Zenz
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therealzenz.bsky.social
Zenz
@therealzenz.bsky.social
690 followers 670 following 1.9K posts
Mostly Madison, WI development and political news. I live-tweet most Madison Plan Commission and Common Council meetings. Views are my own. Find alder votes, Plan Commission, Urban Design, and Landmarks meeting reports at Councilytics.com
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therealzenz.bsky.social
Watching this right now. Trustee Ullsvik is questioning whether the village admin is able to request a meeting. Lotfi also questioning. Now Trustees are fighting about. They've just lost half of their office staff and they are still in denial that things are falling apart.
therealzenz.bsky.social Zenz @therealzenz.bsky.social · 23h
Shorewood Hills gov. collapsing as Clerk and Deputy Clerk quit after recent abuse by a trustee and several villagers. Trustees will hold emergency meeting Friday to discuss proposed emergency bonuses & (temp) pay raises. Should Madison send MPD to secure infrastructure and begin peaceful annexation?
February 6, 2026 at 4:05 PM
therealzenz.bsky.social
Shorewood Hills gov. collapsing as Clerk and Deputy Clerk quit after recent abuse by a trustee and several villagers. Trustees will hold emergency meeting Friday to discuss proposed emergency bonuses & (temp) pay raises. Should Madison send MPD to secure infrastructure and begin peaceful annexation?
February 6, 2026 at 5:08 AM
Reposted by Zenz
whstancil.bsky.social
In my opinion these people are the real heroes of the resistance to ICE. There’s no credit, no one can talk about their work (because they directly contact vulnerable families). It’s expensive and dreary and neverending. ICE follows them around. But they refuse to abandon their neighbors
whstancil.bsky.social Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 2d
This is what one afternoon drop looks like for one (1) Minneapolis mutual aid distributor (read: random mom who wants to help families at her kids’ schools)
February 4, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Reposted by Zenz
tlaar.bsky.social
February 2, 2026 at 9:19 PM
therealzenz.bsky.social
Approved by Plan Commission tonight. This will NOT need separate rezoning approved at Common Council.
therealzenz.bsky.social Zenz @therealzenz.bsky.social · 4d
At Madison Plan Commission tonight, 87 units in 5 stories proposed at 2103 Sherman in the parking lot next to Banzo. Initial plan was 6 stories and 20 more units but cut it after neighborhood concerns of height (city plans call for 4 stories), & cut footprint to allow Banzo access.
February 3, 2026 at 1:37 AM
therealzenz.bsky.social
At Madison Plan Commission tonight, 87 units in 5 stories proposed at 2103 Sherman in the parking lot next to Banzo. Initial plan was 6 stories and 20 more units but cut it after neighborhood concerns of height (city plans call for 4 stories), & cut footprint to allow Banzo access.
February 3, 2026 at 12:34 AM
Reposted by Zenz
spiralisland.bsky.social
Greater Madison Metropolitan Planning Organization, 6:30 Wednesday
www.cityofmadison.com/city-hall/co...
- Discussing resident feedback on Beltline expansion
- WisDOT is requesting a cost-sharing adjustment on the I90 project that would leave Madison unable to use federal funds for its portion
Greater Madison Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Policy Board - February 4, 2026
www.cityofmadison.com
February 1, 2026 at 7:15 PM
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spiralisland.bsky.social
This week in #Madison

Plan Commission, 5:30 Monday
madison.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=...
- Multi-use plans for 2103 Sherman Ave 🌶️

