"EVERYTHING BUT DRIVING THE CAR" -- Trooper's Account of Carpenter Citation

CARPENTER CITATION REVEALED

Details of Reckless Driving Charge Released

“Was Doing Everything But Driving the Car” -- Trooper

[a milwaukeeworld.com exclusive]

© 2006, by Michael Horne

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation State Patrol headquarters has released the narrative of the events that led the agency to issue a citation to Sen. Tim Carpenter on charges of Reckless Driving – Endangering Safety on Saturday, March 18, 2006 at 2:30 p.m. The pavement was dry, the traffic was light and it was daylight in Racine County on that fateful afternoon.

Blame the early closing hours of Chicago’s art galleries for this one. Well, that’s what Carpenter did.

According to the narrative of Trooper Donna Reis, which has not been edited for spelling, style or punctuation, “I received a call … concerning a reckless driver NE from 7 Mile Road. I was at the scale. Two callers were following the vehicle. They had observed the vehicle driving on the shoulder for half mile or so and thought it struck the median wall. I observed the vehicle SE CTH F LL. The driver of the vehicle leaned to the right and totally disappear from sight on two occasions. During these times he deviated and came near to striking vehicles around him. The callers were trying to box him in, but he got around them. I activated lts and siren. Vehicle stopped RS at Golf Rd. WI DL going to Chicago for art exhibit that closes at 5 and needed his I-Pass and was looking for it and his cell fell and he had to look for that and there were other items on the passenger side he was trying to organize.

“He was doing everything but driving the car.”

The citation carries an estimated 6 points and calls for a deposit of $375. Carpenter issued a written plea of not guilty on March 27^th. The matter is now scheduled for a pretrial conference.

I have the telephone numbers of the two drivers mentioned, and will ring them up to see if they would like to talk about their brush with celebrity on the highway. I would also like to look at Carpenter’s 4-door maroon 2000 Saturn, license plate “BASEBAL” to see if it has sustained any recent damage – or repairs.

SLUMLORD SEEKS PROSPECT AVE OFFICE APPROVAL

Tim Brophy, Jr., the Milwaukee slumlord who buys and sells properties like they are used cars, is asking the Board of Zoning Appeals to approve his request to occupy the property at 1681 N. Prospect Avenue as offices, in part.
The building had been placarded by Brophy's nemesis, the Department of Neighborhood Services, the source of the comments about Brophy's real estate trading habits.
Brophy's empire is generally considered to be crumbling. He has been sued, forclosed, fined, and jailed for his real estate shenanigans, including famously breaking into a tenant's apartment and hiding under her bed when the Man came looking for him last year.
Brophy's appeal is scheduled for a 5 p.m. hearing tomorrow, Thursday, April 27th in room 301-B of Milwaukee's City Hall, 200 E. Wells St.
The public is invited to comment on Brophy's plans for the Prospect avenue property, familiar to many as the "Elizabeth House," on the southwest corner of N. Prospect Av. and E. Brady St. The mansion had been a rooming house for many years. Tell your friends and show up to contest this application.
The building is in the district of Ald. Michael S. D'Amato, who has frequently challenged Brophy, and who considers him to be the worst landlord in the city.
What kind of landlord is Brophy? I spoke to a tenant of his who lives in a five-family building in Riverwest. The building is in need of structural repair, according to city records that document the need for the north wall of the building to be reconstructed and other horrors.
The tenant, with a newly-born infant, was without heat for much of the winter. Brophy demanded an additional $75 monthly rent for utility bills for the building, although there was nothing in the lease to authorize this extortion. The gas account is in Brophy's name, according to the tenant, and the meter has been locked, and gas service disconnected, due to Brophy's failure to pay what the tenant characterized as a $5,000 bill. The gas remains out, and the family is unable to bathe with hot water or to use the gas stove. The Department of Neighborhood Services has received a complaint about the building from the tenant.
--Michael Horne

M&I BOOSTS DIVIDEND 12.5%

The Board of Directors of the Marshall & Ilsley Corporation [NYSE: MI]boosted the Milwaukee bank's annual dividend 12.5% from 93 cents per share to $1.05 per annum, it was announced this morning at the firm's annual meeting held at the historic Pabst Theater.
Dennis Kuester, the Chairman of the Board and CEO, gave the good news to some 400 shareholders who attended the meeting. The dividend increase news has become routine for M&I shareholders. This is the 34th consecutive year of increases, Kuester said.
As always, the first order of business was to dispense with the reading of the minutes. For at least the 40th year, that task was borne by a retired gentleman by the name of Peter Renner. This year, he did it by videotape, to the great approbation of the audience.
In between the bookends of dividend news and suspension of minutes, the meeting was filled with double-digit growth good news for the company. The only area where the bank holding company has been underperforming in the past year is in its stock price, which was up about 6 per cent from the year before. However, Kuester informed the audience that a better measure of stock growth is in the long term. Over the past five years, the bank significantly outperformed its peers, he said.
Another measure of the performance of a bank, in addition to the money it makes, lies in the money it does not lose. M&I continued to rank at the very top of all banks nationally in its low net chargeoffs of nonperforming loans. That sum was only $6 million in the first quarter of the year, according to Mark F. Furlong, (201.168 meters), the president and interim Chief Financial Officer of the corporation. Not bad for a corporation with $31 billion in loans outstanding at year's end.
Shareholders approved the election of directors and the ratification of the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the company's independent auditor by margins of over 90 per cent. the 2006 Equity Incentive Plan received over 70 per cent of the vote, while a shareholder proposal, which management opposed, to recommend one-year non-staggered terms for board members was a dead heat, with results not expected until later in the day. We'll be the first to get them to you.
The state of Wisconsin still provides the bulk of the company's earnings, at 48 per cent, down from 73 per cent in 2001. The strategy of increasing M&I's presence in high growth locales such as Arizona, the Gulf Coast of Florida and Nevada is paying off, according to Furlong.
Shareholder questions, entertained from the floor, included the annual query as to whether the firm plans to spin off its lucrative Metavante division, as had been proposed around the turn of the century in an offer later withdrawn. The answer, again, was "no." Kuester said the firm revisits the Metavante issue from time to time, and even brings in outside consultants to provide perspective. For the time being, the goose that is Metavante will remain in its coop in the bank's vault, laying golden eggs.
Refreshments included coffee, milk, orange juice and soft drinks. Pastries included various Danishes, cinnamon rolls and itsy-bitsy blueberry and poppyseed muffins. Thrifty shareholders stuffed their faces, and in some cases their pockets, with the morsels, prepared and served by Shully's Catering of Thiensville.
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.
-- Michael Horne

NAN'S CAMS ON WAY

Chief Requests Information on Surveillance System

Chief Nannette Hegerty of the Milwaukee Police Department has issued a “Request for Information Wired and Wireless Camera Surveillance System” to deploy “at least 25-30 cameras … in at least four areas of the city and with at least one monitoring station.”

The system “is to be installed and operational during the summer of 2006.” The request for information is not an invitation to bid, the chief advises, adding, “however, the Department desires information on cost in order to plan an effective deployment of as many cameras as possible in the future.”

The cameras are to utilize a web interface, “so as not to require the deployment of software to individual computer workstations used to monitor the cameras in the system.”

Furthermore, the “system should feature hardened/bullet resistant enclosures for the camera and/or associated equipment. The enclosure shall accommodate a 19” tall by 15” wide Milwaukee Police Decal,” just so you know Big Sister is watching.

