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.  

Leave a comment

Filed under Transportation

Tagged as

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.

1 Comment

Filed under Crime

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.

Leave a comment

Filed under Headlines

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.

6 Comments

Filed under Community

Tagged as , ,

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!

2 Comments

Filed under Community

Tagged as ,

by | April 19, 2012 · 10:40 pm

More Local Headlines

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

Leave a comment

Filed under Headlines

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.

Leave a comment

Filed under City Services, Weather

Tagged as ,

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.

4 Comments

Filed under Crime

Tagged as , ,

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!

4 Comments

Filed under South Milwaukee Walmart

Tagged as

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.

Leave a comment

Filed under Headlines

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

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.

8 Comments

Filed under City Council

Tagged as ,

by | April 16, 2012 · 9:32 pm

Dimitrijevic Chosen As County Board Chairman Over Jursik, Others

It took 24 rounds of voting, but Patricia Jursik’s bid to become the next Milwaukee County Board chairperson fell short on Monday.

But the chairmanship will stay in the South Shore, with 30-year-old Bay View Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic winning the post.

Check out the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story here. From it:

She replaces outgoing board Chairman Lee Holloway, who retired after 20 years on the board.

She was locked in a three-way tie during earlier rounds of balloting, in which Dimitrijevic, Supervisor Theo Lipscomb Sr. and Supervisor Patricia Jursik each had five votes. The deadlock broke after Supervisor Willie Johnson Jr. ended his bid for chairman and switched his support for Dimitrijevic.

What do you think of the vote? Post your comments!

2 Comments

Filed under Milwaukee County

Tagged as , ,

by | April 16, 2012 · 4:42 pm

Moody’s Reaffirms City’s Strong Bond Rating

Moody’s has completed its review of South Milwaukee’s financials and has reaffirmed our strong Aa2 bond rating — just two steps below the “best-of-the-best” AAA rating.

This is significant because it will help to insure that the city gets the most favorable interest rates possible for future borrowings, including those we’ll be voting on at our City Council meeting on Tuesday night. See the agenda here.

Of course, there’s a pride factor here, too. It is always nice to have an independent third party review our financials and proposed borrowings, and have them confirm that we are being fiscally responsible.

And it sure beats the alternative. We could have been downgraded, like Milwaukee.

(See my previous post on the Moody’s upgrade in 2010 here.)

3 Comments

Filed under City Council

Tagged as

by | April 15, 2012 · 3:57 pm

New Home For South Shore Park Beach Under Consideration And Other Local Headlines

Check out these headlines from around the South Shore:

Also, state Sen. Chris Larson has published a new Larson Report. The headline: “Our Conservation Tradition Forgotten.”

Leave a comment

Filed under Headlines

Tagged as

by | April 14, 2012 · 6:11 pm

Jursik Up For County Board Chairmanship

South Shore County Supervisor Patricia Jursik is one of five candidates formally seeking the Milwaukee County Board chairmanship, according to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Check it out here. From it:

All except Jursik have aligned with the board’s liberal majority. Jursik has carved a moderate path on the board.

The selection usually comes quickly, but four years ago the board struggled for seven hours and 45 ballots before Holloway was able to get a majority for another term as chairman. He’s been a lightning rod for controversy and once nearly had his chairmanship stripped from him after an ethics case. Holloway also sometimes generated internal strife by juggling committee chairmanships.

None of the chairman aspirants referenced Holloway specifically by name in their formal appeals, but several promised fair treatment for colleagues and efforts to improve public perception of the board. The decade-old county pension scandal was mentioned once, indirectly.

“It is my hope and prayer that this new board earns the respect that has been lost over the last decade,” Jursik said.

What do you think of Jursik’s bid? Post your comments below!

Leave a comment

Filed under Milwaukee County

Tagged as