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Foundation awards $17K via summer grants program | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Greater Milwaukee Foundation
July 2, 2013
The Greater Milwaukee Foundation awarded $17,000 in grants to area agencies through its inaugural summer grants for kids initiative.
Grants of $1,000 each were given to 17 selected agencies to support supervised summer programs and activities that introduce kids to new experiences, provide them opportunities that would normally be unavailable to them and encourage the participation of their parents and family members.
“With this special grant program, our hope is not only that kids return to school in the fall with great memories of the summer, but more importantly that they also are ready to learn,” said Janel Hines, director of grant programs. “These mini grants provide agencies an extra boost to help children do just that.”
Recipients include the following projects and programs that run during the summer of 2013 and serve children and young adults in Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties.
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Milwaukee County
COA Youth & Family Centers: scholarships for youth attending Camp Helen Brachman
CORE/El Centro: a 2-week Sustainable Sprouts gardening workshop for ages 7 to 12
Express Yourself Milwaukee: summer arts camp
HeartLove Place: Camp HeartLove Place, summer camp for ages 5 to 12
La Causa: Broadway Bound, an 11-week program for children at La Causa’s Early Education & Care Center
Lead2Change: DreamBig leadership program for teens
Milwaukee Ballet Company: Summer Relevé community outreach program
Milwaukee Public Museum: Summer urban academy for central city kids ages 6 to 12
Our Next Generation: academic, enrichment and recreation camp
Penfield Children’s Center: field trips for children at Penfield to the Milwaukee County Zoo, Milwaukee Public Museum, Betty Brinn Children’s Museum, Mitchell Park Domes and Milwaukee Public Library
Riveredge Nature Center: scholarships to Nature Journeys Summer Camp
TRUE Skool Inc.: eight-week urban arts program for ages 14 to 19
United Community Center: covers costs for activities associated with enrichment program serving more than 700 children
Wild Space: a five-week multidisciplinary arts education program called Wild Arts
Wisconsin Humane Society: transportation for People & Animals Learning, a violence prevention program for at-risk Milwaukee area youth ages 10 to 13
Waukesha County
Wellspring:  Youth Gardening Camp, for ages 6 to 11, and Agricorp, a garden-based program for teens
Washington County
Casa Guadalupe Education Center: a 10-week basic Spanish language program for Latino and non-Latino children children, in collaboration with the Washington County Boys & Girls Club


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Police roll call welcomes neighbors to Oasis meal program | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
July 4, 2013
Officers from the 5th District stand at attention during the roll call. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
In a recent show of force and cooperation between law enforcement and neighbors, more than 50 police officers gathered for a roll call just prior to dinner at the Auer Oasis free family meal program site, 2319 W. Auer Ave.
Recent concerns about loitering and drug use in the area surrounding the Auer Avenue School where the meal program is run led to the roll call, according to Sherrie Tussler, executive director of the Hunger Task Force. The agency runs the meal program.
“We’ve had some safety challenges in the area,” said Tussler, as she stood in the school’s playground.
Still, Tussler said the program is very well attended, but having the police there helps bring a sense of community and safety for the people who participate.
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“We want people to know that it is safe to come here,” said Tussler.
Capt. Tom Stigler of the 5 District said police were there, first and foremost, to interact with neighborhood children.
Jennifer West (center) sits with children waiting for dinner. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
“It’s critical that we reach children at an early age because they can be greatly influenced at this age whether it be by their parents, people on the street or by us; we want them to have interactions with positive people,” Stigler said.
Stigler added that that police also wanted to show their support for community programs such as the Auer Oasis that provide safe places for kids to spend time and eat healthy during the summer.
The Auer Oasis program serves lunch and dinner. Between 60-80 kids and adults usually attend dinner, according to Jennifer West, who teaches K-4 at Auer Avenue School and is working with the Milwaukee Recreation Department there during the summer.
Last week 160 people ate dinner at Auer in one day, according to West, who along with other recreation workers provided activities for kids such as kickball, tag, basketball and other games.
West said that bleachers near the basketball courts had attracted people who smoked weed while children played nearby, “so they moved them.” She pointed to the bleachers, which are now in an empty section of the playground, hundreds of feet from the school.
The Auer Oasis meal program was created after the Amani neighborhood was chosen as one of three neighborhoods to be funded by a $725,000 grant from the Northwestern Mutual Foundation. The money is being used to help challenged neighborhoods with limited resources meet basic needs and improve quality of life.
The foundation is working in conjunction with the Department of Justice’s Building Neighborhood Capacities Program to support initiatives in Amani and Metcalfe Park.  Northwestern Mutual Foundation also is earmarking grant money for Muskego Way, which encompasses parts of Clarke Square and Layton Boulevard West on the south side.
The Hunger Task Force, Northwestern Mutual Foundation, Milwaukee Public Schools and Milwaukee County Parks and others are partnering to run the Auer Oasis.
“We’re here providing an unmet need to the people in this neighborhood,” said John Kordsmeier, president of the Northwestern Mutual Foundation.
Kordsmeier said the neighborhood is lacking in healthy food options. “They don’t get what they deserve here; they deserve much more,” said Kordsmeier.
By providing residents and especially children with healthy food and safe recreation, Kordsmeier believes they will be more engaged and prepared to learn.  “We want to galvanize this neighborhood and take back public spaces.”

source: news-milwaukeenns

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Edgar Mendez


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Adam Carr
July 4, 2013

author: Adam Carr


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Adam Carr
July 4, 2013


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Announcing Old South Side Day | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Rick Petrie, Urban Anthropology Inc
July 5, 2013
Arcadia Press recently released the book, Milwaukee’s Old South Side, written by the staff of Urban Anthropology (UrbAn). In response to the publishing of this book, UrbAn will hold an Old South Side Day that will educate residents on the history of their south side neighborhoods. The event will be held between 11am and 3pm on Saturday, July 20 at Kosciuszko Park, between 7 and 10 streets along Lincoln Avenue. The event is free to the public.
The boundaries of the area termed “the Old South Side” are Maple Street on the north, Cleveland Avenue on the south, Austin Street on the east, and 27 Street on the west.
Free Food and entertainment
A free lunch will be served at the event that includes dishes made with neighborhood recipes, as well as festive hot dogs, chips, and soda or water. DJ music is available all afternoon, including the traditional music of the area’s three largest cultural groups—Mexicans, Poles, and North American Indians. The event includes Mexican and Polish dancers, and a singing/drum performance by the all-indigenous Strawberry Moon Women Singers.
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author: Rick Petrie, Urban Anthropology Inc


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Plants grown by students at MPS’ Morse•Marshall on sale | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Public Schools
July 5, 2013
Morse•Marshall student Matt Gruber with his first-place MPS Science Fair project: vertical aquaponics
Plants and flowers from bamboo to basil, marigold to morning glory and peas to peppers – all grown by students participating in the aquaponics and sustainability program at Milwaukee Public Schools’ Samuel Morse•John Marshall School for the Gifted and Talented – are going on sale this summer at farmers markets across the city.
Students, along with aquaponics/sustainability teacher Thomas Baker, will sell plants, flowers and recycled art at these markets:
The sales will raise money to support growing the aquaponics and sustainability program at Morse•Marshall. In the program, students engineer a system in which they grow fish, the fish waste fertilizes plants and the plants in turn filter the water for the fish.
“It teaches them to identify a problem and solve it,” Baker said. “Our students are getting a hands-on education in science and engineering that develops their critical thinking skills,” Baker said.
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The school’s students have taken first- and second-place awards at the MPS Science Fair over the last two years and have presented their work to community partners including Growing Power. MPS’ science curriculum is based upon the rigorous Framework for K-12 Science Education, the basis for the Next Generation Science Standards.
Part of what will be on sale is the work of Matt Gruber, a rising Morse•Marshall senior, whose first-place MPS Science Fair project adapted the large-scale aquaponics system he saw on a school visit to Growing Power into a size that allows families to grow vegetables year-round in their own homes.
“I was growing vegetables all winter,” Gruber noted. He said he’s always been an independent thinker but the program has helped that blossom.
Morse•Marshall, which serves students in grades 6 through 12 who have a gifted and talented recommendation letter from a teacher, has a waiting list for 6th-grade seats but a handful of openings for 9th grade. Interested families should contact the school at (414) 393-2300.
Plants (not produce) on sale include: tomato, pepper, spider, bamboo, basil, parsley, chives, pea, bean, pumpkin, gore, squash, cucumber, cantaloupe, mint, corn and watermelon
Flower plants (in bloom) on sale include: sunflower, marigold, china astor, daises, morning glories, lavender and purple cornflower

author: Milwaukee Public Schools


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Adam Carr
July 5, 2013


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Adam Carr
July 5, 2013


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Deadline extended for SDC FREE one day ACT Wings workshops in July | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Social Development Commission
July 10, 2013
Good news!
SDC has extended the application deadline for the last two sessions of its free ACT Wings workshop to Tuesday, July 16th.  Please share the news with interested students and encourage them to apply.
This opportunity includes taking actual ACT tests, books and materials, and helping students develop test and study strategies.  All for free! In addition, participants will be invited to a later appointment to analyze their test results.
Download the application here.
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author: Social Development Commission


