CITY HALL BEDECKED IN ANTIWAR BANNERS

ANTIWAR BANNERS AT CITY HALL

By Michael Horne

As recently as last week the rotunda of City Hall was filled with banners and cardboard tombstones protesting the War in Iraq. Sean Ryan of The Daily Reporter snapped a photo of the scene, in which banners reading “Not One More Dime” and “Bring Them Home Now” flanked the entrance to the offices of the Common Council. This, and a Friday antiwar rally is likely to generate some discussion about the use of this public building for public displays and debate.

Ryan's accompanying article explains that public displays of a non-obscene nature are permitted in the rotunda of City Hall on a first-come-first-serve basis.

The Imprimatur is Ald. Bob Bauman in his role as chairman of the Public Works Committee. Bauman says there is no ideological test for displays in the Great Hall of The People. Coming up: a display asking us to support the Commander in Chief.

That doesn’t surprise John Zutz, an organizer of Veterans for Peace who says his group’s rally at City Hall Friday drew about 300 people to protest the Bush administration’s policy.

As far as the display honoring the “Commander in Chief,” [a power which, incidentally, the president wields only over the armed forces according to Article II Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution], Zutz is skeptical about these “spontaneous” demonstrations of patriotism, which he has seen since the days of the Vietnam War, of which he was a veteran.

“They purport to be grassroots efforts, but there always seems to be something top-down,” he says.

PUBLIC MARKET MEATS ANOTHER SETBACK

Lakeside Poultry and Meats has left the Milwaukee Public Market where it had served as the remaining vendor of fresh poultry and meats at the Historic Third Ward’s Noble Experiment. The departure was first noted on onmilwaukee.com January 24^th. No reason was given. The loss of the vendor opens up a very large amount of space in the market. The quality of the food was very high, and priced at a level which may have exceeded the market’s capacity. Other vendors have noted that the restaurant wholesale business may not be as robust as they had hoped, and that the flocks of chefs who were to have picked their counters clean each morning have not materialized, or at least not with checkbooks at hand. … Not far away, just down the street on Broadway, I am eagerly awaiting the opening of a women’s fashion boutique called Stephanie Horne (alas, no relation.) The shop will open at 159 N. Broadway in mid-February. It has been an Internet presence for four years, according to the shop’s eponymous owner who promises “Chicago-style women’s clothing and accessories.” ... Patty Burger has opened its first store in Milwaukee at 1952 N. Farwell Ave. It also has an outlet in Chicago. The gimmick is hand-formed Angus burgers with hand-cut garnishes. A very limited menu. – Michael Horne

COFFEE WITH A CONSCIENCE TO MOVE TO MUSEUM
(a milwaukeeworld scoop)
Coffee with a Conscience, located in the Bookseller at the Milwaukee Central Library will be shutting its doors according to former Alderman Don Richards who volunteers at the shop. The cafe, one of two sites operated by the Wisconsin Women's Business Initiatives Corporation, might possibly move to the Milwaukee Public Museum, according to a person who answered the phone there, adding that Wendy K. Baumann, the corporation's president was not immediately available to answer questions. The closing of the shop could deal a blow to the library, and for those on the west side of downtown who enjoy a cup of Fair Trade coffee, and locally made pastries and other goodies. Richards hopes the word gets out about the opportunity at the library and that a local Fair Trade dealer could be found to run the shop. -- Michael Horne

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“Some guy put me on a wanted poster on the Internet” – Rollie Fingers to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, after being outed by www.milwaukeeworld.com for his tax liability in a story that goes on and on …