WEEKEND UPDATE

Dear Reader,

Happy Fiscal New Year from milwaukeeworld, and may you enjoy your holiday. There are just a few notices to post here for your attention before we head out to the wonderful weather and innumerable diversions of the metropolis. Just read on, and sign off!

--Michael Horne

The Britinn opened Friday, June 30^th 2006 just in time to be ready for the England v. Portugal match Saturday, when the place will open at 9 a.m. for its first full day of business. The English-themed bar is located at 4473 N. Oakland Ave. in the site long occupied by the Shorewood Inn. The club, which is authentically English ex-pat owned, features beers and ales common to the Isles, including Guinness, Smithwick’s, Newcastle, and Stella Artois, a Belgian brand that is the best-selling premium lager in the United Kingdom, where, indeed, some of it is now brewed. Right now, the place serves drinks only, which is about the only foodstuff soccer fans consume during the World Cup, anyway. Food will follow in a fortnight or so. … Aladdin Middle Eastern Cuisine has closed its shop at 220 W. Wisconsin Ave., concentrating its operations at the Milwaukee Public Market. … Lew A. Wasserman writes that he is a reader of www.milwaukeeworld.com, and that he filed his declaration of candidacy for Milwaukee County District Attorney on Thursday, June 28^th. He will run as an independent for the partisan office, “because I believe that the District Attorney is a quasi-judicial office, and should be removed, or beyond, or above partisan politics,” he says. … Beth Martin of WE Energies explained the “back-up” system that failed to come on during the Summerfest power failure opening day, alluded to in public comments by fest Executive Director Don Smiley. The Henry W. Maier Festival Park is served by two feeders, she said, ordinarily providing the needed redundancy for the world’s greatest music festival. The line that fell yesterday disabled both feeders, she said, adding that the cause of the accident has not been determined, other than that it was not intentional. “Remember, our equipment is out in the open, exposed to the elements,” she said. Indeed, 29 per cent of electric power outages here are due to equipment failures from ordinary wear and tear in our severe climate. Storm damage is a close second, followed by trees and critters. Human error ranks very low. ... Joe Klein, who has been training in Mississippi for the past two months, while still keeping an eye on milwaukeeworld, will be feted by his wife Mary Jo Klein and many friends Saturday, July 1st, 2006 from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Uptowner, 1032 E. Center St. The next day, he and his fellow troops will be at the Milwaukee County Zoo to participate in Operation Freedom 2006. Then, they'll be shipped off somewhere overseas for a year's deployment.

(For those who believe irony is a dish best served delicious, County Executive Scott Walker is a prime force between Operation Freedom 2006. Joe Klein, in uniform, will have the honor of standing at attention while being speeched at by the guy he ran against for County Executive in a three-way primary for that non-partisan office. Klein came in third then, but he'll be coming back as a veteran when his tour is over. Take that, Chicken Hawks -- there's something about a man in uniform!)

--Michael Horne

CHICAGO RULES CARPENTERS' LOCALS HERE

CHICAGO RULES

Local Carpenters Part of Chicago Union

My, How Things Have Changed

By Michael Horne

Two years ago, carpenters in six southeast Wisconsin counties merged with their south-of-the-border counterparts create the Northeast District of the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters. It was done for “mutual issues of bargaining, training, and so forth,” according to Dominique Paul Noth, the editor of the Milwaukee Labor Press, who shared this information in response to a request from Milwaukeeworld.

The Chicago Council, dating to 1881, has 47,000 members in 81 counties in Northern Illinois, Southeastern Wisconsin and Northeastern Iowa. It is the largest Regional Council in the United States.

Just at about the time of the merger, carpenters union members became an increasingly common presence at City Hall, at non-union construction sites and even at community meetings at which construction projects were discussed. The impression is of a much more in-your-face presence than is customary in Milwaukee. However, Noth says, “most of the folks you are seeing in Milwaukee have Chicago on their signs, but live and work hereabouts.”

If that is the case, the locals have certainly been instructed at some level by the big guys from the Windy City, which has a union tradition quite different from Milwaukee’s, to say the very least.

At a meeting Monday evening, June 26^th 2006, held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Milwaukee to discuss an upcoming project by New Land Development, individuals who identified themselves as members of the Carpenters Union handed out flyers that announced, “Who Is Pulling The Strings Around Milwaukee?”

The flyer answered its own question with, “Boris Gokhman of New Land Enterprises, LLP!”

The flyer queried further, “Is Boris running Ollman Construction Corp.?” (A non-union contractor that does much work on large residential projects.)

The answer, apparently, is yes, “Because he is signing the mortgages!”

“Does Boris Have Influence at City Hall?”

Yeppers, again, “Because Ald. D’Amato Gets Him Everything!”

“Where Will it End?”

No answer to that, but the flyer continues with, “Boris might be pulling the strings. Don’t let him ‘yank your chain.’”

The flyer ends with “The Carpenters Union is currently engaged in a labor dispute with Ollman Construction Corporation … We seek only to inform the public!” (Similar flyers have also appeared in mailboxes of homes under construction by non-union carpenters, including those built by Miracle Homes.)

Interestingly, there is no “union bug” on the flyer to identify it as the work of a union printing shop, so perhaps the flyer can not be traced to the union any more than can the mysterious fires that have occurred at non-union construction sites on N. Commerce St., or the vandalism that has been recorded at construction sites belonging to New Land Development and the Mandel Corporation.

I asked Ald. Michael D’Amato if he was aware of the flyer, and he said he was, adding that nobody from the Union has ever called him to express concerns about Gokhman.

Milwaukee, despite its geographic proximity to Chicago, has never really had a union with close ties to that city. Perhaps we are in for a learning curve.

