🎾 Vilas Park tennis courts are full of faults

🚨 Police Would Waive Underage Drinking Tickets In Emergencies

• With the Mifflin Street Block Party coming up April 26, a new Madison Police policy would shield people who call the police in an emergency from being charged with underage drinking.
• The policy mirrors one already adopted on campus by UW-Madison police. It’s intended to encourage students to seek help without worrying about facing charges. The policy, expected to be adopted Tuesday, covers both a person calling for help for someone else and an impaired person requiring help. [WPR]

🎾 Vilas Park Tennis Courts Are Falling Apart

• Madison tennis players will have to go somewhere other than Vilas Park to play a match for a while. Madison Parks say that not only are the six courts unsafe to play on, but they are beyond fixing and will have to be demolished and replaced.
• The courts were built in 1977 and last renovated in 2017. The courts have no nets, weeds are growing through cracks in its foundation, and the area is currently fenced off for safety reasons.
• The plan is to replace the courts with a combination tennis-pickleball facility. But the endeavor are not currently included in the five-year Capital Improvement Plan. [ 🔒 WSJ]

🏫 Madison College Has a New President

• Jennifer Berne has been selected as the new president of Madison Area Technical College. Berne is currently the provost of Oakland Community College in Auburn Hills, Michigan and will assume the role on July 1.
• Berne follows President Jack Daniels, who led the college for 11 years before retiring. She was chosen by the MATC Board from among four finalists. [Madison College]

They say that those who care about the environment should “think globally, act locally.” For those of us in Wisconsin, Earth Day is both local and global.

Wisconsin politician Gaylord Nelson launched what became Earth Day in 1970, organizing a national teach-in demonstration to convince politicians in Washington, D.C. that there was public support behind pro-environmental action. On the City Cast Madison podcast today, Curt Meine of the Aldo Leopold Foundation talked to host Bianca Martin about Wisconsin's role in the environmentalist movement.

There are all kinds of family-friendly, thoughtful, and fun ways to celebrate Earth Day and support environmental causes in Madison this week.

🌍 Earth Fest

UW-Madison, in particular the Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies that bears the former governor’s name, goes big for Earth Day with this weeklong series of events. The centerpiece is an Earth Fest Forum on April 23, but there’s also a dinner on UW-Madison’s energy future on April 24, a “Green Cities, Green Students” resource fair on April 25, and a Wildflower Walk in the UW Lakeshore Nature Preserve on April 27.

♻️ DaneNET E-Cycling Event

Responsibly recycle computers, cellphones, and other tech devices at this special e-cycling event from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. today in the parking lot of Alliant Energy Center. Working computers will be wiped of data and refurbished to provide to low-income households as part of DaneNET’s Digital Equity Project.

🚶 Earth Day Parade

350 Wisconsin and other local environmental organizations are sponsoring a parade starting at 3 p.m. at the Lady Forward statue today. March around the Capitol, listen to speakers, and take part in ARTivism projects to protect Wisconsin’s land, water, and air.

Meet Roger! Roger is shy at first but warms up quickly. He likes receiving pets and loves using his noggin with puzzle toys. He enjoys running along the fence with some dogs, but can be nervous around new dogs, so any introductions should be done slowly. He’s looking for a home (not an apartment) with no children, and is hoping to find a patient family who will continue to work with him on positive reinforcement training and giving him lots of treats.