Whitefish Bay to seek Bird City USA designation
Whitefish Bay is the latest community in Wisconsin looking to become a Bird City USA community, with backing by the Whitefish Bay Garden Club and Whitefish Bay Civic Foundation.
Bird City USA is Bayside-based organization that was created a year ago through participation with the Milwaukee Audubon Society. It is designed to promote bird conservation by working with member municipalities to examine best practices for bird habitats.
Designees hold a ceremonial event that includes a plaque presentation and educational events. To qualify, a municipality needs to pay $100 annually and go through a comprehensive application process.
The Village Board approved moving forward with the application process Monday with the caveat the membership fee be split in thirds between the Garden Club, Civic Foundation and the village's operating budget.
GT beats Nicolet to clinch share of second NSC softball title in a row
Germantown girls softball co-coach Amy Barbiaux was a happy person following the Warhawks 8-1 victory Thursday night over North Shore Conference rival Nicolet.
It had been Junior Warhawks nights where she and the rest of the program were able to thank the youth teams and coaches that provide so much talent for the varsity. Signed team softballs or individual lessons with coaches were raffled off between innings which made everyone happy.
The win improved the Warhawks to 13-0 and 16-4 overall and clinched a share of the team's second straight North Shore title.
But Barbiaux's happiness was tempered by the fact that to make this championship clean and official the Warhawks will have to beat archrival Homestead (12-1, 16-2) on Monday at 4:15 p.m. on the Highlanders' home field in Thiensville Park. The game will be the closer to the conference season.
"Every team has certain goals, making state is one of them," she said, "but this (conference) comes first and we know we're not done yet. We know winning this conference means a lot as there a lot of good players and pitchers out there for us to contend with."
» Read Full ArticleReview continues on Mandel's proposed luxury apartment development in Whitefish Bay
A proposed luxury apartment development behind the Fox Bay Cinema building in Whitefish Bay is advancing, following a preliminary review by the village Plan Commission on Wednesday.
Commissioners held a pre-petition conference with The Mandel Group, the developer that is looking to build 103 upscale apartments at 302-334 E. Silver Spring Drive. The conference was a formality under village code and was an opportunity for commissioners to weigh in and determine whether the proposal was worth pursuing further.
Mandel executives emphasized that public parking would be an important part of the development if it moves forward. The existing 135 village-owned parking spaces would be replaced by the development. But it would include 132 covered spaces at street level that would be made available and retained under village ownership.
Crank caller tells police to 'come and get me' - so they do
Glendale — A 46-year-old St. Francis man was charged with unlawful use of telephone (obscene calls) and disorderly conduct May 10 after calling a woman and threatening her at a business in the 6800 block of North Green Bay Avenue on May 8.
According to the police report:
Police were at the business and spoke with the man when he called again.
James C. Miller Jr., who was “very drunk,” was told to “cease and desist” but he continued to threaten the woman telling police “to come and get me.”
Police went to the 4400 block of South Whitnall Avenue, St. Francis, and found the man, who was intoxicated, and admitted making the calls. He said he did stupid things when he drank.
» Read Full ArticleHomestead boys thinclads give it their all to win fourth straight outdoor
Homestead boys track coach Dan Benson was having none of it.
It had all but become official that the Highlanders had won their fourth straight North Shore Conference outdoor Tuesday night on an uneven weather night in Grafton.
But when asked for comment he acted dismayed, not wanting to jinx anything before it all became official, because there were still some events out and he remembered his first league title as a coach back in 1989.
"The Tosa East coaches were shaking hands (and getting ready to accept the plaque), but my guy brings home the 1,600 relay and Nicolet passes Tosa East at the last-second (in the race) and we wind up winning by less than a point," he said.
"I was a neophyte coach then just trying to figure things out and still every year, it's always terribly exciting."
» Read Full ArticleBeaver Dam teacher tapped for Homestead administrative position
School officials in the Mequon-Thiensville district are recommending Lori Keiser for the position of assistant principal at Homestead High School. Her appointment will be made official Monday when the School Board votes on it.
Keiser currently serves as a science teacher at Beaver Dam High School - a position she has held for seven years.
Girl pushed off bicycle during Shorewood robbery attempt
A 17-year-old girl reported being the victim of a strong-armed robbery Saturday morning in Shorewood.
According to the police report:
The girl was riding her bicycle in the 3900 block of North Downer Avenue at 9 a.m. when a man jumped out of a bronze Jeep Grand Cherokee.
He pushed her off her bike and demanded her cellphone.
She told him she didn’t have one and he drove off. She had cuts on her knees and an ankle.
Mandel proposes Whitefish Bay apartments, seeks village financing
Mandel Group Inc. wants to build 103 upscale apartments, a $27 million project that would receive public financing help, in Whitefish Bay.
The rental units would be on parking lots behind the Fox Bay Cinema building, 302-334 E. Silver Spring Drive, and other neighboring retail properties, in three separate building, said Richard Lincoln, Mandel's senior vice president of development. Two buildings would have three stories, and another would be four stories, he said Tuesday.
Part of the development site is a public parking lot owned by the village. The other parking lot is owned by Madison-based AnchorBank, which acquired the property earlier this year from developers Boris Gokhman and Walter Shuk to help settle a foreclosure suit.
Mandel would replace 135 parking spaces owned by the village with 132 new street-level covered spaces that would be beneath the apartments. Those public spaces will be owned by the village, and continue to be free, Lincoln said.
The apartment residents would have underground parking.