--Michael Horne

GREEN DIRECTOR NAMED

The City of Milwaukee advertised in March for an Environmental Sustainability Director, a new cabinet-level position in the Barrett administration dedicated to "growing a green economy through smart approaches to water and energy issues."
Today, June 28th, 2006, the new director was announced, when the administration chose Ann Beier, a Wisconsin native for the position.
According to Department of City Development Commissioner Rocky Marcoux, Beier was chosen last week.
Beier is a Wisconsin native with "more than 20 years experience working with federal, state and local governments on environmental and economic development issues." She most recently served as the Planning Services Division Manager with the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development. She worked on "sustainable land and transportation uses that also promote a healthy economy."
The agenda of the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission, dated June 15th 2006, prepared for its meetings of June 28th - 30th, thanks Beier for her "exemplary service" to the agency, and mentions her new position in "Milwaukee's (as in, Wisconsin)" Mayor's office. If you want Beier's old job, you have until Friday to apply for it.
Beier, an attorney, also worked for the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency and was a state of Wisconsin budget analyst and economist.

-- Michael Horne

BURN THE FLAG, BUT DON'T WEAR THE MEDALS

BURN THE FLAG, IF YOU WILL – BUT DON’T WEAR THE MEDALS

[An Election Year Drama, with Hints of Political Meddling, Plays out in Federal Court Here.]

By Michael Horne

On June 27th, 2006, the United States Senate failed to rise to the bait and turned down a proposed amendment prohibiting the burning of the United States flag. With the flag furor extinguished (for now) another hot-button political issue with national implications is simmering right here in Wisconsin, attracting very little attention.

It is the case of The United States of America v. William James Richardson in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, where U. S. Attorney Steven M. Biskupic has decided to charge that the defendant “did knowingly wear a decoration and medal authorized by Congress for the armed forces of the United States, a service medal and badge awarded to the members of such forces, and the ribbon, button and rosette of such badges, decorations, and medals, without authorization under regulations made pursuant to law.

“All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 704.”

The penalty for this misdemeanor offense is a maximum $5,000 fine or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both.

Biskupic filed the charges on January 19^th, 2006, after an FBI investigation determined that Richardson had worn unauthorized decorations including the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Silver Star and the Distinguished Service Cross.

The venue? No, it was not Afghanistan or Iraq, or the halls of the Pentagon.

Richardson allegedly committed his offense "on or about the 4^th of July, 2002" as a member of the Fond du Lac American Legion Firing Squad.

He was allegedly photographed at that event, and fellow legion member John Streeter, a World War II vet, took the picture to the FBI, which used it as evidence against Richardson

Streeter’s suspicions were raised when he heard that Richardson, 60, was not accepted into the VFW post in town. If Richardson couldn’t make it into the VFW with all of that salad bar hanging on his chest, Streeter reckoned, then something must be wrong.

So, what started as a Legion Hall feud has become a federal case -- a very convenient case to rally veterans.

On April 6th, 2006, Richardson informed the court that he would enter a plea, after negotiations with authorities. He had until May 12th, 2006 to notify the court if a plea agreement had been signed. On May 19th, 2006, he entered a "Notice of Intent to Enter A Guilty Plea."

On June 16th, 2006, the Government asked permission to allow individuals to speak at the sentencing hearing. Three days later, the court allowed "members of the American Legion Post of Fond du Lac to speak at the sentencing," thereby turning it into a media circus. "If the defendant objects, he may file an objection which will be addressed in court," Magistrate Judge Aaron E. Goodstein ruled.

The next day Richardson's attorney, Calvin R. Malone of the Federal Defender Services of Wisconsin, Inc., informed the court that Richardson would change his plea. On June 21st, 2006, Malone informed the court that there was a dispute about the July 4th, 2006 photograph. The government agreed to "stipulate that [the] photo was taken in May, 2002 rather than July, 2002. The information will need to be amended." The trial is set for August 3rd, 2006 at 10:00 a.m.

I asked Assistant U. S. Attorney William Lipscomb why Biskupic decided to charge Richardson for this offense.

He said “perhaps you should see what veterans’ groups have to say about this issue.”

I responded that I was aware of what veterans’ groups have to say about flag burning, too, and I couldn’t see why this relatively trivial offense is being prosecuted in Federal Court in Milwaukee.

(By the way, there is a branch of the United States Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin located in Green Bay, which is much closer to the scene of the crime. Why wasn’t the case prosecuted there? Curious.)

My conclusion is that Biskupic, who can always be relied upon for his keen political instincts and willingness to do the bidding of his superiors, is advancing this case since it will make excellent election year fodder – just as would a flag burning amendment.

But why stop with Richardson? Why not take a page from narcotics prosecutors and go to the source? Maybe Biskupic should go after Richardson’s dealers, and put them out of business, too. Let’s shut down the foundries that cast these trinkets, and the looms that spin out yards of ribbon. There are dozens of places to buy these decorations, buttons and rosettes, both real and counterfeit, the latter of which constitutes yet another crime. A friend of mine in the business says the only real no-no in the sale of military decorations is the Congressional Medal of Honor, which has its own provisions in the U. S. Code.

The stuff is as plentiful as costume jewelry, and often as cheaply made. The authentic stuff often finds its way into the hands of the dealers from the government itself in the form of military surplus!

It is understandable for some people who feel the need to dress in uniform to do so as snappily as they think they ought. Although repugnant, if my neighbor decides to bedeck himself in a military uniform glittering with unearned medals, his little pantomime does me no harm, and I don’t think the U. S. Attorney should let the Attorney General force him into prosecuting the guy for something that happened four years ago, and attracted no attention then.

Richardson was not attempting to represent himself as an active duty soldier when he appeared at the 4^th of July parade in his resplendently augmented uniform. He was part of a display, much like a Civil War re-enactment, and you never hear of those guys getting busted for wearing their musketry medals and cavalry badges.

There is a difference between pretending to be a soldier and being a pretend soldier like Richardson and the re-enactors.

This is nothing more than election year pandering by the same crew that continues to probe the depths of that disreputable art.

