Outside the Free Speech Zone

Good for what ails ya’!

Are all politics local? If you are tired of the spinning and empty promises of our national leaders, have I got a cure for you. Anyone turned off by the state of politics today ought to attend a local candidate forum. Wednesday night’s forum for the race to fill Michael D’Amato’s seat on the Common Council was surprisingly entertaining. About 300 people packed into the Miramar Theater to listen to the eight aspirants for the Third District Alderman seat state their case. The evening provided more than the requisite drama, humor, and pathos befitting two hours at a theater and the audience left reasonably assured that at least some of the candidates offered the potential of representing the district competently. The February 19th primary will whittle the field down to two survivors who will run against each other on April 1st. It was obvious that two of the candidates do not deserve consideration for advancement. One, Dan Fouliard, got the evening off to an unusual start by squandering the two minutes he was given to introduce himself to explain the leadership process he defined as “asking, advocating and achieving.” His insistence on including that alliterative phrase in all of his responses left many in the crowd scratching their heads, suppressing giggles and then just plain feeling embarrassed for the guy. Another candidate, David Schroeder, also distinguished himself as another future also ran. Mr. Schroeder told the audience that he was motivated to run for the office when he discovered that contesting a parking ticket required him to personally appear at a downtown court. Clearly our local government needs someone like him to clean up its mess. To his credit, Schroeder did not waste much time giving detailed responses to many of the questions. In most cases, he simply tapped on the table and admitted that he hadn’t given much thought to the issue. Schroeder further endeared himself to the audience by declaring that rather than raising money for his campaign he was asking residents to contribute to other politicians they admire such as Sen. Russ Feingold. That suggestion generated his best reaction of the evening. While Fouliard and Schroeder earned the label of the evening’s “Not Ready for Primetime Players,” they did provide some not altogether unwelcome comic relief. The other panelists, however, made somewhat more compelling arguments for their candidacies. Sam McGovern-Rowen, a D’Amato aide, suggested that he had the most valuable experience since he has built relationships with the other aldermen and has answered the phone from residents and intimately knows their concerns. But he failed to communicate a vision and struggled awkwardly to avoid alienating voters who feel the current alderman has not been responsive enough to his constituents. He has his work cut out for him. As the only woman on the dais, Sura Faraj appeared to have a natural advantage. The current Common Council is an all-male institution and many feel that just ain’t right. She also latched on to the zeitgeist of the 2008 […]

The riches of Ruin

It’s impossible to ignore “Ruin,” an assemblage of 32 antique TV cabinets, stacked against the north wall on the main level of the Milwaukee Art Museum. The installation, by Nam June Paik, is part of Sensory Overload, a reinstallation of the contemporary art galleries which opens on January 24 and runs until 2009. Overload promises light, motion, sound and the optical in art since 1945, but I advise the wise to absorb it bit by bit, as if spearing peas from a TV dinner. I followed my own counsel and spent two hours sitting in front of “Ruin” watching 2-channel video flash and wink from the cabinets, mostly turned upside down so that their pedestals would serve as supports for the towering, pyramidal installation. This artist’s world is upside down; should you care to compare, Marquette University’s Haggerty Museum of Art has a Paik installation. “Ruin” would have been a perfect fit for the creepy otherworld of Blade Runner. It’s strangely robotic and detached, but the idea of television and all that the word implies remains highly personal. I grew up in a small town in rural Iowa, and I distinctly recall standing outside our local appliance store in the late 1940s, peering through the plate glass window with other folks who had gathered to see a genuine television set in action. It wasn’t long before we had one in our living room. The image on the screen was small, fuzzy and gray, which gave rise to much fiddling and twiddling with dials when we gathered as a family to watch one of the program. Was it Milton Berle? Show of Shows? It didn’t matter; television had come to our town and our house. It seemed important. Astounding! Even miraculous! Over the years, television became a fixture in homes everywhere – first just one, then maybe two or more. The bigger and flashier the television sets became, it seemed the content worth watching began to shrink. We scraped bottom when a recent televised political “debate” involved YouTube, a Bible and a question about Jesus. But I suppose I stuffed myself on As The World Turns, so who am I to criticize drek? While plopped in front of “Ruin 2001,” I engaged a trio of students from St. Louis who paused to peruse the blinking installation. They said they don’t watch television, but gave a good explanation of the intricacies of the 2-channel video system and moved closer to see if there was anything “familiar” in the loopy colorful images. “I think I just saw a Star of David flash by,” one of them remarked as he checked for messages on his cell phone. A group of chattering elementary school students led by a docent drifted in, barely giving Paik’s work a nod. I heard one of them ask what it was about, but before due consideration of the work was given, the herd moved on to the next dazzling thing. Perhaps one needs to be at least 40 years old […]

Chief Flynn and the Unknown Plan

Contentious Downer Ave. Parking Garage Rises

New Land Enterprises‘ $55 million Downer Ave. development project is going up quickly despite pending legal action. The first phase consists of a parking garage, designed by Scott Kindness of Workshop Architects, that includes first floor retail and has undergone numerous redesigns in an attempt to better fit the neighborhood. Despite the changes some neighbors felt these concessions didn’t go far enough and filed a lawsuit against the City of Milwaukee and DAPL LLC seeking to stop construction . The results of today’s hearing is unknown at press time but it is seems New Land Enterprises and the City of Milwaukee believe this case will be dismissed as development has moved ahead at a brisk pace. Despite the contentious nature of the project the overall goal of adding density and new business to the Downer Ave. district should have the long run impact of bringing vibrancy and business back to this urban commercial district. UPDATE A second hearing will be held on 2/1/2008. Additionally the judge felt there was some wrong doing on the City’s part though as of yet didn’t issue an injunction that would of stopped construction. More details can be found in the jsonline article. Related Links Historic Preservation Commission Meeting – Monday, May 14, 2007 Resolution 061440

