Site of Paper Table, 733-737 N. Milwaukee St. Photo taken Oct. 31, 2022 by Sophie Bolich

A new restaurant is expected to open next month at Paper Table, bringing healthy and energizing options — with an emphasis on kosher-friendly foods — to the downtown food hall, 733-737 N. Milwaukee St.

The new concept, Urban Eats Fresh, is slated to open in April.

For the past 10 years, owner Yvonne Arvanitis served as a state recruitment manager at the Experimental Aircraft Association’s (EAA) annual airshow, where she oversaw five restaurants and approximately 200 workers.

After a decade of serving a larger organization, Arvanitis said that the new restaurant is something she’s doing for herself. The Milwaukee-native said she’s looking forward to returning to her hometown, as well as the opportunity to provide healthy, convenient and accessible meals to the community.

“Everyone’s so busy all the time,” she said. “If we can offer people some really good power, energy food, that would be amazing.”

A cancer survivor, Arvanitis changed her diet years ago to include more fresh and organic foods — an approach she said will carry over to the menu at Urban Eats Fresh. She also had numerous requests to include kosher menu items. In researching the practice, she discovered that much of her diet already aligned with kosher specifications.

“So that’s one of the things we’ll be focusing on,” she said.

The restaurant will offer power bowls with vegetables and protein atop a base of couscous or quinoa, salads and a variety of Greek and Mediterranean dishes, along with scratch-made empanadas, a recipe Arvanitis learned more than two decades ago from a late friend.

The act of making and sharing the Puerto Rican-style recipe is Arvanitis’ way of keeping his legacy alive, she explained. “We’re going to keep some heritage here,” she said.

The upcoming Milwaukee restaurant has Arvanitis’ full attention for now, but the entrepreneur said her long-term goal is to expand the concept to other food hall locations across the nation, starting with Chicago.

Since its August 2022 opening, takeout and delivery-focused Paper Table has seen significantly more turnover than its sit-down counterparts. As of mid-March, the food hall’s website featured 10 concepts, nine of which are under the ownership of restaurateur Kamal Shkoukani.

At least one additional concept, dessert-focused Sweet Party Treatz, is slated to join the lineup in the coming months. Paper Table contains 17 commercial kitchens with approximately 180 square feet of space each.

We invite you to another wild evening with the virtuoso of the Bayan (accordion) Stas Venglevski. Featuring Tangos, Bach, Piazzola and some other surprises with Rosa Borizova on cello. Don’t miss this!

Marijuana plant. Photo by Jennifer Martin (Own work) (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

Agard has been pushing to fully legalize cannabis since 2013. A public hearing for cannabis legislation, however, wasn’t held by the Republican-controlled Legislature until last April. The hearing focused on a Republican-backed bill to legalize medicinal cannabis to a very limited extent. Under the bill, patients could only seek medicinal cannabis to treat eight specific conditions. Those included Crohn’s Disease, glaucoma, cancer, HIV/AIDS, seizure disorders, multiple sclerosis, post traumatic stress disorder, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Medical cannabis could also only be provided in a pill, tincture or topical form. This would mean that other cannabis products such as flower, wax, oils and edibles would remain illegal. Full legalization was included in past budgets by Gov. Tony Evers, as well as bills by Agard, none of which survived. In Illinois, less than an hour away from Milwaukee by highway, cannabis is fully legalized for adults.

“It should upset every Wisconsinite that our hard earned tax dollars are going across the border to Illinois,” Agard said in a statement. “This is revenue that could be going toward Wisconsin’s public schools, transportation infrastructure and public safety. Instead, Illinois is reaping the benefits of Republican obstructionism and their prohibitionist stance on marijuana legalization.” Agard noted that the revenue losses are even larger when considering other neighboring states with legal cannabis, Michigan and Minnesota.

“We are an island of prohibition and the people of our state are hurting because of it,” said Agard in a press statement. “As seen in our neighboring states, legalizing marijuana for responsible adult usage will generate significant revenue for our mainstreets, safely regulate the existing illicit market, reinvest in our agriculture and farming heritage, support entrepreneurship, and address the massive and egregious racial disparities from marijuana prohibition.”

Evers has included fully legalized cannabis in his most recent budget proposal. Agard said that if the provision is yet again stripped out by Republican lawmakers, she will introduce her own legislation. “It’s high time we get this done for the betterment of our state and the people living here.”

Cannabis prohibition costs Wisconsin millions in tax revenue was originally published by the Wisconsin Examiner.

Wisconsin Public Service, We Energies, and Madison Gas and Electric have partnered before on the 300-megawatt Badger Hollow solar farm seen here. The first 150 megawatts of that project went online on Dec. 1, 2021. Like the Paris project, the solar farm was developed by Invenergy. Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Public Service

Three utilities have received approval from Wisconsin utility regulators to buy the state’s largest renewable energy plant.

On Thursday, the Public Service Commission approved the $649 million purchase of the Koshkonong Solar Energy Center by We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service and Madison Gas and Electric.

The utilities are buying the solar plant from Chicago-based developer Invenergy. The commission approved its construction last year in the towns of Christiana and Deerfield in Dane County, the solar panels covering roughly half of the 4,600 acre site.

The project would host 300 megawatts of solar — enough to power 90,000 homes — and 165 megawatts of battery storage, according to Milwaukee-based WEC Energy Group.

WEC Energy Group owns We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service, or WPS. Brendan Conway, the utilities’ spokesperson, said the project is part of a plan to transition away from fossil fuels and save customers $2 billion over the next 20 years. All three utilities aim to cut carbon emissions 80 percent below 2005 levels by the end of the decade and go carbon-neutral by 2050.

“We are doing this while working to ensure all our customers experience the economic and environmental benefits of our ongoing clean energy transition,” Jeff Keebler, president and CEO of MGE, said in a statement.

We Energies and WPS will own 90 percent of the plant while Madison Gas and Electric will own 10 percent.

The project has received the support of renewable energy and environmental groups. RENEW Wisconsin said the plant is the largest addition of zero-emission generation and storage capacity in state history.

“This is going to be one of the anchor renewable energy generating facilities to serve basically the entire state,” Michael Vickerman, clean energy deployment manager for RENEW Wisconsin, told Wisconsin Public Radio.

Construction of the plant is set to start later this year and go online by the end of 2025. Vickerman said the addition of Koshkonong would replace the shuttering of coal-fired units at a roughly 1,100-megawatt power plant in Columbia County owned by Alliant Energy, Wisconsin Public Service and Madison Gas and Electric. The plant is set to be shutdown by mid-2026 after supply chain constraints and fears of an energy shortage postponed its retirement.

Vickerman said the completion of the Koshkonong, Darien, Badger Hollow and Paris renewable energy projects will reduce the state’s output of carbon emissions from electric power sources by roughly 10 percent.

Environmental group Clean Wisconsin has said the project would avoid 15 to 20 million tons of carbon emissions over its lifespan.

The commission rejected a request from utilities to buy the project at up to 110 percent of its cost, or up to $752.6 million. Utility regulators instead approved the purchase with conditions from commission staff, which noted they denied a similar request on the Paris solar-battery project in Kenosha County.

Wisconsin’s Citizens Utility Board, said in a filing to the commission that the request “erodes cost protections for customers.”

“We’re really banking on this being cost-effective based on the construction cost,” Tom Content, the board’s executive director, told WPR. “We have seen other cases where the construction costs for solar projects have gone up.”

The second phase of the Badger Hollow solar farm increased at least $32 million last year due to supply chain constraints and higher labor costs, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

Utilities must notify the commission within 30 days if the project is expected to exceed $649 million. Regulators would then review their potential for recovering any costs in a future rate case.

While regulators have approved the purchase, the plant has been met with local opposition. Nearby residents had expressed concerns about the project’s effects on property values, loss of farmland, safety concerns with battery storage and its proximity to homes and a nearby school.

The town of Christiana filed a lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court against the Public Service Commission last year after regulators approved its construction. The town had urged regulators to deny the purchase.

In a commission filing, an attorney for the town argued “the utilities would be left with worthless ownership interests” if a judge reverses the commission’s decision that granted approval for construction. A judge has yet to rule in the case.

Listen to the WPR report here.

Editor’s note: RENEW Wisconsin and the Citizens Utility Board are underwriters of Wisconsin Public Radio.

Utility regulators approve $649M purchase of Wisconsin’s largest renewable energy plant was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Gov. Tony Evers. File photo by Emily Hamer/Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism.

Gov. Tony Evers’ paid family and medical leave plan would give workers 12 weeks leave and pay them 50% to 90% of their average weekly pay over the period, according to a new summary of the governor’s two-year budget. How the Democrat’s paid leave plan would work was one of a number of details in the budget analysis by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB).

If the governor’s paid leave plan became law, which is unlikely given the opposition of Republicans who control the Legislature, someone who made more than $22,500 in the previous year would get 50% of their average weekly earnings for 12 weeks. And those who made less than $22,500 would get 90% of their average weekly pay for 12 weeks.

So, if someone earned $60,000 last year, the governor’s plan would give them a weekly benefit of $576 for 12 weeks; if they made $80,000, the weekly benefit would be $769.

Evers would tie the paid leave benefit to the “state annual median wage,” which is the median hourly wage for all Wisconsin occupations as determined by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, multiplied by 2,080. That median wage was $21.63 in 2021.

The price tag of Evers’ proposal – a down payment of $243 million by mid-2025 and 198 new workers to administer a new Family and Medical Leave Benefit Trust Fund – has Republican legislators promising it won’t be in the budget they must pass by July.

But, in his budget address, Evers pitched the plan this way: “We’re going to create a statewide program that will provide most private-sector workers in Wisconsin paid family and medical leave for 12 weeks, and …invest more than $240 million in state funds to get that program started.

“New parents aren’t the only ones who can benefit from a paid family leave program that truly meets the needs of our workforce.

“Too often, folks are also unable to receive family or medical leave support based on their unique circumstances or situation. So, we’re also going to expand eligibility so workers have the flexibility to respond to their personal, family members’ or their kids’ needs.”

Other details about Evers’ paid leave plan from LFB’s analysis:

-State government’s one-time funding of $243 million would create the trust fund, hire 198 Department of Workforce Development employees to set up the system and determine how much employers and employees would be taxed – equally – to begin paying benefits in January 2025.

-Employees could claim paid leave for a broad list of reasons – birth or adoption of a child, the serious illness of themselves or a family member, a “short-term gap” in child care, to respond to “domestic abuse, sexual abuse or stalking” or becoming a bone marrow or organ donor.

-Self-employed business owners would have to participate in the plan and could also receive benefits.

-Employers who now provide paid family and medical leave benefits that are equal to or better than state benefits could seek an exemption from the state plan.

-Taxes to support the paid medical and family leave system would be deducted from workers’ paychecks.