Urban Design Commission, 4:00 Wednesday
madison.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=...
- 999 S Park St 👇 🌶️
a 4 story building design, where the first floor retail is built out to the sidewalk, and three floors of residential are set back from the street. Two chunks of the residential building have cylindrical metal roofing atop, giving the building a "Streamline Moderne" 1930s kind of style
February 1, 2026 at 7:15 PM
therealzenz.bsky.social
When you are throwing out stuff in the basement and you discover a house you thought was kind of expensive at the time - this was a nice place!
February 1, 2026 at 6:55 PM
Reposted by Zenz
scottwiener.bsky.social
Just the President saying he wants to make housing as expensive as possible & thus continue the massive wealth transfer from young to old due to not building nearly enough homes.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 8d
Trump: "People that own their homes -- we're gonna keep them wealthy. We're gonna keep those prices up. We're not gonna destroy the value of their homes so that somebody who didn't work very hard can buy a home."
January 30, 2026 at 5:28 AM
therealzenz.bsky.social
Maybe Madison Common Council was right....
madison.com/news/local/c...
Monona police car damaged after high-speed chase
The 39-year-old driver was taken to the hospital for medical clearance before being booked into the jail. He is tentatively charged with crimes including being a felon in possession of
madison.com
January 30, 2026 at 1:06 AM
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matthighton.bsky.social
If Bilbo had Chat GPT
January 27, 2026 at 4:24 PM
therealzenz.bsky.social
The country is messed up, but we still have Madison Common Council! I just learned that it is illegal in some German cities to salt your sidewalk and you can be fined 10k-20k euros...yeah...that's why I haven't salted my sidewalk..the lakes....that's the ticket!
www.cityofmadison.com/city-hall/co...
January 28, 2026 at 12:44 AM
Reposted by Zenz
sethabramson.bsky.social
Boy, I am just a former state public defender and federal criminal investigator but someone is going to have to explain to me how federal agents who are not on federal property are able to block state law enforcement from accessing a crime scene

Sounds like pretty clear Obstruction of Justice to me
January 25, 2026 at 3:12 AM
therealzenz.bsky.social
In better times they had good breakfast.
douglasmack.bsky.social Doug Mack @douglasmack.bsky.social · 12d
Broken again by this post from the cute brunch spot a block from where ICE killed Alex

"We have a medic and eye wash stations on site"
COPPER HEN The Copper Hen Cakery & Kitchen 22h The Copper Hen is closed for the rest of the day to customers due to overwhelming activity on Nicollet. ... Our doors are OPEN to all protesters needing hot coffee, masks, towels. water, or place to warm up. We have a medic and eye wash stations on site. Thank you from staff to our community members who keep us safe. Stay safe Minneapolis. We love you.
January 25, 2026 at 4:19 PM
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chrisgeidner.bsky.social
The request includes a declaration from a witness who filmed today's shooting of Pretti.

Read their words:

