Common Council Approves Snow and Ice Fee
This Common Council meeting was called to handle the Mayor’s proposed 2008 and 2009 snow and ice removal fee increases as well as a proposed increase to the solid waste fee for 2009. Resolution, 080483, proposed an increase to the 2008 snow and ice removal fee to pay for cost overruns due to the record breaking snowfall Milwaukee experienced this past winter. It was pointed out during this discussion that non-taxable entities will have to pay this fee so it shares the cost of the service to all entities that receive services. As the funding was need to cover an existing budget gap the Common Council generally supported it and the fee increase was approved. Resolution, 080485, proposed an additional increase, approximately $8 per household, to the 2009 snow and ice fee to cover an estimate rises in costs. Alderman Robert Bauman pointed out that even with the increases “it really leaves out a major service enhancement” referring to the clearing of sidewalks and curb cuts to allow handicap and elderly residents the ability to cross the street safely. This problem had been brought up by numerous residents at earlier Public Works Committee meetings and the failure of this fee increase to address this issue raised concerns for Alderman Bauman. This resolution was not approved by the Common Council. Resolution, 080484, proposed an increase of approximately $37 per household to the 2009 solid waste fee. This increase again raised debate on the council floor and concerns over the impact of these increases on citizens. Additionally concerns over the perceived belief of citizens that city hall is always looking to grow were discussed and it was brought up that the City of Milwaukee has 2000 less employees than 20 years ago. Alderman Terry Witkowski said these cuts had hurt the City of Milwaukee’s ability to provide quality services and to insure quality infrastructure saying that it “has it shown up in service? Has it shown up in infrastructure? Yes”. He went on to state that “the fact of the matter is we have been downsizing”. This resolution was placed on file by the Common Council, stopping the fee increase for the time being but it may be revisited in the future.
Sep 15th, 2008 by Dave Reid
Weekly Bookmarks – Monday, 15. September 2008
BC Pabst Holdings acquires second Brewery building – The Business Journal of Milwaukee: JS Online: Economic downturn dooms Park East development JS Online: Local investors buy a second Pabst building JS Online: Deficit in federal highway funds could affect state projects JS Online: Panel wants to seek bids for new Milwaukee transit management Mandel Group begins restoration of water tower – Small Business Times JS Online: Mayor to launch partnership to track foreclosures
Sep 15th, 2008 by Dave Reid
Tit for Tat
Alright, boys and girls, it’s official. The gloves are off as the campaign that will choose our nation’s next president enters its high stakes final stages. Yep that means the silly season has begun when both candidates and their surrogates struggle to control the news cycle with messages targeting the dwindling number of undecided voters who will probably determine the election results. The challenge is that many of these undecided voters don’t feel strongly enough about the major issues of the day to have made up their minds based on the significant policy differences between Barack Obama and John McCain. Many Democrats are wringing their hands over how the McCain campaign has seized the moment with the ridiculous assertion that Obama slandered VP candidate Sarah Palin by using the “lipstick on a pig” cliché when referring to McCain’s claim to an agenda of reform. Reporters and most other observers know that Obama’s comment had nothing to do with Palin but no matter. The targeted audience isn’t interested in such details. McCain has cynically and shamelessly turned his campaign over to the talented hands of Steve Schmidt who played a major role in George W. Bush’s 2004 race. A straight talker no more, McCain has morphed his campaign into a well-disciplined Rovian-style machine which cares more about image and emotion then policies or facts. Many of McCain’s closest and longest serving confidants are dismayed by the direction his campaign has taken but they recognize that the Bush folks beat their pants off 8 years ago so this may be what it takes to win. Fortunately, Obama’s people are pretty smart too and they are not going to repeat John Kerry’s mistake of ceding this ground to the Bushies and their Swiftboating minions. Remember way back two or three weeks ago when the Obama folks made so much hay out of McCain’s inability to answer how many homes he has? In addition to supporting Obama’s message that McCain is out of touch with the challenges of the average American family, it also matched nicely with McCain’s Achilles heel, perpetuated by the Jay Leno and David Letterman circuit, that he is old and forgetful. Look for Obama supporters to point out McCain’s many flubs and malapropisms. A new Obama ad pokes fun at McCain’s admission that he doesn’t use a computer or send email. You can bet that campaign mavens from both sides will be struggling aggressively to control the messges of the day. And it’s still only September. The old military adage goes “Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes” and both campaigns are obviously keeping much of their choicest ammo dry. This year’s election may very well come down to the last two weeks when our airwaves will most likely be chock full of references to Tony Rezko and Charles Keating. This is for all the marbles, my friends, so buckle up your seat belts. This ride is going to get bumpy.