-Employees who defraud the system would be subject to enforcement actions to recover benefits illegally claimed.

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the state’s largest business group, opposes Evers’ paid medical leave plan. “Employers have and continue to step up for their workers, providing increased flexibility and leave benefits,” said Rachel Ver Velde, WMC’s senior director of workforce, education and employment policy.

“With the state’s severe workforce shortage, employers are incentivized to provide employees with increased benefits in order to stay competitive,” Ver Velde said, adding:

“Mandating 12 weeks of paid leave funded through employer and employee contributions hurts workers and employers [and would] negatively affect wages and significantly hamper an employer’s ability to provide a flexible working environment when an individual returns to work. Employees also will no longer be able to negotiate the compensation and benefit package that best fits their specific needs.”

Now, employers “face significant burdens” complying with conflicting state and federal Family and Medical Leave laws, Ver Velde said. “The Governor’s changes will only make this problem worse.”

Leaders of the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee, Sen. Howard Marklein and Rep. Mark Born, say the paid leave plan will be one of many Evers priorities that won’t be in their final 2023-25 state budget.

“The Governor’s ideas increase spending significantly and dig us into a hole that would make future budgeting difficult,” Marklein and Born said in a statement.

Steven Walters started covering the Capitol in 1988. Contact him at stevenscotwalters@gmail.com

The brick and tiled fireplace at Riley Montessori. Photo by Ben Tyjeski.

Once upon a time, some public schools in Milwaukee featured fireplaces, often decorated to capture the imagination of young students. A scared child entering kindergarten class for the first time might be comforted and delighted by images from Mother Goose’s nursery rhymes, of smiling flowers, a queen eating bread or a farmer trying to catch his horse.

There are a number of schools in the Milwaukee Public Schools system that feature these tiled fireplaces with delightful imagery, including Keefe Elementary, Hartford University School, Wisconsin Ave School, the MPS Success Center (formerly Green Bay Ave School) and James Whitcomb Riley School, today known as the Riley Dual Language Montessori School. These, according to my ongoing research, were the first schools in the state to feature fireplaces with tiles. There are many period buildings in the metro area — schools, churches, businesses, and private homes — showcasing beautiful Arts & Craft tiles.

The architects, Van Ryn & DeGelleke were hired by the school board in 1912 and designed schoolhouses for MPS until 1924.  The specifications for the school’s construction stipulated that the kindergarten room’s fireplace must use tiles of nursery rhymes. The James Whitcomb Riley School, at 2424 South Fourth Street, built in 1921, was one of those schools. Its fireplace showcases five nursery rhymes: Three Blind Mice, Hickory Dickory Dock, Sing a Song for Sixpence, The Farmer in the Dell, and Polly Put the Kettle On.

I had a chance to visit and chat with a group of Riley students about the fireplace in their school. At first they did not recognize the specific nursery rhymes on the tiles. However, when I asked, they started singing other nursery rhymes such as Humpty Dumpty, Twinkle Little Star, The Muffin Man, Ol’ McDonald, Patty Cake, and How Much I Love You. Mia Gaskell, seven-years old, shared that her mother reads these stories to her at night and from a “plushy that plays music.” Ten-year-old Eliana Peña added “we know these from Cocomelon [on YouTube] too.”

Brandon Robins, 8, initially thought the tiles were “painted stone.” Raquel Martín, 9, placed her fingertips on the tiles and said, “If you come and feel it, it’s different.” The students were amazed to learn it was the same material they used to make pottery: clay.

After the tiles were heated in a kiln, possibly as high as 2300 degrees Fahrenheit, the tiles became as hard as stone. The textures have a matte, crystalline finish that make them easy on the eyes.

These designs do not appear in any tile manufacturer catalog, so it is most likely they were custom pieces of art commissioned for the school. What we do know, however, is that the unknown tile designer left us with many intricate details in each picture based on illustrations by English artist and book illustrator, Walter Crane (1845-1915).

In the panels Sing a Song for Sixpence, the tile makers reproduced illustrations from Crane’s The Baby’s Opera: A Book of Old Rhymes with New Dresses, originally published in 1877. The reproductions in tile show much more detail, bringing Crane’s sketches to life. In the tile, the queen has already bitten into a slice of bread held between her delicately-rendered fingers. As for the king in the counting house, the coins are individually outlined and the king, dressed in his robe decorated in spades, is ready to count each one of them. You also see scrolls of his countings and chests with padlocks to keep them secure.

In the tiles for Polly Put The Kettle On, the tile reproduction of Crane’s illustration also comes from The Baby’s Bouquet. The dishes in the cupboard, the hook over the fire, and the outfit Sukey wears resembles the original drawing nearly-spot on. Though, what was originally a print with red, yellow, and black lines has become a tiled design full of color and texture. The floor has blue-and-white checkers that match Sukey’s blue dress and the cobalt decorations on the porcelain dishes, and her blonde hair matches the yellow teapot and flames of the fire.

In the Three Blind Mice, the farmer’s wife is seen with her knife, bending down to cut the mice’s tails. The panel is also combined with the subtle reference to Hickory Dickory Dock, showing Crane’s illustration of the unique clock from The Baby’s Opera. As Raquel Martín notices, there is “a moon and a clock with the face of a cat… meow!”

Today, the school’s original kindergarten room is known as a Community Room, and is used as a shared space for class activities, recess, a Community Learning Center, and special occasions such as the Christmas gift exchange.

Eliana Peña notes how the fireplace is peaceful and calm, adding that “it lets people have fun because it gives people good vibes and doesn’t let people feel down.”

The students also thought about creating new tiles to add above the mantel. Mia Gaskall would like to show “an artist who is drawing a picture of a sunset, which I’m really good at.” And Brandon Robins said he would create “a room full of kids playing with each other and sharing.”

As unique and amazing as the tiles are, the fireplace at Riley school is not the only well-preserved gem in Milwaukee Public Schools. More to come in future stories.

Ben Tyjeski, an art teacher at MPS Garland School, is a tile maker and historian who has written a book on Milwaukee’s Arts and Crafts tile creations. This is the first of series about this entitled Tile Town.

Photos

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Kneeland Properties conceptual rendering from 2018 Menomonee Valley design charette. Rendering by HGA.

The Department of City Development (DCD) is putting the final pieces of a $4.2 million financing puzzle in place to allow the development of a largely-hidden 15-acre site in the Menomonee Valley.

“There is certainly interest in developing this site,” said Menomonee Valley Partners (MVP) executive director Corey Zetts on Thursday to the board of the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee (RACM).

Known as the Kneeland Properties, the site is located between N. 6th St. and N. 13th. and the Canadian Pacific main line and the Menomonee River. The Interstate 94 High-Rise Bridge bisects the property from above as it feeds into the Marquette Interchange.

Zetts said she has received several calls about developing buildings on the property. But the site has a couple of key issues and potential occupants have noticed them.

“Businesses expect to have a road to their site,” said Zetts. They also expect utility infrastructure, like sewer and water lines and electrical service. It has none of that today.

The site was first identified as a development target in the 1998 valley redevelopment plan and a 2015 update labeled it a catalytic site. A 2018 design charette explored the potential development of three buildings and parking under the freeway.

The city and MVP now have a joint plan, and, if the Common Council approves a financing package, it will soon have the funding available to execute it. The result would be 10 acres of developable land.

Zetts said MVP hopes to attract light industrial or food-and-beverage-related tenants that would have public-facing operations, such as a brewery, and could take advantage of a planned riverwalk. “Something that would draw people,” she said of the preferred tenants.

West Mt. Vernon Ave. would be extended east through the site along its northern boundary and the utility infrastructure would be laid along with the extended street. The land would ultimately be sold to private developers.

MVP and DCD have spent the past year putting the pieces together. A surge in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) changed the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant program from a 50/50 split, to an 80/20 split, making it more desirable for the city to move. The RACM board authorized applying for the grant in April and in September the city secured a $3.2 million award.

The city is now assembling its 20% matching funding to access the grant.

On Thursday, the RACM board unanimously approved amending the tax incremental financing (TIF) district used to subsidize the development of the Harley-Davidson Museum, 400 W. Canal St., to contribute $1 million to the Kneeland project. A total of $800,000 would be used as a match to access the federal grant. An additional $200,000 would fund costs associated with a land swap with an affiliate of LandWorks, which owns and occupies the site at 1205 W. Mt. Vernon Ave.

DCD project manager Alyssa Remington said a portion of the existing parking lot at the LandWorks property sits on land that is needed to develop the Mt. Vernon Ave. extension. The city and LandWorks would reconfigure their parcels to accommodate the street and create replacement parking spots. The city is also budgeting $200,000 from the TIF district for administration expenses.

The use of an existing TIF district to support development outside of its boundaries creates an unusual situation. Property tax revenue from the Harley-Davidson complex, currently about $375,000 per year, will pay back the $1.2 million in new debt by 2029 according to the project plan. Property tax revenue generated from future occupants of the Kneeland site would immediately flow to the general fund of the city and other property taxing entities.

Without modifying the district, the city would need to begin winding it down as Harley’s $5.7 million subsidy has been almost entirely recovered.

The development site is named for its former owner: 19th-century railroad promoter, businessman and politician James Kneeland.

It is technically three parcels today. There’s the eight-acre 260 N. 12th St. site on the west side, the five-acre 907 W. Hinman St. parcel under the freeway and the two-acre 825 W. Hinman St. on the east. But you won’t find “Hinman St” on a street sign; it was erased with the construction of the Marquette Interchange. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation owns the site under the freeway and RACM owns the other two parcels.

The federal funding comes from EDA’s Coal Communities Commitment (CCC) which received $300 million in ARPA funding. The CCC funding targets cities making the shift away from coal mining or burning. The Kneeland site was used for a period as a coal yard and is across the Menomonee River from the We Energies Valley Power Plant, which was converted in the past decade to burn natural gas instead of coal. It’s historically also been used as a lumber storage site. For a period the city stored towed vehicles on a portion of the site.

The Kneeland development doesn’t mark the end of squeezing every available acre out of the Menomonee Valley. Remington told the RACM board that the city is conceptually exploring options to extend W. Mt. Vernon Ave. west from N. 13th St. to the City Lights Complex and N. 25th St. Most of that corridor is privately-owned, undeveloped land and used for truck parking and equipment storage.

Photos and Site Map

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Weekly Recap

Deconstruction Ordinance Again Suspended

The City of Milwaukee continues to keep its deconstruction ordinance deconstructed.

The policy, first adopted in 2018, required old homes to be effectively dissembled instead of mechanically demolished. The vision was to create jobs, protect the environment and save money by selling, not landfilling, old materials.

But it hasn’t worked out, with city officials pointing the finger at one another during a November 2021 meeting.

