🍺 Essen Haus gets another round

📝 City Begins Work on Southwest, Southeast Area Plans

• City staff have begun work on its next area plans, the Southwest Area Plan and Southeast Area Plan, and are looking for help from residents in those areas.
• In 2022 the Madison Common Council approved a new planning framework, starting with the West and Northeast Areas. The West plan received pushback from some residents concerned about how zoning changes would affect their neighborhoods.
• City officials will hold open house meetings on Nov. 19 at Toki Middle School for the Southwest Plan and Dec. 4 at La Follette High School for the Southeast Plan where community members can talk informally with staff. [City of Madison]

📚 Why Can’t Wisconsin Inmates Get Books From Outside?

• The Wisconsin Department of Corrections recently halted a nonprofit’s program to donate books to prison inmates. The rationale was that drugs could be smuggled inside the used books, although there hasn’t been a single confirmed case of that happening.
• Wisconsin Books to Prisoners has pushed back against the change, saying it deprives inmates of information while not dealing with more common means of drugs entering prisons, such as by staff.
• Dig deeper: On the City Cast Madison podcast today, the nonprofit’s director and cofounder, Camy Matthay, talks about the organization’s work and the effect of the new restrictions. [Wisconsin Watch, 🎧 City Cast Madison]

🎨 New Nine-Story Mural Pays Tribute To Madison

• The blank side of an apartment building at North Henry and West Gilman streets is being transformed by two artists into a nine-story tribute to the city and its wildlife.
• Artists Brian Kehoe and Ray Mawst of OhYa Studio believe the 4,500-square-foot mural will be the largest in Madison. The colorful design includes depictions of a sandhill crane and a swallowtail butterfly.
• After almost a year of work, the artists say they are on track to finish the mural before Thanksgiving. [ 🔒WSJ]

⬆️ Last week’s photo

This historic fountain is located in the basement of the Orpheum Theater!

🎉 Congratulations to Patty P. for being the first person to guess correctly!

⬇️ This week’s photo

Do you know where this giraffe is located? A few clues:

• This animal gazes down on a Madison attraction that has been a family favorite since 1955.
• His neighbors include a hippo, a whale and a giant rooster.
• If you guess right, you really are up to par!