IT'S A GIRL! KOHL INTERN "HOTTEST ON HILL"

IT’S A GIRL! KOHL AIDE IS “HOTTEST HILL INTERN”

Stephanie Carter, an intern in the office of Senator Herb Kohl, has been chosen as the hottest female intern on Capitol Hill by the readers of Wonkette, a political website for “people with dirty minds.” (Click on the link, and see for yourself.)

Carter, a brunette, was not in the office today when milwaukeeworld.com called to find out a bit more about her.

She was the easy winner in the poll, gathering 25 per cent of 8,093 votes cast among a field of nine contestants. The runner-up received a scant 15 per cent of the votes. Her victory was announced this afternoon.

Carter received a number of endorsements, including these:

“Stephanie is a total knock-out!”

“I go to school with [Stephanie] and let me just say this girl can party and her tits are the size of my head.”

“Nicknamed ‘Hungry Eyes,’ Ms. Stephanie is the cutest intern you’ll ever see on the Hill… with a Julia Roberts smile and eyes that will melt your heart… Stephanie is your girl!”

It is not the first time Senator Kohl’s office has been recognized for its staff. The senior senator from Wisconsin has been identified as one of the best people to work for in Congress, according to Roll Call, a newspaper that covers events on Capitol Hill.

-- Michael Horne

VIDEO ADVENTURES SUPERSTORE TO CLOSE

You have only a few weeks to purchase videos from Video Adventures Super Store, 1418 E. Brady St. The company, one of the largest independent video stores in the country, will close by mid-July, or by the end of July at the latest, according to an employee. "We are closing, we are not relocating," the employee said. Owner Don Bohatka is in Boston, and could not be reached for comment.
However, yet another employee has told milwaukeeworld that the store indeed would reopen, and mentioned the address of the new location. Milwaukeeworld is attempting to contact the owner of the property in question to find out what's happening.
One thing is for certain -- the inventory at the store is moving at cut-rate prices. Which selections will empty out first? The first floor inventory, or the stuff upstairs?
--Michael Horne

WI-FI FO-FUM

Last October Mayor Tom Barrett announced a deal with Midwest Fiber Networks to blanket the city with Wi-Fi signals. At the time there was some skepticism about the proposal, particularly from those concerned about the firm's lack of substantive track record and negative net worth. (See "Beware of Geeks Bearing Gifts.")
Still, the Common Council approved the deal with Midwest Fiber Networks, provided the firm pass the scrutiny of the comptroller and provided the firm create a demonstration project to prove its plan would work.
Alas, well into what should have been the contract period, the demonstration project has not begun, and the comptroller has not signed off on the deal. The Common Council, at its last meeting, instructed the city to begin looking at other firms to create the Wi-Fi network.
Comptroller W. Martin "Wally" Morics, C.P.A., put it this way in an interview with Milwaukeeworld last week:
"The City's point of view is that [Midwest Fiber Networks] is a new and relatively small company. We are telling them to come back to us with deep pockets. ... At the end, we need to know the firm has the financial wherewithal to put brick and mortar in the ground. Right now, we haven't seen that. Absent an agreement, there is too much risk."
Joe Klein, a registered lobbyist interested in internet issues, said his concern with Midwest is that the firm does not apparently have outside capital. "I'm always concerned when a firm has no equity partners," he said. "That is just the way things are done in Silicon Valley."
In fact, that seems to be a rule whenever $20 million or larger projects, like the Wi-Fi-ification of Milwaukee, are undertaken.
In a paper entitled, "The Law of Biofuels," attorneys at Stoel Rives, LLP note, "Many lenders will commit substantial amounts of capital to biofuels projects only after these projects are supported by significant equity investments made by key players other than the project sponsors." Substitute "internet" for "biofuels," and the message is the same. You need outside money, and you have to give up an equity stake to get it.
Nik Ivancevic, a principal at Midwest Fiber Networks, says the comptroller is "asking us to have a service provider" designated for the project. "Originally our mission was to be open access." He says, "we have had a couple of interested parties that want to provide service" on the proposed network. He says his firm's attorneys have been meeting with the City Attorney's office on an "ongoing basis," and as recently as today.
He added that the pilot project, to be installed in the vicinity of Marquette University, "will begin once all the approvals are granted to us. We can't do anything unitl the city signs off on the agreement."
He said that by the end of this week, he should have an announcement, including the name of an anchor tenant, and the completion bond requested by Morics.
As far as the delays, Ivancevic says it is a natural outcome of something that is "new for the city, new technology; we're asking the city to provide something that has never been provided before," with the new technology, and that delays are to be expected.
One more delay to expect: getting Wally's signature on the paperwork. The comptroller and his wife are in Stratford, Ontario for the annual Shakespeare festival there. To be, or not to be? That still is the question.
--Michael Horne

THE BUFFETT - GATES CONNECTION

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett made headlines over the weekend when it was announced that he would begin annual donations to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that will culminate in the ultimate dispersal of most of his wealth to that organization.
Bill Gates, Melinda Gates and the musician Bono were chosen as the "Persons of the Year" by Time Magazine last year, citing their revolutionary changes in funding needy causes, particularly those involved with public health.
Some of the Buffett money will also be channeled to foundations run by his children, including the NoVo Foundation (formerly Spirit Foundation), established by Peter Buffett, who lived in Milwaukee from about 1990 until last year.
Gates, the world's richest individual, and Buffett, the world's second-wealthiest individual, have been close, according to newspaper accounts.
I remember Peter Buffett telling me years ago exactly how close the two were.
Warren Buffett sold Bill Gates the engagement ring he gave the former Melinda French in 1993. Buffett owns Borsheim's, an Omaha jewelry store. According to Time Magazine, Gates diverted a private jet to Omaha as a surprise for his fiancee. Buffett met the pair there and brought them to Borsheim's to select the stone and setting for the ring.
As Peter told me, his father later delivered the finished product to Gates at a hotel near O'Hare Airport in Chicago.
--Michael Horne

