Wal-Mart Takes a Hit in Jefferson

David(s) beat Goliath -- at least for now.

a milwaukeeworld.com exclusive
(c) 2005 By Michael Horne

The tide turned against the giant Wal-Mart Corporation and its plans to annex 22 acres to the City of Jefferson, Wisconsin for the purpose of constructing a store in that community when a Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge placed on hold any annexation for at least 45 days.
Wal-Mart's plans were central to a recent recall election in Jefferson that forced Ald. David Olsen from his seat on the Common Council in that city.
The pro-Wal-Mart forces may have thought that Olsen's removal would be sufficient to allow them to proceeed with plans to annex 22 acres at the intersection of Highway 26 and County Highway K for the purpose of building a Wal-Mart Supercenter on the property. The plan was first introduced in November, 2002. They were wrong.
The pro-Wal-Mart forces were dealt a blow on Wednesday, December 28th, 2005 when Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge John Ullsvik granted a temporary injunction "prohibiting the defendants, City of Jefferson and Common Council of the City of Jefferson from proceeding with the annexation of a parcel of land over (15) fifteen acres while the mandamus action cited in the above-referenced case for a direct legislation petition is pending in the City and County of Jefferson."
The "direct legislation" was filed by The Coalition for a Better Jefferson on October 10, 2005, immediately after the organization filed as a political group.
According to Section 9.20, Wisconsin Statutes, "a number of electors equal to at least 15% of the votes cast for governor at the last general election in their city or village may sign and file a petition with the city or village clerk requesting that an attached proposed ordinance or resolution, without alteration, either be adopted by the common council or village board or be referred to a vote of the electors." The number of signatures required was roughly 307, based on the 2002 gubernatorial election turnout in the city.
Four days after being formed, the Coalition offered for filing 456 signatures on the Petition attached to the direct legislation to the City of Jefferson City Clerk, Tanya N. P. Stewart. She certified the petition with having 365 valid signatures on October 21 and referred the matter to the Common Council, which then had 30 days to either vote to adopt the ordinance, or set the matter for referendum, according to law.
State law apparently does not apply to the Jefferson Common Council, which, on November 15th, by an 8-0 vote, refused to adopt the Direct Legislation Petition or refer it to a vote of the electors, stating that the petition presented matters that were "improper subjects for direct legislation."
This Supreme Court ruling by the Jefferson Common Council led the Coalition and its attorneys David Halbrooks, and Midwest Environmental Advocates, Inc. to file the writ of mandamus demanding the referendum. But, while the writ would be pending, there was a chance -- indeed, a likelihood, that the city could proceed to annex the property, as soon as the first week of January, 2006. Indeed, the City Plan Commission included the matter on its December 14th, 2005 agenda.

The direct legislation would require "environmental, traffic, community and infrastructure impact studies for annexation proposals dealing with more than 15 acres of land."
It would also directly address the issues heard across the country that Wal-Mart tends to cause communities to lose more jobs than they gain.
The legislation would also require a study of " the economic impact of the lands to be annexed by the City on local businesses and residents, including any new jobs that will be added to the local economy, the amount of local labor to be used, the amount, type and location of potential development and the impact of changing land use patterns and the potential for development pressure on surrounding neighborhoods, particularly in the City."
David Olsen is on vacation and is unavailable for comment, according to his brother James Olsen of Olsen Funeral Home.
It may have taken two Davids to whup Goliath, but this is a serious setback to the Bentonville, Arkansas retailer and to its bands of supporters across the country.
Likewise, it is a victory for antisprawl advocates and for the laws of Wisconsin that rather explicitly state that even legislative bodies as mighty as the Common Council of the City of Jefferson must obey state law when citizens properly file motions for direct legislation.


Robert W. Kasten, Sr. Remembered
Robert W. Kasten, Sr, 88, who died earlier this week, was a large man and a stalwart Republican of the staunchest kind. His son, a United States Senator, used to live around the corner from my mother in Mequon, and Bob, Sr. lived not far away, on the "better side" of the freeway. For a number of years I would give Bob and Mary Ogden Kasten a hand on little projects like cleaning their gutters and trimming the shrubbery of their condo. I would carry the storm door down to the basement each spring, and bring up the screen door. I'd repeat the process in fall. It was the emptiest basement I have ever seen. Beyond the storm or screen door (depending on season) there were two Hitchcock chairs that I coveted, a few Christmas do-dads, and that was that.
I considered it a remarkable bit of downsizing, considering the Kastens had moved to their condo from a very large house in River Hills.
Although he was retired, Bob Kasten would still take his Ford station wagon to "work" every day, driving to the Village of Thiensville, where his former Gilbert Shoe Factory had become a storage center. No wonder the basement was so clean!
One day, hearing that the Gilbert Shoe Factory was for sale, (it was located across the street from my brother's home), I headed out to Thiensville with a developer from Milwaukee whom I had told about the place. Bob Kasten sat in a comfortably-furnished office, filled with former River Hills furniture, and chatted business with the developer, who eventually passed on the place. I wandered around the huge building
In addition to the Kasten possessions in the place, there were thousands of square feet of items that had made the downsizing from another River Hills mansion belonging to a friend of the Kastens who also made the move to the Mequon condo world before her death. Also, there were millions of dollars of Harley Davidson parts and accessories in the building that belonged to a Harley dealer. I never told anybody about the Harley treasures, since, even though the storage building was next door to the Thiensville Police Department, the Harley goodies would have been tempting to a certain element, and I didn't want to be responsible for the leak of their existence. (I can tell you now, since the place has since been demolished and turned into condos.)
After a day at the office, Mr. Kasten would make his way home where his wife would always set out a meal for him, served on attractive, and often antique, dinnerware. This style and refinement came naturally to Mary Ogden Kasten, whose mother founded the Town and Country Shop, still in business in the Ogden Center in Bayside. (You mean you haven't been to the Town and Country Shop? Well then, where do you buy your cocktail napkins and Staffordshire figurines?)
Mr. Kasten was well-read on issues of the day and favored history books, which he and his wife read in the dead silence of their home.
One day, in an expansive mode, Mr. Kasten told me an anecdote about Stanley Stone, the founder of the Chipstone Foundation and collection. I had told the Kastens something of whatever currently outraged me about Chipstone (there is always something) and he responded with a story of his own, which I feel free to relate, since his death has released me from the bonds of confidentiality I felt on this matter.
He said, "Mary and I were invited to Chipstone one evening for dinner with the Stones and other guests. One of them was a fellow from the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn.
"Stanley Stone was going on and on about his greatness and his great collection. It was all rather dreary.
"I asked the Dearborn fellow how he was bearing up.
"He responded, 'I really can't stand our host, that son-of-a-bitch. I only came here because I want that chair,' he said, pointing to one of the priceless objects in the collection."
Milwaukee has lost a very wise man and devoted husband. -- Michael Horne

FATHER OF TABOR NAMED IN PATERNITY SUIT

Dear Reader --

Welcome to www.milwaukeeworld.com on this slow news week. In the spirit of the season [cue: "What child is this?" we take you to Brown County Circuit Court where Rep. Frank G. Lasee has been a regular presence before the family court commissioner in recent years, both for divorce, and for support of a child born to a woman other than his wife after the divorce. Lasee's big on traditional things like Christmas Trees, is against big government, and doesn't seem too crazy about education for the little ones. Imagine what he'd feel if he had to pay for public education per child.

Also, the Brewers Chick is back, after a delay due to my being away from my desk on the press of business and because of the holiday.

You will also find another installment of correspondent Paul Snyder's progress in moving to Madison after college in Milwaukee and a childhood spent in Chicago. He's the Continental, stcuk driving up north with dad in the Chevy, on the lookout for attractions.

I'll send you more things this week, even if you are off work and playing around. I'm sure you'll get to all the items here in good time.

Let me hear from you,

Michael Horne

Editor / Publisher

www.milwaukeeworld.com

1 414 978-8039

horne@milwaukeeworld.com

“FATHER OF TABOR” SUED FOR CHILD MAINTENANCE

Ordered to pay support to Brown County woman by same
Court Commissioner who presided over his lengthy divorce case

A www.milwaukeeworld.com exclusive

(c) 2005 by Michael Horne

Rep. Frank G. Lasee, the Green Bay Republican who calls himself the “Father of Tabor” is also the father of a child born out of wedlock, according to a Brown County Court Case filed in June.

A stipulation and order of support was issued on June 23, 2005 by Brown County Family Court Commissioner Phoebe A. Mix, who also presided over Lasee’s earlier divorce.

Lasee’s busy homepage is filled with pious homilies – the father of Tabor and an illegitimate child staunchly believes in the Christmas Tree – not a “Holiday Tree.”

But he also thinks about the little children.

In a recent Lasee’s Notes he talks about the inadvisability of Kindergarten for 4-year olds:

Here’s dad’s thoughts:

“Nevertheless, the agenda is clear: statewide 4-year-old Kindergarten is on the education community’s agenda. In Wisconsin, the call isn’t for K4 only in those areas that could use it the most, or only for the students who need it most. No, Governor Doyle and WEAC, the teacher’s union, think every school district should have it.

“I wonder what current union members think about this. Adding a whole new grade statewide will put more pressure on finances, which WEAC tells us are already strained to the breaking point (what about the taxpayers’ strain?). That will mean less money to go around for raises and benefits (or will we just tax more?).

“All for a program that isn’t necessary statewide, and may not be necessary at all.”

Lasee filed for divorce in October 2001 from Kirsten F. Lasee. It was a contested divorce proceeding, during which time Frank “Completed ‘The Successful Divorce: Through the Eyes of the Child’ seminar,” on March 19, 2002. Lasee's Wisconsin Blue Book biography lists him as having two children -- from the marriage.

The case dragged on for some time, according to court records and included a division of Wisconsin Retirement System benefits on November 11, 2003, and a transfer of IRA assets. On January 11, 2005 the court ordered that the $500 per month spousal support be terminated as of September 1, 2004.

Lasee did not return numerous telephone and other communications to his office, district office and residence. Commissioner Mix likewise did not return a telephone call.

Brewers Chick

By Tamra Reynolds

[Editor's note -- this was written before Branyan received his contract offer. Happy Holidays!]

