FRIEBERT RIPS BLANCHARD A NEW ONE IN BURKE CASE

By Michael Horne

Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard is overstepping his role in the justice system by asking Dane County Circuit Court Judge C. William Foust to order Brian Burke to do jail time for his guilty plea in the case of State of Wisconsin v. Brian B. Burke, according to a letter to the judge signed by Robert H. Friebert of Friebert, Finerty & St. John, S.C.
Burke pled guilty in the case, and a media frenzy has surrounded him since it was announced that his sentence would be home confinement.
"Burke gets to sleep in his own bed," is the way it is usually put.
Actually, there probably is not much sleeping going on in the Burke household, since home confinement does include a number of intrusions.
You might not know it, but inmates under home confinement must have a land line telephone, and must keep a log book to record calls made to the telephone by corrections officials and their equipment.
According to my sources familiar with the mechanics of home confinement, an inmate will receive about 10 - 15 calls per day -- or night. The calls never come in intervals of greater than two hours, which cannot be good for the sleep patterns of the inmates. Each time a call is generated by the corrections officials' equipment, the inmate must write down a code number issued during the call, and must record the time of the call.
The confinee must then produce the log of the calls when he or she meets with his or her corrections agent, which is a biweekly affair.
So, as you see, people domestically confined are not exactly "home free." And, if you miss a call, officials have the right to haul you in to serve hard time, which you can be assured would be the case in the event that Burke were to do so.
With that as the background, we can turn to Friebert's letter dated Friday, January 13th 2006.
He refers to a letter Blanchard sent Judge Foust asking that Burke spend his sentence in confinement.
As Friebert put it, "We received a document from Mr. Blanchard which has all of the trappings of a motion, but is not. ... this document asks the Court to make an extrajudicial pronouncement in an attempt to improperly influence a discretionary decision exercised by the executive branch of the government, in this case, the Superintendent of the Milwaukee County House of Correction."
[Blanchard, by the way, improperly calls it the "Milwaukee House of Corrections."]
Friebert goes on to the heart of the matter: "The jurisdiction of this Court ended when the Court imposed sentence. The sentence being served does not violate the sentence imposed in any respect. I am confident that it was well understood at the time of sentencing that after a person is incarcerated in a jail, it is the sheriff, or in this case, the Superintendent of the Milwaukee County House of Correction, who determines the place of confinement. Since Brian Burke does not represent any danger to the community, the Superintendent decided that home confinement was an appropriate placement."
Friebert then quotes a number of recent cases in which the Wisconsin Court of Appeals underscored the law that the judicial branch cannot interfere, directly or indirectly, with the discretion of the sheriff or the Superintendent of the Milwaukee County House of Correction in this regard.
"Yet this is exactly what the district attorney is asking this Court to do. We do not believe the Court has any authority to write letters which have the appearance of being official communications from the Court when the Court has absolutely no jurisdiction."
As any political observer knows, nothing is more jealously guarded in political circles than jurisdiction, and Blanchard's actions in stepping on another party's turf is a political -- and politically motivated -- faux pas.
Friebert says the letter from Blanchard to the judge is so unusual that "we would like to know whether the Court has ever sent a similar communication after the sheriff has made a placement decision."
Perhaps it is time that D.A. Blanchard, who, as far as vindictiveness is concerned, is acting more like D.A. Paul Bucher, bears some scrutiny. Although he has prosecuted legislators of both parties, his candidates seem hand-picked, since many other legislators have been assured that they will not be prosecuted for the same crimes charged against Burke, Foti, Chvala, Jensen, et al.
His eagerness to see Burke serve his time behind bars, as we have seen from Friebert's letter, extends beyond his authority to do so.
Finally, I guess I will have to pack up and go to Madison again soon to review the records of the State of Wisconsin Elections Board regarding its investigation of Dane County District Attorney Blanchard for using state offices for campaign purposes (sound familiar?) and for irregularities in campaign finance reporting. Although the Board decided, on a political vote, not to pursue Blanchard, the file exists, and I intend to comb through it.