It’s become an annual process since 2019 for the Common Council to suspend the ordinance for an additional year. The 2023 proposal to do this is pending before the Common Council. Without approval, the deconstruction ordinance would apply to the razing of any home built before 1930.

Read the full article

Local Firm Wants To Buy Northridge From Chinese Owners

The lawsuit over the future of the long-vacant Northridge Mall took a major turn Friday morning.

Milwaukee-based Phoenix Investors has entered into an 11th-hour agreement to purchase the blighted property from the Chinese-based U.S. Black Spruce Enterprise Group.

The City of Milwaukee, following a lengthy lawsuit and hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid fines, was prepared to argue its case Friday morning for the property to be seized. But a Thursday afternoon filing by Black Spruce effectively halted that discussion.

Deputy City Attorney Odalo J. Ohiku called it a “delay tactic.”

Read the full article

New Design For Vel R. Phillips Plaza Revealed

Two thumbs up for the revamped plan to replace a downtown surface parking lot with a new park, food and beverage space and future development site.

On Thursday, the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Milwaukee (RACM) unanimously endorsed a $16 million financing plan to develop Vel R. Phillips Plaza at 401 W. Wisconsin Ave.

“It’s really going to be a plaza unlike anything we’ve seen in the city to date,” said Department of City Development economic development specialist Dan Casanova. “It’s a major priority of Mayor Cavalier Johnson in his efforts to create new and improved public spaces throughout the community.”

Located across the street from the convention center, the 30,000-square-foot plaza would include a 2,900-square-foot food or beverage retail space, manicured garden, a flexible space for farmers markets and other events, an informational kiosk, public art installations and a station on Milwaukee County’s Connect bus-rapid transit line. Space would be reserved through the site for a future streetcar line north to Fiserv Forum and Bronzeville.

Read the full article

City Seeks Bids To Demolish Portion of Northridge Mall

The City of Milwaukee is attempting to demonstrate its commitment to cleaning up the vacant Northridge Mall in advance of a pivotal hearing Friday.

“Today, the City of Milwaukee is issuing a public bid to raze the former Boston Store building at Northridge to reduce its liability as the property owner, and demonstrate for nearby residents and businesses that we are doing our part to address this nuisance,” said a city spokesperson in a statement.

The city took ownership of the attached Boston Store building in 2017, but has yet to secure control of the larger mall complex. Since 2019 it has sought to legally pressure the mall’s owners, U.S. Black Spruce Enterprise Group, to fix up or demolish the blighted property. In January it drastically increased its ask, requesting Judge William Sosnay to transfer ownership of the property to the city as a settlement for Sosnay’ contempt order against Black Spruce. The city had previously sought to avoid taking immediate ownership because it did not have the money to demolish the structure and preferred for Black Spruce to complete the court-mandated demolition.

City officials previously estimated the cost to clear the 46.5-acre site and approximately 900,000-square-foot mall at $15 million. The bid request released Wednesday by the Department of Neighborhood Services requests applicants to submit a cost to demolish just the attached, 152,727-square-foot department store, 7700 W. Brown Deer Rd. Responses are due April 13.

Read the full article

MSOE Agrees To Voluntary Tax Payments On New Knapp St. Building

The Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) is agreeing to make voluntary tax payments to the City of Milwaukee as part of a $14 million deal to repurpose an office building into a new home for its Civil and Architectural Engineering and Construction Management (CAECM) programs.

“We really want to grow and expand,” said university president John Y. Walz to the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee Tuesday. “The demand for our students is outstanding, whether it’s engineering or nursing.” The university reports 2,571 full-time students.

The new building, 310 E. Knapp St., will literally bring the CAECM programs out of the basement. The programs are currently based in the partially-exposed lower level of the university’s campus center, 1025 N. Broadway. Despite the cellar-dwelling location, Walz told the committee that the CAECM programs boast a 100% placement rate.

The university, according to state real estate records, paid $1.09 million for the three-story, 59,429-square-foot building. It acquired the property from real estate developer and MSOE regent Kendall Breunig at a below-market rate.

Read the full article

Parks’ Former Barn Youth Hostel Could Be Redeveloped

Milwaukee County Parks is looking for developers that can redevelop, and reactivate a 1.4-acre site in the Root River Parkway that was once home to the International Youth Hostel.

The 5,180-square-foot barn is still standing, as is a 1,650-square-foot residential building, and parks is looking for someone that can redevelop the site, which has stood vacant for years, as a recreational asset for the community. It sits near the intersection of W. Loomis Rd. and S. Root River Parkway in Greendale.

The department is not contemplating selling the land or the buildings, which it could not do without approval from the Milwaukee County Board. Instead, it wants a developer interested in a partnership with parks, or a lease, that will restore the buildings and bring new uses to the property.

The county has found success in leasing buildings that need maintenance and investment in recent years. The Urban Ecology Center leases and maintains its building in Riverside Park, 1500 Park Pl., as well as its branch in Washington Park, 1859 N. 40th St. And The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee is planning a multi-million investment in Sherman Park, where it leases a building for the Mary Ryan Boys & Girls Club.

Read the full article

Marcus Scraps Downtown Tower and Movie Theaters

A proposal to develop a 20-story, mixed-use tower and eight-screen movie theater complex in downtown Milwaukee is dead.

Marcus Corp. is selling the 1.23-acre riverfront development site at 1301-1357 N. Edison St. It hired The Barry Company to market the property.

“This is one of the most appealing development properties available in Milwaukee, with an outstanding location and extensive Milwaukee River frontage. We are confident that there will be very strong interest in this site,” said Barry Company president James T. Barry III in a press release.

The asking price is $7 million. The property sits between E. Knapp St. and E. Cherry St., just west of N. Water St.

Read the full article

Council Strongly Supports Northwestern Mutual Deal

Northwestern Mutual‘s $500-million proposal to completely overhaul its aging 18-story North Building and relocate its Franklin-based employees to downtown Milwaukee has strong support on the Common Council, even though the city would need to provide a $30 million subsidy to induce the deal.

“I think this is a home run,” said Alderman Scott Spiker to his colleagues on the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee.

Council members Michael Murphy and Russell W. Stamper, II also endorsed the proposal.

But the highest praise was offered by area Alderman Robert Bauman.

Read the full article

Ruby’s Bagels Moving To Oklahoma Ave.

Ruby’s Bagels is poised for big growth and a new home. The food truck-based business would buy a vacant, city-owned building for use as a cafe and bakery.

Led by Daniela “Ruby” Varela, the business launched in 2019 and has lived a nomadic existence. Most recently, it’s operated out of a food truck at Zocalo Food Park and a rented commercial kitchen in a church.

The new space, located at 1107 W. Oklahoma Ave., will unify the baking and cafe operations, while providing space for seven-day-a-week operation and growth.

Varela told the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee Tuesday morning she’s long dreamed of a permanent home. It would offer a place to enjoy Varela’s “great and addicting” bagels fresh out of the oven while also enjoying a coffee.

Read the full article

City Seeks Developers To Build Net-Zero-Energy Homes

Thousands of Milwaukee residents’ next homes could be environmentally friendly, affordable and factory-made under a plan from the city’s Environmental Collaboration Office (ECO) and the nonprofit Community Development Alliance (CDA).

Together they are pursuing a two-home proof of concept in the Lindsay Heights neighborhood.

ECO is offering $500,000 for a development team to construct the houses as a trial for a much larger vision to create a factory capable of producing modular, environmentally-friendly houses. Funded by a federal grant, the effort aims to start with a 1,200-square-foot single-family home and a 2,400-square-foot duplex. Both must be developed using off-site construction techniques and sold to low-income owner-occupants. Solicitation for partners is underway through a request for proposals (RFP).

An additional $325,000 would be awarded to a manufacturer to establish an operation in Milwaukee. In first discussing the concept in 2021, ECO director Erick Shambarger said his office envisions such a facility opening in the Century City business park and serving as a source of new construction jobs and affordable, sustainable housing.

Read the full article

Chubby Cheese food truck (former name of The Gouda Girls) at Food Truck Friday in Cathedral Square Park July 8th, 2011. Photo by Dave Reid.

Milwaukee restaurateurs Katherine and Tina Tonn announced their retirement last month.

Perhaps better known as The Gouda Girls, the pair operated the eponymous food truck for 12 “phenomenal” years, serving a dairy-focused menu of sandwiches, mac and cheese, soup and salad.

The mobile operation made frequent appearances at Milwaukee events including Chill on the Hill and Music Mondays. The restaurant previously operated at Eleven25 food court and, for the past five years, has served families at Great Lakes Naval Base in Illinois.

“We’ve cried a lot over this decision, but it’s time,” Tonn wrote in a February social media announcement. “There are no words to describe how much we’re gonna miss you all, we’re gonna take advantage of attending events now as customers…”

Tonn also shared that the couple’s food truck — dubbed Ellie — has been sold, and hinted that the new owners will be “familiar faces.” The truck is expected to reopen with a similar menu and a slight name change.

Once finalized, additional details will be posted to the Gouda Girls Facebook page.

Canela Café Is Sweet Place for Breakfast

Ghosts of the former Coffee Trader on N. Downer Ave. greeted my companion and me at Canela Café. From 1974 until 1999, this beloved coffee shop/restaurant served locally roasted coffee and my favorite, the Ratatouille Omelet. The omelet is long gone, but the restaurant space looks mainly the same with beamed ceilings, large windows to the world on Downer, and those luscious Cream City brick walls that line the north side of the restaurant.

In later years The Original Pancake House had been located in this space, but it closed in 2021 and after some seven months Canela opened here, under owners Dina and Ray Awadallah – who had gotten experience working at El Beso Mexican restaurant in Greenfield and the Mad Rooster Cafe on 44th and Greenfield Ave.

Before opening Canela, they added a display of large contemporary art pieces to liven the brick walls and replaced the wood floor with neutral-colored tiles. Together they give the space a bright upscale and inviting ambience.

Thanks to our 11:00 reservation on a very busy Sunday morning, we were immediately seated by a friendly and efficient server. Because we let her know we were headed to the theater, our meals were delivered in a timely manner, but not before we enjoyed Classic Mimosas from a list of five choices.

Read the full article

New Dunkin’ Planned For Capitol Drive

A new location for Dunkin’ is slated to replace Wong’s Wok on on E. Capitol Dr.

The upcoming restaurant, 242 E. Capitol Dr., would be takeout only, with plans to offer drive-thru service as well as a pick-up window for walk-in customers. In order to accommodate the streamlined service, Dunkin’ plans to remodel the interior of the 2,527-square-foot building and expand the existing drive-thru.

The business shares a 12-space parking lot with neighboring O’Reilly Auto Parts.

Dunkin’, which officially shortened its name from Dunkin Donuts in 2019, sells breakfast items including egg sandwiches and wraps, hash browns, stuffed bagel bites and muffins, as well as a wide variety of doughnuts and doughnut holes, better known as munchkins.

