Northside News

New life is emerging all around us. I became a grandma in January when our son Ndegwa and his partner Collette welcomed baby Pearl. The love and responsibility I feel for her is overwhelming and extends to the children in our community.

When our youngest child Hannah started school at Lindbergh, we came together as a community to stop the school’s closure. We created the school-community garden to open the space to the neighborhood. Many Northsiders helped by donating labor, materials and knowledge. Families for whom English was a second language shared their gardening skills and food culture with Lindbergh teachers and students.

This project led to the Blackhawk school/community garden, supported by Fiskars. On installation day, a teacher with tears in her eyes pointed out a child who was leading her peers in spreading mulch. She had struggled to connect with that student all year and was amazed to see her leadership and communication skills flourishing in the outdoors. 

The Cities Connecting Children with Nature initiative works to ensure that every Madison child has regular opportunities to connect to nature, particularly among communities of color. As part of that project, we installed outdoor classrooms and natural play areas at Centro Hispano and daycares across the city.

The Mendota School Community PUPs after-school club, co-founded with third grade teacher Debra Minahan, is also improving our natural areas. In addition to exploring issues like affordable housing and racial discrimination, these students entered a design competition for Warner Beach. City Parks staff are implementing some of the students’ ideas this year.

I’m grateful for these opportunities to learn with and give back to our community. Nature is among our greatest resources and teachers. I look forward to watching Pearl learn and grow, with her hands in the dirt, making the world even more beautiful. I wish you all a lovely spring.

Spring into the Outdoors with Dane County

2020 will long be remembered for its many challenges. Yet, through those difficult times, one resource many of us turned to was the outdoors, where we could unwind and explore Dane County’s many natural resources. Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dane County was able to make great strides in the areas of conservation, water quality, prairie restoration and flood prevention. And as the weather warms and the pandemic wanes, we are eager to welcome Dane County’s many residents back outside to explore recreational opportunities.

In 2020, Dane County permanently protected 600 acres of property with the Dane County Conservation Fund. An additional 600 acres were able to be protected through our increasingly popular Continuous Cover Crop Program, designed to mitigate flooding and reduce erosion. We were also able to collect over 1,700 pounds of prairie seed to help restore more than 143 acres to natural prairie, including our expansion of the Pheasant Branch Conservancy
near Middleton.

Dane County removed over 40,000 tons of sediment from the bottom of the Yahara River between Lakes Monona and Waubesa last year, reducing the risk of future flooding during periods of heavy rainfall. We were also able to complete our “Suck the Muck” project in Token Creek, which will help limit the frequency and extent of hazardous algae blooms. With each passing year, we are improving the water quality in our local lakes, rivers, and streams for future generations.

Our accomplishments in the outdoors — direct investments into the quality of life we enjoy here in Dane County — are many. Like you, I look forward to warmer weather when we can get back outside and enjoy all that our incredible county parks and recreation areas have to offer.

Everything is constantly changing, but March 13 brought the one-year anniversary of when everything changed. I remember my grandmother talking about the influenza epidemic of her childhood. My Dad had polio during the summer of 1949. Outside of these limited experiences, I had only read about pandemics in history books and saw evidence of them on the news. Then, I walked out of my classroom on the afternoon of March 13, 2020, not realizing I would not return to it for a full year. COVID 19 was here.

2020 was a challenge in so many ways. There was unimaginable tragedy in all the lives lost across the world. Our economy suffered. Feelings of isolation had a negative impact on our mental health. We could not carry on with life as usual. We cancelled family gatherings and stopped going to the movies. We had to stop hugging. 

With spring and warmer weather, there lies hope. We can all get out of the house a bit more easily and without layers of wool socks. Science has brought us three excellent vaccine options, becoming more available to our community with each passing day. Our school buildings are beginning to open. Public health orders allow for more public gatherings. We are coming out of isolation.

Please consider visiting a Dane County park. There are over 12,000 acres to explore and enjoy. For details, visit danecountyparks.com. It’s good for the body and soul. And for some of them, you can even bring your dog.

Please continue to take care of yourself and those around you. We are stronger together. Stay well.

Please feel free to contact me with any concerns or issues. I can be reached at 608-335-6827 or ritt.michele@countyofdane.com.

The adoption of a budget for 2021-23 is the major issue in the legislature at this time of year. This budget addresses the issues I believe are important and reflect our values. Governor Evers’ budget identifies many of the problems facing the state and how to move forward.

Very briefly, the budget increases aid to K-12 education and makes up for most of Walker’s deep cuts. It also increases aid to UW as well as constructing new buildings for Engineering and Letters & Science. The capital budget includes major improvements at Central Wisconsin Center and Mendota Center. It provides assistance to childcare facilities, which are now almost entirely supported by parent tuition. 

Most important for our community, the governor is seeking to address the problem of PFAS contamination of our water supply. As you know, PFAS were detected in the water from Well 15, which supplies much of the northeast section of the city. Two years ago, the city shut down the well. (For more information, visit cityofmadison.com/water/water-quality/water-quality-testing/perfluorinated-compounds#WellMap.)

The governor has proposed testing municipal wells across the state. Although we know of contamination in La Crosse, Rhinelander and Marinette, many communities are not aware of the problem in the water supply. These funds would provide testing in the more than 400 water systems. There are also funds to clean up the ground around sites where the source has been identified.

It is important that the entities that polluted the ground and water “clean up the mess.” Following the lead of states that have successfully filed lawsuits, the governor has asked the attorney general to seek damages from corporations and the U.S. Air Force for their role in the contamination.

If you have any questions or concerns about state policies and programs, feel free to contact me at Rep.Baldeh@legis.wisconsin.gov.

Budgets show real priorities

Show me a budget, and I’ll tell you what your priorities are. Where you dedicate resources shows what you value most. Governor Evers’ state budget proposal for the next biennium shows his priorities are serving the people of Wisconsin. 

This budget was drafted to address the needs of the people of this state who have been left behind. It puts people over politics. When we put people first, we can achieve great things, and we can create opportunity and prosperity for our friends and neighbors. 

In Wisconsin, we have a history of putting the needs of our community at the forefront of our public policy. This progressive tradition is needed now more than ever as we face serious challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now more than ever, we need to hear the needs of the people and act to address them.

The most important job of public servants is listening to those you serve. I have heard from people in my district asking for what Governor Evers has included in his budget: lower prescription drug costs, expanding access to healthcare, funding public schools, affordable childcare, legalizing recreational and medicinal cannabis, supporting small businesses during the pandemic, fostering economic growth in our communities, supporting our farmers, and so much more. This budget is a culmination of earnestly listening and responding to the everyday needs of ordinary Wisconsinites across our state.

To my Republican colleagues who have already voiced their opposition to many of these provisions: you cannot govern by ignoring the will of the people. People all over the state have been asking, begging, for these things because it will impact their lives significantly. These are the people we represent. It is time we listen to those who have helped shape this budget by raising their voices.