Saturday, October 26, 2019

Council members, Mayor Barrett decry reckless driving in wake of fatal hit-and-run, call for state assistance

From JSOnline:

, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Alderman Nikiya Dodd speaks Saturday at a news conference with other members of the Common Council and Mayor Tom Barrett after this week’s hit-and-run that killed a 6-year-old girl. They appeared at North 22nd Street and West Center Street, the scene of the crash. (Photo: Lee Bergquist / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

In the wake of a hit-and-run crash that killed a 6-year-old girl Thursday, the Milwaukee Common Council has asked Gov. Tony Evers for state assistance to help address reckless driving in the city.
The council requested the Evers administration identify resources that could go to the Milwaukee Police Department for traffic enforcement to stem out-of-control driving.
"Until those driving in Milwaukee are compelled to obey laws we seem now to take for granted, we fear more will be injured and worse," the council members said on Friday. 
On Saturday, several members of the council and Mayor Tom Barrett held a news conference at the corner of West Center and North 22nd streets to decry the hit-and-run crash that killed Lisa Gee and severely injured her 4-year-old sister and 10-year-old cousin. 
Lisa Gee (Photo: Courtesy of Julie Garrison)

"We're proud over here," said Ald Russell Stamper II, who represents the district where Lisa was killed. "But when we have idiots who reckless drive and have no care or concern for the community, the streets or children, it sets us back, it hurts.
"Dozens of balloons were tied to a tree along Center Street in front of Gwen T. Jackson Early Childhood and Elementary School. Candles and flowers had been laid at the base of the tree.

Vos cites concerns over Milwaukee spending priorities in interview on county sales tax, proposed police cuts

From JSOnline:

, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester). (Photo: Rick Wood, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos was critical of Milwaukee's spending priorities this week as he weighed in on legislation that would allow voters to decide whether to raise the county's sales tax.
"I think many of us have concerns with some of the spending that’s already going on in the city, whether or not we can afford to have a subsidized trolley,” Vos, R-Rochester, said in an interview on Facebook with TMJ4's Charles Benson.
Vos was referencing the Milwaukee streetcar, dubbed The Hop, which will mark a year in operation on Nov. 2.
Mayor Tom Barrett champions the streetcar as an economic development tool, saying in May as he announced his plan to extend the route that he believes the city's neighborhoods can be stronger if they can be part of the "economic renaissance that is occurring in the heart of our city right now." 
Vos' comments come in the midst of deliberations over next year's city budget —including Barrett's proposal to cut 60 police officer positions through attrition — and as Milwaukee-area leaders are lobbying state legislators to allow a binding referendum on raising the county sales tax to 1.5% from 0.5%. Portions of the revenue would be dedicated to property tax relief and the county's municipalities.
"I think that makes a lot of us say, well maybe your priorities aren’t in line if you think the most important thing for your city is a streetcar to nowhere versus having police officers on the street, knowing that we have guns that are on the street, knowing that we have crime that is impacting an awful lot of families,” Vos told Benson.
Vos said he respects that the city has budget problems and is willing to discuss those but that Barrett needs to convincingly make the case that the city is spending wisely. 
Vos said he met with Barrett on Oct. 9 and has asked him to speak with a group of Assembly Republicans.
Barrett told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Friday that after watching the interview he came away with an appreciation that he will have an opportunity to meet with Republicans to explain the city's budget situation.
"I am appreciative of his willingness to give me an audience with his members," Barrett said. "I say that knowing it may not be the prettiest meeting. Some of his members don’t like me and they don’t like the city."
That opportunity came out of his meeting with Vos in which Barrett said he explained that the budget for the police department is larger than the city's entire property tax levy.
Barrett acknowledged policy differences but said he thinks Vos understands the city's pension issues and that the funding for law enforcement is not sustainable in the long run.
Responding to Vos' criticism of the city's streetcar, Barrett said the city doesn't use property tax dollars, instead relying on federal funding and a sponsorship from the Forest County Potawatomi Community.
Tax incremental financing districts, including the ones used to build the streetcar, delay adding the value of new developments to the property tax base until the project funding is done.
That can affect a city's property tax rate. That's because the annual amount a city raises through property taxes is calculated by the tax rate multiplied by its property tax base.
When Barrett proposed his budget, he cited as driving factors a significant anticipated jump in the city's pension contribution coupled with state-imposed limits on methods for raising revenue, rising costs of providing services and flat shared revenue payments from the state.
Under his plan, the police budget would remain at about 47% of all city departmental funds from the general city purpose budget. The total proposed budget is $298.3 million.
Police Chief Alfonso Morales and the Milwaukee Police Association have warned of consequences of making such a cut. Morales has said it would take the Police Department to the lowest sworn level in two decades and could result in the department ending a shift in a police district.
Barrett ties the ability to keep the police positions to the proposal to raise the county's sales tax.
"If our voters approve a sales tax in the April referendum, I will go immediately to the Common Council and ask them to add a police class for 60 officers," Barrett said Friday.
He has also said the funding would allow the city to lift a hiring freeze, add a medical unit requested by the Fire Department and repave more roads.
Barrett said he anticipates using a "significant portion" of the funds for lead paint remediation and lead lateral replacement. He would also like to put money into crime prevention.
Asked by Benson whether a city should have some options to generate additional revenue, Vos said he had supported that in the past.
Vos said he supported legislation from 2015 that would allow municipalities and counties to levy a 0.5% sales tax to help pay for their roads. Voters would have to approve the tax increase in a referendum and the higher taxes would be in effect for four years.
The measure was approved unanimously by the Assembly Transportation Committee but died before getting to the Assembly floor for a vote there. 
Citing that legislation, Vos said he is in favor of "some form of that idea" but that it has to be targeted.
"It has to make sure it’s really being used for economic development, not just to subsidize what he wants to do in the city," he said, adding that he doesn't support the idea that "the taxpayers as a whole in the county are going to pay for lead lateral replacements for only a few people."
Barrett said he understands that in the legislative process there's always give and take and that he hopes there will be an opportunity for a candid exchange.
The property tax element of the sales tax proposal could potentially draw more Republicans, Vos said.
Journal Sentinel reporter Patrick Marley contributed to this story.
Contact Alison Dirr at 414-224-2383 or adirr@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlisonDirr.
From: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2019/10/25/vos-cites-concerns-over-milwaukee-spending-in-interview-on-sales-tax-proposed-police-cuts/2455476001/