ANOTHER FORTIS FEUD

The Shepherd Express has lost yet another regular contributor, again due to the editorial meddling of its ethically challenged publisher, Louis Fortis. This week, it is Media Musings columnist Dave Berkman, a retired UWM professor, who has parted ways with the Milwaukee alternative weekly in an editorial dispute.
These defections have become commonplace at Alternative Publications, Inc., which at one time was not considered ironically named. The paper has morphed into a lifestyle magazine and is shedding its alternative past as Fortis uses his position to promote his narrow political agenda with a zeal that would have humbled William Randolph Hearst himself.
The paper abounds wth unsigned opinion pieces on news pages; you can be sure these are the writings of Fortis. In election season the newspaper endorses candidates for office with oracular certitude, another Fortis characteristic.
The spat with Berkman arose when Fortis refused to publish a column decrying the minority hiring practices of WUWM-FM, the radio station of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the school where Berkman had retired as a journalism professor.
It was not a fresh topic for Berkman, and he excoriates station manager Dave Edwards. In typical Berkman fashion, his comments are as oracular as Fortis'. Nobody is actually quoted in Berkman's column, nobody is given the chance to explain his or her positions or to advance their causes in their own words. But then, Berkman never quoted anybody in his Media Musings, and I do not believe he ever interviewed anybody in the preparation of any of his columns over a period of over a decade. If he had, there would have been quotes.
Although the Berkman column was not published by Fortis, the author sent it to various spots on the internet, where you can find it posted somewhere if you'd like.
It now includes a preface regarding Berkman's departure and that of Doug Hissom, about which Berkman was silent until now. (You read about it here, first.)
Berkman's apologia contains this curious statement, which I know to be untrue:
"The Shepherd's full-time staff is as all-white as UWMs 28 employees. Since I never actually worked for the paper, I've been visiting it only once or twice a year and just learned this today" [May 27th--Ed.]
I wrote for the Shepherd Express for many years, and visited it plenty often, usually to pick up a check. Berkman was a commonplace, and I well remember his quaint habit of using the Shepherd Express copy machine to duplicate his latest column on paper that would last longer than the newsprint original.
He would then use the accumulated columns as a sort of textbook for his journalism classes. I think the students had to buy them, as well.
Berkman was a frequenter of Shepherd Express parties and events. He was not a drinker, but he knew his way around a free meal.
And he, with his tenured professor's income, was as eager to get his freelance writer's fee as was I, with no other income, which may explain why we tended to run across each other at the Shepherd's offices, at their various locations, over the years.
To say that he just learned "today" that the Shepherd Express was "lilly white," and that his visits there were no more than semi-annual is even more disingenuous than I would have considered the man capable of being.
Perhaps Berkman is so color-blind he didn't realize that the woman who wrote the checks was an African-American individual, (who has since filed a discrimination complaint against Fortis.)
The first person to leave the Shepherd Express after a dispute with Fortis' practices was Bruce Murphy, who went from there to here, where he gave milwaukeeworld its start.
I left not long after, taking the time to ensure my departure was fully covered in the Pressroom Confidential column in Milwaukee Magazine.
I left because I caught Fortis inserting a fictional news story about a protest of a presidential visit, neither of which had yet happened, into the paper for his own political purposes.
I read the story about the protest held "at a downtown park" (otherwise unnamed) opposing George Bush, who was there to deliver a speech. Fair enough. But while I was reading the story, I was also watching the arrival of George Bush at Mitchell International Airport on television -- live.
I had had enough.
Today, only one pre-Fortis journalist remains who has not departed from the Shepherd Express news pages. I always wondered who would be the last -- that person who would allow his or her conscience to remain unperturbed by the character of Louis Fortis the longest.
And the winner is: Joel McNally, who should have enough money from his careers as a former legitimate newspaper reporter, a television panelist, a radio show host and a columnist, not to mention from whatever his wife is making and that Journal stock, to bid his farewell to Louis Fortis and to what has become of the Shepherd Express and of alternative print journalism in this city.
--Michael Horne

MEQUON MURDERER COPS PLEA

STEPHEN TRATTNER TO BE SENTENCED IN SEPTEMBER

A MilwaukeeWorld exclusive

By Michael Horne

Steve L. Trattner, the Mequon man charged with murdering his wife Sin Lam in January, appeared in Ozaukee County Court at 1:30p.m. today, June 16th, 2006, and entered a plea of "no contest" to the charges, thereby cancelling the jury trial that had been scheduled to begin June 26th.

What had begun as the final scheduling conference before the trial then became a "Plea Hearing" before Judge Tom R. Wolfgram, who accepted the plea and found the defendant guilty.
The parties, including Sandy Ann Williams, the D.A. from Oz, and Trattner's attorney, Michael J. Fitzgerald, told the judge that there had been no plea agreement and would be no recommendation made at the sentencing, which was set for September 6th, 2006 at 9 a.m. The judge ordered a presentence investigation of Trattner, who was remanded to the custody of the Sheriff pending the sentencing.

Thus ends a sad case in Mequon, where homicide is not common, but is not unknown either, particularly along the river.

REP LASEE: CHILD SUPPORT IS COSTING ME TOO MUCH

Rep. Frank Lasee (R-2nd) has asked to reduce the child support payments he must make for a child of his born out of wedlock to a DePere woman.
A friend of the mother of Lasee's child called www.milwaukeeworld.com, with the permission of the mother, to discuss the matter.
She said Lasee wrote to the mother saying that child support payments were too onerous for his modest legislative salary, to which the mother replied that the payments barely covered day care for the infant.
Lasee also has not seen the child in five months, according to the caller. While the mother would like the Green Bay Republican to be a part of her child's life, Lasee, she says, is unwilling to make a commitment of his time for such a purpose. "It would take too much time and effort," he said, according to the caller.
[The mother of the child and the caller are not being identified here out of concern for the interest of the child.]
Lasee, known as "The Father of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights," a measure that has been oft-aborted, is an active blogger, usually on tax issues, and particularly those dealing with teachers' unions.
He points out that voters expect consistency in their elected officials, noting:
"The voters are fed up with the business as usual mentality. They want politicians who say they'll do something and MEAN IT." [Emphasis original.]
So, when Lasee agreed in court to pay a fixed amount of his income in child support, it appears he didn't really MEAN IT.
--Michael Horne

JOHNSON CONTROLS' $3M PLEDGE TO DISCOVERY WORLD

By Michael Horne

Johnson Controls, Inc., Milwaukee’s largest publicly traded corporation, announced Monday June 12^th 2006 that it would sponsor Johnson Controls’ TechnoJungle: The Hunt for the Next Great Idea in Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin, the new science and technology museum on the lakefront.

