The Park East Park? Absolutely Not
In response to the announcement of the failing of The Residences of Palomar, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ran an editorial talking about the idea of building a temporary park in the Park East land reclaimed from the former freeway spur. The idea is a bad one.
Jan 13th, 2009 by Jeramey Jannene
DETROIT: Corned beef and the cars of the future
We’re convalescing this morning with oatmeal and coffee after finally getting some sleep last night. Yesterday was a big day. We started at United Meat and Deli, a small, high-end corned beef processor and wholesaler that is incidentally owned and operated by my dad. There we saw another side of Detroit industry and prepared Noah for the best Reuben of his life. The videos from our factory tour are amazing, so stay tuned for those: My mom gave us the tour. Here she is next to a vat of cured beef brisket That’s my dad! And the man in charge. Kegs of corned beef brisket ready to ship out. Noah needs to ditch the dock shoes in the winter. Cans of Dr. Brown’s Cream Soda ready to ship out Hygrade Deli on Michigan Avenue, right around the corner from the plant The last perfect bite After Noah got teary eyed over his sandwich, we set a course for the main event: the North American International Auto Show at Cobo Hall, where there were hundreds of journalists reporting on hundreds of cars. We heard a lot about how subdued the show was this year, but with no basis for comparison, we thought it was pretty lavish and overwhelming. And almost every major manufacturer came prepared with several hybrid models, touting fuel cell technology, plug-in adaptability or hydrogen engineering, with abundant shades of green and feel-good statements of commitment to the good of the world. We even drove a 2010 Ford Fusion on an indoor track in a basement show room. The lead on the front page of the Detroit News this morning: the battery race is on. Pretty exciting. The Ford show floor Not an optical illusion Hot Lamborghini models All-electric Tesla Roadster Noah in a fly BMW convertible Chevy Volt drivetrain Flashy Jaguar show floor Noah, the Detroit River, and Windsor Ontario We have to hit the road and get our asses back to Milwaukee before we get completely whited out in Indiana and Illinois. But we’ll have more video for you before we go to sleep and that hot photo album we promised you by mid-day tomorrow. We’ve had a wonderful time. The Motor City, as it always does, even in its backward and difficult way, completely delivered.
Jan 13th, 2009 by Amy Elliott
Palomar Canceled?
Haven't seen any official announcement yet, but we've heard from a credible source close to the project that the The Residences at Palomar project has been canceled. We'll update this post as we learn more. At the moment, calls in to the project are going unanswered.
Jan 12th, 2009 by Jeramey Jannene
DETROIT: Planes, trains, lots of automobiles
We initially cancelled our trip to Detroit and the 2009 North American International Auto Show after Matt Wild announced that, due to the global financial crisis, he would not be financially solvent in time for our departure. The news came at zero hour, and for 24 hours, I was heartbroken. Then I got a call from Noah Therrien.Yes … your friend and mine … Noah Therrien: So we packed up some stuff, got a good night’s sleep and took off for the Eastern Standard Time Zone and the heart of America’s industrial heritage. After beating back a ferocious snowstorm, we made it to my parents’ house where we were greeted with five barking dogs and some really good soup. Our press credentials for the show aren’t effective until tomorrow, so we spent today catching up on the fabric of the Motor City and the motors of the past that made it famous. We spent the morning at The Henry Ford, America’s most impressive history museum, which was founded by Henry Ford himself to house the many innovations, inventions and ideas that are part of our cultural heritage. We saw steam engines, horse-drawn buggies, a 1986 Ford Taurus, antique combines, Buckminster Fuller’s Dymaxion House, the bus in which Rosa Parks refused to move to the back seats, the limo in which John F. Kennedy was assassinated, the chair in which Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, an original copy of the Stamp Act, a 1914 electric car and a 1907 Harley. Oh, also the Ghostbusters car, and Luke Skywalker’s light saber. Enjoy: 1927 Bluebird schoolbus Kennedy’s limo What in the Sam Hill Really old Thor motorcycle Runnerboard from the 1914 Detroit Electric car. Marketed specifically to women – Henry Ford’s wife had one – because they were smaller, quieter, not so smelly and easier to operate. Spending the day in a constant state of awe, glee and giddiness worked up an appetite, so we drove into the city proper and had gyros and coffee in Greektown. Then we took the People Mover – an eloquently titled downtown monorail – on a sightseeing tour before our appointment at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Greektown – just what it sounds like. Opa. Touristing out on the People Mover The Spirit of Detroit. I have a tattoo of this. TIGRRRRRRRR!!!!! The beautiful Detroit Institute of Arts. Shinier than usual. Our granddaddy Henry Ford presides over the Rivera Court — frescoed by Diego Rivera — at the DIA We’ll start a bangin’ web album tomorrow and share it with you. Plus I have it on good word that Mr. Therrien will be posting a video in just a few minutes time. Stay tuned for dispatches from Hitsville USA, exclusive footage of Darth Vader’s death suit and the Batmobile, our enchanted afternoon of chess sets and strolling at the art institute, a scenic view of the Ford Rouge plant and so, so, so much more. You know, like, the Auto Show. We love you, VS On Assignment PS: […]
Jan 12th, 2009 by Amy Elliott
DETROIT: The video, part one
I promised it and here it is. This kid is a wizard. More where this came from! Stay tuned to Love Letters for more videos, photos and sassy anecdotes. And here’s the first installment of our On Assignment report, posted just moments ago. We’re having a wonderful time. In spite of Matt Wild.