Wi-Fi Plans Advance in Committee
By Michael Horne
The Milwaukee Common Council Public Works Committee has five members, but it only took two of them to advance plans for a wireless network to blanket the community. According to Randal Gschwind, the City's Chief Information Officer, "This wireless network will put Milwaukee in the forefront of new technologies in large cities in the United States, and even worldwide.
Chairman Robert Bauman and Ald. Robert W. Puente cast the two votes in favor of awarding a contract. Alderman Willie Wade was excused from the proceedings. Alderman Joe Dudzik voted against the issue, saying he needed more time to study it -- and why not, since the "term sheet" for the agreement was not prepared until January 12th. Ald. Terry Witkowski abstained, for the same reason.
Among the highlights of the agreement:
The network will be vendor-neutral and available an an equal basis to any Internet Service Provider
The city will receive a guarantee that an anchor tenant will complete and operate the network in the case of a default
A demonstration site is to be built in the first four months to prove the technology works.
That site will be located in an area from N. 10th Street to Highway 41 North, and W. Canal Street to W. Vliet Street, much of which area is in Ald. Bauman's district, and includes Marquette University.
The entire city will be built out in 18 months, and a "walled garden" of 60 websites will be available for free to anybody logging into the network.
City employees will be hired in the building of the system, the City government will receive free accounts and a priority on the network for public safety uses during emergencies.
On the money side, the City will share in the gross revenues after a start-up period of three years.
In years 4-6 the City will receive 1 per cent of wireless revenues and 1/2 per cent of non-wireless revenues. In years 7-14 of the agreement, the City will receive 3 per cent of the wireless revenues, and 1-1/2 per cent of the non wireless revenues.
The firm will also provide a one-time fixed contribution of $150,000 toward a City "Digital-Divide" fund.
The matter will come before the entire Common Council for a vote on Wednesday, January 18th.

AUDIT FINDS JOHNSON CONTROLS "LACKS CONTROLS"

Dear Reader,

Well, here we are together again, basking in Milwaukee’s winter gloom. Today I note that Johnson Controls, Inc., Milwaukee’s largest company, was chided by its accounting firm for lacking internal control. At stake – questions about 4 per cent of the firm’s assets and 1 per cent of the firm’s revenues last year. That doesn’t sound like much – if your idea of “not much” is $920 million.

Then, we also hear from Tamra Reynolds, the Brewers Chick, who has decided she wants a survey to see if she should instead be called the “Brewers Babe.” I've posted her email address at the end of the column, so you can have your say.

If you think my accounting story is filled with numbers, you should see what the Brewers Babe has come up with as she slices through Brewers statistics while she waits for opening day.

Thanks for visiting, and I’ll have more interesting news for you later on.

Michael Horne

Editor / Publisher

www.milwaukeeworld.com

horne@milwaukeeworld.com

1 414 978-8039

AUDITOR: JOHNSON CONTROLS LACKS “INTERNAL CONTROL OVER FINANCIAL REPORTING”

By Michael Horne

It is Annual Report season, and I get them by the dozens. I actually read the darn things, largely because I find them boring. However, every now and then something interesting appears in an annual report, and the recently-released Johnson Controls, Inc. report contains something very interesting.

According to the accounting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Johnson Controls, Inc., a Milwaukee-based company that is the largest firm in Wisconsin, “did not maintain effective internal control over financial reporting as of September 30, 2005.”

This is not a very nice message to read from the auditors of a company that had $27 billion in sales in fiscal year 2005.

What is “effective internal control?”

According to the “Report of Independent Registered Public Firm” written by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and filed with Johnson Controls’ Form 10-K, “a company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.”

A company is expected to maintain internal control to maintain records that “in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company, … provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company … and provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements. …

“A material weakness is a control deficiency, or combination of control deficiencies, that results in more than a remote likelihood that a material misstatement of the annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected.”

Specifically, the accounting firm said Johnson Controls, Inc. “did not have effective controls, including communication between the Company’s Treasury Department and Accounting Department, to identify the required financial statement disclosures to be included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements resulting from subsidiary guarantees applicable to certain third-party debt of the company.”

In other words, “we can’t be sure if anybody has had their hands in the cookie jar, because nobody knew how many cookies were in the jar to begin with, we don’t know how many new cookies have been added to the jar, we don’t know how many were taken out of the jar, and we’re not sure how many cookies are in the jar now.”