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Drive 4UR Community! | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Running Rebels
July 10, 2013
Running Rebels has teamed up with Heiser Ford Lincoln (1700 W. Silver Spring Drive) host a one-day event where each test-drive earns our agency $20. The more who drive, the more money we can raise.
All you have to do is test drive a car for a few minutes.  NO sales pitch!  NO credit check!  We will have our great concessions and retail for sale, so come out for a fun-filled event!
Would you like to VOLUNTEER?  Can’t make it that day, but would like information on how to help?  Or just want more information in general about this event?  Great!  Contact Natasha Coe:  natasha@runningrebels.org, or 414-264-8222.
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Let us know if you plan to attend and share our event with others!  https://www.facebook.com/RunningRebels#!/events/644291412266763/

author: Running Rebels


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Milwaukee Fatherhood Summit | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Social Development Commission
July 10, 2013
Plans are underway for the 8 Annual Milwaukee Fatherhood Summit.  The two day event with the theme “Changing Milwaukee Through Male Empowerment” will connect Milwaukee area men to valuable resources that will help them become stronger and more involved fathers.
The Fatherhood Summit will be held Friday and Saturday, October 4 and 5 at Destiny Youth Plaza located at 7210 N. 76 Street on Milwaukee’s Northwest side.  Both days will feature group discussions around some of the most challenging barriers that fathers face today.  Fathers who register ahead of time will also be able to access Child Support and Drivers’ License Recovery supportive services.
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The summit will also feature a wide range of resources in the areas of healthcare access and screenings, employment, employment training, housing, education, public safety and financial education.  A major emphasis for the 2013 Summit will be helping participants understand and enroll in the Affordable Healthcare program.
The Fatherhood Summit is a project of the Milwaukee Fatherhood Initiative (MFI) in partnership with the Social Development Commission (SDC).  Those organizations plus a large number of individuals and representatives from other groups and businesses are hard at work planning the two-day event that will be free and open to the public.  Pre-registration forms will be available starting in early August on the MFI and SDC websites at www.milwaukeefatherhood.com/ and www.cr-sdc.org.  Check those sites periodically for updates on the 2013 Milwaukee Fatherhood Summit as they develop.


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James Mosely of the Alma Center addresses volunteers at an organizational meeting for the 2013 Fatherhood Summit.-IMG1077_e | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Name *
July 10, 2013

author: Name *


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Governor ignores SOC plea to maintain city residency requirement | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
July 11, 2013
While police officers and emergency personnel no longer have to live in the city, they must live within 15 miles of the city limits. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Prior to signing the state budget into law, Gov. Scott Walker received an urgent plea on behalf of members and supporters of the Southside Organizing Committee (SOC), to veto the amendment ending the city of Milwaukee’s employee residency requirements.
That plea went unacknowledged, according to Steve Fendt, executive director of the SOC. The law went into effect on July 2.
The letter was co-signed by community leaders and each elected official representing Milwaukee’s near South Side, including Alderman Bob Donovan, County Supervisor Peggy West and State Senator Tim Carpenter, among others.
“Please reconsider your placement of the municipal residency policy in the biennial budget,” read part of the memo sent to Walker.
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Several requests for comment from Walker’s office regarding the letter brought no response.
In May, the legislature approved the measure ending the longtime mandatory residency requirement for City of Milwaukee workers, though police, firefighters and emergency responders will still be required to live within 15 miles of the city.
The city’s Common Council responded by adopting a resolution to reinstate the residency rule.  The council also directed the city attorney to fight the state provision in court.
The SOC’s letter to Walker pointed out that the majority of South Side residents had supported him in recent elections.
“In your election to Milwaukee County Executive in 2002, and then your re-election in 2004 and 2008, you won the South Side vote each time. We think it’s because you put the taxpayers first, and you sought better county services at a more affordable price: things we value highly as residents and elected [officials] on the Near South Side.”
Fendt said Walker is now ignoring those constituents.
“Elected representatives were in unanimous agreement that this (measure) should be taken out of the budget and to ignore them with no acknowledgement at all is a pretty loud statement,” Fendt said.
The letter also stated that city employees who don’t live where they work would be removed financially and socially from the communities they serve.
But Milwaukee Police Association (MPA) President Mike Crivello said that the SOC and others are looking at the issue the wrong way.
“Policing is not just a job or a vocation, it’s a calling; people become police officers because they like helping people,” Crivello explained. He said he and other officers care deeply about the communities they serve, and that never once has where he lived been an issue.
Crivello added that he works in the central city, but has lived for years on the far east or far south sides of Milwaukee.
The MPA has vowed to fight in court any city action to maintain the requirement. As of now, the SOC has no plans to file a lawsuit, according to Fendt.


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Adam Carr
July 10, 2013


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Special Report: MPD public website posted inaccurate crime data for 2012 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 15, 2013
(Photo by Edgar Mendez)
(Click to enlarge)
On Mother’s Day 2012, a woman was shot in broad daylight while walking to her car after church services near 9th and Chambers streets. As a result, a small group of neighbors began working to organize the residents living on the two blocks of 9th Street bounded by Burleigh Street on the north and Locust Street on the south.
Had they looked at the Milwaukee Police Department database, called COMPASS, to see what other crimes occurred in their neighborhood that day, they might have been even more alarmed. On those two blocks in District 5, there appeared to be six aggravated assaults on May 13, 2012. However, a closer look would have revealed that five of those incidents were exact duplicates: the same incident number, date, time, offense and location.
An examination by Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service (NNS) of the COMPASS data for each of the city’s seven police districts found that 20.3 percent of incidents listed in the database for 2012 were duplicates. The percent ranged from 17.4 in District 7 to 22.2 in District 3.
For example, an aggravated assault that took place at 4:24 p.m. on Jan. 8, 2012, at 2309 W. Clarke St. in District 3, appeared eight times (see graphic below).
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After Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service inquired about the data, the 2012 crime figures were revised to eliminate duplicates, probably late in the day on Thursday, July 11, suggesting that the data had been inaccurate for at least six months.
Users looking at summary data on the COMPASS site would have had no way of knowing that there were multiple incident reports for the same crime. Prior to July 10, the total number of crimes for 2012 was stated as 56,368. On July 12, the figure was 44,878, a difference of 11,490.
In District 1, the total number of incidents was listed as 5,201 up until July 10. On July 12, that number changed to 4,069, a difference of 1,132 crimes. In District 7, there were 10,334 incidents listed on July 10; on July 12, the number was 8,540, a difference of 1,794 (see map, below).
(Click to enlarge)
The purpose of COMPASS, according to the City of Milwaukee Web site, is “quite simple; a community can collaborate better, if it has a better picture of how problems and opportunities are really interelated (sic).”
Asked why the Mother’s Day incident on 9th Street might have been listed multiple times, a staff person at the MPD Open Records Section speculated that there might have been a “computer glitch” involving the transfer of data from Milwaukee to Madison and back. In fact, a disclaimer on the COMPASS Web site warns, “…this crime data may reflect … information that may include mechanical or human error.”
The disclaimer goes on: “The Milwaukee Police Department does not guarantee (either express or implied) the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or correct sequencing of the Crime Data. The Milwaukee Police Department shall have no liability for any error or omission, or for the use of, or the results obtained from the use of the Crime Data.”
Lt. Mark Stanmeyer, public information officer for MPD, referred questions about the inaccuracies to Nancy Olson, chief information officer for the city’s Department of Administration. Olson apologized for “the inconvenience” of the unannounced changes to COMPASS. She explained that a programmer removed the duplicates at the request of a community member, without notifying her, anyone in management or MPD.
“It was a mistake and I will rectify it with policies and procedures,“ Olson said.
She asserted that removing the duplicates “doesn’t change the data at all; it’s just the way we’re pulling the data out of the database.“
The reason for multiple rows with the same incident numbers, Olson explained, is if any information about the incident is different in one of the database fields—for example, if there were more than one victim. However, the data available to the public on COMPASS doesn’t display those differences.
Olson confirmed that COMPASS is the only way for citizens to get official information about crime in their neighborhoods, other than “the old-fashioned way, the Open Records request.” However, citizens need to pay $.25 per page for records obtained in that way.
Past data problems
One sample spreadsheet page from online incident reports in Police District 3 shows a number of duplications (highlighted). (click to enlarge)
Milwaukee Police Department data has been under scrutiny since a Journal Sentinel investigation found MPD staff had misclassified aggravated assaults as simple assaults. Simple assaults are not included in the FBI’s crime statistics. Thus, the Journal Sentinel alleged, the city’s crime rate was actually higher than the department said.
In December 2012, an independent audit of Milwaukee crime statistics and reporting methods, published annually by the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission, concluded that although the Journal Sentinel allegations about mistakes in crime classification were true, there was no evidence of intent to mislead on the part of the department.
The audit reported that there have been extensive problems with the computer system since its installation in 2005 as well as with the level of expertise and training of department staff. It made recommendations both for improving the reporting and for replacing the computer software system.
According to the audit, which criticized the “accusatory tone” of the Journal Sentinel reporting, “the public needs to understand that all of the police reports and their corresponding statistics are still present in the records management system and can be researched at any given time. With the exception of those records which are confidential according to public records law, anyone can request to see this information.”
Ed Claughton, CEO of PRI Management Group and author of the independent audit, said the accuracy of the data “is a matter of quality control. If information is being duplicated or incorrectly listed, there’s still an issue with quality control and that would be a concern.” He added that in light of the audit and the Journal Sentinel investigation, “certainly you would think … it would be more unlikely for this to happen.”
Errors can be avoided, Claughton said, by “routinely checking the figures, rechecking the data day to day, conducting internal audits and conducting manual checks of the information that the system is producing. You always have to have a pair of human eyes looking at the data that’s produced by these systems. You can’t have complete reliance on the data without checking it. “
Claughton added, “The public has a vested interest in their safety so they want to have and should have accurate information.”
(Click to enlarge)
How to access Milwaukee crime data

author: Andrea Waxman


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Adam Carr
July 14, 2013


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Crime by districts map 2 | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 15, 2013


