Feature
Milwaukee County Pension Trial Underway
The Milwaukee County pension troubles are a serious issue that affect everyone in the Milwaukee area. By eating a significant portion of the county's budget every year in the form of increased pension payments, the pension scandal has forced cuts in county services and tax increases. Milwaukee County has taken Mercer to court over the highly-flawed pension system, and a decision in Milwaukee County's favor could relieve a lot of stress at the county level.
May 14th, 2009 by Jeramey Jannene
Milwaukee the Water Capital?
The single most important expansion of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee currently underway is the proposed School of Freshwater Sciences.
May 7th, 2009 by Dave Reid
Downer Avenue Development Project Heats Up Again
This past Monday night a public meeting was held to discuss possible streetscape improvements to Downer Avenue.
May 6th, 2009 by Dave Reid
There is Nothing Green About Greenfield Development
There is nothing green about greenfield development.
May 4th, 2009 by Dave Reid
RTA Passes Joint Finance Committee
The Regional Transit Authority passed the Joint Finance Committee this morning at 2:17 a.m., but not in a very regional way.
May 1st, 2009 by Jeramey Jannene
Complete Street Makeover for S. 2nd Street?
S. 2nd St., in Walker's Point, is another street in Milwaukee that is more than ready to go on a diet.
Apr 30th, 2009 by Dave Reid
Make a Difference, Help the RTA
The Regional Transit Authority, a solution to Milwaukee’s transit woes that we’ve advocated before, is coming down to the wire in the halls of the state capitol. For the plan to move forward it needs to be included in the state budget, and for that to happen it needs to be approved by the Joint Finance Committee. The Joint Finance Committee will vote on the matter on Thursday. The matter is anything but a done deal, and your support is turning a few votes. Please make a call Wednesday if you have the chance. Even if it’s just a one second “vote for the RTA on Thursday”, it’ll make a difference. Please call, your city needs you. Senator John Lehman (Racine) especially needs to hear from you! (608) 266-1832 (866) 615-7510, Fax (608) 267-6793, Sen.Lehman@legis.wisconsin.gov PO Box 7882, Madison, 53707 Representative Cory Mason (Racine) (608) 266-0634, Rep.Mason@legis.wisconsin.gov PO Box 8953, Madison, 53708 Representative Robin Vos (Racine) 888 534-0063, 608 282-3663 fax, rep.vos@legis.wisconsin.gov PO Box 8953, Madison, 53708 Representative Pedro Colon (Milwaukee) 888 534-0008, 608 282-3608 fax, rep.colon@legis.wisconsin.gov PO Box 8952, Madison, 53708 Representative Tamara Grigsby (Milwaukee) 888 534-0018, 608 282-3618 fax, rep.grigsby@legis.wisconsin.gov PO Box 8952, Madison, 53708 Senator Lena Taylor (Milwaukee) 608 266-5810, 608 267-2353 fax, sen.taylor@legis.wisconsin.gov PO Box 7882, Madison, 53707 Senator Alberta Darling (Milwaukee) 608 266-5830, 608 267-0588 fax, sen.darling@legis.wisconsin.gov PO Box 7882, Madison, 53707 [Full disclosure, Jeramey is a member of the RTA Steering Committee and a passionate advocate for the efficiencies of mass transit.]
Apr 28th, 2009 by Jeramey Jannene
Lower East Side Grocery Store To Open
John and Anne Nehring will open Nehring Family Marketplace in a building owned by New Land Enterprises at the intersection of Brady and Water Streets.
Apr 26th, 2009 by Jeramey Jannene
A Pair of Streets That Need to Go on a Diet
The streets, E. State St. and E. Wells St., need to lose some weight because these multi-lane one-way expressways that run through East Town disrupt an otherwise walkable neighborhood.
Apr 24th, 2009 by Dave Reid
Committee Approves Two-way State St.
Clearly this meeting of the Public Works Committee was not as colorful as recent meetings but there were a couple of items of interest. The first item was a proposed lease agreement between Waters’ New Biotech Company and the Port of Milwaukee. This proposal would be the second large alternative fuel facility in recent years to open at the Port of Milwaukee. Waters’ New Biotech Company intends to develop a facility that will convert wood waste into a solid fuel which will be used as an alternative fuel to coal. This file was approved and will now go before the full Common Council. The second item was the culmination of three years of efforts by Alderman Robert Bauman. In an effort to improve the walkability and vibrancy of East Town, he has been working to convert E. State St. between N. Edison St. and N. Prospect Ave. to two-way traffic. His efforts resulted in the necessary changes to file number 081667 which will provide the funding to reconfigure E. State St., rebuild and repave the street, reconfigure the signals, construct a median at Water St., and potentially add a new signal. This file was approved and will now go before the full Common Council.
Apr 24th, 2009 by Dave Reid
The Politics of Real Estate Development – Park East Edition
The tale of the Fair Market Development, LLC Park East development proposal is one already lined with intrigue.
Apr 22nd, 2009 by Jeramey Jannene
Milwaukee Riverkeeper’s Spring River Cleanup
If you’re going to go out and enjoy a walk along any of Milwaukee’s rivers, now may be the team to do it. This past Saturday approximately 3,000 volunteers, myself included, descended upon Milwaukee’s river beds to clean up everything we could. This was the second year I had participated in the event, and I elected to work at the North Avenue/Hometown site again this year. Our group of 49 aimed to clean the east Milwaukee River bank from the former North Avenue Dam to just south of Locust Street. Walking under the bridge for the first time is always a reality check, especially this year, where it appeared seven individuals had made been living there It will be interesting to observe how the new UWM dorm on the Hometown site will affect the number of homeless individuals living under the bridge next year (and the amount of garbage). One would assume it would have the affect of reducing the number living there, and also reducing the amount of garbage. Unfortunately this doesn’t solve the obvious issue, that there are too few beds for the less fortunate in our community. Other sites, as the Journal Sentinel story indicates, aren’t about cleaning up the land around the river, but cleaning out the actual river itself. It appears sites along the Menomonee and Kinnickinnic Rivers are hotbeds for shopping carts and other non-natural things to inhabit the rivers. If you have a chance to next year, participate in the 2009 river cleanup. It’s a great opportunity to volunteer, as your hard work is immediately visible.
Apr 22nd, 2009 by Jeramey Jannene