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Leinenkugel’s Barrel Yard Unveils Menu

Come April 3, the Milwaukee Brewers will be stepping up to the plate to take on the New York Mets at their home opener. Elsewhere in the ballpark, the chefs at J. Leinenkugel’s Barrel Yard will be garnishing theirs.

The new restaurant and brewery is set to open at American Family Field next month, featuring comfort food, cocktails and Leinenkugel’s beer brewed on-site.

The culinary team at Barrel Yard said they took “extensive care” in curating a selection of dishes that can be enjoyed year-round, game day or not. That includes a wide variety of shareables, entrees and house specialties.

The restaurant highlighted a number of menu items in a Wednesday news release, including buttermilk biscuits — made in-house and served warm with whipped butter and hot honey. Tavern chicken wings, a shareable appetizer, are available with a choice of three sauces: buffalo, maple sriracha or bourbon BBQ.

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Benson’s Group Names Third Ward Restaurant

The Historic Third Ward will soon gain a new restaurant. The Edison, a project of Benson’s Restaurant Group, is slated to open this summer at 322 N. Broadway. The space was most recently home to a Wahlburgers restaurant,

The incoming “sophisticated neighborhood grill” will feature new American dishes and a speakeasy-inspired bar serving local draft beers, wine and cocktails.

“For the past few months, we’ve been hard at work with our partners, skilled executive chefs and staff to create impeccable food and drink offerings and a welcoming gathering place that stands out in the Third Ward,” said David Marcus, CEO of Benson’s. “We can’t wait for the community to experience The Edison for weekday brunch with a colleague, a family gathering for dinner, or a post-work drink at the bar.”

The brunch, lunch and dinner restaurant will serve coal-fired butcher’s cuts and seafood, along with other comfort food dishes. At the bar, guests can expect a curated selection of distilled spirits, craft cocktails, an assortment of local drafts and an approachable wine list.

Read the full article

Traveling Beer Gardens Begin in May

Milwaukee County’s annual Traveling Beer Gardens will kick off the 10th-annual season in May.

Sprecher Brewing is once again sponsoring the traveling beer gardens, which operate out of refurbished old firetrucks outfitted with kegs and beer faucets. Though, this year there will only be one traveling beer garden. In years past, the Glendale-based brewery sponsored two traveling beer gardens: one called the Roll Out The Barrel Tour, the other called the Pass Me a Pint Tour.

The tour’s inaugural stop this year will be in Greenfield Park on May 17, where there will be free Sprecher beer and root beer available, as there will be on the first day of every stop on the tour — while supplies last.

Between May and September, the tour will stop at eight parks around the county. It will be open every weekday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

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Two Birds Will Partner With County Historic Society

Two Birds Event Group has landed another classic Milwaukee building as a location for its hospitality business. The newest addition, to be called The Society, is located at the Milwaukee County Historical Society, 910 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr.

The historic building features a high-ceilinged main hall, mezzanine level and a patio overlooking Pere Marquette Park and the Milwaukee River. Two Birds touts the space as an ideal setting for weddings, meetings and corporate events.

“We are excited and grateful for the opportunity to do what we love in an iconic Milwaukee landmark,” said Ramsey Renno, co-owner of Two Birds, in a statement. “We are also excited for current and future clients to experience our brand of award-winning customer service that we’ve gained a reputation for.”

The MCHS building first opened to the public in 1913. The Kirchhoff & Rose architectural firm designed the landmark in the Beaux Arts style, characterized by highly decorative surfaces, stone columns and classic details.

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Milwaukee Food Council Names First Executive Director

For the first time in its 16-year history, the Milwaukee Food Council has selected a sole leader to steer the organization. The nonprofit on Tuesday named Solana Patterson-Ramos as its first executive director.

Patterson-Ramos brings more that 15 years of experience in community outreach to the new role, with a particular focus on youth, LGBTQIA+, and civic engagement in diverse communities. She also has a personal connection to the MFC mission.

“As someone directly impacted by food insecurity, I understand the intersectionality of age, race, gender, and socio-economic factors on the ability to consistently access nutritional meals,” she said in a statement. “When we approach food through a lens of equity, we better understand the need for deliberate action to build and connect service systems. I am grateful to the Milwaukee Food Council’s Board of Directors for the opportunity to serve in this new role.”

Patterson-Ramos was most recently a legislative aide for Senator Lena Taylor and served as Director of Community Outreach for MKE Black. She has also served on the boards of multiple local and national organizations including the ACLU Milwaukee Chapter, NAACP Milwaukee Branch, and the United States Student Association.

Read the full article

Huge New Sports Bar For Third Ward

A brand new sports bar offering elevated pub fare, craft beverages and interactive entertainment is now open in the Historic Third Ward neighborhood.

George Prassas, Yiannis Konstantinou and George Karkalis quietly opened District Fore earlier this week at 233 E. Chicago St. The trio also own neighboring Sweet Diner.

Mike Kischer is operations manager for the business.

The extensive, 9,000-square-foot space is designed with game day in mind, featuring two TV walls for easy viewing and a variety of bar, table and lounge seating to accommodate large groups. The family-friendly bar’s website notes that its atmosphere was inspired by “the feeling of togetherness.”

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New Mediterranean Place for Downtown

A new operator plans to take over Gyro MKE, a Mediterranean restaurant near the Marquette University campus. Fady Qetain would open a new place called Fil Fil at 700 W. Wisconsin Ave., but with a similar menu including gyro sandwiches, shawarma, rice, fries and soup.

Fil Fil would be the first Milwaukee restaurant for Qetain, who recently moved to the city to be closer to family. He previously operated a JJ Fish & Chicken in Chicago.

Qetain said he has already signed a lease for the building, and is working through the necessary licensing and inspections. After that, he said, the restaurant will be ready to launch.

Despite the new ownership, changes to the current establishment will be minimal — aside from the new name.

Read the full article

Cool Cat Cookies Opens Inside Kind Oasis

The Farwell Ave. shop Kind Oasis is introducing a new kind of edible — but the medicinal properties of this product aren’t related to hemp.

“Hot and fresh” cookies from Cool Cat Cookies, a new bakeshop housed within the eastside business, are now available. And though they pair well with hemp-infused products from Kind Oasis, the treats are free of cannabinoids, so everyone can partake.

The bakeshop quietly opened in February with five flavors: chocolate chip crush, chocolate chip crush with walnuts, oatmeal pecan cranberry dream, the doodle and peanut butter choco delight.

The cookies are made from scratch on-site, and don’t contain any preservatives, said Bob Kashou, co-owner of Kind Oasis and Cool Cat.

Read the full article

Bars and Restaurants That Opened in February

Jackson’s Soul Food Redefined

First-time restaurateur Jacquelynn Jackson is putting her own twist on traditional soul food at Jackson’s Soul Food Redefined. The restaurant began its soft opening at 4519 W. Center St in February.

Though the restaurant mostly caters to takeout orders, the 1000-square-foot space can accommodate up to eight guests for dine-in.

Read our earlier coverage

Ninja Sushi

The long-awaited Ninja MKE Japanese Steakhouse opened in early February. The restaurant offers three distinct dining experiences rolled into a single, three-level building.

Read the full article

Locust Street Festival Returns June 11

Riverwest‘s Locust Street Festival is set to return in full force this summer, following several years of cancellations.

Come June 11, several blocks of E. Locust Street — from N. Holton to N. Humboldt — will be closed to traffic and open to food, drink and merchandise vendors, live music and other special events.

The Beer Run will also make a triumphant return. Registered participants will receive a t-shirt and the equivalent of one full beer, doled out across four stops along a 1.8-mile loop.

The festival was last held in 2019; events in 2020 and 2021 were canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The festival almost made its comeback last summer, but was canceled less than a month before the event date.

Read the full article

Ruby’s Bagels Moving To Oklahoma Ave.

Ruby’s Bagels is poised for big growth and a new home. The food truck-based business would buy a vacant, city-owned building for use as a cafe and bakery.

Led by Daniela “Ruby” Varela, the business launched in 2019 and has lived a nomadic existence. Most recently, it’s operated out of a food truck at Zocalo Food Park and a rented commercial kitchen in a church.

The new space, located at 1107 W. Oklahoma Ave., will unify the baking and cafe operations, while providing space for seven-day-a-week operation and growth.

Varela told the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee Tuesday morning she’s long dreamed of a permanent home. It would offer a place to enjoy Varela’s “great and addicting” bagels fresh out of the oven while also enjoying a coffee.

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First Chick-fil-A In a City Neighborhood Planned

A new location for Chick-fil-A is in the works on the South Side.

It’s the first location in a city neighborhood for the company, which has a stand in Fiserv Forum and operates a number of suburban locations including restaurants in Brookfield, Glendale, Greendale, Oak Creek, Menomonee Falls and West Allis.

Milwaukee’s Chick-fil-A is proposed to open at 2701 W. Morgan Ave., the current site of Zebb’s Family Restaurant.

“We are always evaluating potential new locations in the hopes of serving existing and new customers great food with remarkable service,” Chick-fil-A, Inc. said in a statement. “We would very much like to have more restaurants in the Milwaukee area, but we have no new locations to confirm at this time.”

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El Cabrito Is The Real Thing

If you walk into a packed restaurant at lunchtime and overhear everyone speaking Spanish, you can bet the food will be good. Taqueria El Cabrito is a spacious restaurant with two rooms, many tables, and more than a dozen booths. You’ll see families, locals grabbing a quick lunch, and very few gringos, like my companion and me.

As soon as we found the one free booth, a server arrived with a basket of thick flavorful chips and a dish of something spicy, more like a rich salsa than the typical pico de gallo. We could have dipped those chips and called it a light lunch, but there was the menu, an extensive multi-page tome that listed all the dishes we love from south of the border. After three lunches in this delightful taqueria, I can unconditionally recommend everything friends and I ordered.

And that includes something not on the regular menu, Champurrado. This was special, a drink served in a Styrofoam cup to keep it hot. It’s Mexican hot chocolate and it’s so much more than an ordinary hot chocolate. In addition to the main ingredient, the drink combined milk, cinnamon, vanilla, sugar, and to thicken it, corn flour. You won’t want to think about the calorie count in that 16 oz cup of thick cinnamon-flavored chocolate, just empty the cup and savor every delicious sip.

If you want a burrito gigante, look no further than the Burrito Suizo, a humongous flour tortilla filled with your meat of choice, cheese, and Mexican crema. From a list of 11 meat choices, including tongue, fried pork skins, and tripe, I ordered the traditional pork loin, or Loma. It was exceptionally tender, similar to pulled pork, and there was plenty of it, so much that I had decided to take half of it home, until I ate the whole thing.