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Adam Carr
July 15, 2013


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Crime-by-districts | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 14, 2013


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Adam Carr
July 14, 2013


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Adam Carr
July 15, 2013


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Adam Carr
July 15, 2013


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May-13-graphic | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
July 14, 2013


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Adam Carr
July 15, 2013


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Crisis energy assistance | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Social Development Commission
July 17, 2013
Milwaukee County households who are faced with utility disconnection have options when seeking to reestablish power to provide some relief from the heat wave plaguing the area.
The Social Development Commission (SDC) reminds residents who have been disconnected or face disconnection of their electricity can apply for Energy Assistance Crisis funding.  There are still Crisis funds available for households at SDC sites located at 4041 N. Richards Street, 2701 S. Chase Avenue, and 6848 N. Teutonia Avenue.  These SDC centers are open on weekdays from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm to process applications for the Crisis funding to help restore electrical service.
For additional information on the Energy Assistance Program including Crisis help, visit the Social Development Commission website at www.cr-sdc.org/index/Programs–Services/Support-Services/Energy-Assistance.htm.   Residents can also get information by calling the SDC Energy Assistance Hotline at 414-906-2800.
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Milwaukee foreclosure prevention event | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Bethany Sanchez
July 17, 2013
A free Milwaukee Foreclosure Prevention Event, sponsored by the City of Milwaukee and Take Root Milwaukee will take place on Thursday, 7/25.  Help is available from 1:00 to 7:00 PM (first come, first serve). The event will take place at the Bruce Guadalupe Middle School, conveniently located at 920 S. 9th Street, on Milwaukee’s near south side.
Who should attend this FREE event?  Homeowners in financial distress – whether they are already in foreclosure or just worried about what may happen in the future.
What can homeowners expect to happen if they attend?  Homeowners will have the opportunity to meet with a housing counselor who will listen to their story and then help the borrower understand what their options are, the timing for the process, and what to expect when they meet with their loan servicer (the people who process payments and service their mortgage).  Then, the homeowner will have a face-to-face meeting with their servicer.  Some borrowers will leave the event with a loan modification.  Others will leave with an understanding of what they need to do to get a loan modification or the process necessary to save their home in another way.  The housing counselors will assist borrowers any necessary follow up steps.
Do homeowners need to pre-register for this event?  No pre-registration or RSVP is necessary for this FREE event, but homeowners will be seen on a first come, first served basis.  The doors open at 1:00 PM, and the last homeowner will be assisted at 6:45 PM.
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Where is this place?  The Bruce Guadalupe Middle School is on the NE corner of 9th and Mineral, kitty corner from Walker Square Park.
For questions about the event, or to jump start the process of getting help, call Take Root Milwaukee at 414-921-4149.

author: Bethany Sanchez


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MPS close to meeting teacher staffing goal for new school year | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Brendan O’Brien
July 17, 2013
A teacher at the Greenfield School provides classroom instruction to students. (Photo by Tessa Fox)
The effort to fill hundreds of teacher positions in the Milwaukee Public Schools during the last five months has put the district in range to meet its goal of being fully staffed by the beginning of the school year.
MPS officials recently reported the district has hired about 90 percent of the approximately 400 teacher positions needed to be filled when school begins throughout the city on Sept. 3.
“We are in much better shape because we have a deeper applicant pool than what we had in the past,” said Karen Jackson, the district’s chief humans resources officer. “I have no doubt that we will do it.”
Students should expect to find teachers in every classroom when they return to school. (Photo by Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service)
After officials this winter projected the district may need to fill 700 teacher positions, MPS officials embarked on an aggressive hiring campaign that consisted of a handful of job fairs, including one attended by more than 1,000 people in March. MPS officials reduced the number of teachers needed to about 400 after more analysis of resources and personnel shifts within the district, Jackson said.
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MPS has also hired a number of paraprofessionals and principals during the last five months after personnel have been promoted or left the district.
The district’s ability to fill the positions is a relief for Jasmine Alinder, the board president of Parents for Public Schools-Milwaukee. The trend, however, is disheartening, Alinder said.
“It’s incredibly concerning,” said Alinder, who pins a lot of the staffing shortage on Act 10, the controversial collective bargaining reforms that greatly diminish the power of the teachers’ union in Milwaukee and forces teachers to pay more for their health and pension benefits.
“Until we have a reformed funding system in this state and a stable funding stream, I think we are going to keep experiencing this kind of roller coaster ride,” Alinder said.
Milwaukee teachers’ union officials did not respond to requests for comment.
In addition to Act 10, the unusual number of teacher positions to be filled was caused by a three-year trend of retirements and resignations associated with an aging pool of teachers, according to district officials.
“The amount of teachers was not unexpected, but it was higher than usual, about double,” Jackson said. “We expect to be stabilizing very shortly. We may have another year, but I don’t expect next year to be as high as this year.”
The district will continue its aggressive hiring initiative until the staffing goal for the beginning of the school year is met, according to Jackson. If positions are not filled at the beginning of the school year, the district will use long term substitutes, she said.
In addition to educating children, teachers are the institutional and cultural lifeblood of MPS schools, Alinder said.
“Schools are about building neighborhoods and communities and when you start having to strip away the teachers that make that community, the kids really suffer,” she said.

author: Brendan O’Brien


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Adam Carr
July 16, 2013


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Adam Carr
July 16, 2013


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Family remembers loved one while clinging to hope for justice | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
July 18, 2013
Rick Kohen and his daughter Kaitlyn have begun to teach JJ’s 3-year-old son Julius how to ride a scooter. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
It has been seven months since Rick Kohen offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the person or persons who killed his 28-year -old-son Justin “JJ” Kohen, but the case appears no closer to being solved then it was when he was murdered more than a year ago.
This despite the Kohens’ efforts to maintain public interest by holding press conferences and renting out digital billboards with information about the case and the reward. County Supervisor Peggy Romo West hosted two events in JJ’s honor in April, including a candlelight vigil and a day of action, in which participants went from door to door distributing fliers about the murder in the neighborhood where he was killed.
“We have received a few tips but nothings panned out,” wrote Lt. Mark Stanmeyer of the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD), in an email. He explained that the benefit of offering a reward to find a culprit varies but that the MPD appreciates any help it can get.
JJ is one of 38 uncleared homicides in 2012. There were 92 homicides in the city that year, according to Stanmeyer.
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“JJ was just like everybody else,” said Rick Kohen, a businessman and property owner, pointing to a collage of photos in the hallway of his Fox Point home.
It’s been 15 months now since JJ, who was 28, was stabbed to death in a South Side alley behind his home near South 16 Street and West Cleveland Avenue. A witness saw two men approaching him before he was attacked, but they remain at large. Rick has offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Police suspect that robbery was the motive.
“He was a very normal, happy-go-lucky kid, lived a very normal life, and grew up in a very normal house,” said Rick, as he glanced at a picture of JJ sporting his Nicolet High School soccer uniform. JJ spent two years at the school but graduated from high school in Florida, though he spent nearly all his adult life in Milwaukee.
An ofrenda (altar) created in JJ’s honor features Packers tickets, chocolates and a deck of poker cards, among other items. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Despite growing up in the suburbs, JJ was a city kid who loved the club scene, rap and hip-hop, and sported every hairstyle from cornrows to dreads to a shaved head. He brought social and ethnic diversity to the family, said his father, as he puffed on a cigarette on the backyard patio. “His friends spanned all ethnicities, sizes and shapes,” said Rick.
As an adult JJ worked at the family businesses mostly, including for two years at now closed Centre Court Pub and Grill across the street from the Bradley Center and also as a building manager and caretaker for his father’s properties, including the one he was living at when he was murdered.
JJ was also very close to his family, said his father.
JJ’s sister Katilyn, 20, remembers her brother as someone who was funny, outgoing and always there for her. She is studying nutrition at Northern Arizona University, but has been back in town for the summer. She attended UW-Milwaukee before her brother’s death but says it is now hard for her to stay in town.
“It brings back bad memories; I’m in Arizona just trying to move on,” Katilyn said.
She often visited her brother, trying to cook healthy foods for him, but JJ’s favorite was tacos. She recalled a time during high school when she became self-conscious about her weight and lost 20 pounds. When she saw JJ, he said to her, “You look way too skinny, you need to go eat a cheeseburger.”
Besides having more time with him, Katilyn said there’s nothing she would have changed about her relationship with her brother.
JJ was also a father. His daughter Jalina, 7, lives in Florida, while his son Julius, 3, lives in Milwaukee with his mother Keeshia Roberson. Though JJ and her weren’t together at the time of his passing, Rick and Keeshia maintained strong connections. Recently, they celebrated Julius’s third birthday at Rick’s house and over 40 of Roberson’s friends and family attended.  Julius visits his grandfather three times a week, and they’ll be attending their first baseball game later this summer.
“It’s a blessing I’d rather not have,” said Rick, as he looked at a photo of the first baseball game he and JJ went to together. “It should be all of us there.”
When asked how he spends his days, Rick said, “I cry mostly.”
Rick said he thought he had lived through it all by his 50s: divorce, loss, success, failure—the gamut of life. Then tragedy struck.
“As a family it shakes you to the core and as an individual it shakes you at the root,” said Rick, who said his grief is incalculable.
There are at least two people out there who know who killed his son, Rick commented. He is fearful for his family as well as the community at large, knowing there’s a remorseless killer who hasn’t been brought to justice.
Rick described JJ as a skilled poker player who competed in tournaments across the country. “His dream was to play in the World Series of Poker,” Rick said. Now he can only wonder what drove someone to take his son’s life.
The Kohens are hoping for a resolution to the homicide case, but, according to Rick, there will never be closure, just a void.
“Now you’re just left with memories; you don’t get to experience new things together,” said Rick, his voice shaking.
Anyone with information about JJ’s murder is asked to call the Milwaukee Police Department at (414) 935-7360. The caller may remain anonymous.