As a result, management “has excluded the recently acquired operations of Delphi Coproration’s global battery business from its assessment of internal control over financial reporting.” The sums represent 4 per cent of company assets and 1 per cent of company revenues, which works out to $645 million of the former and $275 million of the latter, as I reckon it.

The company, in its response to the auditor’s report, says “the control deficiency had been remediated as of September 30, 2005.”

Johnson Controls, Inc. had been featured in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for its work in rebuilding New Orleans. Milwaukee Magazine Editor Bruce Murphy, former editor of www.milwaukeeworld.com wrote that things are not as rosy in New Orleans as the daily paper would have us believe, citing an $80 million Johnson Controls contract, which predates the current administration, as being egregiously filled with graft even considering the Crescent City’s propensity for corruption. You can read about it here .

Milwaukeeworld made repeated attempts to contact Johnson Controls, Inc. for comment on this story, but the firm did not respond.

BREWERS BABE

By Tamra Reynolds

January 11, 2006 - Hello again Brewer fans. We had a little excitement going on this week with the Brew Crew. It seems that Bill Hall will once again be passed over for the starting third baseman position in favor of veteran Cory Koskie. Some articles I read actually billed Koskie as the better player, so I did some research of my own to see if I could verify this fact.

True, Koskie has 8 years experience to Hall’s 4, and his overall numbers are slightly better. But just to even it out, I broke it down into 4-year increments. First I compared errors. Bill Hall, at third base only, committed 9 errors in his four years with Milwaukee in 73 games at third. Koskie, in his first four years, committed 35 errors at third base in 378 games, and 39 in his last four years in 460 games. Which means Hall committed an error in 12% of his games at third, and Koskie committed an error in 9% of his games from 98-01, and in 8% of his games from 02-05. Ok, Koskie has the edge here, but it’s still a very close margin.

So then I decided to look at career errors. In all positions played, Hall committed 46 errors in 298 games in his 4 years, or 15%. Koskie committed a total of 75 errors in 863 games in his 8 years, or 8.6%. Koskie definitely comes out the winner in this situation, but again, he has 4 years on Hall. Career fielding percentages were slightly higher for Koskie as well, but not by much, .966 versus .959 for Hall.

I looked at batting averages next. Bill Hall has a career batting average of .265 in 1069 at bats. Koskie’s career average is .277. Again very close, so I broke it down. In his first four seasons, Koskie averaged .289 in 1407 at bats, and .266 in 1735 at bats his last 4 seasons. At first glance, it seems the two men’s averages were almost dead even for the last 4 seasons, until you notice that Koskie had over 600 more at bats than Hall.

So what do all these numbers mean, besides the fact that I have too much time on my hands? Maybe Koskie does have an advantage over Hall at third, but I don’t think that it in any way takes away from Hall’s overall value to this team. True Koskie bats left, which is always an advantage, but Hall is extremely adept at not one or two, but three key positions. Add this to the fact that Koskie has had several years as a starter, getting to play everyday, while Hall is still waiting for his chance to fill a starting role. Who knows what kind of numbers Hall could put up if given the chance?

Look what happened with my boy Brady Clark (who, by the way, is my favorite player) when he was given a chance to play every day. He led the team in batting averages and hits last season, not to mention putting up 13 home runs, (5^th best on the team), 53 RBI’s (again, 5^th best), and a .995 fielding percentage, committing only 2 errors all season. Another interesting tidbit about Brady is that he was the only Brewer to keep his batting average above .300 all season.

So again, what does all this mean? Not a lot, probably, to anyone in power. My point is that yes, Koskie does have better stats than Hall right now. But what kind of numbers could Hall have after playing everyday for almost eight seasons, as Koskie has? The way I see it is that Bill Hall has been there to pick up the slack at three key positions over the last two seasons. I have to wonder if he’ll stick around Milwaukee if he keeps getting passed over for a starting spot. He’s paid his dues. He deserves to get his shot. If we don’t give it to him, some other team will. That’s it for this week Brewer fans. 81 days to go!!

December 12th 20006 --- Hey there Brewer fans!  I have a correction to yesterday's post.  It was stated that I wanted to change my moniker from "Brewers  Chick" to "Brewers Babe."  That's not quite correct.  Several co-workers have suggested the change to me, so I suggested that we include a survey in yesterday's post to see what our readers think.  So I want you to do just that.  Drop me an email and tell me what you think the column should be called.