Sep 12th, 2008 by Ted Bobrow
Shimmy like jelly on a plate
Last Saturday evening, September 5, I found myself in the ballroom of the Tripoli Shrine Temple at 3000 W. Wisconsin. It was my first visit to the 1928 structure built to resemble the Taj Mahal, and the parking lot was filling fast when I swung into the guarded space and walked through the south entrance to the wonders beyond. The blaze-orange ticket in my hand said “Jim Boz, Middle Eastern Dance Performance Showcase.” For those not in the know, Boz is a leading figure in the art of belly dancing, and he traveled here from San Diego to pump the evening’s lineup of participants. In the lobby fronting the hall – a lobby dripping with intricate mosaics and entwined tiles – a bar was doing a brisk business near a splashing fountain lit with multi-colored lights. Local photographer John December was busy taking shots of spangled ladies descending the impressive staircase. Here and there, clumps of women arrayed in gauzy somethings drifted by. In the grand ballroom, multiple vendors hawking multiple items necessary for exhibitionism exotica, waited to sell humongous hookahs, glittering headpieces, wild skirts and tops, and well, whatever one needs to shimmy and shake like sister Kate. On with the show. In three segments with three 15 minute intermissions, out came a diverse assortment of smiling dancers, ready to do their thing to the beat of canned music: students led by their teachers and brave dancers prepared to perform solo. All except two were women. One of the two male dancers, Richard Gaeta, is a friend of my sister, and earlier in the evening we had cocktails and eats at the Arts & Crafts home he shares with his partner. Richard confided he was very nervous about the whole thing (and never ever does he eat prior to performing), though he needn’t have fretted as he did just fine during his dance with a woman and the one other male, a veritable snake of a man who has been taking lessons for only four months. I wasn’t able to get a good photograph as I was sitting at the back of the room along with several people who were recording the entire night for posterity. The cheering audience (estimated at several hundred) seemed to be made up of mostly cheering and clapping friends and relatives of the performers. I heard an elderly lady comment, “40 years ago, I took belly dancing lessons.” A woman in a wheelchair with two huge oxygen tanks strapped to the back, clapped and cheered like crazy too, as if she was about ready to leap onto the stage and fling a few. Not all of the evening’s events were strictly mid-east in persuasion – for example, a lovely interpretative dancer gave her interpretation of “Amazing Grace,” dedicated sweetly to her mom and grandmother who were likely sitting upfront. Another performed with a genuine white snake draped around her body, giving rise to my fears that PETA types were lurking somewhere near the room’s […]
Sep 12th, 2008 by Stella Cretek
Ups & Downs
Mary Louise Schumacher, the art critic for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, beat everyone to the punch with her announcement of Nick Frank’s appointment as the “permanent” curator of Inova. “Permanent” is a rather risky word to use in the world of art, but after serving for several years as Inova’s “interim” curator, at least it seems Frank is more or less settled in. Inova operates under the banner of UW-Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts, and certainly it is no big secret that monies to carry forward will depend on grants, and as Schumacher wrote in a Frank quote, the “cooperation of artists.” It’s hard to believe the Inova galleries won’t be swamped with a tsunami of artists wanting to exhibit in the almost-new space on Kenilworth. In fact, their “cooperation” will likely be overwhelming. Schumacher recently asked in her online space, if the placement of the admission desk in Windhover Hall at MAM is, perhaps, inappropriate for the carefully designed Calatrava addition. Far worse to my mind are the cheesy banners in the hall, the brainchild of former executive director David Gordon, and you can add to that gripe the morphing of the east wing (formerly the space for displaying strong sculptures) to a place to sip strong coffee. The north end of the east wing, a messy entry point to the old museum, resembles a mall kiosk. These are only a few of my unfavorite changes. Of course, it isn’t the job of the museum’s board to micro-manage all the clutter. They have enough to do with keeping the bottom-line stable. During a visit last week, I ran into artist Taffnie Bogart, who is currently employed as a security person at MAM. Her spouse, painter Bruce Dorrow, is recovering from a very serious viral inflammation of his heart, and Taffnie, ever the trouper, jumped in to help with medical bills. The summer 08 Wings newsletter from the Milwaukee Public Museum has a list titled “Body Worlds by the Numbers,” including 20 tons of ice used for fountain drinks sold, 338,593 persons attending the extravaganza, and 200 light bulbs changed in the exhibit. From Tuesday, September 9 through Friday, September 12, the museum will be closed to the public for major cleaning and maintenance. Anyone grousing about the inoperable powwow turntable, will be happy to know a new turntable is being fabricated and will be up and running in the fall of 2009. The Forest County Potawatomi Community Foundation chipped in on the $260,000 project.
