wo Milwaukee Common Council members whose districts will be impacted by the new downtown arena are among the appointees announced Friday for the arena’s new governing board. The board is tentatively scheduled to hold its first meeting on Sept. 25. Appointments were due on Friday. The public Wisconsin Center District board will govern the new sports and entertainment arena as well as the incumbent Wisconsin Center District properties. The district consists of the Wisconsin Center convention hall, the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and the Milwaukee Theatre. The arena-funding legislation signed one month ago by Gov. Scott Walker set the size of the board at 17. Among the 17 members, the law gave the governor three appointments, the Milwaukee mayor two, the Common Council president three and the Milwaukee County executive three. The board will play a crucial role in the construction of the new arena and then governing the new arena as well as the other venues. The Wisconsin Center staff is preparing for the planned $203 million in bond issues to finance arena construction. The district has yet to select the bond counsel, financial adviser and underwriter for the bond issue. The Wisconsin Center District also is expected to take over governance of the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. However, the details of that arrangement have not been finalized. Milwaukee County owns the facility. The arena-funding law calls for the state Department of Administration Secretary Scott Neitzel to serve as chairman. The Department of Administration secretary is a gubernatorial appointee. Milwaukee Common Council president Ald. Michael Murphy appointed downtown Ald. Bob Bauman and near north side Ald. Milele Coggs to the board. Coggs’ district is just north of the Park East corridor where the Bucks owners plan hundreds of millions of dollars in new development over the next decade. Walker added one new name to the board roster: James Kanter, senior director of commercial operations for MillerCoors and a Fox Point resident. Walker retained two of his appointees from the previous Wisconsin Center board. They are Marcus Corp. chairman Stephen Marcus and James Kaminski, the former Milwaukee public works commissioner who now lives in Greenfield. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett re-appointed Discovery World CEO Joel Brennan to the board. Barrett also named attorney Rebeca López of Godfrey & Kahn SC in Milwaukee where she works in the labor, employment and immigration practice group. Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele re-appointed Onmilwaukee.com co-owner Jeff Sherman, Foley & Lardner attorney Jason Allen and Wauwatosa Mayor Kathleen Ehley. Automatic appointees to the board are the leaders of each house of the Wisconsin Legislature from the majority party — which currently is Republican — and the leaders of the minority party, which is the Democrats. The Republican Senate majority leader is Sen. Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) and the Assembly speaker is Rep. Robin Vos (R-Rochester). The Assembly minority leader is Rep. Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) and the Senate is Sen. Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse). Another automatic appointee is the Milwaukee city comptroller, who is Martin Matson.

Marc Lasry, Jason Kidd confirmed as guests at Hillary Clinton fundraiser; event was at U Club

Here are several notable follow ups on the Hillary Clinton fund raiser in downtown Milwaukee Thursday night. I have confirmation from multiple sources that Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry did attend. Lasry, a longtime friend and supporter of Hillary and Bill Clinton, flew to Milwaukee for the event. Lasry’s son Alex also attended and was a co-host. Alex Lasry is an executive in the Bucks front office and lives in Milwaukee. Further Bucks representation was there through coach Jason Kidd and former owner and former U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl. The event was not held at the Kilbourn Tower as I reported Thursday afternoon. Instead, Clinton visited with supporters at the University Club, which is immediately south of Kilbourn Tower and also overlooks Milwaukee’s lakefront at East Wells Street and North Prospect Avenue. Former Wisconsin Energy CEO Dick Abdoo and his wife Joan, who live in Kilbourn Tower, were listed on the invitation as the hosts of the party. Patrick Guarasci of G Strategies in Milwaukee was the lead host of the fundraiser. Several other prominent Democrats from Milwaukee’s business community also attended as did Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, a source said

Swing by The Monkey Bar to say goodbye

After 14 years in business at two different locations, The Monkey Bar, 1619 S. 1st St., will sling its final drink on Wednesday, Sept. 16. The Monkey Bar opened in 2001 at 1517 S. 2nd St. and moved to its current location in 2008. The building was recently sold to a new owner. Owner Diane Dowland wrote this on Facebook, “… Thank you to everyone who has supported us and been good friends. I’m excited to figure out what the next chapter in my life will be.”