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Improving family finances | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Social Development Commission
July 23, 2013
Milwaukee area residents can learn how to better their financial health at a free workshop being offered by US Bank, the Social Development Commission (SDC) and the Milwaukee Asset Building Coalition. The session will be presented Tuesday, July 30 at 9:30 am at the SDC Welcome Center located at 4041 N. Richards Street in Milwaukee. Staff from US Bank will show residents how to create a household budget, manage spending and save money. The workshop is free and interested members of the public are invited to participate.


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Truck Studio delivers art to kids in parks | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
July 24, 2013
(From left) Joyce Brown, 7, and Kicharria Johnson-Brown, 9, work with Artist Intern Lakisha Sellers while Artist Intern Gretchen Solinger (right) assists Devon Thompson-Randall, 7 (front). (Photo by Sue Vliet)
Kicharria Johnson-Brown likes patterns and designs. Displaying a colorful three-dimensional fish she created with colored markers, paper plates and egg cartons, the 9-year-old considers the pink and purple zig-zag pattern she has drawn on the fins.
“I was thinking about making a rainbow,” she explains to Artist Intern Gretchen Solinger, who is admiring her work.
This is the 15th summer that Artists Working in Education (A.W.E.) has taken its Truck Studio program to 18 parks and playgrounds in city neighborhoods. Four hand-painted vans filled with art materials and a team of four artists offer free art activities for a week at each site. The program operates for six weeks, between June 24 and Aug. 2,on a drop-in basis. No pre-registration is required.
Devon Thompson-Randall, 7, works on his fish. (Photo by Sue Vliet)
At the Auer Playground, 2221 W. Auer Ave., on a recent Thursday afternoon, children climbing on the playground equipment ran over to the picnic tables and joined in the fish art activity. Some of them dashed back to the swings and monkey bars when their projects were finished.
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Rufus King International School art teacher and A.W.E. Lead Artist Tom Haslett said the Auer Playground fish activity began with reading a couple of books (“Fish Eyes” by Lois Ehlert and “My Visit to the Aquarium” by Aliki) talking about different types of fish. He then led a lesson on building a simple fish. “We talked about the fins, gills, eyes and then we let the kids explore and add things as they saw fit, using their creativity,” Haslett said.
“The lead artist is usually a certified art teacher and is often a practicing artist as well,” said Reanna Ottoson, Truck Studio program director. The two pre-professional team members are usually recent college graduates with art education or art therapy degrees or are Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD) students or graduates trying to get some professional practice, Ottoson explained. The high school interns, who are MPS students interested in art and working with children, often attract kids in the park because they’re closer to them in age. “They develop some strong relationships during the week with some of the kids on the sites,” Ottoson added.
The artists, which A.W.E. selects to mirror the diversity of the city’s population, Ottoson said, participate in a one-week training program. They spend six weeks working as a team in the neighborhoods.
The lead artists constantly adjust their lessons to make them as meaningful as possible to those present on a given day, Ottoson explained. This is important because A.W.E.’s mission includes reaching children who otherwise “are unengaged, are just walking around the park or don’t have an adult signing them up somewhere or keeping tabs on them,” she said. Though some children are accompanied by a parent, many are not.
Kicharria, her mother Kia Johnson, three sisters and baby brother travelled from their home on 72nd Street to the Auer Playground because a friend who was familiar with the program told Johnson about it. “I thought it would be nice for my kids to come and enjoy it,” Johnson said. “They love art.”


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Hundreds flock to the grand opening of Three Bridges Park in the Menomonee Valley | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Brendan O’Brien
July 25, 2013
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, Laura Bray, executive director of the Menomonee Valley Partners, and others cut the ribbon during the grand opening ceremony for Three Bridges Park. (Photo by Brendan O’Brien)
Desolate wasteland once used as a railyard has given way to Three Bridges Park, an open stretch of scenic trails winding through the Menomonee Valley that was recently officially opened to the public.
Under sunny skies, a few hundred people celebrated the opening of the 24-acre park between 27th and 37th streets that, along with the trails, is home to three bike and pedestrian bridges and native landscaping. The park will also be a venue for a river restoration effort, community gardens, public art and a natural habitat.
“This is a great day for Milwaukee,” said Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett during the ceremony. “We are witnessing truly a renaissance that is occurring right here in the Menomonee Valley. This is a proud day for our city.”
The park is part of a $25 million “From the Ground Up” project that began in 2002 to reclaim land along the Menomonee River. The project also consists of extending the Hank Aaron State Trail six miles to the west.
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Drummers lead hundreds into the Three Rivers Park during the grand open ceremony. (Photo by Brendan O’Brien)
The project is “about connecting jobs, nature and neighbors together,” said Laura Bray, executive director of the Menomonee Valley Partners.
Trails now connect the Mitchell Park Domes, 524 S. Layton Blvd., and the commercial area along 27th street to the Menomonee Valley Industrial Center and the Menomonee Valley branch of the Urban Ecology Center, 3700 W. Pierce St., which opened in September 2012.
Ken Leinbach, director the Urban Ecology Center, told the crowd that he “actually start(ed) to well (up) and cry just a little bit” when he rode his unicycle into the park before the grand opening that morning. “Everybody has been working so hard and so long for this day and we have a glorious day that is blessed. It’s amazing” he said.
The ecology center will use the park as an outdoor science classroom to teach visitors about their natural surroundings, according to project officials.
“The best part is to see the younger kids here. They get to understand something other than the iPad and the video games,” said Gail Pavletic as she enjoyed a small bowl of ice cream.
The grand opening event was also comprised of demonstrations, free ice cream, live music and local food vendors. Before dignitaries gave their remarks and cut the ceremonial ribbon to open the park, a small band of protesters briefly disrupted the event, using a bullhorn to voice their displeasure over the health and safety practices at the nearby Palermo’s Pizza facility.
The project was spearheaded by the Menomonee Valley Partners and the Urban Ecology Center, which collaborated with the City of Milwaukee and the state Department of Transportation. Hundreds of businesses, organizations and individuals have helped fund the project, which will cost $1 million less than anticipated, according to park officials.
The project is part of a broader public effort to revitalize the valley. During the past 14 years, 39 companies have moved into the Menomonee Valley, creating 5,000 jobs and one million square feet of sustainably designed buildings.
“I saw it before it got developed. It’s pretty neat to see it from an idea to reality,” said Terry Pavletic, who has worked at Joy Global, located on the southwest corner of the valley, for 34 years. “From what it was to what it is, it’s a big difference.”


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Making homes more energy efficient | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Social Development Commission
July 29, 2013
A program that helps families lower their energy bills by making their homes more efficient is reporting success.  The Weatherization Program of the Social Development Commission (SDC) has issued a positive report card for it just-completed program year.
The SDC Weatherization Program finished its program year at the end of June and reports they exceeded their contract goal for the period.  It sought to weatherize 678 City of Milwaukee homes at an average cost of $8,500.  For the year, the program was able to complete work on 740 homes (or 9% more than goal number) for an average cost of $7,191.
Weatherization program staff conducts energy audits on eligible homes and then coordinates service work to make them more energy efficient.  Work may include insulation of attics, walls, and floors, furnace tune-ups, repairs or replacements, water heater safety and efficiency, installation of ventilation fans, replacement of energy inefficient refrigerators and freezers, putting in energy saving lighting, and information on maintenance and energy conservation.
The Weatherization Program of SDC has received positive feedback from the families who have received weatherization services during the just completed program year.  One participating homeowner wrote the program to say “…it is a good program. It would be helpful if more homeowners knew about it. Get the word out about such a good job that SDC is doing.”
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The Weatherization Program is designed to work with Energy Assistance recipients who are identified by the State as eligible for the program. For more information on the program and eligibility criteria, visit www.cr-sdc.org/index/Programs–Services/VITA/Asset-Development/Weatherization.htm.