County committee denies loan to Wild Root

From Racine Uncensored:

Ken Rorek shared a link.



https://www.facebook.com/groups/1783568838634123/permalink/2505216986469301/

Also see: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/county-committee-denies-loan-to-wild-root/article_d7bda2e5-32cd-5649-b38d-101f9123ce02.html?fbclid=IwAR3-CkgC8ZKHqWh32K4LZzGPdpXHMefQQP4hGYw68cd8vlsjiGtRYhyGX38#utm_campaign=blox&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

Venus and Mars - Rock Show - Jet - Paul McCartney And Wings 1976 Remastered

Chicago - Feeling Stronger Every Day

Golden Slumbers - Carry That Weight - The End

Head East: Never Been Any Reason (Live)

Open Blog - Weekend


Enjoy your weekend.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Meet The Father Changing How Police Shootings Are Investigated | Freethink



www.MichaelBell.info

God bless Michael Bell Sr.



Jimmy Kimmel & Jimmy Fallon Finally Clear Up Who Is Who

Four for Fridays!

Good morning everyone I hope you had a good week. This week went by so quick for me I do not know if I was able to get everything done. Here are your questions

1) Do you remember what your favorite Halloween costume was?

2) Do you still dress up for Halloween?

3) Do you decorate for Halloween?

4) Do you hand out candy for trick or treating?

Have a great weekend!

Blurred Justice: Army veteran arrested after disarming gunman, saving friends

Open Blog - Friday


Have a greats day.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

(1) COMMENT



https://journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/racine-man-awaiting-charges-in-huffhines-vape-manufacturing-case-to/article_ca472b2a-226e-57b8-b8ce-508ff7c161dd.html#4

Search 9+ 5:34 / 9:33 Kincade Wildfire: Cal Fire Scott McLean On The Latest On The Out-Of-Control Kincade Wildfire

This Commission has the power to hire, fire and place on leave, members of the RPD.

From Racine Uncensored:

This Commission has the power to hire, fire and place on leave, members of the RPD.

