🤖 UW pulls plug on delivery robots

🤖 UW Campus Delivery Robots Get Switched Off

• The 13 little white delivery robots that transport food from dining halls to students in dorms have been removed from the UW-Madison campus.
• UW was the fourth and largest campus in the United States to use the robots from Starship Technologies when they arrived in 2019. But the company told university officials in June that they were reprogramming the robots to be used to deliver groceries in the United States in Europe.
• 🎧 ‘I’m afraid, Dave’: The loss of the robots hit home for me – I won a Milwaukee Press Club award in 2020 for writing about a “ridealong” I did in 2020 with one of the cute little guys. I’m back on the City Cast Madison podcast today talking about the experience – but it’s in our members-only segment, so you have to be a City Cast Madison neighbor to listen!
• Also on the podcast, host Bianca Martin, executive producer Hayley Sperling, and producer Jade Iseri-Ramos talk about Madison schools’ new cell phone ban, the source of the stinky smell emanating from Lake Monona, and how Madison women’s sports are on a roll right now! [🔒WSJ, Cap Times, 🎧City Cast Madison]

🍣 Ichiban Taking Over World Buffet on West Side

• The owners of Ichiban Sichuan Restaurant on Park Street have purchased the former World Buffet location on Madison’s far west side.
• The restaurant at 499 D’Onofrio Drive, which was Pedro’s for many years, will reopen in November as Ichiban Asian Buffet. The buffet will offer 100 hot and cold items, as well as hibachi, sushi, and pho, all for one fixed price.
• The remaining World Buffet at South Towne Mall is still open. [🔒WSJ]

🏗️ YMCA Building New $58M Facility in Fitchburg

• YMCA of Dane County announced plans this week to build a new $58 million facility in Fitchburg at the corner of McKee Road Spoke Drive, across from AMC Fitchburg 18.
• The new building will include two gyms, a fitness center, an aquatic center, a commercial kitchen, and a 10,000-square-foot Access Community Health Center clinic that will be able to serve up to 5,000 people.
• Construction will begin this fall and is estimated to take 18 months. When it opens, it is expected to replace the Lussier Family YMCA on Whitney Way, which opened in 1968. [News 3]

This week’s Friday Floof is Ralphy! “Ralphy is a true midwestern pup — always ready for the cold and snow!” Hopefully Ralphy has also been enjoying this summer weather too.