Author: Staff

Acts of Hate: Local family faces lengthy legal battle with neighbors over alleged racial harassment

Acts of Hate: Local family faces lengthy legal battle with neighbors over alleged racial harassment

Posted by | May 23, 2023

A heated lawsuit is underway in the quiet suburban neighborhood of Mount Pleasant as Carlos J. Amaya and Laura V. Amaya filed a lawsuit against their neighbors, James I. Coots and Cindy J. Coots on May 23. The lawsuit also includes ABC Insurance Company, alleging liability for damages. The plaintiffs claim a series of incidents involving harassment, trespassing, and property disputes that have strained neighborly relations over the past few years. The Milwaukee-based Hispanic advocacy organization Forward Latino was contacted two years ago by the Amaya family, seeking legal assistance and protection from James and Cindy Coots. Over the...

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CONNECT 1 Service: MCTS launches summer route changes along with new BRT line on June 4

CONNECT 1 Service: MCTS launches summer route changes along with new BRT line on June 4

Posted by | May 22, 2023

Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) summer schedules go into effect on June 4, and include the launch of the new CONNECT 1. Wisconsin’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line, CONNECT 1, will deliver a premium level of transit service that improves mobility and ultimately increases ridership in a cost-effective manner. It will also feature several innovations new to Milwaukee County including the use of battery electric buses, real-time arrival signage at bus stations, and dedicated bus lanes. In addition to the introduction of CONNECT 1, summer schedule changes improve the reliability of service on adjacent bus routes, make the...

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From invasion to liberation: Sergi Mykhalchuk earns 2 Milwaukee Press Club awards for his images in Irpin

From invasion to liberation: Sergi Mykhalchuk earns 2 Milwaukee Press Club awards for his images in Irpin

Posted by | May 13, 2023

Somewhere in Ukraine, at an undisclosed location along the frontlines, Sergi Mykhalchuk received a Facebook message from Milwaukee that his work documenting Irpin’s evacuation and later liberation had won two journalism awards. On May 12, the Milwaukee Press Club awarded Milwaukee Independent’s Mykhalchuk for excellence in visual journalism in two categories, “Best Photo Essay or Series” and “Best Feature Photograph.” The images documented the early days of Russia’s brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the aftermath when those forces were driven from the Kyiv region and Milwaukee’s sister city. > READ: Images from the frontlines: Sergi Mykhalchuk photographs the...

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Governor Evers signs legislation to increase penalties for carjacking and reckless driving in Wisconsin

Governor Evers signs legislation to increase penalties for carjacking and reckless driving in Wisconsin

Posted by | May 11, 2023

Governor Tony Evers signed a pair of bipartisan bills on May 10 that would increase penalties for carjacking and reckless driving. The bills come as part of a Republican-backed push to crack down on dangerous driving across the state but particularly in Milwaukee, where Mayor Cavalier Johnson has called rising rates of reckless driving a crisis. “Reckless driving and other dangerous behaviors are putting our kids, families, and communities at risk all across our state, and we must do more at the state level to address dangerous behavior on our roads,” said Governor Evers. “I’m proud the first enacted...

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Milwaukee community mourns migrant deaths in Brownsville after SUV driver hits crowd at bus stop

Milwaukee community mourns migrant deaths in Brownsville after SUV driver hits crowd at bus stop

Posted by | May 8, 2023

Milwaukee Independent was embedded with a delegation from Forward Latino for a fact-finding mission to the Mexico-United States border, that started at City of Brownsville in June 2022. Nearly a year later on May 7, at least seven people were killed and up to ten were injured after they were struck by a vehicle while waiting at a city bus stop outside of a migrant shelter in Brownsville, Texas. In June 2022, team members with Forward Latino met with immigrants, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials, numerous relief agencies, and faith leaders on both sides of the border,...

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Striping of a new dedicated bus lane for Milwaukee County’s BRT begins installation across downtown

Striping of a new dedicated bus lane for Milwaukee County’s BRT begins installation across downtown

Posted by | Apr 25, 2023

As Milwaukee County’s first-ever Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line enters the final construction stage, streets along the downtown route will undergo a visual transformation by being painted with dedicated lane stripes. The dedicated bus lanes, a collaboration between MCTS and the City of Milwaukee, are a significant component of the modernized transit route that keeps bus schedules fast and reliable, similar to train or light rail service. MCTS battery electric buses will deliver high-frequency service, with 10-minute headways at peak times along the route. The BRT line, called MCTS CONNECT, begins service on June 4, 2023. “Modernizing public transit...

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