[Milwaukee -- December 14, 2005] --Brewers’ third baseman and pinch hitter Russell Branyan made his birthday wish this week - to stay in Milwaukee for another season. I, for one, would like to see Branyan stick around. As I mentioned last week, having young Prince Fielder as our everyday first baseman makes me quite nervous.

Veteran Jeff Cirillo, who plays first and third, has been signed to another year, although Bill Hall is expected to be our everyday third baseman next season. Naturally, Fielder is expected to be the starting first baseman, a job that opened up after the Overbay trade last week. This doesn’t seem to leave a lot of room for Branyan, who also plays first and third, but was plaqued by injuries last season.

Cirillo spent some time on the bench last season with an injury as well, which is precisely why we should keep Branyan around. We’ll have our young guys to start and play most days, but depth is always a good thing to have, especially on a team whose average age is dropping rapidly. Don’t get me wrong, these young guys are good, and they will only get better, God willing. But there is something to be said for the wisdom that comes with age and experience.

Branyan has some power, (when he hits the ball), which is definitely something you want in a pinch hitter. Unfortunately, Branyan had more strike-outs than home runs last season, but this could be blamed on the shoulder soreness he fought for a while. The upside is that Branyan’s power is all natural, no steroids here ladies and gentlemen, as he was proud to point out in a recent interview. He feels his natural power will be an asset to the Brewers when so many others are going to be affected by the new, tougher steroid policy.

With the lead footed Helms out of the way, there is more room for backups at first and third, and Branyan is solid defensively. In fact, his fielding percentage is significantly better at first base than third. He was given more chances at first when he was in Cincinnati, but a .997 fielding percentage at first base looks pretty damn good to me when compared to the untested rookie Fielder. Granted, Fielder’s fielding percentage is 1.000 with Milwaukee, but he played in only 7 games, and had only 3 starts.

Personally, I love the fact that we have significant depth at every position, even without looking at the 40-man roster. That’s what’s going to help us win games next season. We will always have someone to plug into any spot on the field should one of the starters become sick or injured, and those replacements will be just as reliable as the starters, if not more so. It will be great to cheer when a replacement comes in instead of groan.

So there’s my rambling commentary for the week. Hopefully we’ll have more going on next week, with the non-tender deadline on Monday. I’ll be writing my next commentary from the relative warmth of Louisiana, while spending the holidays with my family. Enjoy the snow here! 107 days to go till Opening Day!

FROM BREW CITY TO CAPITAL CITY

“Sign of the Times”

By Paul Snyder

[Madison -- December 14, 2005]--Is it just me, or is this winter onslaught a month premature? I know it’s December and all, but it’s usually January, February…and March… hell, even April… when we see this kind of snow, right?

Well, the question was more rhetorical in nature anyway as I do know the answer – no it is not just me, this winter onslaught is premature. Wisconsin is seeing the kind of low temperatures and snowfall amounts not seen in ten years.

Not that I particularly mind it if it’s Saturday, and I can put my feet up with a cup of tea and not have to worry about going anywhere, but during the week this is just annoying. A collective mind-lapse on the part of drivers across the state at the very sight of a snowflake coupled with slush-drenched dress socks has punted my mind five months ahead in time.

And I’m not the only one.

The Wisconsin Assembly Tuesday passed by a vote 89-6 a bill that would allow “Attraction” sites across the state to be added to those blue highway information signs.

The definitions for “Attraction” in the legislation are loose – they must serve “a primary purpose of providing amusement, historical, cultural, or leisure activities to the public,” have “regional significance,” and, of course, contain “adequate parking accommodations.”

In lay terms, you might see an advertisement for a water park next to the square reserved for McDonald’s golden arches on your way up Highway 39 next summer.

Primary intentions here seem good – another ploy for tourism, on which this state is so very dependent, and some help for local attractions’ business, which might otherwise be blown by at 80 mph by those FIBs on their way up to Pelican Lake.

But the first thing I think about is once being a 7 year-old FIB myself, sitting in the backseat of my parents’ Chevorlet Eurosport on a 6-hour drive to the cottage up north. Six hours on maroon cloth seats is the 7-year-old equivalent of a 2-year prison sentence. It’s not that bad, but it’s certainly not ideal either.

So what does a kid do? Tries to break up the trip, ‘cos parents don’t have as hard a time spending money on the road. “I’m hungry, there’s a McDonald’s coming up!” “I have to go to the bathroom, can we stop at a gas station?” Note to seven-year-old MilwaukeeWorld readers – gas stations are gold for getting the parents to buy you candy. A 65 cent Snickers bar is hardly a thought when they’re filling up tanks for the car, the boat, and the wave runner. Those blue signs always screamed OPPORTUNITY to me.

But as one gets older, one tends to want to get to their destination as quickly as possible. I always wondered why Dad seemed so irritable when I told him I had to go to the bathroom on long road trips. Now I don’t wonder anymore. I sometimes get annoyed with myself if I have to break a long drive with a bathroom break – “Had to have that Dr. Pepper before you left, eh Paul?” you may hear me muttering as I head for the men’s room door at Citgo. And for that very reason you will never see me sipping water, soda, coffee or hot chocolate behind the wheel, no matter how hot or cold it is or how dehydrated I may be.

So imagine the aneurysms behind the wheel at the thought of “Attractions” joining fast food joints and gas stations on the big blue signs.

“DADDY! WATER PARK, DADDY!”

“We’re going to the lake, son…”

“BUT DADDDDY!!!!”

“I don’t want to hear it, we’re only three hours from the lake, and I want to be on that boat before the sun goes down.”

“BUT DAAAAAADDDDDDDYYYYYY!!!!!!!”

“NO!”

And then the wails and declarations of “I hate you” flood forth from the kid’s mouth. Mom tries to assuage the situation by diplomatically reasoning that a half hour at the pool might not be that bad – it is a hot day after all, and the air-conditioning’s not blowing entirely cool air anymore, all of which makes Dad’s blood run a little hotter, and then pop, that blood vessel bursts, and it’s a tragic statistic for the Department of Transportation’s year-end vehicular death list.

Imagine the cruel irony, then, of WisDOT having put the spurring attraction signs up in the first place. It passed the Assembly easy, and it’s a benign enough looking bill to get Senate approval and Gov. Doyle’s signature. I’m just offering an alternative viewpoint.

And unlike the Legislature, who is bound to the state through all of arctic temperatures and freezing rain, and forced to come up with these bills to have something to look forward to, I’m taking a proactive approach to the cold. If anyone knows of a good writing gig in Tempe, Arizona, please alert Michael Horne, who I’m sure in good faith, will tell me. I might be moving in down there just in time to escape the February deep-freeze and greet my Chicago Cubs as they arrive for Spring Training.

Hey, it’s the Christmas season – a guy can dream.

OPEN AND SHUT CASE

City Attorney Closes the Window on Prosecuting Open Door Violations

a milwaukeeworld.com exclusive

(c) 2005 By Michael Horne

Tavern owners can ring in the New Year with open doors, since City Attorney Grant Langley will apparently not fight a challenge to the constitutionality of Section 90-27-2 of the Milwaukee Code of Ordinances. The section requires Class "B" premises -- taverns, to the rest of us -- to close their doors after 10 p.m.
The ordinance, dating to 1988, was enacted by the Common Council in response to neighborhood complaints of noise emanating from taverns after 10 p.m.
Since that time a number of taverns have beem built featuring "garage door" type facades that open entirely to the street, rendering the ordinance "arbitrary and irrational," according to a court document.
Langley wrote a letter to Anna M. Ruzinski, Deputy Inspector of Police on December 12th, 2005 saying, "under the circumstances, we believe it would be appropriate for the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD) to discontinue enforcing this ordinance until our review of this matter is completed."
It is highly unusual for the City Attorney to ask the police to stop enforcing a law while a case is in progress.
This is good news for Daniel Fitzgibbons, the owner of Fitzgibbons Pub, 1127 N. Water Street. Fitgibbons and his longtime bartender, Joan Shafer, were issued citations for having the 42-inch wide door of the tavern open after 10 p.m., even though neighboring taverns, and many others in the city with the "garage door" style facades were allowed to operate with the apertures open. The citation carried a $343 fine, and perhaps even more importantly, a notation in the files of the Milwaukee Police Department Licuense Investigation Unit, run by Sgt. Chet Ulickey.
Fitzgibbons, an old friend of mine, told me about the tickets, and we discussed the obvious unfairness of the law which allowed the garage door taverns to be entirely open to the street, while punishing him and others similarly situated with conventional walls, windows and doors.
I suggested that he bring his case, "City of Milwaukee v. Daniel Fitzgibbons, Milwaukee Municipal Court Case No. 05087040," to Attorney David Halbrooks, a former Milwaukee Assistant City Attorney and former Municipal Judge.
Halbrooks took the case, and filed a challenge to the constitutionality of the ordinance with the Milwaukee Municipal Court.
Then, one weekend evening, after 10 p.m., on a tour of several east side and downtown establishments equipped with the garage-style doors, I videotaped numerous instances of loud noise emanating from the clubs in question.
I went to Fitzgibbons, accompanied by Halbrooks, and showed him the tape.
The tape then made its way to the city attorney's office, where it apparently did its job, judging from Langley's letter.
The case is to come before Hon. James A. Gramling Jr. on January 13th at 1:30 p.m. at which time Asssistant City Attorney Hazel Mosely will move "to dismiss the above stated case, with prejudice based upon prosecutorial discretion."
Mosely then gave the city attorney's office a face-saving (and self-serving) rationale for her motion, saying, "In the interest of justice the City would like time to evaluate the subject ordinance. Dismissing this action is in the public interest and the defendants will not be harmed in any way by such dismissal on the merits."
Even Attorney General Peg A. Lautenschlager, no stranger to taverns, has decided to dodge the case.
In a letter to Milwaukee Municipal Court dated December 19, 2005, Michael R. Bauer, Assistant Attorney General, said "we have decided not to appear in this matter at this time. The attorney general may seek to appear if the issue of the constitutionality of a statute or ordinance is raised on appeal."
The city issued about 45 citations under the law, with some of them, including Fitgibbons' being multiple violations.
Although the law will not likely be prosecuted again, the city will surely be hearing from tavern owners who received tickets seeking to clear their records.

