Milwaukee Art Museum

Henningsen Moved

milwaukeeworld.com scoop

New Home for Lord?

Lord has been looking at the old Lou Fritzel building with owner Peter J. Kondos.

Scott Walker and the Milwaukee Curse

Milwaukee has not been the home of many of Wisconsin’s governors.

A Doctorate Denied

How the FBI Thwarted Marquette’s 1964 Plan to Award an Honorary Doctorate to Martin Luther King.

Jim Glynn Dead at 64

I had no idea it would be this soon.

The Kerry Rally

Senator John Kerry paid another visit to Milwaukee on Monday, August 2nd at a public rally in Pere Marquette Park. Gates to the park opened at 4:30 p.m. while the presidential candidate was still racing across Lake Michigan on the Lake Express ferry. Access to Kerry these days requires a thorough screening by security personnel, so by 6 p.m. a line stretched from Plankinton and Kilbourn, the park’s entrance, across the river to the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, at which point it headed north, wrapped itself around the building, headed east on E. State Street and finally tapered off at N. Edison Street. For pictures click here. The line moved slowly as security guards checked the attendees, emptied pockets, etc. Once inside the secure enclosure, the crowd was able to buy bottled water and pizza from Amazon Pizza, a fun new spot on W. Wells St. However, many people never made it to the security screening, and they simply camped out along the riverfront, enjoying the event from the Marcus Center riverwalk. It made for a nice sight for cameras, since Candidate Kerry, speaking from a raised platform on the north end of the park, would gesture from time to time toward those on the distant shore. Alas, milwaukeeworld had almost resigned itself to distant coverage of the event, but as it turns out there was a special entrance to the event, and we designed to make it ours. Joe Klein and I headed to Kilbourn and N. Third Street where an officer was in place to tell us that we could not advance to the press table set up in our sight, but out of our reach. Meanwhile, he waved in such prominent figures as Sen. Herb Kohl, Rep. Sheldon Wasserman, Steve Marcus and others, all of whom had red tickets, while we had none. Providentially, Margaret Henningsen showed up on the scene with an extra red ticket, which we begged for and received. The red ticket made us legit for the officer, and we proceeded through our screening, after watching several of the people mentioned above get screened themselves. (Steve Marcus does not look like a guy who gets frisked a lot.) Inside the gates of the special section, where the red-ticketed people go, we were treated to a fascinating caste system in which our “Kerry Edwards From Sea to Shining Sea Believe in America Tour” Press pass marked us as scum. The real media stars, and there were dozens of them, were members of the “Traveling Press.” The Traveling Press spends its time apart from the regular press, and they dine together in a fancy tent. The food was from Chef Pat’s catering. Pat Houlihan said the campaign kept changing its meal plans, but he settled on roast pork sandwiches, a couple of salads, pretzels, soft drinks and Miller Beer. The Traveling Press drinks very little beer, which in the end turned out to be a blessing for Chef Pat’s weary and thirsty crew. The […]

Selig Take A Hit

Washington Post Trashes Commissioner and Journal Communications. Plus: The Mea Culpa of Charles J. Sykes and Thompson’s Boycott of Miller Park.

Lavender, Black and Green

The Green Party’s national convention will be in Milwaukee this week, with voting by delegates to be held on Saturday. The big question: will the outfit endorse Ralph Nader? This vexing question will put Milwaukee, however briefly, once again in the national spotlight. The party has endorsed the formation of several subgroups including the Black Greens, and the Lavender Greens. The first group consists of African-American members of the party, and the second with its Gay, Lesbian, Transgendered and “Intergendered” (a new one for me) members. As of May there were 297,964 registered greens from 22 states, along with an undetermined number from states like Wisconsin where voter registration does not specify political party. Candidates for the party include four for U.S. Senate, 38 for the House of Representativees, one for Governor, one for Lieutenant Governor and 94 for State Legislatures. According to the party, at least 204 Greens hold office in 27 states, including Wisconsin. Nader, who received the party’s nomination in 2000, has 50 delegates thus far, behind David Cobb, with 194 and Peter Camejo with 112. Over 200 delegates support none of the above or are uncommitted. Nader wrote the party in March to say “I am running as an Independent and am not seeking nor accepting the Green Party nomination. If you do not choose a presidential candidate in Milwaukee, I would welcome your endorsement.” You can figure out for yourself whatever that means. Whomever the candidate, the party promises to run television ads in the presidential race, another first. One of the featured speakers at a post-convention rally will be Frank P. Zeidler, a former presidential candidate himself (Socialist Party) and reason enough to attend the event. A Man in a Hurray: Marc “Leadfoot” Marotta Department of Administration head Marc Marotta has a date in the Jefferson County intake court on June 29th at 9 a.m. in conjunction with his citation on May 24th for speeding on the freeway. The 41-year old attorney and former basketball star was busted for exceeding the speed limit by 20 – 24 miles per hour, an offense that carries a $255.40 bond. Officer Michael Meyers of the Jefferson County Sheriff Department collared the Mequon resident after clocking him going 21 miles over the limit. Earlier this year, on February 25th (the day after Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager was busted for drunk driving) Peter Moe of the State Patrol cited Marotta for speeding on the freeway, also in Jefferson County. It was a more easy-going Marotta that time, since he was caught speeding 16 – 19 miles per hour above the speed limit. On April 22nd, that charge was amended to Speeding on Freeway 1 – 10 miles above the limit. Marotta pled no contest to that charge and was fined $181. The vigilant officer Moe also noted that Marotta, a senior government official, had expired plates (PUR108), so we assume it is his personal vehicle in which he was hot-rodding, but that charge was dismissed. His attorney was Michael […]

