Little boxes
I enjoyed reading your article on the incredible food carts we have in Madison ("Freewheeling!" 5/4/2012). The journey from Madison's first food cart (which was not Loose Juice as was stated in the story, but rather a simple hot dog cart) has been exciting and difficult at the same time. The real challenge of the food carts never was how aesthetically pleasing they could be or how unique their food could be, but rather, how this amazing food could be prepared and served safely from these small boxes with such limited facilities.
Health inspectors have worked one-on-one with every cart operator so that the food is safely prepared in a licensed restaurant kitchen and held at safe temperatures on the cart until sold. Access to electricity, food warming units, refrigerators that maintain proper temperatures, and employee hand-washing sinks are examples of what the health inspectors check on inspections.
Tommye Schneider, Retired director of environmental health, Public Health Madison and Dane County
Sex in Wisconsin
The advice given by "Legal Authority" regarding polygamy is flat-out wrong, at least in Wisconsin (Tell All, "Why Is Polygamy Illegal?" 4/27/2012). Bigamy (and hence polygamy) is a Class 1 felony in Wisconsin. Please see Wisconsin Statute 944.05.
The disconnect here is between whether the three or more parties involved contract a civil marriage (a felony in Wisconsin) or whether the participants (presumably three or more) are simply engaging in a long-term sexual relationship of convenience (no legal foul committed).
Joseph T. Leone, Brooklyn, Wis.