Author: Correspondent

The Quadracci family has stepped forward with a $1.2 million donation to support the $8 million challenge gift from the Herma family to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. The $16 million campaign, announced in April, benefits the Herma Heart Center and will support ongoing research and clinical innovation focused on eradicating congenital heart defects and revolutionizing programs designed to improve the quality of life for heart patients and their families. The gift is being made through the family’s Windhover Foundation, which was established by the late Harry Quadracci, founder of Quad/Graphics, and his wife Betty. The foundation continues today under...

The “Reconnecting Milwaukee” study was done to better understand the impact of connecting specific trail corridors as part of the Route of the Badger project. A new study released today by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) found that neighborhoods experiencing inequality in Milwaukee, those where a concentration of the population lives under the poverty line, is unemployed, does not have a high school degree, does not own a vehicle and is either African-American or Hispanic—disproportionately lack access to biking and walking facilities. The study, Reconnecting Milwaukee – A BikeAble Study of Opportunity, Equity and Connectivity, explores current access for bicyclists and pedestrians...

The 36th annual Bastille Days returns downtown to Cathedral Square Park July 13 to 16 with a gourmet spread of food, libations and endless opportunities for sampling. The four-day affair boasts free food and drink demonstrations, ticketed wine tastings and 30 eateries serving authentic French and Cajun cuisines. Plus, Milwaukee Brewing Co. will unveil a specialty Bastille Days brew during the festival’s annual firkin tapping. Free Chef, Wine, Beer & Spirits Demos Cate Miller from Cate’s Kitchen will emcee the festival’s daily cooking demos, Thursday through Sunday between noon and 2 p.m. at the Madison Medical Affiliates Beaux Arts...

Artists Working in Education, (A.W.E.), along with public partners Milwaukee County Parks and Milwaukee Recreation, announce the start of A.W.E.’s Summer Truck Studio Program. Since 1999, the Truck Studio program has been driving more than art supplies. The Truck Studio has grown from a few volunteers and a donated van, to a fleet of four brightly painted vans staffed with a team of artists, art educators, and interns. The Summer Truck Studio program provides meaningful, drop-in art activities at 18 Milwaukee County Parks and playgrounds, at no cost to youth ages 4 to 14 in Milwaukee’s most under-served neighborhoods. The...

The crowd-sourced photo project aims to bring the city together, one garden at a time. With the beginning of summer, ZIP MKE launched its first photography challenge since its inception in October 2016. The community engagement organization, whose mission is to bring Milwaukee communities closer together through photography, is inviting city residents to share their “green” photos this summer. Whether they are photos taken in their front or backyard flower gardens or their balcony herb gardens, their community plots in an urban garden or their experiences at a farmer’s market, or even their garden potluck or yoga session or...

New research may give health officials more accurate tools when deciding whether to close beaches. One of the longstanding methods officials use for those decisions is the measurement of E. coli bacteria levels. Higher levels can lead to beach closings because it’s a warning sign of recent fecal pollution, which may carry harmful bacteria, viruses or protozoa. But researchers have discovered that E. coli – short for Escherichia coli – may survive and proliferate in beach sand independent of pollution events. These “naturalized” E. coli populations falsely inflate measurement levels, resulting in beach closings due to pollution that’s not...