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SDC Energy Auditor Javier Ortiz checks the efficiency of a furnace during a home energy audit.-Energy_Audit_71513_023_e | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
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Safe & Sound recognizes ‘selfless’ neighborhood leaders | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
July 31, 2013
Charles Robinson Sr. of Borchert Field, says organizing neighbors and linking young and older residents is the key to revitalizing neighborhoods. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Linda D. Sumbry, who’s in her 60s, calls herself a “cleanup lady.” She sweeps up garbage in the alleys and streets and picks up trash from the lawns in the Sherman Park neighborhood she’s called home since 1973.
She says people in the neighborhood, who call her mom, grandma or Mrs. Linda, often come to her with problems, many times with tears streaming down their cheeks. And she says she never turns them away, not without offering at least an ear to listen and hopefully a solution to their dilemma.
In other words, she’s a neighborhood leader, one of 69 recently honored by Safe & Sound.
“I try to find something good to say each day to help someone out,” Sumbry said.
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Denise Wooten (left) and Auriea Mosley were honored for their work with 14th Street Cares Block Watch in the Borchert Field neighborhood. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
According to Barbara Notestein, executive director of Safe & Sound, the individuals who were honored were chosen because they’ve all made a selfless and positive impact on the city.
“They’re people who have in some significant way made Milwaukee a better and safer place to live,” Notestein said.
Mayor Tom Barrett issued a proclamation that the day be known from now on as Safe & Sound Neighborhood Leaders Day.
Honorees included block watch captains, youth volunteers and planners of community gardens. Alderman Joe Davis Sr. called them a key part of the solution to problems facing their challenged neighborhoods.
“We understand that there are neighborhoods that are changing, that lack funding, that lack accountability; but, I will encourage you from this point on to take advantage of all the resources available through programs such as Safe & Sound and the City of Milwaukee to make things better,” Davis said, addressing the honorees.
Charles Robinson Sr., of Borchert Field, said his neighborhood has already begun to do that, noting the Targeted Investment Neighborhood (TIN) status awarded to 14th Street C.A.R.E.S. block club there earlier this year.
Robinson said the key to turning a neighborhood around is finding a few people who are committed to change, then convincing others that the area can improve if neighbors combine their talents and work together.
“Everybody has a gift or some attribute that’s useful; you’ll never know that if you don’t associate with them,” Robinson said, mentioning six community gardens he and other neighbors tend to each morning.
Honoree Auriea Mosley grew up in Borchert Field in the 1960s and described her neighborhood as good in the 80s, bad in the 90s, but making a comeback.
Mosley, who left the neighborhood for 10 years but has been back since 1987, leads cleanups, has been a block watch captain, a liaison for the League of Martin (an organization of African American police officers), and someone who’s constantly communicating with fellow Borchert Field residents and local police.
“I’m not in it for the recognition. I’m in it for the people of my neighborhood,” she said.
Compassion and concern for her neighbors also drive Sumbry to head out in the morning, afternoon or sometimes evenings, to clean and chat. On the occasions she doesn’t come around, neighbors come to her, ringing the doorbell and asking where she’s been all day, she said.
“It makes me feel good and gives me a purpose to never give up on my neighborhood and keep trying,” Sumbry said.
With the help of other residents and community organizers from Safe & Sound, the neighborhood is cleaner and looks great, she added. “Where you live is important and first impressions of a neighborhood are lasting impressions.”


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Meeting nutritional needs of youth | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Social Development Commission
August 1, 2013
The Food Service Program at the Social Development Commission (SDC) has had a very busy summer.  In addition to serving up approximately 2,600 meals a day for its year-round program, it is also providing thousands of additional meals every day for hungry Milwaukee area youth during their summer break.
The SDC Food Service Program is again partnering on the Summer Food Program with the Hunger Task Force, Milwaukee Public Schools, the Salvation Army and Boys & Girls Clubs.  The program is making and delivering 3,000 breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks daily to 45 sites.   Food Service Manager Earl Guyton notes that more than 70,000 meals have been prepared and served so far through the Summer Meal Program which still has several weeks to run.
The annual program serves school-age children during the summer months when they do not have access to school meals.  Guyton says the demand has been high this year and that the SDC program will end up making significantly more meals this summer than in 2012 by the end of the season.
The staff at SDC Food Service have also been busy working on a relatively new partnership with the Hunger Task Force and the Kohl Foundation.  This effort provides dinners to Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs, the Parklawn YMCA and several MPS Recreation sites.  The dinner program is in its third year and is projecting to serve approximately 26,000 meals to youth by the end of the summer, more than double from last year’s 11,727 dinners.
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Guyton notes that the busy summer at SDC Food Service has been made possible largely by an energetic and creative group of youth who were hired through the City of Milwaukee’s Earn and Learn program.  “We have a wonderful group of young workers,” Guyton says, who have taken to heart the job of making the meals so efficiently.  He adds that making so many nutritious and creative meals has been a challenge for all the staff with the program but so has delivering all the food on time to so many sites located across Milwaukee County.  During this summer, he says, it has been “all hands on deck.”
To learn more about SDC’s Food Service Program, visit the SDC website at www.cr-sdc.org/index/Programs–Services/Support-Services/SDC_Food_Program.htm.

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Summer Meal Program lunches are stored in a cooler at SDC Food Service, awaiting delivery to hungry youth across Milwaukee County.-Summer_Food_8113_005_fb | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
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South Side carnaval highlights diverse Latin cultures | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
August 2, 2013
By the hundreds they marched down the streets of West National Avenue, beating drums, dancing salsa and singing samba, as the Milwaukee Latino Carnaval made its debut.
It was the first of what organizer Juan Carlos Ruiz hopes will become an annual event celebrating the diversity and cultural art traditions of Native Americans and 17 Latin American countries including Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru and others.
Nelida Perez, who wore a traditional outfit from her native Peru, said she wants the community to learn about her country’s dances, three distinct regions and wonderful food, adding that Peru recently celebrated the 192 anniversary of its independence.
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“We are here representing Peru and teaching people about our beautiful country and customs,” said Perez in Spanish.
People often lump Latin groups together, assuming they’re all the same, said Ruiz, so he created the event in part to showcase their diversity.
“It’s a beautiful way to show America our traditions and culture and also share with them that we Latinos are not the same; there’s a lot of richness that we can share with the American community and our own kids,” Ruiz said.
Jose Olivares, 83, was happy to walk a few blocks from his home to witness the parade. He arrived in Milwaukee in 1953, fresh out of the military.
“It’s nice to see so many different cultures being celebrated out here; I don’t remember anything else like this,” said Olivares, grinning from ear to ear.
Elizabeth Kostichka came from Green Bay to see her daughter Jackilyn, who attends UW-Milwaukee, march with the Ballet Folklorico Mexico de los Hermanos Avila, a local dance troupe. Kostichka said for diverse cultures to get along, it’s important they learn about each other. That way, “we will all learn to respect each other.”
The crowd, sparse in some areas and thicker in others, swelled when the parade concluded with a celebration in the parking lot of the Wherehouse nightclub, 818 S. Water St.  There, thousands gathered as the celebration culminated with speeches, drumming, music and more celebration of Latin culture.
Luis Acosta, from Venezuela, said it was great to see people embracing the diversity within Latin America here in the United States.
“Even though we speak almost the same language, we are very different,” said Acosta.
His young daughter Andrea added, “I want people to know that my country is strong and powerful and it’s amazing and you should go there.”

