I'd like it here if I could leave and see it from a long way away...

Have you been to the Art Bar on Burleigh?

It is amazing to me that any time I walk in there, it smells like Milwaukee to me. I can't quite define it. It just smells familiar, comfortable, like my own home town that I (usually) love. Do you know what I mean?

We spent ten days wandering generally south, all the way to North Carolina, and then back north again, and visited a lot of places. Louisville, Kentucky (pre-flooding) was probably the nicest and most hospitable. We met a lady there who mentioned a campaign of sorts called Keep Louisville Weird. That is, that the residents wanted to retain the local color and flavor of their city, and support the local businesses that help keep it feeling like a place- its own place- rather than the ubiquitious chains that can make every place feel and taste and seem the same. There is something similar in Austin, TX, she said. Actually, we do have a thing like that here in Milwaukee; it just has a less evocative title.

The whole trip really made me think, what are the things that I would want to do if I were a tourist here? What if I had 24 or 48 hours to visit and wanted to see and do the things, old and new, that make Milwaukee Milwaukee? What would I tell myself to experience?

Leon's, yes, definitely. A brewery tour. Which one? Coffee, where? Alterra? (It's a chain, but a local one.) The lakefront, definitely, and the Calatrava. Live music of a local nature, and a beer- where for that? What about art? Sparrow Collective, maybe? Riverwest? Those are the kind of things I try to do when I am somewhere else- experience the real place, not (anathema!) the McDonald's version.

I've talked to people who have lived here and are moving away. An oft-cited reason is "it's too small." I really don't think so. Trying to come up with a list like that above, I am conflicted: there is a lot of choice. What do you think?

Thoughts on architecture, healing, and the Starship

Current Orthopaedic Hospital building.

So... I've been spending a lot of time at PT at the Orthopaedic Hospital of Wisconsin, part of a cluster of Columbia-St. Mary's related buildings. The OHW isn't that old, but they are building a new one. A much uglier one- see below.

I really like the original glass OHW building. It's so open, so modern. There is a fountain in the - ..um...front? I'm never sure what is "the front" in a non-new urbanism building that you are supposed to drive to, like Panera or Trader Joe's a couple miles north on Silver Spring. (Of course, the idea of "walking to the orthopedic hospital"- despite the fact that I live four blocks away...induces almost-non-ironic laughter.) Anyway, I spend a bit of time enjoying the fountain every time I am there. Water fountain on the OHW patio. I visit it every time I am there.

It is very soothing and something about the heft of the stones, the beauty of the water, and its the peaceful aura offer a contrast with the modern glass in a way which I greatly enjoy.

The new building, however, (below) looks like some kind of claustrophobic school building, nearly windowless.

New Orthopaedic Hospital, under construction. I hope it somehow becomes more attractive.

My PT explained to me that the vast amount of glass, though nice for humans, was an invitation for frequent and inadvertent bird suicide. That was part of the reason for the new design; it is possible that energy savings were also a factor, though I note no solar panels. Knowing that natural light is so important for the psyche (and therefore healing), though, I have mixed feelings about it. Plus, it's not as though they are going to tear down the existing building: it will be repurposed into much-more-convenient offices. Please, birds, try to remember.

And then there's the Riverwoods building just down the way. Whenever I give people directions to get there, I tell them, "It kind of looks like a spaceship." Doesn't it sort of look like the Enterprise? Sort of? (Just say yes. It will make me feel happy- or at least not crazy.)

Riverwoods.
Someone once told me that the Human Resources building right on Port Washington Road "looks like an insane asylum." I prefer the Enterprise. I didn't get a picture of that one- the old Scott Paper Company, repurposed; you can see that one for yourself, just to the east of I-43, if you are so inclined.

