Author: Staff

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) announced two pilot programs on May 5 designed to safely address a backlog of demand for licenses during the pandemic. Eligible individuals with a Wisconsin driver license will be able to renew it online. Individuals under age 18, who successfully complete their required training and have the endorsement of a parent or guardian will be able to get their probationary driver license without completing a road test. “The Division of Motor Vehicles has been at the forefront of making changes to protect the public and our associates during the public health emergency, while...

City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County officials announced a joint initiative on May 8 to provide additional temporary recreation spaces for people to safely engage in physical activities such as walking, biking, or running. Milwaukee Active Streets, initiated and overseen by the City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works and Milwaukee County Parks, will temporarily close or limit motor vehicle traffic on approximately 10 miles of streets throughout the City and County for improved bicycle and pedestrian use, to be phased in over the next couple of weeks. “While we have asked residents to stay home and eliminate unnecessary...

Milwaukee County officials announced the signing of an ordinance that commits to advancing racial equity and eliminating health disparities on April 29. The ordinance was presented by Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson, County Executive-elect David Crowley, and Director, Nicole Brookshire with the Office on African American Affairs (OAAA). It was unanimously passed by the County Board, and moves forward the County’s vision that by achieving racial equity, Milwaukee is the healthiest county in Wisconsin. “For hundreds of years, government institutions have been connected to the atrocities against those with a historical lineage to...

Opportunity Wisconsin and Black Leaders Organizing for Communities (BLOC) hosted a virtual conversation with United States Congresswoman Gwen Moore on April 29 to discuss how COVID-19’s impact on Milwaukee’s African American community has been exacerbated by years of damaging economic policies championed by President Donald Trump and his allies. The conversation, moderated by Milwaukee Alderwoman and Opportunity Wisconsin steering committee member Chantia Lewis, featured Milwaukee residents who have been personally impacted by the pandemic. It was organized in response to a new report from UW-Milwaukee highlighting how race and patterns of segregation can be linked with the spread of...

Two medical students recently wrote an illustrated children’s book about coronavirus, to help parents of color communicate with their children about why so many families across the nation have been staying home. The market for children’s picture books has traditionally not focused on people of color. Feeling frustrated by the lack of options, a Milwaukee parent and author, Deanna Singh, produced the book I Am a Boy of Color in 2016 and followed it a year later with I Am a Girl of Color. Those works follow a small but growing trend for books that appeal to youth of...

In a COVID-free world, more than 400,000 Wisconsin children receive free or reduced price meals through the National School Lunch Program while attending school. To ensure that those same students continue to have access to nutritious meals while staying safer at home during the pandemic, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services is providing more than $140 million dollars in food benefits to their families for March, April, May and part of June – to cover the days that schools would usually be in session. These funds were appropriated under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and provided to states...