🐢 Tortoise on the loose (slowly)!

🎒 Lori Mann Carey Elementary Gets Permanent Principal

• The Madison Metropolitan School District has selected Percy Brown Jr. to become the new principal at Lori Mann Carey Elementary School on Badger Road.
• Brown, currently the CEO of North Star Consulting Services and formerly the Director of Equity and Student Achievement in the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District, will technically be the first permanent principal at Lori Mann Carey Elementary. The school was formerly named Southside Elementary, but was renamed in February for Carey, an education advocate who grew up in the area. [WKOW, Cap Times]

🏫 UW-Madison Will End Its Student Diversity Office

• UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin said the university will “sunset” its Division of Diversity, Equity and Educational Achievement and spread its functions to other departments.
• The division was created in 2009 as a central resource to promote equitable and inclusive learning environments throughout the university. But in January, Chief Diversity Officer LaVar Charleston was removed from his leadership position after an internal investigation found questionable financial practices within DDEEA, such as excessive travel expenses and lavish bonuses.
• In addition, UW-Madison is one of dozens of universities across the country that have been targeted by the Trump administration for their diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
• 🎧 Dig deeper: There’s a lot going on at UW-Madison lately, with a new tuition increase for next fall. We get into it on the Friday news roundup on the City Cast Madison podcast, as well as a scathing new report on the Madison City Clerk’s office and a big change for this weekend’s Dane County Farmers’ Market. [Madison 365, Daily Cardinal, NPR, 🎧 City Cast Madison]

🚧 A Lot’s Happening This Weekend, and It’ll Close a Lot of Roads

• It’s one of those weekends in Madison where everything seems to be happening everywhere all at once. That means a lot of road closures to accommodate unexpected traffic.
• Art Fair on the Square will close down the Capitol Square, as well as the 100 blocks of its surrounding streets, between Friday afternoon and Sunday night. In addition, Art Fair Off the Square will close down Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. from Friday early evening through Sunday night.
• The Fete de Marquette at McPike Park will force the closure of South Brearly St. between East Main St. and the Capital City Trail until 10 p.m. Sunday, and the closing of South Ingersoll St. between East Main St. and East Wilson St.until 9 a.m. Monday.
• Finally, Dane St. between Fisher St. and Baird St. will be closed from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 12 for the Madison Gospel 5K/10K. (City of Madison)

You will not be surprised to learn that Midnight Leo McManus is a hit with the ladies. This handsome fellow is not all looks, though. He works hard and plays hard, protecting his family from pests and shadows by day, and watching sports by night. If he’s really into a game, he’ll tap the TV screen as he sees a pass, just to give the ball a little extra oomph. But above all, Midnight is a lovely companion who reminds his mom and dad to slow down and enjoy the sun.