Author: Op-Ed

In a short-sighted rush to give away Wisconsin’s resources to a multi-national corporation, state legislators are pushing to pass a bill to exempt the Foxconn manufacturing company from state environmental protection laws. Foxconn’s proposed 1,000-acre site is a major project that could have significant wetland and waterway impacts. The full scale of this exemption will depend on where the project will be located. But if this law passes, any wetland or waterway impacts wouldn’t be regulated under state environmental protection law. And any wetlands that are not under federal jurisdiction – Waters of the US – would be entirely...

Milwaukee’s Community Brainstorming Conference will gather the public, community leaders, and key elected officials to discuss JobLines routes 6 and 61 on April 22. The routes are viable transit solutions to connect Milwaukee’s inner city workers with over 150 employers in Waukesha and Washington counties. The conversation will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at St. Matthew C.M.E. Church at 2944 North 9th Street. Since the decline of industry and manufacturing in the city of Milwaukee in the 1970s, 80s and the 90s, there has been a steady deterioration of the middle class, especially in the inner...

The debate about preserving the elegant Ravine Road Bridge in Lake Park deserves the attention of every concerned citizen. Milwaukee County officials want to demolish the iconic bridge without the evaluation required by the National Register of Historic Places. Both the bridge and Lake Park are listed in the National Register. The caprice and expediency by which its removal is being pursued should be a concern to all citizens who care about Milwaukee County’s historic park. Whether you are a bicyclist, runner or weekend wanderer, the integrity of your park system is at risk. And this is not just...

“Twenty years ago ‘Save the County Grounds’ was the rallying that eventually led to a compromise on development that many thought had settled the matter.” – LuAnne Washburn The last unprotected part of the County Grounds is threatened with new development in a proposed City of Wauwatosa Master Plan and that cry is being raised again. As evidenced by the overwhelming public turnout at a recent Wauwatosa meeting about the Master Plan, the community still wants to save the County Grounds. The 60-acre parcel in question was once the County Asylum Grounds. The land, owned by Milwaukee County, has...