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Adam Carr
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Milwaukee Succeeds takes case to community | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Andrea Waxman
August 6, 2013
Community volunteer and MPS grandparent Clarice Geenen comments at the Milwaukee Succeeds town hall meeting. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
Only 2 percent of Milwaukee students of color in the class of 2012 met all four benchmark ACT scores in math, reading, science and English. This is according to statistics compiled by Milwaukee Succeeds, the data-driven education reform program initiated in 2011 by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.
To put that number in context, Mike Soika, executive director of Milwaukee Succeeds, said the percentage of students who met all four benchmarks last year was 25 percent in the U.S.; 32 percent in Wisconsin; 7 percent in Milwaukee as a whole and 29 percent of the city’s white students.
Speaking to an audience of about 40 at a recent “town hall” meeting at the Mary Ryan Boys & Girls Club, 3000 N. Sherman Park Blvd., Soika acknowledged that these numbers paint a bleak picture. “The hurdles that we have in front of us seem insurmountable. They are not insurmountable but they are daunting,” he said.
Each member of the community can contribute to “systems change” and it will take community participation and support to succeed, Soika added.
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The meeting was the second in a series that is planned to resume in September.
The goal of the town hall meetings is not only to inform the community about the initiative, it is also a call to action. In addition to presenting statistics that illustrate the enormity of the challenge, Soika presented information about Milwaukee Succeeds’ structure and goals. The program seeks to ensure all Milwaukee students are educated from “cradle to career.”
Boys & Girls Club Stein Scholar Coordinator and MPS parent Kwan Exum holds her daughter Katora, 5, and son Jrew, 3 months. (Photo by Andrea Waxman)
For the sake of the children and the future of the city, Soika asked the attendees to buy in to the program. “If the community isn’t willing to support the changes, they are not going to happen. The kids that are failing will continue to fail,” he said.
Among the attendees were a number of students from Boys & Girls Club’s Stein Scholars program. They were encouraged to come by Kwan Exum, coordinator of the program that prepares high school juniors and seniors for college and supports them once they matriculate.
Many of Exum’s students have experienced serious difficulties in their short lives. “But, that doesn’t mean that we’ve counted you out or society has to count you out,” Exum said she tells them. “You can still do what you need to do to achieve the goals you have set for yourself.”
In his opening slide, Soika discussed the rate at which college students drop out if they haven’t been supported financially, emotionally, mentally and socially. “I think this is really important for the students to see,” Exum said. It can motivate the students to direct themselves away from some of the pitfalls that the statistics represent, she added.
Though Milwaukee Academy of Science junior Jessie Jones knows the odds are against Milwaukee youth, he said he feels he is getting a good education at his school. He is trying to become a Stein Scholar, he added.
Community volunteer Clarice Geenen came to learn more about Milwaukee Succeeds. As a member of the Human Concerns committee at St. Catherine of Alexandria Church, at 76 Street and Brown Deer Road, she became aware of the initiative’s focus on third grade reading when the church’s school became one of five schools to pilot the program. Geenen, who volunteers with her husband at her grandson’s northwest side school, is concerned about improving education for all Milwaukee children, she said.
One of Milwaukee Succeeds’ goals is to increase the number of quality preschools and better educate parents on how to recognize and enroll in them, Soika said.
He noted that research shows a strong correlation between high-quality early care and education and enhanced cognitive and social development in young children. Fewer than 3 percent of Milwaukee childcare providers have earned the highest rating in the YoungStar evaluation system used by the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families.
Maria de Jesus Dixon, the mother of two MPS students and a recent graduate, said she is concerned that what Milwaukee Succeeds is asking of parents is “almost too simplistic.”
“While I appreciate all of the data work they have been doing … I don’t think they’re taking into account real world situations,” de Jesus Dixon said. Given the average income of Milwaukee residents, to ask parents to “find a high-quality childcare center is easier said than done.“
A board member of Parents for Public Schools Milwaukee, de Jesus Dixon said the group “asked a few times to be at the [Milwaukee Succeeds] table and haven’t been invited.”
Despite the challenges, Exum said she is optimistic.  “I have 150-some kids in my case load that are in high school and college and I think of every one of them as my babies. If everybody else who is in the education field thinks the same way, then, yes, I have a lot of hope for Milwaukee education.”

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Special SDC board election | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Social Development Commission
August 7, 2013
A low-income community representative will be selected in a Special Election September 13 for the Social Development Commission (SDC) Board of Commissioners.
The Special SDC Board Election will be held for the agency’s District One.  That district includes Milwaukee’s Northwest side plus Milwaukee County’s northern and western suburban communities.  The election will fill the seat on the 18 person SDC Board previously held by Kristina McHenry. Ms. McHenry recently stepped down from the Board when she took a position on the staff of Senator Ron Johnson.  The SDC Board helps draw up and implement policy for the anti-poverty agency.
Residents of the district interested in becoming a candidate on the ballot should pick up a candidate packet at SDC’s 4041 N. Richards Street building.  Those packets are available Monday through Friday between 8:30 am and 5 pm.  Nomination papers with at least 200 valid signatures of district residents are due back by 5pm on Monday, August 26.
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Voting for the new Board representative will take place September 13 between 8 am and 6 pm at the Silver Spring Neighborhood Center located at 5460 N. 64 Street.  To learn more about the election, how to become a candidate or see a map of SDC’s District One, visit the agency website at www.cr-sdc.org.

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Free transportation offered to MPS Head Start students for the first time | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Milwaukee Public Schools
August 8, 2013
As the new school year quickly approaches, Milwaukee Public Schools is announcing that the district will provide free transportation for stud
ents participating in MPS Head Start, which puts qualifying K3 and K4 students on the path to school success through individualized educational experiences, nutrition and family services.
The free transportation piece is a first for MPS, which offers free Head Start programming at 24 sites across Milwaukee. The federally- and state-funded program includes exceptional educational experiences along with a daily breakfast/snack and lunch; health services and screenings; parent involvement/volunteer participation opportunities; and family resources to help ensure students enter K5 ready to learn.
And MPS’ Head Start programming has a history of success: MPS Head Start students were stronger readers and performed better in math by the time they reached 3rd grade than students without Head Start experience, according to a review of test results.
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“MPS Head Start programs are an outstanding opportunity for Milwaukee families to put their children on the path to success,” MPS Superintendent Gregory Thornton said. “And MPS now offers the added benefit of free transportation to locations throughout Milwaukee.”
Families must meet federal income guidelines to quality for Head Start. Children who are receiving foster/kinship care are automatically accepted into the program and priority is given to children with special needs.
MPS’ 1,300 Head Start seats are expected to fill quickly, so interested families should apply at the Head Start office at 5225 W. Vliet St., Room 9, Milwaukee, WI 53208 — or call (414) 777-7850 for more information. The office is open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
To register, families must provide proof of income, a certified copy of the child’s original birth certificate, proof of address and an immunization record.
MPS is offering Head Start for 2013-14 at the following sites: ALBA; Bethune Academy; Carson Academy; Congress Year-Round School; Forest Home Avenue School; Hampton Elementary School; Hawthorne School; Hayes Bilingual School; Hopkins Lloyd Community School; Gwen T. Jackson Early Childhood and Elementary School; Kagel School; Keefe Avenue School; Kilbourn School; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School; Kluge School; Lincoln Avenue School; Longfellow School; Maple Tree School; Mitchell Integrated Arts School; Sherman Multicultural Arts School; Siefert School; Silver Spring School; Thurston Woods Campus and Westside Academy.

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Poverty, crime contribute to ‘uncertain outlook’ for MPS | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
August 9, 2013
Dr. Gregory Thornton, superintendent of MPS, says he worries about students who don’t have the tools to succeed. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
There’s no silver bullet when it comes to solving the woes of the Milwaukee Public School (MPS) system. That was the conclusion Public Policy Forum (PPF) researchers and education leaders arrived at during a recent panel discussion focusing on education reform in Milwaukee.
“Even if there were (a silver bullet), we wouldn’t be able to know it with all the overlapping reforms, governmental and fiscal,” said Anneliese Dickman, former research director for PPF, referring to changes in proficiency standards and funding cuts for education. Dickman called the long-term outlook for MPS very uncertain.
Other panelists were MPS Superintendent Dr. Gregory Thornton; Jay Bullock, Bay View Middle and High School teacher; Marcia Spector, executive director of Seeds of Health; and Mary McIntosh, president, Notre Dame Middle School. Mark Sabljak, publisher of Milwaukee Business Journal, moderated the discussion.
Most of the panelists agreed that the biggest challenges for MPS and for Milwaukee students in general are problems that plague the city as a whole — poverty and crime.
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Anneliese Dickman addresses several hundred participants at a recent conference sponsored by the Public Policy Forum. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
“How do you factor in violence to an education?” asked Thornton, who said MPS lost 39 students in 39 months in various incidents. He referred to several recent violent incidents in Milwaukee in which youth were shot and, in one case, killed.
Funding is another serious challenge. Dickman pointed out that there is not much room for MPS to add revenue or cut costs. MPS’s cost per pupil is more than $9,000, much of which comes from state and federal aid, according to a PPF report released earlier this year. Charter schools receive the same amount ($6,642) in state aid for each student, and spend an average of $7,670 per pupil.
But the additional spending on MPS students is not sufficient, according to Bullock. “That doesn’t make up for what these students don’t have access to at home,” he said.
Thornton added that the average spent per pupil doesn’t reflect the true cost of educating the more than 79,000 students enrolled at MPS. He said nearly 20 percent are special needs students who cost more to educate and support. Also, the cost of post-employment benefits for teachers has continued to grow, according to Thornton.
“That’s $20 million a year that could be going into schools,” he said. Thornton noted that progress is being made to change the benefit structure for teachers who retire in the future, which could help the school system.
Thornton said he’s focusing on three critical areas to improve the school system — student achievement, effective and efficient school operation, and community development and engagement.
Spector, who heads a system of charter schools in Milwaukee, said that many city students face society’s most serious problems on a daily basis. “They’re poor, homeless sometimes; I’m not sure what we do can always make a difference,” she said.
Thornton agreed that a large number of impoverished students have been ill prepared for academic success from, “the word go.”
According to 2010 U.S. Census data, 41 percent of children who reside within the Milwaukee Public Schools district lived in poverty. Data collected by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction showed that 81.5 percent of MPS students qualified for free or reduced lunch during the 2012-13 school year.
“The challenge is not that we don’t have great schools; some kids are getting a wonderful education,” Thornton said. However, he added that some public schools have been “dropout factories.”
“We have to come to grips with the fact that there are many low-performing schools in Milwaukee; I’ve closed 10 of them,” Thornton said.
He added that MPS graduation rates have been increasing in recent years, with 70-74 percent of students now graduating within four years. Thornton said that the public school system needs to provide young people who haven’t had a great start with support, so that they can be competitive and bridge the academic gap.
But it won’t be easy, the panelists agreed. As Bullock commented, “Teaching urban, poor students is really hard to do.”

