Author: Editor

Victory Garden Initiative Celebrates Urban Orchards

The annual Fruity Nutty Affair will be held on February 20, and is the sixth year for the Victory Garden Initiative (VGI) to organize the gala. Over two hundred of Milwaukee’s most generous community members will celebrate with the winners of five community orchards, who were selected in VGI’s Fruity Nutty 5 Contest. Fruit and nut trees provide nutritious food, serve as a source of oxygen, protect against soil erosion, and keep neighborhoods cool in the summer. Planting trees strengthens relationships between neighbors, which encourages community. The Fruity Nutty Affair will be held again this year at Villa Filomena,...

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Lonely Planet picks the Cream City as a top ten travel spot for 2016

Anyone serious about travel has at one time gotten a destination guide book published by Lonely Planet. They provide detailed and insightful information on just about any patch of land in the world with a name. So it is no small thing for Milwaukee to rank in their Best in the US list. | Chicago may cast a big shadow, but Milwaukee is enjoying its moment in the sun. Synonymous with beer since the 1850s thanks to an influx of German immigrants, the city’s beery side still bubbles strong. Brew-loving travelers can tour both the Miller and the Lakefront...

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Funeral held for Jackson, a trailblazing African-American judge

Harold Baron Jackson, Jr. was laid to rest at Forest Home Cemetery on February 17, under a blanket of snow. The memorial was held in the historic Landmark Chapel on the cemetery grounds. In attendance were two hundred friends, associates, and close family, including Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and State Assemblyman Fred Kessler. “He was a great community leader, and probably one of our smarted judges,” said Rep. Fred Kessler during his memorial service reflection. Tributes to an extraordinary life were shared during the service honoring Jackson’s accomplishments, who in 1973 had become the first African-American male judge in...

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Edison Awards pick Milwaukee startup OnKöl as finalist

The Edison Awards have honored some of the most brilliant innovations in the world since 1987. The recognition symbolizes the persistence and excellence exemplified by inventor and businessman Thomas Edison. Milwaukee’s own OnKöl has been named a finalist for this year’s award. “It’s exciting to see companies like OnKöl continuing Thomas Edison’s legacy of challenging conventional thinking,” said Frank Bonafilia, Edison Awards’ executive director. “Edison Awards recognizes the game-changing products and services, and the teams that brought them to consumers.” Award winners will be announced April 21, 2016 at the Edison Awards Annual Gala, held in the historic Ballroom...

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Chris Olszyk: Life in Japan since 1989

Born and raised in Milwaukee, Asia was the last place Chris Olszyk ever expected to live. Yet he has been working in Japan for nearly three decades, while keeping a home and connections in his birth city. He has had a unique perspective to watch a foreign culture evolve, and experience an economy go from boom to bust. Olszyk sees Anime as a great cultural exchange between two cultures, and how technology has supported continued fascination with Japan. | Q&A with Chris Olszyk Milwaukee Independent: What year did you first move to Japan, and why did you go? Chris Olszyk:...

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