The $3 million gift, to be funded over the next five years, “will use personalized interactivity and forward-looking technology to give young people and their parents a sense of the possibilities for their future,” said John Barth, Johnson Controls chairman and CEO in prepared remarks.

The announcement was made at the monthly meeting of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, held in the Pilot House of the new facility. About twenty tables of eight persons each were filled for the noon luncheon. GMC members dined on Chicken Caesar Salad and seasonal fruit served by Bartolotta Catering Company, under the watchful eye of Joe Bartolotta himself, surveying the operations of the building. Bartolotta said the service portion of the building needs to be tweaked here and there, as would any foodservice operation, adding, “we’ll make it work.” His firm has the exclusive catering contract for Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin.

The luncheon was only the second official function held at Pier Wisconsin, with the first being a homecoming for the S/V Denis Sullivan Saturday. [See related post.]

Attendees included Governor Jim Doyle, Mayor Tom Barrett (who said his rosy complexion is due to hours spent at Little League games, not to mention a sail on the Sullivan); James D. Ericson, former Chairman of Northwestern Mutual; Ted D. Kellner, CFA (that’s what his name tag said); Fred Luber; Dennis Kuester; John Mellowes; Sheila Cochran; newly-goateed David V. Uihlein, Jr. (seated next to Peter Mahler, who had his name tag on upside down); Bev Greenberg; Daniel J. Steininger, JD, CLU (that’s what his business card said); and others too numerous to mention, including Jack McKeithan and Paul Purcell, the head of Robert W. Baird & Co., who doesn’t hang out in Milwaukee much.

Discovery World director Paul Krajniak, who is equal parts Crazy Professor and Mr. Wizard, narrated a visual presentation about the museum, explaining its attributes, which are multifarious. He said the museum was “built for one reason – to shape the future” of the city, state and region. Museum-goers will be able to design and produce items in the facility that they can take with them, including such things as a handbag or a corrugated fiberboard chair. Governor Doyle paid rapt attention throughout Krajniak’s presentation.

Krajniak was credited by Michael Cudahy with coming up with many of the ideas for the TechnoJungle, designed to reveal “the role that innovation and creativity play in engineering and design.”

The Portable Expeditionary Curriculum “allows participants to download activities that turn the real world into a TechnoJungle with riddles, puzzles, experiments and creativity exercises designed to recognize and inspire innovation.”

Tours would be led by a “virtual Lynde Bradley,” Krajniak said, bringing a smile to the face of David Uihlein, Bradley’s great-grandnephew.

Krajniak says a website “for innovators, only,” has been established at www.TechnoJungle.org for more information. [A card handed out at the event read, “Your Access Code: Join the Hunt.” I tried the access code, and it does get you to the site.]

Michael Cudahy also addressed the crowd, likening the Pilot House to a “Parisian nightclub.” This is very likely firsthand observation on the part of Cudahy who has been known to fly friends to New York City simply for dinner and a show.

He said, “I had 1,200 of my nearest and dearest friends here Saturday night.” Only one thing bugged him, he said, and that was that certain of his friends would say, “’That Mike Cudahy. He’s amazing – for 82.’”

This message of mortality is about the only thing that could humble Cudahy, who thinks he’s amazing -- for anything. He said Discovery World “is not for profit, but is also not for loss. At 82 I know I might croak. This building is designed to last 200 years, and, by God, I’ll see it does, ruling from the grave.”

THE SULLIVAN ARRIVES AT NEW HOME PORT

The almost-completed Pier Wisconsin was the site Saturday, June 10^th 2006 for a $50 per person homecoming celebration for the return of the Denis Sullivan, Milwaukee’s own schooner.

Actually, the ship had been in town for a while, but Saturday was the first time it berthed in its new home at the lakefront educational center that is the brainchild of Michael Cudahy, the millionaire philanthropist who has a way of seeing his projects to fruition. Since retirement age, Cudahy, now 82, has moved Discovery World into the Milwaukee Public Museum, spearheaded construction of the schooner, bought one theater and leased another, dismantled his home and moved it 7 miles to the north, wrote his autobiography, (as did his father and grandfather before him), tinkered with a disposable hearing aid idea and is now moving Discovery World out of the museum and into Pier Wisconsin. What have you been doing lately?

Saturday’s gala was semi-grand, as befits a building that is still under construction. However, enough of the sawdust was swept away that the thousand or more guests could get a general impression of the place, and its position in the firmament of Milwaukee cultural and entertainment venues.

“I don’t really know why I’m here,” said Nana Allis of Mequon, “I guess it’s practice for the real party in September,” when the place officially will open. She attended with her husband Bill Allis, and retreated to a tent where they and friends enjoyed premium service reserved for special donors. The Von Briesen law firm sponsored quite a large reception and the liquor flowed freely.

Among the dignitaries joining the Allises in the tent were such worthies as Jack Brysson and Olive “Cissy” Van Dyke Brysson, Bob Otte and Fair Otte, among others familiar to those in possession of a Milwaukee Club, or Milwaukee Country Club directory (either will do, in this case.) Jeffrey Allis accompanied Mary Cudahy, in from Florida. Also present was Lisa Cudahy. She had accompanied Mike Cudahy on the ship as it sailed in earlier. In his welcoming remarks to the audience, he called her "one of my favorite ex-wives."

