Category Archives: South Milwaukee

by | February 24, 2015 · 10:11 pm

An “Around The Corner” Night To Remember

McGivern and Lois ATC stars Carlos and RossyWhat a night!

Thanks to everyone who made Monday night’s “Around the Corner with John McGivern” premiere at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center a big success!

A special shoutout goes to all the volunteers who stepped up, especially Joan Lindstrom and Bryan Lorentzen, who led in planning and executing this complex event. The hard work was worth it.

I also say thanks to Jay Benkowski and Benkowski Properties, our event sponsors. We could not have done this without his support.

If you were there, I hope you had a great time. If you weren’t (or if you want to see the episode again), tune in at 7 p.m. this Thursday on Milwaukee Public Television. The episode turned out great — I think it really captured the spirit of South Milwaukee, what makes our city uniquely our city.

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by | February 22, 2015 · 12:20 pm

District of Character: Another Great Honor For South Milwaukee Schools

There is lots to be proud of when it comes to our South Milwaukee schools. Its focus on character education is one reason why.

I see it come to life in my kids every day, which is why I’m not surprised to hear the entire South Milwaukee School District has been named a State District of Character by the Wisconsin Character Education Partnership. It was the only district to receive the honor. (Three individual schools from the around the state were also honored.)

South Milwaukee will be recommended to the national Character Education Partnership for a National School of Character award to be announced at the national conference in Washington D.C. in October.

From the WCEP …

All over the state, schools of hardworking administrators, teachers and their students try their best to win the coveted designation as a State School of Character. … 

Each went through a rigorous review by a committee of professionals who determined to what extent the school exemplifies strong implementation of character education in their schools, based on the Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education. The Principles are in accordance with the National Schools of Character (NSOC) guidelines. Schools and districts are evaluated according to the CEP’s Character Education Quality Standard a Self-Assessment Tool for Schools and Districts. …

Wisconsin schools have been winning such designations every year since 2011.

Why does it matter to the state of Wisconsin that these schools are functioning at such a high level? These kids will become adults. In the not too distant future they will govern, become employees and raise families of their own. These schools enroll nearly 5000 students in total. If one person can influence the world for good, imagine what 5000 educated people of character can do.

To learn about the specific initiatives each institution developed and promoted within the larger character driven education of the schools, please see the state website at www.wicharacter.org.

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by | February 20, 2015 · 10:37 am

South Milwaukee Fish Fries: What’s Your Favorite?

With the first Friday of Lent here, it’s a good time to ask — what’s your favorite local fish fry?

We are regulars at Emerald City Catering, but I know there are plenty more outstanding ones around town.

Post your comments below!

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by | February 19, 2015 · 5:30 pm

Headlines!

Check out these South Shore headlines …

Also, NOW has published a new police blotter.

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by | February 19, 2015 · 5:29 pm

Rounding Up Tuesday’s Council Meeting

A few other items on Tuesday’s agenda, in addition to the ownership change for Grant Park Plaza …

  • The council voted unanimously to deny a liquor license and (separately) a conditional use permit for the Iron Breed Motorcycle Club at 428 Marion Ave. (corner of 5th and Marion). I had voted against the conditional use permit at the Plan Commission level.
  • The council also voted to make some changes to how we run meetings. It was mostly housekeeping and making changes to our ordinances to reflect our current practices. One change: The council decide to put an end to the “committee of the whole” concept — something we haven’t done in years anyway. Under this concept, the mayor can call a meeting of the council for “informal discussion” of various matters, without voting on them. I support the decision. We can (and do) already use regular council meetings to debate issues, with that debate at times not leading to a vote. You can see the updated ordinance here.
  • The council also voted to clarify how we handle complaints about the keeping of pit bulls. It put enforcement in the hands of the Health Department and laid out the process for complaints and appeals regarding the dogs. See the updated ordinance here.
  • And the council voted to add Jerome Bzdawka to the Board of Health.

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by | February 17, 2015 · 10:09 pm

Ownership Change Signals Strength Of Grant Park Plaza

It’s been a good run recently for Grant Park Plaza. And that’s good for South Milwaukee.

With the recent opening of Planet Fitness and the soon-to-be open CSL Plasma location, the shopping center will be close to 90% occupied — pretty good when you look at the state of other suburban strip malls.

There was more good news Tuesday night, as the Community Development Authority and City Council approved an ownership change for most of the center, a restructuring that will see a new equity partner come on board and allow for a refinancing of existing debt.

The new equity partner is Great Lakes Capital, an investment firm based in South Bend, Ind., and the new owners of the shopping center — all buildings, including the outlots, minus the Pick ‘n Save — will officially be 2901 South Chicago LLC.

This move will further strengthen and stabilize the ownership of the center, freeing up cash that the owners have pledged to use to resurface/reseal the parking lot, fix winter damage to the lot and improve landscaping in 2015.

These enhancements are in addition to almost $900,000 in improvements the center has seen in the past year, including $750,000 for buildout of the Planet Fitness space. Another $120,000 is being invested in the CSL Plasma buildout. It will open in April.

There is still a 11,800 square-foot vacancy in the main portion of the center — formerly occupied by Wisconsin Health and Fitness — and a space next to Advance Auto Parts in that outlot. But that’s it. And that’s a good thing.

