Paul Soglin: Waxing America

Soglin: Why Walker's Bill Is Bad For Cities

Monday, Paul Soglin talked to Sly on WTDY about the fiscal devastation Governor Walker's "emergency" budget "repair" bill would create for Wisconsin's cities. Scroll down's Sly's page to find Paul's segment, or you can listen here.

FYI, there's a great new website, Solidarity Wisconsin, that is compiling blogs and news sources about all this. Well worth a click and then a bookmark.

BTW, if you haven't gotten to the Capitol yet, and you are within range of Madison, you need to experience it for yourself. The enormous number of union people, kids, college students, teachers,and uniformed law enforcement from hundreds of jurisdictions, all polite and friendly with each other, with free food and drinks everywhere you turn - it's the mellowest vibe I've ever seen at a demonstration.

Say hi to Paul when you see him there. (Photo by noblejoanie)

- Barry Orton

 

Madison Will Have A Public Market

This is good news for those who think the Public Market Square should be built concurrently with the train station:

The city of Madison is hiring George Austin, who directed development of the Monona Terrace Convention Center, to guide early planning for the Public Market Square Development District.

The district is a 12-block area on the south side of the Capitol Square with a focus on the two blocks adjacent to the planned new high-speed rail station at 101 East Wilson Street.

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz made the announcement in a letter to members of the Madison City Council on Thursday. Austin, 58, who has been project manager for the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery under a contract with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), will work under a five-month, $25,000 contract with the city. Austin said Thursday that the WARF project ends in December.

Cieslewicz said the district will include a new Madison Public Market and replacement of the aging Government East parking ramp with a new structure, a bike station, intermodal transit links, and possibly office space and a hotel.

Hiring George Austin sends the message that this project will get built. Kristin Czubkowski has Mayor Dave's letter to the Council explaining why the City did not take the usual RFP route here. There will be criticism, but it's a smart move.

In five years or so, you'll be able to buy local cider, cheese and bread at the Public Market to eat on the train to Milwaukee.

- Barry Orton

UPDATE: Mistress of All Alternate Media Brenda Konkel has the specifics of the criticism here. Brenda believes the hiring violates the City's ordinance (MGO 4.26(4)(b)) regarding when an RFP is not required, because the Ordinance requires City Council approval.

 

Earth Day Looking Into the Future : Earth Day at 40

Forty years ago Tom Smith was a University of Wisconsin student. He was also the student organizer for the first Earth Day event which kicked off on April 17, 1970 and ran for an entire week.

Today Professor Thomas W. Smith is organizing the anniversary Earth Day at Forty. It is a good thing that some things do not change.

Then, as now, Tom was kind enough to invite me to speak Tuesday at Monona Terrace. It was a heady experience sharing the dais, on the eve of Earth Day, Tuesday night April 21, 1970, with Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-WI), Senator Mike Gravel (D- Alaska), Boyd Gibbons, Secretary to U.S. Council on Environmental Quality and of course the rock band, Oz.

I made my own small effort by introducing a resolution in the city council that proposed banning the internal combustion engine. That went nowhere.

I suggested using methane as an alternative fuel. That is finally making some progress.

Our fledgling movement to create a pedestrian, bicycle, and transit mall of State street took a small step forward as the blocks between Park Street and Lake Street were shut down for fair exhibitors.

Unfortunately the issues, as learned over the past four decades, are even more challenging. The oceans rise from global warming and those oceans are filled with thousands of square miles of floating debris, mostly plastics which are gradually degrading from the effects of sun and water into the seas that feed much of the world's population.

At the time, Senator Nelson was asked who could we afford to clean up the environment. He responded by asking "How could we not afford to clean the environment?'

Today our society is divided. One side looks at the externalities. They examine the  price of contamination that entire nations pay for an unregulated environment.

The air and the water are not free. Not when the cost of obtaining clean air and water is mounting daily for most people.

For centuries, in every nation it was recognized that while a stream might run through private property the landowner had no right to poison the water that an entire community needed for survival.

It is time for modern society to conserve that principle. That is what I will say this coming Tuesday. Some things do not change.

 

F.I.B's: The Chicago Hot Dog or the Italian Beef?