Changes at the Election Commission

Art Dealer in Jail

Don’t bother calling Kennedy Fine Arts in Northbrook, Illinois. Don’t even try to leave a message, because the voice mailbox is full. Of course, it is easy to see why – James F. Kennedy, the art dealer, has been sitting in the Milwaukee County jail without bail since May 7th, and it looks like he’ll be there at least until a hearing date on May 18th, according to a jail spokesperson. (According to the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, Kennedy’s offense occurred May 10th.) He is charged with a felony under statute 976.03(13), “extradition – arrest prior to requisition.” Milwaukeeworld.com told you two weeks ago that an individual was trying to peddle fake Picassos in the Milwaukee area. Although Kennedy is held on an unrelated out-of-state warrant, he is the fellow who was trying to pass off the fakes in our community. Apparently police did not have enough evidence to charge him with a crime in the matter – mere possession of fake artwork is not a crime, and there was insufficient evidence he had tried to sell the works, they say – Kennedy’s van was seized along with some 300 works of art that were allegedly fakes. He was arrested on Milwaukee Street, and is from Northbrook, Illinois. It is doubtful that Kennedy was the author of the fakes, and it is likely that he is a player in a much larger art fraud ring. So, just to remind you once again, if you have purchased any “Picasso” drawings in the last couple of weeks, contact a reputable art dealer or law enforcement authorities. Kennedy was born on May 17, 1957, so it looks like he will be spending his birthday in jail. Concordia Gets Bush President George W. Bush visited the Ozaukee County megalopolis of Mequon Thursday to deliver the commencement address at Concordia University at the Lutheran school’s very secure lakeside campus. Milwaukeeworld correspondent Patrick C. Horne, a Mequon resident, was at the intersection of Port Washington Road and Highland Road where Bush supporters and detractors hoped the presidential motorcade would pass. Of course, it didn’t, since the president’s motorcade traveled along Lake Shore Drive, far removed from the supporters, detractors, and reality. “We’ve got protestors on one side and the republicans on the other side,” Horne said via cellular telephone while awaiting the motorcade’s non-arrival. “We’ve got TV people on the other side, we’ve got Secret Service, we’ve got Germantown, Milwaukee, Ozaukee County, all sorts of people, all sorts of squads, all sorts of everything. Now, the mystery is which way he’s going to come in. I hope they take our President on LSD.” [Editor’s note: LSD is Mequon slang for Lakeshore Drive.] According to Horne, there was a good deal of “ranting and raving back and forth” between the President’s supporters and detractors. “’Give him four more years.’ ‘No, give him five more months,’” they chanted, he said. “Lot of Republicans,” Horne said. “’Oh! I forgot my flag!’ ‘Oh! Don’t they have anything better to do […]

