percent expected to increase staff levels during the fourth quarter of 2008 while 13 percent expected to reduce their payrolls, while 59 percent expected no change and six percent were undecided.

Marquette University has started a center to research real estate trends and provide education for Wisconsin businesses.

Marquette has focused on real estate since 2002 when it created a major that it says is the only commercial real estate program taught at Jesuit colleges and universities.

The government did the right thing by bailing out mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before their finances deteriorated any further, a UW-Madison School of Business professor says.

"If we learned anything from the savings and loan (crisis of the 1980s and 1990s), it's that firms have incentives to take big risks if they're near bankruptcy," said Morris Davis, assistant professor of real estate and urban land economics. Sunday's government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will keep their executives from trying any more risky moves to preserve their organizations, he said.

UNEMPLOYMENT: The nation's unemployment rate reached a five-year high of 6.1 percent in August as employers slashed 84,000 jobs. The Labor Department's report, released Friday, showed the increasing toll the housing, credit and financial crises are taking on the economy.

The jobless rate was 5.7 percent in July. Employers cut payrolls for the eighth month in a row. Job losses in June and July turned out to be much deeper. The economy lost 100,000 jobs in June and another 60,000 in July, according to revised figures. Previously, the government reported job losses at 51,000 in each of those months. So far this year, job losses totaled 605,000.

The Baraboo building trades program is going into debt because of a downturn in the housing market that has left the program with two unsold student-built homes, its instructor says.

"We're not in the business to make money, but what really hurts us is sitting on these houses," program instructor Mike McGann said.

First, they built a 14-ton, 44-foot-long covered bridge for a local businessman, who paid for materials and had it installed over a ravine on his property.