Trust in police is built and lost in the everyday encounters that matter. Is Bread & Badges one of them? Key Points The Madison Police Department launched Bread & Badges on May 10, a Midtown District pilot during National Police Week that pairs officers with volunteer hosts for meals in residents’ homes. The premise in the launch release, stated by Officer A. Lewis, is that trust is built in everyday conversations rather than in moments of crisis. Decades of police trust rese

Key Points On April 21, the Common Council will vote on proposed changes to Madison’s police oversight ordinance that would subject the Office of the Independent Police Monitor to mayoral control and restrict its access to MPD records and independent legal advice. Taken together, the proposed changes would make the Independent Monitor subservient to the Mayor and the Police Department, the very agency the OIM is charged with overseeing. That is the opposite of what the Counci

This is a follow-up to the blog I posted yesterday, $6.2 Million, 29 Homes, and the Question Nobody Asked , about the city's acquisition of the remaining vacant land at Royster Corners. That story focused on the appraisal, assessment, and sales price. This story looks at higher-level, systemic issues. Key Points Eleven parcels included in the acquisition have no economic value and are liabilities, not assets. The city is paying top dollar to take over a project the developer

Key Points On Tuesday, March 10, the Common Council votes on whether to pay $5.2 million for land the City’s own Assessor values at $1,481,000. The resolution says the purchase price was negotiated based on an appraisal. That appraisal covers only 6 of the 17 parcels being bought. The other 11—added to the acquisition during negotiations with the developer—have none. The legislative record discloses neither fact. The appraisal applies a market value standard to what is demons