📝 Madison hacks you should know

👋 West Siders, Meet Your Alders

• Three West Side alders are teaming up to host a new monthly series of informational sessions called “Westside Community Connections”. Alds. John W. Duncan, Nasra Wehelie, and Barbara Harrington-McKinney created the series to give far-West-Side residents district and city-wide updates.
• Each session will feature a different city agency and the first one kicks off with Madison’s director of Traffic Engineering. The first session is Thursday, Jan. 18. To participate, use this link to register.
• Who’s your alder? Find out here. [City of Madison]

🧪 UW-Madison Gets $150 million For Alzheimer’s Research

• The National Institutes of Health awarded the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health a massive grant to fund a five-year study to help advance the field of Alzheimer’s and related dementias. The $150 million grant is the largest funding award from the NIH in UW-Madison’s history.
• The study will involve all 37 Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers in the U.S. and help create standardized brain imaging and blood plasma test protocols. This process will gather data showing the presence, absence, or change in characteristic disease biomarkers in people who have dementia or are at risk of developing it. The results of the study will (hopefully) lead researchers to develop better treatment options. [UW-Madison, NIH]

🎦 Cinesthesia Returns

• Madison Central Library’s film series, Cinesthesia returns for its 2024 season this week. The series kicks off Wednesday, Jan. 17 with a showing of “Strange Days” (1995) from Academy Award-winning director Kathryn Bigelow.
• Though the free screening series began in 2013, it went on a bit of a hiatus following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Movies are shown monthly in the Community Room on the third floor and program curator, local cinephile Jason Fuhrman has put together a unique lineup that is sure to entertain a range of audiences. You can check out the full schedule here. [Tone Madison, Madison Public Library]

🌹 Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue…

• I’m looking for Madison’s best date spots, and want to hear from you! Big thanks to all of the folks who have sent in suggestions already, which have ranged from restaurants and bars like Sardine and Cafe CODA, to activities at the Chazen, Devil’s Lake, and beyond. [Madison Minutes]

For this week’s Take me Home Tuesday, Dane County Humane Society would like you to meet Poppy. This sweet girl is a fun and energetic adult pup who LOVES people. Poppy enjoys the finer things in life, like receiving pets, snuggles, and treats. She also loves playing fetch.

Poppy is looking for a home without cats and needs a family who will continue to work with her on her positive reinforcement training. Poppy is a member of DCHS’s Lonely Hearts Club and her adoption fee has been reduced.

Charging Electric Vehicles Could Get Easier in Wisconsin

The state legislature is tackling two big questions this week: Who gets to power our state’s electric grid into the future and who’s allowed to own and operate electric vehicle charging stations? The two energy infrastructure bills have been moving steadily through the state house and are scheduled for a vote on Wednesday in the senate.