In the event the road map-sized decal should not be sufficiently conspicuous, the “enclosure shall also accommodate a strobe light mounted in such a manner as to be seen from all directions and of sufficient intensity to attract attention to the presence of the camera.” Wouldn’t you like to have that flashing outside your bedroom window all night!

The zoom feature of the camera should be “capable of viewing vehicle license plates at a distance of about 600 feet (one city block).”

It is also expected that those systems not connected directly to wired infrastructure will utilize the city-wide Wi-Fi network currently under construction by Midwest Fiber Networks.

The system chosen “must make provision for the storage of all captured images for a period of 15 calendar days after which time the images are automatically deleted and/or overwritten unless specifically saved by an operator.”

Does this sound like your kind of thing?

If so, “the city invites responders to submit sample camera for use by the City of Milwaukee as test equipment in the pilot areas of the city in summer of 2006. The city will not pay for the sample goods submitted by responders but will return the equipment, if required to do so, once the type of equipment needed by the city is determined and purchased.”

Responses are appreciated by May 19^th 2006.

--Michael Horne

IN OTHER NEWS

Tim McMurtry II, former aide to Common Council President Willie Hines Jr. began work Monday, April 24^th at Mueller Communications, Inc. where he will work with staff on client accounts, the firm confirmed this morning. … If you own a property in the City of Milwaukee, or if you are just curious about a property’s new assessment numbers, you can try to log onto the city’s website to look it up. New numbers were posted today. … What is the motivation behind the constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage? According to a Republican, who said this with a straight face, “it has always been about domestic partner insurance benefits.” And what is the problem with domestic partner benefits? “They could bankrupt the state and private businesses. Especially if the partners are women,” who consume a majority of health care dollars after a certain age. (Presumably after the age that most men drop dead.) So, you see – it has nothing to do about being anti-gay, per se!

Perhaps, if we want to make republicans happy, we should hire a team of actuaries to rewrite our constitution. What a bunch of hooey!

--Michael Horne

ASSEMBLY ACTS ON TAX BREAK FOR SEASON TICKET HOLDERS

--But Action Not Yet Revealed to Public

On April 12^th 2006 “executive action was taken” by the legislature on 2005 Assembly Bill 1084. However, not even the experts at the Legislative Reference Bureau in Madison will know what action was taken until further reports are made by the Committee on Ways and Means. And, apparently the committee can take its good-natured time doing so.

The bill would create a non-refundable income and franchise tax credit “in the amount of the state sales or use tax paid on purchases of ‘rights to purchase’ season admissions to athletic events sponsored by certain institutions of higher education that take place at a facility owned or leased by the institution. Unused credits could be carried forward 15 years.”

The fiscal estimate narrative for the bill tells us that a right “to purchase a season ticket costs $100 - $250 for football, $50 - $150 for men’s basketball, $25 for women’s basketball and $25-$50 for men’s hockey” at the University of Wisconsin. According to the UW figures provided to the bureau, “sales of rights total $6.1 million annually.” State taxes on these rights total about $300,000, according to staff estimates. Assuming all eligible purchasers tax advantage of this tax break, it would cost the state treasury that sum annually if the bill, sponsored by Rep. Sheryl K. Albers, (R-49^th) and Rep. Phil Montgomery, (R-4^th). Albers is a 2004 graduate of the UW law school; Montgomery has a B.S. from the University of Houston-Downtown.

The proposal does not sit well with Rep. David A. Cullen, (D-13^th), a UW graduate who wrote to a constituent to say, “This bill is not a joke. … I do not support a tax break for purchases of season tickets … I believe people purchasing season tickets for such events purchase the tickets having the means of doing so and the sales tax on the tickets have not prevented them from doing so. There is no reason to give a tax break to people of such means when we are cutting funding for many other worthy programs … not the least of which are the institutions of higher learning themselves.”

According to Cullen’s information, the bill was introduced on March 2^nd 2006, and was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means that same day. It had a public hearing on April 4^th.

Now – if the assembly would only release the action it took on the bill on Wednesday, April 12^th!

--Michael Horne

DA CANDIDATE QUESTIONS NEW RULE BY BOSS

District Attorney E[dward] Michael McCann yesterday issued a new policy for his office to follow in the event of apparent excessive use of force by police officers during or following an arrest. Rather than have complaints investigated days or weeks later, the DA's ruling calls for his employees to interview arrestees within hours of the incident.
The new rule was prompted by the acquittal of some rogue officers in the Frank Jude, Jr. beating case.
As sensible as the rule might seem at first glance, the new measure does have a detractor in John Chisholm, the Milwaukee County prosecutor who hopes to succeed the retiring McCann.
"That's Mike for you," Chisholm said with a hint of exasperation Wednesday April 19th at a fundraiser held on his behalf. He credited McCann with an earnest, well-meaning idea, adding, "but look at it this way. People who have been arrested have the right to counsel. Do you want an assistant district attorney to interview them before their own attorney does?"
Chisholm says he agrees with McCann that such investigations should be made promptly, and says he is in contact with state officials to see if the Department of Justice might handle these incidents, should they occur.
The fundraiser, held at Club Havana, 789 N. Jefferson St., was sponsored by John Budzinski and John Piette and was organized by Det. Mark Harms of the Milwaukee Police Department.
Among the attendees were Sheriff candidate Vince Bobot (on his way to the Bell Ambulance Party); Jeffrey B. Norman, the Milwaukee detective who wants to be a Municipal Court Judge; Andrew Zeiger, who is an attorney; Matt Robbins, Esq., Ald. Bob Bauman, plotting his next move in the Connector debate ("what debate?" Bauman asked. "They haven't released any information to debate!"); and others too numerous to mention including Barb Candy, minding the till; and Molly Christofferson, who is managing Chisholm's campaign.
(Molly's dad Bill Christofferson, who handled David Clarke in the past, extracted from Chisholm a promise not to "pull a Clarke," but to support democratic candidates if he wanted Christofferson's help running as a democrat for a partisan office such as district attorney. Chisholm asented.)
Although district attorney candidates usually run on a law and order theme, Chisholm is focusing on revamping the office, which McCann has held since 1967. Specifically, he mentioned removing non-violent offenders from the system at the front end -- right at the station house, in fact, where they could be assessed and referred to treatment programs. A pilot project is already in place for misdemeanor offenses, he said. Chisholm says he has received support from community groups like the Benedict Center and others for this proposal.
He cited Det. Harms as "the type of police officer who represents the best in this county. He is a county prosecutor because he is working with people in the county solving problems at the lowest level -- at the street level."
Chisholm said Harms and many other members of his department and the District Attorney's office had been committed to community policing "long before anybody heard about Frank Jude."
But, he cautioned, "in order to hold ourselves accountable we will have to modernize this office."
Just in case he didn't sound quite enough like a politician, Chisholm ended with these words which removed all doubt: "I love this job, I love this city. I want to make this city a better place to live."
[Note to candidate: next time, substitute "county" for "city."]
--Michael Horne

