🥠 Imperial Garden isn't going anywhere

☃️ Your Guide to "Alternate Side Parking" aka Winter Parking

• If you live outside the central city (see map), park on odd-numbered street sides on odd-numbered calendar days. Then, park on even-numbered street sides on even-numbered calendar days. The rule is in effect every day between 1 a.m. and 7a.m. – in other words, overnight.
• If you live in the central city, the rules apply only if there is a "snow emergency," three or more inches of snow in a single night.
• The city is being a bit more lax with the rules when there isn’t snow on the ground. But don’t get caught off guard, now that we’ve had a proper storm, not only will you get fined for violating the rules, but you will cause a headache for our snowplow drivers and we don't want that! Keep it simple: sign up for winter parking alerts. [ 🔒 Wisconsin State Journal, City of Madison]

📚 Students Say District Sexual Harassment Reforms Not Enough

• When a trusted teacher at Madison’s East High School plead guilty to filming students on field trips with secret devices in their hotel rooms for years, students hoped a the school district would overhaul their sexual harassment policies to follow best practices. Five years later, affected students say that still isn't the case.
• The school district requested an external review and did make updates to field trip policies, but many of the research-based recommendations such as setting clear boundaries between student-teacher interactions, and maintaining a centralized record of complaints have not been adopted. We dive into the issue on today's podcast. [Cap Times, City Cast Madison 🎧]

🥡 Imperial Garden Isn't Going Anywhere

• The popular Chinese restaurant's owner had hopes to build a 10-story 195-apartment building, but has abandoned plans after Middleton's planning commission recommended denying a rezoning. Residents didn't like the idea of more traffic and less delicious food.
• Looks like the Imperial Garden will continue with business as usual. For now. [Isthmus]

Madison isn't home to many skyscrapers but you can't seem to go two blocks without running into four construction cranes. This got us thinking, what are the coolest buildings in Madison? From the iconic to the quirky, here's what we love and what Madison Minutes readers love too!

Robert W. Kastenmeier U.S. Courthouse

120 N. Henry St.

The massive blue building with the smooth corners is a “canister of justice,” as Tone Madison once said. Or, as many have said, it looks like a gigantic Lego piece, a fun modernist building where serious things happen.

First Unitarian Church

900 University Bay Drive

Frank Lloyd Wright designed his congregation’s church in 1946 to be an “aspirational” place, foregoing the usual steeple for a giant triangular prow that’s variously been described as a plow slicing through the prairie or two hands folded in prayer.

Kennedy Manor

1 Langdon St.

Madison Minutes reader Susanne V. picked this apartment building, citing its “historic charm and its eclectic community of residents.” It retains much of the appeal from when it was built in 1929, from its terrazzo floor to the brass elevator doors.

Barrymore Theatre

2090 Atwood Ave.

My favorite place to see a show in Madison is this funky neighborhood theater, which mixes its neo-italian dome on the exterior with funky flourishes on the inside, especially those twinkling lights on the ceiling of the theater. If only they could make those cramped bathrooms a little bigger.

Hey, she could meet you, and this is crazy, but if you love Carly, adopt her maybe!

Carly Rae Jepsen – adult cat version – was living in an abandoned vehicle in Madison, and the parking attendant was providing her with food and water for about a week before she was brought to DCHS in mid-November.

When she first arrived, Carly Rae was very shy and hiding, but with patience, she’s slowly coming out of her shell. To help, Carly Rae was enrolled in The Jackson Galaxy Project’s Cat Pawsitive initiative at DCHS, a reward-based clicker training program.

Since then, she’s come out of hiding a few times to enjoy treats and receive gentle pets, including chin scratches. Carly Rae is looking for a quiet home with a patient family who will give her the time she needs to settle in and help her build trust. She’s sure to take the spotlight in your home and heart!