The Jewish Judge Who’s a Quarter Irish

Governor James E. Doyle told about 75 people at Mo’s Irish Pub last Friday that “there are a number of good things I can do as governor. … I get to appoint people to the bench. As a lawyer and the son of a judge, I take this seriously.” What does the governor look for in a judge? – He’s appointed about 6 of them so far –“I get a list of very – incredibly good people. I could pick them out of a hat. But I look for intelligence, fairness, and understanding of people. Also, frankly, some much needed diversity.” Doyle got diversity all right when he appointed Glenn Yamahiro as a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge last year. Yamahiro, a former public defender, lawyer in private practice, and teacher of disturbed students, is also the first Asian-American to sit on the bar in Wisconsin. He is that, and more, the crowd, gathered for a fundraiser, was to learn. Yamahiro told the crowd that he was proud to be “the first [judicial] appointee by a democratic governor in almost 20 years.” Yamahiro is running for a full term against former Judge Robert Crawford, whose antics on the bench in the past cost him his seat to Judge Louis Butler, who was present, as were such other judges as Jean DiMotto, Ted Wedemeyer, Tom Donegan, Paul Wall and judge wannabees like Audrey Skwierawski. Attorneys including the venerable Dominic Frinzi and Mark Thomsen popped in for the gig. Yamahiro has already proven himself to be one of the more amusing speakers on the bench, and among politicians generally. “I told the governor at the time of my appointment that any opponent I would get would be buried at the election. “Now we have to come through on that promise,” he said, to the general assent of the assembled, not eager for a return of the goofy Crawford. Yamahiro rubbed it in: “If it was an election of the informed, we wouldn’t need this gathering,” he said. Do not think that Yamahiro tried to coast by solely on the merits of his wit and the novelty of his Asian background. “I am the first Asian-American judge in Wisconsin, but I did have a grandma in Iowa, born about 100 years ago. Her name was Morrissey. So I have 25 percent Irish blood, and I am happy to be in Mo’s Irish Pub with the Guinness flowing.” The crowd really liked this intercultural news, and I talked to Deja Vishny, a public defender with a really cool name – and yet another story. “I’m Glenn’s wife,” she said. The couple has one child, who attends a Jewish elementary school. “I’m Jewish,” she explained. “So is Glenn,” she added. Observations From the Governor On the Legislature You get the feeling from Governor Jim Doyle that the legislature is acting like a pesky housefly that he has to keep swatting at. The recent meetings of the august representatives of the people were characterized in this […]

Lautenschlager’s Mess

Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager’s drunk driving arrest last week removes her from behind the wheel of her state-owned vehicle for a year, and puts Governor Jim Doyle in the driver’s seat. The two had squabbled, privately, over terms of the Governor’s jobs bill, with Lautenschlager threatening to use her authority to see that the law comply with the state’s environmental regulations, which she intimated it did not. This sort of independent action by an attorney general is not new in Wisconsin. Doyle was the chief practitioner of it, but then again, he was a Democrat, and the Governor at the time was a Republican. The press has made note that Doyle suggests Lautenschlager forgo some of her pay as a sort of penance for her indiscretion, a matter that remains unresolved at this time. Doyle also suggested that Lautenschlager consider entering a program to treat problem drinkers. He said that he had a number of friends who had been in a similar situation and that the treatment had helped them. In fact, the public admission of guilt and responsibility (which Lautenschlager made) is usually accompanied these days with a prompt acknowledgement that a problem exists. The subject then usually promptly enters a treatment program and completes it, after which the matter is forgotten. Lautenschlager has not made that admission thus far, which leaves her in the position of either not having a “problem” or being “in denial” of it. It does leave Doyle high and dry, however, and much less likely to face interference in his plans from that peskiest of all politicians – an ambitious Attorney General. Walker at the War Memorial County Executive Scott Walker welcomed about 100 well-clad guests to a fundraiser February 26th at the War Memorial Center. The strictly upper-crust affair was a Republican-type fundraiser, which meant that hard liquor was consumed (in moderation) and beer, for the most part, was ignored. For those fans of the frothy stuff, Walker offered Miller products and Heineken. Food was by Ellen’s Prestige Catering, and included strolling waiters, another classy touch. Menu items included spinach somethings, meat and melted cheese on sandwich rounds, wrapped up little salmon tidbits, an entirely unsuccessful raspberry-brie tart, platters of some kind of 21st century sandwich product along with perfectly delicious fruit. The event was unmarred by public oratory, but was enhanced by an A-list of locals practicing up for the next time Bush is in town. Among the exalted: George Dalton, Dennis Kuester (on crutches), Michael Cudahy, mourning the recent death of Daniel Urban Kiley, creator of the $4 million Cudahy garden outside the adjacent Milwaukee Art Museum, Fred Luber, Tim Hoeksma, Carol Skornicka, John Finerty, Jim Weichmann, Joe Rice, Mary Buestrin, Corey Hoze and developer Mark Irgens. Hoze has secured speaker Dennis Hastert to appear at a $2000 fundraiser on his hopeless behalf in his upcoming congressional campaign. That’s rich. Marvin Pratt popped in and worked the crowd for about 20 minutes before his cop told him it was time to […]