LAWTON FORECLOSURE ACTION EXPLAINED

Dear Reader --

Thanks for visiting Milwaukeeworld, which has been a busy place since the folks at wisopinion.com linked our site to theirs to include the story of Sen. Luther Olsen and his potentially lucrative ethanol connections. If you haven't read that post, just keep scrolling down, after you read this stuff.

Today I note that a foreclosure suit was brought against the Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin and her husband. Of course, it was just a mistake in paperwork that could happen to anybody. You know how sloppy banks and real estate lawyers can be!

Then it is off to the Milwaukee Public Library to see how things are circulating there. If you are a minor who likes to use the library for hanging out in chat rooms, I have some bad news for you. It looks like you'll have to go somewhere else to communicate with your peers -- or, as news reports about child chat rooms might have it -- perverts pretending to be teenagers. Then, since a lot of you like to read about art news, it appears that a Milwaukee art figure is changing his plea to "guilty" in a celebrated case that includes as a figure, the Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Star Power!

Milwaukeeworld also points you in the direction of the Daily Reporter where Sean Ryan broke an as-yet otherwise unreported story about a no-bid $5.2 million contract to tear down the courthouse annex. Scott Walker is on the job, you can be sure.

Thanks for visiting,

Michael Horne

1 414 978-8039

horne@milwaukeeworld.com

LAWTON FORECLOSURE ACTION EXPLAINED

"Mistakes in paperwork" blamed

By Michael Horne

It is not often that a foreclosure action is initiated against the Lieutenant Governor of a state, but then there is Door County Circuit Court Case 2003 CV 00263 , also known as “Chase Manhattan Mortgage Corporation vs. Charles A. Lawton, et al.” for “foreclosure of mortgage.”

The “et al” is Barbara Lawton, the lieutenant governor of Wisconsin and the female wife of Charles A. Lawton, a male.

Under Wisconsin law, a male and a female may contract to do business as “husband and wife,”in a union called "marriage," a status which is denied to same-sex couples.

The Lawtons took advantage of the special privilege the law grants married couples to hold property jointly, and Chase Manhattan sued them.

So, what’s the story? I thought Barbara Lawton and her husband Charles A. Lawton were loaded.

A mortgage foreclosure is usually a rather serious thing – and a long, drawn out process. In the Lawton’s case, the foreclosure case was initiated in November 2003 and dismissed on December 22, 2003. Lightning quick!

According to Ben Nuckels, the campaign manager for Lawton for Lieutenant Governor, “This took place when Lieutenant Governor Lawton and her husband, Cal, were selling their home in Green Bay. There were initial mistakes made in the paperwork that were fixed in progress and the case was dropped.”

Oh, so it wasn’t a foreclosure then ---.

LIBRARY CHAT ROOMS TO BE OFF LIMITS TO MINORS

Calling all juveniles! If you want to visit on line chat rooms where you can talk to adults who are pretending to be fourteen-year olds, you might have to find somewhere other than the Milwaukee Public Library to do your visiting.

According to Kelly Hughbanks, Coordinator of Children’s Services at the Milwaukee Public Library, in a December 15^th 2005 memo to Kathleen M. Huston, City Librarian, “The Milwaukee Public Library currently offers open access to all chat rooms for adults and children. The library is proactive in posting safety tips for children on our web page. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that children will follow our safety tips.”

Among “potential dangers and risks of chat rooms for children,” Hughbanks notes that children “often forget admonitions about revealing personal information” such as name, address, phone number, and photographs. Offensive language and adult conversations may occur in non-monitored chat rooms; sexual solicitation may occur; and the “anonymity of chat rooms has been used by sexual predators to entice or harass children.”

Hughbanks ends her memo by saying, “The Milwaukee Public Library strives to provide a safe and secure learning environment for children. As a safety precaution, we do not allow adults unaccompanied by children in the children’s section of our libraries. Due to the potential dangers to children in chat rooms, it is recommended that we extend the same safety precautions to Internet access and eliminate access to chat rooms for children (under 18) beginning Jan. 3 2006.”

The board of trustees decided to direct this matter to a committee for further discussion.

In other library news, the 2006 budget for books and materials was raised from $1,330,000 to $2,042,452, a healthy 54 per cent increase. Central Library will close at 5:30 p.m. on Thursdays in addition to Fridays and Saturdays, but will remain open until 8:30 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

The heat at all library buildings will be set at 68 degrees to conserve energy.

Overall, the patron count was down 7.27% for all libraries as of November. Central Library drew 545,964 visitors year-to-date as of the end of November, compared with 586,965 the year before.

WALKER GIVES NO-BID CONTRACT TO DEMO COURTHOUSE ANNEX

Sean Ryan in the Daily Reporter wrote a most damning article on December 19^th about County Executive Scott Walker’s decision to award a no-bid $5.2 million contract to demolish the courthouse annex to an Illinois firm.

The decision was made using the emergency authority the County Executive holds, according to the article. The “emergency” seems somewhat manufactured, since calls for demolishing the building have been going on for some time.

LORD COPS PLEA

It appears the criminal case of State vs. Michael H. Lord will end with Lord entering a guilty plea on February 20^th. As has been reported here many times in the past, convicted felon and erstwhile art dealer Lord was most recently charged in Milwaukee County with a charge of theft in a business setting. He pled not guilty, but that is to change, according to court documents.

The theft involved Lord’s failure to compensate a River Hills doctor for the funds Lord received for selling a Matisse drawing. To add sexiness to the story, the drawing was sold by Lord to Allen H. “Bud” Selig, the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, who paid way too much for it anyway. Lord did work-release time for an earlier charge of theft from the estate of a great-aunt, and we’ll see what his prospects are after his sentence is imposed.

Well, for raw, straight-from-the-street outsider art, nothing quite beats the scribblings on the wall of a prison cell, so Lord will probably have something to study in the upcoming months.

There has been some noise that Lord is attempting to set himself up as an art buyer in the Chicago market, but the most recent charges would seem to augur against that.

Furthermore, Bruce Murphy has an article in the January, 2006 Milwaukee Magazine as a follow-up to an article in that magazine I helped research in 2004. I haven’t seen it yet, but it is said to be devastating.

PEG'S FUNDRAISER

Darn! I missed it. While other politicians have cookie exchanges and other innocuous entertainments during the holidays, leave it to our Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager to host a holiday event at the Avenue Bar in Madison, December 19th. Something's got to put the "lager" in Lautenschlager, and it was the Avenue Bar's turn.

--Michael Horne

SENATOR'S BROTHER POISED TO BE BIG ETHANOL WINNER

a milwaukeeworld.com exclusive
(c) 2005 By Michael Horne

The recent talk radio chatter on the impending legislative votes on ethanol has brought the issue to the forefront.

But, lurking in the background behind 2005 Assembly Bill 15 and 2005 Senate Bill 15 is a Wisconsin state senator whose brother is poised to be the biggest winner if the bills pass. If you connect the dots, it looks like the senator, Luther Olsen (R-Ripon), would do pretty well himself.

The bills would require, with certain limited exceptions, "that the minimum specifications for automotive gasoline must require that automotive gasoline contain not less than 9.2 per cent nor more than 10 per cent ethanol."

Seems like a great deal for Paul Olsen, head of an investor group that recently announced plans to purchase the former Ladish Malting plant in Jefferson from Cargill Malt to convert it to an ethanol plant and fish farm. Paul Olsen already operates Utica Energy, LLC, which owns an ethanol plant in Oshkosh, which last week settled an air pollution suit brought by Atty. Gen. Peg Lautenschlager for tens of thousands of dollars.

Paul Olsen is the brother of Luther Olsen. Luther Olsen was cautious not to include his name among the sponsors of the bill. But, behind the scenes, he is all for ethanol, according to sources in the legislature who have spoken, under terms of confidentiality, with milwaukeeworld.

Luther Olsen is a part-owner of a number of large agricultural businesses in Wisconsin including Berlin Feed, Inc., Olsen Leasing, LLC, and Olsen's Mill, Inc., according to his Statement of Economic Interests filed with the State of Wisconsin Ethics Board in 2005 for the year 2004.

He derived more than $1,000 income from Olsen's Mill in 2004, according to the statement, and could stand to gain quite a bit more.

Olsen's Mill is not a small operation. It has a number of facilities, which from the looks of the firm's website www.olsensmillinc.com, are significant structures -- stadium sized structures.

A press release from the firm says, "We have been working to team up corn growers with Utica Energy LLC. Dry mill ethanol plants are looking for corn that adds to their plant's efficiency and profitability. We are proud to offer Processor Preferred High Fermentable Corn Hybrids that can deliver higher levels of fermentable starch to Utica Energy LLC. ...
"Based on your level of support to Utica Energy LLC, and the Fuel Your Profits program, you could be eligible for substantial discounts on an unlimited number of any General Motors E85 flex fuel vehicles."

For example, participating farmers could get $5,050 off the negotiated purchase price of a Chevrolet Silverado, or GMC Sierra.

Now there's an incentive that plays in the heartland!

According to the State of Wisconsin Domestic Corporation Annual Report from the Department of Financial Institutions, which I picked up at the agency's offices on a trip to Madison, the officers of Olsen's Mill, Inc. are Paul E. Olsen, Secretary/Treasurer; David A. Olsen, President, and Luther S. Olsen, Vice-President.

The nature of the business is listed as "Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Fish Culture."

The proposed Ethanol Plant / Tilapia Fish Farm in Jefferson would process 70 million bushels of corn and other grains annually.

Eight million pounds of tilapia fish would be filleted on site, and the byproducts would be used for biodiesel fuel production. Along with other food waste, up to 20 million gallons of fuel would be produced from that source, with the remaining byproduct turned into animal feed -- the kind of product which you'd imagine might be marketed by Berlin Feed, Inc.

Interestingly, and perhaps significantly, the spokesperson for the pro-ethanol forces is Bob Welch, who previously held the Senate seat that now belongs to Luther Olsen, the Ripon Republican.

Interestingly, and perhaps significantly, Olsen serves on the powerful Joint Finance Commitee and the Agriculture and Insurance Committee of the State Senate. Both committees deal with ethanol issues.

Utica Energy, according to its website, was "founded by a group of five investing farmers." I called Sen. Olsen's office to ask if he were one of the investing farmers. His spokesperson said he was not.

Still, his close connection to Utica Energy should be explored. For example, Winnebago County Case Number 2005CV000278 lists Paul Olsen, Olsen's Mill, Inc. and Utica Energy as co-defendants in a suit brought by Christensen and Wisnet. The three defendants share an attorney, John B. Selsing. I got this information from a simple search of the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access website.