Sep 12th, 2008 by Stella Cretek
Friday Photos Friday, 12. September 2008
Downer Avenue Development Park Lafayette In The Distance Park Lafayette Breakwater Condos Park Lafayette Up Close
Sep 12th, 2008 by Dave Reid
UWM Dorm Site Faces Little Opposition
Last Thursday night, residents of Milwaukee's lower east side gathered at Holy Rosary Church to discuss the final of three proposals selected by the UWM Real Estate Foundation. The meeting began much like the two previous had, with the developer (Phelan Development) making a presentation on the plan, followed by a short bit by the architect (Jim Shields in this case), and representatives from UWM talking over some basic logistics and facts. After which Vice Chancellor for University Relations and Communications Tom Luljak straps on his bullet proof vest, and questions from the audience are allowed.
Sep 11th, 2008 by Jeramey Jannene
Love’s Labour’s Lost
By Jaymee Sherman Lights … camera … Shakespeare? Milwaukee Shakespeare’s opening night performance of the comedy Love’s Labour’s Lost was not just another go at the Bard in a modern day setting, for these renditions are recently legion. No, this was a headlong jump into the deep end that successfully brought a hilarious Elizabethan era play to a media-savvy, pop-culture-drenched, 21st-century audience. As you take your seat in the hip studio theater in the Broadway Theatre Center, don’t expect to see the stage set with turret or tower, in throne room or great hall. Instead, the trappings of a television studio beckon you into the world of reality TV to eavesdrop on the goings-on of a group of royals who have agreed to live their lives transparently for you and for the cameras as they battle out the emotions of everyday life. As the play begins, Ferdinand, King of Navarre has summoned three of his courtiers to consider a worthy proposal. Would they agree to join him in near-monastic life, devoting three long years to study without the distraction of all things worldly – namely, women? Though ill-received at first, the King’s gift of persuasion prevails to ennoble the suggestion and, in time, the three young men consent. The rub? – the imminent arrival of the Princess of France and her three lovely, eligible attendants. No sooner do the four men finish congratulating themselves on the merits of their intended intellectual pursuits and the forsaking of the baser pleasures than they are confronted with temptation and hurled down the garden path of unbridled romantic emotion. Director Jennifer Uphoff Gray has assembled a strong, talented cast to bring this classic comedy close to home. Kevin Rich is brilliant in his portrayal of reluctant Berowne, who struggles most with making the commitment to sterile scholarship. On the surface, an unreasonable, combustible sort, Rich’s Berowne is at once the most reasonable as he weighs and measures and over-thinks with a passion unfelt by his less complex, if milder cohorts. He is the perfect foil to Wayne T. Carr’s calm, noble, self-deluded King, whose vulnerability to love and its ensuing frustration is both touchingly down-to-earth and hopelessly funny. Chris White is charming as the easygoing Longaville. Jake Russo, as the slow-witted, ever-present cameraman, Anthony Dull, gives a minor role the personality and presence of a major character. Molly Rhode plays the dignified, self-assured Princess of France with grace, and Victoria Caciopoli brings a wonderful depth and exuberance to her portrayal of feisty Rosaline. Norman Moses’ performance of Don Adriano de Armado may have you purchasing tickets to see this comedy more than once. His love-sick Spaniard, a manly man swamped by his emotions, is a hilarious study in contrasts. Angela Iannone brings a mischievous sense of play to her portrayal of the impish instigator Boyet, and T. Stacy Hicks is the consummate Shakespearean clown as Costard. Although schoolteacher Holofernes is slightly histrionic, Richard Ganoung’s adeptness at verbal high jinks in this role is delightful. […]
Sep 11th, 2008 by Vital Archives
Do Rags Make the Woman?