M&I FORGETS DIRECTOR; RESENDS PROXY

[A Milwaukeeworld exclusive]
By Michael Horne


The Marshall & Ilsley Corporation [MI] spent $53 million last year on "professional services," which apparently included some sloppy legal work on the preparation of its Proxy Statement for the 2006 Annual Meeting of shareholders to be held on April 25, 2006 at 10:00 a.m. at the Pabst Theater.
The Milwaukee company, which operates the M&I banks, issued a supplement April 7th, long after its 17,463 shareholders of record had received their proxies (dated March 16th) and voting slips, which were also reissued. The company had paid a fee of $16,500 plus "administrative costs and out-of-pocket expenditures" to the firm of Morrow & Co. for the initial proxy solicitation.
According to the supplement, "John W. Daniels was inadvertently omitted from the list of independent directors of the Company on page 12 of the Proxy Statement. ... Mr. [Robert A.] Schaefer, who was included in the list, retired from the Company's Board of Directors last year."
Daniels, whose term on the board expires in April, 2008, is a Partner and member of the executive committee of Quarles & Brady, a Milwaukee law firm that receives a good share of M&I's millions in professional service expenditures as fees for such legal services as preparing accurate proxies to submit to shareholders, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the New York Stock Exchange and regulatory officials of the six states in which the bank has offices.
Won't we have a good chuckle about that Tuesday morning at the Pabst? Cookies and pastries will be served.

4/20

4/20

Well here it is, 4/20 already, and by my count this spring, now a month old, has yielded only one fine day, and that was last Friday afternoon.

However, the weather forecast says today will be a pleasant one with a High pressure system bringing relief.

4/20 was the day two years ago that the White House issued press release 2004/04/20040420-2 – that’s a lot of 4/20s! The release was about an address by President Bush reminding Americans of the importance of maintaining our foreign entanglement in Iraq. He told us that the torture chambers and rape rooms of Saddam Hussein would be replaced. We didn’t know then with what they would be replaced; the picture is a little clearer now.

Whoa! Didn’t mean to bum you out on such a nice day. Anyway, I’ve got some stuff to do, and I should get back to you a bit later.

If I’m lucky, I plan to get out of work a little bit early – say 4:20 – and go bowling.

--Michael Horne

GROUNDBREAKING EVENT AT COLUMBIA ST MARY'S

In what has become a rather routine event at the various campuses of Columbia St. Mary's Hospital, a groundbreaking was held Wednesday, April 19th at the facility's lakefront Milwaukee Campus at the terminus of E. North Avenue.
The most recent of a spate of building projects underway, the Water Tower Medical Commons, named for the nearby 1871 landmark that dominates the area, will be a 40,000-square-foot Cancer Center when completed in 2008.
The commons is but one part of the $417 million, 670,000 square foot expansion of the hospital founded on the site in 1845 by the Sisters of Mercy, a religious order affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church.
The master of ceremonies for the event was Leo P. Brideau, President and CEO of Columbia St. Mary's, who did his best to keep the crowd in the rented white tent on message.
The problem is, Brideau wants to talk hospital, but everybody else just wants to talk about the Whole Foods Market under construction a block away in another component of the massive construction project, he said.
The groundbreaking was light on politicians -- none came. (Just wait until the ribbon-cutting. Then you'll have to fight them off!)
The event was doubly blessed -- quite literally.
Chaplain Gloria Krasno of the Jewish Chaplaincy Program of Milwaukee said that the day was one of significance in the Hebrew calendar, and was an auspicious time for work involving shovels.
As she spoke, a dozen golden shovels glistened under a bright but cool sun, standing erect in an archipelago of sand that had been laid atop the unwieldly asphalt of what had once been the parking lot for St. Mary's Hill Hospital. Soon, ten of the shovels would be in the hands of hospital officials for the ceremonial dirt-turning act, a photo-op the genesis of which predates not just the camera, but the builders of the pyramids, as well.
But not until the second blessing was given by Rev. Tim Kitzke, the pastor of Three Holy Women Parish.
Father Tim carried a large volume that, in the hands of Protestant clergy, would have been the Holy Bible.
However, his was emblazoned in gold letters with the title, Book of Blessings.
"There is a blessing for everything," said the charismatic priest. "And a schedule of stipends for that blessing," he added, to uproarious laughter.
He then sprinkled Holy Water -- specially blessed on Easter Sunday -- from a little container, pocket sized, that he carries around with him and blessed the site and the work to be done.
After that, the shovel pantomime followed at which point the guests were treated to a buffet catered by Louise's Restaurant, located at the corner of Jefferson and Wells. The food consisted of cold little beef or ham sandwiches, a corn slaw (I guess you'd call it that) and plump strawberries wearing chocolate tuxedos.
--Michael Horne

ANOTHER POST FOR REV KITZKE

The Archbishop has tossed another responsibility onto the plate of Rev. Tim Kitzke, the pastor of the merged churches of St. Hedwig's, St. Rita's and Holy Rosary, the east side triumvirate that now operates as Three Holy Women Congregation.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan has asked Kitzke to also serve as pastor of St. Mary Church, 836 N. Broadway, the nation's oldest German Catholic parish, which goes by the name "Old St. Mary Church," which has always conjured for me the image of a very elderly virgin.
(The "Old Church of St. Mary's" would be a more dignified name, and would be appropriate for a building constructed in the 1840s, before all the wannabe St. Mary's churches started cropping up all over Christendom. Probably sounds a bit too Anglican for the Catholics.)
"This is not a merger," Kitzke said. "I've gone from mergers to mergers and acquisitions."
Reverend Kitzke will be the guest of honor Monday, April 24th, at a cocktail party reception hosted by Atty. Patrick O. Dunphy at his fabulous lakefront highrise condominium. The party will kick off a drive to complete raising the hundreds of thousands of dollars needed to replace the 120-year old copper roof of St. Hedwig's, located at the intersection of Brady and Humboldt.
--Michael Horne

CONNECTOR RESOLUTION FINALLY REVEALED

Three weeks and five days after it was introduced, Common Council Resolution 051610 finally has some text to it.
And, what a whopper the text has proven to be, including 24 "whereas" clauses, one "resolved" and nine "further resolved" clauses, one of which offers suggestions on the route an expanded connector system should use. That's thinking ahead, since we don't even have an existing connector system to expand as it is.
As you know, milwaukeeworld has written many items on the proposed connector, which you can read elsewhere on this site. (Use the handy Google search bar for assistance.)
The Common Council Steering and Rules Committee will hear plans for the connector at its meeting on Thursday, April 27th 2006.
--Michael Horne

BITS AND PIECES

Dear Reader –

This has been a topsy-turvy weather weekend, and many of us have had family obligations. I have survived both the weather and the family obligations, and hope to get a good head of steam going here at milwaukeeworld.

I thought I might figuratively clear my desk in the hopes it might lead to a literal clearing of my desk, which is a hard, level surface located somewhere below all of the stuff I refer to when I write these billets doux to you.

--Michael Horne

COUNTY WRITES BAD LEASE

Firstly, here is a certified example of our county government at work. There is a restaurant at Lawrence J. Timmerman Airport named El Greco. The restaurant’s owners have asked Milwaukee County , the landlord to rent 8,510 of airport land to the firm for the purpose of expanding its parking facilities.

The county agreed to rent the land at a rate of 23.55 cents per square foot per annum for a period of ten years, with five ten year options. Let us imagine a world of the future, where in 2066 the lease of a parking lot at Timmerman Field will finally lapse. Do we really imagine Timmerman will last that long? And where is that long-promised county-funded study of Timmerman’s future. (I’ve written about it in the past.)