Utica Energy also has branded a product called Utica Renew E85, and has created an LLC by that name. The firm has announced plans to open a number of retail outlets for the 105 octane motor fuel that contains a mix of 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent gasoline, but not in any Wisconsin media.

According to the firm, "the corn used by Utica Energy to produce ethanol is purchased from Wisconsin farmers, giving them another market for their product." And, another source of money for the Olsen brothers.

Of course, the seed for the Processor Preferred High Fermentible corn used by Utica Energy could likely be purchased from Olsen Mills. Berlin Feed, Inc. would probably be happy to sell you the byproducts of the Tilapia fish farm operation.

It makes the Ewing Brothers operation in the show "Dallas," look like small potatoes, which can be used to make vodka. (Utica also distills grain for alcoholic beverages under the name of "Utica Gold Distiller").

The connections just never end, and I have not had time to explore all of them, but here's one more. As mentioned above, Luther Olsen serves on the Agriculture and Insurance Commitee of the Senate.

He is also a member of the board of directors of Manitowoc Mutual Insurance Company, which paid him compensation of $600 in the calendar year 2004 -- below the $1,000 threshold for reporting on his ethics statement.

I found this information during my trip to Madison. Manitowoc Mutual purchased an insurance company named Utica Silver Lake Insurance Co. within the last five years.

The responsibility of a director of a corporation is to the corporation. The responsibility of a legislator is to the Public. How Olsen can reconcile his directorship of an insurance company with his position on the committee that oversees insurance companies raises still more questions.

For a republican caucus that is ethically challenged, do the members fully understand the relationships between Sen. Olsen, one of Wisconsin's largest ethanol producers and the insurance company whose board he sits on? Can they sort out all of the LLCs and Inc's that Olsen is involved in also?

This is the same Olsen who has suggested his former colleagues like Brian Burke and Scott Jensen deserve prison time -- not jail time -- for alleged offenses that nobody claims involved personal gain.

Maybe the U.S. Attorney can sort this out, because it's been giving me a hell of a time.

MURPHY SWING VOTE ON RENT-A-COP STUDY

To the members of the Milwaukee Police Association, the idea of having non-sworn officers perform police functions is a very serious matter. The MPA is a union, after all, and unions want to make sure there are plenty of jobs for union members.
Still, the "Milwaukee Police Department, as a vital component of public safety for the city of Milwaukee, receives approximately 98% of the city property tax levy," according to Common Council File 050956, which goes on to say "there exists merit in investigating how alternative positions, sometime called Community Service Staff," may be applied to Milwaukee in order to provide budget relief and to better respond to citizen calls for service."
The file, sponsored by Alds. Hines and Witkowski, then goes on to call for the establishment of a task force to review the use of "Community Service Staff," or as the MPA derisively calls them "Rent-A-Cops."
The file called for the task force to be "comprised of an appointee of the City Attorney, the Milwaukee Police Department, the Fire and Police Commission, the Department of Administration Budget Division, the Office of the Mayor, and two appointees of the Common Council President," who would also get to choose the chairman.
This seems like a diverse group of individuals, all involved in the issue at hand, but if you notice, the "Police Department" representative would almost certainly have come from management, and not from the rank and file.
Well, that troubled the MPA, and a last-mminute amendment was offered by Ald. Zielinski during the Common Council meeting Tuesday morning, December 13th to add a member of the police union to the task force.
That amendment passed on a narrow 8-7 vote, with Ald. Michael Murphy, who does not always vote pro-MPA, casting the vote in the union's favor.
The council then voted 15-0 to conduct the study and to create the task force, giving it a four-month period of time to do its job. -- Michael Horne

POLICE UNION CHRISTMAS PARTY
The Milwaukee Police Association held its annual Christmas holiday party at Serb Hall, Tuesday, December 13th at American Serb Hall Banquet and Conference Center. The party commenced at eight o'clock --A. M., of course, so as to accommodate the early morning socialization requirements of the third shift cops just getting off of work. Milwaukeeworld showed up there around noon, and the parking lot was crowded, as was Serb Hall itself.
A Miller Brewing Company delivery truck waited outside the restaurant's service entrance. The total volume of beer contained within it at the beginning of the day is unknown to this writer. By the end of the evening, however, there would be no question that the trailer would have become considerably lighter than when it rolled into the parking lot in the morning.
Inside, the place was crowded with active and retired union members. The food included the famous Serb Hall fish fry, fried chicken, shrimp salad, mashed potatoes, vegetables here and there, and a variety of cakes.
One poor sucker ordered a beer and a Shirley Temple. "That's two bucks," the bartender declared.
"What the hell, I thought the beer was free!," said the incredulous one.
"Beer's free, but your soft drinks cost you two bucks!"
God love Milwaukee.
Union Chief John Balcerzak proved that he looks as good in an apron as he does in a suit, as he dished out food for his brothers and sisters. The police ranged from uniformed members to undercover officers, leavened with the retired guys. I wouldn't mess with any of them.
But the police were hardly a presence, by percentage of the population at large as were the judges at the event.
A good quarter of the Milwaukee County judiciary was present at the event, and most of the judges were dashing around the room collecting signatures for their nomination papers, some more insistently than others.
You could have called in a bomb scare to the courthouse at the time, and it would not have rated as a particularly high alarm, since so much of the judiciary was at Serb Hall.
Among the Honorables present (in no particular order): Judges Sosnay, Moroney, Wagner, J. DiMotto (keep you guessing there), Brennan, Noonan, Yamahiro, Martens, Konkol, Brash and Kuhnmuench.
Among the City's constitutional officers, the police were honored by the presence of Treasurer Wayne Whittow, City Attorney Grant Langley and Comptroller W. Martin "Wally" Morics, C.P.A., who arrived at the event in a red two-seater BMW.
Yes, you heard it right -- the man who manages our money drives a red German-made sports car to work!
"But only if the weather is nice," W. Martin said, adding that his automobile drives poorly in the snow, and that he walks to work on stormy days. His more reasonable vehicle, he explained, is under the control and operation of his wife who uses it to commute to Cedarburg where she teaches school after having retired from being a school teacher. (A much more common phenomenon than you'd imagine. Them teachers never give up.)
Aldermen Bohl, Dudzik and Bauman attended the event, as did Ald. Puente, a former police officer himself who had spoken out and voted earlier in the day against adding a police union representative to the task force to study the creation of a Community Service Staff within the department. -- Michael Horne

MORE INTERESTING NEWS
Ald Robert Bauman says he has succeeded in gaining a number of supporters for his proposed Canal Street Connector study. As he told Milwaukeeworld months ago, Canal street, now under reconstruction, for a century had rail lines running up and down the middle of it. He was furious that the street was being reconstructed without including a rail option as part of the construction process.
The man wants a street car to run along Canal street, and he has remained vigilant at his task. He says the Canal Connector has the support of the Milwaukee Brewers, Harley Davidson, the Potawatomi Casino, the Menomonee Valley Partners, State Fair and Marty Greenberg.
Now what would Marty Greenberg have to do with putting a rail line down the center of Canal street? Do you think we might see a soccer stadium in the shadow of Miller Park, since a rail line would render so much of Miller Park's parlking lots redundant, thus freeing up space?
Well, anyway, that's the thought that came to my mind.
--Michael Horne

GRANT TARGETS POLICE BAIT CAR

Dear Reader,
Thanks for visiting Milwaukeeworld. In today's posting, we look at all of the wonderful ways the city freely spends money on law enforcement -- especially when somebody else is buying. We learn about the "bait car" that could be parked in your neighborhood, maybe even with the ignition keys in it. Hint -- do not steal this vehicle. Then it is off to the Harbor of Milwaukee, where the Department of Homeland Security is about to present us with a boat, diving gear, and a fancy Ford truck. Finally, the city will also buy some equipment to help bust you a lot faster, once they catch you.

So, behave yourselves!
Best wishes,
Michael Horne

Editor / Publisher

horne@milwaukeeworld.com

1 414 978 8039


Who Do You Know Wants to Steal a Used 2000 Honda?
The Target Corporation has set its sights on the City of Milwaukee to increase the effectiveness of the Milwaukee Police Department's "Bait Car."
Target will donate "$1,200 to enhance the capabilities of the Bait Car program. ... Enhancements to be purchased with this money include GPS tracking, remote-operated alarms and a remote-controlled locking mechanism to detain a suspect," according to Common Council File #050988.
Bait cars usually include as standard features a camera and a remote engine shut-off system. The Target funds will really help us pimp this ride.
The bait car -- and who wouldn't be tempted by a 2000 Honda Accord? -- was itself a donation this summer from State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company "in order to assist in apprehending auto theft suspects."
Common Council File #050152 was authorized in May, 2005. It does not indicate the value of the automobile, but other sources show that the Honda Accord is among the most popular cars for thieves. Imagine that!
About the best suggestion I can give to would-be car thieves in Milwaukee would be to not steal cars.
But, if you go out and steal a 2000 Honda Accord, don't expect any sympathy from milwaukeeworld, since you have been warned. -- Michael Horne
P.S -- I have since discovered a website called www.baitcar.com that includes many videos of people getting busted in bait cars and bait trucks.