Doug Moe, Wisconsin State Journal columnist and sometime low-brow epicurean, and I had the basic twenty minute lunch last week at F.I.B.'s located around the corner from the M&I Bank on the Capitol Square.

F.I.B.'s might stand for Fine Italian Beef, then again it might not.

In any case it is owned and operated by the congenial John Handley who has his own story to tell. Or maybe Doug will tell it - actually Doug tells the story today Ex-mayor has no beef with FIB’S .

I ordered the hot dog, Doug savored the Italian Beef.

Good stuff. On my persnickety grading scale the Chicago Hot Dog got a B which is an especially high mark north of Highland Park. Highlights were the luxurious hot dog, accompanied by the outstanding pickle - or 'cuke' - aged just right and with the appropriate snap as your teeth cut through it.

The bun was properly decorated with the required poppyseeds though I would prefer it steamed a bit more. The only other improvement I would recommend is French's mustard, not the harsher more common Wisconsin style. FIBS may have had a choice and I did not bother to ask. Those two improvements would take the Chicago Hot Dog into the lofty B+ category.

Moe obviously enjoyed the Italian Beef. He managed to devour it in quick order, not dripping onto his slacks, though on more than one occasion I suggested he wipe his chin.

In the meantime  Barry Orton came upon this stunner. Obviously our Waxing America editor has too much time on his hands reviewing websites that specialize in ugly tattoos. We will not pass judgment but simply provide this for your edification. Then again, it does look delicious. The hot dog.

Great Historic Find, Revealed Only Here: Carl's

Faithful readers of Waxing America know we bring you critically acclaimed stories, keen analysis and otherwise obscure but culturally informative knowledge that you would never get at Daily Kos or the Huffington Post.

Through dedicated scholarship and the good fortune on checking pictures from the Facebook group Jeffrey Manor, Chicago Il. Memories of Growing Up In Jeffrey Manor we bring you this priceless and impossible to duplicate photograph from the collection of Arnold L. Stern, the original Carl's:

While stuffy politicians and yuppies argue over preserving lake views, and upper east side swells swoon over some Frank Lloyd Wright design, we ordinary folk recognize historical places when we see them.

Sadly, age and the dyes of the 1960's no longer provide accurate portrayal of the garish reds but you get the point.

The relocated Carl's can be found conveniently located at 83rd and Jeffrey.

When I wrote A Chicago Hot Dog Review for Madison Worth Your Time...

I know my hot dogs; I have eaten them for almost sixty years. I ate them on the south side, west side, and north sides of Chicago. I ate them in the suburbs and in the ball parks. (No Chicago ball park ever served a real Chicago hot dog.) I ate them at Fluky's, Stash's, Big Herm's (he had only one good arm), Little Herm's (two good arms), a dozen places on Dempster or off of Western, more on Damen*, and all over Stoney Island. (The best was next to the Avalon Theater.) And I have a heart by-pass to prove it.

 Eddie Omens wrote in about this sanctuary near the Avalon Theater:

Carl's.....in the 50s......Very small place... warm steamy...The old guy ( it was Carl) who made the hotdogs wore glasses that were always so steamed up, I don't know how he could see to put the stuff on the hot dogs....He lined them up on a piece of wood that had door handles to keep the steamed buns in the correct position to dress them.....wrapped in paper and a bunch of fries.....25 cents each.....Oh yes A nehi....Orange drink.....I wish I had a couple now....Eddie Omens in San Diego

 

For those who need more imagery: More Chicago Hot Dogs - The Pickle and Mushy Buns (Ugh)

 

The Wisconsin State Bacterium and Other Blizzardy Thoughts

While the blizzard seems to be occupying most Wisconsinites, it is clear that weightier issues command our attention:

Wisconsin experiments with the idea of a state bacterium

The state assembly is considering a bill currently that would name the bacterium that converts milk into cheese as -- ready for it? -- the official state microbe.  The microbe, Lactococcus lactis, is poised to join the state’s list of 21 designated symbols, which includes an official dance (the polka), beverage (milk) and domesticated animal (the Holstein dairy cow).

Which got me to thinking, how well do I relate to other Wisconsin Symbols?

