District 13 Updates: Office Hours, Get Outside, Less Salty, US Capitol Breach

Hi Everyone,

After a two-week break due to the holidays, weekly office hours will resume this Friday at 9 AM. If you cannot make this time, but still have something on your mind that you'd like to discuss, please email me at district13@cityofmadison.com or call 608.424.2580.

Here is the Zoom link:

Tag Evers is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Office Hours
Time: Jan 8, 2021 09:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://cityofmadison.zoom.us/j/94000796281?pwd=ODZQNmVqckRMOU15Qy9mTzJBd3JVQT09

Meeting ID: 940 0079 6281
Passcode: 382804
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Meeting ID: 940 0079 6281
Find your local number: https://cityofmadison.zoom.us/u/akbNgrzl

Cure for the Wintertime Blues

Feeling blue from spending too much time in Zoom meetings, sitting in front of a computer screen? Find yourself isolating too much, not getting outside on any regular basis due to Covid and a reluctance to face the wintry cold?

I've recently rediscovered the joys of ice skating and cross-country skiing, and I was reminded just how much fun it is.  And how therapeutic it is to get outside, get my heart pumping and breathe the fresh air.

Madison Parks has lots of options for you in terms of winter fun.  Check out their website here. Even if you're not a winter sports enthusiast, going to one of our parks for a walk does wonders to lift the spirits. One of my favorite places to walk is Forest Hill Cemetery, a place of reverence and utter beauty. My humble advice is to take time to stay healthy – body, soul and spirit.

Less Salty: Don't Miss Out on Salt Awareness Week 2021

City Engineering is asking the public to reduce salt use when removing ice and snow this winter and join Wisconsin Salt Wise for Wisconsin Salt Awareness Week, Jan. 11-15, 2021.

City Engineering and Wisconsin Salt Wise will have a number of resources next week on social media to help the community take steps toward reducing salt use.

City Engineering will have a series of one-minute Facebook videos covering different topics the community can use to reduce salt use. The "Less Salty" videos will cover the following topics on the City of Madison Engineering Division Facebook page :

• How to Use a Pavement Thermometer to Your Advantage
• Winter Snow Removal Kit
• Missing the Storm, Try Brine
• 3 Questions to Ask a Hired Winter Maintenance Contractor
• Snowblower 101

Wisconsin Salt Wise is hosting half-hour livestream conversations each day from 12:30-1 p.m. on the following topics from experts in the industry:

• Jan. 11: Salty Streams and Formerly Freshwater Lakes: An Ecosystem Perspective
• Jan. 12: Be Salt Wise and Pet Smart 
• Jan. 13: Salt your Dinner, not our Drinking Water 
• Jan. 14: Put your house/business on a low-salt diet 
• Jan. 14: (8 a.m.-12 p.m.) Smart Salting for Property Managers 
• Jan. 15: Salt Reduction Champions  

Impact of Salt: Why this Matters

It only takes one teaspoon of salt to permanently pollute five gallons of water. When over-salting happens, salt impacts our environment and infrastructure. It travels into our lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands, putting our aquatic life at risk and endangers our freshwater resources.

An easy way to be mindful of salt use, is to be "salt wise." Wisconsin Salt Wise is a coalition of organizations from across Dane County working together to reduce salt pollution in our lakes, streams and drinking water. Wisconsin Salt Wise is a great resource for residents to learn about salt use, its impacts on our community and salt-certified winter maintenance professionals in the community.

Contacts

Hannah Mohelnitzky, Public Information Officer, City of Madison Engineering Division, 608-669-3560, hmohelnitzky@cityofmadison.com
Allison Madison, Wisconsin Salt Wise, AllisonM@madsewer.org

Lastly

"For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind."  Hosea 8:7

What we witnessed yesterday was shocking, yet not surprising. For years now, Donald Trump has been infecting the body politic with his poisonous lies. The era of "alternative facts" has culminated in an insurrectionist riot by domestic terrorists parading the Confederate Flag within the halls of the U.S. Capitol. Postmodernity, having long ago escaped the arid confines of academia, now defines our politics. Bluster, performance and social media celebrity have sidelined rational inquiry. Hubris is no longer a sin, but a virtue. The world is turned upside down and our future as a democracy is in question.

Trump must be impeached and disqualified from running again. Even so, he is not going away. It's very likely he'll create his own media empire. The lies will continue. The imperative remains as world citizens to commit ourselves to the truth, not arrogantly assuming we have all the answers, but in a commitment to align ourselves with first principles rooted in justice, fairness, and compassion.

If you still have trouble getting your head around the concept of white supremacy, just ponder for a moment what would have happened had thousands of armed Black people marched on the Capitol, breached its doors, assaulted police officers, ransacked offices, etc. 

There would be piles of dead bodies. 

Meanwhile, two big news items:  Democrats prevailed in the two runoff elections in GA and Covid deaths yesterday reached an all-time daily high of nearly 4000.  Both items were sidelined by the surreal spectacle we witnessed.

Widespread availability of the vaccine is months away. We must remain vigilant in protecting ourselves and each other from this deadly virus. 

Rise up. Don't be dismayed. Get outside, take a walk in one of parks and engage in your favorite winter activity.  And continue to look out for those most vulnerable in our midst.

We are not going to let this beat us.

Take Care and Stay Safe.

Tag