Candidate Forum Tonight

Whose Side are You On? With all the hoopla surrounding the presidential sweepstakes, it’s easy to overlook the state and local races taking place this year. Adding to the confusion is Wisconsin’s odd tradition of holding so-called non-partisan elections in the Spring. Sometime back in our state’s history, our ancestors decided that certain offices, like Mayor and County Executive, shouldn’t be tainted by the unseemliness of political party competition. As a result, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, a proud Democrat, and County Executive Scott Walker, an equally outspoken Republican, will be on the non-partisan ballot April 1. Just as our founders intended, eh? But wait, there’s more. If more than two candidates run for any of these non-partisan offices then a primary is held to whittle the field down. Which brings us to February 19, the date of Wisconsin’s primary. Most political prognosticators are predicting that our primary will be too late to have any meaning in this year’s heavily frontloaded race for the Democratic and Republican nomination. The oddsmakers are convinced that that the choice of both parties will be determined by February 5th, when more than 20 states, including delegate rich New York and California, will have their say. It’s looking more likely that at least two candidates from both parties will still be competitive when our primary comes along so brace yourselves for the quadrennial onslaught of the presidential wannabes and their national media entourages parading across the state sometime in the not too distant future. But don’t forget some of those pesky local races will also be on the Feb. 19th primary ballot so it’s time to roll up your sleeves and figure out who you support. For example, if you live in Milwaukee’s East Side or Riverwest neighborhood, currently represented on the Common Council by Michael D’Amato, who has chosen not to run for reelection, there’s a wide open race to replace him. And nothing stirs the juices of a political junkie more than the competitive ramifications of an open seat. A candidate forum will be held 7 pm tonight, Jan. 16th at the Miramar Theater (Oakland and Locust) and another is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 29th at Gordon Park Pavilion (Humboldt and Locust). The crowded field includes Sam McGovern-Rowen, a legislative aide to D’Amato who happens to be the grandson of George McGovern, the 1972 Democratic candidate for president. D’Amato could probably have cruised to reelection so McGovern-Rowen may be the presumptive favorite. But D’Amato has also drawn criticism for being too supportive of development so the activist district is unlikely to give McGovern-Rowen a bye. Sura Faraj, a co-founder of the Riverwest Food co-op and 2007 chair of the Riverwest Neighborhood Association; Nik Kovac, a journalist and member of the RNA and Matt Nelson, a member of the Milwaukee Transit Riders Union and the Milwaukee Police Accountability Coalition are among the other candidates for the third district alderman seat. So if you live in the Third District come to the one of the candidate […]

Baby girl

She is 12 years old. She is beautiful and funny. Instead of saying, Mom, you’re embarrassing me she laughs and says, “Mom – you’re scaring me.” It’s her joke. She is 12 years old. She is in love with a boy from school. And one from the theater. She ponders herself in the mirror, practicing for the rest of her life. This is like one long rehearsal and she wants to be ready. She is 12 years old. She comes into my room late at night – to check on me. Not because the thunder woke her, but because she thought maybe I needed something. She is 12 years old. She stamps her foot and bites her lip when she’s angry. “Whatever.” And walks out of the room. We both know she can’t stay mad for too long. She is 12 years old. She says “I love you” to me, her dad, her brother and sister. Aunts, uncles, cousins. Friends from school. Can’t bear to part company without letting her people know she loves them. What if it’s the last she’ll ever see them? An accident or something could part her from her loved ones – she worries about this. She worries that the last words they hear from her won’t be “I love you.”

Michigan Democrats get the shaft

Condominium Sales Update

A sampling of projects in varying states of completion showed that over 200 recently completed or under construction condominium units have not been sold. A look at the data indicates that In many cases the high priced units have gone un-sold. Clearly the market downturn has slowed sales but this may also indicated a demand for units priced at an affordable level. Development # Units % Sold Status City Green 44 20% Ready to Move In First Place on the River 184 56% Ready to Move In Park Terrace Bluff Homes 16 56% Ready to Move In Park Terrace Row House 21 71% Ready to Move In Residences on Water 31 29% Under Construction River Renaissance 81 55% Ready to Move In 601 Lofts 83 61% Ready to Move In Sterling 112 98% Ready to Move In University Club 56 89% Ready to Move In Data was not available for the The Breakwater, Park Lafayette, Flatiron, Union Point, The Edge, and Kilborn Tower

Call for entries

The 10th Annual Milwaukee Short Film Festival, named Best Local Festival in MovieMaker’s Winter 2006 issue, is scheduled for May 10-11, 2008. The event includes industry judges, panel discussions, social events and awards, with a Grand Prize of $1000. Submit now in any genre. Early Deadline is January 31 with an entry fee of $10. Regular deadline is February 29 ($15) and final deadline is March 26 ($20). Email Dirty Job Films for more information or visit either their website or the Short Film Fest MySpace page. Best of luck!

The edible and incredible Russ Feingold

Weekly Milwaukee Development Bookmarks

Articles from the past week covering development in Milwaukee. HellermannTyton receiving tax credits for local expansion – The Business Journal of Milwaukee: JS Online: Chancellor calls on firms to fill UWM research park Manufacturer to expand and move jobs to Milwaukee – Small Business Times Affordable housing projects planned in Milwaukee – Small Business Times LISC announces finalists for MANDI awards – Small Business Times Twin Cities restaurant group entering Milwaukee market – Small Business Times JS Online: Commuter rail plan stalls Parking Plan OnMilwaukee.com Marketplace: American Apparel coming to Milwaukee, but where?