The Timmerman / El Greco story gets weird when you read the County Board’s resolution in support of the lease. It says, “Rental for the 8,510 square feet of land on which the hangar is located shall be at 23.55 cents per square foot per annum.”

Hangar? Who said anything about a hangar?

Since the county is well known for slipping bits of nonsense into its resolutions, (just ask Tom Ament and hiscronies), I called for the “what gives” and learned from Brian Dranzik, a county board research analyst that the word “hangar” was apparently lifted from some boilerplate legal terminology. The word “parking” should have been substituted.

Milwaukeeworld is delighted to point out the error.

--Michael Horne

SHEPHERD EXPRESS CHANGE

The new Shepherd Express is out, and as milwaukeeworld told you last week, Doug Hissom is no longer associated with the formerly alternative publication. The title of “Senior Investigative” writer-reporter, which he held is, quite understandably vacant. Louis Fortis remains the Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, with David Luhrssen retaining the number two spot as Arts & Entertainment Editor. … Shepherd Express Contributing Editor / Dining, Jeff Beutner, who is among the very most traveled people in the city, returned Sunday from a three week journey to Bali, Hong Kong and Los Angeles, checking up on some of his favorite haunts.

-- Michael Horne

GIOVANNI’S UPDATE

You learned about the closing of Giovanni’s Restaurant here last week, and so did the producers of Channel 4’s newscasts. The NBC affiliate did a piece Friday about the closing of the restaurant, and milwaukeeworld asked anchor Carole Meekins if she would link to the story on this website to the station’s website as a courtesy. (God forbid television news programs would actually credit the source of their “news” in their stories).

Carole said her producers told her , “no.” “It is the policy of the Journal Communications affiliate to only link to other news sources when station personnel are unable to independently verify the news stories,” she told me.

She admitted the show’s producer first became aware of the story of Giovanni’s closing from visiting this site. But linking to the story – out of the question!

Perhaps I could base a week’s worth of reporting on television news stories, independently confirm them, and post them on this site. But then, who would want to read it?

--Michael Horne

TIM CARPENTER UPDATE

You learned here last week that Sen. Timothy Carpenter was busted in Racine County by the State Patrol for “Reckless Driving – Endangering Safety.” Carpenter still has not responded to requests for comment on the incident. He entered a “written not guilty plea” and is set to see the judge on Friday, April 21^st. Milwaukeeworld still awaits response from the State Patrol for its request for copies of the citation issued to Carpenter for this misadventure, which has not yet appeared in the press. The Madison-based website www.wispolitics.com did pick up on the story, driving many hundreds of readers, many of them state employees, to this site. The link is appreciated.

--Michael Horne

A BRIT IN OUR MIDST

GREENSTREET PROFILE REVEALS WIT

OF COLLEGE DEAN / CITY PLANNER

“Eyes on the horizon all the time. Think big. Think 40 years down the road. That’s why I look vacant most of the time.”

--Dr. Bob Greenstreet, Dean School of Architecture and Urban Planning, UW-M;

City Planner, City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as quoted in the April 2006 Wisconsin Builder.

The Wisconsin Builder Magazine is on the shelves – well, not really, since the publication is distributed bundled up with The Daily Reporter Newspaper – but anyway, the April edition is available by linking above where you can read a most candid, entertaining and revealing portrait of Dr. Robert Greenstreet, the London-born, self-described slacker who took a talent for loafing and idling and somehow parlayed it into one – or make that two – of the most important development positions in the city. The portrait was written by Sean Ryan who asked Greenstreet a number of questions about his background and his philosophy. Greenstreet is hilarious. Wait until you see who his favorite “fictional” character is; find out what he does every morning at 7 a.m. and learn what he thinks about fast food in this entertaining and revealing portrait.

--Michael Horne

MUELLER COMMUNICATIONS MOVES

H. Carl Mueller and his partners at Mueller Communications have moved to new digs in a 7,000 square foot building at 1749 N. Prospect Avenue, at the corner of E. Royall Place, and just across the street from the Charles Allis Museum. Mueller and his pals did much of the heavy lifting themselves, including during the weekend. He says he could still use a number of fireplace mantles for the building, since the original ones have been lost to the mists of time. The building recently held attorneys’ offices. Before that it was headquarters for an advertising firm, and before that it was an osteopathic hospital. The building dates to 1876; it has been considerably altered over the years. Mueller moves to the Brady Street neighborhood site from a location in the P&V Atlas facility at 700 W. Virginia Avenue.

--Michael Horne

BAUMAN OFFERS SUBSTITUTE CONNECTOR PLAN

Bauman Offers Connector Substitute

Ald. Robert Bauman offered his file, Common Council #051714 as a substitute to Common Council file 051610, the Milwaukee Connector matter.

As I have mentioned before, the 051610 file, which is to be debated by the Common Council Steering and Rules Committee on Thursday, April 27^th 2006, still contains absolutely no text.

Bauman more than makes up for that oversight with his filing, which would materially change the nature of the connector proposal in the following ways.

According to the text of Bauman’s proposal, file 051714, if adopted, would call for:

“1. Extending the proposed Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail service within Milwaukee County to serve the 30th Street Rail Corridor and the West Allis Air Line Rail Corridor.

2. Using the $91.5 million in federal funds reserved for public transit improvements in the Milwaukee area to construct commuter rail routes within Milwaukee County to serve the 30th Street Rail Corridor and the West Allis Air Line Rail Corridor.

3. The development of transit-oriented residential and commercial developments along the 30th Street Rail Corridor and along the West Allis Air Line Rail Corridor, as well as the construction of commuter rail passenger stations at various locations, including the corporate headquarters of Miller Brewing Company and Harley Davidson Corporation, Tower Automotive site, the Master Lock and DRS manufacturing facilities, Miller Park, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, State Fair Park and the Milwaukee County Zoo.

This resolution also authorizes and directs all City departments to take the actions necessary to expand the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee Commuter Rail Study to include the 30th Street and West Allis Air Line corridors and to ensure that the $91.5 million in federal funding is used to construct commuter rail routes serving these corridors.

Finally, this resolution directs the City's representative on the Milwaukee Transit Connector Study's Steering Committee to vote in favor of the ‘no build’ option and to vote against moving any ‘build’ option into the preliminary engineering phase.”

Bauman’s frequent criticisms of the Connector proposal have drawn a response from Willie Hines, Jr. the council president and Chairman of the Steering and Rules Committee. That committee is composed of the chairs of all regular council committees, including Bauman, who as chair of the Public Works Committee, would ordinarily have heard the connector proposal had not Hines yanked it away from him.

Hines wrote a letter today acknowledging the detractors of the Connector project, presumably Bauman, and suggested the concerns of the detractors should be addressed. Hines’ letter asks Peter Beitzel, Chairman of the Milwaukee Connector Study SteeringCommittee to “address concerns surrounding the viability of the Connector project."

Hines attached a document from Peter Beitzel, the chairman of the connector study addressing some of Bauman's concerns.

Bauman then fired back with his retort, including calling some of Beitzel's claims "ridiculous."

The battle is joined!

--Michael Horne

CITY EMPLOYEES ON ACTIVE DUTY TO GET DIFFERENTIAL PAY

Differential Pay Resolution Sends Message to Washington

[A Contrarian View]

By Michael Horne

The Milwaukee Common Council handed Mayor Tom Barrett a veto-proof 10-5 majority vote in favor of providing “differential pay for city employees activated into service in the U. S. armed forces.”