Jan 12th, 2009 by Amy Elliott
Weekly Bookmarks – Monday, 12. January 2009
Milwaukee city, county populations in decline, forecasters say – JSOnline cfis : Tick, tick, tick Greater Milwaukee Committee president to speak at Economic Trends Breakfast – BizTimes Attorneys trash WisDOT fee proposal WEPCO wants to study putting wind towers in lakes – The Business Journal of Milwaukee: Carp barrier might be activated this month – JSOnline WUWM: UWM Today – Chancellor’s Report Milwaukee only major U.S. metro area with rising home prices – BizTimes Deal of the Week – BizTimes: Advertising firm moving from Third Ward to Walker’s Point Gregory Marcus succeeds father as Marcus Corp. CEO – The Business Journal of Milwaukee:
Jan 11th, 2009 by Dave Reid
WisDOT Open House on Future Parking Lots, Parks, or ?
WisDOT is taking the steps to prepare to issue an RFP for airspace leases underneath the Marquette Interchange and Interstate 794. They're looking for public input on what should be included, and this is our chance to really say we want something better underneath the freeway that separates the Third Ward and the Milwaukee Intermodal Station from the rest of downtown.
Jan 9th, 2009 by Jeramey Jannene
Friday Photos Friday, 09. January 2009
The Brewery Streetlight’s being installed at The Brewery Blue Ribbon Lofts The Brewery Aloft
Jan 8th, 2009 by Dave Reid
Weighing in on the big announcement
I’m pretty sure this will be the last word on the subject of how it went when we made the announcement to go online full time, but I’ve gotten some really interesting feedback that I wanted to share. With only a couple of exceptions, the response from people was 100% positive, but a few folks had some advice for me on style points, with which I concur wholeheartedly. The letter below is from Shelly Tabor of BizTimes, and came to me through a LinkedIn group to which we both belong. I am publishing it with her permission. Hi Jon Anne, The talk in our office, BizTimes Media (formerly Small Business Times) was that Vital Source was done and the headline on the BizTimes Daily on Monday was “Publishers pull plug on Vital Source magazine”. Our reporters did get the information correct… the second and third sentences of the story correctly state that you are continuing your services and focusing everything to the web. I’m finding that it is more difficult for people to focus on the positive these days. Publishing is not dead… it is just going through a transition (like so many other industries). To survive and to appeal to a younger demographic, the focus must be web-based. I applaud you for taking the appropriate steps for survival and growth. My one bit of advice to everyone is to present information (press releases/ads/commercials) with a positive spin. I didn’t get to see your press release, so I am not saying that you did anything wrong. [Ed. Note: It was “VITAL Publications, LLC to cease printing VITAL Source Magazine”] Using this situation as an example… the first thing you should tell people is that focusing on the web product, planning for the future (and don’t be afraid to add a lot of frill and hoopla)… and then add that you will be discontinuing the print version. I know you are just trying to present the information, but your words paint a picture — and it’s better to paint a pretty one. The headline of our news report was so glum… you are not pulling the plug, you are simply regrouping and focusing on your future in publishing — a much greener future (both environmentally and economically, I hope)! I wish you much success in 2009! Can’t wait to see the website relaunch! Sincerely, Shelly Tabor Art Director BizTimes Media LLC — Biztimes.com | BizTimes Milwaukee | BizTimes Events | BizTech Expo | BizTimes Custom Publishing She is absolutely correct. I wrote the press release from a reporter’s viewpoint, not thinking about it through the lens of how it would be received, and the poor choice of headline was the kicker. I should have led with the good news and maybe some of the flap that’s ensued since the unfortunate MJS brief was posted last Sunday evening could have been avoided. And for my part in all of this, I owe MJS business reporter Rick Romell an apology. While his choice […]
Jan 8th, 2009 by Jon Anne Willow
Marquette Recieves Zoning Approval From Commission
This meeting had few files acted on but Marquette University’s request for a change in zoning of a variety of university owned properties shows Marquette University is moving ahead on significant projects in downtown Milwaukee. [inaarticlead]It was pointed during the meeting that out that of the 8000 undergraduates at Marquette University approximately 6,500 live within a six block area of the university, many of whom live in university owned student housing. In responses to this ongoing need, Marquette University’s brought this resolution forward primarily because of their intent to convert the apartment building at 1628 W Wisconsin into university run student housing. Whitney Gould asked if any of the other properties receiving a change in zoning could possibly be considered of historic value, to which representatives of Marquette University indicated that none of the buildings were of historic significance. This file was approved and will now go before the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee.
