Aging? Sooner or later, it’s going to happen to all of us and our loved ones. And caregiving of a geriatric or dementia individual requires special tools and training — something that the “Aging Well Summit”, now in its 3rd year, strives to assist with. Fatou Ceesay, conference Organizer and President and CEO at Cairasu All Things Alzheimer’s talks about the two day conference, with the first day virtual and open to the general public (Saturday, November 12, 10am-4pm) and the following day for training of caregivers, in-person or virtual. Registration and more information is available on the website.

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Having bi-partisan support in Congress, the proposed War Powers Resolution to halt U.S. support of Saudi Arabia’s war against Yemen is poised to come to the floor in both the House and Senate, according to Hassan El-Tayyab, Legislative Director for Middle East Policy with the Friends Committee on National Legislation. El-Tayyab recently co-authored an article “How the US can easily alter its relationship with Saudi Arabia” which outlines the next moves.

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WORT 89.9FM Madison · Broom Street Theater’s “Totally Not Haunted” Backstage Tour

Broom Street Theater, Madison’s longest-running experimental theater is offering free tours of its backstage this weekend – tonight is the last night you can catch it.  Even though theaters are notorious for their ghosts and it’s Halloween, there’s no need to worry.  The Theater has billed this as a “Totally Not Haunted Backstage Tour, Where Nothing Can Possibly Go Awry.”  Still, can you entirely trust an institution that calls itself the “Broom Street Theater,” and yet is located on Williamson Street?  Doug Reed is the Artistic Director for Broom Street Theater and he joins us now with the totally-safe details.

Photo of Broom Street Theater, Corey Coyle, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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WORT 89.9FM Madison · League Of Wisconsin Municipalities Wants The State To Share The Wealth

In July of this year, the State of Wisconsin government posted a record-setting four point three billion dollar budget surplus, along with another record one and three quarter billion in reserve funds.  At the same time, local governments across the state have cut back on fire and EMS service, have taken to plowing the roads only when the snow is at least three inches deep, cutting back library hours or going hat-in-hand with referendums to voters to help keep the lights on in City Hall.   With hard property tax levy limits and dwindling state shared revenue in place for over a decade, local governments are feeling the crunch.  At its most recent annual conference, the League of Wisconsin Municipalities decided it’s had enough, and it’s time for state government to share the wealth once again.  Jerry Deschane is the Executive Director for the League of Wisconsin Municipalities, and he joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on October 31, 2022.

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The Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates in order to try to control inflation — but does it have to? Sam Pizzigati, Co-Editor of inequality.org, says “NO” in his recent article “The Fight Against Inflation doesn’t have to be Rich People Friendly“. This is a perfect point for an “excess profits tax”, an idea that was enacted by Roosevelt in 1942 and continued until the mid-1960’s, which resulted in equitable wealth distribution with a more than 90% tax on excess profits. The corporate profit rate for the 2nd quarter of 2022 was 15%, the highest since 1950.

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What does Wall Street have to do with rising food prices? Amanda Starbuck, Research Director for Food and Water Watch, says that “swaps”, that is, bets on whether the price of food will go up or down, are responsible for 10-25% of food prices: so while the grain stores were full and not in short supply when Russia invaded Ukraine, investors bet that grain prices would rise — and that swap raised the price of grain! Also, unchecked consolidation of groceries (73% in the top 4 companies) provides monopolies for large grocers. Food and Water Watch latest report gives the details in “The Factor of Food Prices: No one is talking about Wall Street“

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Do you like herbs? If so, mark your calendar for the 40th year celebration of the Madison Herb Fair being held on Saturday, November 5th, from 9AM – 3 PM at Olbrich Gardens. Along with speakers at 9:30, 11:30, and 1:30 there will be a bake sale and 22 vendors with creative ideas for displaying, preserving, and using herbs of all sorts.

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WORT 89.9FM Madison · Chef Lily Gets The Kids Cooking The Yums

Lily Kilfoy graduated from the Madison Area Technical College with a culinary arts degree and had dreams of opening up her own restaurant.  Instead, she now finds herself working for the Lakeview and Meadowridge public libraries teaching kids and families about food literacy.  The classes, “Cooking With Chef Lily” evolved out of snacks the library provided for hungry kids and have now become a huge hit.  Now, her classes have expanded to online video offerings to reach kids and families in other neighborhoods as well.

 

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WORT 89.9FM Madison · Audifax Brings Street Art Sensibility to the Library

Our next guest started drawing at the age of 4, soon graduated to 6-foot wide canvases, and then, as an adult,  sold everything and ran away to Europe, where painting on walls is legal, and the spray paint is cheap.  Going by the name Audifax, she honed her craft as a street artist.  Now, back on this side of the pond, Audifax landed a gig as the Madison Public Library’s Artist in Residence.

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WORT 89.9FM Madison · Cheap Gas Undercuts Climate Change Progress

In a 2020 presidential debate in Nashville, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said he would “transition away from the oil industry” to mitigate the effects of fossil fuels on climate change.  Two years later, President Biden has ordered the sale of 195 million barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserves – the largest release in history.  At the same time, the Biden Administration has opened up domestic oil drilling again, and unsuccessfully lobbied the Saudi Arabian government and OPEC to ramp up oil production.  All of this has been done in an attempt to lower gasoline prices that had soared following the Russo-Ukrainian War.  With the U.S. midterms coming up, is our climate future being sacrificed for short-term political gain?  Professor Gregory Nemet researches energy systems and environmental policy at the University of Wisconsin’s LaFollette Institute.

Photo of ExxonMobil oil refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana by WClarke, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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