Council members on both sides of the issues congratulated their colleagues for resisting the temptation to turn this vote into a referendum on the war in Iraq, with the “no” voters perceived as being among the antiwar set.

The “aye” voters used the argument that city employees should not suffer financially just because they are being shot at in Iraq rather than in Milwaukee.

The “nays” said the measure was an end-run around collective bargaining agreements and could set a dangerous precedent for renegotiating labor contracts without benefit of formal bargaining.

I find the vote indeed was a referendum of sorts, with the “aye” voters ironically providing a rationale to oppose the war.

I feel this way because the city will now bear an estimated $150,000 cost to compensate its employees who have been sent to war. This will help bring the issue home much more than would a news story about direct Pentagon costs of running the war.

As the fiscal note attached to common council file 041221 notes, “A fiscal estimate of $148,000, included as a point estimate in this fiscal note, is based on employees who are currently on leave. [Emphasis original.] Additional call-ups will increase these costs, maybe substantially.” The city has an estimated 50 employees on active military duty at this time.

As Milwaukee, other government entities and some private corporations, including Milwaukee’s Marshall & Ilsley Bank, offer differential pay, it will come to the attention of policy experts and the public that this war, unlike any other, is relying on the National Guard and Reserves for its manpower.

Sen. Richard Durbin is proposing a measure to offer differential pay to federal employees called up for service. His data show that 1.2 million people are in the guard and reserve; 10 per cent of them are federal employees; 17,000 federal employees are on active duty right now.

That reliance on government employees at all levels comes at a cost to the public, both in the form of the differential pay and in the lack of skilled personnel who should be doing their jobs in government at the local level – protecting the public, fighting fires, patrolling the highways – in the United States, rather than in Iraq.

Government officials in California, one of 23 states where differential pay is a state law, are warning of dire fiscal and social consequences due to thousands of government employees called up for service.

The National Guard and Reserves have traditionally drawn their pool of “weekend warriors” from, among other sources, those who are accustomed to wearing a uniform to work. This group, which is disproportionately represented in the ranks of the Guard and Reserves, includes occupations such as police officer, firefighter, sheriff’s deputy, correctional facility guard and the like. The loss of these workers is also disproportionately felt in rural communities, where many Guard members and Reservists are recruited due to lack of opportunity in these sparsely settled, economically depressed areas.

Fifty-one per cent of guard and reserve members report a loss of pay when activated; 11 per cent lose more than $2,500 a month.

We need these people back home to do their jobs and to keep our communities and our economies running. Perhaps if we feel their absence in our pocketbooks and in the deteriorating condition of our communities, it might inspire the grassroots public to develop the political resolve to end this war, of which George Washington would surely have warned us due to its nature as a “foreign entanglement,” pure and simple.

SEN. CARPENTER CITED FOR RECKLESS DRIVING, ENDANGERING SAFETY

[A Milwaukeeworld exclusive]
By Michael Horne

Chapter 346 of the Wisconsin Statutes is entitled "The Rules of the Road," one of which, 346.62(2), states, "No person may endanger the safety of any person or property by the negligent operation of a vehicle."
That is the charge levied against Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-3rd), the Milwaukee legislator who violated the statute on March 18th somewhere in Racine County. The charge, which is a traffic forfeiture case carrying a $375 bond, was not filed until April 5th 2006, as Racine County Case Number 2006TR004679
Carpenter will make his initial appearance at 8 a.m. Friday April 21st, 2006 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center Hearing Room before Hon. Alice A. Rudebusch.
It was not immediately clear what led State Trooper Deborah M. Reis to issue Citation M3917060 to the 46-year old legislator that March Saturday evening nearly a month ago, or why charges were not filed until more than a fortnight later.
Racine District Attorney Michael E. Mieskes says it may be due to a new electronic filing system employed by the State Patrol beginning this year.
He says his office does not have a copy of the citation, and that in a routine traffic matter such as this one, in which a forfeiture is the penalty, it would not be the procedure of his office to review the case beforehand.
For license plate collectors, you will be amused to learn that Carpenter's vehicle has the license plate number of "BASEBAL."

Milwaukeeworld has placed calls for further information with the court officer of the Wisconsin State Patrol and with the office of Sen. Carpenter. Milwaukeeworld has also asked for a copy of the citation issued by the trooper.
You will receive information as soon as it becomes available.

FOURTH AND FINAL BRADLEY PRIZE ANNOUNCED

[A Milwaukeeworld Exclusive]
By Michael Horne
[Dear Reader -- It looks like we scored a scoop here today, even beating the Washington Times! --Ed.]
Clint Bolick, the President and General Counsel of the Alliance for School Choice has been named this morning as the fourth and final winner of the 2006 Bradley Prize for Outstanding Achievement.
The award, to be presented at a gala ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on Thursday May 25th, 2006 (mark your calendar!) comes with a $250,000 honorarium.
Bolick has ties to Milwaukee and Wisconsin. He argued school choice issues before the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1991 and won the 1998 Jackson v. Benson case before the Supreme Court that ruled in favor of parental choice in Wisconsin.
It is said that when he delivered his arguments before the court in 1991 he had expected to see school children in the gallery. There were none! The school bus carrying the tykes to Madison had broken down en route. By the time the children arrived, their seats were filled.
Bolick remembers seeing their faces pressed against the glass windows of the courtroom. The poor children on the outside looking in provided him with a metaphor for the condition of the educational system in this country as he saw it.
This touching incident may rank as a watershed moment in the history of Compassionate Conservatism.
The selection committee for the Bradley Prizes included Thomas L. "Dusty" Rhodes, Bradley Foundation President & CEO Michael W. Grebe, William F. Buckley, George F. Will, Charles Krauthammer, Terry Considine, Reed Coleman and Dianne Sehler.
Will, a previous winner of the Bradley Prize, will be the keynote speaker at the awards ceremony.
Milwaukeeworld will try to provide on-the-scene coverage of this momentus event. Please use the search feature to find other articles on this website about the Bradley Foundation.

THIRD OF FOUR BRADLEY PRIZES ANNOUNCED

To hear Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation President and CEO Michael W. Grebe put it, the mainstream liberal media ignores his organization's prizes, while paying attention to the awards handed out by Teresa Heinz Kerry. Face it, Grebe -- Teresa's got more money!
Milwaukeeworld shares Grebe's concern that our hometown conservative think tank is not getting the national attention it deserves, so once again this website leads the city (and all of the nation, with the exception of the Washington Times, whose reporter seems to have a special relationship with Grebe) in announcing yet another winner of the famed Bradley Prizes.
The winner is: Shelby Steele, a Senior Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and a recipient of other, more readily-recognizable honors, including the National Book Critics Circle Award, a National Humanities Medal and an Emmy.
None of them come with a $250,000 payday, as do the Bradley Prizes, which will be awarded at a gala celebration May 25th at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. (I so want to go!) The host of the event will be George F. Will, himself a former winner of the prize.
I've posted other stuff about the Bradley Prizes elsewhere on this website. I also called Grebe for a comment, and he did not call back.
However, the most recent press release issued by the foundation gives us a telephone number of a public relations outfit in Virginia that will be happy to arrange an interview with Grebe, so I'll give the number a ring. Only one prize winner remains to be named. We'll try to beat the Washington Times with that news!
--Michael Horne