Tamra Reynolds

Let's hear from you -- lawgirl9171@yahoo.com

WINE SHOP PLANNED FOR BRADY STREET

Dear Reader,

Thank you for finding your way to milwaukeeworld once again. Over the last few days I have posted a number of pieces, which you will find below. I've got some original material on the Mequon murder, and a link to the state's website with case details.
Today I want to tell you about an upscale wine store planned for Brady Street, which will likely be quite an attraction for the area. Gone for good are the days of the Beer Depot, it seems.
Also, our Madison correspondent, Paul Snyder, who writes for The Daily Reporter in that town, writes another episode of his adventures in Capital City. He takes a few shots at the undersigned Editor / Publisher for his lapses during the dark summer. When he (finally) gets around to his story, he finds an interesting angle in the Lautenschlager - Falk rivalry. It has to do with used furniture. Read the story and find out more.
Do give me a ring, if you please. This cloudy weather has found me dozing at my desk, and I could use a wake-up call, particularly if it is attached to an interesting story.
Best wishes,
Michael Horne
Editor / Publisher
1 414 978-8039
horne@milwaukeeworld.com

UPSCALE WINE OUTLET FOR BRADY STREET

Benjamin Christiansen plans to open a wine-only shop at 1327 E. Brady Street, according to Ald. Michael D'Amato, who sent me Christiansen's "Application for requesting support of Liquor License for Benjamin's Fine Wine."
It will operate as "The Waterford Wine Company."
The store is currently home to Metropawlis, a shop that sells canine accessories such as leashes, collars, carriers and even dog-themed martini glasses. That company is moving to larger quarters in the Historic Third Ward.
Christiansen's plan differs from any other Class "A" licensee in the City of Milwaukee in that he proposes to sell retail wine and related accessories -- but "no liquor and no beer," according to the alderman, who is seeking a City Attorney's opinion to determine if Christiansen's self-imposed license limitation can be enforced. D'Amato says he has received mixed opinions thus far, but notes the City of Madison has long permitted such restrictions.
Christiansen, 30, an Iowa native, has a restaurant background, having cooked and catered in such places as Dream Dance, Cafe Vecchio Mondo, and Celia, in Milwaukee and Wolfgang Puck Catering and Charlie Trotter's in Chicago over the past three years.
Before that he was Development Director for the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance in Madison in 2002, and was a salesperson at the Pella Window Store. He has a B.A. in Sociology from Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, and an M.S. in Education Administration granted from UW - Madison in 2003.
According to his application, Waterford Wine Company "is designed to appeal to three specific market segments -- the recent college graduate, the urban professional and the core wine consumer."
He certainly has done his research -- according to his analysis, 16,142 people live within a one mile radius of the store location, and 8,187 of them earn over $35,000 per year, a good wine-drinking income. New condominium development in the neighborhood like the Park Lafayette towers will certainly draw his desired demographic to the area.
Christiansen says "[The Waterford Wine Company] will be a destination wine shop that will fit in well with Brady Street's current mix of unique specialty retail shops. As the New York Times recently noted, cousumers no longer want the "Big box" approach to wine. ... Customers are looking for idiosyncratic wine shops with owners who can offer strong recommendations and build long-term relationships. [The Waterford Wine Company] will be such a place."
The license application must be heard by the Licenses Committee and approved by the full Common Council. Christiansen plans a grand opening for the second week of April pending council approval. His biggest problem right now: finding Grand Cru Bordeaux wines. "I can find all the Burgundies I want, but I am having a hard time getting the better Bordeaux wines. I tell the reps, 'look, these are some well-known wines.'"
Christiansen said he was at the Jaybird clothing boutique in the Historic Third Ward when he ran across Laura Cole, the owner of Aala Reed, the fashionable Brady Street men's store. (How fashionable? Just take a look at Preston Cole, Laura's husband.) He mentioned his quest for a new store, and Laura said he should take a look at the Metropawlis location. He said he called Ellen Callahan, the owner of the building and told her his plans. She said "this is exactly what I wanted for the location," and the deal was on its way.
-- Michael Horne

FROM BREW CITY TO CAPITAL CITY

“Moving On, Moving In”

By Paul Snyder

It occurred to me with Mr. Horne’s trailer to my last entry that I had originally established this column as an attempt to convey the thought processes of a young 20-something uprooted from Milwaukee and transplanted to Madison and the adjustments that had to be made to deal with the change.

