City of Madison continues to violate its pesticide policy
Photo: City of Madison employee applies Roundup along edges of Warner Park Community Center parking lot **** In a 2014 post, we wrote about how the City of Madison wasn’t…
Communities Press EPA to Regulate Vapor Intrusion
MEJO joined dozens of organizations and activists including Erin Brokovich in co-signing a letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt this week, urging him to allow rulemaking on vapor intrusion to…
What ever became of the DOJ lawsuit against Kipp?
In September 2012, the Wisconsin DOJ filed a lawsuit against Madison Kipp Corporation. It is still unresolved. Why? Because it was always intended as a tool to protect Kipp from…
THE TRUE COST of Burning Military Munitions
By Laura Olah, Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger, Cease Fire Campaign Toxic pollutants are released when munitions are open burned, open detonated or incinerated. These toxic emissions endanger public…
DNR becoming “Chamber of Commerce” instead of regulator?
Photo: Cathy Stepp, head of WI DNR (aka Chamber of Commerce?) When Scott Walker appointed Cathy Stepp in 2011 to head the Wisconsin DNR, he said he wanted someone with…
Kipp Raingarden Update, Part 1: MEJO tests show that city land next to Kipp raingarden still contaminated with PCBs
Photo: Kids walk along bikepath next to Kipp raingarden in February 2017. Sadly, the seemingly never-ending Kipp raingarden saga continues. (See the long history of the Kipp Raingarden PCB Saga…
It Is Time to Reform Landscape Ordinances – Part 4
Photo: One of many pollinator-friendly yards in the City of Madison, as depicted by the city’s Pollinator Protection Task Force Report. Photo by Ledell Zellers. By Janette Rosenbaum During the…
The Center for Health, Environment & Justice (CHEJ) funds Midwest Environmental Justice Organization project
The Midwest Environmental Justice Organization (MEJO) has received a grant from the Center for Health, Environment & Justice, the grassroots organization founded in 1981 by Lois Gibbs after her historic…
Everyone deserves a safe & healthy home
Photo: The view from the site where the City of Madison has approved a low income housing development, with substantial city funding. Click here for a brief taste of what…
No, chemical industry, you can’t have your cake and eat it too (Part 1)
Richard Denison, Ph.D., Environmental Defense Fund There is an extreme anti-regulatory and anti-science bandwagon moving fast through Washington, and much of the chemical industry seems to have jumped right on…
It Is Time to Reform Landscape Ordinances – Part 3
Photo: Tim Wong’s bush has grown next to his neighbor’s driveway for over 20 years without causing any problem. By Janette Rosenbaum The first two parts of this series reviewed…
It Is Time to Reform Landscape Ordinances – Part 2
Photo: Tree-lined streets like this one have safer traffic flow than streets without trees. By Janette Rosenbaum. Part 1 of this article described Madison’s vegetation ordinances, how public opinion is…
It’s Time to Reform Landscape Ordinances – Part 1
By Janette Rosenbaum In Madison, you cannot have any plants in your terrace within two feet of the street. You cannot have any plants along the bottom of your driveway…
What a Surprise!! More PCBs found in city-owned Kipp raingarden…
Photo: Madison-Kipp raingarden in August 2014; behind it, Kipp was building a new curb and fence and paving parking lots, without the required approval and permits. MGE was digging around…
City’s Priorities Out of Order; Citizens Punished for Doing the Right Thing (a new series)
Above: The city has prioritized replacing a paved segment of terrace with grass, over repairing a pothole where children slip on ice (see story below). MEJO introduction to series: City…