📵The fight to limit screens in schools

🚔 Madison’s Public Safety Board Hasn’t Been Meeting: Both the June and August meetings of this committee that advises policy for the fire, police, and public health departments were cancelled. This is despite the city grappling with issues of police oversight and proposed budget cuts to both fire and police departments. [Cap Times]

🧱Demolishing a Building to Become a Lawn? The owner of the defunct pumphouse on South Park Street and West Washington Avenue is asking the city for permission to demolish the building to turn it into a lawn. Al Cole hopes to sell the property, a neighboring commercial building and a house to a developer after the demolition is complete. [🔒WSJ]

📵Parents Pushing to Limit All Screens in Madison Schools: Phones have been prohibited during class time in all Wisconsin schools since July, but a group of about 200 Madison parents doesn’t think that goes far enough. This group is calling for pen and paper to be the default over Chromebooks and other technology. The district will be revising its technology plan this month. [WPR]

🏡Madison Top 10 City to Buy a Home? A WalletHub study ranked Madison the 7th best place to buy a home out of 300 U.S. cities. WalletHub used 17 different metrics including vacancy rate, population growth rate, median home-price appreciation, and housing affordability. Madison ranked 86th in Affordability & Economic Environment but 4th for its Real Estate Market, which is interesting… [Fox6]

What To Know About the Sterling Hall Bombing

Fifty-six years ago, on Aug. 24, 1970, four men bombed UW-Madison’s Sterling Hall in protest of the ongoing Vietnam war. The blast resulted in the death of a physics researcher, multiple injuries, and millions of dollars in damage.

To commemorate the anniversary of the bombing, City Cast Madison host Bianca Martin spoke to UW oral historian Troy Reeves about the event and its lasting impact on the Madison community.

Here’s a timeline of events surrounding the infamous explosion.

Years of Discord

The UW-Madison campus experienced years of anti-war protests leading up to the Sterling Hall bombing, including the 1967 student protest against recruitment efforts from Dow Chemical Company, which produced napalm.

The protest turned violent and marked the first time police used tear gas to disperse participants. However, the police reaction didn’t slow the pace of anti-war demonstrations, which would continue through the end of the Vietnam war.

From 1968 to 1970, multiple university offices were firebombed, but the bombing at Sterling Hall took the violence to a new level.

The Bombing of Sterling Hall

At 3:42 a.m. on Aug. 24, 1970, a bomb rocked UW-Madison, damaging not only Sterling Hall, but the old Campus Hospital and several surrounding buildings. The explosion killed Robert Fassnacht, a postdoctoral researcher in physics, who was in Sterling Hall conducting research.

The bomb, planted by a group of four men who opposed the war, aimed to destroy the Army Mathematics Research Center because of its links to the military. The group, known as the New Year’s Gang, detonated a van full of homemade explosives before fleeing the scene. Three of the men involved were caught and sentenced to prison, but one remains at large to this day.

Meet Picasso! This adult cat was found wandering in Madison with an eye injury and brought to DCHS in early August, where veterinarians removed the eye to give him the best chance at a comfortable life. He’s been healing well and is eager to start his next chapter with a loving family.

While the painter Picasso was notoriously difficult, this cat purrs with happiness whether you’re speaking to him or showering him with pets. He’s sweet, friendly, and loves to climb into laps for snuggles. Picasso is looking for a home where he can explore and relax while getting spoiled with lots of attention and love by his family.