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Heirloom Food Truck Will Replace Lazy Susan in Bay View

Lazy Susan is heading into the final weeks of service leading up to its April 8 closing date. But as the Bay View restaurant, 2378 S. Howell Ave., exits, a familiar face is stepping up to the seasonally-prepared plate.

Heirloom MKE, a food truck, is planning to open its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in the Lazy Susan space.

Jess Ignatiev and her husband, Pete, launched the “farm-to-truck” business in September 2020. Prior to that, the couple were on the verge of opening a restaurant in Walker’s Point. That is, until COVID-19 threw a wrench in those plans.

Amid the uncertainty of the early pandemic, the couple put a pin in their longtime dream. But soon after, Ignatiev floated the idea of purchasing a food truck. At the time, Pete was working as executive chef for a fine-dining supper club. “He thought I was crazy,” she said. “And I was like, ‘okay, well, I’m going to start looking.’ And I did.”

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New Upscale Restaurant Planned Near Northridge Lake

A new restaurant proposed for a strip mall near Northridge Lake plans to bring an upscale dining experience featuring a diverse, all-organic menu to one of Milwaukee’s northernmost neighborhoods.

The restaurant, Upscale Galleria, would also serve as an event space and site for serving and bartending classes, as well as a hub for community improvement initiatives.

It’s slated to open at 6800 W. Brown Deer Rd., inside a retail building that also houses Perkinz Boyz on Tha Grill, a soul food restaurant, as well as several other businesses.

Heading up the multi-faceted project is Ebony Walker, whose entrepreneurial spark ignited at age 8 when she got her first job helping out at her mom’s resale store. Since then, her career has included working in a leadership position at a childcare center and in human resources for a nonprofit.

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Bartolotta Restaurants Celebrates 30 years

For nearly three decades, The Bartolotta Restaurants have been the backdrop for countless milestone moments; patrons have cheered on proposals, enjoyed birthday dinners, toasted new graduates and celebrated baby showers, among other occasions.

On the 30th anniversary of its founding, the restaurant and catering brand will turn the tables on its guests, kicking off a yearlong celebration — featuring special menus and events — in honor of its own “three decades of growth and success.”

“Thinking about how far we have come in 30 years, the restaurants that we’ve opened, the incredible talent that we’ve nurtured and made part of our family, I’m both incredibly proud and humbled,” Paul Bartolotta, co-founder and owner of The Bartolotta Restaurants, said in a statement.

Bartolotta and his late brother, Joe, opened their first restaurant on March 23, 1993 in Wauwatosa, near their childhood home. They called it Ristorante Bartolotta, as an homage to their Italian heritage.

Read the full article

North Side native Chastity Washington. performs at Ope! Brewing Co. in West Allis. Washington said her goal has always been to be as good as she can at every type and style of comedy – “whether it’s a one-liner, whether it’s an impression, if it’s storytelling, physical activity.” Photo by Devin Blake/NNS.

It is a piece of common wisdom that comedians who are most successful are those who have a universal appeal, with references often made to Charlie Chaplin or, more recently, to someone like Kevin Hart.

A sampling of that universal appeal can be found quite often in Milwaukee.

It was there at a show in a brewery in West Allis during a performance Thursday night by North Side native Chastity Washington.

As she sat at a small table after her set, Washington was approached by every type of person present at that show – old people, young people, Black people, white people, men and women. And, add to that, sober and drunk people.

Many simply thanked her for her performance or told her how much they enjoyed it. Someone offered to buy her a drink. One of the owners of the venue asked her to sign a poster. One woman asked if she could hug her.

“She is funny to everybody,” said Ton Johnson, a local comedian and 2022 winner of Madison’s Funniest Comic Competition. “Chastity … her energy is organic; it’s genuine. You can tell she’s really going out of her way to give the people the best show that she can every time she’s up there – be it an open mic or showcase or a club spot,” said Johnson.

Greg Bach, local comedian and co-owner of the Milwaukee venue, The Laughing Tap, said, “She’s got a relatability and a confidence and charisma. And she connects with people. … And I never see her do poorly. Ever.”

Washington grew up in Sherman Park and lives and works as a teacher in Bronzeville. She began performing comedy in 1994 in Kenosha, where she attended college.

After graduating, she moved back to Milwaukee and has been performing ever since. She’s appeared on television, worked all over the country and alongside big marquee names.

After four comedians performed that night at the brewery, Washington got on stage and performed for about 30 minutes.

She talked about trying to socialize during the pandemic, drinking too much on her birthday and wanting her pharmacist to have more discretion, among other topics.

Much of her comedy is about her students.

She talked about teaching on Zoom, saying, “I was on the Zoom class – high school. My high school students. One of my students came on with no shirt on.”

He asked her: “What are we doing today, Ms. Washington?”

“I said, ‘We ain’t doing s—, Jarell. I can see your nipples! Turn your camera off, Jarell!’ ”

During her set, she also danced, did voices and sang throughout.

Her personal experiences, combined with this range of comedic tools, sharply honed for the past 30 or so years, are some of the ingredients of that universality Washington has, Johnson said.

“Most of us don’t teach kids for a living and that’s what she does. She’s so descriptive and emotive – you can see the kids she’s talking about in your head,” he said.

Washington said her goal has always been to be as good as she can at every type and style of comedy – “whether it’s a one-liner, whether it’s an impression, if it’s storytelling, physical activity.”

She said “comedy found me … and it’s really just me getting out what is in me.”

And what people are connecting to, she said, is ultimately her “honesty and authenticity and humanity.”

Comedians “get to give people joy,” she said. “People need joy to be healed. People’s souls and hearts are aching in different ways. People are struggling mentally in different ways, and it’s a release. Laughter is good medicine for the body. It brings about healing. And we get to do that.”

Everybody is given talents and gifts,” she added. “But it’s not for you. Whitney Houston’s voice was not just for Whitney Houston.”

Although Washington faced some barriers earlier in her career, she said she believes progress has been made in Milwaukee’s comedy scene.

“I wouldn’t say it’s segregated – anymore. Now, there’s more opportunity for comics of color to be able to work in the mainstream venues,” she said.

Many of Washington’s peers attribute at least some of the progress to comedians like her.

“Chaz traverses every inch and every part of comedy in Milwaukee. … She’s a bridge to different parts of the scene,” said Ryan Mason, a Milwaukee comedian who often works with Washington.

When the audience member offered her a drink the night of the brewery show, Washington politely declined. When someone asked her for the hug, she immediately obliged.

Mason said he ultimately understands what Washington does in terms of empathy.

“She’s telling stories about being a teacher … she’s creating empathy for herself, but also for the people in the story. And she creates empathy for the audience,” Mason said. “When she’s talking about a school, in a part of the city I would be an outsider at, you can go with her when she talks about it. You learn. It helps bring everyone together.”

Johnson prefaced his view of Washington’s mentorship. “I don’t know how she will feel about this statement. But she is like the Auntie of the Milwaukee comedy scene. She really is. I’ve done it, I’ve seen countless comics do it, at all kinds of levels, come to her for advice. And she’ll give it.”

“She actually wants to help,” he added.

Washington said she does not have a formal agenda in this regard.

“That’s what’s on my heart to do,” she said. “I see folks, and I believe in them. And folks have believed in me. … It’s for comics – to always know it’s love. And it’s real love.”

For more information

Information about Washington’s upcoming shows can be found on her Instagram and Facebook pages.

Meet Chastity Washington, ‘the Auntie of the Milwaukee comedy scene’ was originally published by the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service.

Most popular articles in the past week.

1. Dining: El Cabrito Is The Real Thing

Authentic Mexican food with a mostly Spanish-speaking clientele and easy going atmosphere.

Mar 12th, 2023 by Cari Taylor-Carlson

2. Ruby’s Bagels Moving To Oklahoma Ave.

Owner buying vacant building on 11th and Oklahoma in the ‘Crisol Corridor.’

Mar 14th, 2023 by Jeramey Jannene and Sophie Bolich

3. First Chick-fil-A Restaurant in City Neighborhood Planned

Fast-food franchise boasts 2,700 locations; this one will be at 27th and Morgan.

Mar 13th, 2023 by Sophie Bolich

4. Eyes on Milwaukee: Marcus Scraps Downtown Tower and Movie Theaters

Riverfront site now for sale, as Marcus Corp. seeks new plans for its headquarters.

Mar 14th, 2023 by Jeramey Jannene

5. Transportation: Southwest Adds Flights at Mitchell Airport

Additional flights to nine destinations are scheduled in 2023.

Mar 14th, 2023 by Graham Kilmer

6. Eyes on Milwaukee: New Design For Vel R. Phillips Plaza Revealed

Redevelopment Authority endorses $16.5 million financing plan.

Mar 16th, 2023 by Jeramey Jannene

7. Eyes on Milwaukee: Local Firm Wants To Buy Northridge From Chinese Owners

But is it just a stall tactic? City thinks so.

Mar 17th, 2023 by Jeramey Jannene

8. Milwaukee Losing One Of Its Movable Bridges

16th Street Bridge will be rebuilt as stationary structure.

Mar 16th, 2023 by Jeramey Jannene

9. Plats and Parcels: Rite-Hite Completes Move to City

Moving from Brown Deer to Walker’s Point. Plus: A recap of the week’s real estate news.

Mar 12th, 2023 by Jeramey Jannene

10. Eyes on Milwaukee: Council Strongly Supports Northwestern Mutual Deal

City would provide $30 million subsidy for $500 million tower redevelopment.

Mar 14th, 2023 by Jeramey Jannene

Press Releases

Most popular press releases in the past week.

1. Sara Geenen Announces Campaign for Court of Appeals District 1

 

Dec 15th, 2022 by Sara Geenen

2. License suspended for Milwaukee motor vehicle dealer

 

Mar 10th, 2023 by Wisconsin Department of Transportation

3. Director of Office of Equity to Step Down

Dir. Jeff Roman submitted his notice of resignation effective Friday, April 7

Mar 16th, 2023 by County Executive David Crowley

4. Sara Geenen Campaign Announces More Than 50 Endorsements From Judges & Elected Officials

 

Mar 13th, 2023 by Sara Geenen

5. BBB Warning: Imposters still posing as Powerball Winner Manuel Franco

Imposter scam targets individuals, asks for personal information in order to claim free money

Oct 25th, 2021 by Wisconsin Better Business Bureau

6. Ana Berrios-Schroeder Announces First Round of Judicial Endorsements

 

Dec 29th, 2022 by Ana Berrios-Schroeder

7. Rite-Hite completes 9.5-acre headquarters project in Milwaukee’s 5th Ward

Employees move into North building this week; Campus will house 300+

Mar 10th, 2023 by Rite-Hite

8. Chief Judge Bill Brash Shows Early Momentum, Earning the Endorsement of the Milwaukee Police Association

 

Feb 27th, 2023 by Bill Brash

9. DNR Encourages Property Owners To Make Spongy Moth Treatment Plans Early

Pest Outbreak Likely To Continue And Spread

Mar 13th, 2023 by Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

10. City of Milwaukee Announces Public Artist in Residence Personnel Selections

New Public Artist in Residence Will Develop Solutions to Help Address Reckless Driving in Milwaukee

Mar 15th, 2023 by City of Milwaukee Department of City Development

Where the sidewalk ends. Photo by Mariiana Tzotcheva.