Meanwhile, the building itself served admirably for its maiden voyage. The place apparently works, at least as a gathering spot, with ample room for banquet tables, service bars, musicians and other party necessities.

Ald. Michael S. D’Amato was there, as were Common Council President Willie Hines and Ald. Michael Murphy. Hines had sailed in on the boat for its official arrival, next to Tom Barrett, the mayor of the city of Milwaukee, reddened from some much-needed sun. Former alderman Sue Breier was there, visiting from one of the many homes she enjoys in retirement. She said she plants roses everywhere she lives (here, up north and Florida) in memory of her father, former police chief Harold Breier.

Election commissioner Sue Edmond was there.

Rep. Curt Gielow was there with wife Mary Gielow. Curt is retiring from the legislature, but is not lacking for things to do. He has incorporated a business called Thoroughbred Products, LLC. He said the business will distribute equine calcium supplements under contract with a Madison firm. “It’s a connection I made in Madison,” he said. Once out of office, you can count on him to ditch Mequon and move downtown. “I’m working on Mary,” he said. Fellow legislator Jeff Stone was also present, as was Mequon mayor Christine Nuernberg.

During the event, I headed up to the Pilot House, the round room at the top of the museum, only to find it quite empty. Out on the deck, Michael Cudahy was chatting up Doug Neilson, President and CEO of Visit Milwaukee, the convention bureau for Milwaukee. His organization has been showing off the uncompleted facility to travel planners from around the country recently. Also present was Dan Steininger of Catholic Knights, the chairman of the City of Milwaukee Board of Harbor Commissioners. Cudahy showed how a mini-harbor is being constructed at the site that will accommodate pleasure craft, visiting charter cruises, the Denis Sullivan – and more.

How much more? Cudahy drew Steininger away for a private conversation. As the two of them walked away -- perhaps to discuss how Pier Wisconsin would be an ideal home port for the Lake Express Ferry, which now dumps its human cargo off in Bay View – you could see that the backs of their blazers were soiled, perhaps by wet paint, or at best, by drywall dust.

Mike Cudahy, himself a piece of work, was in his element – a work in progress, discussing future plans, and not afraid to get a little dirty in the process.

[Note: The Greater Milwaukee Committee will hold its monthly meeting today, June 12^th 2006 at noon, with Governor Jim Doyle as guest speaker. A major announcement is planned for the meeting. I’ll try to head over there and report back to you later.]

--Michael Horne

THE GLOVER VIGIL

About 75 people, many of them off duty officers, participated in a vigil for Alfonzo Craig Glover, the Milwaukee Police Officer who took his life May 30th hours after being charged on counts of homicide and perjury by District Attorney E. Michael McCann -- more than a year after the incident and after an inquest had failed to bring charges against him.
The event, held Thursday June 8th 2006 at 9:30 a.m. at MacArthur Square, was announced in powder blue cards that read, "TRUE BLUE, In Rememberance of Officer Alfonzo Glover," and was subtitled, "Questions surrounding the mistreatment and charges of Officer GLOVER by District Attorney E. Michael McCANN"
"YOU COULD BE NEXT," the card boldly cautioned.
The vigil was led by Captain Linda Haynes of the Milwaukee Police Department. Also present, in a semi-official role, was John A. Blacerzak, president of The Milwaukee Police Association, Local #21 IUPA, AFL-CIO.
Balcerzak brought with him a stack of letters on Milwaukee Police Association letterhead dated June 7th 2006 and addressed to McCann in which the union said it is "formally demanding your immediate resignation or retirement from the position of Milwaukee County District Attorney." The letter, signed by Balcerzak, goes on to say "This demand is being made due to the irresponsible handling of the investigation of Police Officer Alfonzo Glover, as well as additional investigations of police officers which you have handled, or are currently handling."
It appeared to be the same letter Balcerzak issued a week ago, except with a new date.
Several at the event carried signs echoing those concerns. One read, "McCann answer questions."
McCann has already announced both his retirement and his successor, some feel, in the person of John Chisholm.
Fred Gordon addressed the crowd and expressed his amazement, as he has on the radio recently, that nobody has come forward to run against Chisholm. As has been noted here in the past, it is virtually unheard of in the annals of American politics that the departure of a longstanding office holder is not immediately followed by a veritable gang of contestants vying for the position.
When John Norquist left office after only 15 years as mayor, twelve candidates ran to succeed him. McCann has been in office over twice as long -- 38 years -- and the only announced candidate is his handpicked successor. You'd have to travel to some strange totalitarian state -- probably someplace like River Hills -- to find the equal.
Gordon told the audience to go home and survey their sorority, fraternity, church and community friends to develop some candidates so as to make this what they call in a democracy, "an election."
At the end of the ceremony, Balcerzak personally consoled Joyce Marie Toliver Glover, the officer's mother, on the steps of the square while others, including police officers, carried signs reading "Balcerzak why didn't you help Glover," and "How many must die at the hands of the Dahmer cop?"
News cameras from all television stations were present.
--Michael Horne

CITY SEEKS SEARCH FIRM FOR FIRE CHIEF

The City of Milwaukee has issued an Invitation to Bid for "a proposal for a vendor service contract for an executive search firm to recruit candidates for consideration for the position of Fire Chief for the City of Milwaukee Fire Department."
The request is dated June 2nd 2006, and bids must be submitted by June 27th 2006 at 2 p.m.
The four year term of William E. Wentlandt, Jr. expires this fall, and the request for proposal seems to indicate that a nationwide search may be undertaken. It sure makes it clear that Wentlandt will not be reappointed.
No previous "Chief of Fire Protection for the City of Milwaukee" has ever been an outsider. Instead, for the 131 years of the department's history, chiefs were chosen from those who worked their way up the ladder, so to speak.
The executive search firm will be judged on a number of criteria, including "Experience and success in recruiting well-qualified candidates for Fire Chief and other management positions in public safery and/or public service," and "qualifications and experience of personnel to be assigned tothis project and the ability of the firm to carry out the project," along with "proposed fees and expenses."
The city also asks bidders to state a cash discount they will accept for early payment for their services.
The city will also award up to 10 points in its proposal process for "use of a City Certified EBE Subcontractor."
--Michael Horne

