Author: Guest

Cavalier Johnson: Milwaukee residents are losing faith in state’s commitment to local concerns

At the beginning of the August recess I called to check in with one of the most reliable Block Watch captains in my district just to see if there were any pressing issues to be addressed before the Council session resumed in September. We had an hour-long conversation and it revolved around him and others like him losing hope. They are losing hope because when they report nuisance properties in their neighborhoods the time for rectifying those issues is now longer because of a recent law enacted in Madison (Wisconsin Act 317). They are losing hope because they know...

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Alderman Cavalier Johnson and family narrowly avoid random gunfire in his neighborhood

In communities across America and indeed in our state, gunshots ring out hourly grazing, maiming, and killing citizens of all ages, colors, and faiths. In rural areas, suicide by gun has cut short the lives of far too many. In cities, the blight that some have referred to as slow motion mass murder has altered countless lives. As normal as it may seem, it isn’t — or at least it shouldn’t be. Still, because of inaction, woeful indifference, or a decades long misunderstanding by our elected leaders at the state and federal levels of the need to reform who...

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Author of Protestant Reformation invoked by Lutheran activists at local immigration protest

More than 500 delegates and visitors to the United Church of Christ General Synod took to the streets of Milwaukee on August 7, joining more than 100 local activists in a rally calling for a change in policies that separate immigrant families. Delegates first voted that morning to delay the start time of the afternoon session to allow all Synod-goers to participate in the mile-long march from the Wisconsin Center to the local office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. UCC advocates, chanting, “Don’t be a hater; Love your neighbor,” “Classrooms, not cages,” and “UCC is loud and clear;...

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Save the Soldiers Home Project gets $100K grant in support of housing for veterans

The nonprofit National Center for Housing Management (NCHM) organization announced on June 25 a $100,000 grant in support of the Save the Soldiers Home project, on the grounds of the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center overlooking Miller Park. When completed, the project will restore six historic buildings, some dating back to the 1860s, and create 101 supportive housing units for veterans and their families who are either homeless or at risk of being homeless. The donation was announced by NCHM Chair Wendy Burke at its first-ever Veterans for Housing Initiative (VHI) Summit held in Washington, D.C. last week....

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New Studies focus on how to improve food access for diabetic African Americans in Milwaukee

One quarter of people with diabetes in the United States suffer from food insecurity, an inability to or limitation in accessing nutritionally adequate food, and African Americans overall are three times more likely than whites to be food insecure. In many cases, this poor access to nutrition among Type 2 diabetics leads to worse control over their chronic illness and more difficulty following a healthy diet compared to non-food insecure diabetics. Two new studies led by scientists at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) will focus specifically on food insecurity among African Americans with Type 2 diabetes in central-city...

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Teens Grow Greens partners with Outpost Natural Foods to launch MyPlant for Kids program

Milwaukee-based nonprofit Teens Grow Greens recently partnered with Outpost Natural Foods to create the MyPlant program for kids. On Saturday mornings until mid-July, parents can bring their children to Weber’s Greenhouse at 4215 N. Green Bay Avenue where they pot a plant of their own to take home. Outpost Natural Foods is supporting the MyPlant program with a grant, operational support, and supplies. Interns from Teens Grow Greens will lead children through the production process, first decorating a terra cotta pot, planting a seedling with soil and compost, watering their new plant, then enjoying a healthy vegetable-based snack to...

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