MILWAUKEE'S THRIVING PORT GETS ANOTHER BOAT!
The Department of Homeland Security wants to make sure the Port of Milwaukee is secure from impending attacks by sea, and has offered a grant to the city in the amount of $397,422 to purchase a patrol boat to ensure the safety of Milwaukee's maritime commerce, which includes such vital commodities as road salt, cement, coal, scrap iron and imported ballast water.
The patrol boat itself will cost $207,549, and it will be equipped with enough "individual diver equipment" to outfit 20 divers at a cost of $6,597 apiece, for a total of $131,940. That money will be used to purchase "dry suits, face masks, regulators, air tanks and pony bottles, dive computers and fins."
Another $24,333 will be granted to the city for miscellaneous extra Dive Team equipment, including underwater video and digital cameras, a laptop dive computer for when you simply must check your emails when submerged, alsong with lengths of rope and other maritime apparatus.
Homeland Security is also providing a "Harbor/Dive Specialty Vehicle" -- a 2005 White Ford Excursion pimped out with "two package, graphics, light bar, light bar (sic) siren control, siren speaker, gun rack and lock." -- Michael Horne

TIRED OF WAITING TO GET ARRESTED?
RapID CAN HELP
Are you tired of being handcuffed in the back of a squad car while the Milwaukee Police Department takes forever to positively identify you?
RapID could be just the solution you are waiting for. It will only cost $4,172 apiece to equip 93 patrol units with the devices, which will be paid for by the U.S. Department of Justice as part of the City of Milwaukee's 2005 COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) Technology Grant.
The $493,322 grant, which will not require city funds, "is to reduce crime and increase officer efficiency by providing funding to purchase mobile field identification units that will allow for the quick field identification of those individuals suspected of engaging in criminal activity," according to the terms of Common Council file #050995, scheduled to be voted on by the entire Common Council on Tuesday, December 13th. Each RapID unit comes with batteries ($118.75), battery chargers (80 of them, at $300 apiece) and RapID satchels ($149.00). One hundred fifty bucks seems like a lot for a satchel, and I doubt there's a cop on the force who's paid that much for a purse for his wife, or himself, unless Chief Hegerty has some Louis Vuitton obsession she's been hiding from us.-- Michael Horne

GUV THROWS HAT IN RING

Dear Reader:
Welcome back to Milwaukeeworld, where we spent a couple of hours last night with the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor at an event where they ended months of suspense -- they are running for reelection!
We also hear about a grassroots effort to license midwives in Wisconsin, and hear from a woman who is volunteering to advance her cause, AB 709.
And the Brewers Chick, Tamra Reynolds is back at you with her analysis of the Brewers' trades during the winter meetings this week.
Enjoy the visit, please feel to comment on any item here, and let us hear from you.
Michael Horne
Editor / Publisher
www.milwaukeeworld.com
horne@milwaukeeworld.com

DOYLE-LAWTON TEAM TO RUN AGAIN

Imagine a made-for television event -- without the cameras. That's what you would have experienced Thursday evening, December 8th at Turner Hall where Governor Jim Doyle and Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton announced their candidacy for reelection.
The Governor and the Lieutenant Governor arrived separately, with Ms. Lawton arriving first. She cooled her heels in a back room in the restaurant awaiting the snow-delayed governor's arrival. To have done otherwise and to have appeared first before the adoring crowd of 170 that nearly filled the Turnverein to two-thirds capacity would have violated protocol.
Fortunately, once the Great Man arrived, Lawton got to speak first, which was fine, since the woman is not only attractive and personable, she is also a soundbite factory.
She was dressed in a knee-length black leather skirt, and her trim, long legs were covered with black stockings. She wore black suede shoes and a casual turtleneck sweater beneath an unbuttoned tweed jacket. The woman can dress, and she is naturally photogenic. The only professional photographer on hand to capture her image was the omnipresent Harry Kemp.
She began her speech in Spanish, making a tribute to the Hispanic residents of Wisconsin, with particular emphasis on those who will vote eleven months from now.
Then she let it rip, in English. She referred to "the right-wing extremists in the legislature. ... Working with the legislature is like watching Groundhog Day over, and over again."
She called the proposals for voter ID "nostalgia for the poll tax," and said the republican-controlled legislature, with its God, guns and gays agenda would "send the LGBT community back to the closet and women back to the kitchen."
Her remarks were heard by an enthusiastic crowd that included such worthies as Reps. Fred Kessler, Jon Richards and Josh Zepnick, County Supervisors James White and Marina Dimitrijevic, Chris Ahmuty of the ACLU, Carol Hale, David Riemer, Charlie Dee, gay police commissioner and real estate magnate Leonard Sobczak, Felmers Chaney, Common Council President Willie Hines and the legendary Vel Phillips.
She was introduced to the crowd by Sheila Cochran, the Secretary-Treasurer of the Milwaukee County Labor Council, who did her best to get the crowd excited about Jim Doyle. Of course, that is about as difficult as finding a union job for each and every citizen in the county, but she did her best.
Governor Doyle stood on the sidelines while Lawton spoke. The governor was dressed in a grey suit with a powder blue button down collared shirt and a tie that was a compromise color somewhere between grey and powder blue.
A buttoned-down collared shirt on a Governor! (Button down shirts are only for sportwear.)
The governor spoke without notes, which is to say that he spoke as if he were addressing the Supreme Court.
He makes his arguments logically, slowly, and repeatedly, following a template of Topic, Example, Example, Example, Topic, Example, Example, Example, etc., etc., etc.
The topic this evening was Values, and how the Democrats have got them and the Republicans, despite what they say, ain't got 'em.
Democrats, the governor told the crowd, value (that's the topic) "the natural environment, people of varying backgrounds, religious organizations, and things that bring us together" (those are the examples).
Demopcrats, he said, "don't value what we've seen happen the last couple of weeks" when the republican-controlled legislature came up with all sorts of whacked bills about guns, gays and God, which I capitalize, in this context, only out of respect.
"I will be busy making sure we are not all walking around with loaded guns in our pockets," he said to the assembled multitude.
"I'll take care of those issues -- veto, veto, veto, veto."
You could hardly call Doyle a gay activist, but he leveled with the crowd and said, "We don't need a constitutional amendment to change the law. The law says marriage is between a man and a woman."
"Amending the constitution (to forbid gay marriage) has nothing to do with changing the law. It has everything to do with changing Wisconsin where we welcome people to a state that discriminates."
(Actually, amending the constitution has everything to do with turning out highly-motivated Republicans to vote against Doyle in the 2006 election.)
"I've seen too often what happens to such states" (Example, example, example). "A state that turns in that direction will not be healthy long. (Example, example, example.)
"Are we focused on issues that divide us? Our culture is to work on things that bring us together.
"I have some republican friends," the Governor said, to the crowd's collective gasp.
"Republicans once were pro business, low tax, and believed in keeping the government out of my life.
"Remember those republicans?" he asked.
"Well, half the stuff they do is putting themselves right in the middle of your business."
Former Rep. Shirley Krug said she remembered those days when Republicans and Democrats could battle it out during the day, and go out and get loaded together at night. [For excellent examples, read Bill Christofferson's "The Man from Clear Lake: Senator Gaylord Nelson.]
Krug said that by the end of her tenure, republican leaders would call staff members on the carpet if they had had the temerity to socialize with their democrat counterparts after work.
In other chatter at the event, a number of people mentioned to Chris Ahmuty that the ACLU has its work cut out for it.
I said I was shocked that Sen. Alberta Darling joined every other republican in voting for an anti-gay marriage amendment. What does Alberta have to fear? I haven't heard any fiery sermons against gay marriage thundering from River Hills pulpits of St. Country Club -- er, St. Christopher's Episcopal Church, Congregation Emanue-El B'Ne Jeshrun or Hill Point Congregational Church. (Probably to the contrary.)
But, according to Ahmuty, the Deaconess of Dean Road has bought into the Christian Right philosophy that has so corrupted her party. He said he had seen her on a television interview saying that many of her constituents feel quite passionately about the issue.
Julilly Kohler sees the issue as sexist as well as homophobic, saying the republican men are bullying the republican women in the legislature to follow their will.
She has a point, if you remember what happened to Mary Panzer. -- Michael Horne

MIDWIFE ON A MISSION
Katie Prown Pushes for Midwife Licensure
By Michael Horne

Rep. Josh Zepnick, a democrat from Milwaukee, had never heard of 2005 Assembly Bill 709 until he ran into Katie Prown, PhD., a woman from Fox Point on a grassroots mission to pass an act permitting licensing of midwives who are not licensed nurses. Currently, there is a Nurse-Midwife license provision in state law.
She told Zepnick about the bill when she encountered him at Historic Turner Hall during the governor's re-election announcement December 8th.
Prown was folowing her first rule of grassroots lobbying: meet the legislator in person. (She also advises sending letters, placing telephone calls and dashing off e-mails, in that order).
According to Prown, who has given birth to three children with the assistance of a midwife, the demand for non-hospital birthing options is increasing for a number of reasons, including culture (Amish, Hmong), economic status (under- or uninsured), geography (rural), and immigrant status (undocumented.)
In some cases, there may be a combination of these factors involving a woman about to give birth.
She has gathered broad bipartisan support for AB709, introduced by "Representatives Underheim, Lamb, Hahn, Hines, Townsend, Musser, Pope-Roberts, Pettis, Owens, Molepske, Seidel, Montgomery and Young, cosponsored by Senators Grothman, Darling, Lassa Reynolds, Coggs, Erpenbach and Olsen."
It was referred to the committee on health, where it passed with only one opposing vote, that from Rep. Leah Vukmir, a nurse - legislator.
The bill would permit the Department of Regulation and Licensing to grant a license "only to an applicant who holds a valid certified professional midwife credential from the North American Registry of Midwives," or a certified nurse-midwife.
She sent me the following note this morning, along with some facts that I will post next week.
I should note that Katie Prown is the wife of Jonathan Prown, the distinguished scholar who is the Executive Director of the Chipstone Foundation. I give the Chipstone Board of Directors a lot of hell in this column, but I have the greatest respect for the work that both Prowns do in their respective fields despite the obstacles they must face. -- Michael Horne

I know I promised to send you information about AB 709, the midwife licensing bill I’m working on this session. And then I saw this morning that your most recent posts have been related to healthcare costs, so I thought it might be timely. I do think one of the reasons why this bill has earned such broad bipartisan support is because it’s a piece of healthcare legislation that actually promotes solutions to a number of problems facing residents of the state, particularly for the low-income, uninsured, rural and immigrant populations that make up a large percentage of the clientele that midwives currently serve and will be able to expand their service to once this bill becomes law. I know that’s one reason why Julilly is such an enthusiastic supporter, but she also sees the bill’s potential for promoting the Lt. Governor’s economic agenda for women, by expanding educational opportunities for women in communities that could benefit from greater access to out-of-hospital midwifery care.

Just a little background—the bill passed out of the Assembly Committee on Health with a solid bipartisan majority and a single no vote, from Leah Vukmir (R, 14th District) but all of the other healthcare professionals on the committee voted yes. Our sponsors in the Assembly and the Senate are Republicans (Underheim and Grothman) but we have a strong bipartisan coalition of co-sponsors and supporters, who have been impressed by the hundreds of calls and visits from constituents in every district who support our bill. Not surprisingly we also have considerable support from physicians, nurse midwives, nurses, public health officials, and other healthcare professionals, many of whom submitted written testimony on behalf of our bill, and none of the organizations that have registered a position on AB 709 oppose it. Everyone who’s been working to get this bill passed is a volunteer, and we’re backed by a statewide grassroots network, so it’s been an encouraging example of how government can still work for average citizens who have no powerful lobbies or financial interests behind them.

