Author: Editor

“You cannot deny the science, and if you’re not going to do something, we’re going to do something.” – Mayor Tom Barrett The Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy took place in Chicago from December 4 to 6, and welcomed municipal leaders from across the world to its North American Climate Summit on December 5. Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett attended the historic event with a pledge of support for climate change action. Along with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who hosted the summit, Mayor Barrett signed the Chicago Climate Charter, a first-of-its-kind international policy on climate change, representing...

Milwaukee experienced every national hot-button issue in a single week, from carrying concealed guns, to the KKK, to blunt racial hatred as proof that White Supremacy is alive and well in the region. The week began with a controversial photo showing city contractors brandishing handguns on a job site in a black neighborhood. It ended with an equally unsettling photo of a city contractor’s lunch cooler decorated with stickers of the Confederate flag and Ku Klux Klan. Both images appeared on Facebook and led to immediate public outrage. The handgun photo was posted to Facebook on November 30, and...

The rehabilitation of the Milwaukee Soldiers Home and five other key projects recently approved by the Housing Trust Fund Advisory Board and the Milwaukee Common Council were announced on December 6 in front of the historic Old Main building on the grounds of the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center. The allocations were recommended for approval on November 9 by the Housing Trust Fund Advisory Board and were approved on November 28 by the Milwaukee Common Council. A total of $600,000 would be used to create 140 units of affordable housing for veterans and their families, as well as...

Mayor Barrett visited City Elves in the Santa Workshop Annex of Milwaukee City Hall on December 3, as they stuffed stockings and prepared for gift deliveries from this year’s Holiday Drive. The 11th Annual Holiday Drive kicked off collections across the County on November 20 and concluded December 1. This year’s efforts support the USO Wisconsin by collecting toys for the local children of military service members. “It’s a very cool way for us to show appreciation for those families who are making the sacrifice, who are serving overseas during the holiday season,” said Mayor Tom Barrett. “I think...

The Journalism Department of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee received a letter from the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in protest of a fictional book in early October. The message was written by a representative of a KKK faction in North Carolina. It comes in response to a recently published novel, “The Slave Players” by Megan Allen, asking libraries and colleges across the nation to ban the book. The plot is a mix of Django Unchained meets The Hunger Games (or Battle Royale by Koushun Takami). The modern day and fictional story takes place in the...

Construction of downtown Milwaukee’s newest high-rise office building, the 25-story BMO Tower, formally kicked off on November 16 with a groundbreaking ceremony in front of the BMO Harris Bank parking structure at 770 N. Water Street. The building will be home to BMO Harris Bank’s Wisconsin headquarters as well as the offices of the law firm Michael Best & Friedrich LLP. Initial relocation of utilities started in August at the building site. The site is currently occupied by a surface parking lot and seven-level parking structure located south of Wells Street between North Water Street and North Broadway. Demolition...