Author: Correspondent

The Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters delivered a petition with 1,817 signatures to the Department of Natural Resources on March 21, calling for the agency to reject a plan to divert seven million gallons of water per day from the Great Lakes to the private company Foxconn. The plan to raid Great Lakes water solely for manufacturing giant Foxconn represents an unprecedented betrayal of the core intent of the hard-won, bipartisan Great Lakes Compact of 2008. “This diversion plan is a thinly veiled attempt to degrade the Great Lakes Compact, one of the finest conservation achievements in a generation,”...

The first streetcar vehicle for The Hop, presented by Potawatomi Hotel & Casino, left manufacturer Brookville Equipment Corp. on March 23 using a flatbed truck for transportation. The modern, 67-foot long, 83,000-pound streetcar vehicle will travel from the plant in Brookville, Pennsylvania through Ohio, Indiana and Illinois before arriving in Milwaukee. The vehicle’s arrival is expected to mark the first time the fleet’s color scheme will be seen by the public. “The arrival of The Hop’s first vehicle in Milwaukee is a major and highly visible step forward in the development of our new streetcar system,” Mayor Tom Barrett...

The historic Pfister Hotel recently announced that Stephanie Schultz has been selected as its next Artist in Residence. As the program celebrates its 10th anniversary, Schultz, a Milwaukee-area fashion designer, will work in the hotel’s lobby-level Artist’s Studio for one year beginning April 1, 2018. She is succeeding current Pfister Artist in Residence and tintype photographer, Margaret Muza. “I am thrilled to be the next Artist in Residence as The Pfister celebrates the program’s 10th anniversary. It will be an honor to share my enthusiasm for fashion design with a community that I love,” said Schultz. “What I value...

County Executive Chris Abele and Milwaukee County Parks honor the life and work of architect Donald Grieb on March 16, whose architectural contributions helped shape Milwaukee’s landscape. Grieb passed away in Houston on February 25, 2018 at the age of 99. Notably, Grieb was the principal architect of one of Milwaukee’s most unique and identifiable attractions: the Mitchell Park Horticultural Conservatory, otherwise known as the Domes. Launched in 1964 by First Lady Claudia “Lady Bird” Johnson, the Domes attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors in their earliest years. The Domes themselves have stood for over fifty years, and have...

The Milwaukee-based bicycle company Fyxation recently announced their business expansion with the acquisition of the Pedal Milwaukee Building at 3618 W. Pierce Street in Milwaukee’s Silver City neighborhood, adjacent to the Menomonee Valley. Built in 1929, the 12,200 square foot classic cream city brick building is loaded with history and conveniently located off the Hank Aaron Trail in Milwaukee’s Silver City neighborhood. Fyxation was founded in 2009 by the Ginster brothers, Ben and Nick, and the first commercial space they ever leased was in this same building on Pierce Street. After leasing the space in Pedal Milwaukee for several...

Students and kids around Wisconsin will stand against tobacco use on March 21, as they join thousands of young people nationwide to mark Kick Butts Day. More than 1,000 events are planned across the United States for this annual day of youth activism, sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. On Kick Butts Day, kids encourage their peers to be tobacco-free, reject the dubious marketing from tobacco companies, and urge elected officials to help make the next generation tobacco-free. This year, Kick Butts Day is focusing attention on the progress the U.S. has made in reducing youth smoking and...