I had a ton of great ideas, you know, but a certain website seemed to go down for a few months right when all those rays of light were illuminating my brain and trickling forth comedic ideas and ramblings the likes of which few have ever seen before, and indeed may ever see again.

Shame you couldn’t see ‘em.

So when the site did acquire this sharp new look and come back online, I was pretty well adjusted (it never should take too long, you know), and thought it might be interesting to look at some of the odd political ideas floating around that big white building that were headed Milwaukee’s (and the rest of Wisconsin’s) way soon.

And so it shall continue, but this week finds another entity trying to get used to its new Madisonian dwelling, and lo and behold, there’s some excess furniture available!

Now, on top of entering my 7^th month as a true blue Madison resident (you’re an astute political bunch, you get it, right?), I do realize that I am a male recently out of college which should equate to satisfaction with overturned crates and broken down pizza boxes serving as adequate coffee tables, or an elaborate beer can pyramid serving as the grand finale of my apartment tour.

But the fact of the matter is that my mother’s side of the family possesses this odd itch for antique furniture which somehow found its way into my genes, and when I heard Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk announce an online auction for old courthouse furniture… well, who wouldn’t be interested?

Imagine! Serving a dinner on the very defense table where some political finagler learned their guilt over perjury or extortion! Watching “Arrested Development” in the very chair that some of Dane County’s highest elected officials determined cases ranging from speeding tickets to larceny on! Folks, Dane County has a new courthouse, and the spoils of the old one are ours for the taking!

And just try to tell me this isn’t one of the shrewdest political moves by a candidate running for Attorney General in some time. We can duke it out with each other for courtroom stuff?!?! This is like the kid running for class president who was handing out sticks of gum right in front of the principal in return for a vote.

Your move, Lautenschlager.

So mosey on over to https://mds.bussvc.wisc.edu/swap/listing.asp (scroll down to the bottom of the page), and have a look for yourself. But mitts off Courtroom 2E’s set of 16 Juror Pedestal Chairs. One day -- when I have 16 friends -- those are going to come in handy, and I’ll be the toast of Dane County.

v

DHS CHANGES MAP OF MILWAUKEE

Will New Borders Help Region Secure Funds?

By Michael Horne

In a little-noticed release, the Department of Homeland Security announced January 3rd 2006 that it has created a new "risk-based formula for Urban Areas Security Initiative Grants."

The grants would total $765 million in direct funding for high threat urban areas.

The good news / bad news is that Milwaukee is one of the 46 "Candidate Urban Areas."

The definition of Milwaukee and of many other cities on the list has changed, perhaps in ways that might not favor Milwaukee.

The original formula included only the City of Milwaukee. According to the new formula, the "Geographic Area Captured in the Data Count" now includes "Milwaukee and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border."

The 10-mile buffer is included in all community descriptions, including such vast ones as the Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlington Area which is described as "Arlington, Carrollton, Dallas, Fort Worth, Garland, Grand Prairie, Irving, Mesquite, Plano and a 10-mile buffer extending from the border of the combined area."

Imagine! Dallas and Fort Worth in the same breath and after the same pot of money!

Such agglomerations as the above encompass 95 cities with populations of 100,000 or more.

Milwaukeeworld.com asked Joyce Witebsky, a Geographic Information Specialist at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee to draw up a map showing "Milwaukee and a 10-mile buffer extending from the city border," and this is what she came up with.

As you can see, a number of communities besides Milwaukee can apply for funds. "We will continue to champion funding on the basis of risk and need," DHS says, which probably will not work to the benefit of our area.

Recipients of grants are determined "through a robust risk formula that considers three primary variables: consequence, vulnerability and threat. Factors such as the presence of international borders, population and population density, the location of critical infrastructure, former mutual aid cooperation, law inforcement investigations and enforcement activity are considered in correlation with the risk formula for Urban Areas Security Initiative determinations."

You've got some steep competition there, River Hills! -- But you're on the map.

