📝 Lamenting the lost winter of 2024

⚖️ Evers to Veto Forever Chemicals Bill

• Instead of approving the Republican-sponsored bill, Gov. Tony Evers is asking the Legislature’s budget committee to spend previously allocated funding on helping communities impacted by PFAS.
• A $125 million PFAS trust fund is at the center of the debate. It was created in May 2023 to clean up forever chemical contaminations across Wisconsin and to fund programs related to PFAS when future bills were to be passed.
• This latest bill would have created programs to aid impacted communities, but it did not include funding for the programs and would have just relied on the existing trust.
• The bill, crafted to address the state’s increasing number of forever chemical contaminations, passed in the Assembly on Feb. 22. Democrats in both houses voted against the bill. Dems said they worried the bill would limit the Department of Natural Resources’s ability to hold polluters accountable. Republicans argued the bill wasn’t perfect, but would have kicked off the state’s cleanup of PFAS. [Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]
• Plus: What are PFAS, anyway? Check out this explainer. [📝 Madison Minutes]

🏗️ Madison OKs Demolition of 5 Historic Buildings

• Hovde Properties has been seeking to raze five vacant and century-old buildings on the 100 block of West Mifflin Street, including the former Silver Dollar Tavern and the Mifflin Arcade. Ironically, the Madison Plan Commission this week agreed to demolish the historic buildings to make way for the nearby Wisconsin History Center, a $160.5 million five-story museum planned for the top of State Street on the Square.
• The Madison Trust has opposed the demolition, saying it destroys a set of buildings that have historic value. The buildings, however, do not have a formal historic designation. [Wisconsin State Journal]

🙃 Is this Unseasonably Warm Winter Here to Stay?

• This season is set to go down as the warmest winter in Wisconsin history, according to the National Weather Service. Monday alone was a record high of 76 degrees. February's average temperature of 32.9 is 10.6 degrees higher than the norm.
• Your snowmobiles and skis are likely collecting dust for the long haul, as this lost winter of 2024 could indicate where Wisconsin’s winters, or lack thereof, could be heading. The Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts believes Wisconsin will become warmer and wetter over the next few decades.
• There’s more at stake than your winter fun. Local tourism that depends on snow and typical winter weather has been devastated. It’s yet to be determined the effects to agriculture, a $10.5 billion industry in the state that is highly dependent on weather. [Wisconsin State Journal]

🍽️ Hungry? Get Your Fill at Cocina Nica

• Churrasco grilled steak? Yes, please. Fried plantains with beans and rice? Oh, definitely. Baho steamed banana leaves with beef and yuca? Absolutely! And you can now dine on these delicious Nicaraguan dishes at the recently opened restaurant on Moorland Road, just south of the Beltline.
• At the helm of this family-owned restaurant is Teresa Villareal, who grew up in Managua, Nicaragua’s capital, where she helped her mother sell home-cooked meals out of a stand outside their home. Villareal’s brother Julio Joron and his family run the front of the house, while she runs the kitchen with her husband and kids. [The Cap Times]

⬆️ Last Week’s Winner

This art piece can be found at the well-known and loved Tip Top Tavern in Eken Park. Hayley recently shared a fun guide to this East-side neighborhood, where she spoke with resident, festival co-chair, parent, and dog fan, Charles McNulty. He highlighted the amazing fish fry at Tip Top. YUM 😋

🎉 Shoutout to Katy P. for guessing the location of this interesting art!

⬇️ This Week’s Clues

Where can you find this statue? Bonus points for extra details!

• This place is named after a street — but it isn't actually on that street.
• It was founded in 1969.
• One time, Hayley saw Paul Blart there.

Your Guide to Madison in March

Whether you’re taking full advantage of this unseasonably warm weather, finding everything green in your closet for St. Patrick’s Day, or looking for a few new ways to explore our fair city, Bianca Martin and Hayley Sperling have you covered. Here’s what’s happening around Madison this month.