A B A Semar

So, the other week I was trying to figure out to whom I could cry out for help: I have a pair of beloved shoes that desperately needed resoling. I thought the man that typically takes care of such things for me (A B A Semar, 5464 N Port Washington Rd Milwaukee, WI 53217; 414-332-0600) was out of business, since the building he worked out of got remodeled, redone, refurbished, and his sign was gone. The place looked empty. The staff at Stan's (whom I finally called out of desperation) said otherwise. "Go to the back of the building," said the voice on the phone, telling me the secret to the meaning of life (and shoe repair). "He is there." I felt furtive, like I was going to see Mr. Miyagi, or The Oracle.

Sure enough, Mr. Semar was sitting outside, by the back door, a spry little old elf.


When I got inside, I noted all manner of watch repair items- and since I had repaired my watchband myself with black electrical tape and mightily resisted The Brain's efforts to buy me a new one (his taste can be, well, dissimilar to mine)- I asked them to replace the band on my old one, which the did, whilst I waited. (I love my watch. I had bought it at a thrift store in Eagle River, WI. It is special to me.) Now that it has a new band, it is pretty much perfect again. I wear it all the time, except in the shower.


I do get attached to objects, and have a sentimental streak that borders on pathological, but it's not the worst thing, really. Having items repaired keeps the economy going, too- not just buying new things. I now have my shoes back too- they are refurbished like new- and since they are the kind that I can just slip into, they are just ideal with this back thing I have going on. What excellent timing. I am trying to stay optimistic. These little things make all the difference.

Re-Threads on Humboldt

Re-Threads, a new store that opened up on Humboldt just north of Locust, is like having the coolest friend ever to trade clothes with. It is like thrift shopping without having to paw through stained, torn shirts and too much Faded Glory.
The store went up so fast and seemed so cool that I thought it had to be part of some regional or national chain. I asked the friendly, efficient clerk about that. Nope, it's locally owned and operated- something the clean and easy-to-navigate website corroborates.
Photo courtesy of the Re-Threads website.

The premise is simple: you bring in your clothing that is still worth rockin', but just doesn't fit your body/life/closet anymore, and trade it for cash or store credit. Brain and I walked in with items that I had previously loved and knew that someone else would someday love just as much, and walked out with some cash, a pair of pants that I want to say "fit me like a glove" (but no, they simply fit me like a wonderfully-fitting pair of pants) and a sweet Thneed. (I don't think this versatile garment has a real name, but it is very awesome and even has the original tag still attached.) Re-Threads is like being invited to one of those parties where people bring clothing that just ain't working out anymore and have a big trade, except the pool of people involved is just that much bigger. They could use more men's clothing though; I hope for Brain's sake that shakes out eventually, but I loved it. The concept is brilliant.

The 3/50 project

A woman I work with handed me this flyer the other day (who, I might add, moonlighted at a small store on Downer Avenue that closed last month) . Then I saw it on Facebook. My line of thinking started with, I don't spend $50 a month on "stuff." But of course I do. I try, not hard enough, to spend it at locally-owned establishments. The line "...you'd miss most if they were gone" crystallized this for me, as so many are closing.

Some of my favorite local bricks-and-mortar establishments are listed below the flyer.


Some of my faves, and reasons why:

Fischberger's Variety on Holton: the best place to buy gifts. The lady who owns it (one of the Brew City Bruisers) gave me a zipper once- not sold it to me- gave it to me. The fact that I remember it two years later shows how unusual this small act was.

Top Shelf Guitar Shop in Bay View. The guy that owns it not only checked out and tweaked my bass this year, not charging me because "I really didn't do anything"-- although I saw him tweak it! Then he ran out in the rain to bring me the patch cords I bought and then forgot on the counter. Truly excellent customer service every time.

Ruhama's Yarn and Needlepoint for getting my craft on.

Kellner's Greenhouse for decorative plants and herbs (especially since Weber's on Green Bay just north of Capitol closed last year).

Laacke and Joys, downtown location, "when nature calls you outdoors." It's a big store, and probably not on the verge of closing or anything, but it's a Milwaukee icon and always seems to have what I need. Or want.


