UP: Lungs. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency removes Dane County from its list of areas that are exceeding the safe limits for fine particle air pollution, a distinction it has held since December 2008.
DOWN: Problem properties. The Madison Common Council votes unanimously to make permanent the city's nuisance ordinance, which ended a two-year trial period in September. The ordinance allows the city to target the owners of properties with persistent problems. In eight instances, it has been used to declare a property a "chronic nuisance."