Every day at The Overhead Wire we sort through over 1,500 news items about cities and share the best ones with our email list. At the end of the week, we take some of the most popular stories and share them with Urban Milwaukee readers. They are national (or international) links, sometimes entertaining and sometimes absurd, but hopefully useful.

LA transit overwhelmed by drugs, homelessness: In Los Angeles the transit system is suffering from low ridership and many are staying away in part because of worries about going into subway cars with people sleeping and using drugs like fentanyl. This obviously isn’t a new phenomenon but with less people overall on trains and buses the visibility of problems is more pronounced. Officials want to make trains more inviting, but are worried about the impacts of bringing more law enforcement to deal with social issues. (Rachel Uranga | Los Angeles Times)

Red states preemption of blue cities increasing: States with more Republican elected officials are clashing with cities that elect Democrats and support their policies. States across the country are seeking to limit policies such as rent stabilization, minimum wage, and school curriculum. Many of the topics are tuned to politics and culture war issues but could also have a corrosive effect on democracy if people with more local issues feel their voices can’t be heard by legislators at higher levels of government. (Monica Potts | FiveThirtyEight)

Mapping more sidewalks in cities: Researchers from multiple universities have created an open source tool that maps sidewalks in cities using aerial photos and recognition software. Most cities don’t have comprehensive data on sidewalks, so this could be a welcome addition for planners and city officials seeking to repair or bolster sidewalks or focus their efforts on active transportation in climate change efforts. (Peter Dizikes | MIT News)

Dead electric car batteries second lives powering cities: Once electric car batteries outlive their useful life in electric cars, they are still useful in other ways and can keep about 80% of their charge. This allows them to be used for other applications such as solar storage or powering street lights and elevators. As more and more electric cars are manufactured, there’s a need to figure what happens to their batteries after their usefulness to cars is up. (Peter Yeung | Reasons to be Cheerful)

Quote of the Week

We’re really good at responding and arresting somebody for drugs or assaults or thefts or burglaries, but of course they get out of jail and recidivism happens. We think that through this process [of neighborhood design] we’ll be able to prevent crimes rather than just responding to crimes.

-Delta County Colorado Sheriff Mark Taylor in Rocky Mountain PBS talking about a new grant program funding city projects as a crime deterrent.

This week on the podcast, we’re joined by Dr. Diane Jones Allen, program director for Landscape Architecture at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Want more links to read? Visit The Overhead Wire and signup.

Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-Milwaukee) discusses the issues around bail with other elected officials, criminal justice advocates, and others. Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner.

Elected officials and criminal justice advocates gathered in the Assembly parlor on Thursday, pushing back against efforts to create more stringent bail laws. Republican lawmakers have kept a fire burning under the issue of cash bail for over 16 months. An April 4 ballot measure could determine whether the Wisconsin Constitution will be changed to expand the array of factors judges consider when setting bail. During a press conference on Thursday, criminal justice advocates and allied elected officials called for evidence-based strategies to guide pretrial detention and release.

“If we want to have a serious conversation about public safety, we need a solution which looks at both the data and at the lived experience of people and families impacted by pre-trial detention,” said Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-Milwaukee). “Opposing the cash bail expansion ballot questions is the first step; the next step is replacing that failed system with one that brings us closer to justice.” The bills he and his colleagues propose will create “the gold standard of pre-trial detention,” he declared. A coalition of 18 community organizations and stakeholders has formed to support the legislative package.

The first bill would help elevate risk as the sole factor shaping an individual’s time spent in pretrial detention. The bill promotes the use and development of risk assessment tools. Under the measure, defense attorneys would have the ability to appeal a judgment for pre-trial detention. The use of cash bail is also restricted under the bill as only a means to make sure defendants return to trial. People who are held in jail under pretrial detention have not been convicted of a crime. Under U.S. law they are still innocent until proven guilty.

A companion bill pushes for text messaging services for anyone expected for a hearing or trial, helps fund the risk assessment tool and the collection of data used to improve it and offers  transportation and child care assistance for those experiencing pre-trial detention. Both bills are still being finalized.

“Wisconsin has a mass incarceration problem,” said Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) during the press conference. “We have spent almost a billion and a half dollars every year on the prison system alone, and millions more on our county jails, where people who have not yet been convicted of a crime now make up the majority of the 13,000 people in these jails at any given time. The attempted constitutional amendment would only make this problem worse. Instead we should be doing what actually works: risk-based assessments.”

A battle over the bail system

Republican lawmakers have criticized both Milwaukee and Dane County for not detaining people in jail long enough. One of the most high-profile examples they point to is Darrell Brooks. In 2021, while out on bail for domestic violence charges, Brooks drove a vehicle through the Waukesha Christmas Parade, killing six people and wounding many more. Brooks was sentenced to multiple life sentences the following year in a Waukesha County court.

Several factors contributed to Brooks’ release on bail on the previous charges. From the COVID-19 pandemic, which froze the court system and violated his right to a speedy trial, causing his bail to be reassessed and lowered, to a risk assessment on Brooks being completed, but not uploaded to the prosecutor’s office server. Republicans also point to other cases of people who committed new, sometimes violent crimes, after being released on bail. Republican legislators who’ve pushed for stricter bail say that judges are unable to consider a person’s past criminal history when setting bail. Lawyers and criminal justice experts, however, have countered that judges in fact have wide discretion on setting conditions for pretrial release. Under the state constitution, cash bail may only be set to assure that a person reappears in court.

This is how the bail referendum question will be framed on ballots in April. What the state considers to be violent crimes are also being redefined as part of the constitutional amendment. “Too often in this building, legislation has been passed based off of beliefs, based off of feelings, and based off of what people think is best.” Larson said, adding that the bail amendment is one such policy.

Whether they’re guilty of a crime or not, people who are unable to pay for bail often experience similar issues. John McCray-Jones, a policy analyst for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Wisconsin, asks, “How do you think your life would be if, in this moment, someone ripped you out of your life, and disconnected you from everyone for, lets say, a week.” At that moment jobs could be lost, rent payments missed which could lead to evictions, along with many other challenges.

“For many people who are still legally innocent that’s what happens in pretrial detention,” explained McCray-Jones. “On any given day, two-thirds of the people in jail, or over half a million people in the United States, are caged without being convicted of any crime. For reference, that’s almost the size of Milwaukee. And most of them are there simply because they couldn’t afford to bail themselves out. Nationwide, on average, people are held pretrial for 26 days, though most are released in the first week of arraignment. Still, that’s far too long.” Researchers at Harvard University found that even one day spent in pretrial detention can have lasting, damaging effects on a person’s life.

MaryAnne Olson, executive assistant of Ex-Incarcerated People Organizing (EXPO), knows this all too well. According to the Vera Institute of Wisconsin, incarceration of women in Wisconsin has gone up 897% since 1980. A report by Prison Policy Initiative also found that 75% of women under the control of any U.S. correctional system are on probation. The report notes that, like bail, probation comes with “step-up fees” which, if not paid by the women, can lead to non-criminal “technical” violations of probation. The report also found that 53% of incarcerated women are more likely to be jobless than employed in the month before their arrest. Women are also more likely to be written up for a prison rule violation, especially a minor violation, at a rate of 53%.

Olson, like many people in EXPO, is formerly incarcerated herself. She will not be able to vote until 2040, excluding her from casting a ballot in the April bail referendum. “In 2012, I was held for nine months pretrial detention,” said Olson on Thursday. “The lowest my bond ever got was $50,000. I eventually had a nervous breakdown and I pled, and I’m currently 11 years into a 28-year sentence, for seven of the lowest felonies at the time that you could get in Wisconsin. Pretrial detention does not solve problems, does not disappear problems. I promise you, it will only disappear people.”

If wraparound services were provided, as the bill package pushed by Clancy and Larson proposes, then organizations like EXPO would likely be directly involved in working with peer support specialists and others to provide those services, Olson said.

Other people also spoke to how bail has directly affected their lives. Donyae Robinson, who works with Black Leaders Organizing Communities (BLOC), recalled that the first time he was arrested at 16, he was waived into adult court. “But they still held me in juvenile,” said Robinson, “then when I got to adult court, my bail went from $5,000 to $10,000, which I couldn’t pay.” One of Robinson’s brothers was held for $250,000 bail after a car accident, while another brother had bail set at $100,000. “We just thought it was normal,” said Robinson, who says that he has since learned otherwise.

Jerome Dillard, director of EXPO, said he was also held in pretrial detention for 18 months. After those months, Dillard took a deal, “although I was innocent,” he said. “The sentence was one year in the county jail, and one year of probation.” Dillard stressed that, “these individuals have been determined indigent, meaning they qualify for a public defender.” He added, “individuals are being detained because they’re poor.” Dillard feels the Republican-backed bail changes would only escalate an already, “overwhelmed, understaffed criminal legal system that we have today.”

Criminal justice advocates point to states like New Jersey, which have used risk assessment reforms to great effect. In New Jersey, where a 2013 study found that 40% of people held in jails were unable to afford bail, cash bail has been mostly eliminated.

As of Thursday morning, the Milwaukee County Jail had a population of 938.

The facility, which has a max population of 972, has had problems with the safety of people held there, as well as overcrowding, for years. To prevent overcrowding, the Racine County jail offers to hold up to 80 incarcerated people from Milwaukee’s jail. According to a Department of Corrections inspection of the jail in 2022, the jail has developed a process with the Milwaukee Police Department to pay bail while individuals are waiting for transfer to the jail. On the day the inspection was conducted, the jail was just 11 occupants short of reaching its maximum capacity.

Thursday morning also brought news of the second in-custody death at Milwaukee’s jail so far this year. A 37-year-old man was found unresponsive by correctional staff. Last year, protesters took to the streets raising awareness of the death of 21-year-old Brieon Green, who was found unresponsive shortly after arriving at the jail. Officials say Green committed suicide. Green’s family says video from inside the jail — which hasn’t been publicly released — shows Green strangling himself as a correctional officer walks past his cell. Since 2022, there have been two alleged suicides within the jail and two more deaths for unknown reasons.

Clancy and his cosponsors stress that risk assessment tools and reform can reduce the strain on the jail. “When we massively over-incarcerate like we do now, it does put strain on the systems that we already have in place,” said Clancy. “Nobody’s interest is served by having somebody in jail that long.”

Advocates push for evidence-based bail laws in Wisconsin was originally published by the Wisconsin Examiner.

