An unknown takes on mayor

Candidate’s old shoplifting bust surfaces

Christopher Larson is a 27-year-old business manager for a series of sports stores who is the favorite to win a seat on the County Board. But things were much different in March 2000. Larson was a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and, by his own description, struggling to make ends meet. That’s when he was busted for retail theft. “I made a dumb mistake,” Larson said Friday. The details of the case are fuzzy. He said he was caught stealing food from a Milwaukee grocery store. He said he can’t remember exactly which items he tried to obtain with a five-finger discount. A copy of the city ticket, which carried a $331 fine, and the court file were not available late Friday. As part of a deal reached with a Municipal Court judge, Larson agreed to take a course in exchange for having the ordinance violation dropped, he said. Asserting that he has not stolen anything since, he credited the situation with “completely turning me around.” Asked if voters should take this matter into consideration when voting April 1, Larson said he didn’t think so because he has changed so much in the past eight years. Larson, a political liberal, scored a surprisingly easy victory in the five-way primary contest to replace longtime Supervisor Richard Nyklewicz Jr. in the south-side district. “Everybody makes dumb mistakes,” Larson said. “It happened so long ago.” His opponent, Steven Kraeger, said he was shocked to hear about Larson’s run-in with the law. He said he was not the source of an anonymous letter to No Quarter containing an official summary of the case. Kraeger, a 50-year-old conservative, said he thought the matter should be made public. But he would leave it to the voters to decide its relevance and importance. “In all honesty, it’s not like he committed a felony,” said Kraeger, who narrowly won the second slot in the February primary. But he added, “I also understand ‘Thou shalt not steal.’ Besides, when you’re 19, you know right from wrong. You’re an adult.” Budget crunch State Rep. Leon Young is one lawmaker who probably wishes the legislative session in Madison wouldn’t end. That way he wouldn’t have to face all of his problems here. You might recall that Young was forced to testify last year about his involvement in a love triangle. The Milwaukee Democrat told a courtroom how dating two women at once had been a “nightmare,” leading to a paternity suit and dueling restraining order requests. That was bad enough. But records show his financial house is now starting to crumble. A bank foreclosed last year on a rental property he owned in Glendale, and the house was sold at auction in August. Earlier this year, U.S. Bank filed suit against Young for falling behind on the mortgage for his Milwaukee residence. The suit says he owes more than $95,000 on the loan. In addition, U.S. Bank filed two other suits against Young this year, alleging that he quit making […]

United Way raises $43.745 million

Ira Robins sues

As reported by the Green Bay Press-Gazette‘s Andy Nelesen, Milwaukee private eye Ira Robins filed a federal suit against state Supreme Court clerks yesterday as part of his latest fight to exonerate someone convicted of homicide. You might recognize Robins’ name from his long-running efforts on behalf of Lawrencia Bembenek. He’s now on the case of ex-Green Bay cop John Maloney, convicted of the 1998 murder of his wife and the burning of her body. In lieu of going into detail here about Robins’ allegations, here’s a a copy of the lawsuit he filed yesterday, which aims to get a special prosecutor to go after “the illegal conduct” of a state arson investigator from the case. Robins filed the new suit yesterday against court clerks, we note, because he claims this request from 2006 was mishandled as an appeal of Maloney’s conviction.

Black hole bars

Johnson Controls hires PPG executive Kreh

Milwaukee Woman Jailed for Fatal Crash

Jessica Sobojinski, 19, of Milwaukee, formerly of Wisconsin Dells, was sentenced in Juneau County court Friday afternoon to 60 days in jail for a crash that killed 17-year-old Ryan Wright of Baraboo. The crash happened before 3:45 a.m. on Jan. 16 as Sobojinski and Wright were traveling west on Highway 82 between Mauston and Elroy in the town of Lindina. Wright, who was thrown from the car and later pronounced dead, while Sobojinski received minor injuries. Sobojinski pleaded no contest to operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, underage drinking and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Sobojinski also will serve three years of probation, which will include 500 hours of community service. She will also have to pay $979 in fines and $11,748.04 to the family of Ryan Wright for funeral expenses.

National firm to finalize Polacheck acquisition

Soup’s On! serves big bowls of mmm … mmm … good

bar and restaurant or restaurant and bar?

