📝 Welcome to pig city

🍸 Coming Soon: Public Parking (the Bar)

• Two Madison service industry pros are teaming up to open a new bar on East Johnson Street called Public Parking. Owners JR Mocanu of Robin Room, and Jack Yip of RED and Jacknife, say the new spot will focus on original craft cocktails but also a place to grab a quick boilermaker. Guests will also be able to order from nearby Jacknife via QR code and have food delivered directly to their table. [Cap Times]
• Public Parking is set to open by March 2024 at 709 E. Johnson St. (Next to The Caribou.)

🎻 The End of an Era for Madison Symphony Orchestra

• The Madison Symphony Orchestra’s artistic director John DeMain announced he will step down at the end of the 2025-26 centennial season. DeMain’s impact on the symphony is vast — he is only the fourth music director in the Symphony’s 98-year history. [Channel 3000]
• “The centennial season, in a way, is the climax of my tenure here,” DeMain said in a statement. “And what a better way to begin the orchestra’s 101st season than with a new music director.”

🚌 Have a Say in Upcoming Metro Changes

• This Wednesday, Sept. 27, the city will host a virtual public hearing to discuss potential Metro Transit service change adjustments. The proposed changes would go into effect in December and include timing adjustments to routes A, B, and C, adding more buses to routes B and C, and more. [City of Madison]

Monday, Sept. 25

• Coolzey, Bru Lei, Po Ivey at The Bur Oak

Justice for Rudi (and Other Madison Pigs)

When Rudi the pet pig was threatened with eviction, he became a cause célèbre. Friends, neighbors and local journalists rallied to his side. Pet pigs were not legal in Madison, yet he’d lived here for more than a year without incident. Until someone complained.

But now, pigs are legal. The Madison City Council has changed the law to allow Madison residents to own pet pigs, with some limitations. Rudi’s owner Paula Niedenthal tells us what happened – and what it says about Madison that he was saved.