IMPRISIONED KAROS GETS YEAR AND DAY FOR MISSOURI "REMBRANDT" SCAM

A Milwaukeeworld Exclusive

By Michael Horne

Marilyn Karos, the 65-year old Whitefish Bay woman now serving 20 months in Federal custody for her attempt to "corruptly endeavor to influence, obstruct and impede the due administration of justice in the case of the United States of America v. Richard O'Hara," was sentenced yesterday in U. S. District Court in St. Louis to 12 months and one day imprisonment for her role in an attempt to sell a fake Rembrandt painting there.
The sentence, imposed by Judge E. Richard Webber, is to run concurrently with the 20 months' sentence she received last Halloween in Milwaukee. The judge also sentenced her to three years' supervised release.
According to the website of the Bureau of Prisons, Karos, who is now in transit, was expected to be released from prison on March 9th, 2007. After yesterday's sentencing, that date would appear to now be June 7th, 2007.
Karos has been a frequent flyer with the federal justice system since her involvement in a bizarre incident in 2000 when a very shady character named Zakria Abdul Hameed El-Shafei was beaten at her home by O'Hara when he refused to return to her antique celestial instruments that had been stolen years before from the Rome Observatory and which had been consigned to El-Shafei for sale. [The objects have since been repatriated.]
O'Hara, at the time of the beating, threatened to kill El-Shafei's then-pregnant wife, who was present at the time.
According to an e-mail sent to milwaukeeworld by Alexandra Pearl, the pseudonym for El-Shafei's ex-wife, he is now believed to be in Libya, possibly in Benghazi, his home town. She has written a slightly-fictionalized book called "Forbidden Prayers," regarding her time with the con man. The FBI and other law enforcement officials would be very interested in talking to El-Shafei, who managed to slip out of this country leaving a trail of warrants and judgments in his wake.
In the most recent caper, Karos conspired with a Missouri man to sell what was purported to be a Rembrandt painting to an individual who happened to be a federal agent.
(For past Karos postings, please use the search button above.)

BEACH DRIVE POLICE "BEAT"

BEACH DRIVE POLICE “BEAT”

A pretrial conference was held Tuesday, June 6^th 2006 in Milwaukee County Circuit Court in the criminal case of Michael A. Capati, 34, the Milwaukee Police officer who was suspended after he was charged for a May 21^st incident in the 7900 block of N. Beach Drive in Fox Point after he broke a window of a house there and assaulted an individual there, in an area not known for violence, or as the natural stomping grounds of jealous police spouses.

Capati was charged with three misdemeanor counts of battery, criminal damage to property and resisting arrest after he allegedly encountered his wife having sex with another person at the property. This is considered a domestic abuse case, also, and Capati has been instructed to have no contact with his wife at her home or her place of employment.

According to the Fox Point Police Department, which will sell you a copy of the police report of the incident for $6.65, the events occurred at 7912 N. Beach Drive, which a police department official identified as the residence of Colin Michael Lancaster. Lancaster is listed as the general counsel of Stark Investments, 3600 S. Lake Drive, St. Francis, and is a 1993 graduate of Marquette University Law School.

Tia Lancaster and Colin Lancaster are listed as donors of between $2,000 to $4,999 to Marquette University Law School in fall, 2003.

North Beach Drive is legendary in North Shore circles, since it is one of the few lakefront streets in the metropolitan area that is only slightly above the level of Lake Michigan, and not poised high on a bluff. This has made the area extremely valuable, which is shown in the tax assessment for the property that values the land at $1,200,000 and the home at a measly $816,000, for a total of $2,016,000. The taxes on the property amounted to $51,084.41 (more than a cop’s salary) and are paid in full. Here is an aerial photograph of the vicinity, taken in 2000. The famed “Witch’s House,” the home and studio of the late outsider artist Mary Nohl, now administered by the John Michael Kohler Foundation, is at the very southern end of the road.

This is not the first time Capati has been charged with battery, as this listing shows. He joined the force in 2001.

He is the son of Carmelito Capati, the genial owner of the Asian Mart, 1125 N. Old World Third St., and wrote a feedback piece about his childhood at the store which was published this spring in the onmilwaukee.com website.

--Michael Horne

TREASURER'S CLERK TO COURT TODAY

Kelly M. Edwards, 38, a former teller in the City of Milwaukee Treasurer's office is due in court this afternoon, Monday, June 5th 2006 at 1:30 p.m., for her initial appearance on criminal charges of theft of $32,000 from the department.
She is scheduled to appear in room 221 of the Safety Building to make her appearance. The case has been assigned to Judge Paul Van Grunsven of Branch 9.
Edwards is also in the midst of a divorce from her husband, Michael A. Edwards, who filed to dissolve the marriage in May, 2005. The case is still pending, and both petitioner and respondent have attended parenting classes, which means, sadly, that there are children involved.
The next hearing on that case is on September 15th 2006. It is not clear if there are any custodial issues to be decided in the divorce, but judges often frown on placing children with their mother when mommy is in the slammer.
Kelly Edwards has also used the names "Mary Netz" and "Mary Edwards," according to the divorce filing.
--Michael Horne

STAGED EVENT MIFFS POLICE UNION

There was no room in Mayor Tom Barrett’s office for members of the police union (some with signs suggesting an “early release” for Governor Jim Doyle) during a hastily-called joint press conference the dual dignitaries held Friday.