What are your favorite local stores? Why do you like them?

Sustainability and street cred

This is the house that DH and I bought together when we got married in 1998, at the corner of Palmer and Center streets in sort-of-but-not-quite Brewer's Hill and definitely-not-but-let's-pretend Riverwest. We were the only white people around for blocks and blocks. We paid $35,000 for it and the taxes were just over $250 per year. It was very economically sustainable and I was able to walk to work if I wasn't working the night shift, and if I had Comet (the Doberman/pit bull mix) with me I could walk wherever else I felt like, too. We had a huge yard that created a buffer between our house and the dogfighting and prostitutes next door. The house itself was huge and it had an oil furnace- heating was much cheaper then. I don't think we would be able to afford to heat a place that big now! It was 2434 square feet of wonderful house that I felt trapped in. We lived there for just over two years before moving to where we live now.

I just wanted to give a little background before I post a few other things about the real Milwaukee that I don't see elsewhere on the blogosphere.

"Fish or cut bait" editorial

I know there are certain people who visit this blog, hoping that "Estabrook Dam" is just a tiny bit bigger in the tag cloud in the sidebar, waiting stealthily to pounce with a comment. Not wanting to disappoint anyone, I'll throw out some bait today.
In a recent editorial, Fish or Cut Bait, the Milwaukee J-S had this to say (and you can click the link for the full editorial; it's not that long)

"But in a recent letter to the county, the DNR said the county cannot close the dam and allow the river to refill the impoundment area upstream unless all outstanding repair work is completed. The DNR is concerned about public safety. So are we.
The county's move skirts the real issue of whether to take on the more extensive repair job, estimated to cost $12 million, or to remove the dam for about $2 million. Environmental groups and others favor dam removal, while nearby residents and others who use the upstream portion of the Milwaukee River for recreation prefer a fix-up of the 1938 dam.
Removing the dam won't restore the river to its "natural" state; work done on the river channel in the 1930s made sure of that. But it would be a cheaper option at a time when the county already faces severe financial difficulties. County supervisors need to consider those finances when they consider the future of the dam - and they need to do that soon to comply with the DNR requirements."

Once again, the $12 million figure thrown out there. My arguments tend toward the philosophical and aesthetic. For awesome, cold hard facts, I turn to Vicky Ross, who wrote this rebuttal (it's long, but whatever. This is the infinite internet). Take it away, Vicky:

Dear Editorial Page Editors:
I was outraged by your editorial yesterday, “Fish or cut bait”!
I first must point out that your opening sentence contains an obvious error. The county board needs to either ‘repair or find funds to repair’? I gather from the context in the rest of the editorial that you intended to say: ‘remove or find funds to repair’.

Sloppy, very sloppy.
If your preference would truly normally be for full repair, as you state, what have you done to follow through on your inclination and fully explore the repair option?

-Did you happen to notice, or bother to report, that the county workgroup’s report was so rife with misleading information that the typically routine process of accepting the report and placing it on file passed by only the narrowest of margins on March 19th with 10 supervisors voting to accept the report and 9 voting no.?

-Did you think it to be at all odd that the Dam Removal scenario included no cost estimates for obvious related work that would stretch on for years: like cutting a channel to restore navigability, encapsulating contaminated sediments, replanting mudflats and modifying storm sewer outflows? [Details from the North Avenue dam removal process and problems experienced there shouldn’t be that hard to recall or locate.]

-Did you think it would be worth investigating how a repair estimate of $756,000 in 2006 could possibly balloon to the oft quoted $12 million in 2009?

I think not.

-Did your reporters find any of the county taxpayer comments made at the Public Hearing on March 24th interesting or compelling enough that they asked citizens follow up questions or for copies of their documents in order to learn more than their two minute time limit may have allowed?

