Your Daily Guide

🚨Ruiz Family Wants Body Cameras: The family of Corey Ruiz, who was shot and killed by police on Madison’s east side July 22, is calling on Wisconsin state legislators to pass a law requiring law enforcement officers to wear body cameras. Madison police are not mandated to wear body cameras, and the only available public footage of the shooting came from bystander videos. [Cap Times]

✋ Madison Gets New Civil Rights Director: Gregory McClain has been appointed to lead the city’s Department of Civil Rights. McClain formerly served as equal opportunity manager for Montgomery County Government in Rockville, Maryland. He replaces Norman Davis, who retired this year after being investigated for allegations of discrimination against his employees. Davis was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing. [City of Madison, Cap Times]

🏠 Dane County Homelessness Highest Since 2009: A new snapshot study found 880 people in Dane County experiencing homelessness, the highest amount in 17 years. Of those people, 93% were in some kind of transitional housing while 7% were unsheltered. [WKOW]

💸 County Wants Public’s Help With Budget: Dane County officials have scheduled the first of three departmental request public hearings on Sept. 9 as it starts the process of crafting its 2027 budget. The county is facing a $15 million budget deficit in its budget of nearly $1 billion, which it plans to pass in early November. [Dane County, Cap Times]

🏈 Spectrum Logo Will Pop Up at Badger Games: UW Athletics and Spectrum have inked a multi-year sponsorship deal that will lead to the telecommunication giant’s name appearing on the the field and scoreboard at Camp Randall. Spectrum device charging stations will also be added on the concourse. [News 3]

Madison author Ann Garvin says she’s more excited about her new book “Tell Two Friends” than she has been about one of her novels in a while.

Part of that is the anticipation of catching her readers off-guard. At first, “Tell Two Friends,” which hits stores Sept. 8, fits in snugly with Garvin’s other books like “Bummer Camp” and “I Thought You Said This Would Work,” funny, poignant novels about messy, lovable women. “Friends” focuses on Jane Baye, who becomes the pariah of her very Stoughton-like small town when it’s revealed that her husband is a polygamist.

That alone seems like it would be enough for a novel. But then Garvin starts interjecting chapters told from the perspective of Truman, an ex-con who has moved in across the street from Jane, and is watching her for reasons that are unclear but certainly troubling.

Garvin will talk about “Tell Two Friends” on Sept. 22 at Mystery To Me bookstore with “Writing Forward” podcast host Jeff Oloizia. She talked to City Cast Madison about her glee in throwing her readers a curveball.

CCM: It’s like this guy Truman has infiltrated an Ann Garvin book.

AG: That’s exactly how I wanted it to feel. My very first book had like a real tension line through it, but then I kind of left that behind because people were like, "We don't know how to market a book that is a little bit scary and a little bit funny.” This is the first time where you read chapters and you think, “Oh, that's new.”

Was it fun to write in Truman’s voice?

It was fun. I was nervous to write it because I wasn't sure if I was going to get the voice right and the tone right. But then I met a post-incarcerated man who was on the docket for a teaching thing that I did in New Hampshire, and I got to know him well. And so he promised that he would read it, and I actually paid him to read to be my sensitivity reader.

Does this mark a turn in the kinds of books you want to write?

I have ideas in the future for some books that are tension-filled, but nothing like this really. I'm not really the kind of person that thinks about murderers often. When I pick a book to write, I just have to really feel excited about it, passionate about it. I actually have to know that there’s a true story in there, not just a premise.

Meet Chechin! This 8-year-old Miniature Pinscher mix was surrendered to DCHS in mid-August because his family was facing health issues. When Chechin arrived, he was shy, would hide in his crate for days, and barely ate. DCHS veterinarians discovered that Chechin was suffering from severe dental disease. After removing all of his teeth to help him feel more comfortable. Chechin became a different dog.

While he can still be shy at times, once comfortable, he enjoys going for walks, running around the yard, and exploring the world through sniffs. Chechin also loves crawling into and sitting on people's laps. Chechin is looking for a calm, stable home with a family of only adults who will spoil him with fun walks and plenty of lap time.