• I do just fine with the state flag, state motto (Forward), state song (On Wisconsin), and the State Coat of Arms, which is found on the state flag.
• State Flower -wood violet.  Ambivalent. It really does nothing for me. The green leaves and purple petals can be seen around our house in the spring and early summer but frankly I prefer peonies.
• State Bird - robin. Talk about common, it might as well be the sparrow. I would prefer any of the numerous birds of prey that we almost wiped out with DDT fifty years ago. No matter how many hawks or eagles I see, each one is a new adventure. Or how about the turkey vulture?
• State tree- Sugar maple. More commonality. Anyway, we are wiping them out along our roadways as they do not stand up to winter salting. I much prefer the elm. There are still a few around the state that were not devastated by that nasty Dutch insect and the microbes it spread.
• State fish - Muskellunge. Well, no one can improve on that, though a good case can be made for the hearty carp which serves as a reminder that we should not mess with mother nature.
• State animal - badger. Frankly, the bear or the wolf makes a better statement but then again our ancestors were not thinking of mascots for a football team when they selected the nasty rodent. (OK, technically it is not a rodent; even better, it is a weasel.)
• State Wildlife animal - white-tailed deer. You can never have too many animals as state symbols. This one is appropriate since it keeps the DNR in the news and the DNR can never have too much news.
• State Symbol of Peace - Mourning Dove. Yes. No animal should be a state symbol unless we can hunt it.
• State Insect - Honey Bee. Yes.
• State dog. American Water Spaniel. Really, this was the favorite dog of Wisconsinites? Do you know anyone who owns a Water Spaniel? Everyone around here has Labs, Golden Retrievers, or rescued Greyhounds. At least we do not hunt Water Spaniels.
• State beverage - milk. Duh. Well my beverage is neither milk, or the even more obvious, beer. It is Crystal Light. Raspberry Ice. Refreshing, no calories, goes with anything and reduces the chance of kidney stones.
• State Grain - Corn. Yes. No argument here. Nothing like fresh corn on the cob and a cold glass of Crystal Light.
• State Dance - Polka. Anyone I have not yet antagonized should know that the Polka just does not cut it except at football games.

Road Trip: Hot Dogs, Race Track, Elementary School Gym Teacher, 50 years.

Going back almost three decades, Bill Kessler, Frankie Pots and Pans, and I made regular trips to see live horse racing in Chicago. A combination of the introduction of off-track betting and our advancing age ended the practice almost fifteen years ago.

Determined to make a trip this year, we scheduled one for last Thursday. We were joined by Doug Moe of the Wisconsin State Journal, who not only enjoys horse racing but knows a good hot dog, and best of all, tells a great story.

Our itinerary was slightly altered when I got a surprise call from my elementary school gym teacher Ed O'Farrell, famous from that old spiritual, Go Down Moses*.

Coach was great then, and when we met him at Fat Tommy's he was as wonderful as I remembered him fifty years ago. Doug Moe wrote about our sojourn on Sunday,  

Colorful characters hit the track:

Before getting to Hawthorne, we stopped at a small restaurant called Fat Tommy's for another Soglin passion, a Chicago hot dog. We were joined by Ed O'Farrell, Soglin's 77-year-old former elementary school gym teacher. The two hadn't seen each other in 40 49 years and had recently reconnected on the Internet. They embraced.

After lunch, Kessler said, "Ed is a gracious gentleman."

Frank Pots and Pans nodded. "Something we're not used to."

I look forward to the next visit to see the Coach, another Chicago hot dog - (Fat Tommy's gets a B plus), a pleasant day of racing, and my Madison companions are great.

 

*Go down, Moses

Way down in Egypt's land

Tell O'Farrell

(To) let my people go.

At holiday assemblies our fifth grade class sang these lyrics repeatedly to the chagrin of our music teacher at Phillip Murray School in Chicago.

Do Not Freeze the Hot Dog

As Doug Moe reports, we met for a Chicago Hot Dog tasting yesterday. It is now clear that a major part of the problem in replicating the taste of real Chicago Hot Dog is getting the fresh Vienna red hot properly cooked and then into a fresh steamed Rosen's bun with poppy seeds.

