🏠 Are two houses better than one?

🏡 Madison Officials Want To Double Up To Meet Housing Crisis

• Duplexes and backyard lots might have an easier path to approval on single-family lots as part of a package of zoning changes being proposed by Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway and members of the Madison City Council.
• The changes would permit two-unit homes in all residential areas where single-family homes are allowed, and loosen restrictions on dividing properties with deep lots to create “backyard lots” for additional housing. It would also adjust zoning rules downtown to match other parts of the city.
• Rhodes-Conway said the changes would encourage more “missing middle” housing options for both new homeowners and longtime homeowners who want to downsize but stay in their neighborhoods.
• Dig deeper: Madison is in a housing crisis but the mayor has an ambitious plan to ease the burden. She spoke about it on the City Cast Madison podcast. [City of Madison, 🎧City Cast Madison]

🌯 BelAir Cantina on MLK Boulevard To Close

• The restaurant located just off the Capitol Square that’s known for its burritos and margaritas will close at the end of June. A sign in the window at BelAir Cantina said the restaurant at 111 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard will close June 29.
• No explanation was provided for the closing. BelAir will continue to operate its five other locations in the Milwaukee area. [WMTV]

💸 UW-Madison Chancellor Set For $150,000 Bonus

• UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin will receive a $150,000 bonus if she stays in her position through the end of June.
• The Board of Regents OK’d the “retention incentive” for Mnookin last summer, and will continue to receive more annual bonuses each year she remains chancellor, up to $350,000 in 2029. The bonuses are funded by private dollars, not state money.
• Mnookin was hired in 2022 for a base salary of $750,000, and made $892,000 in 2024. [Cap Times]

Meet Reggie! In addition to striking a killer Blue Steel pose in photos, Reggie enjoys a good chin scratch. She will also perch on her human’s shoulder like the stereotypical parrot on a pirate’s shoulder, the better for the world to see Reggie’s majesty.