ALSCO to cut jobs, shutter Milwaukee plant

<a href="http://adclick.g.doubleclick.net/aclk?sa=l&ai=CpICOo5VcVpDvH4-thASjpLmIBaDO6JsCyNzMnSHAjbcBEAEgAGDJxtuN_KSoE4IBF2NhLXB1Yi01Mjk1MzkyMzExOTUyODE0oAGsqrvyA8gBCeACAKgDAaoEvQFP0H3mGGTvyLYRCTmOBBzTDl4obhkGlr_1_tx_GKVymHdEIcrI0lFUzURPNakEh7du56KJSC-b8QeX-zW2lXMJRBy6gUphLZah2XpLSQX04a41MZ2LFgWQyJxAyZCQjUJ4Zx3PvxaiYhTLYWCecl6xgBR_x2eUaulMOOsGHodWp5k6MtZ9NiGVD-1j3kIpteCHBakz56gsoV84VIRhgDPxW4Qs0mn3G1DRQi2CkvNkNoXwE7ENCTKyq_WnSyDgBAGABtexivW33NPAEKAGIdgHAA&num=1&sig=AOD64_0kq06UQ3-GH-qhL7gwS3WeDhsLBw&client=ca-pub-5295392311952814&adurl=https://bid.g.doubleclick.net/xbbe/creative/click%3Fd%3DAPEucNX53DhBE-KBKGXO-S3sZlLkGB2csJERNBXP_j2UmkoMJPYlZTE2mtgw9JnvjdgunXvhT98fY4GGeSeLEp18jncOo4fITERFF0FgV4rVidQMzF0y3J4%26r1%3Dhttps://servedby.flashtalking.com/click/3/52871;1410401;0;209;0/?ft_width=300&ft_height=250&url=7441107" target="_blank"> <img border="0" src="https://servedby.flashtalking.com/imp/3/52871;1410401;205;gif;AOD;BANVivakiFILQ4InMarketB2B300x250FTServed/?"></a> <a href="http://adclick.g.doubleclick.net/aclk?sa=l&ai=CpICOo5VcVpDvH4-thASjpLmIBaDO6JsCyNzMnSHAjbcBEAEgAGDJxtuN_KSoE4IBF2NhLXB1Yi01Mjk1MzkyMzExOTUyODE0oAGsqrvyA8gBCeACAKgDAaoEvQFP0H3mGGTvyLYRCTmOBBzTDl4obhkGlr_1_tx_GKVymHdEIcrI0lFUzURPNakEh7du56KJSC-b8QeX-zW2lXMJRBy6gUphLZah2XpLSQX04a41MZ2LFgWQyJxAyZCQjUJ4Zx3PvxaiYhTLYWCecl6xgBR_x2eUaulMOOsGHodWp5k6MtZ9NiGVD-1j3kIpteCHBakz56gsoV84VIRhgDPxW4Qs0mn3G1DRQi2CkvNkNoXwE7ENCTKyq_WnSyDgBAGABtexivW33NPAEKAGIdgHAA&num=1&sig=AOD64_0kq06UQ3-GH-qhL7gwS3WeDhsLBw&client=ca-pub-5295392311952814&adurl=https://bid.g.doubleclick.net/xbbe/creative/click%3Fd%3DAPEucNX53DhBE-KBKGXO-S3sZlLkGB2csJERNBXP_j2UmkoMJPYlZTE2mtgw9JnvjdgunXvhT98fY4GGeSeLEp18jncOo4fITERFF0FgV4rVidQMzF0y3J4%26r1%3Dhttps://servedby.flashtalking.com/click/3/52871;1410401;0;209;0/?ft_width=300&ft_height=250&url=7441107" target="_blank"> <img border="0" src="https://servedby.flashtalking.com/imp/3/52871;1410401;205;gif;AOD;BANVivakiFILQ4InMarketB2B300x250FTServed/?"></a> ALSCO Inc. plans to close its linen plant on Milwaukee’s north side, leaving about 50 employees without jobs. Formerly known as American Linen Supply Co., ALSCO has operated the plant at 1003 W. North Ave. since 1931. The layoffs, which will be permanent, are expected to occur by June 17. Salt Lake City-based ALSCO launders and rents items such as linens, uniforms, floor mats and dust mops, and also supplies washroom and paper products. The company has decided to consolidate the Milwaukee linen cleaning operation at a two-year-old facility in Chicago, said Gary Foster, ALSCO’s Durham, N.C.-based regional manager. “It doesn’t make sense to operate two facilities 90 miles apart,” he said. ALSCO filed a plant closing notice on April 18 with the state Department of Workforce Development. The Milwaukee plant also is in need of some costly repairs, including sprinkler system upgrades, Foster said. The site will continue to operate as a service center and delivery depot, with about 25 employees on staff, including delivery drivers as well as office, sales and customer service personnel. Linens cleaned at the Chicago plant will be delivered to Milwaukee-area customers via the facility. ALSCO will eventually move the remaining operations out of the plant on Milwaukee’s north side to another facility, possibly to a company-owned building in West Allis that formerly housed ALSCO’s uniform rental and laundering operations, which relocated to a plant at 4250 N. 124th St., Wauwatosa, several years ago. The Wauwatosa plant, which employs about 150, also provides linen rental and laundering services. ALSCO will attempt to sell the Milwaukee building once all operations are relocated, Foster said. Matt Schumwinger, associate director of the Wisconsin State Council of UNITE HERE, a union which represents about 40 hourly employees at the plant, said the company’s decision will have a “devastating” effect on the workers, nearly all of whom live in the surrounding area, which has been plagued by high unemployment. “We see it as an abandonment of the neighborhood,” Schumwinger said. He declined to provide information pertaining to wages paid to the workers, but said many are long-tenured employees. Union representatives plan to meet with company management to discuss the planned closing, he said. The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 317 also represents a small number of hourly employees at the plant. Some of the laid-off employees will be offered jobs at the Wauwatosa plant as positions become available, Foster said. Others will be offered positions at the Chicago plant and ALSCO’s other facilities throughout the United States. ALSCO operates 53 plants in the United States and an additional 70 plants in 10 foreign countries.

EEOC sues Menards over lack of hiring reports