🏗️ New development threatens Alimentari sandwich shop

💰 Mayor, Dane County Lawmakers Call For More State Funding

• Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway joined several Dane County lawmakers Thursday in calling for the state Legislature to provide more funding for essential services in their communities.
• While Wisconsin cities receive an average of $195 per resident in shared revenue from the state, Dane County leaders say they receive an average of only $41 per resident and Madison receives just $29 per resident.
• The state is currently sitting on a $3 billion surplus from sales and income taxes, and a small portion of that money could be used to fill the gap, Dane County officials said. [WMTV]

🏗️ Six-Story East Side Building Would Push Out Alimentari

• Developers are proposing a six-story development on S. Brearly Street on Madison’s near east side, on the spot currently occupied by the Alimentari sandwich shop.
• The building would have commercial space on the first floor, along with 122 market-rate apartments. Ald. Marsha Rummel is hosting a neighborhood meeting on Zoom at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to discuss the proposal.
• Alimentari owner Dan Bonanno said the shop is looking for a new east side location. Alimentari is also opening a second location on Monroe Street on Madison’s west side. [WSJ, City of Madison, Cap Times]

🍽️ House of Flavas Closes Doors

• House of Flavas, the popular restaurant inside Capitol Petro Mart on Commercial Avenue, closed last week. Owner Jodie Jefferson said she needed to close her restaurant after her landlord sold the building.
• House of Flavas served a wide variety of food, including gyros and burgers, but became renowned for its Chicago soul food, such as catfish and mac ‘n’ cheese. [WSJ]

Technically, it’s always the Wisconsin Book Festival. The festival, in partnership with the Madison Public Library Foundation, sponsors author events all year round in Madison. But the four-day “fall celebration” Oct. 17-20 is something special, a free cover-to-cover extravaganza featuring 69 authors in four days at four different venues.

Like an 800-page doorstopper of a novel, the festival schedule can seem a little daunting at first. So here’s a guide to some of the many fun things that readers can enjoy during the festival.

For Fiction Lovers

Best-selling YA novelist Nicola Yoon (“The Sun is Also a Star”) will be at the festival at 6 p.m. Oct. 18 to talk about her new social horror novel “One of Our Kind,” about a couple who find the Black utopian community they’ve moved to isn’t all what it seems. Attendees will get free copies of the novel.

Tea Obreht (“The Tiger’s Wife”) will talk about her new dystopian sci-fi novel “The Morningside” at noon Oct. 19. And Lev Grossman (“The Magicians”) will present his cockeyed take on the King Arthur legend, “The Bright Sword,” at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 20.

For Political Junkies

With a big election looming, it’s no surprise the book festival will be featuring several events for politicos. Paolo Ramos’ “Defectors” looks at the surprising rise of far-right sentiment among Latinos at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 18.

For Science Lovers

In conjunction with the Wisconsin Science Festival, which is also going on next week, there are 15 different events in the book festival tied to the STEM fields.

“Frostbite” by Nicole Twilley (10:30 a.m. Oct. 19) is a look inside the history and science of refrigeration that will make you think differently every time you poke your head in the freezer. And Arts + Literature Laboratory is hosting a special event at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 19 featuring writers and photographers documenting the natural world.