📝 UW tuition could go up (again)

🗳️ Let’s Talk Constitutional Amendments

• ICYMI: There’s an election April 2. (For a deep dive, start here 🎧)
• On the ballot Tuesday, voters will be asked to weigh in on two proposed amendments to the state’s constitution. In order for constitutional amendments to be implemented, they must be approved by the majority of legislators in two successive legislative sessions, and then be approved (or rejected) by the state’s voters. Both of these amendments were introduced in the wake of the 2020 election.
• The first proposed amendment asks if state and local governments should be allowed to seek out and use private funds for running elections. In 2020, the city of Madison (and Milwaukee, Green Bay, Kenosha, and Racine) accepted private funds to help run its elections. The notion of using private funds for such purposes isn’t unusual.
• The second asks if only “election officials designated by law” should “perform tasks in the conduct of primaries, elections, and referendums.” The state already has laws in place that outline who may conduct elections.
• You can check out a sample ballot here. [City Cast Madison, UW Law, Cap Times, WI Gov., MyVote]

💸 UW Proposes (Another) Tuition Hike

• In-state tuition for the Universities of Wisconsin could be going up. A proposal from President Jay Rothman suggested a 3.75% tuition increase for the 2024-25 academic year. (Though the actual increase would vary by campus.)
• If approved, this would be the second year in a row the university system has increased tuition prices for in-state undergraduates. The state legislature kept tuition frozen for eight years before ceding control of in-state tuition to the Regents in 2021. Rothman cited inflation and budget shortfalls as reasons for the increase. [Cap Times]

🏖️ Lake Monona Redesign Moves Forward

• The Lake Monona redesign project is taking another step forward after the city’s Plan Commission approved its master plan this week. City Council will review the plan next month.
• Some context: The Lake Monona Waterfront plan has passed through several city committees and public feedback sessions already. The design was created by internationally-renowned firm Sasaki. The plan features an elevated boardwalk, new boathouses, art installations, and more. [WKOW, Sasaki]

🪵 Gather Your Brush

• Brush collection starts this weekend. You can find your specific set-out dates on the Streets Division’s brush collection website.
• What’s brush? Brush is woody material that you cut from your trees, shrubs, and bushes (but don’t confuse it with yard waste!). The Streets Division collects it and turns it into wood mulch.
• Related: Who takes care of Madison’s trees? [City of Madison, City Cast Madison 🎧]

Another Friday, another floof.

This week’s dose of cuteness comes in the floofy form of Jasper, a young Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. A true outdoorsman, Jasper loves hiking and swimming, and is even learning to ride on the paddle board with his paw-rents. This pup is adorable and he knows it!

The Uninstructed Vote, Amazon Drivers, and DOJ Agent Not Guilty for Shooting Citizen

The City Cast team is here to round up the news of the week. Bianca Martin, Hayley Sperling and Molly Stentz recap the movement to vote “uninstructed” in next Tuesday’s presidential preference election, the Wisconsin Supreme Court case that said Amazon drivers are workers, and the jury decision to acquit the Wisconsin Department of Justice agent who shot at Quadren Wilson.