» Read Full ArticleWalker signs burned in Oak Creek, Fox Point
WTMJ-AM (620) and WTMJ-TV (Channel 4) are reporting that campaign signs supporting Gov. Scott Walker have been burned in Oak Creek and Fox Point, according to police departments in those communities.
Anyone with information on the vandalism in Oak Creek is asked to call police at (414) 762-8200. Anyone with information on the vandalism in Fox Point is asked to call police at (414) 351-8911.
Scammer walks away with $6,006 worth of items from Apple store
A 24-year-old Atlanta man is a suspect in the fraudulent use of a credit card at the Apple Store at Bayshore Town Center in Glendale.
According to the police report:
The man entered the store, 5715 N. Centerpark Way, around 5:45 p.m. May 6.
The man said he was a “traveling graphic artist” and purchased two computer notebooks, software and covers valued at $6,006 using a credit card which was declined.
He then used his phone allegedly calling the credit card company and told the clerk the purchase was approved and handed him the phone. The employee wrote down what he thought was an authorization number and the suspect left with the items.
» Read Full ArticleGlendale-River Hills officials weigh their budgetary options
School officials in the Glendale-River Hills district discussed the complexity of crafting a 2012-13 budget at a meeting Monday.
At the moment, the district has cash reserves in the fund balance hovering around 7.17 percent, and District Administrator Larry Smalley suggested increasing the amount to about 9.8 percent of the total budget in the upcoming school year.
School districts and municipalities with lower fund balances can be affected adversely with lower bond ratings which, in turn, can create difficulty borrowing money in the future. Cash reserves also are beneficial in the event of an unanticipated expense.
But the School Board and administrators are weighing other issues, including staff salary increases, health care contributions and other benefit costs. A proposal also is on the table to add a section in next year's fourth-grade class because of an anticipated swell in enrollment.
The district's budget building process will continue for several months. The board will act on a draft version of the budget in July, in advance of a public hearing in August.
Diner warned after protesting end of all-you-can-eat fish fry
A 53-year-old Mequon man was warned for disorderly conduct after being told the Thiensville restaurant at which he was dining ran out of fish for its all-you-can-eat fish fry last week.
According to the police report:
The man had already consumed 12 pieces of fish around 7:40 p.m. Friday when informed the restaurant had run out and could not substitute any other fish.
The man then refused to pay his bill. After the restaurant gave him eight more pieces of fish to go, he paid his bill.
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M&I branch in Mequon robbed, suspect sought
Mequon - A man robbed the M&I Bank, 1555 W. Mequon Road, about 10:40 a.m. Friday, fled on foot and made his getaway in a vehicle parked nearby, possibly a dark green, older-model CJ type Jeep.
Mequon police said the robber made off with cash.
Police described the suspect as a white man in his late 20s to early 30s, 5-foot-10, thin, clean-shaven with dark eyebrows and eyes. He was last seen wearing a green military fatigue jacket, possibly a hoodie and black, horn-rimmed prescription glasses.
Shorewood School Board announces top two finalists in superintendent search
The Shorewood School Board today announced the two top finalists in its superintendent search.
The two candidates for superintendent are Kirk Juffer, Ph.D., the principal of Lake Bluff Elementary School and districtwide Gifted and Talented director in the Shorewood School District and Martin Lexmond, superintendent of the Kohler Public School District and principal of Kohler High School in Kohler, Wis.
Juffer has been principal at Lake Bluff for 21 years and was previously the director of instruction at Holmen School District in Holmen, Wis. Before that, he served the School District of Richland Center for three years as a special-education teacher.
Lexmond has been the superintendent and principal at Kohler Public Schools for two years. Before that, he was the director of curriculum and instruction as well as the director of the department of school innovation at Milwaukee Public Schools. Before those positions, he taught in Denver and was an assistant principal and teacher at Milwaukee Public Schools.
Based on interviews with the board, these two candidates clearly stood out as the best fit to the Shorewood District profile. Both exhibited strong communication skills, high intellectual acumen and flexibility.
» Read Full ArticleMequon tables request for funding repairs to leaking private sewer laterals
Sensing a reluctance from residents living in the Ville du Parc area proposed for a private property infiltration and inflow study, Mark Lloyd, deputy director of Public Works, asked the Mequon Common Council on Wednesday for money to make repairs to private laterals.
The city is planning to spend $135,000 of a $779,725 allocated to the city from the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District to televise private laterals and investigate other sources of I and I.
Fifty houses would be part of the study, but Lloyd said residents are unwilling to volunteer because they fear either they will be forced to fix the laterals at their own expense or they will have to disclose any problem that is not repaired should they decide to sell.
Lloyd estimated that the cost of completely replacing all the laterals would be $400,000 although complete replacement is likely a worst-case scenario.
Alderman John Wirth said the city should not fund repairs for a group of residents without first developing a policy to deal with how it would fund similar repairs for other residents. Wirth believes MMSD will eventually mandate repairs of private sewer laterals and that the city should have a policy on the funding for repairs.
» Read Full ArticleCommunity meetings next week for Shorewood superintendent search
The final two candidates for the next superintendent of the Shorewood School District will meet with staff and community members on May 15 and May 17.
On each day, four community meetings will be held. In most instances, residents and staff members are welcome to attend any of the sessions.
The meeting schedule on both days:
8:45 to 9:30 a.m. at Shorewood Intemediate School, 3830 N. Morris Blvd., Room 122
10:30 to 11:15 a.m. at the southwest entrance of Atwater Elementary School's Early Education Center, 2100 E. Capitol Drive
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