South Milwaukee Blog

The much-publicized 9-11 memorial float — the one that sparked criticism for the Racine firefighters’ union after its refusal to support the concept allegedly because the float’s creator has distanced himself from the union — is drawing interest from Heritage Days parade organizers.

Check out the Journal Sentinel story here. From it:

Patty Penn, co-chairwoman of the Heritage Days Parade committee in South Milwaukee, would also like to showcase the float being sponsored by fire Lt. Matt Gorniak and his church’s youth group.

Penn said she has good memories of the 9-11 memorial when it passed along the South Milwaukee parade route in 2002.

“The reaction was spectacular,” Penn said via email. “The spectators were totally enthralled and appreciative. I don’t think there was one person sitting as the float passed them. There were plenty of tears and lots of requests for reprints of the pictures that I was snapping.”

I’d love to see this float come to South Milwaukee. The Heritage Days parade, set for July 23, is already a great community event — this will only add to it.

(Thankfully, uniformed firefighters will be able to march with the Racine float. Let’s hope union members see the light and actually do it. In my mind, their stance on this issue, mixing politics with a 9-11 memorial, is indefensible.)

South Milwaukee Mayor Tom Zepecki was one of the local leaders who signed on to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial supporting the “Aerotropolis” concept — an initiative that aims to use Mitchell International as a hub for economic development across the region.

Check it out here. From it:

The concept is simple: Mitchell sits at the core, while surrounding businesses, dependent upon aviation with connecting modes of transportation and related cyberstructure, become the surrounding clusters of economic growth and development. We have the potential to attract national and global businesses with high-paying jobs that place a high priority on prompt, reliable and convenient accessibility to aviation and other interconnected modes of transportation.

Through a continued focus on our transportation infrastructure development, we will attract high-caliber businesses to our communities. These businesses will add much-needed jobs and significant private investment in our communities.

As I’ve written, I strongly support this concept — and its regional approach to economic development. Yes, South Milwaukee has its virtues to sell to potential businesses, but our selling story is that much stronger when we go to market with the combined strength of our neighbors.

(Check out other versions of this story from WUWM, Fox 6 and The Business Journal.)

Update: Pools hours are being extended due to the weather.

Milwaukee County Parks pools are open for the summer, and that’s good news when temperatures are expected to soar into the 90s like they are on Friday.

Of course, South Milwaukee is home to Grobschmidt Pool at 2600 16th Ave. behind City Hall.

It’s open from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. daily and also 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Learn more here.

Shoot off fireworks? Get a ticket. It’s that simple, as the South Milwaukee Police Department steps up enforcement at Grant Park on July 4.

Learn more in this press release. From it:

The City of South Milwaukee Police Department will have extra officers in Grant Park during the July 4th, 2011 celebration.  The officers will adopt a zero tolerance policy for persons discharging any type or size of fireworks in the park.  There will be no warnings.  If you discharge fireworks in the park, you will be cited, and your fireworks may be confiscated.  The current fine/forfeiture for fireworks violations in the park is $290.00.

I hope to see you at the park on July 4. Activities begin at 10 a.m.

Learn more on the city website here.

South Milwaukee’s new telephone-based emergency alert system is here, and I think it’s a great way to improve our communications during the times when we need them most.

The system, which I wrote about in December, generates automated phone calls to city residents with a landline phone during emergencies, sharing information about what’s happening and what to do next.

Let’s hope we never need to use it. But think of how useful this would have been during the floods of 2008 and 2010, or the water main break last year, when residents were starved for information and it wasn’t always easy to share it.

So, what do you need to do to receive this service? Nothing, really. All landline phones are already in the database we will access for this service.

But there is a way to also get emergency calls and text messages to your mobile device. To get that service (which is also free) you need to add your mobile phone number to our provider’s database. Learn more on this page on the city website.

I encourage you to do it … and take full advantage of this valuable service.

(I also want to give a shout out to the Women’s Club of South Milwaukee, which has donated $1,500 to purchase our first block of 10,000 calls that we now have banked to use in an emergency. That essentially equals one call to every city landline. The city can purchase more if needed.)