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by | February 17, 2015 · 5:25 pm

Reminder: Meet The Mayor, With Special Guest Chris Larson, This Saturday

I hope you can join me for my next Meet the Mayor session this Saturday at MKE City Sippers, 911 Milwaukee Ave. downtown.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Special guest State Sen. Chris Larson will be joining me, so feel free to talk local or state issues (including the state budget). Or just stop in to say hi.

See you there, and bring a friend or two!

And here are my next two sessions …

  • Saturday, March 21: Ace Hardware
  • Saturday, April 18: I Can’t Resist Kids’ Resale/B’s Boutique, with special guest Milwaukee County Supervisor Pat Jursik

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by | February 16, 2015 · 9:45 pm

Get Involved: Join A Board Or Commission

I’ve been really happy with the boards and commissions volunteer process we instituted when I was elected last April.

The process — where we encourage interested individuals to “apply” for open or potentially open seats on our volunteer bodies — has netted us a number of great candidates that I would have probably never met but for their application.

That includes Jerome Bzdawka, a longtime (now retired) Milwaukee Area Technical College chemistry and instructor who I am nominating to be on the Board of Health of Tuesday night.

It’s really nice to see people like Jerry step up to fill these roles, and have their voices heard on key decisions in South Milwaukee. And we can always use more smart, passionate people to step up, putting their skills to work for their community.

Do you want to join a board or commission? Get an application here.

I’ll keep you posted on openings when they come up.

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by | February 16, 2015 · 5:19 pm

Local Paczkis!

Fat Tuesday is tomorrow … why not celebrate with some local paczkis?

Wild Flour Bakery is baking these Polish treats at its South Milwaukee location, 1205 Milwaukee Ave. Paczkis are priced at 79 cents each, $4.50 half dozen, and $8.99 per dozen.

And they are available in raspberry, bavarian cream, lemon, and prune.

Stop by and buy one or a dozen!

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by | February 13, 2015 · 5:14 pm

Partnering To Grow Local Business

The South Shore Chamber of Commerce is partnering with the Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation to bring small local business owners up to speed on social media.

Check out the flyer for more on the three-part educational series.

All sessions will be held at the Cudahy Family Library and will be held from 5 to 6 p.m.

  • Session 1: Tuesday, March 24, 2015 – Introduction to social media for small business
  • Session 2: Thursday, June 25, 2015 – Facebook 101 for small business
  • Session 3: Thursday, September 24, 2015 – Twitter 101 for small business

I continue to be impressed with the Chamber and WWBIC for their commitment to investing in the success of local business. These classes are an example of that.

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by | February 12, 2015 · 4:19 pm

Headlines!

Check out these South Shore headlines …

Also, here is a story about an acclaimed film — “The Russian Woodpecker” — by a South Milwaukee graduate with new meaning given ongoing tensions in Russia and the Ukraine.

NOW has published a new police blotter, and Sen. Chris Larson has a new Larson Report.

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by | February 11, 2015 · 9:10 pm

South Milwaukee Gas Station Sells Lottery Ticket Worth $159,000

Update: The winner is Damir Zoric.

Wonder who it is …

All I know is it wasn’t me or my wife, even though the ticket was sold just two blocks from my house.

Here is the press release. TMJ4 also broadcast from the BP station the other day.

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by | February 11, 2015 · 9:02 pm

Having Fun Raising Money For A Community Institution

SoireeSquareweb-05

From the South Milwaukee PAC …

My wife and I are attending — I hope to see you there!

South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center invites you to support your local community arts by attending the Soirée at the Polish Community Center, for a night of fun, food, and fundraising. The Soirée will feature live musical entertainment from the Jeannine Rivers Band and Skai Academy Band, live and silent auctions featuring trip packages, Milwaukee-area arts and entertainment destinations, artwork, wine pull, hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Sat., Feb. 28th at 6PM. Proceeds benefit your South Milwaukee PAC. Tickets are $49. Purchase tickets in advance before Feb. 24th.

Here is the press release.

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by | February 10, 2015 · 4:11 pm

Broken Window? What Broken Window?! Nona’s Cafe Open For Business

10991329_10206269178867453_1879234213060466650_n1502557_10206269179547470_6138301599457060340_nYou may have heard about the break-in overnight Sunday at Nona’s Café downtown.

Well, it’s not slowing Tom and Ida down. They’re open for business … as I learned first-hand Tuesday in trying their terrific meatloaf for lunch.

Stop in and show your support for this local business!

Might I suggest the elephant ears …

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by | February 7, 2015 · 10:41 pm

Clearing A Path Downtown

With five-foot snowbanks separating parked cars from our local merchants, I know it’s hard to navigate downtown South Milwaukee these days. The city is going to help.

You may have noticed “no parking” signs go up in the 900 and 1000 blocks of Milwaukee Avenue on Friday. That is because city crews are planning to clean up the parking lanes up to the curb and remove some of the snow between the sidewalk and curb on Monday and Tuesday of next week. Then, time and manpower permitting, we will continue into the 800, 1100 and 1200 blocks of Milwaukee and finally to the two blocks of 10th Avenue south of Milwaukee.

We are doing this to make access to downtown businesses safer and easier. We ask for your patience during this process.

For now, keep this in mind …

  • Between 7 a.m. 3 p.m. on Monday, there is no parking on the north side of Milwaukee Avenue between Ninth and 11th Avenues.
  • Between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Tuesday, there is no parking on the south side of those blocks.

Please patronize our local businesses all year long!

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