Barry Co. real estate firm drops network affiliation

The Barry Co. commercial real estate company is dropping its network affiliation, and changing its brand name as a result. The Milwaukee-based firm was previously known as DTZ Barry, after affiliating in January with the DTZ commercial real estate network Before then, it was known as Cassidy Turley Barry. The change to DTZ Barry occurred when the Cassidy Turley commercial real estate network was integrated into DTZ. Prior to the Cassidy Turley affiliation, the firm was tied to a different network and was known as Colliers Barry. The firm was founded in 1921 as James T. Barry Co. by James T. Barry Sr. Its current president is his grandson, James T. Barry III. “Due to the ongoing merger and consolidation activity in the national commercial real estate market, we had been through three re-branding processes with national affiliates in the past several years and were facing the possibility of additional re-branding in the near future,” James T. Barry III said, in a statement. “This was beginning to cause confusion in the marketplace. The feedback we received from our clients was loud and clear: they wanted us to focus on the “Barry” brand,” he said.

Bucks hope to break ground this year on Park East practice facility

The Milwaukee Bucks hope to break ground by year’s end on a new practice facility, the first of several commercial developments planned for the Park East strip. The practice facility, with 50,000 to 60,000 square feet, would take 12 to 18 months to complete, said Peter Feigin, Bucks president. It’s planned for a vacant lot west of N. 6th St., north of W. Juneau Ave. The new building would replace the team’s current facility at the Cousins Center, in St. Francis. It would cost roughly $25 million to $30 million, Feigin said Wednesday, after a signing ceremony for the sale of 10 acres of Park East land to a group affiliated with the basketball team. The team plans to upgrade its practice and training facility with the new development, including “best of class” equipment, Feigin said. Feigin and County Executive Chris Abele signed the sale option agreement, with the land transferring for $1, at a ceremony that included dozens of construction workers and Bucks office employees in the audience. The event occurred on the Park East strip. The signing happened after Abele and County Comptroller Scott Manske approved the sale. They make up a majority of a state-mandated panel that reviewed the sale agreement. The 2015-2017 state budget, which the Legislature and Gov. Scott Walker approved in July, includes a provision which removes the County Board’s approval power over the Park East land sale. Three board members — Michael Mayo, Steve Taylor and Theo Lipscomb — all issued statements criticizing the sale, with Taylor saying it lacked transparency. The vacant Park East lots, north of W. Juneau Ave. and west of N. Old World 3rd St., are being sold to Head of the Herd LLC, a group led by the Bucks’ principal owners. The lots together are valued at $8.8 million, according to a county appraisal. But that doesn’t account for the costs of possible additional environmental work, as well as the estimated $3.1 million costs of removing underground former freeway piers and $5.2 million for moving a sewer line, according to the Abele administration. The costs of that sewer line change and freeway pier removals are to be shared by the Bucks, the county, the state, the city and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District, according to a city comptroller’s report. The $1 sale price also recognizes the benefits from conceptual plans by Head of the Herd to develop nearly 400 apartments, 160,000 square feet of offices, a supermarket, the team’s practice facility, parking structures and other commercial space. Those projects, totaling an estimated $400 million, would be built over roughly a decade. The benefits would include an estimated $4.5 million in annual new property taxes, 2,700 construction jobs and about 1,000 additional office, retail and other jobs after all the buildings are completed, according to Abele. Those development plans are “part of a larger vision” tied to the new arena project, Feigin said at the ceremony. Under the county’s Park East Redevelopment Compact, one-quarter of the construction contracts and one-sixth of […]

David Gruber’s commercials with Aaron Rodgers on hold; law firm’s office expanding

