Author: Correspondent

County Executive Chris Abele announced on September 11 that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded Milwaukee County with funds to put 40 additional families in homes through the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program. The competitively awarded grant was one of only four awarded to housing authorities in the state. The Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Housing Division will receive more than a quarter-million dollars annually to expand the Section 8 program, which is enough to cover 40 additional annual vouchers. “This award shows the power and success of connecting people with...

Alverno College was recently awarded a $974,698 grant from the National Science Foundation to fund and support the college’s New Futures in Science and Mathematics Program, which is designed to help high-achieving, low-income women graduate with a degree in a STEM discipline. Using an engaging cohort model, the program aims to increase student retention and graduation through integrated advising, mentoring, tutoring and professional development, furthering Alverno’s mission of educating women for in-demand careers at a time when workforce needs are quickly evolving. “In addition to financial support, this grant promotes the success of women in STEM by designing collaborative...

An in-depth study about Wisconsin by Better Business Bureau found that, while consumers may write fewer checks in this era of electronic financial transactions, fake check scams are on the rise. Fake checks are used in a variety of frauds, from employment scams to prize and sweepstakes fraud. In all cases, victims deposit the check and send money back to scammers. BBB Warns consumers to be on guard against these serious and pervasive frauds and their perpetrators. The investigative study, Don’t Cash That Check: Better Business Bureau Study Shows How Fake Checks Scams Bait Consumers, looks at how fake checks dupe...

Backline, a grant and educational initiative designed to help Milwaukee-area musicians break out, recently announced the four musical artists it has selected for its first 12-week accelerator program, which provides intensive music-industry mentorship and $20,000 grants. The artists were selected in late July and began working in the accelerator August 3. The Backline artists selected for 2018 are: Soul/pop artist Lex Allen Allen is this year’s Mary Louise Mussoline Backline Artist, named in memory of 88Nine Radio Milwaukee’s late former executive director. EDM producer Crystal Knives Songwriter, singer and producer Abby Jeanne Alternative hip-hop/rap artist Zed Kenzo Among the...

Jewish Museum Milwaukee will open its new originally curated exhibit, “Blacklist: The Hollywood Red Scare,” on view October 12. Blacklist explores the personal and national impact of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and the Hollywood Blacklist through the biographies and accounts of blacklistees, films that were considered subversive by the FBI, HUAC hearing footage and more. The people regarded as “Un-American” in HUAC’s blacklist were disproportionately of minority backgrounds—Jews and immigrants. The exhibit explores the factors that led to the Hollywood Blacklist, a time in which these first amendment freedoms and what it meant to be patriotic became...

Drama, espionage, mystery and intrigue are all woven into films comprising the 21st annual Milwaukee Jewish Film Festival scheduled to run October 7 to October 11 at Marcus North Shore Cinema in Mequon. The Milwaukee Jewish Film Festival is an annual cinematic exploration and celebration of Jewish and Israeli life, culture and history for all to enjoy. Films in this year’s line-up originate from multiple countries including Austria, France, Israel, United States, Germany, Australia, South Africa, Netherlands, Japan and South Korea. Seven distinctly different films will speak to the diversity and complexity of the Jewish experience. From the cheekily...