That’s some of the political background on AB 709—right now we’re hoping to get it scheduled for a floor vote in the Assembly and for a Senate hearing in the health committee there (we have a companion bill in the Senate). If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me—I’m also attaching a FAQ sheet that explains the basics of the bill and what it would do.

Take good care,

Katie Prown Legislative Chair Wisconsin Guild of Midwives

BREWERS CHICK By Tamra Reynolds

Well Brewer fans, as you probably know by now, there will be no "O" at Miller Park next season. Fan favorite Lyle Overbay was traded to Toronto late Wednesday night in a deal that brought us two pitchers and an outfielder, Dave Bush, Zach Jackson and Gabe Gross.

The winter meetings are officially over, and although the Brewers conducted only two transactions (Overbay to Toronto, and Obermueller to Atlanta), positive repercussions will hopefully be felt in our pitching rotation for some time to come. We've gained possibly a 5^th starter, potential set-up men for superstar Derrick Turnbow, and we still have money available should another deal come our way. All in all, it seems like the winter meetings were successful for the Brew Crew.

From what I've read, Gross can play all positions in the outfield, and will most likely be used off the bench. I think it's really exciting to have another left-handed batter in our lineup, as well as adding some depth to our bullpen with the addition of Bush and Kolb, assuming the money can be worked out, but I'm still very sad to see Lyle go.

True, his offensive production wasn't as great this past season as it was in 2003-2004, but his defensive skills are top notch. And while we saw Prince Fielder come off the bench and deliver clutch hits as a pinch hitter, I'm a bit nervous about him as our sole first baseman.

Our infield next season is very young, with Bill Hall as the most senior of the three at the ripe old age of 25 (26 this month). This is why I wanted to keep Overbay, at least for a while. When I think back to last season and how many games we lost by one run, and Rickie Weeks' whopping 21 errors in 95 games at second base, I have to wonder if our record couldn't have been enormously better with someone more experienced at second. How many of those one-run losses could have been wins if not for Weeks' rookie errors? This is something I don't want to see happen again this season at first base. I do have to give Rickie props, though, for that amazing no-look, behind the back toss to J.J. Hardy, who was right there to cover second base.

The negative rookie effect was in no way evident on Hardy. Granted, he started off slow at the plate at the beginning of the season, but somewhere around mid-season someone lit a fire under this kid's bat, and he took off, not to mention the fact that he committed only 10 errors in 119 games played at shortstop. In my opinion, this guy has nowhere to go but up. He's got a rocket arm, with dead on precision, and he's quick; not much got past him last season. His plate discipline is just tremendous, as evidenced by the fact that he struck out only 48 times in 372 at bats, and he will only continue to improve.

So all in all, it seems like the Brewers are in a pretty solid position right now, even thought Fielder still has to prove himself at first. The Brewers might not be playoff ready next season, but give 'em a year or two and they'll be no stopping those guys. 115 days to go!

BIG BUCKS FOR MED SCHOOL DOCS

Dear Reader:
Thanks for dropping in on planet milwaukeeworld, where we have been busy poring through financial documents. Our focus this week is on Health Care -- that wonderful and marvelously expensive thing that keeps us (and much of our economy) alive.
We take a look at the leading breadwinners at a couple of our local health care companies, and also examine the money spent by the Medical College of Wisconsin in the purchase of goods and services from its trustees and their firms. Everything is on the up-and-up, and no improprieties are alleged.
But it is always fun to see the way this city works, and it is also fun to look into other people's pay envelopes, which we do here with the help of public documents and an otherwise slow news day.
Later on this evening I am off to Historic Turner Hall to catch the Governor's announcement of his candidacy for reelection. Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton will also be there, so it will be a rare opportunity to see the two together, although not quite as rare or quite the opportunity of seeing Gov. Tommy Thompson and Lt. Gov. Scott McCallum together. Now that was priceless! I'll tell you about the gig tomorrow.
Thanks for stopping by,
Michael Horne
horne@milwaukeeworld.com
1 414 978-8039


MCOW A CASH COW
By Michael Horne

Wouldn't you be happy with a $100,000 paycheck -- every month? The Medical College of Wisconsin sent that much to Dennis J. Maiman, MD, PHD, the professor of neurosurgery and physician for 40 weekly hours of work in 2003. Maiman was paid $1,394,951 in compensation from the city's only medical college. Close on his heels was John G. Thometz, MD who was paid $1,162,601 for his forty hours weekly as Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Physician. Wade M. Mueller MD, a Professor of Neurosurgery and Physician, was the third-highest paid staffer, pulling in $1,112,222 in 2003. Fourth and fifth place honors went respectively to James S. Tweddell, MD, Professor and Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, and Physician, who earned $851,463 and Gregory J. Schmeling, MD, a mere Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery and Physician who was only able to scrape together a $763,154 paycheck for the year.
In all, the Medical College of Wisconsin had a total of $1,429 employees who were paid more than $50,000 for their services in 2003, the most recent year for which results are available.
MCOW also paid Quarles and Brady $464,685 for legal services that year.
John W. Daniels, Jr., the Secretary and trustee of MCOW, is a partner in Quarles and Brady.
In fact, the Medical College did quite a bit of business with its trustees, which is perhaps inevitable in a small town like Milwaukee, where there is usually zero degrees of separation between any two, three or more individuals or organizations.
MCOW paid $1,325 for vehicle maintenance to the Bergstrom Corporation. John F. Bergstrom is the Chairman and trustee of MCOW.
If you're a hospital, you've got to keep the lights on, so MCOW paid Wisconsin Energy Corporation $2,750,421 for energy services for fiscal year 2003, which ended June 30, 2004. Richard Abdoo, the Immediate Past Chairman and trustee of MCOW served as Chair, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wisconsin Energy Corporation for a portion of that year.
MCOW bought hotel rooms and banquet services from the American Club in the amount of $30,127. Natalie A. Black, a trustee, is the Senior Vice President of the Kohler Corporation, which owns the American Club.
It doesn't look like MCOW is big on air travel and chocolate cookies, since it only paid $400 for air tickets from Midwest Airlines. Trustee Tim Hoeksema is the head of the Milwaukee-based airline.
It was "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" for MCOW -- the school / hospital bought $27,345 of baseball tickets from the Milwaukee Brewers back when Ulice Payne, a trustee, served as President and CEO of the Brewers.
MCOW bought newspaper subscriptions and advertising from Journal Communications, Inc. in the amount of $14,739. Trustee Steven J. Smith runs that company.
MCOW paid $138,990 for investment management and broker services from Robert W. Baird & Co. and Baird Advisors. Trustee G. Frederick Kasten, Jr. is the Chair of R.W. Baird, and trustee Mary Ellen Stanek is the Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Baird Advisors.
Trustee Jon McGlocklin is the president of a firm called Healy Awards, Inc. which was paid $875 for the purchase of award and commemorative plaques.
MCOW purchased excess life and disability insurance from Northwestern Mutual in the amount of $522,314. Donald J. Schuenke, retired Chair of NML and Edward J. Zore, the current President and CEO of NML are both trustees.

All the contracts for goods and services "were negotiated by management on an arms-length, fair market value basis," according to the hospital's financial statements.
"Arms Length," as defined in Milwaukee, is the distance it takes to scratch your buddy's back.
The trustees of MCOW do not receive compensation for their services.

COLUMBIA ST MARY'S HEAD NETS $659,524

Tax documents show that Leo Brideau of Mequon, the President and CEO of Columbia St. Mary's Inc. received compensation of $659,524 for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2003. Second place at the hospital corporation went to Therese Pandl of Bayside, who pulled in $336,108 for her work as Executive Vice President - Hospital Operations. Charles Dreher, the VP and Chief Financial Officer received $306,510 for his work. -- Michael Horne

AURORA FUNDRAISER A LOSS

It appears that the Aurora Health Care Futures Golf Classic held on May 30 - June 2, 2003 was not a good revenue producer for the health care firm. The Futures tour is considered the path to the LPGA. The event was heald at the Ironwood Golf Club in Sussex to benefit the Healing Center for victims of sexual abuse and Aurora Sports Medicine. It brought in gross receipts of $154,547 and had direct expenses of $177,616 for a net loss of $23,069. Oh well, you can't win them all!
One winner at Aurora was Broydrick Associates which received $369,681 and Lynne Broydrick Group, which was paid $117,935 for services that, under Federal law are not considered "lobbying" but which may (or may not) be construed as "lobbying" under the laws of the State of Wisconsin. Aurora listed the payments anyway, just to be safe.
-- Michael Horne