FEDS OFF TELEFILE

You Can't File with the IRS by Phone any more

By Michael Horne

Perhaps you got the pamphlet from the IRS in the mail. "Important News About Telefile," it read.
And what's the important news?
"Telefile is No Longer Available."
This is not very good news for those many people who may not have ready access to a computer but do have access to a telephone. Of course, you're not one of them, since you're reading this thing, but many of my friends have relied on filing their tax returns by telephone since the service has been available. Although the system may have lacked some of the features of filing by computer, it did offer speedier refunds than by filing by mail -- and maybe that is just what the IRS had in mind when it discontinued the service.
According to the brochure, "Telefile has been discontinued due to:
"Increasing costs of maintaining the system
"Fewer people using Telefile
"States discontinuing their Telefile programs
"More electronic filing alternatives becoming available."
The brochure then goes on to suggest we "e-file for Faster Refunds," noting that 68 million people did so last year. It does not at all list any options for filing taxes by U. S. Postal Service.
I have a feeling that many people who telefiled in the past, instead of becoming instantly computer-literate, as the brochure assumes, will instead file their taxes the old-fashioned way, by mail.
This would suit the deficit-ridden Federal Government just fine, since the refund checks for mail filers will sit in the Treasury's coffers that much longer.
[By the way, the State of Wisconsin continues to offer its version of telefile, and has sent eligible filers a postcard with a pin number for use with its system.]

MURDER IN MEQUON

MURDER IN MEQUON
Trattner's Drinking led to wife's divorce request, friends say.

By Michael Horne
Mequon, January 9th -- Police on Monday charged Stephen L. Trattner, 43 with first-degree reckless homicide in the death of his wife Sin Lam Trattner, 36 in the evening of Wednesday, January 4th at their home in Mequon. It was the first homicide in the city in nearly five years.

A neighbor who has a child in the same classroom as one of Trattner’s children says police called the child out of the classroom on more than one occasion Thursday to ask the child questions.
Of course, the child was unaware at the time of the child’s mother’s death, which, according to a report on www.jsonline.com , had happened the night before when Sin Lam Trattner asked her husband for a divorce.
He then banged her head on the floor 10 - 20 times, and pummeled her in the face, according to the website’s account of the criminal complaint filed today in Ozaukee County Circuit Court. He then choked her to death.
“She was my friend,” the mother said Sunday. “The Trattners were always busy with the school and involved in activities. This is a complete surprise.”
Earlier news reports and police statements only mentioned the strangulation as the cause of death, leading to widespread speculation in Mequon that the death might have been an erotic misadventure, so otherwise pacific did the Trattner background and relationship appear to be on the surface.
The brutal details, including the face-pummeling, certainly indicate a crime of passion by an upper-middle class person who said he “snapped.”
Trattner’s only other brush with the law was a 1999 speeding ticket in Thiensville.
Trattner, a project manager for Erin Hills golf resort, now under construction, was a graduate of Whitefish Bay High School.
Whitefish Bay alums of the era, who asked not to be identified, buzzed with the news. “I played baseball and track with him and he was the nicest guy,” said an individual prominent in east side business circles. This is unbelievable and out of character. He has a brother who works for [a local professional sports team]. It seems way out of character for the guy.
“But some people in the circle who kept up with him more than I have suspected he has had a drinking problem, and it was getting out of control, and that is probably why his wife asked for a divorce.”
Trattner’s father is Walter Trattner, an emeritus UWM history professor who specialized in the fields of Social Welfare, Social History, the Progressive Era and Feminism, according to the UWM website. "He was my professor at UWM," said another Whitefish Bay grad, the proprietor of a downtown tavern.
Although Mequon homicides are few, most, like this one, occur within a few hundred feet of the Milwaukee River.
Update -- January 10, 2006 -- The Trattner case now appears on the State of Wisconsin Circuit Court website, where we note that Ozaukee County District Attorney Sandy Williams now goes by the name of Sandy Ann Williams.
Ald. Michael D'Amato, a Whitefish Bay alumnus, also has memories of Trattner that sound like everybody else's. "Trattner was the valedictorian of my wife Becky's class. He was the most mild-mannered person you'd want to meet."

