2013.09.05

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THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SPA A SINCE 1969 Vilas mourns an icon Henry, the beloved male lion that was a favorite of zookeepers and visitors alike, died of renal failure on Wednesday.

NEWS 2

Thursday, September 5, 2013 | Volume 45, Issue 2

WEEKEND

Check out DIVERSIONS 7 to get your crossword and shoutout fix on your way to class.

Get cozy with fall flicks Find this season’s must-see indie movies on ARTS 10.

Theft targets smartphones Allie Johnson New Content Editor A University of Wisconsin student was the latest victim in a string of smart phone thefts in the downtown area when she was robbed near campus on Tuesday. A female student was walking home on the 100 block of North Bassett Street at 10:43 p.m. when she was approached by two young AfricanAmerican males between the ages of 16 and 19, according to a Madison Police Department statement. The suspects yelled at the victim and pushed her before stealing the iPhone she was carrying, the statement said. Ald. Mike Verveer,

District 4, said the robbery is an all too common occurrence for the campus area. Similar incidents occurred over the summer both downtown and in the area south of Park Street during both the daytime and evening hours, he said. The theft is the most recent example of what people are referring to as “apple picking” on campus, which Verveer described as the trend of thieves targeting smart phones and iPhones because they are “easy pickings.” “Police tell me smart phones are a huge target for thieves, [and] these crooks are getting a couple hundred dollars for these phones in the

resell market,” Verveer said. “It is very easy to sell these on the market, no questions asked.” Smart phones can also be a distraction for people because they are focused more on their phone and less on what is going on around them, Verveer said. This makes it easier for thieves to catch victims off guard and steal their phones, he said. In Tuesday’s incident, the victim was using her iPhone and had her earphones in at the time of the incident, Verveer said. This likely contributed to her being the target for the incident, he said. To prevent

THEFT, page 4

DUDE, THERE’S BEER ‘NEXT DOOR’

Taylor Frechette The Badger Herald

Next Door Brewery opened its doors to the public last week. It is the city’s ninth brewery. Full story on page four.

Budget looks at investment Soglin focuses capital funding on debt service, aging infrastructure Sarah Link City Editor

Modeled after a similar twitter account at Purdue University, UW’s student government offers students a new medium to express grievances.

UW seeks suggestions via Twitter ASM launches @WTFUWMadison handle to aggregate ‘What To Fix’ on campus Aliya Iftikhar Campus Editor The University of Wisconsin’s student government is asking students: WTF? In the context of a new twitter account created by the Associated Students of Madison, WTF stands for “what to fix” and was created to give students an easy way to voice any grievances they may have around campus, ASM spokesperson Grace Bolt said. The idea came last year when ASM Chair David Gardner was “trolling” the Internet and stumbled across a similar account

for University of South California, Bolt said. It is something many other Big Ten campuses have used with success, she said. Bolt loved the idea and started the new account during Welcome Week. A lot of times students see issues around campus that can be fixed easily but they do not approach their student council representatives with the problems, Bolt said. After less than two weeks online, @WTFUWMadison is nearing 100 followers and is starting to respond to students’ inquiries. A tweet with a picture from @tjdewolfe brought attention to a lighting

problem near the UW Foundation building. “‪ @ WTFUWMadison‬ these need to be turned on at night @ UW foundation‬,” the tweet said. ASM contacted the building facility manager at the UW Foundation, addressed the issue and tweeted back to let the student know the issue was fixed, Bolt said. “What is great is that since there is a direct response students can reach out and get a response fairly quickly,” Student Council Rep. Gen Carter said. “There was a problem with the lights and we were able to get in contact with the building owner and fi x that,

it’s just things like that that will be really easy to get quick fixes.” Carter said the beauty of Twitter is that it allows students to tweet about any problem on campus they want to see or that needs to be fixed. The purpose of the Twitter account is to entertain any and all suggestions, even if that suggestion is just “more doughnuts,” as one tweet requested. Tweeting at the account will most likely elicit a faster response, as ASM has many connections with campus administration and has the ability to get answers faster

TWITTER, page 3

UWPD investigates campus assault Tara Golshan News Editor An investigation into a sexual assault on campus is ongoing, University of Wisconsin Police Department confirmed Wednesday.

UWPD logged two incidents of sexual assault on campus, one at 5:55 p.m. Tuesday at 333 E. Campus Mall and another at 12:34 a.m. Wednesday at 835 W. Dayton St. UWPD spokesperson Marc Lovicott confirmed

the department has been looking into both cases. He clarified, however, that one of the reports logged was about an assault that occurred several years ago. He would not confirm the location of the most recent assault.

The university maintains a message of safety on campus, Lovicott said, noting students should be aware of who they are with and their location at all times. “Know who you are with and have the ability to call for help,” he said.

© 2013 BADGER HERALD

Mayor Paul Soglin proposed the largest capital budget of his career Tuesday, moving several major city projects to the back burner in favor of investments in infrastructure and debt service. Soglin’s budget totaled $225.3 million, with $112.8 million dedicated to debt service. Soglin said in a statement paying the city’s debt along with more investments in aging infrastructure to meet the city’s needs were factors causing the budget to be larger compared to previous years. The capital budget differs from the city’s operating budget because the city borrows money for the projects in the budget. Dave Schmiedicke, the city’s finance director, said in an email to The Badger Herald because of the need to replace old infrastructure and invest in fostering economic growth, debt service is expected to increase from 12.5 percent to 20 percent over the next few years. “The executive capital budget attempts to balance the present demands for infrastructure improvements with concerns about the impact of rising debt service,” he said. Schmiedicke said as a result, projects with a high priority for the city are going to have a longer timetable so growth will be manageable balanced against debt service. Among the projects

is less funding for city libraries in the capital budget than there was in the 2013 adopted budget, although there was still money allocated to new improvements on certain branches. The proposed budget also allocated more money to the police and fire departments than in 2013. Ald. Scott Resnick, district 8, said Soglin is pushing those initiatives forward because of an opportunity to expand the fi re administration and build a new station in order to help police officers in West Side. “As the City of Madison expands, the essential infrastructure needs for the city need to expand with it,” Resnick said. Schmiedicke said another significant commitment proposed by the budget and the 2015-2019 Capital Improvement Plan is renovation of the 86-year-old Municipal Building, construction of a new library branch and support facilities, redevelopment of the Olbrich Botanical Gardens, investments in family neighborhood centers and some funding for housing for the Madison homeless population. Soglin said in a statement increased investments in certain projects were identified in previous capital improvement plans and will be implemented in the next three or four years. Katie Crawley, Soglin’s spokesperson, said the mayor still

BUDGET, page 2


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