END OF THE ROAD

Last Stop for the Milwaukee Road's Investment in Milwaukee
By Michael Horne

It is the end of the Milwaukee road for CMC Heartland Partners, the successor to the former Milwaukee Road, founded in this city in 1847. The Chicago-based firm sold its last 20 acres of Milwaukee-area real estate to GM Properties, a local firm which will market the Glendale space as Glendale Partners L.L.C.
Principals Brian Monroe and Nancy Neumann purchased the vacant land along the Milwaukee border for $650,000 last month.
The land had sat idle for over two decades since the tracks were removed from what was once known as "the Glendale Yards." It is in the industrial south of the City of Glendale, essentially landlocked between N. Port Washington Rd. and N. Green Bay Ave. , north of W. Capitol Drive. Travellers on I-43 can recognize the site using the Maglio Produce warehouse and East Lake Tower as references.
The site will be cleaned up, and new industrial buildings totalling 250,000 to 300,000 square feet will be erected on the site, the new owners say. The new construction could add over $20 million value to the City of Glendale tax rolls and generate $500,000 annually in new city taxes.
The Milwaukee Road was chartered as the Milwaukee and Waukesha Rail Road by Byron Kilbourn in 1847. Kilbourn had earlier envisioned a canal to carry farm products from the interior (Waukesha) to the port of Milwaukee.
But the dawn of railroad transport dashed the economic potential of the canal, which never was used for transport, since it only ran a few blocks downstream from the Milwaukee River dam. By the 1880's it was filled in and is now N. Commerce Street.
By 1850, the first five miles of the railroad were opened for a test run. By that time the railroad had been re-christened the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad, evidencing Kilbourn's ambitious plans. The road made its first commercial run to Waukesha on February 25, 1851 to great fanfare, with Edward D. Holton as superintendent.
The Milwaukee Road went on to become one of the nation's premier railroads, reaching Madison in 1854, and Prairie du Chien by 1857; like many of its counterparts, it went into and out of bankruptcy with some degree of regularity, finally coming into the hands of the CMC Heartland Partners in the 1980's.
The partners sold off the rolling stock, and, gradually, its tens of thousands of acres of real estate, situated largely in the west and northwest.
In Milwaukee it sold and/or swapped many acres in the Menomonee Valley, where the firm once employed thousands in its shops. CMC also sold land it owned known as the Humboldt Yards at what is now the Jewel Osco at N. Humboldt and E. North avenues in Milwaukee.
Finally, last month, it sold its last property in the area, the Glendale parcel mentioned above. It is expected that the property, west of N. Port Washington Rd. will be redeveloped much along the lines of the property in southern Glendale east of N. Port Washington Rd., which as recently as a decade ago was a desolate wasteland, and is now a teeming industrial area.
CMC Heartland Partners itself is in the process of winding down its operations. On Monday, December 5th, 2005 it elevated Charles J. Harrison, 48, to the position of Senior Vice President. Harrison, who had joined the company in 1990, worked in a variety of positions with the firm. During his tenure, the railroad's land investments went from 13,000 acres to about 140 acres today. Harrison reports to Lawrence S. Adelson, Chief Executive Officer.

UNIVERSITY SCHOOL'S BIG ENDOWMENT

The University School of Milwaukee Endowment Fund had net assets of $44,610,777 as of June 30, 2004, not bad for a school with 1,048 students enrolled from Pre-kindergarten to 12th grade.
The foundation had assets of $39,311,398 the year before, and spent $1,728,950 in program services in the tax year that ran from July 1, 2003 to June 20, 2004, the most recent figures available. The program services went to support educational activities at the private school, including over $1,000,000 in scholarships to the 25 per cent of students there who receive financial aid.
Students at the private academy come from as far north as Kohler and as far south as South Milwaukee. Thirty-eight percent of the students come from the City of Mequon, just across W. County Line Road from the school's northernmost border. The school is so special that it even runs its own day care facility for children of its employees, and operates its own busses. Believe it or not, it does not have a swimming pool.
The school itself operated on a budget of about $20,000,000 last year and received donations, independent of the endowment fund's contribution, in the amount of $3,349,994 for the year.
The school paid its headmaster, Ward Ghory $198,000 for his services in fiscal year 2003, along with an additional $41,897 in benefits, which apparently do not include the use of the headmaster's mansion on County Line Road. In all, seventy employees of the school were paid more than $50,000 for that year, including Upper School master Roseann Lyons ($91,930) and Middle School master Gregg Bach ($83,530).
The only independent contractor paid more than $50,000 by the school that year was Uihlein Wilson Architects of Milwaukee, which received $324,389 for architectural services.
Lest you think Uihlein Wilson principal David Vogel Uihlein, Jr. is enriching himself by his association with the school, it should be noted that the David and Julia Uihlein Charitable Foundation donated $1,030,000 to the school that year.
This makes University School one of the few institutions of any sort to ever have profited by association with an architect.
Dave's dad, David V. Uihlein, Sr. has a foundation of his own (you can hardly be an Uihlein without a foundation). It is called the David Uihlein Racing Museum Foundation, and it had over $7,000,000 in assets in calendar year 2004. Of those assets, nearly $3,000,000 were in automobiles parked up in the old Turn Hall in Cedarburg. Those 10 vehicles include a 1914 Mercer T-45 Raceabout valued at $375,000; a 1923 Miller Single-seat race car valued at $260,286; a 1937 Thorne Sparks Big 6 race car valued at $206,936, a 1973 Maserati Bora worth a piddling $35,000, the same as a 1932 Dreyer Miller race car, also in the collection. You could put all these together and they are not worth the value of the collection's gem, an Alfa Romeo P3 Tipo B, valued at $1,854,671.
Uihlein, Sr. has a mechanical bent, and he has worked on these cars for decades. His personal preference for a day-to-day motor car is an overworked station wagon filled with tools and assorted ephemera. -- Michael Horne

MORE INTERESTING NEWS
The Miller Brewing Co. Foundation, Inc. has been established. ... Michael McGee has incorporated the Local Organizing Committee LLC at 621 E. Burleigh St.

LAWYER GODFREY CHARGED IN DISCRIMINATION CASE

Dear Reader:
Welcome back to Milwaukeeworld, where things are cooling off quite rapidly, and where the dusting of snow is sticking to roof and roadway.
This week we note that a prominent Milwaukee attorney has been named in a Fair Housing Act violation -- for the second time. It's probably the price one pays as the co-trustee of a wealthy family's trust, but you'd think he could have given his partner some better advice. This case could be a dud for Godfrey.
We take a visit to a fundraiser for a Milwaukee alderman who will not have to list "beer expenditure" on his campaign finance statement, and then it is off to Miller Park to scope out the Brewers new uniforms and to sample Milwaukee Brewer hospitality post-Selig style.
Finally, we introduce you to Tamra Reynolds, a Louisiana transplant to Milwaukee who is absolutely passionate about the Milwaukee Brewers. She knows the stats, the scoops and the players, and will be writing to you regularly in this space as the Brewers Chick.

We also have another musing from our Madison correspondent, Paul Snyder, whose interview with Studs Terkel is in this month's Vital magazine.
So, go ahead and read this posting, and please get in touch with milwaukeeworld. There is a button somewhere over on this site where you can subscribe, so do that, too.
Thanks for visiting,
Michael Horne
Editor / Publisher
horne@milwaukeeworld.com
1 414 978-8039

PROMINENT LAWYER NAMED IN FAIR HOUSING ACT VIOLATION

By Michael Horne

Dudley Godfrey Jr., a partner in and co-founder of the large Milwaukee law firm of Godfrey & Kahn has been charged by the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development with a violation of the Fair Housing Act, his second since 1992.

Godfrey was named as a respondent along with Robert Perlick as co-trustees of the Walter Perlick Family Trust which owns a 15-unit apartment building at 4215 W. Martin Drive in Milwaukee.

The pair were charged with discriminating against families with children, according to the HUD charges filed in August, 2005.

Perlick and Godfrey also faced the same charge in 1992, and signed a consent order requiring them and the managers of the complex “to issue a statement notifying all employees and agents that they could not limit the occupancy of their rental properties to occupancy by single adults.”

In the current case, Milwaukee resident Sharon Spears responded to an advertisement in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in October, 2003 for the apartment listed as being in a “quiet neighborhood. 1 and 2 BR, Heat, appl. And A/C.”

When Spears said she had one child she was told, “no kids.”

She then called her mother, Katherine Spears, who then called the rental company and was told, “I’m sorry, we don’t rent to children … I’m only doing what I was told.” The rental agents are Tony Russell and his wife Patricia Russell. According to the complaint, they operated under the direct instructions of Robert Perlick.

Spears then contacted the Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council, which conducted multiple tests confirming that the Godfrey-Perlick group was not renting to families with children at the property.

“Obviously Mr. Perlick’s memory, and that of his staff, is shorter than ours,” said Floyd May, the General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. According to his statements in a HUD press release dated August 4, 2005, “There is no double jeopardy where the Fair Housing Act is concerned. If you continue discriminating, we will continue to enforce the law. No landlord can dictate where someone lives simply on the basis of familial status.”

The complaint has been referred to the Department of Justice.

Godfrey has been involved with such community groups as the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Medical College of Wisconsin, The Cudahy Fund and the ultra-secretive Chipstone Foundation, which paid him $3,000 to attend 10 committee meetings last year.

Godfrey did not respond to multiple emails and a telephone call to his office for a response.

The case has been referred to the United States Department of Justice.

Super Bohl
Alderman Raises Cash at Bash

Ald. Jim Bohl held a fundraiser November 30^th at Gus’ Mexican Cantina, 733 N. Van Buren Street, bringing a number of local politicos out on a not-very pleasant evening. District Attorney E. Michael McCann popped in for a few brief moments, but his departure has never negatively impacted the fun element of any gathering, so the party went on.

Among those in attendance were Bill Ward who says he will begin lobbying for the Milwaukee Police Association in January, after the mandatory 12-month break between his employment with the city and assumption of his new duties, which will be pretty much the same as his old duties. Retired MPA chief Brad DeBraska was at the event with his successor, John Balcerzak. Greg Gracz was there on behalf of the Milwaukee Fire Department union members.

Other faces in the crowd included H. Carl Mueller, Atty. Mike Guerin, Atty. Frank Gimbel and Atty. Vince Bobot, who is going to run for Milwaukee County Sheriff.

Leslie West of the Rave was there along with her husband Joe Balistreri, occupying a table with Shank Hall owner Peter Jest.

J.D. Watts was there, advancing his run for judge. Aldermen Robert Puente and Tony Zielinski joined their colleague Bohl. Former Acting Governor Marty Schreiber also showed up at the event, as he does for all events.

Owner Gus Hoseini tended the cash bar (no free beer from Bohl) and provided a steamtable full of Mexican food gratis for the enjoyment of the guests. -- Michael Horne

Winter Warmup at Miller Park

The Milwaukee Brewers held a "Winter Warmup" at Miller Park on Thursday, December 1st, and about 300 invited guests were treated to a fashion show of current and former players promenading the new retro uniforms the Brewers will use during the 13 Sunday afternoon games scheduled for home field in the 2006 season. [See the accompanying column by the Brewers Chick, Tamra Reynolds, for more information -- Ed.]
Jerry Boyle was there. He probably spends more time in Miller Park than in the Courthouse these days, so it was nice to see him again.
I asked Robin Yount if he was going to take an apartment in Milwaukee, now that he's back with the Brewers organization.
The answer is no -- Robin has got enough money that he can afford to let the Brewers rent him a hotel room while he is in town. He spends the off-season in Arizona, which he owns.
"I'll stay in a hotel. My family is all over these days so I will meet with them on the road," the Hall of Famer replied.
Bob Uecker took to the podium at the .300 Club to address the crowd. "Are the drinks free?" he asked. You bet they were, so Uecker said "go mingle around and get messed up. If you do, you'll understand what's going on. It's probably better for you."
Uecker, from the podium, pointed out to Glenn Bowman, the Engineer in Charge of WTMJ radio, and said he was "one of the best producers in the business. He's been doing it a long time." Bowman reacted by continuing to go about his business, which is probably what made him one of the best.