"I feel afraid. Only hours have passed since they shot a man right in front me and I don't feel like I can go home because I heard agents were looking for me.
2. On Saturday, January 24, 2026, at about 8:50 am, I was getting ready to go to work when I heard whistles outside. I knew the whistles meant that ICE agents were in the area, so I decided to check it out on my way to work. I've been involved in observing in my community because it is so important to document what ICE is doing to my neighbors. Connecting to your local community and knowing who your neighbors are is something I profoundly value. 3. I drove to Nicollet Ave. and 26 where I could hear the whistles coming from. I turned south onto Nicollet. There were already several ICE agents there and they'd set up a sort of vehicle convoy on Nicollet and 28. There were also about 15 observers there, recording and observing ICE. 4. I saw ICE agents surrounding cars and punching car windows. I also saw them stopping vehicles further down Nicollet, so I backed up because I didn't feel safe continuing on. 5. I noticed a man sort of acting to help traffic move more smoothly. He helped me find a place to park. I got out with my whistle and my camera. I went over to him and said something like, "I'm going to film and use my whistle." 6. It seemed like most ICE activity was happening a little farther down the street from us, near 27th. Someone was being thrown to the ground. 7. I started recording. There was an agent by a car across the street. Two observers were a few feet away from the agent, blowing their whistles. One was wearing a backpack. 8. I and the man who was observing and helping direct traffic were standing in the street. There was a phone in the man's hand recording a video. 9. An agent approached and asked us to back up, so I moved slowly back onto the sidewalk. 10. The man stayed in the street, filming as the other observers I mentioned earlier were being forced backward by another ICE agent threatening them with pepper spray. The man went closer to support them as they got threatened, just with his camera out. I didn't see him reach for or hold a gun. 11. Then the ICE agent shoved one of the other observers to the ground. Then he started pepper spraying all three of them directly in the face and all over. The man with the phone put his hands above his head and the agent sprayed him again and pushed him. 12. Then the man tried to help up the woman the ICE agent had shoved to the ground. The ICE agents just kept spraying. More agents came over and grabbed the man who was still trying to help the woman get up. All three of the observers looked to have been badly affected by the pepper spray. I could feel the pepper spray in my eyes. 13. The agents pulled the man on the ground. I didn't see him touch any of them—he wasn't even turned toward them. It didn't look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help the woman up. I didn't see him with a gun. They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him. They shot him so many times. 14.1 don't know why they shot him. He was only helping. I was five feet from him and they just shot him. 15. The video I recorded of what happened accurately depicts the events leading up to the agents shooting him and several minutes afterwards. The video is attached as Exhibit 1. 16. I have read the statement from DHS about what happened and it is wrong. The man did not approach the agents with a gun. He approached them with a camera. He was just trying to help a woman get up and they took him to the ground. 17. I feel afraid. Only hours have passed since they shot a man right in front me and I don't feel like I can go home because I heard agents were looking for me. I don't know what the agents will do when they find me. I do know that they're not telling the truth about what happened. I've heard that other witnesses might have been arrested and taken to the Whipple Building.
January 25, 2026 at 1:36 AM
Reposted by Zenz
bencollins.bsky.social
Imagine what’s happening in the camps.
adamserwer.bsky.social Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 13d
Imagine how much they’d be lying about what happened without all the videos showing it from multiple angles.
January 24, 2026 at 11:29 PM
Reposted by Zenz
tlaar.bsky.social
I didn't know him, but a guy I went to high school with and lived in my neighborhood was murdered by a federal death squad in front of my donut shop.
January 25, 2026 at 12:28 AM
therealzenz.bsky.social
The guy ICE murdered went to my high school.
January 25, 2026 at 12:20 AM
Reposted by Zenz
wedge.live
January 24, 2026 at 7:54 PM
Reposted by Zenz
atrupar.com
Fox News: "I've gotten my hands that AG Bondi said she sent to Gov. Tim Walz. It is strongly worded. The AG calls for the governor to support the men and women of ICE, to repeal the state's sanctuary policies, and to allow the DOJ to access state voter rolls."
January 24, 2026 at 7:36 PM
Reposted by Zenz
kenwhite.bsky.social
The official policy of the government of the United States of America is that they will murder anyone they want, that they will tell any lie necessary to justify that murder, and that no one who resists them has any rights they are bound to respect.
/1
January 24, 2026 at 7:18 PM
Reposted by Zenz
jaywillis.net
I have spent my entire adult life being lectured by Republican politicians and conservative legal movement types about how important it is to preserve the sacred constitutional right to self-defense of *specifically this person* and then secret police murdered him in the street
joshuajfriedman.com Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 13d
Minneapolis police chief Brian O'Hara says that the victim was a 37-year-old white man and US citizen with no criminal record and that he was a legally permitted gun owner.
January 24, 2026 at 6:29 PM
Reposted by Zenz
joestieb.bsky.social
Watched the vid.

Honestly, it’s probably what a lot of lynchings looked like.

8 guys pummeling a dude who is on the ground before someone shoots him 8 times.
January 24, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Reposted by Zenz
donmoyn.bsky.social
What we are watching is a paramilitary force learning that they can kill with impunity, that the regime will smear the victim and defend them. Unless politicians and the legal system exerts accountability, it will not stop. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/past-the-b...
And what are they learning? Experts on the formation of internal security services in authoritarian regimes point to a sense of impunity as a warning sign. Regime officials abuse their power when they know they will be protected, and even praised, for doing so. Over the course of weeks and months, we have seen images of DHS officials abusing American citizens and immigrants alike, including killing them. What we do not hear is regime officials calling for credible investigations into such abuses, or even expressing any concerns. Renee Good’s killer was announced innocent, and both Good and her wife was instead the subject of an investigation, a perversion of justice so obvious that an FBI agent and half-dozen career Department of Justice prosecutors assigned to Minnesota resigned.
January 24, 2026 at 4:32 PM