My first dance demanded a special dress…long, lavish, and designed to fit a movie star like Rita Hayworth. It was nowhere near Cindy McCain’s controversial pumped up pumpkin-colored princess ensemble she wore at the Republican convention. Ah no, the dress of my dreams cost nowhere near the estimated $300,000 Cindy frock, but in all fairness, her outfit included a Chanel watch, diamond earrings and real pearls. The result made her look like Glenda the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz. What was she thinking? As I write, I’m thinking about fashionistas of the political persuasion. I’ve lived long enough to view quite a few, including Bess Truman who looked like a frump, no matter what her spouse, Harry S. said she could spend. My favorite era was Ike’s reign when Mamie-of-the-short bangs was on his arm instead of his mistress. Mamie favored tiny snippets of tiny hats. It’s odd isn’t it how specific items of clothing define life’s route? Now that Mad Men is on the tube, I can identify fully with the nipped-in waist and crinoline thing, though when I was in my late twenties, living in a suburban tri-level, I was given to aping Jackie-O, whose spending must have driven Jack mad. She of the dark eyes and languid limbs made fashion exciting enough that I rushed out and bought two sheath dresses (with matching pumps). Hidden in my bathroom drawer was a “fall,” i.e. fake hair meant to be worn with a wide headband. Jackie did it, so I did too. Dressing to kill extended to nights at the Milwaukee Symphony, where I sat regally in a box seat, gowned in a black and white ball gown with matching elbow-length white gloves. If she could do it, so could I. Pat Nixon (usually out of sight), Betty Ford (a former dancer given to drink), and Ladybird Johnson weren’t exactly runway material, but they weren’t exactly frumps either. Nancy Reagan preferred chic Republican Red, and compared to Nancy, Laura Bush is positively saintly in sensible suits with cropped jackets and slim skirts. Rosalind Carter’s clothes never ever called attention to Rosalind per se, and compared to Cindy, Jimmy shelled out a fairly modest amount of peanuts for R’s rags. Hillary’s traveling pants suits were (and are) reliably hilarious in their diverse hues, and certainly their dull styling sends a message that Hil isn’t given to letting her clothes wear her. Sarah Palin passes muster (barely), even in her moose-hunting ensemble and 70s rock ‘n roll hair. Michele Obama? I recently read that one of her outfits tallied in at over a grand. That said, a simple frock she wore during the run-up was designed by a graduate of Mount Mary College here in Beer Town. Perhaps all female candidates (wives or otherwise), should appear gowned in sackcloth, a crown of thorns on their heads, for who knows when a cub reporter wearing a Target special will leap from the bushes and report each and every fashion detail? […]
Sep 11th, 2008 by Stella Cretek
The Semiotics of Lipstick
It was a great line in a great speech. “You know the difference between a pit bull and a hockey mom? Lipstick!” How you reacted to that line in Sarah Palin’s speech at the Republican National Convention amounts to a litmus test of where you stand in relation to the dividing line between our two Americas. If you loved it, then chances are good that you’re a Republican-leaning voter who admired the themes of strong family values, love of country, and less government. If you hated it, then chances are good that you’re a Democratic-leaning voter who hated the themes of moral superiority, “Our Country, Right or Wrong,” and “Drill, Baby, Drill.” Yep, John McCain’s choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate was a brilliant move that reinvigorated his campaign. The Republican base is finally enthusiastically supporting this ticket now that one of its own is on board. And, yep, John McCain’s choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was a desperate move designed to cynically appeal to women and young voters through the very identity politics that everyone pretends to abhor. So the race remains close. The final two month sprint will determine whether Barack Obama or John McCain will be our next president. The debates are likely to be the most watched and analyzed of all time, including the vice president debate which has almost never, ever meant much of anything. What a year! As incredible as it seems, this election will probably be determined by people who are still undecided yet will still vote. That means the unengaged masses who are either too busy or simply too apathetic to have taken the time to make up their minds (let’s call them the “Neanderthals”) are in control. Be scared, be very, very scared. