tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-229530 2012-02-09T17:41:38-06:00 A candid examination of right-wing policies and the Democrats who play along and the horrid liberal policies designed to assuage the moderates but end up irritating everyone. And other stuff. And now, Authorized and paid for, Soglin for Mayor,Scott Herrick Treasurer. Yeah. TypePad tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c52aa53ef0163011a0cff970d 2012-02-09T17:41:38-06:00 2012-02-09T17:47:30-06:00

The issue of TIF or Tax Incremental Financing is a complicated one, but it's important and it's a vital tool that municipalities utilize for development in a particular area, or TIF District. TIF is a financing tool where the distribution of taxes from property in a defined geographic area is frozen for a period of 27 years. While the value of property in that area increases, the amount of money distributed to the city, county and school district remains the...

paul soglin tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c52aa53ef016760b05489970b 2012-01-18T11:34:33-06:00 2012-01-18T11:34:33-06:00

I read with interest Tom Oates' recent column in the Wisconsin State Journal, Alvarez shoots an air ball with lame offer to WIAA. The future of Madison hosting the WIAA High School boys and girls state tournaments is in jeopardy. The formation of the Big Ten Conference in men's hockey resulted in possible hockey tournaments at the Kohl Center which would directly conflict with the high school tournaments. These are events that bring thousands of families from throughout the state...

paul soglin tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c52aa53ef01543815981c970c 2011-12-19T08:05:04-06:00 2011-12-19T08:05:04-06:00

A well known on-line store is apparently asking customers going into brick and mortar stores to use the company's smart phone price-check app to receive a discount on a product that could have been purchased in the local store. It's a great reminder that although we all want to save money when we can during the holidays and beyond, we need to support our local businesses. There are a number of promotions in Madison to do just that and I...

paul soglin tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c52aa53ef0162fd73c0df970d 2011-12-06T16:56:32-06:00 2011-12-06T16:56:32-06:00

I want to add my congratulations to Barbara A. Bitters and Angela Byars-Winston for their recognition as 'Champions of Change" These outstanding women will also be featured in the White House website at http://whitehouse.gov/champions. WASHINGTON, DC – On Friday, December 9th, twelve local leaders in the effort to recruit and retain girls and women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields will be honored at the White House as Champions of Change. These men and women, who include teachers,...

paul soglin tag:typepad.com,2003:post-8214058 2011-12-03T06:55:00-06:00 2011-12-02T21:45:04-06:00

As reported last November by the Negro League Baseball Players Association: A five-member screening committee of Negro league baseball historians, appointed by the Hall of Fame's Board of Directors, has selected a slate of Negro leagues and pre-Negro leagues candidates for consideration for election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Then on February 27, 2006 a special 12 member voting committee of historians will meet in Tampa to vote none, one, or more into the Hall of Fame. There...

paul soglin tag:typepad.com,2003:post-8890559 2011-12-02T21:39:00-06:00 2011-12-02T21:48:10-06:00

This Minoso post originally appeared February 12, 2006. Once again Minoso may be overlooked. I have followed the discussions and even Bob Costas misses the point. You cannot look at only his major league career. Minoso had a great run for the New York Cubans with a smashing World Series in 1947. Doug Moe's column Friday described my recent lunch with Greg Bond, a UW PhD candidate who has a vote in this month's special election for the Baseball Hall...

paul soglin tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c52aa53ef0162fd308c10970d 2011-12-01T12:41:25-06:00 2011-12-01T15:56:02-06:00

The critical question for any TIF project is “Will it be a good investment for the City and for the taxing jurisdictions in the District?” The $16 million TIF assistance for the Edgewater was far too expensive when measured by the public cost and the return to the taxpayers in terms of project value and its beneficial impact to the surrounding area. In addition, the Edgewater TIF compared poorly to other major city TIF projects designed to revitalize the Capitol...

paul soglin tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c52aa53ef0162fc35da69970d 2011-11-07T16:41:03-06:00 2011-11-07T16:41:03-06:00

