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dailycardinal.com
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Thursday, February 10, 2011
Johnson Street hotel plans face criticism By Kate Ray The Daily Cardinal
Ben Pierson/the daily cardinal
Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz spoke about a potential annual snow day, the high-speed rail and environmental issues at the Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group kick-off Wednesday.
Mayor proposes annual city snow day, rail reform at WISPIRG event By Alex Yant The Daily Cardinal
Just weeks before the mayoral primary, Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz spoke about hotbutton issues to an enthusiastic crowd of over 250 students at the Wisconsin Student Public Interest Research Group kick-off meeting Wednesday night. With students in mind, Cieslewicz unveiled talks in city government to allocate an annual “snowpocolypse” day, an annual day off for students for the city to prepare for dangerous winter weather that he said is inevitably going to come due to climate change. The mayor said the reason for the day is two-fold. In addition to giving students a day off during a stressful month, he said he wants to “change the way [city government] thinks about how
[they] do their work, because of global climate change.” The mayor also addressed the issue of high-speed rail, saying although Gov. Scott Walker opposed the high-speed rail plan, he believes it will eventually happen and is “just a question of when.” “[Walker] took us from the top of the ladder and put us on the bottom. But there’s still a ladder,” Cieslewicz said, and stressed President Obama’s support of the plan. The mayor addressed the issue of global warming, saying that combating global climate change would reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, lessen a slew of pollutants and create jobs related to alternate energy sources. In terms of informing the community about environmental policy, Cieslewicz said “students can be incredibly effective and
leverage a lot of change” through grassroots outreach efforts. However, Cieslewicz also said there are short-term sacrifices necessary to jump start reform. “We are going to need people to say, ‘I’m willing to do that, it’s worth it to me’ … and pay a few extra bucks,” Cieslewicz said. “A lot of things done to protect the environment save money on the bottom line.” Also at the kick-off, WISPIRG members presented the goals of various grassroot projects. One such member, Juli Waarvik, the energy service core coordinator, plans to host a “Day with the Greeks,” where they will evaluate the environmental conditions of old fraternity houses. She said she hopes this will cut down state energy output, 95 percent of which comes from fossil fuels.
Associated Students of Madison elect new diversity chair, discuss term limits for reps By Anna Duffin The Daily Cardinal
The Associated Students of Madison elected graduate student Tangela Roberts to serve as diversity chair at their meeting Wednesday. Some members said they were pleased to have seven candidates nominated to fill the role of diversity chair. The position became available after former chair Martín Uraga resigned because of time commitment issues. Of the seven candidates, the final four were Roberts, Nyada Baldeh, Jasmine Savoy and Dan Posca. Representative Jason Smathers said it was important the council elect someone who was not yet a part of ASM so that new perspec-
tives could be incorporated into the organization. Smathers also said Roberts would be a good leader for Diversity Committee because she is a psychology graduate student and could provide counseling to those in need. “Quite frankly, this body needs a whole lot of counseling,” Smathers said of ASM. Also at the meeting, Representative Carl Fergus, Finance Chair Matthew Beemsterboer, and Student Activity Center Chair Katy Ziebell introduced a change to the ASM Constitution that would remove the limit on representatives serving in ASM. Currently, representatives are only allowed to serve on student
council for two years. The amendment would remove this limit. Fergus said this restriction holds students back from electing representatives they think would serve them well if that representative has already served for two years. “I think it’s important for students to vote on whom they so choose,” Fergus said. Some members said they would like the amendment to be reconsidered. The topic will be addressed next Wednesday. ASM also voted against Chief Justice Kate Fifield’s proposal eliminating the requirement of asm page 3
Madison’s Urban Design Commission debated over the revised design model for a proposed hotel on West Johnson Street Wednesday. Six months ago, architects proposed the building, which would be at 434 to 454 W. Johnson St. and consist of two towers, one for residential housing and the other for the hotel guest rooms. Both towers would reach twelve stories high. However, the new design eliminated all residential housing and both towers from the design. The revised model consists of a nine-story structure that will house a parking structure and hotel guest rooms. Committee members said they were concerned with the modified design model and they
preferred the earlier design. They said the previous model was better designed for an urban setting and the newer proposal resembled a more suburban hotel. “A lot of what you have right now is very similar to what we would see in a suburban situation … but that’s not what you have here [in Madison],” committee member Mark Smith said. “We have a number of ten to fourteen story buildings, I would pick up on that theme.” Committee members also critiqued the lack of design detail for the entrance of the hotel. “From a pedestrian standpoint, the design could be a lot stronger,” committee member John Harrington said. As a new hotel in the area, hotel page 3
Man injured during bar fight downtown A 31-year-old Madison man sustained injuries and two men were arrested during a bar fight at Vintage Bar on University Avenue early Wednesday morning. Brandon Green was tentatively charged with substantial battery, simple battery and two counts of disorderly conduct. Mathew Prater was also tentatively charged with substantial battery and disorderly conduct, according to the police incident report. The fight started when Green allegedly began taunting a group of friends at the bar, Madison Police Department spokesperson Joel DeSpain said. The patrons attempted to ignore Green, but he contin-
ued to be aggressive towards them, police said. The 31-year-old victim was allegedly punched after he raised his hands and tried to say his group of friends didn’t want trouble, police said. “The second victim, according to witnesses, ended up on the floor of the bar, being slugged by both suspects,” DeSpain said in a statement. The 31-year-old victim sustained a cut to his temple after his head was slammed into a wall, police said. Green also allegedly punched a 23-year-old Madison man in the back of the head, DeSpain said. Green told an officer he was punched first and was acting in selfdefense, DeSpain said.
Ben Pierson/the daily cardinal
Madison Police arrested two men after a bar fight at the Vintage Bar on University Avenue. One victim sustained a head injury.
“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”