Gruber Law Offices‘ marketing relationship with Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is on hold, and the Milwaukee personal injury law firm is moving ahead with expanding its office space in downtown Milwaukee. Rodgers started appearing in commercials with David Gruber in 2011. The original format consisted of Rodgers and Gruber promoting motorcyclist safety and warning against drunken driving with Gruber’s “one call that’s all” tagline. The focus shifted in fall 2012, which was the start of a three-year series of commercials on behalf of Milwaukee-area charities titled “It’s Aaron.” In recent months, Gruber has been re-running the season three “It’s Aaron” episodes from 2014 as well as the quarterback and the attorney discussing their third season in the series. With Rodgers pulling back on most, if not all, of his Wisconsin commercial work, I asked Gruber about the status for “It’s Aaron” to premiere a fourth season to coincide with the new NFL season the Packers start Sunday. Short answer: Nothing new at the moment but Gruber isn’t ruling it out. “I really don’t know,” Gruber told me Tuesday. “There is nothing planned right now.” Gruber described Rodgers as “the perfect guy” for the series and “the perfect gentleman” to work with. Gruber never disclosed the amount he was paying Rodgers for the business relationship. Gruber told me he has been in limbo before with Rodgers so they could work together again — or not. “I absolutely won’t speak for Aaron,” Gruber told me. On the office-space front, Gruber Law Offices will boost its floor space to 18,136 square feet from less than 14,000 square feet in the 100 East Wisconsin Avenue building. Gruber said he anticipates moving to the 28th floor from the 16th and 10th floors by the end of November. Gruber said his offices have expanded several times on the 16th floor and more recently to the 10th floor as business has grown steadily. The firm now has more than 90 employees and 18 attorneys, he said. “It was long overdue,” Gruber said of the expansion. He launched the firm in 1991 as a one-man shop and started with one suite at the 100 East Building. Gruber Law is relocating to space vacated by Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, Gruber said. Gruber said he wants to keep all his staff and attorneys at a single location rather than opening satellite offices in other cities. Despite the Rodgers commercials disappearing, Gruber Law Offices will continue advertising heavily, Gruber said. When I asked him about the heavy advertising by competitors in the Milwaukee personal injury market, he said: “There’s no one to blame but me for that.”

Weeks after uproar, Robin Vos sought open records law change

Just weeks after being forced to retreat from wholesale reductions to Wisconsin’s open records law, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos put his aides back to work on elements of the same controversial proposal, new documents show. The records released Tuesday by the liberal Center on Media and Democracy in Madison showed that an aide to Vos requested a new legislative draft on July 23, seeking a bill to give the Legislature and individual lawmakers a different status on open records from other government bodies and officials in Wisconsin. Under the proposal, lawmakers could change the open records rules applying to them with a public vote but without the necessity of a public hearing or approval of the governor. That’s because legislators would only have to rewrite their own rules of proceeding to change their open records requirements rather than change state law, which is currently the case. That would allow either house to set its own rules limiting access to records without having to get the approval of the other house or the governor, as now required. Assembly Minority Peter Barca of Kenosha ripped the latest Vos proposal, saying that Democrats wanted to make it harder to change the open records law by enshrining its principles of transparent government in the state constitution. “To move in this (opposite) direction is absolutely outrageous,” Barca said. “Rules are changed even more quickly and with less public input than statutes.” In July, Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee unexpectedly amended the state budget bill to put sweeping limits on what records lawmakers would have to release to the public about their work. Under withering criticism from both conservatives and liberals, GOP leaders quickly retreated, saying they would appoint a study committee to consider how to treat the matter going forward. Presidential candidate and Gov. Scott Walker said afterward that the attempted rewrite in which his office participated was a “huge mistake.” Bob Dreps, a private attorney specializing in the open records law, said that Vos’ latest idea would do equal damage to the law with respect to legislators, but with a more palatable facade. Courts, he said, have adopted the interpretation that when the Legislature doesn’t follow its own rules it is considered to have changed them. “It basically accomplishes the same thing” as the dropped budget provision, Dreps said of the Vos proposal. “They can change the rules anytime they want…They’re saying, ‘It’s up to us to say what’s public or not.'” Vos (R-Rochester) had played a key role in inserting provisions into the initial proposal that would have kept the open records law from applying to lawmakers in the vast majority of cases, previous records have shown. These latest documents show that Vos didn’t completely give up on the idea after the public drubbing that lawmakers received in July or wait for the study committee to weigh in before continuing his pursuit of at least some open records changes. A spokeswoman for Vos had no immediate comment. Rep. John Nygren (R-Marinette), co-chairman […]