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Dan Kelly speaks to reporters on March. Photo by Henry Redman/Wisconsin Examiner.

A right-wing activist who planned several “stop the steal” protests and was on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack has spent the month of March in Wisconsin campaigning on behalf of conservative state Supreme Court candidate Daniel Kelly.

Scott Presler, a Virginia native with a long history of right-wing extremism, called the Jan. 6 attack, “the largest civil rights protest in American history,” and has posted on social media about coming to Wisconsin to campaign with several local Republican groups. He’s appeared with the Republican Women of Waukesha County — a partisan group which drew attention in 2020 for giving a standing ovation to Kyle Rittenhouse’s mother at an event — and the Kenosha County Republican Party.

On March 15, a Kelly fundraising event in Brookfield listed Presler as the “special guest.” On March 12, the right-wing radio host Vicki McKenna posted a photo on Twitter of herself and conservative Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley with Presler at an Ozaukee County Republican Party event. Kelly replied to the tweet, thanking the trio for their work helping his campaign.

On March 9, Presler tweeted that he had already appeared on four radio shows in just four days in the state, including the influential shows hosted by McKenna and Dan O’Donnell.

In one radio appearance, Presler said that conservatives should support Kelly’s candidacy for an open seat on the Supreme Court to ensure a conservative majority during lawsuits over the 2024 presidential election.

Thanks to @ScottPresler @JudgeBradleyWI @VickiMcKenna @schweitzerNLTE for all your hard work! https://t.co/Lb3dLvkdqm

— Justice Daniel Kelly (@JusticeDanKelly) March 12, 2023

“Absolutely. I mean really, it — if you’re listening right now — even going into the Presidency in 2024. Wisconsin. Swing state,” he said on WSAU. “We know that there’s going to be litigation, we know that things are going to go to the Supreme Court before 2024 right? [That’s] what is on the line.”

Kelly has previously been criticized for his ties to right-wing interests and election denialism. He gave officials with the Republican Party of Wisconsin advice before they cast false Electoral College votes for Donald Trump, who had lost the election in Wisconsin. Kelly has also almost exclusively worked for conservative organizations and the Republican Party itself since he lost reelection to the court in 2020.

The Kelly campaign did not respond to a request for comment on Kelly’s campaigning with Presler. An inquiry to Presler’s organization, Early Vote Action, went unanswered.

From 2017 to 2018, Presler was the lead activism strategist for ACT for America, according to his Facebook page. The Virginia Beach-based organization has been labeled an “extreme hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center and as the largest anti-Muslim organization in the country by the Anti-Defamation League. According to the SPLC, the organization “pushes wild anti-Muslim conspiracy theories” and “denigrates American Muslims.” Presler was involved in planning a number of “March Against Sharia” rallies that were held around the country.

Presler has also regularly used hashtags associated with the umbrella of conspiracies theories known as QAnon in his social media posts. Media Matters for America has logged more than 50 posts in which he’s used QAnon related tags.

After Trump’s loss in the 2020 election, Presler became involved in the planning of several “stop the steal” rallies across the country. Those rallies, including several held in Wisconsin, were a key piece of the escalation that led to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Presler announced on social media several times that he planned to be in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 and later posted a video of himself at the march on Washington that day protesting Trump’s electoral loss.

Presler, ahead of his appearance with Kelly, pointed to the Supreme Court’s decision in May 2020 to strike down the state’s stay-at-home order to stop the spread of COVID-19 as a reason to vote for the former justice, who was part of the majority in that decision.

“I can’t overstate the importance of this Wisconsin Supreme Court election,” Presler tweeted on March 15. “A conservative Court struck down democrat Gov. Evers’ stay-at-home order. If liberals win, they’ll be able to lock down Wisconsin businesses, schools, & churches & we’ll be powerless to stop them.”

Jan. 6 attendee spends month in Wisconsin campaigning for Kelly was originally published by the Wisconsin Examiner.

Members of the Wisconsin National Guard load boxes with hand warmers and PPE on Monday, Dec. 21, 2020, before distributing them to COVID-19 testing sites across the state. Angela Major/WPR

Recruitments for the Wisconsin National Guard are down nearly 50 percent from the organization’s goal, and have fallen below already-strained 2022 levels.

Lt. Col. Shannon Hellenbrand told Wisconsin Public Radio‘s “The Morning Show” that the Guard is struggling to meet its recruiting goals. The Guard has about 6,500 soldiers in the state, with unit armories in 70 communities.

In 2022, the Guard had a goal of enlisting 950 new soldiers. It enlisted only 577. Its goal for 2023 is 1,064 new soldiers. At the current pace it will miss that goal by about 50 percent, according to data Hellenbrand provided.

The trend is not unique to Wisconsin. Nationally, the U.S. Army fell short of its 2022 recruitment goals by about 25 percent, or 15,000 soldiers. Hellenbrand said the Guard limits recruits by age, physical fitness and “moral and legal standards,” all of which can be intimidating for some potential recruits.

“We have tough training requirements that are both physical and mental,” Hellenbrand said. “We also have really rigorous enlistment standards.”

And of course, in addition to providing services in Wisconsin, the Guard can also be called upon to serve abroad, or sent to the southern border.

The state of Wisconsin’s economy likely plays a role, too. The Great Recession led to a national surge in enlistments into the U.S. Army and Navy. At a time of historically low unemployment rates in Wisconsin, more people are finding work outside of national service.

“We have a really low unemployment rate here in Wisconsin,” Hellenbrand said, “and a really high labor force participation rate, which means there aren’t a lot of people seeking employment lately.”

Members of the Guard saw extraordinary duty in 2020. They helped staff polling places around the state when the pandemic required additional precautions and limited public poll workers. They helped staff COVID-19 testing sites. And they were part of the state’s response to unrest and rioting in cities in the summer of 2020 when some protests became violent.

It was the “the largest sustained domestic mobilization in our history,” a spokesperson told WPR at the end of that year.

Despite the increased responsibilities, as of February 2022 the Guard had done well in retaining members, Major Gen. Paul Knapp told WPR then.

Recruiting new members, though, has been a different story.

“What we weren’t able to do … was to continue our recruitment efforts during that timeframe,” Hellenbrand said. “Our schools closed. Our communities closed and stopped having events. And so we really lost our momentum when it came to recruitment.”

Hellenbrand said the Guard is offering soldiers greater flexibility in their activation times as well as training and duty schedules, to accommodate those who may have child care or career conflicts with their service.

Listen to the WPR report here.

Wisconsin National Guard recruitments are behind goals by 50 percent was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Hospital waiting area. (Public Domain)

Wisconsin could extend Medicaid coverage for postnatal mothers for up to a year, should a new bill in the state Legislature pass.

The bipartisan legislation introduced this month comes as the federal government plans to end the COVID-19 public health emergency in May. In Wisconsin, some 300,000 people are expected to lose insurance.

Dr. Amy Domeyer, chair of the Wisconsin section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said that states have been prohibited from withdrawing patients from Medicaid programs — but that will change.

“As an obstetrician gynecologist, I want all of my patients to not only survive the first 12 months, but thrive, and I don’t want to see people struggling through a mental health emergency and not having access to care,” she said.

Under current law, pregnant women with family incomes up to 300 percent of the federal poverty level qualify for extended Medicaid benefits for at least 60 days after they give birth.

A provision added to the state budget last year sought to increase that to 90 days, but it’s still awaiting approval from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The bill introduced this year would require the state to ask the federal government for at least 365 days of extended Medicaid benefits.

Evers recommended in his recently proposed budget a combined $34 million over the next two fiscal years to expand Medicaid postpartum coverage from 60 days to a year. But Republicans are unlikely to support his plan.

The state health department wrote in an email it estimates Evers’ proposal would result in 4,300 additional people getting Medicaid coverage.

For years, the U.S. has had the highest maternal mortality rate — pregnant people who die giving birth or the weeks after — compared to other wealthy nations. But the rate surged by 40 percent in 2021 over the previous year, according to a report released Thursday from the National Center for Health Statistics.

Nationally, Black women are 2.6 times more likely to die than white women, but that disparity is even more pronounced in Wisconsin, where Black women are five times more likely to die than white women.

“Wisconsin is failing. We have a huge health crisis when we’re looking at maternal and infant health,” said Emily Kittell, the maternal and infant health initiatives manager for March of Dimes Wisconsin, an advocacy group.

One of the common medical issues people confront after giving birth is depression.

Dr. Jasmine Zapata, chief medical officer for community health for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, said postpartum depression can persist for weeks or months — something she’s seen firsthand as a pediatrician.

“I have seen that when birthing people are extremely stressed out or have a lot of different emotional and medical needs that they can’t address for themselves, it’s very hard to advocate for themselves and get the help that they need, but also to take care of the new baby,” she said.

Some symptoms of postpartum depression include feelings of sadness or anxiety, irritability, sudden mood changes, among others. And in more severe cases, some experience panic attacks, feelings of hopelessness and thoughts of harming oneself.

Legislation to expand Medicaid coverage comes after reversal of Roe v. Wade

The legislation also comes after the reversal of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court decision that recognized the constitutional right to abortion. Since then, Wisconsin’s pre-Civil War abortion ban has gone into effect.

Kittell of March of Dimes Wisconsin said more people are concerned about the health of pregnant people.

“I think we have more people looking to support pregnant people in different ways, especially when we are assuming that more women are going to have to continue their pregnancy,” Kittell said.

Domeyer of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists agreed, saying this year is different because of the decision to overturn Roe.

“Now, not only do you have people who wanted to become pregnant potentially losing insurance, but you have people who are potentially having complications of pregnancies that weren’t looking to be pregnant,” Domeyer said.

Domeyer pointed out that under Wisconsin law, abortion care can be provided to patients if the life — not the health — of the mother is threatened.

“If people have riskier pregnancies, they’re going to have riskier postpartum periods as well,” she said. “I think we are all going to be understanding and seeing over time what this looks like in terms of how this affects people’s mental health.”

Domeyer said she’s doubtful the legislation will pass before the COVID-19 public health emergency ends, but its bipartisan support shows “there’s a huge opportunity to pass it.”

Rep. Donna Rozar, R-Marshfield, is co-sponsoring the bill. She said there is division within the Republican ranks — some in her party don’t want to allocate more funding to Medicaid because they see it as an extension of entitlement programs.

“But as a pro-life individual, I felt very strongly that we needed to support the women who chose to carry their baby to full term and then deliver that baby, that this was one way that we could show our support for babies that were born by supporting their mothers,” Rozar said.

This year’s bill was referred to the Committee on Insurance and Small Business. State Sen. Joan Ballweg, R-Markesan, said she expects a public hearing will be held sometime in March and hopes the legislation passes.

“A mom that is healthy and stays part of the family is going to be a benefit to everyone in the community and to their families,” she said.

