November 26, 2019

Budget 2020: Planting seeds for our collective future

November 26, 2019/ Yogesh Chawla

Dear Neighbors,
We recently concluded the 2020 County Budget. As Supervisor Patrick Miles so eloquently put it, we are planting seeds for our future to invest in housing for our neighbors, increase our resilience to flooding in the wake of accelerated climate change and continuing to work on transparent and accessible government.

In this update, I will cover budget amendments, a manure spreading emergency in wake of a wet year and early winter, an F-35 update, and lots of neighborhood news.

October 14, 2019

Budget, Environmental Priorities, Neighborhood Updates

October 14, 2019/ Yogesh Chawla

Dear Neighbors,
We are knee deep in the budget now and it is very busy time for the County Board. In this update, I will highlight initiatives I am supporting to increase flood resilience, be aggressive about yahara watershed flow improvements, and fight racial disparities and make strides toward equity in our community. There is lots of other news to catch you up on as well.

September 02, 2019

Getting into the weeds: Aquatic plant harvesting, quarterly flood update and F-35s

September 02, 2019/ Yogesh Chawla

Dear Neighbors,
With summer winding down, our family is getting junior ready to go back to school, and getting ready to adjust our schedules as well. This was another great summer in District 6. In this update, I go in-depth on Aquatic Plant Harvesting, provide a recording and analysis from our quarterly flood update, bring you highlights from our EANR committee tour of the lakes, and express my opposition to the F-35 fighter jets.

August 05, 2019

Summer Roundup and Remembering Oak Creek's Gurdwara victims

August 05, 2019/ Yogesh Chawla

August 5th is always a tough day for the Sikh community. In 2012 in Oak Creek, Wisconsin a white supremacist opened fire on innocent victims at the Oak Creek Gurdwara in an act of domestic terrorism. Lt Brian Murphy who bravely and quickly responded was shot 15 times by the domestic terrorist but did survive. The attack happened when the temple was preparing Langar, a community meal served to any one regardless of religion, caste, gender, economic status or ethnicity. This meal is a powerful statement of how we are all equal and an occasion to celebrate our shared humanity.

June 20, 2019

Let's celebrate one year in office!

June 20, 2019/ Yogesh Chawla

Dear Neighbor,
Time flies and I have completed over one year in office. Thanks for working together with me to help improve our community, our government, and environment for all of our neighbors. I am hosting a celebration at the Harmony Bar and Grill (2201 Atwood) on Tuesday June 25th from 5:00 to 7:00. There will food, a music mix that I will put together and some free beer (get there early!). Full details are here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/446957082800019/

Please keep reading for a list of all we accomplished together so far!

May 13, 2019

$225 Million for New Jail, Quarterly Flood Updates, and Cover Crop Program

May 13, 2019/ Yogesh Chawla

The County is hastily moving forward to approve a new jail with borrowing of $150 million which will cost over $225 million dollars over 20 years. In this update I will summarize why I think we should follow the lead of jurisdictions all across the country and approach our criminal justice issues from a public health lens. I will also cover our first quarterly update as a result of the Lake Levels Task Force and the ground breaking of an Agroforestry pilot project and Continuous Cover Crop program.

April 18, 2019

1 Billion Dollars in Economic Benefits with Medical Marijuana Legalization

April 18, 2019/ Yogesh Chawla

I partnered with a research team at UW Madison to do a cost benefit analysis of marijuana legalization in Wisconsin. The study found over one billion dollars in economic benefits along with a variety of social, public safety and public health benefits. Please read our press release with details of the study.

April 09, 2019

Elections Data, Final Lake Levels Recommendations, Zoo and Neighborhood News

April 09, 2019/ Yogesh Chawla

Thanks to all of you who volunteered on campaigns, worked the polls, and got out there and voted. I know how hard it is to keep showing up and keep working. Your commitment to democracy is inspiring. In this update, I will also cover new ways to get election data, final lake levels recommendations, an update on the zoo and neighborhood news.

March 17, 2019

Lakes Levels Task Force Recommendations

March 17, 2019/ Yogesh Chawla

I drafted lake levels task force recommendation and staff compiled a list of recommendations based of feedback from all task force members. Please continue to read this post for my recommendations, meeting info, and a live video explaining my reasoning.