GIOVANNI'S RESTAURANT TO CLOSE

a milwaukeeworld.com exclusive

(c) 2006 By Michael Horne

Giovanni's Restaurant, 1683 N. Van Buren St., will close by June, milwaukeeworld has learned after speaking to numerous sources in the neighborhood and in the foodservice industry.
The building is to be sold and razed, and there is some speculation the property would be converted to retail use. The building had once been a gasoline station, and there is some talk that it might return to that function, perhaps as a BP station.
Owner Giovanni Safina was not immediately available for comment. A receptionist at the restaurant did not deny the sale and impending closing of the restaurant, but said any comment would come from Safina.
Sam McGovern Rowen, of the office of Ald. Michael S. D'Amato, said he was unaware of any changes in ownership of the property.
Jeff Beutner, the restaurant reviewer of the Shepherd Express, recently wrote a favorable review of Giovanni's, mentioning it as a survivor among Milwaukee's Sicilian restaurants, and noting the disappearance of such once-familiar names as Cataldo's, Tarantino's and Nicolo's from the local dining scene. Those restaurants, like Giovanni's, were located on E. Brady Street. Giovanni's has remained a neighborhood favorite, and was a popular spot for other restaurant and bar owners and characters such as Dennis "Libby" Librizzi, Jimmy "Pitch" Picciurro and John Bowers. It was a frequent luncheon spot for members of the Police and Fire unions, including Bradley DeBraska and Greg Gracz.
It would be possible to take a 2004 BMW to Giovanni's and to have it be the crummiest car on the lot.
The property was most recently assessed at $138,000 for the land and $471,100 for the improvements, for a total of $610,000.
Martin Greenberg, an attorney for Giovanni's, said a confidentiality agreement prohibited him from commenting on the matter.
More details will follow as they become available.

MEQUON MURDER UPDATE

MEQUON MURDER UPDATE:

TRATTNER CASE TO STAY IN OZ

Steve L. Trattner appeared in Ozaukee County Court Branch 2 Monday, April 20^th 2006 and asked Judge Tom R. Wolfgram for a change of venue for his upcoming trial on first degree reckless homicide charges of killing his wife, Sin Lam Trattner at their Mequon home on January 4^th 2006.

The motion was denied, and Trattner is to face a jury trial in Ozaukee County on June 26^th 2006. He remains in custody in the Ozaukee County Jail in lieu of $750,000 cash bond.

The court also denied defense motions by Trattner’s attorney, Michael J. Fitzgerald, to suppress testimony by Mequon police officer Tarie Umhoefer and Mequon detective Richard Schnell.

--Michael Horne

WAR STORIES: BATTLE FOR PAY MOVES TO CITY HALL TUESDAY

A SOLDIER WRITES

By Michael Horne

The Common Council will meet Tuesday, April 11^th to decide whether City of Milwaukee employees called up to military duty should receive the same pay they would had they remained in their jobs at home.

The ordinance, Common Council File 041221 has been kicked around a bit since it was introduced years ago. The matter is of particular interest to municipal unions looking out after the interests of their workers.

It should also be noted that the United States government has decided this war should be run substantially by reserve and guard units. The record will show that a disproportionate number of these service personnel come from law enforcement and firefighting backgrounds.

The measure calls for supplementing the pay city employees receive for service from the federal government with such funds as are sufficient to bring the employees’ pay up to the level received from their regular jobs with the city, and for no more than 179 days. The resolution, in any event, would expire in December 2007.

Here is a letter from a Milwaukee Police officer serving overseas, to his wife, who was working in favor of council file 041221:

Dear Janice:

A simple phrase is used over here:

We the unwilling,

Led by the unknown,

To help the ungrateful

To do the impossible

Can we at least get the support from those who for whatever reason, are not willing to support or protect their Country and way of life? Can you do your part by at least letting us fight with a clear head, knowing our financial situation is stable?

The USO and many citizens, have been very supportive. I can't tell you enough how grateful the guys are by the support. While waiting to fly into Iraq, the guys were sitting around trying to figure out if we were all going to make it out of Iraq alive. A lady from the USO came by and was handing out phone cards. For 5 mins, it was like Christmas, and the fears and uncertainty were gone. Yes we know we can't fill up the day with fun & games, but it sure makes the time more pleasant when people care. Does the City of Milwaukee care? We'll find out Tuesday.

Your Husband, Joe

Another Milwaukee officer, serving in Iraq, sent a letter to Mayor Barrett requesting action on the differential pay. He received this response, some time later. By this time, the officer was in Afghanistan:

Thank you for contacting my office regarding the proposal to supplement military pay for City of Milwaukee employees called to active duty. I appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts with me. While I have nothing but respect and support for our troops overseas, I feel that if the City of Milwaukee were to confer such a benefit on our employees called to active duty, it would have to be granted as part of the collective bargaining process between Milwaukee and the union. It is the opinion of the City Attorney's office that such a benefit cannot legally be granted outside the bargaining process. Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me and I wish you a safe return home. Please do not hesitate to contact my office with any other issues you feel deserve my attention.
Sincerely, TOM BARRETT Mayor

PEDRO'S PARTY

State Rep. Pedro Colon held his birthday party Thursday, April 6th 2006 at Tres Hermanos Restaurant, 1100 W. National Avenue. The Milwaukee Democrat, who is also the chair of the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District Commission, celebrated his 38th birthday with such fellow legislators as Rep. Josh Zepnick, Rep. Barbara Toles and colleagues at MMSD including Wallace White, Dennis Grzezinski, and Michael McCabe.
Mayor Tom Barrett popped in toward the end of the event, which was scheduled to run from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The mayor had earlier spoken at the 4th Street Forum at Historic Turner Hall on the subject of "Who Owns Your Government?" It appears he did not eat at that lunchtime event, but he made up for it just as soon as he got in the door of the restaurant, where he helped himself to a heaping platter of goodies from a buffet that included chicken, beef, beans, rice, tortillas, and other chow.
It must have been a long day for the mayor and his staff; his police guard seemed as starved as Barrett himself, and supped as plentifully.
Among other notables at the event were such significant figures as Patricia Martinez, the radio station owner who introduced Colon to the crowd, Atty. Mark Thomsen, lobbyist Moira Fitzgerald and Atty. John Finerty.
Guests signed name tags and filled envelopes with campaign contributions. Interestingly, many of the contributions were in cash form, which is not the norm around here. I'm certain the Colon campaign's bank deposit slips shall reflect this greenback largesse on the part of his supporters.
Colon kept his remarks brief, since everybody knew him anyway, and he needed no introduction.
One of the attendees noted that "birthday parties are all the rage" among candidates, adding that Zepnick had held one not long ago for his birthday, March 21st.
As if to underscore the popularity of birthdays for politicians, Zepnick carried with him a birthday book. If you looked up April 7th, you'd learn that those who share that birthdate with Pedro have big plans, and like to do things their way.
As the evening went on, a number of neighborhood children peered through the windows of the restaurant as they enjoyed a little evening sunlight, a rarity around here.
Colon stepped outside the restaurant and had some words with the loiterers. He told them to come in and to have a bite to eat, so as not to waste any of the delicious food that had been prepared in such abundance. What a classy touch! The youngsters gleefully took him up on his offer, and chowed down even more heavily than the mayor. Now that's one way to grow future voters!
-- Michael Horne

TWO of FOUR BRADLEY PRIZES ANNOUNCED

[The following is a special news alert from www.milwaukeeworld.com which aims to be the first to bring you interesting news from the conservative world. And what could be more interesting to a conservative than cash and public adulation? We trust the publication of this news will assuage the concerns of Bradley Foundation head Michael Grebe who has publicly lamented the press' unwillingness to cover the munificence of his organization.]