10 must-see Doors Open MKE sites

There’s no better way to get a peek inside Milwaukee’s most interesting – and often most historic – sites, many of them typically off limits to the public, than Historic Milwaukee Inc.‘s annual Doors Open Milwaukee event. The free, weekend-long affair, which takes place at sites all over town, runs from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 19 and 20. A complete list of sites and information on special ticketed locations and more can be had here. Be sure to check the schedule as not all sites are open for the entire weekend. Historic Milwaukee has asked me to list some of my favorite sites included in this year’s event and they are below (in no particular order), followed by a few of the sites that top my wish list. Enjoy and please remember to respect the sites. And bring your kids so they’ll develop an appreciation for Milwaukee’s rich history. 1. Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility, 700 E. Jones St. For years, I was curious about THAT Milwaukee smell. Then I toured Jones Island and learned it’s the smell of Milorganite production. This is a fascinating tour; one of the best in town. 2. McIntosh/Goodrich Mansion (Wisconsin Conservatory of Music), 1548 N. Prospect Ave. The Conservatory has filled one of Milwaukee’s loveliest Gold Coast mansions with music. Try and find the sweet spot in the lobby where you can hear sweet sounds wafting from every direction. 3. Pevnick Studios, 527 N. 27th St. There are a number of cool old schoolhouses in Doors Open, including Henry Koch’s 8th Street School, the former Peckham/Jackie Robinson Middle School converted to the Sherman Park Senior Living Community and Best Place, located in the old Jefferson School, the oldest surviving public school building in town. Pevnick is located in the old Clybourn Street/Mary Hill School. Check out the amazing radiators in each of the old classrooms and be sure to get an eyeful of Steven Pevnick’s flowing creations. 4. Milwaukee Fire Education Center & Museum, 1615 W. Oklahoma Ave. A double whammy here. You get a peek inside one of Charles Malig’s unique bungalow firehouses, plus you get to experience perhaps Milwaukee’s best unsung museum. Make it a three-fer, because you also get to meet the enthusiastic and engaging retired firefighters for whom the museum is a labor of love and passion. 5. Forest County Potawatomi’s Wgema Campus, 900 N. 33rd St. Check out the former Concordia College campus, which the Forest County Potawatomi are working to renovate and bring alive again. You absolutely must focus on exploring Eugene Liebert’s fine Albrecht Hall. Then pop across to see the gym where the Kareem-era Bucks practiced. 6. Federal Courthouse, 517 E. Wisconsin Ave. Don’t miss the opportunity to see inside this imposing Milwaukee landmark, which isn’t always easily accessed due to heavy security. The atrium is stunning, but peek around by the elevators, too, in the northwest corner to see a great old building directory to see where the steamboat inspectors’ […]

