Author: Correspondent

The Public Policy Forum (PPF) and the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX) announced plans for merging their two organizations. The new organization will offer increased staff capacity, broader research capabilities, and an enhanced platform to better engage and inform policymakers, citizens, taxpayers, the media, and others. “For more than 85 years, our respective organizations have shared a mission of providing informed, nonpartisan analysis of the critical policy issues affecting our economy and quality of life,” said Todd Berry, President of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance. “The new organization will be resolutely committed to our shared values and areas of expertise, which...

Cathedral Square Friends, Inc. recently launched of the “Color the Square” initiative, to have baskets filled with bright, multi-colored flowers hanging from light poles inside and around the perimeter of Cathedral Square. The group is seeking sponsors to help fund the purchase of the baskets, their installation and multiple years of maintenance. Seeds will be planted in the baskets in late winter or early spring at the landscaper’s greenhouses and will be flowering when the baskets are installed late spring on brackets attached to the poles. The landscaper will water the baskets throughout the summer to keep the plants...

The Downtown Neighbors Association of Milwaukee recently launched an effort to begin a public discussion about the future of the site where the Bradley Center will eventually be torn down. DNA MKE is asking members of the public to read a “Top 10” list and sign an online petition asking the Wisconsin Center District, the City of Milwaukee, and the Milwaukee Bucks to conduct a serious, complete and public examination of this concept. The Top 10 reasons: The tax-paying public—especially those who aren’t basketball fans—deserve a new, fun and free amenity at this site, in exchange for contributing more...

Mayor Tom Barrett and the city’s Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative recently released the city’s 2016 teen birth rates, showing progress toward the city’s goal to reduce teen births by another 50 percent by 2023 and calling for continued attention to driving down rates further and to closing gaps between racial and ethnic groups. According to data from the City of Milwaukee Health Department, the total number of births to teens age 15 to 17 in Milwaukee once again declined. Milwaukee’s overall teen birth rate slightly declined to 18.0 births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 17 from 18.1 per...

Research seeks to unlock mysteries of Late-Life Depression, a condition already affecting more than 5 million individuals in the United States. With an aging population, including a significant number of baby boomers, late-life major depression (LLD) is a growing public health issue already affecting more than 5 million individuals in the US, according to Joseph S. Goveas, MD, associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral medicine and training director of the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship Program. Goveas, who is the co-primary investigator (PI) of the project, and a team of researchers are pioneering a study that...

From November 12 through December, the Milwaukee public will have several opportunities to help out local nonprofits and community organizations during the holidays. NEWaukee will be hosting a supply drive for Season of Giving in conjunction with the November 16th Social. Needed supplies include gently used ornaments and craft supplies to decorate them. Volunteers who participate in Season of Giving will receive a drink ticket good at any NEWaukee event through March of 2018. This year’s volunteer activity lineup features: Serving food for the St. Benedict the Moor Meal Program. Setting up the Christmas Store at Milwaukee Rescue Mission....