🚕 How Union Cab fares in the Uber era

👮 What Madison Wants In a New Police Chief

• In the wake of former Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes leaving to become Seattle’s top cop, the Madison Fire and Police Commission has started the process of hiring his replacement.
• The commission, which handles the interview and hiring process, says it wants a police chief that will “stick” in Madison, and bring a minimum of five years’ experience to the role. Assistant Chief John Patterson is currently serving as interim chief.
• 🎧 Dig deeper: We talked to Barnes before he left for Seattle on the City Cast Madison podcast. And in our questionnaire to Madison City Council candidates, we made sure to ask them what Madison should be looking for in its next chief. [WKOW, 🎧 City Cast Madison, Madison Minutes]

🎭 MercLab Theater Space Faces Closing Night

• A former garage on Fair Oaks Avenue that has been used as a rehearsal space for Madison theater companies will be shut down and demolished at the end of April.
• MercLab’s days have been numbered for years as developers have eyed the space, but it’s managed to persist as a home for some of Madison’s quirkier thespian companies like Mercury Players Theater. The space will be torn down to make room for a five-story apartment building that will provide affordable housing. The final play to use MercLab is the upcoming “Becky’s New Car,” which opens March 28 at the Bartell Theatre. [Cap Times, Bartell Theatre]

🏫 Schools May Launch ‘Weighted Grading’ For Top Students

• Madison schools may implement “weighted grading” as early as next year for students who take more challenging classes. The shift would help students take advantage of the Universities of Wisconsin’s Direct Admit and Wisconsin Guarantee program, which grants admission to seniors who rank at the top of their class.
• The district is currently soliciting feedback from students, parents, and staff on the idea. Many Dane County schools don’t have traditional class rankings and also don’t offer weighted grades for more challenging classes, such as honors or advanced placement classes. [ 🔒 WSJ]

⬆️ Last Week’s Photo

This vinyl collection and DJ booth is located at Lola’s!

🎉 Lola’s is a popular spot – we got over 100 correct guesses! Congratulations to Wait N., Vivian C., and Jon P. for being the first three to guess right!

⬇️ This Week’s Photo

Can you guess where the birds are flocking to? A few clues:

• It’s located between downtown and the UW-Madison campus
• It’s a restaurant that’s been open for a little over a year.
• Sorry, birds. The signature item on the menu is finger lickin’ good!