Second country club employee says lawyer touched her inappropriately

Milwaukee attorney Christopher Hale has been booted out of the River Club of Mequon after a second employee told club officials she had been “inappropriately touched” by Hale last year, the club’s attorney said Monday. “Many of you know this member and he has been an active member for many years,” the club wrote in an email to its approximately 440 members over the weekend. “That said, the Club simply cannot tolerate such conduct, Member or otherwise.” The email did not name Hale, instead referring to him as the same member who earlier was being investigated by the club for “inappropriate conduct.” Hale, 59, was arrested a week ago on accusations that he assaulted a 20-year-old female beer cart attendant while playing the 8th hole at the course Aug. 16. The woman told Mequon police Hale grabbed her breasts and forced his hand down her pants, touching her genitals. Hale is free on $10,000 bail. He has not been charged. Hale’s attorney did not return calls for comment Monday. Instead of calling the police, club officials investigated the Aug. 16 incident in-house and – in a proposal prepared by Hale – offered to pay her $500 to reimburse her for lost wages in the days after the assault. The settlement offer called for Hale to be fined $500. The offer noted that Hale denied liability but “expressed deep remorse for the incident.” Hale is a friend of club owner Tom Weickardt and has done legal work for Weickardt involving the club. Last week, Weickardt said he would not revoke his friend’s membership. The club’s weekend email states that: “We recognize that sometimes things happen we do not anticipate. Nothing about this member ever caused the Club to suspect potential for this sort of conduct.” Ronald Stadtler, the club’s attorney, declined to provide details about the 2014 incident Monday except to say the employee, who was in her late twenties and still works at the River Club, told club officials about the incident Friday night. Like the woman in the latest incident, the woman has worked in several jobs at the club, including beer cart attendant and server. Kevin Demet, attorney for the woman who said she was assaulted Aug. 16, said that from the get-go his client expected that Hale lose his membership. “I don’t know why they waited so long,” Demet said. “I knew this wasn’t his first rodeo.” The club’s email said that after learning of the 2014 incident “we immediately reached out to the Mequon Police Department to advise them of this update as well.” Mequon Police Capt. Dan Buntrock said Monday that no complaint has been filed with the department. Stadtler, the club’s attorney, said that on Friday evening club officials left a voice mail message with the Mequon Police detective investigating the Aug. 16 incident. The message said the club had “additional information” and asked the detective to return the call, Stadtler said. The detective is off for the holiday weekend, Buntrock said, adding that […]

Bus strike would hurt the vulnerable most

Consider for a moment that you live in a shelter. You have just landed a full-time job, were given clothes to wear for your first day and bus tickets to get to and from work. You have a little money, as you have been saving for weeks in hopes of moving out of the shelter with your first paycheck. You have been through some rough patches, but things are finally looking up and you are smiling. Then — the county buses stop running. You are not really sure why they aren’t running. You haven’t been paying attention to the news. You have been focused on getting a job and a house and healing yourself. Now, though, you can’t get to work or back. So — you give $8 of your $100 to a stranger to drive you to work and hope you get there unharmed. You also hope you can get back to the shelter when your shift is over or maybe you’ll walk the 10 miles or so. A cab would be too expensive. You need to conserve your resources. Our community should be concerned that the Milwaukee County Transit System and the Amalgamated Transit Union have not come to a contract agreement and continue to threaten a strike. Thousands of our neighbors and friends who depend on our county’s bus service for access to essential resources may again soon find themselves trapped and unable to meet their most basic of needs. While the process of contract negotiation should be respected, this process has dragged on too long, and we are left wondering whether either side understands the negative impact that inaction will have on so many members of our community. Every day, thousands of our community’s most vulnerable individuals depend on public transportation to get them to their jobs, school, treatment and medical appointments and countless other places they need to go. Burdened by the effects of poverty, trauma and discrimination, for many of these individuals it takes every ounce of internal strength just to get up in the morning and face the world. These daily efforts are thwarted when transportation becomes an issue. The looming threat of another transit strike strikes fear in the hearts and minds of these individuals: Will I lose my job? Is my boss going to hold it against me? If I miss school how am I going to make it up? I waited six weeks to get a doctor’s appointment; if I don’t show will they let me come back? This worry, this undue stress, is simply something these individuals, who have no influence on this situation, should not have to bear. As members of the Shelter and Transitional Housing Task Force — the advocacy group of Milwaukee County’s Continuum of Care that is working to end homelessness in our community — we implore representatives of the Milwaukee County Transit System and the Amalgamated Transit Union to come together in a good-faith effort and reach an agreement without further delay and with […]