Summit debates merits of hot dogs

The first great Madison-Chicago Hot Dog Summit was held at noon on Wednesday, and right away one of the participants, Paul Soglin, former mayor of Madison, was singing the praises of a Chicago area joint called Poochie's...

...The other summit participants were Mitch Kite and Kevin Sherfinski, local software engineers with Chicago ties who operate the Web site hotdogchicagostyle.com...

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

..."Poochie's is clearly an A," Soglin said. And with that, he pulled out his cell phone and punched in some numbers.

"We're having a discussion," Soglin said into his phone, a moment later. "Do you guys serve your dogs fresh, never frozen?"

A guy named Jim Burns, who identified himself as "one of the professionals" at Poochie's, confirmed that they're served fresh. "And with tender loving care."

Soglin hung up. He chewed the last bite of his Signature Deli dog. "I'm off to a doctor's appointment," he said, and grinned. "No blood work today."

Hot Dogs transported outside of Chicago most likely suffer the indignity of freezing* which inevitably reduces the crispness of the flavor and results in less than a perfect sensual and exotic feeling when you bite through the casing.

* There is also a definite loss in the taste and texture of animal (and plant) foods after freezing, which is one of the main reasons why I avoid buying prefrozen organ-meats. Quick-freezing also doesn't damage the food as much as slow-freezing does (slow freezing would include putting food into your deep-freeze).

Coconate's Chicago Hot Dog - Well Worth It.

I worked at home until noon on Monday and then headed to campus. I called Doug Moe at the Wisconsin State Journal to go over the short list of untried vendors of Chicago Hot Dogs. Moe usually knows of what he writes.

We agreed that Coconate's Chicago Trattoria's vending cart located located at Charter and Johnson was the obvious choice.

I was determined to be reasonable.

Two weeks ago Sunday, Sara and I took a drive to Chicago's North Shore to look at historic homes which included a drive by Frank Lloyd Wright's Willets House.
 
After a stop at Poochie's, 3832 Dempster Skokie which gets favorable reviews of its fat laden menu, standards were  high.

Poochie's is exceptional. The Vienna hot dog is fresh, your teeth actually cut through the casing, the condiments are a dazzling array of colors and aroma, and the poppy seed bun steamed to perfection. Steaming the bun is as critical as delicately adorning the onions and relish. It takes timing and balance not unlike a Chicago Bears linebacker wedging his way through the Packers offensive line.

I was third in line at Cononate's, missing most of the noonday crowd, which is reported to get over a dozen deep. I checked over the menu and clearly faced with a single hot dog for $2.75 or a pair with a drink for $5.00 opted for the obvious.

I placed my order and my Vienna hot dogs were plunked from the boiler and neatly laid upon the Rosen's poppy seed buns. They were properly adorned - my server knew the drill, and then with a well-trained culinary maneuver, impressed me by removing a pickle from the pickle jar, and with deftness reminiscent of the Madison Club, sliced my cuke with a cleaver from the 19th century.

The hot dogs were wrapped, bagged, and I was on my way.

So there is no suspense, let me say up front Conconate's gets a B, a very impressive grade as noted in previous reviews. In fact no hot dog served outside of the Chicago metropolitan area has ever received a higher score.  From that review: "considering that 90% of the spindly wieners served as a Chicago Hot Dog would get a C or lower."

To elevate a Cononate's hot dog, two changes are necessary. The combination of the size of the pickle slice and its slight over-aging overwhelmed the fine natural balance and symmetry of the hot dog, bun, and other condiments.

For a detailed and scholarly dissertation on the cuke, I refer the dear reader to a previous posting: More Chicago Hot Dogs - The Pickle and Mushy Buns (Ugh)

My first hot dog was almost perfect, but a carry out hot dog must give the persnickety connoisseur time to get lunch back to the office or at least to a park bench, still warm. 

These delicate delights need to be a bit warmer or better insulated, especially as winter approaches.

There was one other problem, but it does not impact the evaluation. My hot dog was prepared and served by a very pleasant woman, who could easily pass all of the restaurant code requirements of the 21st century. As noted in the review of the defunct, Mad Dog's:

...I suspected there was something wrong. Missing was the the grizzled knuckles, hairy arms, the sweat dripping off her just as hairy brow, topped by a paper hat that looked like it been used to clean her shoes. How novel; a Chicago hot dog prepared by someone who could get by the health inspector.