The Bradley Foundation, Incorporated, Milwaukee's international bastion of conservative thought and funding, announced today that Peruvian economist Hernando de Soto would be one of the four recipients of its annual Bradley Prizes.
Another winner, announced Tuesday, is Johns Hopkins scholar Fouad Ajami.
Ajami and deSoto will each receive a $250,000 stipend to be presented at a gala ceremony on May 25th at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
The master of ceremonies for the event will be past winner George F. Will.
The Bradley Foundation also recently added M&I banker Dennis Kuester and Wausau philanthropist and UW regent San Orr to its board of directors, one of the most influential in Christendom.
--Michael Horne

SHAKEUP AT SHEPHERD?

It appears there has been a parting of the ways between Doug Hissom and Louis Fortis Ph.D., the Publisher and Editor in Chief of the Shepherd Express newspaper.
Hissom, 42, who has been with the paper since its earliest days, has most recently borne the title of "Senior Political / Investigative Reporter" for the weekly. His previous titles, if remembered correctly, include "Metro Editor" and "Editor."
I heard that he had left the paper on Tuesday evening when I received a telephone call while I was following the election returns. I found Hissom downtown, but he did not express a willingness to talk, and I did not press the issue.
Since then I have called practically every name listed on the masthead of the Shepherd Express, and have spoken with a couple of people at the paper.
One source, who says he has spoken to Hissom, says Fortis told Hissom he had a choice to either be fired or to resign.
Hissom's response was that Fortis not try to interfere with Hissom's right to collect unemployment insurance from the paper.
[Fortis, on three occasions, attempted to prevent the writer of this column from collecting unemployment after an unamicable parting from the publication. He has had a history of attempting to deny unemployment benefits to other fired workers. He was not successful in the case of this writer, who collected his full benefits.]
The Shepherd Express has undergone many changes during the Fortis era; the paper is certainly run on a more professional basis, and has a larger income base from advertising than it previously enjoyed. However, the management is distant and dictatorial; Fortis is famous for meddling in the writing of others, including creating stories out of whole cloth, (see his signed article this week about the reasons behind the departure of Scott Walker from the gubernatorial race) or forcing junior writers to do so. A notable incident in which a college intern wrote for the Shepherd Express at Fortis' command an article about an imaginary protest of a presidential visit that had not yet occured caused this writer to narc on Fortis to Milwaukee Magazine. Once the magazine's expose ran, it was the end of "Plenty of Horne."
Fortis did not return calls for comment.
Stay tuned for further information as it becomes available.
--Michael Horne

STILL NO CONNECTOR FILE

It has been two weeks since Common Council File 051610 was introduced, yet there is still nothing in the file except the title of the resolution, which reads simply, "Resolution expressing the City of Milwaukee's support for the Milwaukee Connector public transit project."
The only items appended to the file are seven press releases issued by Ald. Bob Bauman, who opposes the project, and who has made his reasons clear. He's got lots of them.
The Steering and Rules Committee, which consists of all committee chairmen of the Common Council, a list that includes Bauman, is scheduled to meet April 27th to discuss the resolution, which, as noted above, has not been shared with the public. This leaves us only three weeks to decide a $300 million issue on which information is either scarce, aged, unknown or withheld. This is amazingly sloppy operating procedure on the part of the Common Council. Who do these people think they are? The County Board?
I feel, at best, the rubber-wheeled guided bus system proposed as the Connector represents a capitulation to the forces of talk radio, those savants who, fifteen years ago, frightened the public and transportation consultants away from considering a rail system for this community.
In the meantime, cities across the country have defied the talk show gods and built light rail systems. And guess what? -- the rail systems work, and the talk radio hosts in those cities have been forced to discuss other topics, occasionally ones of substance.
--Michael Horne
[Update: April 7th 2006 The file has grown by one item with the introduction of a letter from Connector supporter Ald. Michael S. D'Amato.]

VAN HOLLEN WILL SWEAR ON CONSTITUTION TO UPHOLD BIBLE

By Michael Horne

“As Attorney General I will work to protect Wisconsin's values and the sacred union between a man and a woman. There should be no ambiguity about this in our law or our state Constitution. I strongly support efforts to amend Wisconsin's Constitution to define and protect the sanctity of marriage.”

--J. B. Van Hollen, Republican Candidate for Wisconsin Attorney General

The above quote is featured on the website and campaign literature of J. B. Van Hollen, a republican candidate for attorney general, and provides a revealing look at his political philosophy, which a quick parsing of his statement shows to be tinged with a scary religiosity.

Let’s pluck two words from Van Hollen’s credo before we trash the whole thing and toss it away.

The first word is “sacred,” as in the “sacred union between a man and a woman.” As Attorney General, Van Hollen says he will “work to protect” that sacred union.

Well then, what does “sacred” mean?

The dictionary offers several meanings of the word; all derive from words that mean “to consecrate,” “to make holy,” and “to make sacred.”

The closest definition of “sacred” in the context of Van Hollen’s use of the term is, “organized around ceremonial and traditionalistic values and patterns to the exclusion of new ones -- contrasted with secular.”

So, Van Hollen, who opposes such new values as equal marital rights for gays, would exercise his power as Attorney General to fight for a religious interpretation of our laws. This is frightening, since the Attorney General should be considered a secular post according to our constitution, and not a religious one.

This matters not to Van Hollen, who reminds us further in his credo that he would seek to “amend Wisconsin’s Constitution to define and protect the sanctity of marriage.” That is, he espouses changing the Constitution of this state to incorporate a precept based on current practices of certain, mostly Christian, religions.

I beg your pardon, but Wisconsin’s Constitution has nothing to do with the sanctity of anything. For God’s sake! This state is not a theocracy – yet, but it could become so with Van Hollen as the Grand Inquisitor.

Secondly, let us study the definition of “sanctity.” It, of course, is very close to the word “sacred,” which we have discussed above. It derives from the Latin sanctus, or “holy,” and holy ground is not the best footing for a politician in a secular society.

“Sanctity” (funny word, ends in “titty”) is “the quality or state of being holy or sacred: a religious binding force.”

Again – these are concepts that are wholly out of the purview of any Attorney General. The populace should be very wary of any politician who will put his hand on the Constitution and swear to uphold the Bible. [This memorable phrase was coined last month by Jamie Raskin, a candidate for State Senate in Maryland, and a proponent of marital equity.]

There may be many reasons why a civil society should choose to recognize the institution of marriage. None of those reasons should be based on a religious premise. If we are to have an Attorney General who puts God before the Constitution, which, thanks to his intimacy with the Diety, Van Hollen is pledged to do, then God help us all.