Among the minglers was Gorman Thomas who said, "my sciatica is killing me," as he climbed the stairs of the multi-tiered room filled with television and radio production equipment from FSN and WTMJ-AM, which broadcast the event live. These technical folks are very professional, of course, but employ some oddities. The cable-handler for a television photographer kept attached to him by means of hooking his fingers into the photographer's belt loop as they marched through the room, coiling cable behind them. Don't try that in the locker room!
Thomas and other stars of the '80s Brewers will be featured in the Sunday home games participating in events such as autograph sessions and broadcasts at Miller Park.
The guests dined on pased trays including smoked salmon, ham salad, stuffed mushrooms before the uniforms were unveiled by current and former players, escorted by current female models, of the class from which baseball players' wives seem to descend.
After the runway show, further treats awaited the crowd in the form of a buffet table complete with a carving station. Guests departed with a gift bag including a newly-issued hat with the fabled ball-and-glove logo.
Media relations for the Brewers at the event were expertly handled by John Steinmiller, a recent hire of the organization and 2004 graduate of Marquette University. This very serious and competent young man may bring some luck to the team, since he performed a similar media role as an intern for the Milwaukee Bucks the last time that team was in the playoffs.
-- Michael Horne

BREWERS CHICK

By Tamra Reynolds

Milwaukee, December 2nd --It seems everything old will be new again next season at Miller Park. First the Brewers brought back Hall of Famer Robin Yount, then Dale Sveum, and now the popular ball and glove logo of old. The Brewers unveiled their new Sunday Home uniforms last night to a packed house at Miller Park’s .300 Club. Current and former players mingled among the invited guests and media, and the event was broadcast live on FSN-TV and WTMJ radio. Bill Schroeder, Daron Sutton and Bob Uecker were on hand to provide color commentary.

Blue pinstripes adorn the white jerseys and pants, "BREWERS" is stitched across the chest and the caps feature the popular "ball and glove" logo. This “new” design came as no surprise to many. Fans are often seen throughout the ballpark and the city wearing the much-loved logo, and when asked to choose a T-shirt bearing either the ball and glove logo or the current logo, fans entering Miller Park overwhelmingly chose the retro logo.

Current and former Brewers, including Matt Wise, Derrick Turnbow, Lyle Overbay, Bill Hall, Jim Gantner, Gorman Thomas, Robin Yount, Damian Miller, and Dale Sveum were on hand to model the uniforms, which are the center of a new plan for “Retro Sunday” next season at Miller Park. The retro logo was worn for the whole of the 80’s, so the thirteen Sunday games at Miller Park next season will not only feature the retro uniform, but music and entertainment of the era as well.

Turnbow was seen after the fashion show wearing the shirt he had modeled, a classic design in blue and yellow, with “Brewers” stitched across the chest. When asked if this was part of the new uniforms he replied, “I don’t know, but I like it. I hope I get to keep it.”

My mission at this event was to try to get some inside information on who may be returning, who might be leaving, and most importantly, what’s going to happen at first base. I was lucky enough to meet General Manager Doug Melvin, and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to ask the decision maker himself what was going to happen with Lyle Overbay. He simply smiled and said, “I can’t tip my hand on that.”

Ned Yost offered up little in the way of information on the subject. He said quite honestly “we just don’t know right now. But we’re not going to trade (Overbay) just to trade him.” Dale Sveum was more positive on the subject saying, “there’s always one guy (that people wonder about). He’s our 1^st baseman until we hear otherwise.”

Finally, I went to the man himself, and asked Lyle if he had any clues as to his status for next season. “It’s up in the air right now, but I should know something after the winter meetings next week,” he told me. We’ll be waiting patiently, Lyle. This Brewer fan personally hopes to hear the chant of “O” for many seasons to come.

Other players I spoke with seemed to be more certain of their status for next season. Bill Hall, who was very relaxed as he leaned casually against the bar in the retro uniform he modeled, told me he was pretty sure he would be the everyday 3^rd baseman next season. “Oh yeah, I’ll be back.” I certainly hope so Bill. You’ve more than earned that spot!

Other than Overbay, I was most curious about our powerhouse closer, Derrick Turnbow. He came out of nowhere last season and blew us all away with his 99 mph fastball, and tied the club record for saves in a season, 39, and racked up 7 wins as well. Believe it or not, Turnbow had never had a major league save before joining the Brewers last year. What a testament to Mike Maddux and his pitching staff.

So when I asked Derrick if he’d be returning next season, he replied with a touch of modesty, “I hope so. If they’ll have me.” I’d say there’s little doubt on that subject, Derrick. Coincidently, I asked Derrick how he felt about being named Co-Newcomer of the Year, along with Carlos Lee, by the Milwaukee Division of the Baseball Writers Association of America. “I won something? I didn’t know.” He did know about his nomination for Closer of the Year in the 2005 This Year in Baseball Awards, however, and said he would find out the results in a couple of weeks. You’ve got my vote, Derrick!

Keep checking back for more updates on the team, and look for our spring training report coming in March. 122 days till Opening Day!

From Brew City to Capital City
“Bearded Interest”

By Paul Snyder

It’s been a while since I’ve sent a word out east to you good Milwaukeeans, and nothing reminded me more of the fact than attending a press conference with Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz earlier this week. Last time I came calling at MilwaukeeWorld’s door, capital city’s mayor was a clean-shaven idealist still raking in top honors as the city’s “coolest politician” and one of the top “reasons to live in Madison.”

But the tendencies of a group who now just like to hear themselves talk (by name, Citizens for Responsible Government) and a month off of the razor has got Mayor Dave looking vaguely like Beach Boys frontman Mike Love, circa 1966. And I’m guessing it’s not a seasonal tribute to Little Saint Nick, either.

While certainly not the first politician to sprout some chin hairs during their career (Lincoln got the presidency shortly after growing his whiskers, you know), I found it to be a perplexing addition to Cieslewicz’s face. It may not be worth overanalyzing - it’s probably down to a wifely “I’d like too see what you look like with a beard” - but I decided to do some research on the topic.

I found a website, All About Beards, which said the following:

Little social psychological research has been conducted on this topic, and what there is seems rather basic. In 1969 Freedman reported that female students rated a bearded male face as more masculine, mature, independent, and sophisticated than a nonbearded face. Similarly, both Roll and Verinis (1971) and Kenny and Fletcher (1973) found students to rate a bearded face as more masculine, strong, and sincere, but also more dirty (versus clean). Pancer and Meindl (1978) found beardedness to lead to more positive ratings. However, Feinman and Gill (1977) found their female students to like least a man with a beard. They put this finding down to the possibility that their Wyoming students were more conservative than the Chicago, Midwestern, Memphis, and Canadian students of the above four studies.

Bereft of time to do any further analysis on the subject (coupling with an admitted lack of willingness, since I still seem years away from growing a good one of my own), I decided to read into this statement alone.

More masculine, mature, independent and sophisticated? Hmm. Makes sense actually. The Beatles were all bearded around the time they were breaking up, so the independence thing is personified there. My friend Brian was fully bearded by the senior year of high school, and he liked to pontificate on how much more mature he was than me, so there’s that. As far as masculinity and sophistication, well… I’ll leave you to come up with your own opinions there. I’d throw out some names, but I’m not even sure of my own opinion on Wolf Blitzer yet.

At any rate, the four qualities are certainly ones that don’t look bad on a mayor, and those beyond that, strong and sincere, female interest vs. disinterest, etc. - that’s just details. The dirty bit does throw me. Especially as Cieslewicz is so intent on keeping Madison a clean city. A lot of friends who visited me while I lived in Milwaukee have now had the chance to come see Madison as well and they’ve all remarked how clean this city is.

So with no sociological ground of my own to stand on, barring a semester’s worth of work freshman year of college, I’m going to equate “dirty” to “lazy due to do disinterest due to some degree of alienation.”

Mayor Dave’s had a tough run of things lately. He risked upsetting the city’s arts district and big spenders by saying he’d rather have the city buy the new Overture Center than let the arts district use city money to help keep the thing afloat. Then there was the whole Halloween thing - the idle threats of shutting down State Street and so forth, which are idle only because the people that show up en masse would require the National Guard to keep them under lock and key, and God knows there’s probably no room in the budget to bring in the National Guard.

Ah, the budget - yeah, that just came out too - everyone’s favorite “let’s look at how they screwed us this year” forum, although I must say, if shaving library hours on Sunday is one of the tougher decisions you have to make, I’d say things are in pretty good shape.

And as mentioned before, that pesky CRG Network took out their bullhorns and invited the press along to take comments. Their ridiculous “Dump Mayor Dave” campaign - chief complaint being the smoking ban, which mind you, he did not introduce - probably will equate to a raindrop falling into the ocean, but the volume at which they trumpeted their initial attack seemed to be enough to lightly rattle some cages at City Hall.

After all, what political office is safe now that we all know you can dump someone you don’t like and put in an action movie star in their place? Although to ask a more important question, isn’t it just kicking out the foundation? Sometimes the majority of people will vote for someone that you don’t, you know. I didn’t tick a certain president’s box last November, but whaddaya gonna do?

My dad taught me early on - “Nobody likes a crybaby.”

But with all this hitting the fan in such a short period of time, it must be a tad disorienting for the mayor. He had been “the face” of Madison - coolest politician, great reason to live in the city - now, that face is showing some weather. Such is the life of a mayor, I suppose. By the end of the press conference I decided the beard suited him just fine, and he’d carry it off well. Heck, if he lets the chin hair go a little more, he’ll strike an uncanny resemblance to Rutherford B. Hayes.

But then he closed the conference saying, “Oh yeah, and all the cool guys are wearing facial hair this season.”

Mayor Dave, what’s the cardinal rule of coolness? Make no allusion to coolness, whatsoever. All I could think about was high school and Brian telling me how much more mature he was than me.