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, democracy is a very, very terrible system but, hey, all the others suck worse. Which brings me to today’s odd development that Obama’s use of the “lipstick on a pig” cliché has been attacked by the McCain camp as sexist. Let me see if I’ve got this right, any reference to lipstick must refer to Palin, since she said it first and she’s a woman? And Obama is sexist? This hoopla around Sarah Palin is an amazing case study in how susceptible to manipulation our system is. You would think that Palin’s presence on the ticket would emphasize the differences on issues like the Iraq war and reproductive choice and the economy that make this election such a no-brainer. But there you have it. The Obama campaign finds itself having to reclaim the mantle of change and package it in a way that is appealing not threatening. Unfortunately, this is made more difficult since some of these undecided voters, may not be comfortable voting for an African American named Obama. It looks like turnout in the highly populous cities in battleground states like Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania will be key. If Milwaukee residents (and residents of the densely […]
Sep 10th, 2008 by Ted Bobrow
Spiritualized @ Turner Hall, 9/9/2008
Spiritualized @ The 2008 Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago About a decade ago, Spiritualized all but tore down The Rave with an evening of musical pummeling and a head-shearing light show. The several dozen other fans in attendance will back me up. Anyone at Tuesday night’s show realizes how fortunate we are that Jason Pierce and band came back to Milwaukee. Emerging from the fog, Pierce — along with his four bandmates and two backup gospel singers — set the stage with a riveting, heavy version of “Amazing Grace”. With that they set the controls for the dark side of Turner Hall as the band’s modus operandi built on chaotic, driving crescendos and walls of sound only to bring songs back down to stark vocal arrangements. Even the sound man played the board like another instrument. There have been few musical nights like this since the U.S. Government took codeine off the shelves. Touring in support of the album Songs in A&E, whose back story might have been Pierce’s brush with the reaper during a nasty bout of double pneumonia, except the material was writ beforehand. Thus tunes like “Death Take Your Fiddle” (which sounded like an ancient Appalachian ballad) or “Soul on Fire” (which could rival anything on the modern hipster radio stations) already fit like a glove. And incandescent wailing vocals at the end of “Come Together” sounded less like a wake than a Baptist revival meeting down by the river. In the beginning (well, the ’80s at least) there was Spacemen 3, a Rugby, England band that pillaged the best of American music (Velvets, Elevators, Bo Diddley, Suicide, MC5, Sun Ra, Red Krayola), dipped it in morphine and created a quiet storm. Following an acrimonious/not acrimonious split (take your pick) with co-leader Sonic Boom, Jason Pierce (aka J Spaceman) formed Spiritualized in order to take the next logical steps. These days, Pierce’s voice has weathered to a fine, weary patina, reminiscent of Peter Perrett of the Only Ones, a fellow traveler familiar with the power of a script. Never straying far from the twin towers of spiritual transcendence and escapism, at Turner Spiritualized’s take on “Lay Back in the Sun” (“Good dope and good fun”) – something of an homage to Brian Wilson and Beach Boys — made groups like The Jesus and Mary Chain and The Raveonettes seem like kids who just got a fuzzbox for Christmas. “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space” was transformed in to an elegiac waltz that segued into just Pierce and the gospel voices singing a stunning last verse of Elvis’ “I Can’t Help Falling in Love With You”. Thought it’s doubtful that many from the religious right were in attendance, Pierce’s affinity for blending rock and religious themes was well represented on “Lord Can you Hear Me,” as well as Spacemen 3’s “Walking With Jesus” and “Take Me to the Other Side.” All good things must come to an end as the evening’s finale built to a maelstrom […]
Sep 10th, 2008 by Blaine Schultz
Photos From Top of US Bank Center
Yesterday, Dave Reid and myself were invited to the Brownfields Study Group 10th Anniversary Celebration. Now brownfield redevelopment is wonderful, and Milwaukee has some wonderful examples including the nationally-recognized Menomonee Valley, but we were a little distracted by the view from the event. The event was held on the 40th floor of the US Bank Center in the offices of Foley & Lardner.
Sep 10th, 2008 by Jeramey Jannene