Cher took a break from her tour in England to demand that Madison schools apologize to fired security guard

From JSOnline:

, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

International superstar Cher has weighed in on the Madison School District's firing of a black security guard who said the N-word while telling a student not to use the racial slur. Cher says Marlon Anderson should receive an apology. (Photo: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel archives)

MADISON - Cher took a break from a European tour Tuesday to urge Madison school officials to apologize to a black security guard they fired for using the N-word while telling a student not to use the racial slur.  
"I don’t think it’s enough that he gets his job back," Cher said in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "That’s not enough – they should apologize to him."
Marlon Anderson was fired by the Madison School District last week, setting off a firestorm of outcry that reached international heights – including from the 73-year-old Academy Award winner and longtime musician. 
Cher, who has 3.7 million Twitter followers, tweeted Friday she would pay for Anderson's attorney fees should he pursue legal action against the district. 
She said Tuesday by phone during a break from her tour in the United Kingdom that Anderson's story rose above others, in part, because she learned of it the day after Maryland congressman and civil rights activist Elijah Cummings died. 

West Allis bar is giving away Founders beer in protest of the brewery, which is facing discrimination charges

From JSOnline:

, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The Drunk Uncle holds a protest against Founders Brewing (Photo: Neal Steffek of The Drunk Uncle)

Neal Steffek, who owns The Drunk Uncle, a beer bar in West Allis, plans to cut ties with controversial Founders Brewing by giving away free pints of Founders' Underground Mountain Brown starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday until the keg is emptied.
By the time the bar opened at 3 p.m., Steffek had already dumped all of his can inventory of the brewery's All Day IPA. 
"You gotta do what you gotta do," Steffek said. "Founders screwed up pretty big, and I can't be associated with that."
Steffek said he just wants the remaining beer — a bourbon-barrel-aged Imperial brown ale made with Sumatra coffee — gone from The Drunk Uncle, 1902 S. 68th St. 
Founders Brewing, Michigan's largest brewery, is facing criticism over a leaked transcript of a deposition in a racial discrimination lawsuit against the Grand Rapids-based brewery.
Tracy Evans, a fired events and promotions manager at Founders' Detroit taproom, filed the racial discrimination and retaliation lawsuit in August 2018 alleging that Founders tolerated a racist corporate culture; that multiple employees used a racial slur in conversations with Evans, who is black; and that office printers were labeled in a racist fashion, the Detroit Free Press reported.
In the deposition, the general manager of the brewery's Detroit taproom wouldn't acknowledge the plaintiff's race, according to the Free Press.
"I can't have what they're doing affect me," Steffek said.
Contact Kathy at (414) 224-2974 or kathy.flanigan@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram at @katflanigan. 
From: https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/beer/2019/10/23/theyre-giving-away-founders-beer-protest-drunk-uncle-west-allis/4076708002/

US Rep Bryan Steil speaks at VP Pence event



WATCH: VP Mike Pence's speech at Uline in Pleasant Prairie


Open Blog - Thursday


Sorry for the late/missing blogs.  I had surgery.  It hurts like hell.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Oregon coach Keanon Lowe takes gun from high school student, hugs him in viral video

John Bacon, USA TODA



 The incident took place May 17 at Parkrose High School, but the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office did not release the video until Friday. The release came days after court proceedings in the case were completed.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2019/10/20/keanon-lowe-oregon-coach-gun-shooter-video-angel-granados-diaz/4044481002/

UWM study finds over half of gun violence perpetrators and victims had elevated blood lead levels as children

From JSOnline:

, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health is the first accredited public health school in Wisconsin. (Photo: Troye Fox, UWM Photo Services)

More than half of the people who were perpetrators or victims of gun violence in Milwaukee in recent years had elevated blood lead levels as children, according to a study released Friday by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
The study of nearly 90,000 residents, conducted at the University's Joseph J. Zilber School of Public Health, suggests a link between early childhood lead exposure and gun violence in later years.
Lindsay R. Emer, the study's lead author, said it was conducted using public health, education and criminal justice data.

The high lead levels are because the majority of Milwaukee's shooters come from poor neighborhoods.  I think you'd find that the majority of them cannot speak proper English, either.  Nor did many of them receive regular nutritious meals in their childhoods.  So, do these contribute to a propensity to fire weapons, too?  The actual cause is a lack of parenting and everyone knows it.  A child raised on the streets will take to the streets' ways.  More BS research paid for by our tax dollars.