March 15, 2019

PFAS in our drinking water: A special report

March 15, 2019/ Yogesh Chawla

I share many of your concerns with PFAS compounds in our drinking water. PFAS or Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyls are compounds that were used in fire suppression foam at the airport are man made chemicals that are found in commercial products like Scotchguard and Teflon. They are known as ‘emerging contaminants’ as we are recently learning about their effects on humans. Please keep reading to learn more about levels of contamination and what the next steps are.

February 25, 2019

Lake Levels Task Force, Jail Construction Changes, and Manure Storage

February 25, 2019/ Yogesh Chawla

Dear Neighbors,
The last few weeks have been very busy. The lake levels task force which I am on has met three times with three additional meetings pending. We are poised to pass a comprehensive overhaul of our manure storage ordinance and I detail some unfortunate challenges to the Jail construction project. I also have updates on bike trail construction and improvements.

February 11, 2019

Lake Levels Task Force Public Meetings

February 11, 2019/ Yogesh Chawla

I will post audio from the lake levels task force to this blog entry. There will either be links to audio files or links to the official Madison City Channel recording.

January 26, 2019

Lake levels task force, expungement, green fleet and brrr... stay warm!

January 26, 2019/ Yogesh Chawla

I hope your new year is off to a great start, and that you are making progress towards any new year’s resolutions you might have. One of my resolutions is not only to keep you informed so you can get involved in government, but to work towards our shared goals of affordable housing, fighting climate change, racial justice in our criminal justice system, and clean lakes and water.

In this update I will cover progress we are making on all of these issues. It is going to be bitter cold this next week, so please stay safe, stay warm, and try to help those around you who might need it. This is a long update as there is so much going on!

December 20, 2018

Happy Holidays: a focus on the arts, neighborhood news, and manure storage

December 20, 2018/ Yogesh Chawla

Hello Friends and Neighbors,
Happy holidays. I hope you have quality time to spend with family and friends in the coming weeks and time to reflect on what went well in 2018 and look what we can do together in 2019 to make a better community for our friends and neighbors.

In this update, I will discuss $116,000 that the Dane Arts Commission on which I serve granted to local arts organizations, lots of neighborhood news, and an updated manure storage ordinance we are working on to jump start our goal to remove phosphorous from our lakes.

November 23, 2018

2019 Budget Wrap Up

November 23, 2018/ Yogesh Chawla

Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Happy Thanksgiving. No matter how or whether you celebrate, I hope you have some quality time to spend with your friends and family. I am thankful that I have the opportunity to represent some of the most informed, active and civic-minded voters and neighbors in the entire country. In this update, I do a 2019 budget wrap-up and give flooding policy and logistical updates.

November 10, 2018

Election wrap-up, budget updates, and winter prep

November 10, 2018/ Yogesh Chawla

Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I know so many of you worked so hard civically and politically during this election cycle. In this update, I will give an election wrap-up, an update on the 2019 budget, a jail update and talk about what you can do to help our lakes as the cold weather approaches.

October 07, 2018

Flood Resolution Passage, Jail Updates, and Cultural Affairs Grants

October 07, 2018/ Yogesh Chawla

Dear Neighbors,
With the consistent heavy rains, the flood threats are not over. Please make sure you have your sandbags in place and that you are prepared for flash flooding. We had a dry stretch, but that has been followed by days of rain, sometimes heavy. In this update, I will cover flood legislative updates, a change in jail construction plans, and a substantial investment in the arts.

September 19, 2018

Lake Levels Resolution, Budget Hearings, Affordable Grandfamily Housing Funding and other news

September 19, 2018/ Yogesh Chawla

Dear Neighbors,
As we recover slowly from the historic flooding in Dane County, we need a scientific path forward to proper lake levels. In this update, I cover a resolution that I helped draft, a live streaming lake level presentation, money for grandfamily housing, budget hearings and lots of odds and ends.

August 23, 2018

Dane County Floods

August 23, 2018/ Yogesh Chawla

We have had unprecedented flooding in Dane County and seen the devastating effects particularly in western Dane County. It is really tough on a lot of people who have had significant property damage and our hearts go to our neighbors who have lost their lives or been injured.

August 07, 2018

Early Voting Info, Election Audits, Conservation Tour, and Neighborhood News

August 07, 2018/ Yogesh Chawla

Dear Neighbors,
I hope you all are enjoying the summer and have an active plan to vote (or have already voted early). In this update, I will cover early voting info and useful elections info, transparency and auditing the vote in Dane County, highlights from a land conservation tour, and neighborhood news.

D6 Updates