This is neither Poochie's or Cononate's.

Robust and Vibrant Cities: It Is About More Than Building Height

I received a thoughtful email from Matt Tucker, City of Madison Zoning Administrator on the subject of building heights which is posted below.

Before getting into a more detailed discussion about zoning and building heights, it is necessary to look at how decisions made by the federal, state and local governments impact the robust nature of a city.

Cities need to be flexible and vibrant. They need to be strong and dynamic to confront a myriad of changing problems and conditions. The decision-making process must balance environmental and economic needs, neighborhood conditions and the larger urban demands.

Balkanization of a city is undesirable.

Too often, legislation is adopted without balancing all of these requirements. Sometimes it is found in a state statute; sometimes it is the result of a deed restriction, or public referendum:

• Wisconsin adopted spending controls so when a community experienced a catastrophic disaster, even though the funds were available, the expenditures for recovery could only be made if comparable reductions were made in other services.
• A property owner places a restrictive covenant on rural land at the turn of the last century so that liquor cannot be sold. Today, that land is part of a dense urban center and is the site for a proposed office complex that includes a fancy restaurant that wishes to serve alcohol.
• The federal government adopts legislation regulating overtime and the use of compensatory time, thus depriving the municipality and the labor unions, who would both like to do something else, from making a flexible local decision.
• Voters in California adopt Proposition 13, which is followed by a series of additional laws requiring super majorities to change the present tax structure. In less than twenty years one of the finest public education systems in the United States becomes one of the worst.
•  Land use restrictions are adopted which do not take into consideration property tax revenues, environmental consequences including creating the densities needed to make public transit economically viable, as well as the need for employment centers to expand.

Zoning codes need to protect and at the same time provide flexibility for future growth and development. I fully support the basic premise of zoning such as we find in the existing ordinances. Single family homes and duplexes should have height regulations of three stories or less. There should be commercial areas serving neighborhoods with appropriate densities that do not tolerate high rise buildings.

At the same time, there needs to be areas both downtown and proximate to major transportation centers that allow for dense development.

A flexible code means discretion. In some ways, a rigid ordinance is easier to administer - with fewer judgments, there is less to debate.

More on this subject next week.

email from Matt Tucker:

Paul-  I saw the story on your blog about building heights, and I feel compelled to offer some more information.

Here is a brief summary of the height-related components of the draft zoning code:

·         The new commercial and mixed-use districts include maximum heights, with additional height permissible as a Conditional Use. 

·         Of the employment districts, the Traditional Workplace and Suburban Employment districts have maximum heights, with the others have no maximum height. 

·         The master planning requirements for places like mixed-use center and campus/institutional districts will enable a development to prescribe its own building heights as part of the master plan approval process.   

·         The Transit-oriented development overlay will also respond to heights and densities in the areas in proximity to the transit points, but the actual regulations will evolve out of the master planning for those transit stops.

·         It is envisioned that the urban/downtown districts (not drafted yet, but working in concert with the downtown plan) could be used at places other than downtown, where policy makers, neighborhoods, developers, and other folks may want to see greater focused densities in taller buildings that these districts are intended to facilitate.

The discussions surrounding building height has been of the more involved parts of this code rewrite. The draft zoning code takes a significant step away from the current regulations, where building heights are primarily tied to floor-area ratio (the ratio of lot size to building size).  With the current code, development cannot meet the FAR, so projects end up as PUD’s.  This is something we are trying to resolve as part of this code rewrite.  In some limited cases, FAR is retained, but for the most part, it has been eliminated.

The challenge with this project is finding the balance between the adopted neighborhood plans and other plans, the contemporary projects we are seeing being proposed and built as PUD’s today, and the vision we have for places to evolve or develop into what the City’s Comprehensive Plan is intended to enable.  One thing became clear with this project: a taller height requirement was needed where higher density is encouraged, and the new code also needs flexibility to exceed a height requirement, where appropriate and where a process exists for the discussion to take place.

 

As always, I appreciate the opportunity for people to talk and learn about these issues.  Thank you for bringing this issue up.

 

Matt-