Listen to the WPR report here.

Wisconsin legislators want to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage to 1 year was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.

Mitchell Park Domes’ Tropical Dome. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

A contractor has been selected for what policymakers are hoping is the final whack at creating a plan for the future of the Mitchell Park Domes.

At the end of 2022, the Milwaukee County Board approved funding for a consultant to analyze four redevelopment options for The Domes, including demolition, developing up-to-date cost estimates for each plan so that the board can weigh them against each other. The goal for the project is to give policymakers all the information they need to make a decision about The Domes.

The county has been wrestling with what to do about The Domes for approximately a decade, including a task force that worked for three years on the problem. And in that time it has produced a litany of reports, cost estimates and reviews of the facility. But supervisors expressed frustration when, after all that time, the county was still without an actionable plan for The Domes. The new consultant will be charged with collecting, analyzing and reporting all the relevant data and information so that policymakers can decide, once and for all, what that plan will be.

The Concord Group, a consulting firm with offices in Milwaukee and five other states around the country, was selected after bidding approximately $145,000 on the project. Cost management and cost estimating are two fields of expertise advertised by Concord. The firm plans to subcontract with engineers from GRAEF and McEnroe Consulting Engineers, and architects from The Kubala Washatko Architects. Toward the end of the project, architectural renderings and visualizations of the various options for The Domes will be created.

The Domes, built in 1959, are in great need of repair and maintenance. Steel mesh netting was put up in 2016 to catch pieces of concrete falling away from the structure. The Domes don’t just have structural sustainability problems, the facility is not sustainable as an operation. The Domes have long been operating at a loss for the county, representing a liability for a cash-strapped parks department and a county government that may need to make more than $100 million in budget cuts over the next five years.

Per the resolution adopted by the county board, Concord will study options for The Domes that include limited repairs to the structures, a full renovation, development of a previously envisioned “New Urban Botanical Park and Conservatory” or demolition.

This study will mark the first time that demolition has been contemplated by the county board. It has been operating under a formal policy that the only option for The Domes was their “repair and preservation.” It was included to give the board realistic cost estimates to weigh against renovation and preservation.

The supervisor for the area Juan Miguel Martinez pushed back against the consideration of demolition as the board reworked its policy last fall. But he ultimately supported the study, saying it was the “best available option that we have to be able to move forward.” He told Urban Milwaukee in February that, while he was still apprehensive about demolition being considered, he was “elated” that the project was moving forward and creating momentum for The Domes.

The Domes

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333 N. Water St. construction. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Milwaukee’s residential tower building boom is making the leap from the drawing board to reality.

Ascent, a 25-story mass timber apartment building, was completed last year. The Couture, a 44-story lakefront apartment, is at approximately 25% of its planned height. And now, 333 N. Water St., a 31-story apartment tower is peaking out above its construction fence.

The $165-million 333 N. Water St. is being built atop a long-time Historic Third Ward parking lot kiddy corner from the Milwaukee Public Market. When complete it will contain 333 luxury apartments.

It also includes riverfront restaurant space, a new access point to the riverwalk, an eighth-floor pool atop a seven-story parking structure and commercial space facing N. Water St.

The Third Ward building is being developed by the Chicago office of international real estate developer Hines, which served as the developer for Northwestern Mutual on its 7Seventy7 luxury apartment tower. Completed in 2018, it was that project that gave Hines, and several other developers and investors, the confidence to proceed with more projects.

“Projects like this are great, but they take a lot of work to put together,” said Hines’ senior managing director Tom D’Arcy at a December 2022 groundbreaking. The tower is being designed by Devon Patterson of Solomon Cordwell Buenz and constructed by W.E. O’Neil Construction. It required a combination of design and zoning approvals from the Historic Third Ward Architectural Review Board, City Plan Commission and Common Council.

City officials have been happy to see the company’s investment. Mayor Cavalier Johnson called it a “skyline-defining project” that will produce family-supporting jobs for people across the city. Area Alderman Robert Bauman said Hines’ entrance to Milwaukee is a signal to other developers that Milwaukee is a good place to invest. The alderman praised the building’s design and that it was being developed without a subsidy.

“Milwaukee has been the best city from planning, to development to zoning that I have ever worked in,” said D’Arcy.

First proposed in 2021, it was originally to be slimmer and a floor taller, but rising construction costs forced a redesign to a more stout structure that maximized leasable space.

A foundation formed by 338 piles pounded to a depth of 185 feet is intended to give the building and get past several dozen feet of brick-laden fill from previously demolished buildings and the 1892 Third Ward fire. Neighbors near and far are no doubt relieved that work is complete, as it was audible across much of the downtown area. Now it’s just a steady stream of concrete mixer trucks from Riv/Crete lined up to drop off material.

Hines paid $6 million for the 0.79-acre site. A 2005 Third Ward land use plan calls for a “landmark” on the property and was used as the basis for the architectural review board allowing a building far taller than those nearby.

Hines’ building, according to a June commercial construction permit request, would stand 342 feet tall. Including the parking structure, planned at approximately 400 spaces, it would be a 542,285-square-foot building.

A new connection to the Milwaukee RiverWalk would stretch west from the corner of N. Water St. and E. St. Paul Ave., under the edge of the tower, to the Milwaukee River. The existing riverwalk, currently disconnected from the property, would remain in its current alignment. The city, through its formula-based program, will pay for the public riverwalk connections as part of securing a permanent easement.

Rents for 333 N. Water St. are expected to be approximately $3 per square foot per month (a 1,000-square-foot apartment would be $3,000 per month).

The Hop rolls past the north side of the property. “To those who say the streetcar doesn’t pay for itself, this is a $140 million investment that is a result of our investment in the streetcar itself,” said Bauman in September 2021 after the development team said it was a factor in selecting the site. If the project were ultimately assessed at $100 million, it would net local governments more than $3 million in new property tax revenue annually. That includes more than $1 million to the City of Milwaukee or almost 25% of The Hop’s annual budget.

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February 2022 Renderings

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March 2022 Design Adjustments

August 2021 Renderings and Site Plan

Pre-Construction Site Photos

Mad Chicken at 2045 E. North Ave. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Milwaukee-based Mad Chicken was poised to open a new location on the Northwest Side last year, but those plans fell through. Now, the restaurant is eyeing a new building just a few blocks away.

Mad Chicken would open its third Milwaukee location at 7424 W. Appleton Ave., in the former Wong’s Wok space. The business recently purchased the property for $600,000, according to state real estate records.

The property, located near W. Capitol Dr., includes a 2,187-square-foot building with a drive-thru and a handful of parking spaces.

Co-founder Nabil Mutlaq told Urban Milwaukee that the decision to change locations came about due to plumbing problems at the original building, 7818 W. Capitol Dr. The new restaurant is expected to open in late April or early May.

Mad Chicken sells chicken tenders, wings, sandwiches, wraps, bowls and salads. Side options include waffle fries, onion rings, mac and cheese, coleslaw, mozzarella sticks and fried pickles.

The chain also has restaurants in Greendale and Brookfield, as well as in Green Bay, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida. An upcoming location in Germantown is expected to open around the same time as the Milwaukee restaurant.

In addition to Mutlaq, the Mad Chicken team includes Waleed Mohamady, Sarah Kamal, Mohamed Elkady and Ramez Aly.

Hot chicken is a fast-growing trend in the Milwaukee market and beyond — namely for quick-service establishments. California-based Dave’s Hot Chicken has big plans for Wisconsin, while Chick-fil-A is poised to open its first standalone restaurant in the city.

Although Mad Chicken is not unique in its poultry-focused menu, the restaurant touts its use of “unprocessed ingredients” and “all-natural, never frozen, hormone, and antibiotic-free” chicken.

News of Mad Chicken’s Appleton Ave. location was first reported by Sari Lesk.

Chief Judge Carl Ashley. Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Circuit Court System.

Judge Carl Ashley has been appointed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court to serve as the next Chief Judge of Wisconsin’s First Judicial District.

He will take office April 15, replacing current Chief Judge Mary E. Triggiano who has served in the position since 2020 and is leaving the bench to take a job with Marquette University Law School.

As chief judge Ashley will oversee the operations of Milwaukee County’s Circuit Court system and its 47 branches. Chief judges can serve up to three consecutive two-year terms.

Ashley currently serves as Deputy Chief Judge, a position he also held under the prior chief judge Maxine White, who now serves on the Court of Appeals.

Ashley was first elected a circuit court judge in 1999. Since then, he has presided over courtrooms in every division: Misdemeanor, Felony, Large Claims Civil, Children’s Court and Family Court. He also has experience hearing cases in some new courts created to address specific problems and populations, like the Adult Drug Treatment Court, the Veterans Treatment Court and the Domestic Violence Court.

A graduate of Marquette University Law School, Ashley began his law career in 1983 working in the state Public Defenders Office. He went on to work in private practice and as an Administrative Law Judge. In 1997, when former Judge Larry Graham announced his intention to retire from the court in 1999, Ashley started campaigning, according to the State Bar of Wisconsin. He has won four elections since then and will win again this spring as he is running unopposed.

Along with serving on the bench, Ashley is also the Chair of the Supreme Court Planning and Policy Subcommittee on Effective Justice Strategies and the Milwaukee County Race, Equity, and Procedural Justice Committee.

Site of former Freshii, 250 E. Wisconsin Ave. Photo taken March 17, 2023 by Jeramey Jannene.

Freshii has closed its downtown location, marking the chain’s exit from the Wisconsin.

The “health-casual” restaurant opened at 250 E. Wisconsin Ave., in 2018, but closed in recent weeks.

Wisconsin’s penultimate Freshii, in Buchanan, shuttered last May.

As of December 2022, Freshii operated 343 restaurants throughout the United States, Canada and several other countries. Canada-based restaurant franchisor Foodtastic acquired the brand at the end of 2022. Along with Freshii, the company owns more than 20 brands including Pita Pit, La Belle & La Boeuf and Quesada Burritos & Tacos.

Guided by the mantra, “Eat. Energize.,” Freshii serves globally-inspired bowls such as teriyaki, Mediterranean and Buddha satay, as well as burritos, salads, wraps, soups, superfood smoothies and juices — with an emphasis on quick, convenient and affordable options.

In recent years, the brand has made a push to enter the health and wellness market via packaged snacks including Freshii Energii Bites, gummy supplements and bottled juices.

The outgoing Freshii occupied a 1,817-square-foot retail space at ground level of Two Fifty, a 20-story office building and parking garage complex.

Andy Tran was the franchise owner of the Milwaukee location, according to an occupancy permit for the business. Tran did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

As Freshii exits, a new health-focused chain is poised to enter the Milwaukee market. Sweetgreen plans to open its first Milwaukee location at 310 E. Buffalo St., in the Historic Third Ward.