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'Ride the Drive' downtown on Sunday

Submitted by Channel3000 Web Staff
Sunday, June 2nd, 2013, 11:49am

The City of Madison and Madison Parks are bringing back Ride the Drive for its fifth year.

Two events are being hosted in 2013, a downtown Ride the Drive on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and a west side version on August 18 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Ride the Drive turns Madison's signature streets into a public promenade that is open to bikers, walkers, rollerbladers, and those out to share in the experience and atmosphere.

The event is expected to bring 20,000 people out to ride, walk, and skate on the route, while enjoying live music, food, and participating in various activities.

The downtown route stretches from John Nolen Drive to the capitol square, areas motorists will definitely want to avoid on Sunday.

More information about Ride the Drive is here.

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Police: Teen grabbed iPhone from outdoor diner

Submitted by Channel3000 Web Staff
Friday, May 31st, 2013, 4:38pm

Police said a man's iPhone was retrieved after a teen grabbed it from him as the man was dining outdoors downtown.

Police said a Barrington, Ill., man and his wife were in Madison to celebrate his 59th birthday Friday just after noon at Chi Restaurant on West Johnson Street when a 15-year-old boy grabbed the man's cellphone.

According to the report, the man yelled at the teen to give it back and the boy laughed.

The Barrington man was able to chase down a girl who was with the alleged thief and police were able to catch the boy with the phone, according to the report.

Police said the iPhone was returned to the man.

The 15-year-old Madison boy was arrested on suspicion of theft and taken to the Juvenile Reception Center, police said.

The girl, also 15, was cooperative and was not arrested, according to the report.

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Crews to work overtime cleaning after storm

Submitted by Channel3000 Web Staff
Friday, May 31st, 2013, 2:25pm

Madison street crews are working overtime to clean up storm damage and catch up on a backlog of brush, according to the city.

The Streets Division is planning to assign extra crews to collect brush in storm-damaged areas of Madison Friday.

The division said crews will work overtime to clean up tree limbs and branches brought down by the wind storm. The added crews will also work on the backlog of brush that is at the curb awaiting pick up.

Madison recycling coordinator George Dreckmann said crews have been focused on opening up streets, removing downed trees and limbs blocking sidewalks and private property.

Extra crews will focus on areas with large amounts of storm damage while regular brush collection will continue, Dreckmann said. Residents are asked to collect debris from their properties and bring it to the curb.

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Firefighters put out blaze at downtown parking ramp

Submitted by Channel3000 Web Staff
Friday, May 31st, 2013, 7:33am

Three vehicles were damaged late Thursday night after a fire broke out inside one of them in a downtown parking ramp, according to the Madison fire department.

Firefighters responded to the incident inside the Lake Street parking ramp just before 8:30 p.m. Thursday. Crews responding could see black smoke coming from the structure from two blocks away.

Fire officials said firefighter had a hard time locating the vehicle through thick black smoke that filled the lot. However, firefighters were able to quickly extinguish the blaze once they found the 1994 Lexus that had caught on fire.

Fire officials said the blaze also damaged two vehicles parked next to the Lexus. The vehicles suffered around $15,000 in damage combined, according to the fire department.

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Credit cards still won't work in downtown Madison meters

Submitted by Channel3000 Web Staff
Thursday, May 30th, 2013, 10:10pm

Workers and visitors in downtown Madison will need coins to park on the street, as a problem with the city's multispace parking meters continues.

The credit card function became unreliable Wednesday morning and, by Thursday, the city had put stickers on 82 of its downtown meters telling people they were coin-only.

The problem is that the wireless communication between the meters and AT&T's network isn't working properly.

"We've been investigating getting on a private network through AT&T, which would reduce those kinds of inconsistencies," parking utility engineer Bill Putnam said.

The vendor that installed the parking meters put them on a public network instead of a private one, meaning they compete with other traffic and sometimes have trouble making a connection, said Jim Greer, an AT&T spokesman.

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Zoo's polar bear dies, officials say

Submitted by Channel3000 Web Staff
Wednesday, May 29th, 2013, 4:57pm

A 30-year-old female polar bear at Madison's Henry Vilas Zoo recently died, according to zoo officials.

Zoo Director Ronda Schwetz said Mishka was beloved by zoo staff and visitors.

"While we are sad to have said goodbye to our polar bear Mishka, we know she lived a long life ? through the exceptional care of her zookeepers and vet staff," Schwetz said.

Mishka was euthanized early last week due to deteriorating health from old age, the Dane County Executive's Office said in a news release Wednesday.

Zoo officials said Mishka came to Madison in 1993 after living at the Milwaukee County Zoo for a time.

The zoo said the median life expectancy for female polar bear is about 24 years, which Mishka surpassed.

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Bear habitat to help keep zoo free for attendees

Submitted by Channel3000 Web Staff
Wednesday, May 29th, 2013, 3:48pm

A new exhibit at Henry Vilas zoo will offer "bear-side" dining and an opportunity zoo officials said could keep the zoo free to attendees.

The design for the estimated $8.6 million state-of-the-art facility "Arctic Passage" exhibit includes an underwater viewing area. The addition will include an expansive habitat for polar bears plus a creek stocked with fish for grizzlies, allowing visitors a rare chance to witness a bear catch and eat a fish.

An estimated $2.2 million dining area with seating for 50 inside and 60 outside will also be nearby. The cafeteria area will include a viewing window into the polar bear exhibit, allowing for what project representatives called bear-side dining.

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