According to a recent Capital Times article Grass Roots: Red tape could sink plan to use Don Miller site for homeless day shelter the City of Madison is requiring Porchlight Inc. to jump through hoops to set up a temporary homeless day shelter at the vacant Don Miller site on East Washington Avenue. Reporter Pat Schneider’s use of the words ‘jump through hoops’ calls for the rejection of decades of zoning ordinances enacted by the City of Madison. Those aren’t...

paul soglin tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c52aa53ef015392b72fc7970b 2011-10-31T16:36:36-05:00 2011-10-31T16:36:36-05:00

Get used to seeing a new sign as you enter any city building in Madison. The signs will indicate that you are not allowed to carry a firearm into any City of Madison building. The new State Concealed Carry law goes into effect on November 1st. In preparation for this day, city staff have been working to put guidelines into place to announce the restriction regarding firearms in city buildings, on city property and on Madison Metro buses. It is...

paul soglin tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c52aa53ef0153926e9092970b 2011-10-19T12:53:52-05:00 2011-10-19T12:53:52-05:00

It’s not every day that you learn the federal government is going to help purchase new buses, replace fare boxes and add 25 new bus stop shelters, but that was the case this week in Madison. While in Washington D.C. this week I was very happy to learn that Madison is receiving $5 million as part of $920 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood reports that the funding will repair, rebuild and modernize...

paul soglin tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c52aa53ef0153922e342a970b 2011-10-11T12:46:57-05:00 2011-10-11T12:46:58-05:00

The spending increase from 2011 to 2012 in the proposed city of Madison budget is $1,000,000, or less than 1%. This was accomplished by significant sacrifices made by many people and agencies. While the city budget increase is .93%, some are expressing concern that the Overture Center for the Arts is not getting the expected increase in city funding of 66% from $1.265 million to $2 million. The 2012 executive budget recommends $1,325,000. The proposed 2012 budget works because: 448...

paul soglin tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c52aa53ef014e8c052d4a970d 2011-10-04T20:43:06-05:00 2011-10-04T20:50:12-05:00

Sunday I took Natasha and Alex to the Brewers game. This is America. Dad, two of his daughters and a fun baseball team. As we took our seats in the last row of our section, there in the skybox next to us was University of Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez and Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig. Before I could walk over to say hello, Bud Selig had gone inside to greet some friends so Barry and I chatted about...

paul soglin tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c52aa53ef015391e874d8970b 2011-09-28T04:29:00-05:00 2011-09-28T11:30:01-05:00

A few days ago the Wisconsin State Journal ran an editorial commending Epic Systems Corporation as it convened its annual users' group meeting. The glowing account of this prized company was right on target except for one significant statement: Some in Madison still lament that Madison lost Epic to Verona years ago. But that’s an outdated view. As long as Epic stays and expands anywhere in our region, we all should be happy. After all, the real competition for the...

paul soglin tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c52aa53ef015435bbca38970c 2011-09-27T12:27:29-05:00 2011-09-27T14:10:05-05:00

I spoke to Madison's Downtown Rotary two weeks ago and Wisconsin Eye provides a video.* The first portion may be a bit clumsy to watch since I relied on a number of charts, some of which are in this post. In any case I spent the last ten minutes addressing some of the major social and economic issues facing our community. Interesting: when I gave this annual speech in the 1990's it was covered by at least two daily newspapers,...

paul soglin tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c52aa53ef014e8b9cb8db970d 2011-09-16T15:23:53-05:00 2011-09-16T15:43:27-05:00

There is no question the city of Madison has educated, hard-working and dedicated employees, but we can also celebrate their athletic ability and comittment needed to compete in the recent Ironman. The training that proceeds a 2.4-mile swim, 112 miles on a bike and then a 26.2-mile marathon is incredible and I salute everyone who participated. It was another great opportunity to showcase our city. The Greater Madison Convention and Visitors Bureau did another excellent job in accommodating the thousands...

paul soglin