📝 Your Guide to March in Madison

Madison Paramedics Now Carrying Opioid Treatments

• To ease withdrawal symptoms, Madison Fire Department paramedics on Friday began carrying buprenorphine, a drug used to treat opioid use disorder.
• Buprenorphine is one of three medications approved for treating opioid addiction and reduces cravings and eases or prevents symptoms, such as anxiety, muscle aches, and sweating. The Madison department will use a pill form that dissolves under the tongue.
• Madison Fire Department is now the fourth agency in the state to participate in a program to address opioid addiction in “pre-hospital” settings.
• Wisconsin had 1,461 opioid overdose deaths in 2022, which surpassed the record in 2021. [Wisconsin State Journal]

New Bill Would Incentivize Filming in Wisconsin

• Wisconsin lacks a dedicated film office and production incentive for filmmakers and is last in the nation for spending on arts. A new bipartisan bill aims to change that.
• The bill would create income and tax credits for film production companies and would establish a state film office connected to the Department of Tourism.
• Supporters say the incentives would lead to more film, TV, and advertisement production in the state, which would also lead to creating more jobs. The bill creates a 25% tax credit for salaries and wages for employees of film production services.
• The bill would also revive a film tax incentive program from 2008 that was discontinued in 2013.
• “Well, why not Wisconsin?” said Rep. David Armstrong, R-Rice Lake, one of the bill’s co-authors. [Wisconsin Public Radio]

Land Trusts Increasingly Seen as Low-Cost Homeownership Options

• Many communities across Wisconsin are exploring land trusts to tackle the state’s housing crisis and create more opportunities for low-cost homes.
• Four community land trusts are in operation, including one in Madison. Six more are in the development process.
• In a land trust process, the homeowner would buy the house but lease the land from a trust, which would make the home more affordable. In exchange, the homeowner would agree to sell the house at an affordable price. However, budget deficits throughout Wisconsin cities are making it difficult to create more land trusts.
• The Madison Area Community Land Trust aims to provide such homeownership options to households with incomes that are 50% below the Dane County area median income — for a family of four that would be about $61,050 a year or less. [Wisconsin State Journal]

Lack of Policy Hinders Statewide Community Solar Development

• Wisconsin currently lacks legislation to support third-party community solar projects. A proposed bill could pave the way for community solar, but with the legislative session closing soon, passage is unlikely.
• Community solar allows a third party to produce solar power and subscribers would typically pay a fee for the output of a certain number of panels. The generated power would then flow to the grid and members receive a reduction on their electricity bill.
• But community solar requires access to the grid, and utility bills, and would need utility companies to accept the energy they produce, distribute it, and disperse the credits. In Wisconsin, only the utilities can sell energy and they control access to the grid and the electricity bills.
• Advocates say third-party community solar provides consumers with choices and encourages fair prices. [Cap Times]

For this #TakeMeHomeTuesday, the Dane County Humane Society would like you to meet Zipper!

This beautiful adult shorthair mix was found in Medina in late January. He is initially shy but will warm up to you once he becomes comfortable. One surefire way to get there is by giving him head scratches and face rubs! Zipper is coming out of his shell more each day, and loves playing with a mouse toy.

He’s looking for a patient family who will allow him time to adjust to his new surroundings and will spoil him with lots of love. Zipper is currently relaxing in an office, so ask about him at DCHS’s Adoption Center.

Zipper has been at the shelter for too long, so as a DCHS’s Lonely Hearts Club member his adoption fee has been reduced to just $30! That’s the best and most loving $30 you will ever spend!

UW Data Got Hacked. Why Didn’t UW Tell the Public?

UW-Madison data was a part of a massive cyberattack targeting higher education. Thousands of records, some including personal information like social security numbers and addresses, were stolen from a third party by Russian cybercriminals. The kicker? This happened in spring of 2023.

But the public was never notified. Why? That’s what student journalist Liam Beran wanted to find out when he stumbled upon the news through an open records request. He joins host Bianca Martin to talk about what happened with this attack and whether changes need to be made to UW’s transparency policies.