Jan 8th, 2009 by Dave Reid
What’s going on
What’s going on? Monday was kind of crazy around here. We announced that we are ceasing printing of our beloved VITAL Source, effective immediately, which in turn led to a (bigger than we expected) flood of emails, phone calls and damage control. But wait… immediately? Seems kind of sudden, doesn’t it? Seems so to us as well, but it’s like this… pardon the descent to metaphor, it’s one of my favorite literary devices and I’m short on time this morning. We went into 2008 with a burlap bag that had a little sand in the bottom. The sand represents revenue and resources. Over the year we filled it up pretty well for the first time, the customary numerous tiny rips seemingly repaired at long last. Then in late fall, we started to see signs of stress on our poor burlap receptacle. As the grains started to trickle out of a new little tear, we found ways to plug the hole or use less sand. Then suddenly, near the end of the year, we were faced with a couple of MAJOR cost increases. Which created a rip in the other side of the bag. Now there was a hole in each side of the bag and not enough sand coming in to keep it heavy. So we looked at every aspect of our bag and what caused it to rip most often. Sadly, it was producing the magazine in print form. Our printing costs increased dramatically January 1 and our revenue was somewhat weak – not terrible, but not enough for a small business with limited resources. The other parts of the business are still doing pretty well but the losses from the magazine would have ultimately emptied the bag entirely unless the economy magically turned around in less than a year. Which it’s not going to do. So we made a difficult decision. In actuality, this only affects the timing of an already-existing bigger plan. The new web portal we will now launch in February instead of April has been long in the planning and we would have liked to have done both simultaneously for awhile to see how the two worked together. But as unfunded operators with no desire to take on additional debt in these uncertain times, we had to make a choice: keep shoring it up and hope for the best or use our small reserves to follow through with our plan. We chose the future over the present. Our new site will be a forum for many voices within the community, expanding on the great base we’ve already built. We’ll continue to offer most of what was best about VITAL Source – SubVersions, REEL Milwaukee, Chow Baby!, One World, Stripwax, Talk Derby to Me, my column, What’s Happenin’ Milwaukee and more. We’ll also continue to steward Fan-Belt, Milwaukee’s most excellent independent music blog. And who knows? Maybe you’ll see VITAL Source Magazine on the streets again. Maybe sooner than you think.
Jan 7th, 2009 by Jon Anne Willow
What Would Ebenezer Do?
Nobody likes it when somebody tells them what to do so I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the business community is throwing a hissy fit over the new Milwaukee sick leave law. But the truth is that the local chapter of the 9 to 5 organization played by the rules and collected enough signatures to place the proposal before the Common Council. Then, also according to the rules, the council had the choice of either passing the proposal or submitting it to referendum (which they did). The City Attorney determined that the proposal was legal and, on November 5th, the voters overwhelmingly supported the fairly modest proposal. So, beginning next month, large employers in Milwaukee will be required to offer nine sick days a year to fulltime employees (smaller firms will need to offer five days) and the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce and others are yelling that the sky is falling. Do you think I’m exaggerating? Well I don’t think there’s any other way to describe it when the MMAC director of government affairs Steve Bass refers to the new law as “terrorism.” In other words, when a democratic process requires employers to treat their workers compassionately, then it’s the same as murdering innocent civilians. With all due respect, Mr. Bass, take your head out of your ass and learn to choose your words more carefully. Now some concerns about this sick leave requirement deserve to be addressed. Some say that the cost to employers is excessive and may discourage new businesses from locating in Milwaukee and may even drive existing ones to close or move. I say, I doubt it. Let’s see the evidence. It certainly didn’t have that kind of effect on the other two cities where it has been in place for several years. But a clearly ridiculous argument, undoubtedly thought up by some high-priced attorney looking for a weakness in the law, suggests that requiring sick leave deprives employers and their workers of the right to negotiate benefits. That’s right, a sick leave mandate obstructs workers rights. George Orwell, meet MMAC President Tim Sheehy. I don’t think even Scrooge would have come up with that argument. Reminds me of the GM, Chrysler and Ford CEOs flying in to Washington, DC on separate private jets to ask for a bailout. Do you somehow lose your common sense when you get paid with stock options? Even Frank Capra couldn’t make this stuff up. And, as if to add insult to injury, this imbroglio happened to break out during the holiday season when we are all supposed to be thinking about the needy and appreciating the message of a holy man who lived 2000 years ago. What am I thinking? Christmas is about getting presents and stimulating the economy. Duh! I guess that Wise Guy was on to something when he said “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the […]
Jan 6th, 2009 by Ted Bobrow
