The first order of business is to inform the quaffing public that the Beer & Cheese Fest, Isthmus' annual celebration of the foodstuffs that made Wisconsin famous, is sold out. In other words, there will be no tickets (none) available at the door on Saturday, Jan. 17, when entry begins at the Alliant Energy Exhibition Center.
We had significantly expanded the number of tickets and exhibition space this year after bumping up against the attendance ceiling at last year's event. We are gratified by the response.
Immigration reform is a hot topic in Washington, D.C., these days, though so far it is just a topic, not a serious legislative imperative. But here in Madison we have a more immediate immigration-related tale.
You may have been following news editor Judith Davidoff's reports on the plight of Alexander Timofeev, a young man who immigrated to this country from Russia at age 14 in 1992. He was busted three times for pot possession in the '90s. Now an adult with two daughters, Timofeev was threatened with deportation and arrested in September 2012 by immigration authorities. Davidoff has reported on the developments in these pages.
This week Davidoff reports the happy news that Timofeev's case has taken a turn for the better -- you might say, the best. Read what we believe to be the satisfying conclusion to his story, and then, if you have a ticket, raise a sampling glass to Timofeev's good fortune at the Beer & Cheese Fest on Saturday.
