by | April 26, 2012 · 9:37 pm

Earth Day Cleanup Set For Saturday

The annual South Milwaukee Earth Day cleanup is this Saturday, April 28.

The event runs from 9 a.m. to noon at the following sites:

  • First District: Oak Creek Parkway/North Chicago
  • Second District: South Milwaukee Fire Department
  • Third District: City Hall
  • Fourth District: 16th and Rawson (Oak Creek Parkway)

Stop by one of the sites above to check in and get bags and other special freebies.

A hot dog lunch is planned for noon at the Grobschmidt Senior Center.

I hope to see you there! (I’ll be cleaning up the parkway, the one you see in the photo I shot at the 2011 cleanup.)

Now let’s hope the weather cooperates …

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by | April 26, 2012 · 5:18 pm

Changes To Council Committee Chairmanships

Four key South Milwaukee City Council committees got new leadership last week, the start of a new “political” year.

The new committee chairpersons are:

  • Finance: Ald. Joe Bukowski (replacing Pat Stoner)
  • Legislation & Permits: Ald. Craig Maass (replacing Lisa Pieper)
  • Public Works & Public Property: Ald. Frank Van Dusen III (replacing me)
  • Human Resources: Ald. Ray Navarro (replacing David Bartoshevich)

It is customary (but not always the case) that the vice chairmperson alternate with the chairperson of each committee following each spring election. So I am now the vice chairman of the Public Works and Public Property Committee.

Good luck to all of our new committee chairs!

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by | April 25, 2012 · 10:58 am

Decisions: Recall Absentee Voting Now Open

The recall primary for governor and lieutenant governor is coming up quickly — May 8 — and you can now vote in the race.

In-person absentee voting — for real and “fake” candidates alike — is allowed at City Hall until 5 p.m. on Friday, May 4, and absentee ballots will be mailed soon to those who have requested them.

Check out sample ballots and other election information on the city website.

And keep in mind that it looks like voter ID laws will not be in place for the May 8 primaries, and maybe beyond, due to the ongoing court case.

Also, be sure to vote in the poll on the right side of this page!

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by | April 24, 2012 · 8:23 pm

More Local Headlines: Remember Drew’s V&S Variety?

Did you ever shop at Drew’s V&S Variety store in South Milwaukee?

Well, the owner of that store and 13 others at one time died recently. Check out the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel obituary here and this story on the closure of the last Drew’s store in Wauwatosa in 2008.

And check out these other headlines of note:

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by | April 24, 2012 · 12:02 pm

Hoan Bridge Info Meeting Wednesday

Want to learn more about the upcoming reconstruction of the Hoan Bridge?

Then stop by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Milwaukee office (1001 W. St. Paul Ave.) from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday for an informational meeting focused on the scope of closures during the project.

Learn more in this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel item and in this public notice, which provides this timeline for the project …

The design process continues until spring 2013. Construction is slated for fall 2013 through spring 2016, with bridge painting possibly extending through 2016 or beyond.  

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by | April 23, 2012 · 1:19 pm

Naked Beer Run

I knew that headline would catch your eye.

Check out the NOW story here … and don’t try this at home.

Post your puns below! Winner gets a South Milwaukee Blog t-shirt — as soon as I make them.

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by | April 22, 2012 · 9:53 pm

Even More Local Headlines

Update: Police Chief Ann Wellens tell me there has been an arrest made in the case below, and the victim knew the accused.

Check out these local headlines:

Also, NOW has published a new South Shore Police Report, which includes this item …

A woman was robbed of about $15 from gunpoint after she got out of her vehicle and approached a man she knew as “Magic” or “Nick” near Hemlock Court and Parkway Drive about 4:50 p.m. April 10. After he drew a gun on her and got her money, the man allegedly punched her in the face before fleeing the scene.

I’ll see if I can learn more about this one.

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by | April 21, 2012 · 9:15 pm

Shepherd Express Honors South Milwaukee Blog

Since I launched it in October of 2009, and nearly 100,000 page views later, South Milwaukee Blog has been a labor of love.

Sometimes more labor than love, sometimes more love than labor, blogging is and will always remain a passion for me.

And while I certainly don’t do this to win awards, it is nice to see a third party (and others) recognize you for your work.

Such is the case with the Shepherd Express, which has named this blog one of two runners-up in the second-annual Best of Milwaukee Web Awards.

The category: Best Neighborhood Blog. The winner was Between the Bars, and joining this blog as runner-up was Cream City and Sugar.

See the story here.

Again, I don’t do this for pats on the back. But I’ll take it.

And ultimately none of this would be possible without you. Thank you for making South Milwaukee Blog what it has become — an online community gathering place that, with your help, will continue to thrive in the months and years to come.

Promising future, indeed.

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by | April 20, 2012 · 10:58 pm

Reminder: South Milwaukee Spring Market Saturday At Caterpillar Museum

Just a reminder to join us at the South Milwaukee Spring Market on Saturday at Caterpillar’s Global Mining Heritage Museum.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

More than 45 vendors are expected, and we’ll have live music. The Caterpillar museum will also be open during the market, and, if you haven’t yet seen this South Milwaukee attraction, that’s reason enough to stop by.

