RILEY A NO-SHOW AT FORUM

Embattled candidate Donovan Riley was a no-show at yesterday's Brady Street Association monthly meeting where he had been scheduled for weeks to appear in a forum with Sen. Jeff Plale (D-7th), whom he is trying to unseat in the Demrocatic primary election September 12th.
"He wasn't there," said Plale. "There wasn't even a cardboard cutout of him."
Plale was there, he said, adding he was pleased with the level of support he sensed from attendees. He said restaurateur Mimma Megna assured him of her support, but added, "I could have come up with a cure for cancer and promised an end to taxation, and there are those who still wouldn't support me," he said.
Plale says he is spending his time Thursday knocking on doors in his lakefront district. He will drive to Madison for a fundraiser there this evening before returning to South Milwaukee to participate in the city's Night Out event. Meanwhile, he says, he's got his dad driving around the district delivering yard signs.
--Michael Horne

In Other News
Andy Busalacchi bought the Red Star Yeast building at 2702 W. Greves Street. The plant was an enormous consumer of water and producer of wastewater -- it ranked as one of the top customers of both the Milwaukee Water Works and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. The company began as Meadow Springs Distillery, and Busalacchi tells friends he's thinking of restoring the property to that use, among other options. ... Ald. Robert Bauman and city planning director Bob Greenstreet remarked about the number of construction cranes piercing our skyline lately. Although we are no Berlin after the fall of the wall, things are busy, and this writer can count 19 cranes visible from his south-facing window. Frank Giuffre has his name on a number of them, and he says there are over 100 construction cranes deployed in the metropolitan area.
Here's where it gets interesting: he says he would like to buy more cranes but can't, because all of the production is geared to the ongoing war. With defense contractors keeping metal fabricators busy, industry is relying on aging, and occasionally unsuitable cranes to complete projects in this country. As a result, Giuffre says, a roofing contractor might have to use a crane of lesser capacity than desirable, requiring more lifts, and therefore more time, to complete a project. This keeps the crane unavailable for other jobs, which are then delayed and become more costly, and the cycle continues. An interesting take. ... Don Holt, the republican candidate for Milwaukee County Sheriff, has filed a complaint with the State Elections Board against Sheriff David Clarke for the later's indiscretion in wearing his uniform and gun while serving alcoholic beverages July 29th at the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Tailgate party. (Vince Bobot, who is running for sheriff in the Democratic primary against Clarke also witnessed the event.) It would not be likely that Kevin Kennedy, the executive director of the board, will do anything about the complaint, nor will it likely receive much note.
--Michael Horne