-Did your reporters request and review any of the written comments that were submitted to the Parks, Energy and Environment Committee following the Public Hearing which provided a way for citizens to offer positions and supporting documents without being subject to a terribly limiting constraint?

-Did you give any thought to how Lincoln Park would be impacted by dam removal and advise your readers that they would no longer have water and islands as its focal point feature but instead would be greeted with unsightly mudflats riddled with invader species (weeds) and mosquito farms of stranded, stagnant water?

I think not.

-Did you consider that there might be a creative solution available given more time? Did you find it at all interesting that there are several entities actively exploring the prospect of a hydroelectric purpose for the dam?

-Did Lee Bergquist, Steve Schultze or anyone else on your staff research other Wisconsin DNR dam removal efforts and detect that their approach here is S.O.P. regardless of the specific dam, impoundment, parks, community, unique adverse impacts or the will of the people or institutions involved? [The DNR has a rich and well documented history of applying pressure on dam owners to remove them by exerting undue influence on the process – ensuring that repair cost estimates are trumped up exponentially and that removal estimates are grossly understated.]

-Did your research uncover the documents that reveal the DNR’s true agenda for the Milwaukee River and advise your readers that if the DNR is successful in having the Estabrook Dam removed that the upstream dams will quickly become their next targets: Kletzsch Park Falls, Thiensville Dam, likely even Cedarburg’s historic falls?

I think not.

-Did you question the motives that might lie behind a DNR letter delivered to the County Board of Supervisors the very morning of their April 23rd meeting as did Supervisor Rice? Didn’t you find that timing to be even a little suspicious?

-Did you question why the DNR would issue a letter saying they could issue a second Order for Dam Repair instead of just issuing another order?

-Did you find it at all compelling in the face of such opposition, that the county board of supervisors voted overwhelmingly in favor (16 to 3) of the $5,000 repair which will correct the problems cited in the DNR Order issued on September 26, 2008?

I think not.

Did you find value in the fact that the County is finally taking action to respond to the September, 2008 DNR order? Or even more significant, did you find it odd that the DNR would issue a threatening letter to the county because it was contemplating complying with the demands of an order they issued?

-Did your reporters happen to hear Supervisor Lipscomb explain that the resolution that was just passed was deliberately designed to begin the process of completing work that is necessary whether the dam is removed OR repaired and that more time is needed for study in order to responsibly decide the fate of the dam?

-Did you think it might be important to include in your editorial that the reason Supervisor Lipscomb is “rightfully” concerned about health risks associated with leaving the river low is because there are PCB hotspots in Lincoln Park that will be even more exposed to animals and people, especially children, over the summer months if the impoundment is not filled this season?

I think not.

I should tell you that I am apparently one of the few remaining daily subscribers to your paper. Needless to say I am sorely disappointed with your superficial coverage on this issue. You have failed to recognize it for the rich investigative story opportunity that it is.

With two editorials in as many weeks supporting the removal of dams (referring also to “Let the river run” - 4/22/09), it is clear to me that you have swallowed the bait whole. I congratulate you for your aplomb in falling for the DNR’s carefully crafted positions – hook, line and sinker.
Fortunately, you are not the only media outlet in this city, or this state for that matter. Perhaps I can find one who is willing to dig a little deeper and be just a touch more objective.

Yours very truly,
Vicky Ross

A plague of CricKets

CricKet store on Capitol Drive.