Longtime Milwaukee Common Council member Scherbert dies

Former Milwaukee Ald. Annette Scherbert, who represented the city’s southwest side, died Friday. Scherbert served on the Common Council from 1984 until stepping down in 2002 at age 62. She was known as a staunch advocate for her district, especially with the delivery of city services. She ousted an incumbent and was never seriously challenged after the first election. When she announced her retirement in 2001, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s city hall reporter said she was “known for her strong views and soft humor.” Her seat was taken by Joe Dudzik, who died in May in a motorcycle accident. Scherbert had endorsed Dudzik for the post. He was her pupil when she taught kindergarten at Walt Whitman grade school in the early 1960s. Scherbert advocated for her district. In 1994, she cited neighborhood objections when she pushed her fellow council members to block a zoning change for a proposed Indian Council for the Elderly senior housing complex. The fight led to a lawsuit by the U.S. Justice Department, which cost the city about $750,000 to settle. The late Ald. Tom Nardelli, who later served as chief of staff for Republican Gov. Scott Walker when Walker was Milwaukee County executive, said Scherbert gave him some of his best advice. “Occasionally you have to tell people what they don’t want to hear, and you don’t win an election with all of the votes, so don’t try to get them all,” he told the newspaper in 2001. Scherbert was often a critic of Mayor John O. Norquist and Police Chief Arthur Jones. When Norquist sent Scherbert a commendation for her work on a project, the mayor addressed it to “Elaine Scherbert.” The alderwoman replied with a deft dig: “It’s always nice to get accolades, even if they’re from good old what’s-his-name.”

Nail Bar’s Tyan Soo

Tyan Soo owns Nail Bar Milwaukee, 2580 N. Downer Ave., where she – and her staff – offer manicures, pedicures and spa services. However, when Soo’s not making someone look or feel their best, she’s spreading good cheer to the people around her with her positive take on life in Milwaukee. OnMilwaukee.com / Too Much Metal: How long have you done your job? Tyan Soo: I’m excited to have recently celebrated my one-year anniversary in business at Nail Bar Milwaukee on Aug. 14. I continue to be touched and overwhelmed by the support personally and for my business from friends, family and the community. OMC / TMM: What time of year / season is your favorite in Milwaukee and why? TS: Early fall is my favorite season in Milwaukee – warm days, crisp evenings, long-sleeve shirts and layers, the leaves changing colors. I live across the street from a school and surprisingly, I like hearing the school bells, so that starts up again during this season, too. OMC / TMM: What’s your favorite or least favorite smell in Milwaukee? TS: My favorite smell in Milwaukee is the spring / summer blossoms that you can smell in the air. They’re the first signs of life after our brutal winters. My least favorite has to be the dead fish smell along Lincoln Memorial north of Bradford Beach in late summer. Gross. OMC / TMM: What neighborhood do you live in ? TS: Bay View – love it. It’s like Wisconsin’s Brooklyn. OMC / TMM: What’s your hope for Milwaukee? TS: My hope for Milwaukee is that we continue to grow into a “big city,” but without losing our “small town” feel. We have such an amazing city with so much to offer. More and more people learn about us, are surprised by us and fall in love with us. And I think that more and more Milwaukeeans are proud to be from Milwaukee. OMC / TMM: When or how did you fall in love with Milwaukee? TS: I’m a lifer and proud of it. I’ve always loved Milwaukee. Milwaukee is a city where you can make things happen. People are accepting and friendly and encouraging. It’s affordable and enthusiastic, diverse, dynamic and always open to new things. We love our food, our music, our art, our motorcycles, our festivals, our film, our causes and we love each other. We also have Milverine. OMC/ TMM: Why do you do what you do? TS: I’m lucky to say that I do what I do because I love it. I work with amazing people and we have a real ‘family’ environment and some of the best food in town on “Potluck Fridays.” I also truly enjoy and appreciate my clients. I have the opportunity to interact with fabulous people every day. OMC / TMM: What’s your one guilty pleasure? TS: Two parts Tito’s, one part Nolet’s martini from the Iron Horse. Shhhhhh. OMC / TMM: Name a Milwaukeean you would like to high five? TS: […]