Learn more in my previous post, and we’ll see you there!

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by | April 19, 2012 · 10:40 pm

More Local Headlines

Check out these local headlines of note from around the South Shore:

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by | April 18, 2012 · 10:55 pm

Storm Season: Tornado Warning Drill Set For Thursday; Sign Up For Mobile Emergency Alerts

A statewide tornado drill is set for Thursday.

What that means is the National Weather Service will issue a “test” tornado watch at 1 p.m., followed bv a “test” tornado warning at 1:45 p.m., with the latter including the interruption of broadcast radio and TV stations with alert information. The drill ends at 2 p.m.

Learn more from Ready Wisconsin and National Weather Service and in this press release from the Office of the Sheriff.

And in the event of a real emergency … consider this a reminder to sign up for the city’s mobile phone emergency alert system, if you haven’t already.

As part of the service, you can have text messages and emails sent to you every time there is a weather watch, warning or other special message broadcast by the National Weather Service. I get these, and they’re great at showing what’s happening with the ever-changing local weather in real time.

Of course, getting breaking weather news on your mobile device is just one benefit of the alert system. The system will fully activate during any local emergency, including Amber Alerts, with messages being automatically sent via landline phones (which are already automatically in the database) and mobile phones (if you sign up).

Learn more about the city’s emergency alert service here.

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by | April 18, 2012 · 2:52 pm

Updating The February Liquor Store Robberies

As you may recall or may have heard, Chicago Avenue Liquor and Marquette Avenue Liquor in South Milwaukee were both robbed on the same day in February. So was a Mobil gas station in Oak Creek.

The suspect — a 24-year-old South Milwaukee man — in the Oak Creek case was arrested, and South Milwaukee police have told me that the same man was involved in the two South Milwaukee cases.

For a variety of reasons, the man isn’t expected to be formally charged with the South Milwaukee incidents, but the incidents will get “read in” to the record as part of the man’s court proceedings.

Turnell Lewkowski has pleaded not guilty to the Oak Creek charge, according to online court records.

Thanks to the Police Chief Ann Wellens for the update, and for their work these cases.

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by | April 17, 2012 · 10:30 pm

Council Approves Walmart Borrowing, Spending

The South Milwaukee City Council gave the proposed Walmart development what is likely its last significant approval on Tuesday night.

The council voted, 6-2, to issue $1.5 million in promissory notes that will fund cleanup of the proposed development site and, separately, to appropriate $1.5 million to fund the Walmart development agreement and other related tax incremental financing district costs.

The vote was as the other votes have been — with Aldermen Craig Maass and Frank Van Dusen III voting no.

The vote paves the way for construction to begin soon, and I’ll share an update on timelines when I get them. The store is tentatively scheduled for a spring 2013 opening, according to information shared at Monday’s Community Development Authority meeting. The land sale involving the city, Walmart and other private landowners closed in the last week.

The Walmart item was not the only significant item on Tuesday’s agenda.

  • The council also voted, 8-0, to approve several items related to issuing of $1.5 million in taxable general obligation refunding bonds and $1.25 million in general obligation promissory notes — borrowings that I referenced (albeit at slightly different dollar amounts) in a previous post and in this post about our strong Moody’s rating.
  • The council also agreed to appropriate $4.6 million to fund wastewater system improvements (through a Clean Water Fund loan). Learn more in my previous post on this topic.

Of course, I’d like to know what you think of these votes. Post your comments below!

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by | April 17, 2012 · 10:02 pm

Local Headlines: Caterpillar Sells More Of The Bucyrus Distribution Business And More

Check out these headlines from around the South Shore:

And click here to see Oak Creek Patch photos from Saturday’s performance by the University of Wisconsin marching band at the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center.

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by | April 17, 2012 · 1:59 pm

City Council Considers Borrowing For Wastewater Upgrades

South Milwaukee continues to invest in its wastewater treatment facility.

The latest example: An estimated $4.6 million in work that includes installation of a new and state-of-the-art ultraviolet disinfection system that will greatly increase plant capacity – and help during major flooding rainstorms.

The City Council will consider borrowing for the projects — through a 20-year state Clean Water Fund loan — at its meeting Tuesday night.

The upgrades, detailed in this document, are among those mandated by the state, and they were defined in a May 2006 study done of the wastewater treatment facility.

The biggest-ticket item is $2.2 for the new UV system. It would allow for the treatment of a peak flow of 17 million gallons per day, up from the current nine. Also planned are:

  • $500,00 for a new pumping system, to replace the 30-year-old system that has exceeded its original design life;
  • $400,000 for a new diesel generator to serve as a backup power source for the plant;
  • $346,000 for various upgrades to the plant’s secondary digester;
  • $244,000 for new “tube mixers”; and
  • $200,000 for a new plant power distribution system.

The borrowing will be paid back in large part through a sewer rate increase the council approved in February. Learn more in this post.

I’d like to know what you think of the project, and the borrowing. Post your comments below!

As for me, I support the spending. I like the fact that we have independent water and sewer utilities, and, beyond the state mandates, we must spend what is necessary to keep them operating at a high level and for the long term.

Our utilities are positive points of difference for South Milwaukee. Let’s keep them that way.

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