Author: NNS

By Frank Schneiger • Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service As the pandemic shows signs of winding down, it’s worth thinking about the near future, which, naturally, will be here very soon. And, soon after that, it will be the new past. Here’s hoping that, in our neighborhoods, we’ll be able to look back and say, “We took advantage of new opportunities,” instead of, “Dammit, we missed the boat on this one.” It’s worth repeating the quote of historian F.W. Maitland, “We should always be aware that what now lies in the past once lay in the future.” In situations like...

By Edgar Mendez • Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service Mayor Tom Barrett called a bill passed on May 12 by the state Senate that requires the Fire and Police Commission to add members selected by the police and fire unions “a vicious attack on local government.” “It’s a complete misnomer to call it ‘police reform,’ because it is a direct shot at local government,” said Barrett, referring to Senate Bill 117, which also requires union representatives sit on a disciplinary appeals panel for firefighters and officers. Senate Bill 117, one of seven measures the Senate passed, also bans the use...

By Christine Neumann-Ortiz • Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service May Day, observed on May 1, is recognized around the world as a day to honor the dignity and struggles of working people. The tradition has its roots in 1886, when the day was chosen to commemorate the workers and martyrs of the Haymarket Massacre in Chicago who were fighting for an eight-hour day. In 2006, the May Day tradition was revived in Wisconsin when Voces de la Frontera organized a mass march in support of immigration reform following the national general strikes that defeated Wisconsin’s U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner’s HR4437....

By Edgar Mendez • Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service Domestic violence incidents in Milwaukee and elsewhere have spiked during the pandemic, spurred in part by increased stress levels and by lockdown measures that trapped victims at home with their abusers. Some seek help but face a number of obstacles to overcome the traumatic circumstances. For Black, Indigenous and people of color, or BIPOC, and LGBTQ communities in Milwaukee, one of those obstacles includes finding access to culturally specific domestic and sexual violence services designed to address their needs and experiences. “People come in with the difficult situations and trauma and...

By Edgar Mendez • Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service During a virtual community meeting hosted by the Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission late last month, Aaron Lipski, acting chief of the Milwaukee Fire Department, sounded alarm bells of his own. “We’re way, way extended beyond what our core missions are,” said Lipski, a fourth-generation firefighter who assumed the helm of the department in October when former chief Mark Rohlfing retired. “Because of structured obligations, we had to drop back from 30 to 29 engines to protect the 96 square miles of the city of Milwaukee.” Although the Milwaukee Fire Department...