CricKet descended on Milwaukee, apropos of nothing, in November of 2008 with 46 stores. The green (H&R Block green, which preys on a similar clientele) signs seemed to sprout simultaneously all over certain parts of town, generally the parts with Get it Now stores and check cashing places, with corner stores that sell nothing but soda, booze, candy, and Andy Capp Hot Fries. It's sad. "Launching service in southern Wisconsin is our first step toward building a significant Cricket footprint in the upper Midwest, which will ultimately include coverage stretching from Milwaukee to Chicago, a market that is scheduled to launch in the first half of next year," said Doug Hutcheson, president and chief executive officer of Leap Wireless International Inc., CricKet's parent company, at the time of CricKet's descent into our fair city. CricKet service has been previously launched in several other cities, particularly Kentucky and Texas. CricKet plans range from $30 to $60 per month and include terrible service, unlimited anytime minutes, unlimited U.S. long distance, unlimited text and picture messaging, unlimited text to Mexico (is this "Mexting?"), unlimited Mobile Web, unlimited directory assistance (do you need this if you have unlimited Mobile Web? Do you need it at all?), and nationwide roaming minutes with no signed contracts or credit checks. Not to mention lousy reception and an incredible hassle to connect with anyone still backwards enough to be using a land line. Now, if you know me or my husband IRL, you know that we work with clients in CricKet's prey demographic- people that may have few options, people at risk for getting their phone and lights turned off, people that leave a voice mail in the morning and two hours later the message I get on callback states specifically that "The CricKet subscriber you are trying to reach" didn't pay the phone bill this month. They don't need unlimited anytime minutes or mobile web; they need to be able to reach the clinic when the baby is sick. They need reliable service they can depend on and afford.

Please enjoy my obsessive CricKet photography.

CricKet on Center Street in Riverwest.

CricKet on King Drive.

CricKet on South 27th Street, in the same shopping plaza that houses the Value Village.

CricKet in Racine. At the moment I took this shot, Charlotte said, "We have Cricket in Racine too." So that's how I remembered it. This one's in Kenosha.
CricKet also had a booth at 7 Mile Fair this weekend. I contemplated sneaking a photo, but the risk seemed to outweigh the benefit.

Bradley Center bailout

So...now Governor Doyle is seeking $5 million in state bonding support to upgrade the Bradley Center.
In a statement, Ulice Payne Jr., the chairman of the Bradley Center board of directors, said, "the time has come for the state and the people of Wisconsin to invest in its successful future."


"In the meantime, the building is in need of an upgrade and maintenance, according to a fact sheet distributed by the Bradley Center. The lengthy list includes: outdated mechanical and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment; an outdated scoreboard; a deteriorating roof and exterior façade; an obsolete hockey rink system; outdated event production technology; aging and inefficient lighting; and a significant number of seats that need to be replaced or refurbished."
So, as a taxpayer, I should pay for the future of the Bradley Center- which I don't use, but about which I distinctly remember the 'hundreds of dollars for Hannah Montana tickets' phenomenon from January 2008- but not repairs for the Estabrook Dam, which I do use?

Clean energy from wind AND water?

Photo taken by me in southwestern Wisconsin, 2007, from a moving car. I was not driving at the time.
In 2006, renewable energy equirements were increased for Wisconsin utilities. The mandate for renewable energy is no less than 6 percent by 2010, and 10 percent by 2015 of total retail energy delivered on a statewide basis (source).
President Obama stressed the need to expand solar and wind power during his inaugural address- one of the things I really like about him (and Jimmy Carter, but that is a discussion for another day). The Obama administration supports a national mandate for 10% of the country's electricity to come from renewable power by 2012 and 25% by 2025 (source).

To this end, some people have wondered whether the Estabrook Dam can be used for hydroelectric power. Here is a video showing how strong the flow can be on the Milwaukee River- taken approximately March 8th, 2009.

"Freshwater Capitol of the World"

Today's Journal-Sentinel business section offers this interesting article-http://www.jsonline.com/business/40878037.html
"The economics of water 'will define the region for the next 30 years,' says Dean Amhaus, who runs the Spirit of Milwaukee, a civic promotion agency that coordinates efforts to craft a modern image for the metro region on behalf of the Milwaukee 7 economic development group.
'Water has positive connotations in many ways,' Amhaus said. 'It's environmental. It's economics. It's innovation. It's technology. It's biotech. It's big.'"