Staff, Author at Milwaukee Independent

Wauwatosa 4th graders asked to give three good reasons for slavery

Posted by Staff | Jan 9, 2018 |

The issue of racism in education was at the center of a minor social media storm on January 9, touched off after a parent posted a photo of her son’s homework assignment. Neither the school nor the teacher were available for comment. On the topic of slavery, the assignment given to 4th graders at Our Redeemer Lutheran School in Wauwatosa asked students to “Give 3 ‘good’ reasons for slaver and 3 bad reason… for presenting an argument.” “Does anyone else find my 4th grader’s homework offensive?” asked Trameka Brown-Berry in her Facebook post. Her son’s answer to the class...

Hunger in Milwaukee did not end with holiday charity efforts

Posted by Staff | Jan 8, 2018 |

The Milwaukee Art Museum is partnering with Hunger Task Force of Milwaukee’s free and local food bank all January, inviting visitors to donate food and make art to share with local kids and families. There are many food drives in our community around Thanksgiving and Christmas, but hunger does not stop once the New Year begins. As the second poorest city in the nation, Milwaukee has a 43% child poverty rate and there are thousands of hungry kids in our community. Everyone deserves healthy food, the Milwaukee Art Museum wants to make sure that families in need are not...

NASA patches recall a time when Milwaukee helped put men on the moon

Posted by Staff | Jan 5, 2018 |

Once the fabric of Milwaukee for six decades, and all but forgotten now, manufacturing sites in the city produced military armament used around the world and helped mankind leave the gravity of Earth. Established in 1948 in a six-story plant on the northeast side, the Milwaukee operations of Delco Electronics – known as Delphi Electronics & Safety at its closing in 2008 – had a leading role in the field of precision guidance systems and automotive components. The company played a key role for years in research, development, and production of electro-mechanical devices for military use and space exploration....

Report shows independent journalists face epidemic levels of violence

Posted by Staff | Jan 4, 2018

According to the world’s largest organization for journalists, at least 81 reporters were killed in 2017 doing their jobs, while violence and harassment against media staff has skyrocketed. The end-of-year report from the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) contained dire results, which found an “unprecedented numbers of journalists were jailed, forced to flee, that self-censorship was widespread, and that impunity for the kiIIings, harassment, attacks, and threats against independent journalism was running at epidemic levels.” “We welcome the reduction for the third year in a row in the loss of life suffered by journalists and media staff around the...

MPS teachers outraged over administrative pay raises

Posted by Staff | Jan 4, 2018 |

“While the MPS Administration showers money on MPS administrators, classroom educators, saddled with increasing demands, are asked to take a step back in pay this year. Educators won’t even receive pay increases to keep up with the cost of inflation.” – Kim Schroeder, President of Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association (MTEA) Over $100,000 in pay raises were approved to 23 individuals in top positions of the MPS administration. The largest pay raise to one individual was $17,600. Milwaukee School Board member Terry Falk explained that none of the raises were officially reported to the school board. “This information was provided...

Milwaukee ratepayers could be stuck with Racine’s Foxconn utility bill

Posted by Staff | Jan 3, 2018 |

Alderman Robert J. Bauman has called for an investigation into if We Energies ratepayers in Milwaukee will be on the hook for funding critical electrical utility infrastructure for the soon-to-be-built Foxconn facility near Racine. As chair of the Common Council’s Public Works Committee, Alderman Bauman will bring the issue to that committee for a hearing on January 4 to discuss the possible rate hike. To serve the Foxconn facility in Racine, the American Transmission Company (ATC) is proposing a $140 million substation with high voltage power lines. Alderman Bauman is calling for the City of Milwaukee to explore what,...