Politics, it seems, is in bad form during election season and had nothing to do with Doyle’s decision to come to Milwaukee to jointly announce with the mayor a summer youth jobs program and extra funds for police overtime.

(One police union sign read, “Governor Doyle, Welcome to Milwaukee. FINALLY”)

This came a day after U. S. Rep. Mark Green took Doyle to task for not coming to Milwaukee’s aid after a violent Memorial Day weekend. Green is running for governor against Doyle, and had just that day received the endorsement of the Milwaukee Police Association.

The union is furious with Doyle because Lenard Wells, the former head of the state Parole Commission, freed a cop killer. The union wants this practice to stop. Wells resigned, for what could be described as political reasons.

In the midst of all of this politics, nine union members, carrying the signs (“No More Cop Killers on Streets”) were turned away from the closed-door meeting in the mayor’s office by a member of the governor’s staff who said there was only room for the dignitaries, including Chief Nannette Hegerty, and the media. That probably would be enough to fill up the mayor’s office.

“Why not hold the event in the larger reception area?” the police asked.

“Because it’s not safe.”

“Of course it’s not safe, you’re in the city of Milwaukee,” the cops responded.

“We don’t have the proper security detail.”

The fact is the mayor and governor were both together Thursday in a crowd of 1,000 at the groundbreaking of the Harley-Davidson Museum held outdoors, and were plenty secure. The mayor has held many news conferences in the vestibule of his office at which members of the police union have appeared. The police hung around, and after the event challenged Barrett and Doyle. The two did not respond and walked stiffly away, smiling for the cameras, and missing an opportunity to say something to disarm the competition.

Politicians used to be much more able to handle contact with their opposition, and should know that there will be protestors and sign-bearers in their presence. However, it is far too easy for chief executives to hold their press conferences in their offices where any opposition would be out of sight. Access control is a privilege of incumbency.

The elements of the governor’s proposal included his directing a share of federal money under his control to Milwaukee for summer jobs.

He also announced $200,000 in overtime money for the police. “That’s about two weeks’ worth of overtime,” said Sebastian Raclaw of the police union. Doyle also said he plans to ask the legislature Joint Finance Committee for an additional $1 million in overtime money. Although the legislature has pretty much gone to bed, the governor can convene something called a 1310 session to request the funds.

Of course, it gets hot every summer, and June seems a bit late to be planning the summer’s police budget.

There is a general consensus that crime is out of control in certain areas of the city. Former police chief Art Jones, faced with this perennial problem, saturated the streets with cops. Although crime went down, overtime costs skyrocketed. Furthermore, the Milwaukee Police Department is short 250 of its authorized strength, according to union numbers. We will have to face this financial and social reality one way or another.

Here is a link to the joint press release of the governor and mayor, from the governor’s website.

--Michael Horne

CAMPAIGN SEASON BEGINS and Other Stories

GRAL SENTENCING DELAYEDThe sentencing hearing scheduled for June 2nd in United States District Court for Michael A. Gral has been cancelled, according to the clerk there. No date has been rescheduled at this time. Gral was a Milwaukee attorney involved in the scandal that has sent Robert Brownell of Bielinski Brothers contractors to jail. Gral pleaded guilty in the courtroom of Judge Charles Clevert in case 05-CR-013. No reason was given for the cancellation of the sentencing hearing. – Michael Horne

HISSOM SURFACES – KINDA

Doug Hissom, formerly of the Shepherd Express, has established a website entitled The Hissom ReportHowever, thus far the site has nothing to report, other than that it exists. – Michael Horne

OUT OF THE WOODWORK AND IN YOUR FACE
Nomination Papers Begin Circulating Today

June 1^st is the first day for candidates to circulate nomination papers for the September primary election. In Milwaukee County, County Clerk Mark Ryan, Clerk of Courts John Barrett, Register of Deeds John LaFave and Treasurer Dan Diliberti have taken out papers. All are incumbents in their position, and all are, thus far, unopposed. (If you’d like to run, you have until July 11^th to turn in your nomination papers.) Sheriff David A. Clarke, Jr. has taken out papers (let’s see if he submits them on time, for a change) as has Vince Bobot who plans to face the sheriff in the democratic primary, thus far the only race on the county ballot. Don Holt, of Greenfield, plans to run as a Republican. Holt says that of Milwaukee’s last five sheriffs, all democrats, only Richard Artison was a man of character and integrity. The rest of them, present company included, were all political hacks, he concludes. Among state races, all assembly seats and odd-numbered senate districts are up for election this fall. We’ll cover that action later. Another state office – that of Milwaukee County District Attorney – has found only one candidate taking out papers thus far. That is assistant D.A. John Chisholm, running as a democrat, who must come up with between 500 and 1,000 signatures to get on the ballot – alone. It seems inconceivable that there would be no competitive race to succeed retiring D.A. E. Michael McCann, who has been in office since 1967. We’ll find out by July 11^th if this will be a cakewalk for Chisholm, or if he will have to spend some of the $29,000 he has raised as of January on a real campaign. (Of Chisholm’s war treasury, $19,000 came from himself.) In the City of Milwaukee, Election Commissioner Susan Edmon has an easier time, since there are no city seats up for grabs this cycle. She has her hands full complying with the new State Voter Registration System which is coming into effect. She will be sending an extract of all voter registration to the state later this month. On June 27^th, the city will “go live,” as she puts it, and registration will be on the new state system which has taken some time to get up to speed. [Equation: Computer Programs + State Government = Trouble.] She says by September 12^th, the date of the primary, the city will be fully compliant with requirements that all voting places have machines accessible for the handicapped. – Michael Horne

WHAT NOW?

“The City of Milwaukee is not accepting applications for: ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY” -- from a City of Milwaukee Department of Employee Relations e-mail notification which probably was intended to inform readers that the city is now accepting applications for the job opening(s) paying $50,872 to $120,414 per annum. “Recruitment may continue until the needs of the city are met,” the message ends. – Michael Horne