MIRACLE IN WEST VIRGINIA

Just because a group of stunned family members stream out of a Baptist church in Appalachia crying, "hallelujah" and singing "How Great Thou Art," does not mean a "miracle" has happened, but the Associated Press, Cox News Service, the Washington Post and many other news outlets claimed that 12 miners feared dead had been rescued based on nothing more than a rumor that had spread at a church gathering in West Virginia.
This will lead tomorrow to corrections in virtually every newspaper in the country.
The Associated Press, in particular, should have known that you're not out of a mining disaster until you are out of the mine -- alive.
The Associated Press has a reputation for accurately counting bodies. There is a grim reminder daily in the listing of casualties in the Iraq war, compiled by the AP. Today's list shows "at least 2,183 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003," according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which adds, "The AP count is three more than the Defense Department tally, last updated Tuesday morning." When it comes to the AP versus the Defense Department, I'll trust the AP's numbers any day. But something went very wrong in the mine disaster story. The phenomenon is politely known as the mass delusions of crowds, and journalists of Associated Press caliber are supposed to be wary of sourcing stories based on hearsay. Of course, it doesn't help when the Governor calls for divine intervention.
MIRACULOUS JOURNALISM
The Governor of West Virginia, Joe Manchin III, urged the residents of the state to "believe in miracles."
"Miracles" have no place in journalism, especially when they do not come true. Governors have no place spreading false information and rumors when a natural disaster hits their states.
Let us hope that in the tragic event a natural disaster occurs in Wisconsin Governor Doyle will receive his information from official sources, rather than from a pipeline from God, and that the news media will base their stories on facts, rather than the fictions that can too easily spread in a fundamentalist rural congregation where desperate relatives had comforted each other for 41 hours.
Could you imagine an AP science reporter writing a story on "intellegent design" based only on the information available from the pulpit of the Sago Baptist Church? Well, this is far more tragic. -- Michael Horne

DOR POSTS TAX DELINQUENCIES

Dear Reader --
Thank you for visiting milwaukeeworld.com in this new year. The holidays have disrupted the work schedules of some of us, and have significantly eaten into the party budget of others. The recent weather, although dark, gloomy and moist, is only heartening when one realizes that "you don't have to shovel rain."
On the other hand, we are in a freeze-thaw cycle right now that will mystify many of you a few months down the road when you wonder why so many of your plants died during a mild winter. The reason is that the thawing earth is ripping out your precious plantings by the roots by heaving them out of the soil. Then things will freeze again, and your plants will suffer. Isn't that a bright thought for the new year!
Today I just want to throw two things at you. First, I include a link to the taxpayer scofflaw site set up by the Wisconsin State Government to shame certain tax-delinquent individuals and corporations to ante up any judgment greater than $25,000. If you don't find any names you recognize on this list, then I am afraid your circle is rather limited.
Secondly, I want to tell you that even though taxpayers pay 69 per cent of the War Memorial Center budget, the outfit that operates it claims to be exempt from public records requirements. Of course, that is $1 million worth of hooey, and I do a little digging to explore the financial wonders of the county's noble money-loser.
With a little bit of luck -- or with responsible elected officials on board -- I should be able to flesh out more details after I file (for God's sake) a Writ of Mandamus. Secretive government officials and bureaucrats never make things easy for those interested in public records, but that's why we are here -- to battle such idiocy.
Enjoy the new year, and keep in touch.
Very truly yours,
Michael Horne
Editor / Publisher
www.milwaukeeworld.com
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The Governor gave a fresh way for some of us to enjoy our new year, posting the names of some 6,000 individuals and corporations who owe the state of Wisconsin more than $25,000 each in delinquent taxes. The list, on the Department of Revenue website, should be a pleasant way to spend an afternoon of schaudenfreude whilst you scroll through some familiar (and some unknown) names. To qualify for the list, you must have had 90 days since all appeals have lapsed and you must have owed over $25,000. You can thank 2005 Wisconsin Act 25, which authorizes this action, for bringing you such an enjoyable web experience. -- Michael Horne

WAR MEMORIAL MUM ON NUMBERS
Taxpayers Fund 69% of Budget --
County Keeps Details Secret
How Convienient for Walker's Pals