ELECTION EVE EXCITEMENT

Dear Reader --
We are well into spring, although the thermometer refuses to grasp that simple reality. After a cloudy morning, a brilliant sun is beating down upon the closed roof of Miller Park where the Milwaukee Brewers are hosting the team's season opener. Still the thermometer registers only in the forties, while the sun remains high in the sky, even in late afternoon, thanks to the inclination of the earth's axis, the inexorable procession of the Zodiac and the recent imposition of Daylight Savings Time.
I can't be taken out to the ball game, lest I get rowdy, land in jail and wind up missing my chance to vote in tomorrow's eagerly-awaited election. You can be sure I'll have my fill of tea and scones by the time the evening is over.
Until that time, please content yourself with the few offerings we have here at milwaukeeworld, including an admonition to vote, a story about a $25,000 gift to Homestead High School in Mequon, a Balistrieri - Balistrieri lawsuit (those are always good), and a note about a relative of E. Michael McCann and what he (the relative) is up to.
Thanks for visiting, and do get in contact with me.
Michael Horne
Editor / Publisher
www.milwaukeeworld.com
1 414 978-8039




ELECTION EVE EXCITEMENT
It is Monday afternoon, April 3rd, 2006, and the office towers of Milwaukee are filled with empty seats. Where can all the workers be? My guess is staying at home to get well rested for tomorrow's vitally important spring election in which a total of one contested race is on the ballot in all communities of Milwaukee County, along with a scattering of oddball races here and there.
The sole countywide race is to succeed retiring judge Michael Malmstadt on Branch 39 down at the courthouse. The rivals for that seat are J.D. Watts and Jane Carroll.
Carroll recently put out a postcard that indicated, in quotes, that she was the "most qualified candidate" for the seat, which is not quite exactly true, since the bar association did not have a "most qualified candidate" ranking. She did receive a higher number of qualified votes in the Milwaukee Bar Association poll than her opponent, but the bar association asks its members to state only whether a candidate is "qualified," "not qualified," or "no opinion."
The latter was the choice for 231 lawyers when considering Carroll, very close to the 236 no opinions for Watts.
Carroll was voted "qualified" by 172 lawyers, vs. Watts' 129. Carroll had a "not qualified" vote from 27 lawyers, while Watts was rated "not qualified" by 63 lawyers. Carroll could just as well have claimed that she was "the least not qualified" candidate in the race. Watch those quotation marks!
The poll was sent to the 2,546 members of the Milwaukee Bar Association. Only 462 lawyers responded, which may give you an idea of how dismal the election turnout is likely to be Tuesday. If only one out of six lawyers bothers to respond to a poll from the bar association, it is not likely that turnout by the general public will be very great on election day.
Of course, you can do your part by voting tomorrow for the candidate of your choice.
I'll be providing election eve coverage beginning 8 p.m. from the sedate confines of Watts Tea Room.
P.S. The Milwaukee Bar Association poll was flawed -- it failed entirely to include a sitting candidate, Judge Mel Flanders of the 4th circuit, who, like all other Milwaukee County judges up for election, does not face an opponent.
--Michael Horne


FUNDRAISER FOR CHISHOLM
District Attorney Candidate John Chisholm has planned a fundraiser at Club Havana, 789 N. Jefferson St. for Wednesday, April 19th 2006 from 5 - 8 p.m. The host of the event is Milwaukee's most colorful union leader, John Budzinski, who will regale the crowd with tales of his days as an apprentice steamfitter. Yes, you will learn that even a guy with a skull as thick as Budzinski's needs to wear a hardhat from time to time.
The event will include Cuban style hors d'oeuvres from Riverwalk Bistro, cigars from C.A.O. and Isabela, and plenty of the "m" drinks, including Mojito, margarita and martini specials. A magic show is also scheduled by prestidigitator Alan Borg.
Now, who is Chisholm? Remember, he is the heir-apparent and designated successor to longtime retiring District Attorney E. (Edward) Michael McCann. How designated a successor is Chisholm?
Well, consider this: his campaign treasurer is Foley & Lardner attorney Thomas (Tom) McCann Mullooly, who has known Chisholm since before they both attended Marquette University High School together. Mullooly is McCann's nephew.
--Michael Horne

HOMESTEAD BAND GETS $25K UNIFORM PLEDGE
Michael Thurk, a 1971 graduate of Homestead High School, has donated $25,000 to help the school purchase new marching band uniforms to replace the ones worn for 40 years at the Mequon school. Thurk met his wife Martha, then an exchange student from Columbia, at Homestead and they tied the knot early on. The Thurks now live in Massachusetts, where Mike is the President of Global Communications Solutions for Avaya, Inc., which is pitching in $5,000 as a matching fund for employee donations to good causes.
Band uniforms cost $450 these days; the school is hoping to purchase 200 of them. In other HHS Class of '71 news, Peter Raymond announces that Brew City Barbeque in Mequon will be the site of the class' 35th reunion during the last weekend of June.
--Michael Horne

BALISTRIERI v. BALISTRIERI
A case filed in 2004 is scheduled to go to court on May 25th, 2006. It is a sibling dispute between Joseph Balistrieri, plaintiff, the owner of the Shorecrest Hotel, and his sister Catherine Balistrieri Busateri, defendant. The case is a "matter of principle," according to a source familiar with it, and involves residual issues from the property of the defendant and plaintiff's mother, and to whom does it belong, and if the property were properly conveyed. Balistrieri Busateri recently resigned, without explanation, her seat on the board of directors of the Italian Community Center. Also, on December 5, 2005, she notified the clerk of court that she had changed her name to "Rev. Catherine Balistrieri Busateri," which the court spelled as "Reverine."
--Michael Horne

AROUND THE TOWN
Milwaukeeworld is still waiting for the Common Council website to post the text of the proposed Milwaukee Connector resolution. Ald. Bob Bauman, who opposes the plan, has been going door-to-door in his district asking residents and business owners to attend the April 27th meeting of the Common Council Steering & Rules Committee at which the connector resolution will be heard. Bauman's most recent press releases, which have been emanating from his office in a flurry, say the proposed $300 million guided bus plan will require the demolition and reconstruction of "much of the $17.2 million worth of streetscaping work being done on Wisconsin Ave." ... The Smokers Club, a tobacco store on E. Wisconsin Ave. closed its doors mid-month, leading some to wonder what was up. Management, reached at another location, said the decision was made to move the operations to a larger facility on the south side. The mid-month move was incidental; the firm claims to still hold the lease for the property, although a sign in the window indicates it is available for rent. ... Fair Wisconsin, the group which is battling the anti-gay marriage amendment, is planning to open an office in Milwaukee near Brady Street. ... We'll have to wait a few more weeks to hear the plans that Joe Zilber has for the former Pabst Brewery ... Onmilwaukee.com did an April Fools story about the City of Cudahy granting a $70 million TIF to open a House of Blues there. ... There will be a big party in early June to celebrate the homecoming of the Denis Sullivan, as well as a sneak preview of Pier Wisconsin ... The "terrific vegan ratatouille at Barossa in Milwaukee" received a mention in the Washingtonian Magazine March issue in an article by former Cream City vegeterian Robert Lalasz, reviewing culinary options in the nation's capital. ... Phil Atinsky recalls when he was a young lawyer representing some Wisconsin novelty ("head") shops in the '70s. "We had to meet with the lawyers who represented the Illinois businesses down in Chicago. We met in the offices of one of the attorneys, who was from the very wealthy Pritzker family. The office was lush, and filled with art. Towards the end of the meeting the lawyer asked if we would like an aperitif. We had no idea what that was. We sure impressed them with how sophisticated we Milwaukeeans were." ... Don't forget to vote!
--Michael Horne