Author: Correspondent

Black Nativity by Langston Hughes will run from December 7 to 16, with a special Community Night preview performance on December 6 at the Marcus Center’s Wilson Theater in Vogel Hall. Directed by Bronzeville Arts Ensemble’s co-founder Malkia Stampley, the production features returning music director/arranger, Antoine Reynolds and choreography by Daync Studio’s founder Christopher Gilbert. “I allow a social issue that affects Milwaukee and the national community to be a guide as I stage the production. I like to think of it as a backdrop, a seed that will grow on its own once you leave the stage,” said...

The Milwaukee Common Council recently adopted an amended 2019 City of Milwaukee budget in the amount of about $1.54 billion. The budget would add specialized positions to tackle the most pressing health-related issues facing the city. It establishes an Inspector General Position to act as a watchdog for city agencies including the Health Department and adds four Community Outreach Liaisons and one Health Project Coordinator while creating a $425,000 special purpose account to address elevated blood level follow-up and lead hazard remediation, family and community health visits and communicable disease prevention. “The struggles we went through this budget process...

The Martin Luther King Economic Development Corporation (MLKEDC) recently announced “MLK Homes,” a new program designed to purchase and rehabilitate single-family homes and duplexes in order to resell these properties to owner-occupants in the Harambee neighborhood. Properties will include both market rate and subsidized, or “affordable” investments. The MLK Homes initiative will focus on a specific area adjacent to Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive for development, and builds upon MLKEDC’s history over the past 20 years to improve conditions in the Harambee community. Through the program, MLKEDC will also take an active role in managing the overall housing market...

When Natalie Barnes got behind the wheel of her Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) bus on a chilly Saturday evening, she had no idea that by the end of the night she was going to help change a man’s life; but that is what happened when she provided food to a homeless man and connected him with a place to live. Natalie was driving the GoldLine on October 13 when Richard, a rider she has met before, got on her bus in Downtown Milwaukee. Richard rode until the end of the line at Brookfield Square Mall. During Natalie’s break,...

The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) recently announced that the WHEDA Foundation was awarding $162,800 in housing grants to eight housing providers in Milwaukee County. These grants, awarded during WHEDA’s annual Housing Grant Program competition, help housing providers build new facilities or make improvements to their existing facilities. To coincide with the week of Veterans Day, WHEDA Executive Director Wyman Winston made the announcement today at VETS Place Central, 3330 West Wells Street in Milwaukee. The Center for Veterans Issues (CVI) received $23,000 grant that will be used to renovate an existing garage into a therapeutic facility,...

Named for Saint Catherine, the patron saint of artists, the first-of-its-kind hotel in downtown Milwaukee is promoting itself as an experience that celebrates of the arts. Expected to open in spring 2019, Saint Kate The Arts Hotel, developers hope it will become a place to create discussion and drive collaboration among visitors. Blending exceptional hospitality with artistic expression, the hotel’s motto, “invite participation and expect change,” will challenge visitors to keep an open mind, embrace change, and evolve as individuals. At an unveiling event held November 12, in collaboration with Milwaukee’s vibrant creative community, over 400 artists witnessed the...