The purpose of the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center, Inc. is to "honor the dead by serving the living."
It serves the living in a number of ways, and taxes them for the pleasure. The adopted 2005 Milwaukee budget proposes total War Memorial Center revenues of $1,856,636. Of that, $1,286,636 is paid for by the taxpayers of Milwaukee County.
You would think that the taxpayers' 69 per cent share of the War Memorial Center budget would be a good argument for the organization to open its books for public inspection, so I requested that information from David Drent, the executive director of the War Memorial, Inc.
I also asked for the information from Milwaukee County Corporation Counsel, William Domina. Both refused my requests. They have yet to even release a list of the members of the board of directors of the organization.
Domina's deputy, Robert Andrews sent this limpid and unconvincing response to my request:
"After discussions in this office and with the Attorney General's office it is the opinion of this office that the War Memorial is not subject to the public records law as it is not an "authority" as that term is defined in Wis. Stst. Sec. 19.32 (1). We believe that the War Memorial does not meet the fact test established by the Attorney General to determine that the War Memorial is a quasi-governmental corporation. If you disagree with our posuition and you wish to pursue the matter further, you may, pursuant to Wis. Stat. Sec. 19.37 (1) commence a mandamus action against the War Memorial, or you may in writing request the Attorney General to bring such an action."
Check! I'll dash off a writ of mandamus and send it right on to Atty Gen Peg A. Lautenschlager!
Drent, the director of the War Memorial, dashed off his own letter -- to his attorney, -- and I received this non-response from Andy Schlidt of Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek, S.C.
Schlidt writes:
"The War Memorial instead is a non-profit legal entity with its own governance and management. As a landlord, the War Memorial follows standard and accepted industry practices regarding the confidentiality of lease terms negotiated with its tenants. Absent a clear and overriding reason to do so, the War Memorial honors the confidentiality of those terms."
Well, here's a "clear and overriding reason to do so" -- The $1,286,636 the taxpayers will fork over to the War Memorial Center to help subsidize its luxury lakefront office space available for rent in its famed building designed by Eero Saarinen.
According to the limited budget information available on the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center, Inc. (Unit 1914 of the county budget), "The facility is home to the Milwaukee Art Museum. ... In addition, such cultural agencies and major service groups such as the Florentine Opera, Rotary Club, Kiwanis and national and State headquarters of veterans' organizations, including the War Memorial Center itself, maintain their administrative offices in the Center."
Significantly not mentioned in the above listing is the Chipstone Foundation, the multi-million dollar private foundation which occupies suite 450 of the War Memorial Center, to which we will return in a moment.
The rent for all of the above mentioned organizations, and others the county might not have revealed, are grouped as "Office Rental and Cellular One," leading us to believe the County is also receiving revenue from a cellular transmitter somewhere on the building, which has got to be public record.
The total: $105,000, less than half of what the center derived in parking revenue ($230,000). This seems like rather favorable rent for chosen organizations, but, since the county refuses to provide this information, we can't tell for sure.
Maybe these are very tiny offices.
Well, then, let's pay a visit to the Chipstone offices via the wealthy foundation's Depreciation Schedule that accompanied its 2003 IRS form 990PF.
Retired Foley and Lardner partner Allen M. Taylor, who heads the Chipstone board, can look out from his office at the War Memorial Center while seated at and upon $34,760 of office furniture, nicely dressed up in $5,473 of leasehold improvements acquired in 2000, when the office there opened.
In 2001, Chipstone, apparently feeling the barrenness of the Finnish architect's office space, added another $34,335 in office furniture, $18,034 in photo equipment, and another $4,980 in leasehold improvements.
In 2002 Chipstone held off on buying office furniture, but spent $15,307 on "paintings and prints" to dress the place up. In 2003, it bought $4,895 in "Computer Equipment and Software". Altogether, Chipstone has $125,427 in depreciable equipment in its War Memorial Center office.
One feels the reason the County refuses to release the rental income of the taxpayer-subsidized War Memorial Center is that the rents it charges might not be commensurate with the luxury in which at least one of its tenants is blanketed.
I will follow through with my request for information on all tenants of the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center, Inc. You'd think a tax-cutting genius like Scott Walker might be able to make a few cuts to the War Memorial budget. Or would that discomfort the entrenched tenants of this first-class lakefront, downtown, and possibly, below-market office space?
--Michael Horne