As promised, we continue pre-recall election coverage, this week with a cover story by staffer Joe Tarr comparing the likely courses of action post-election by either Barrett or Walker, depending on who prevails on June 5. This will not be the last word on the election.
But this week, with your Isthmus, you will receive the first word about summer. The issue celebrates the Memorial Day weekend tradition SummerTimes, a supplement tucked neatly inside your paper. And crammed inside SummerTimes is all the information you'll need to enjoy the season in Wisconsin.
It is a strange year, especially weather-wise, so it may seem that we've been enjoying the summer ambience for a while now, what with the early blooms of flowers and the precocious appearance of golf tans. But the calendar says that summer doesn't start until mid-June. We say that summer starts now, and our calendar of events, across the city and the state, starts on May 25.
To help you sort through the voluminous information, we've structured some breakouts such as music on the Memorial Union Terrace, theatrical performances in the area, film showings at public venues, even Mallards giveaways (Obama/Romney bobblehead night!). We round up a bunch of music; arts editor Kenneth Burns even curates the county-fair-circuit musical attractions.
We've got some feature material for you too. Contributor Cheryl Breuer describes the delights of Olbrich in "Not Your Everyday Garden." Various folks deliver their recollections of iconic summer dining in "A Different Kind of Foraging." In "World of Wonders," features editor Linda Falkenstein surveys folk art in nearby Sauk County. And our resident parenting guru, Sari Judge, catalogues local public swimming options in "Laps, Slides and Creamsicles."
I'll leave you to figure out your summer itinerary, though I must alert you to one of the early attractions: the Isthmus Jazz Festival at the Memorial Union Terrace on June 1 and 2, with the featured Mary Stallings in the Union Theater on June 2, just before it shuts down for renovation.
P.S. Kudos to Andy Moore, who won a silver certificate in the Best Column category in last Friday's Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism awards from the Milwaukee Press Club. A coterie of staffers also won a silver for their coverage of the Capitol protests.