created: August 9, 2013


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9452472249_9450f259e8_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
August 8, 2013


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9455263338_e9c78c9cfe_c | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
August 8, 2013


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New MPS community service requirement to foster student engagement | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Brendan O’Brien
August 13, 2013
Students help make 2,800 sandwiches as part of the Salvation Army’s Feed the Kids volunteer opportunity. (Photo Courtesy of Milwaukee Public Schools)
Milwaukee Public School students graduating in 2015 and beyond must participate in community service or take a service learning class, a requirement that school officials and local leaders hope will foster a new generation of engaged community members.
District officials believe the requirement will also build skills, increase self-confidence and spur career exploration on the part of the student.
“Our main is goal is to get kids college and career ready, to get them new experience and to have them contribute to society, with guidance, structure and support,” said Kathleen End, the district’s community service coordinator.
A student volunteers, helping sort food at the Hunger task Force. (Photo Courtesy of Milwaukee Public Schools)
Officials from Milwaukee Public Schools and the Nonprofit Center of Milwaukee met with representatives from about two dozen nonprofit organizations recently to discuss how the initiative will affect their efforts and how they could engage students.
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Youth volunteers “bring a lot of energy,” said Pamela Behling, the volunteer director at Milwaukee Public Television. “I have some [volunteers who] have gone on to college and have said they are coming home because they want to volunteer.”
To meet the requirement, students can either take a service learning course in high school or complete 20 hours of community service independently. They can also take a required or elective course online to fulfill the requirement.
Students who elect to complete 20 hours of community service will need to submit a proposal form that names the nonprofit where they want to volunteer and describes their community service plan, their current skills and interests, and what they hope to gain from the project. After completing the project, they will be asked to assess themselves and write a brief summary about their experience.
Students cannot be compensated for their service. Additionally, the service cannot be done as part of a court-ordered judgment or to benefit a member of the student’s immediate family.
Students will be matched with a school advisor, who will approve the proposal and guide them through the process.
Those who opt for service learning will investigate community needs and then undertake a project that meets one of those needs. Service learning projects will be carried out with the help of community partners such as nonprofit organizations.
Service learning can be incorporated into almost any high school course, with schools determining which classes will be available to meet the requirement. Some schools may have additional requirements depending on their curriculum and at some community service is already part of their requirements, according to district officials.
The skills that students are “going to acquire in that class are … relevant and useful to solve real problems that they care about that make a real difference in the world that they live in,” said Sarah Kubetz, the district’s service learning coordinator.


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9494293065_d324019c7d_c | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
August 12, 2013


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9494293859_fe5510b868_z | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
August 12, 2013


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Leadership Institute tours Sherman Park | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Mark Doremus
August 16, 2013
Starting out from Sherman Park Senior Living on Fond du Lac Avenue, participants in the Neighborhood Leadership Institute carpooled to the highlights of Sherman Park on Aug. 10.
The Institute brings together grassroots community leaders to discuss issues and explore solutions to challenges in their neighborhoods. Participants meet two weekday evenings and one Saturday each month.
On Aug. 10 it was Sherman Park’s turn to host the monthly event.
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After breakfast and a presentation by Wyman Winston, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority, the group was off on its tour, hosted by Wendy Hamilton of the Sherman Park Neighborhood Association.
The first stop was RePurpose, a non-profit thrift and resale store at 4610 W. Fond du Lac Ave.  The shop is managed by St. Charles Youth and Family Services, Inc., and provides job training and experience for at-risk teens through the Youth Employment Services (Y.E.S.) program.  Most Y.E.S. participants work three hours a day, three days a week. Those 18 and older can work up to 32 hours a week. The training and work experience prepare them for entry-level employment in retail and customer-service jobs.
The group then stopped for refreshments at Sherman Perk Coffee Shop, 4924 W. Roosevelt Drive.  The shop is located in a refurbished building that is one of the few unaltered examples of the Streamline Moderne style of gas stations in the country. It was vacant for almost 10 years until it was restored and opened as a coffee shop by neighborhood resident Bob Olin in 2001. The building is on the National Register of Historic Landmarks and is a favorite meeting place of Sherman Park residents.
The next stop was the community garden at the 53rd Street Community School, 3618 N. 53rd St.  The garden was a finalist for the Northern Trust Navigator Award, which recognizes diverse voices and resources to improve the community. The garden sits in the lot behind the school, which shares a play area with Yeshiva Elementary School, 5115 W. Keefe Ave., an Orthodox Jewish school located across the street.
At the Sherman Multicultural Arts School, 5110 W. Locust St., the tour group observed the Sherman Park Multicultural Community Mural, a reworking of a mural that was first developed by artist Reynaldo Hernandez in 1991. Hernandez and local artist Tia Richardson spearheaded the two-year renewal project, which was done by students from the school along with parents, staff and community members. The new mural was unveiled earlier this year.
The next stop was the Footsteps of Unity, a public art project designed to remind everyone in Sherman Park that they are responsible for working together and sustaining a nurturing environment. The Footsteps are adjacent to the Mary Ryan Boys & Girls Club at 3000 N. Sherman Blvd. Local artist Marina Lee worked with youths to develop, design, build and paint benches that are embedded at the base with footprints of children and include youth writings on the importance of working together.
The final stop of the tour was the headquarters of the Sherman Park Community Association, 3526 W. Fond du Lac Ave. The community association was formed in 1971 and was instrumental in stopping the Park-West and Stadium-North Freeways, which were seen as barriers to racial integration and diversity. The association continues to work to publicize the advantages of living in Sherman Park, improve communication inside and outside the neighborhood and promote innovative projects that promote integrated urban living.
Before the tour, WHEDA chief Wyman Winston explained the organization’s $200 million Transform Milwaukee initiative, which is designed to spur job creation and reduce the number of foreclosed and vacant properties in the city. It will also increase job training opportunities, reduce future flooding events and improve existing transportation systems.
The end result, Winston said, should be an increase in the number of Milwaukeeans who are working and living in their own homes. That, in turn, will reduce demands on public services and increase tax revenue for the city, he said.
The Neighborhood Leadership Institute is a partnership of four local organizations – Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Zilber Family Foundation, LISC Milwaukee and United Neighborhood Centers of Milwaukee (UNCOM) – in collaboration with the Cardinal Stritch University Leadership Center.

author: Mark Doremus


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9487975323_8f78038e90_c | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
August 15, 2013


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9488017269_766bfa7466_c | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
August 16, 2013


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Milwaukee County UW Cooperative Extension awarded $79,398 for Pilot Pre-College Institute with UW Colleges Two-Year Institutions | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Eloisa Gómez, Director, Milwaukee County Cooperative Extension
August 19, 2013
Milwaukee County UW Cooperative Extension has been awarded $79,398 from the UW-Extension Program Innovation Fund to collaborate with four UW Colleges and UW Help on a pilot Pre-College Institute for Milwaukee Middle and High School 4-H youth.
UW College partners and Milwaukee County UW Cooperative Extension’s 4-H Youth Development educators and County Director, Eloisa Gómez, initiated a UW Extension Pre-College Institute that will bring four UW Colleges and other UW System resources under one roof in Milwaukee to enhance and supply services to middle and high school youth who are engaged in youth development programs from the Milwaukee office.  The Institute will connect UW Richland, Rock, Washington and Waukesha Colleges to approximately 250 middle and high school students, many of whom come from traditionally underserved populations and are from Milwaukee’s central city north and south sides.
The Pre-College Institute is designed to connect youth to UW Colleges and other UW resources to introduce the youth and their parents to the college environment on several layers including academics, campus life, and financial considerations that all have a significant impact on a family to support a youth’s decision to attend UW post-secondary institutions.
According to Greg Hutchins, Associate Vice Chancellor for University of Wisconsin-Extension,“UW-Extension has been bringing educational programs into Milwaukee neighborhoods for decades, and now we’re thrilled to provide this new level of pre-college experience for Milwaukee youth.  The UW Colleges are very committed to helping students gain admission and achieve success in college, and with the addition of UW Help to this effort, students will find that access to all of the UW’s universities will become more obtainable.  This pre-college institute is going to provide a pathway from Milwaukee neighborhoods to UW Colleges and Universities and beyond.”
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The Pre-College Institute has the capacity to become an innovative model to introduce youth in the Milwaukee County 4-H Youth Development programs to UW Colleges with a two-fold goal:  support youth academically throughout middle and high school through pertinent and existing services;  The Milwaukee office offers UWC a greater likelihood to maintain connections to these youth and their families throughout middle and high school so that UW Colleges or other UW post-secondary institutions are more seriously considered upon their graduation, thereby increasing the number of students entering the institutions.
For more information contact Eloisa Gómez, Director, Milwaukee County Cooperative Extension at 414-256-4600 or Eloisa.gomez@ces.uwex.edu.


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‘Peace bracelet’ highlight of public art display at City Hall | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
August 21, 2013
More than 100 youth worked on the giant “Peace” bracelet. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Stretching 38 feet in circumference, the oversized charm bracelet dangled from the second floor of City Hall to the main lobby. The charm, or “peace” bracelet, was one of several pieces of art on display recently as part of the Milwaukee Public Theatre’s Cultivating Community Art projects.
The projects included giant puppets, parade floats and other pieces constructed by artists working with hundreds of local youth. The artwork was also displayed at the Summer of Peace and Latino Carnaval parades this summer and some will be featured in the Dia De Los Muertos parade in November. The bracelet, created by artist Kristelle Ulrich, was one of several displays featuring peace and anti-violence messages.
Symbols of warm hands and hearts adorn the bracelet. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Ulrich, a Milwaukee native, produced the piece with help from children and teenagers at the Holton Youth and Family Center. The bracelet was fashioned by combining colorful squares decorated with either hearts or hands and foam balls to create an image symbolizing togetherness and a sense of peace among all who helped create or view the ornament of peace, Ulrich said.
“Warm hands and warm hearts create peace,” Ulrich added.
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She asked young people to contemplate what peace felt like, sounded like and even tasted like and then asked them to use bright colors to express those feelings.
“I’ve been asking kids to think about what peace meant to them all summer,” said Ulrich, who’s been teaching art for more than 30 years.
Along with the bracelet, other pieces on display included puppets such as a giant praying mantis wearing a shield labeled “Govt. Bug,” a float depicting the Menomonee Valley’s new “Three Bridges Park,” and “Celebration of Life,” a display featuring commemorative tombstones and a memorial arch in honor of those killed by gun violence in Milwaukee.
James Anderson, who sells vegetables for Walnut Way in the lobby of City Hall, described the displays as beautiful.
“And it’s not just the fact that they’re art, it’s the cultural significance behind the pieces,” said Anderson, gazing at masks and headdresses created by youth from Boys and Girls Clubs.
Anderson said young people better express themselves through art, adding, “Kids nowadays are growing up fast and learning quickly, and through their art they’re sharing that information with us.”


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
August 21, 2013


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Back-to-school health fairs focus on disease prevention | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Edgar Mendez
August 23, 2013
Katherine Krueger, who works for the City of Milwaukee, administers a finger prick lead test to Arion Taylor, 5. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
In an effort to prevent an outbreak of potentially deadly illnesses such as measles, mumps, pertussis (whooping cough) and other communicable diseases, the Milwaukee Health Department (MHD) is working with Milwaukee Public Schools and other community partners to get local youth vaccinated.
Free immunizations were provided to youngsters at both North and South Side MHD-sponsored Back-To-School Family Health Fairs. MHD personnel checked medical records on the Wisconsin Immunization Registry to determine whether attendees were missing shots. Currently, 80 percent of all Milwaukee residents have been fully immunized, according to Paul A. Biedrzycki, director of disease control and environmental health for MHD.
“Ninety-five percent of the community needs to be vaccinated to prevent outbreaks from happening,” Biedrzycki said.
Since 6 percent of residents sign waivers to opt out of immunizations for themselves or their children for religious, medical or other specific reasons, the city’s official compliance rate for immunizations is 86 percent
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The Center for Disease Control (CDC) standard for immunization coverage against communicable diseases among children entering school also is 95 percent. School-age children are vulnerable to an outbreak, but, according to Biedrzycki, they’re not the ones at the highest risk.
“The biggest danger is that they spread diseases like measles or mumps to their little brothers and sisters who aren’t in school yet,” Biedrzycki said.
He added that there are also other vulnerable populations in the city, especially on the South Side, due to the influx of new immigrants who might not know the immunization status of their children, or themselves.
Valerie Reid and her daughter Savannah, 6, left the fair with school supplies and health information. (Photo by Edgar Mendez)
Dr. Eric Gass, public health research and policy director for MHD, said the fair was one way to help parents and guardians get their children the services they need. Adults also were able to obtain information about getting medical services for themselves from the many local health organizations and social service agencies that sponsored booths at the fairs. In addition to immunizations, hearing tests, eye exams, lead testing and other on-site health services were offered at the fair. Once children received the services they required they were given free backpacks and school supplies.
“We’re providing a place where all the kids’ needs can be met and they can be ready for school and ready to learn,” said Gass. Halfway through the event, more than 1,200 youth had been served at South Division, 1515 W. Lapham St.
More than 500 vaccine shots were administered at South Division to 245 clients, up from 445 vaccinations and 215 clients at last year’s fair.
At the North Side fair, held at Mother Kathyrn Daniels Conference Center, 333 shots were provided and 162 clients served, compared to 750 immunizations and 304 clients in 2012. Organizers attributed the lower numbers this year to a change in location. “Catch-up clinics,” where youth can receive free immunizations, will be offered throughout the school year at various locations throughout the city.
At South Division, many parents were unaware their children didn’t have all their shots.
Jesus Nunez, originally from Puerto Rico, was there with his four children. He got in line at 9 a.m. and waited patiently before finding out two of his kids needed vaccinations.
“I didn’t know they were missing anything,” said Nunez in Spanish.
Elizabeth Maturin, who spent three hours at the fair, was surprised that her children weren’t fully immunized. She said three of her kids got shots, as well as free backpacks and supplies.
“I saved a hundred dollars or more,” Maturin said with a smile as her children donned their new backpacks.
Vaccinations cost MHD between $40 and $200 per shot, according to Biedrzycki.
Lead testing was also a major need addressed at the fair. Biedrzycki said 13 percent, or more than 4,000 school age Milwaukeeans, have lead levels higher than the CDC threshold of concern. A finger prick lead test was administered to 264 kids at the fairs and results came back in three minutes.
“We’ve seen some kids with extremely high lead levels,” said Stephanie Ortiz, who works for MHD, and was registering parents at the fair. Ortiz said that all those who had elevated lead levels received a nurse consultation before they left.
A recent UW-Madison research study analyzing data from Milwaukee Public Schools found that young children who had elevated levels of lead were three times more likely to be suspended from school by the fourth grade and had other discipline problems. Lead-based paint, found in older housing stock such as Milwaukee’s, is the primary source of elevated lead levels among children.
“Kids crawl around on the floor and pick up fine dust from lead paint on their hands which they transfer to their mouth; they’re subtly poisoned,” said Biedrzycki.
Families in low-income communities have less access to health care, putting them more at risk for communicable diseases and lead poisoning, explained Biedrzycki.
Gass said that’s why it’s crucial to provide children with access to preventative health services such as those offered at the fair.  “Disease is a stress on families and sick kids can’t learn.”


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| Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Adam Carr
August 22, 2013


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2014 Safe Places Initiative request for proposals | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Safe & Sound
August 26, 2013
Safe Places can help youth discover their potential as change makers and community leaders.  They also keep youth on a positive path.
Safe & Sound is inviting youth development organizations serving young people between the ages of 10-19 to review the  now available on its website.
Now in its 15 year, Safe & Sound has partnered with youth-serving agencies to improve neighborhood quality of life through a community engagement strategy of positive youth development. Grant funds are used to offer safe environments and foster pro-social orientations that promote healthy behaviors among youth.
Organizations selected as Safe Places will become part of a citywide network for the benefit of both staff at youth-serving agencies and youth they engage. To learn more about applying to become a Safe Place afterschool program, please review the 2014 Safe Places Request for Proposal.
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author: Safe & Sound


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Introducing the 2014 Alice’s Garden Herbal CSA! | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Venice R. Williams
August 28, 2013
Since 2008, Alice’s Garden has provided locally grown herbs and herbal teas to the Milwaukee community, along with herbal education and informational workshops.  An herbal product line was created in 2012 and in 2014, Alice’s Garden Healing Herbs will offer the community an Herbal CSA.  This CSA, community supported agriculture, will provide a collection of fresh herbs, herbal recipes, herbal education and herbal products to CSA subscribers 12 times during the growing season, June through October.
Attached is the 2014 Alice’s Garden Herbal CSA brochure.  Feel free to share it with others.   We will begin enrolling folks October 1.
Peace,
Venice
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author: Venice R. Williams


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Special board election set for SDC | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
Social Development Commission
August 28, 2013
Residents of Milwaukee’s Northwest side and northern suburbs will have the opportunity to select a new representative to the Social Development Commission (SDC) Board.
A Special Election for SDC District One will be held Friday, September 13 between 8am and 6pm.  The polling location will be at the Silver Spring Neighborhood Center located at 5460 N. 64 Street in Milwaukee.  The district includes Milwaukee’s Northwest side plus northern Milwaukee County suburbs and the City of Wauwatosa.  To vote, a person must be at least 18 years old and a resident of SDC District One for at least ten days.
Residents will be asked to write in the name of a district resident on the ballot.  The winner of the election will serve the remainder of the three-year term representing the area on the 18-person SDC Board of Commissioners. The SDC Board helps create and implement policy for the anti-poverty agency which serves Milwaukee County. The previous Commissioner for SDC District One who was elected this past April recently resigned to take a position on the staff of U.S. Senator Ron Johnson.
To get more information on the Special SDC District One Board Election and to see the boundaries of the district, visit the SDC website at www.cr-sdc.org.
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